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belovedbangtan · 4 years

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Simple Things | jjk

🅁🄴🅀🅄🄴🅂🅃🄴🄳

||| Masterlist |||

𝙿𝙰𝙸𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶: Boyfriend!Jungkook x Reader

𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙳 𝙲𝙾𝚄𝙽𝚃: 3.5k

𝚂𝚄𝙼𝙼𝙰𝚁𝚈: Based on the song Simple Things by Miguel! Highly recommend listening to the song before reading! (song fic request are my FAV, give me more please!?)

𝚆𝙰𝚁𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚂: Weed Smoking, Language, Sexual Content: grinding, teasing, nipple play, choking, unprotected sex (be safe!), Dom!jk, Sub!Reader if you squint, After care? Its also really fucking cute and fluffy.

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A cloud of smoke hung in the air, as you press the joint to your lips. Inhaling deeply, feeling the familiar burn in your throat. Some new r&b track playing softly in the background. Jungkook’s long legs resting comfortably over your lap, you pass him the joint. He sets his phone to the side to sit up and take it from you. As mundane as it sounds, this had become somewhat comfortable for the two of you. He blows the smoke out, passing it back for you to finish. Placing the remainder in the ashtray as Jungkook starts laughing hysterically, his infamous cackle bouncing off the walls; easily one of your favorite sounds.

“This video was from last year, watch this…” He sits up bringing the phone close to your face. You watch an extremely drunk Jimin dancing chaotically in the middle of a crowded club. The phone pans to the VIP section, and Taehyung hyping him up. You don’t miss the obnoxiously attractive women that crowd the same area. Your eyes widen and you start to laugh too. It reminded you of when you and Jungkook had first started dating. For the first few months, every weekend was spent with your friends in overcrowded clubs. Fun times, no doubt, but you were happy with your new normal.

Jungkook dismisses himself to the kitchen, mumbling something about having the munchies. You giggle at your predictable boyfriend, extending your legs into the spot where he was laying. Pulling up Snap Chat on your phone, not surprised to see Jimin and Taehyung’s stories. Almost as if they were trying to replicate the memory Jungkook just showed you from a year ago. Drunk as hell, beautiful women, VIP section, it was something to envy from the outside looking in.

You laugh to yourself, thinking back on your own memories. At the start of your relationship, seven months ago, it was much different. Frequently bar hopping with friends whenever we were able to. Once we discovered that we preferred just being in each other’s company, the partying slowly came to an end. You were happy with that though. You loved smoking and hanging out with your best friend, who also happened to be your boyfriend. You find yourself replaying Jimin and Taehyungs story, until you click on Jungkook’s; nothing. Peaking behind you to see him finishing off an apple, you start to think.

You were comfortable with spending your nights like this. Having moved in with each other a month ago, you loved being able to spend your free nights together. Watching a movie, cuddled up on the couch, listening to music, experimenting with food. Whatever you did, it made you happy. This was the first time you wondered if maybe he felt different than you. What if he wants to go out but doesn’t say anything because he knows how much you love staying home?

You get up from your spot on the couch, a stolen pair of Jungkook’s sweatpants hanging around your hips, while his t-shirt hides all your curves. He’s singing to the soft sounds coming from the speaker, and he looks so ethereal. His long bouncy waves, floating back and forth over his eyes; always made you want to brush his hair back. His outfit matching yours since you were wearing his clothes. The grey sweatpants looking sexier on him than on you, although he would argue that statement.

You hop onto the countertop letting your legs hang over, “Do you want to go out?” you blurt out, attempting to sound nonchalant.

He pauses, quickly turning to look at you. His face screwing up with confusion, “What? Like… tonight?”

You press your lips into a hard line nodding at him, which only makes him look more confused.

“Right now? You want to go out?” He asks you again to confirm as he slots himself in between your legs. He wraps his arms around your waist, letting his thumbs slide against the inside of your waist band.

“I mean, if you want to. I’m good with whatever,” You murmur, still attempting to be nonchalant.

“Well… if you don’t want to go out… why would I?” He giggles softly before pressing his lips to your nose.

“I thought maybe you’d want to party with Jimin and Tae, it’s been awhile since we’ve been out,” you try explaining simply.

He tilts his head to the side, seeing straight through your bullshit.

“Actually, I do wanna go somewhere,” He starts, pulling back and walking over to where our shoes are laying, “walk to the grocery store with me, we have like no food.”

You roll your eyes but you follow his lead slipping your shoes on. The grocery store was in walking distance, which was quite dangerous when you both had the munchies.

The wind is harsh but overall, the night is beautiful. The street is on the quieter side since its late into the night. Jungkook pulls your hand out of your hoodie and laces his fingers with yours before putting both into his hoodie. You look up to see him already smiling down at you.

“Baby, why did you ask me to go out tonight, honestly?” his voice is soft and laced with curiosity.

You sigh. You try not to feel insecure, but it was hard with him. He was perfect in your eyes, and you were… well, you weren’t perfect by any means. You constantly wondered if he would want something more, something that you couldn’t offer him. What if he needed more adventure or someone that was in his league? The bottom line was, you knew there was someone out there that could give him that; and it intimidated you.

“I don’t know, it’s just been awhile since we’ve gone out.” You tell him, although its true you know you’re lying to him.

“But you didn’t want to go out, so what would you have done if I had said yes?” He chuckles raising his brows to you.

“I would have gone, I just want to make you happy,” You look up to him and smile.

“I am happy. Right here, with you,” He leans down and kisses your cheek, ”You know that right?”

You force a smile and nod, and he seems to pick up on your hesitation, but he lets it go for now.

Your cloudy eyes scan over the chip section, while Jungkook goes to a different isle to pick out ice cream. Decision making wasn’t your strong suit, so he found you in the same isle 5 minutes later still debating.

“Okay, like spicy or cheesy? You know I hate making decisions!” You pout holding up the two bags.

He chuckles coming closer to see what the options are, “For you, my lady,” He says taking both bags from your hands and putting them in the cart. You start to giggle, reaching out to hug him.

You walk through a few more isles deciding you want to get some noodles for an actual meal. You’re debating on what kind to get, when he freezes in the middle of the conversation. Instantly you stop talking wondering what the hell has your boyfriend’s attention.

Within a few seconds you know, “Oh, if that’s what it takes to learn that sweet heart of yours,” Jungkook starts singing to you in the middle of the isle. His newfound love for the song 10,000 hours was intense, he was constantly singing it to you. Your eyes widen and you start to giggle, taking his hand when he holds it out to you. He spins you into him still singing incredibly loud for a grocery store. His pulls you in and you sway to the music, still unable to control your laughing. You back away from him and you start doing ‘tik-tok’ dance moves to the pop song, Jungkook’s voice cracks as he starts to laugh at you. Within seconds he’s right there with you mimicking your dance moves, you’re both dying from laughter.

You jump when you turn around to see an old couple watching you and giggling.

“Oh my gosh, we’re so sorry!” You start laughing moving the cart out of the way while Jungkook quickly picks up the noodles and throws them into the cart.

“Please don’t apologize, you remind us of when we were younger,” The old man starts, looking at this wife adoringly, “It’s something special, to be in love with your best friend!”

You and Jungkook’s cheeks are burning red, as you hear the sweet compliment.

“It really is,” Jungkook agrees softly before looking at you, eyes filled with the same adoration as the old man.

You finally check out and begin your trek home, Jungkook insisting on carrying all the bags if you feed him some gummy bears. His left arm hangs around your shoulder while you alternate giving him a gummy bear, then yourself.

“Those were some pretty sweet moves back there,” he giggles

You start to laugh again shrugging your shoulders, “Yeah… yours were alright,” you mock. Jungkook gasps sarcastically.

“If I didn’t have this bag of food, I would dance battle you right here!”

“You mean… you would lose a dance battle right here?” You say confidently, before your start to giggle. You slowly look up at him only to see him glaring down at you jokingly, you reach up pressing a red gummy to his lips. You can’t help the belly laugh when he quickly nips the gummy out of your fingers nearly biting you.

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Finally, back home, he made the noodles as soon as you stepped into the house. Both of you singing loud to the music that plays in the background. You switch back and forth between both bags of chips, doing a happy dance when the flavors hit your tongue. His giggle pulls you from your food daze.

“Why are you laughing at me!” You push your lips out pouting as you crunch.

“Your little food dance, it’s one of my favorite things you do,” He imitates you with your little butt wiggle you do while he brings his noodles to his mouth.

“That’s not it,” you giggle showing him what you actually do, “you have to move your shoulders too!” You demonstrate taking a bite of your own noodles.

“Why are you so cute?” He giggles. You shrug cutely before poking your cheeks with your fingers. When you finish eating, he takes your bowls to the sink, and you decide to make your way over to his side of the counter. He turns around after washing the two dishes. You lean into his chest and he wraps his arms around your shoulders, leaning forward to take in the clean smell of your hair before kissing the top of your head multiple times.

He tugs at your chin so you’re looking up at him. He brushes his thumb over your cheekbone, lightly pushing your hair behind your ear, “You seem more like yourself now,” He presses his lips to yours lightly.

“What do you mean?” You ask, pushing yourself up so you can steal another kiss.

“Earlier, you asking to go out. I’m still confused about that…” He grazes his thumb over your bottom lip before looking into your eyes. You could tell that a part of him was worried. You sigh, knowing that it was out of character for you.

“So… maybe I thought that you wanted to be out partying,“ you try to pull back but his arms are around you tight, “Like Tae and Jimin are, with all of those beautiful women.”

His brows nit together as he processes your words, “Why did you think that?”

You take a deep breath deciding to tell him about your frequent insecurities. All of your fears and doubts about your perfect relationship, you told him all of them. He listened closely with his arms secure around you the whole time, his grip never faltering.

“Just… you know, I want to make sure you’re happy with me, so you don’t want to find someone who can make you happier,” you mumble, his face melts with the last sentence.

“Baby,” Its all he says, shaking his head slightly, “You make me, so happy. So happy sometimes that I wonder if this is real.”

“You’re so perfect for me. You know, a free-spirit, with a wild heart,” He sighs deeply cupping your cheeks in his hands, “I just want someone real, someone true.” He murmurs pressing his lips to yours again. He pulls back slightly before leaning in to hover just above your ear, “I need you to smoke with me baby.”

You smile, letting him pull you to the couch. He sits in the corner of the couch pulling you close to him, while he lights the joint that sits on his lips. Inhaling deeply before passing it to you. You both finish it off, and before you know it you’re laughing about who knows what. He pulls you onto his lap, you set your legs on both sides of his. Your body feels warm, maybe it’s because of high, or maybe its because of how much you love him.

His eyes are heavy as he stares up at you his fingers finding their way beneath the loose t-shirt on your body, “Are you happy with me?” He asks out of nowhere, “is there anything I could do to make you happier?”

You take a deep breath, the THC making it hard for you to think too deeply about the answer. You didn’t need to think hard because it was simple, you were happy.

“I just want the simple things,” You say quietly leaning forward to capture his lips in yours, “Someone to smoke with me, laugh with me, lay with me,” You kiss him between each phrase, you pull back to make sure he has your attention, “I just want you.”

He smiles big, taking his hand and wrapping it around the back of your neck to pull you close to him. You brace yourself against his chest, noticing the way his heart feels like it might beat out of his chest. His lips attach to yours but this time it’s needy. He presses into them letting his tongue dance along your lower lip. You feel him start to harden beneath you, and you can’t stop yourself from grinding down onto him. The moan that finds its way from his mouth to yours makes your body weak.

He pulls you closer to him, bringing himself forward on the couch. You wrap your legs around his waist, as he gently pulls his t-shirt from your body. Palming at your tits as soon as his eyes hit them. You throw your head back and he leans forward to leave love bites on the column of your throat. You reach forward to wrap your arms around his shoulders, running your fingers through his hair; tugging softly. He pulls you impossibly closer, your clothed heat pressed against his hard on. You moan into his mouth when he starts to kiss you again. Bucking your hips into him, he pulls back and brings his lips to your sensitive nipples. Massaging your left while his tongue teases the right, then switching. His hand slides up to your throat and your eyes finally meet his blown-out pupils, full of lust and love. His fingers tighten around your throat while he holds you close to his body with his other arm. He turns you both, leaning you back until your laying flat on the couch. His hand still firm around your throat, he leans forward to kiss you again; pressing his hard on into your groin making you whine.

He smiles before nipping at your neck, still pressing himself into where you need him the most. The friction is making you crazy and he knows it, “Baby…” you whimper and he lets out a quiet laugh into your skin. He moves down your body slowly, leaving hickeys in his path, “What baby? What do you need?” He coos, instantly snapping his hips into yours. You throw your head back whining again, “Come on princess, use your words,” He laughs again before sucking the skin of your thigh into his mouth. The purple mark is fresh compared to the dull ones from the nights previous. It’s like it’s his own private masterpiece, he runs his thumb over it before sitting up between your legs. He looks down at you and cocks his head, your bottom lip comfortably in-between your teeth. His fingers slide under the band of your sweatpants and he starts to pull them from your legs antagonizing slow. You wiggle your legs trying to speed up the process, only making him slow down even more.

“Mm no panties?” He licks his lips as notices how wet you are, ”Tell me what you want baby,” He says again, pulling the sweatpants from his own legs.

“I want you to fuck me, Kookie.” You lean forward reaching out for his hard cock, but he wraps his hands around your wrist. Pushing them into the couch, as he hovers over your body. He looks down at you, as the tip of his cock teases your clit. Your eyes are drawn to the way the veins in his biceps are popping out, then to the way his abs flex each time he thrust forward, “Please.” You beg finally meeting his eyes, and they seem to soften at your magic word.

Reaching down he lines himself up then slides inside of you torturously slow. Both of you inhaling deeply when he bottoms out and stops. Something you both loved the feeling of in general, but when you were high it was comparable to euphoria.

“You feel so fucking tight for me princess,” He moans pulling back, dragging his cock against your walls. You want to respond but the words hang on your lips, all you can formulate is whimper. Leaning forward on his forearms on each side of your head, he nudges your face to the side. Letting his teeth graze the shell of your ear. The sound of his moans and whimpers was enough to through you over the edge. He feels it when you start to tighten around him, his teeth finding the juncture of your shoulder and neck. Pressing his lips delicately before he starts to suck hard.

“I-Im so close, please,” You start to beg, you don’t know what you’re begging for exactly, but you have a feeling that he does. He quickens his pace, leaning up and pressing your thighs further apart. He takes his thumb to his mouth, collecting his spit before rubbing it into your clit with the perfect amount of pressure. Your hips start to buck up into his thrust, having a mind of their own. He takes it upon himself to pull your hips up to his, the new position making your body react instantly.

“Right there! Oh fuck, right there Kookie!” You yell out, warmth spreading through your body from your toes to your fingertips. The familiar tight feeling in your abdomen tells you that your close.

“Fuck princess, cum with me!” he moans and just like that your body starts to shake. An orgasm hitting you like a semi, the warmth that was running through your veins turns into something new. He holds your legs still, spilling himself inside of you. The feeling alone makes you feel like you could cum again. He thrust inside you a few more times, each time your body spasming.

He pulls out admiring the way his cum drips from you, taking his fingers and pushing it back inside of you. You spasm at the action, making him giggle, “You came so hard, didn’t you princess?” He asks you, pressing a chaste kiss to your lips before he starts to get up to find something to clean you with. You nod, grabbing his hand quickly before he gets too far. He looks down at you, “Lay with me, baby.”

He pauses and smiles down at you before squeezing himself onto the couch next to you, “You’re still messy,” he says.

“I don’t care, I need you close right now,” You explain before burying your head into his chest. You feel his chest rock as he laughs at how fucked out you are. It didn’t happen every time but, sometimes he fucked you so good that you felt emotional afterwards. You felt like the luckiest girl in the world, and you just wanted him to hold you. He wraps his arms around you, massaging your scalp with his fingertips.

“I love you so much, baby.” He says softly.

You hum into his chest, “Love you too.”

After about an hour of naked cuddling, you ask him if he wants to take a shower. He instantly perks up, wrapping you in his arms carrying you to the shower.

“If you think I would ever choose a night out over a night like this, you’re insane.”

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𝙰/𝙽: 𝙻𝚎𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔! 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚜, 𝚒 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎!

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#bts #bts smut #bts fluff #jungkook #bts jungkook #jungkook fluff #jungkook smut #jeon jungkook #bts fanfiction #bts fanfic #bts x reader #jungkook x y/n #jungkook x reader #jungkook angst #jeonguk #jeonguk x reader #jeonguk fanfiction #jeonguk smut

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mybiasisexo · 3 years

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Blood & Bond

Pairing: None....yet....

Length: 16.4k

Warning: OC | Language

Summary: Kai and his little pack of werewolf cubs’ lives get a lot more interesting when a pretty foreign girl with special abilities decides to befriend them.

Author’s Note: I finished reading Running With Wolves (debatably one of the best werewolf exo aus ever written and maybe even the best werewolf story ever written idk read it if you havent I swear it doesn't matter who your bias is you will fall for kai!!!) and was like ‘I wanna write a werewolf!au’, but this doesnt touch a candle to the genius that is that story which is why I kinda stopped writing it. I want to make it darker, a bit more mature, so here is this! If I ever decide to humor myself and rewrite it, it will be completely different. So, enjoy this, cause, I mean, its pretty good!!! also who else misses ot12???? Just me??? ok....

MASTERLIST

1. The Witch…Kinda Sorta

“I’m open! I’m open!”

The crunching sound of sneakers against gravel could be heard around the area as a small group of young men ran across the basketball court at a park. It was an intense game, the boys were snarling at one another, not afraid to push and shove to gain the upper hand.

After ten minutes, one of the boys jumped up and with the flick of his wrists, scored the final three points.

“We win,” he grinned after the echoing swish of his victory faded into the trees.

“You cheated,” one of the boys from the other team muttered, wiping the dripping sweat off of his forehead while others around him fell to the floor, breathing hard and exhausted.

“You always say that when you lose,” one of the guys who was on the ground whined, yanking the boy’s ankle, causing him to stumble to the asphalt. They all chuckled around him.

He just sighed.

The young man who had scored the winning points tossed the sore loser a bottle of water, which he took gratefully. “Thanks, Kai.”

“No problem, Chanyeol. Also, I didn’t cheat.”

“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes and chugged half of the bottle.

The six boys sat around in silence, drinking, snacking, and just enjoying the chilling wind dry their damp skin.

“Do you smell that?” One of them asked the others, his big eyes widening.

They all paused, sniffing the air and shaking their heads.

“It smells like a fire.”

A different one shrugged, “it’s probably a forest fire or something, Kyungsoo. Nothing to worry about.”

Kyungsoo shook his head. “No, Tao, it’s close.”

He stood up and brushed off his shorts, heading towards the smell that only he could distinguish.

The boys that he had left glanced nervously at each other before standing up as well and following their somewhat peculiar friend.

They trudged around the trees, past the playground and the water fountain, until they were surrounding the restrooms that were on the opposite side of the park.

The cement wall that was around the tiny building was covered in graffiti, and the two doors were slightly ajar.

As they approached the deserted restrooms, one of the taller boys began to cough, “ugh, Kyungsoo, you were right. Someone definitely started a fire.”

“And it’s coming from the back.”

Slowly, the group began to circle the building, and once they were at the back of the structure they paused with shock.

In front of them was a young woman. She was kneeling, her back facing them, and in front of her was a pile of black char.

“Uh….” One of the boys named Jongdae was able to muster. His rumbling voice startled the girl, and she spun around in surprise, nearly falling into the pile of black.

The boys gulped once they saw her face. She was a foreigner, which was easy to tell with her deeply tanned skin and big curly brown hair. She was wearing a pleaded skirt and a black tank top with a green plaid shirt on that was hanging off her exposed shoulders. She also had a gray sweater tied around her waist, torn black stockings and dirty combat boots.

“What are you doing?” Kai asked her with raised eyebrows.

“Uh….” She mimicked Jongdae as she slowly climbed to her feet. Her shock seemed to fade once she was standing straight, and she grinned while shrugging, “nothing?”

“That doesn’t look like nothing,” Jongdae said with narrowed eyes, his arms crossed over his chest.

“It doesn’t smell like nothing either,” Tao added with his nose scrunched with disgust. Sehun, who was right behind him, made a show of waving his hand in front of his nose.

The girl laughed nervously, “Well, it’s nothing that you boys need concern yourself with.”

She began to turn back to her work, but froze once she realized something. Her lips curled knowingly as she returned her gaze to the group of males, placing her fists on her hips, “you all are werewolves.”

That startled the group, and the six boys began talking loudly at once, trying to dismiss her wild accusation.

She sighed, “It’s alright, calm down.” They all stopped in unison and stared at her with awe. “Well, I guess since you all are a part of the super realm… I’ll let you in on my doings.”

“Super…?” Chanyeol’s eyebrows scrunched together with confusion.

“I was casting a spell,” the girl informed the group. “I’m trying to… well, recall some things… I guess you could say. I read a book earlier, and it said that burning a certain type of branch could bring suppressed memories to the forefront. But, as you can see, it didn’t work like it should have.”

Everyone eyed the pathetic pile of burnt ash.

“Anyways,” the girl began, twirling back to the werewolves. “I’m Sloane.”

“And you’re a witch,” Tao inferred.

Sloane’s eyes narrowed at the tall boy, “I am not a witch!”

Static surrounded the cramped space and a second after the six males were on the hard ground, on top one another, unconscious.

Sloan smirked at her handy work, brushed her hands together and hopped over the bodies lying on the floor, strutting away from the restrooms.

~*~

“Yesterday was weird,” Sehun pouted the following morning. The six friends were huddled on the lawn in front of their university. It was a small and rather prestigious school with only four hundred students. Unlike most universities, the students were required to wear uniforms and a lot of the rules were similar to high school.

“I feel like I dreamt the whole thing,” Tao said, adjusting the strap on his shoulder.

Kai groaned, “I really don’t want to be here.”

“Aw, come on!” Jongdae cheered, ruffling Kai’s silky brown locks, making his hair look messier than it was prior. “School’s fun.”

“You only say that because your super power is sweet talking teachers to give you good grades,” Chanyeol rolled his eyes, but the huge grin on Jongdae’s face stayed planted.

“I like school,” Kyungsoo mumbled, causing the other boys to sigh and head inside.

The six of them were only freshman, yet they already held a reputation. As they walked the halls, others stopped and stared—some with envy, others with lust. They were easily the best looking in the school, it also helped that they had a strange rebellious aura that made girls swoon over them.

“They’re staring,” Kai, who couldn’t handle the fame to save his life, whispered to Jongdae, who loved his fame all too much.

“They always stare, Kai. I’m surprised you aren’t used to it by now. Nothing’s changed since high school.”

“Don’t they have something better to do?” He asked, voice rising with exasperation.

Jongdae shrugged and tapped Kai’s chin. “Enjoy it while it lasts, Kiddo. We only have three more years of this.”

“You’re literally three months older than me!” The younger yelled, his hands curling into fists.

“Blah, blah, blah!” Jongdae replied just as passionately.

“Kyungsoo!” Kai whined, wrapping himself around the smaller boy.

“Jongdae, leave Jongin alone, would you?”

Jongdae gulped as Kyungsoo glared at him and nodded quickly, running towards the front of the group to avoid the dark energy emanating from Kyungsoo’s eyes.

At lunchtime, the six schoolboys trickled into the cafeteria and sat around their usual table in the middle of the room. They ate quietly for the most part, some doing homework, a couple were playing cards and betting their chips, Kai was complaining to Tao how much he hated his math class while Tao slowly ate Kai’s rice.

A loud plop on the end of their table startled them, and once they all whipped around to where the noise came from, they jumped. The witch from the day before, Sloane, was standing at the end of their table, hands on hips and eyes slightly narrowed as she scanned the werewolves.

“So it wasn’t a dream,” Sehun muttered, gawking at the figure hovering over their table.

“Mind if I sit, fellow classmates?” She asked and slid into one of the last remaining two chairs before anyone had time to object. She began scarfing down her rice nearly frantically and the boys sat frozen, staring at her with wide eyes.

“The food here is to die for,” she moaned with her mouth stuffed with food. That seemed to knock some sense into the others, unpausing them, and they all began to eat their food as well—all while keeping an eye on the new girl that was currently sitting right beside Kyungsoo.

He scaled her lean body with his eyes, and couldn’t help but to grin at how she was wearing her uniform. The skirt rolled up, so that it ended slightly above her mid-thigh, her dress shirt half tucked, a few buttons at the top undone, her jacket sleeves pushed up to her elbows. She still wore black stockings, but these ones ended above her knees and her scuffed combat boots hugged her feet comfortably. Her hair was still wild and free and she was covered in jewelry—her neck, fingers, ears and wrists wrapped in gold and black.

The dishevelment of her uniform resembled Kai’s.

“How… How are you here?” Tao finally sputtered, the other guys seemed to all let out a collective breath of relief with the question finally out in the open.

Sloane glanced at all the people at the table and giggled softly, “I enrolled.”

“Are you stalking us?” Sehun asked her rudely, his usually soft features hardening into a glare.

She flat out laughed at that, it ringed mockingly, “of course not! I enrolled about two weeks ago. It’s a coincidence that we bumped into each other yesterday. Either that or fate. Most likely fate though….” Her last few words were muttered, her talking more to herself then the boys, but they heard it regardless and they seemed to tense at the word.

“Is today your first day?” Kyungsoo quietly asked the young witch. She nodded. “Mind if I see your schedule?”

She smiled shyly before digging into her bag until she found the slip of paper she needed. Kyungsoo scanned it, nodding here and there and finally gave it back to her, “we have english together, along with Chanyeol. You and Chanyeol also have biology together. You have history with Jongdae and Sehun and trig with Kai.”

She nodded slowly, digesting what he just said before opening her mouth to ask, “So who is who?”

“Oh, right, I forgot we haven’t introduced ourselves,” Kyungsoo chuckled, scratching the back of his head. One by one, the werewolves introduced themselves to Sloane.

Except Kai.

He just watched the strange girl as she blinked at him expectantly.

Finally Kyungsoo sighed and gestured to the broody male, “that is Kai. Don’t mind him, he doesn’t bite.”

“Depends on the time of day,” Jongdae added, causing them to chuckle.

“It’s nice meeting you all,” Sloane grinned. “It’s been a while since I’ve stumbled across someone from the super realm.”

“The super realm?”

“Yeah, folks with supernatural abilities. Such as werewolves, vampires, and wi—” She seemed to choke on the last word.

“Witches? Just like you are?” Kai finally broke his silence, studying her intently.

Her eyes darkened as they met his, “I’m not a witch…Kai?”

He shrugged and chugged his milk. Their lunch break came to an end and Kyungsoo and Chanyeol lead Sloane to their next class.

~*~

“She can’t hang out with us,” Kai informed his pack. Class had finally ended and the six of them instantly headed up to the rooftop, where they usually went when they had to talk about something serious on school grounds.

“Why not?” Sehun asked his leader, he tilted his head like a curious puppy.

“There is something off about her,” Kai elaborated. “I get strange vibes from her.”

“It’s her power,” Chanyeol shrugged. “She’s very powerful. I’m surprised we didn’t notice it yesterday.”

“There are a lot of things you didn’t notice yesterday,” Kyungsoo muttered with an eye roll, remembering the fire only he could smell.

Kai shook his head, “I don’t think that’s it. I mean, yeah she’s definitely powerful, but there is something else about her that puts me on edge.”

“Is it her sense of fashion?” Tao asked with true concern. “I mean, her uniform was like the female version of yours—”

“No it wasn’t!” Kai snapped, huffing as the others started laughing. He pinched the bridge of his nose, “I’m being serious. She can’t be around us.”

A few of the boys sighed, but had to obey their alpha’s order.

As they walked out of the school, Sloane was leaning against the stairs. Once they were close enough, she went up to fall in step with them.

“So, where are we going? Are we doing some supernatural stuff? Are you going wolf? Or can you only do that when there is a full moon?”

It took everything in Kyungsoo not to answer her questions. He could admit to himself that he had taken a quick liking to the foreign girl. The six boys continued walking, attempting to give her the cold shoulder.

She appeared to not register their attempt as she continued. “Maybe something boring, like homework, huh?” Tao could hear laughter in her voice. “Werewolves doing their homework? Isn’t that comical?”

“Sloane,” Kai began, slowing down so that he was walking beside her. She glanced at him, noticing his dark beautiful features. “Stop following us. We don’t want you to hang out with us.”

She stopped walking, “what?”

She glanced at the rest. They were a few steps in front of her and Kai, half circled and turned towards the two.

“You are not a member of our pack,” Kai continued with a voice cold and sharp as icicles, catching her attention again. “What? You thought you could get an in with us because of what you are? You’re nothing special. You’re just another girl. No. You’re just a weird witch.”

He watched her jaw clench and her thin fingers tighten against the strap of her bag, “I told you already that—”

“All the same,” he smiled politely at her and she wanted to slap it off him at that moment. What a typical pretty boy!

She took a step away from the group, “fine. I won’t interfere with you or your math homework. Good luck trying to get that D up.”

Kai arched an eyebrow as she spun on her heels, and winced as her brown curls slapped him viciously across the face as she stomped away.

“That was harsh,” Chanyeol admitted with a sigh. All the boys were watching Sloane’s form blend into the crowd.

Kai didn’t reply, instead he touched his cheek where her hair hit him, when he pulled his hand away he noticed blood on his fingertips.

~*~

True to her word—and much to Kai’s relief—Sloane left them alone.

For the rest of the week, they didn’t see her in the cafeteria, and in the classes they shared, she sat as far as possible from any one of them. She must not have taken it too badly, because whenever they crossed paths in the hallways she appeared chipper. She appeared to bounce when she walked, as if she had zero cares in the world and it caused a lot of stares. The student population were all extremely curious of the foreign new girl who came out of nowhere and was able to eat lunch with Kai and his group of hot friends—even if for a day.

On Saturday, the six boys lounged around Kai’s house, doing homework, studying, playing videogames, whatever to pass the time. The weekend was their favorite—especially Kai’s—they didn’t have to deal with the stress of being stared at and judged for seven hours of the day.

“Who wants to play another round of ball?” Tao asked suddenly, spinning the dingy basketball that he found resting on the floor on one of his fingers.

“I’m down,” Chanyeol said. His eyes turned to slits as he glared at Kai, “plus, we need a rematch.”

“Why?” Kai scoffed. “You want to get your ass handed to you again?”

“Shut up!” The two boys started wrestling around the living room while the others gathered everything needed for their trip to the park.

Once there, they spared no time splitting into teams and beginning their vigorous round of basketball. On one team was Kai, Sehun, and Kyungsoo while Jongdae, Chanyeol, and Tao played against them.

They were tied; Kai had the ball and was about to score the winning point when a strong wind blew the ball out of his grip. They all watched as it rolled off the court and into the semi muddy grass.

“What the—?”

Strange growling noises could be heard from the trees surrounding the park. The six werewolves huddled together, listening intently, trying to figure out what was going on.

Slowly, they made their way towards the trees. Hairs sticking up like the fur on a frightened cat, eyes shining colors that were not the usual brown, fingers curling into claws, they anticipated an attack.

They were not disappointed.

Something flew from out the shadows, crashing roughly into Kyungsoo, dragging him down to the ground. It appeared human, but had bluish-gray flesh with long limbs, fingers, and fangs. It was literally skin and bones and the noise that came out of its mouth when Kyungsoo lashed at it with his claws was chillingly inhuman.

Kyungsoo pushed the corpse off of himself and sat up with wide eyes glowing ice blue, “What the fuck was that?!”

He wasn’t able to get an answer. More of the bizarre looking creatures sprang from out of the shadows, all running towards the six werewolves. The boys did not hesitate to attack back; one by one they all fought against the monsters, but were outnumbered. Tao yelped in pain as one of the creatures slashed the side of his stomach, Sehun stumbled and landed hard on the ground, a crunching noise following suit. Jongdae was thrown across the field and hit a tree painfully, knocking him unconscious.

The werewolves were losing and Kai, the alpha, could feel it. He scanned the field, watching his pack mates battle the creepy beasts. There seemed to be even more coming out of the forest, Kai had to think quickly.

While he was preoccupied with his thoughts, one of the creatures saw its chance for a surprise attack and sprinted towards him, claws and fangs at the ready. Kai sensed its approach at the nick of time, but was too close to the monster to move. Something bumped into him from behind, and he landed hard on the grass. The creature twirled in confusion and froze when it saw whatever it was that knocked Kai over. Kai also glanced up and was stunned to see Sloane hovered over him eyeing the thing that would have killed him a second ago.

She pulled out something shiny from her belt. Kai noticed that it was a dagger with weird swirls engraved in the metal.

“Restitui quondam tibi,” she muttered with the knife over her head. She then dived the knife deep into the soil until only the hilt could be seen.

Bloodcurdling screams were soon heard, so deafeningly loud, Kai winced and covered his sensitive ears with his hands. He watched in confusion and shock as the creatures frantically ran away from the park, vanishing into the trees. The air seemed to still with the newfound silence.

Sloane leaned back on her heels, letting go of the knife that was still pinned to the ground with a relieved sigh. Kai and a few of the others who weren’t in critical condition stumbled onto their feet, glancing around them in awe.

“How did you do that?” Kai asked Sloane.

She let out a breathy laugh and shrugged tiredly, “looks like I can hang out with you after all.”

~*~

“Your nose is bleeding,” Kyungsoo stated, pointing at Sloane’s face. Her eyes widened as she dipped her finger in the warm liquid sliding down her cupid’s bow. With a soft chuckle, Kyungsoo slid her a tissue, which she took gratefully, placing it hesitantly against her face.

Tao, Sehun, and Jongdae were lying on the couches, all three of them unconscious from the pain. Tao’s side seemed to be ripped into shreds, blood running steadily onto the wooden floorboards. Sehun’s arm was broken at both the elbow and the middle of his forearm, while Jongdae’s head was bleeding and a few of his ribs were broken.

“What are we going to do? They’re not healing themselves!” Chanyeol asked desperately, his deep voice vibrating off the walls of the silent room. His arms were crossed against his chest and his eyebrows tried to unite at the center of his forehead.

Slowly and somewhat uneasily, Sloane stood up, “I can help them.”

“But you’re exhausted,” Kyungsoo said, standing up with her to make sure she didn’t fall.

She shook her head, “I can do it.”

She approached Tao first, since his condition appeared to be the worst, “Kyungsoo, can you sit him up for me, please?”

He silently did as he was told, and Tao groaned a bit, but his eyes remained closed. Sloane sat beside him and rested her forehead on his while she wrapped her arms around him, making sure one of her hands was firmly pressed against his wound. She started muttering under her breath and the three boys who were conscious to witness the ordeal stared in shock and wonder as his side began to glow a silver white. Sloane’s muttering became more urgent and she finally pulled away. She gently laid Tao back onto the couch and rubbed her fingers against his ribs that were now hidden by his unblemished flesh. Kai blinked and kneeled down beside Tao, staring at the side of his stomach that was, just a few seconds ago, torn apart with blood gushing out of it. It now was back together, as if it had not been touched at all. Kai ran his fingers across the boy’s skin and Tao began moving, coming too.

Sloane snatched Kai’s wrist and he lifted his eyes to meet hers with a threatening growl. The girl was unfazed, “let him rest.”

Kai yanked his wrist out of her grasp and Sloane walked away as if the encounter never happened, walking over to Jongdae. Kyungsoo again lifted the boy up so that Sloane could press her forehead against his, but this time, she wrapped one arm around his head and the other around his waist. She once again muttered some words, and Jongdae started whimpering silently.

“I know, honey, I know.” She broke her chanting to say and sighed, pulling him closer towards her. After a few minutes, she laid him back down. His breathing was back to normal and his eyes moved against his eyelids.

Chanyeol quickly went to Jongdae’s side, eyes full of wonder as he checked to see that his wounds were healed.

Sloane kneeled beside Sehun’s sleeping form and tilted his head toward her, placing her’s against his. She rubbed his arm as she started her chanting, and quickly finished with him. When she removed her head from his, his eyes fluttered open and he tiredly stared at her. His eyes saying everything his mouth couldn’t. His gaze remained on her as she stumbled to her feet and swayed a bit, his other hand rubbing his once broken arm like she was doing prior.

“Whoa,” Kyungsoo said as he caught Sloane’s now unconscious body.

“Let her sleep here,” Tao’s groggy voice was heard, and they turned to see him lazily blinking up at Kyungsoo, tapping the small space beside him on the couch. Kyungsoo glanced at Kai for approval and the alpha shrugged.

They both started chuckling at the image of Tao’s tall frame clinging to the witch’s body like a koala to a tree.

~*~

When Sloane’s eyes finally opened, she was welcomed with darkness. Something was pressed against her, pinning her down to the soft surface she laid on. She tried to move and froze when she heard a grunt in her ear and a tightening around her body.

A light came on and she blinked, not used to the brightness. She noticed Kai sitting on an armchair; he had turned on the lamp on top of the table beside him. He was gazing sternly at her with gold glowing eyes.

She turned away with a gulp and scanned the room. She was still in his living room, lying on a couch with Tao, who had wrapped himself around her, snuggling close. Jongdae was still resting on a couch, but Sehun and the other two boys weren’t present.

“What time is it?” Sloane asked the brooding werewolf, her voice rough from sleep.

“Eight thirty.”

She had slept for four hours. Sloane tried to sit up again, but Tao’s hold on her was unrelenting, she somehow was yanked closer to the boy, his nose digging into the crook of her neck. She sighed with frustration.

Kai chuckled at her despair, “he’s a cuddler.”

“I’ve gathered.” The two were quiet for a minute. “Are they alright?”

Kai nodded. “Yeah.” The humor left his voice. “You saved us.”

She could hear the question in his statement, and knew he would ask, but her stomach interrupted him with a loud growl.

He grunted, “Hungry?”

She rolled her eyes, “using so much of my power is draining. I need to regain my energy.”

She heard him shuffle around until he was hovering over her with an outstretched hand. His eyes were back to a deep chocolate brown, although she could still see the disdain for her in them, “Kyungsoo’s in the kitchen cooking. Let’s go.”

It was a battle trying to unknot Sloane from Tao, but with a few yanks, she was free and she gratefully smiled at Kai, it quickly turned into a scowl as he dropped her hand as if it burnt him and headed towards the kitchen without checking to see if she was following.

The first thing Sloane noticed once she entered the kitchen was Kyungsoo. He was standing in front of the stove, wearing a cute pale pink apron, which contrasted with his black clothing, singing softly to himself as he stirred around whatever he was making. Chanyeol and Sehun were seated at the island, Chanyeol messing with his phone while Sehun rolled an orange around the granite tabletop, bored and hungry as hell.

They all turned towards Kai and Sloane once they entered. Kyungsoo smiled at them and Sehun nearly fell off his stool as he tried to reach the witch.

When he was in front of her, he just stood there, staring at her intently. She returned his gaze, although a bit self-consciously—for he was just a few centimeters away—and they remained in that position until someone else came stumbling into the kitchen. Everyone turned again to see a groggy disheveled Tao leaning against the wall, “you left me!”

~*~

Everyone gathered around Kai’s dining table as Kyungsoo and Chanyeol set it, placing down the huge feast around the table. Kai woke Jongdae up, and he joined the rest of them, just as ravenous as the others.

Sloane learned something then, and it was that werewolves could eat, and could eat a lot. Kyungsoo had made enough food for about twelve people, and the werewolves scarfed down every bit on their plates as though it were their last meal. There was not a bone left once everyone was satisfied. Chanyeol burped obnoxiously as he leaned back on his chair, rubbing his protruding belly.

“Are you full, Sloane?” Sehun, who was sitting beside her, asked. She nodded and stood up, helping gather up all the dishes and setting up the sinks to wash them.

“You don’t have to do that,” Kai said, coming up beside her as she poured the dish soap into the water.

“It’s alright. I’d feel bad if I didn’t do anything.”

Kai sighed, Sloane felt he wanted to say something, but he refrained and she didn’t push him. The two washed in silence. A few of the boys had left to get ice cream and the other two that were left were laying around on the couch, watching television. Sloane could hear Chanyeol guffaw from time to time and it made her smile.

Once they finished the dishes, they joined the others in the living room. They were all gathered around, a pint per person, and now that they were settled, Kai turned the television off and they all turned to the stranger in the room.

She looked up at them wearily, “yes?”

“We have some questions,” Kai began. She slowly placed her ice cream onto the table and sighed, folding her hands over her knees. “What were those things?”

Her eyes widened in shock, “you mean, you don’t know?”

The boys all shook their head.

“They were—I can’t believe you don’t know—they were vampires.”

“What?!” The boys asked.

“We’ve seen a few vampires before,” Sehun started. “But none that looked like that.”

“There are three different types of vampires, and even calling them vampires is being generous. They are a type of immortal, the ones that crave blood. You have the Ancients, whose blood still runs in their veins because they were turned when they were still alive. Those are the stereotypical vampires that everyone knows. They appear human and drink blood and the like. The second type are the Medietas, they were turned at the brink of death, they are less human then ancients, but still can pass for human. They always have pale skin and dilated eyes; their fangs can’t be hidden….

“Then you have the last kind of vampire, the Mortuum, who were turned after death. As you saw, they are monsters. They don’t have any cognitive thinking, only hunger for blood.”

“Why did they attack us? Why were they here?” Jongdae asked.

“You don’t know much, do you?” Sloane asked, sparing them a judgmental glance. “Werewolves and vampires are mortal enemies, and this just so happens to be your territory. I highly doubt you all know, but this town is a supernatural goldmine! The power that flows through here is strong enough to pull many of us here—myself included. Those vampires were drawn here because of that energy, but they happened to run into you guys, and their instincts kicked in, so they attacked.”

“Why couldn’t we heal ourselves?” Sehun asked quietly, rubbing his once broken arm.

Sloane swallowed thickly, “That’s the thing about being mortal enemies. It’s easy to destroy the other. Vampires have the ability to disable your fast healing as well as your other wolf abilities, as do you to them.”

“How do you know all of this?” Kai muttered, somewhat frustrated by his lack of knowledge.

She shrugged, “I read. A lot.”

“What did you do back there? You spoke that weird language…”

“Latin, the language of the dead.”

“You mean the dead language.” Kyungsoo corrected.

She shook her head, “no, I meant what I said. Latin is the language of the dead. What I did back there was cast a vanquishing spell. It pretty much banned that coven from returning. But, like most spells, there’s a catch. The spell only works for that coven alone—meaning other covens may enter without a hitch—and it only lasts for a certain amount of time, ten years to be exact. After that, they can return and cause all the havoc they want.”

The boys were silent for a while, digesting everything Sloane had told them. Finally Tao spoke up, “….Coven…?”

Sloane groaned and fell back on her chair, “why don’t you guys know this stuff? You’re werewolves!”

“We’re young,” Jongdae defended. “And also, none of us like to read.”

She shook her head and laughed with disbelief, “how you’ve survived this long is a mystery.”

“We got guts,” Chanyeol grinned.

“And lack of brains,” she mumbled, but they all heard her.

She rose to her feet, “I should probably go….”

“Where are you staying? One of us can take you,” Kyungsoo applied.

“I, uh….” She shuffled her feet.

“You don’t have a place to stay, do you?” Chanyeol asked. The pack glanced at her.

“I’ve been staying at different hotels, using spells to trick them into thinking I paid, or forgetting I was even there. I don’t have any money on me.”

“So, you’re homeless?”

She shrugged, staring at her feet.

“You can stay here,” Kyungsoo offered.

“What?” Sloane and Kai asked at the same time.

Kyungsoo shrugged at his leader, “Kai lives here all alone, and he has two guest rooms. You’re going to school with us now, and it would be nice to have you around, being that you know a lot more about this stuff than us…. We have a bit to learn from each other.”

“I don’t want her living here,” Kai spat through clenched teeth. This place was his sanctuary; he didn’t want some strange girl with magical powers who he still didn’t trust to ruin that for him.

“Come on, Jongin, don’t be stubborn.”

“Don’t call me that in front of her. She’s not staying here and that’s final!” Kyungsoo suddenly pulled Kai into a headlock and dragged him away from the living room.

“We need a moment,” he informed Sloane as they disappeared down the hall, into another room. It was dead silent as they waited for the duo to return, Sehun and Tao’s grins never left their face while Chanyeol and Jongdae chuckled every once in a while.

Seven minutes later, the two reemerged. Kai huffing and pouting while Kyungsoo’s lips stretched into a heart shaped grin.

He nudged Kai forward, and with an eye roll, the leader trudged to the girl with his hands in his pockets and muttered, “you can stay here.”

“What was that?” Jongdae asked dramatically, his smile stretched evilly.

Kai rolled his eyes again and raised his voice, “you can stay here…Sloane.”

“Thank you,” she said but the other boys’ guffawing quickly swallowed it up.

He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck, “Whatever.”

His pack left his place soon after that. As soon as Kai and Sloane were alone, he cornered her and sat her down.

“I still don’t think you being around us is a good idea,” he began. Sloane’s eyes were wide as she took in his words. “I don’t trust you. I know you are a witch, despite what you want us to believe, and I’m keeping a close eye on you.”

He sighed, “That being said, you did save my pack’s lives today, and that is something I’m indebted to. So, I promise to let you stay here, as a form of payment for what you did today, alright?”

Sloane nodded with understanding, “I promise, in return, Kai, that I’ll prove to you that I am no threat. As Kyungsoo said earlier, we have a bit to learn from one another.”

“That we do, Sloane. That we do. Let me show you your room.”

2. House Rules & Lone Wolves

“She carries this ancient looking suitcase and it is literally the only thing she owns. It has her clothes in it, and this book that looks just as old as the suitcase, and that is it,” Kai informed his pack mates as they were all walking up to the cafeteria.

It was a Monday, their first day back since Sloane saved them from the vampires, and Kai was having a rough time adjusting to the whole living-with-a-witch-that-may-not-actually-be-a-witch situation Kyungsoo unceremoniously thrust him into.

“Until then, I mean, she’s alright. She’s quiet, stayed in her room for most of the day, and only came out to eat or use the bathroom. We’re going shopping later tonight so she can buy a toothbrush and whatnot.” Kai shook his head in disbelief, “I can’t believe I have a roommate.”

“A really pretty magical roommate at that,” Chanyeol added with a nod.

“You think she’s pretty?” Kai asked, sparing the taller boy a judgmental glance.

“Well, yeah? She’s very pretty,” Chanyeol shrugged.

“That means a lot coming from Chanyeol,” Sehun snorted, nudging his fellow playboy friend.

“If she gives you any problems,” Kyungsoo said, as they all sat around their table. “You can always kick her out.”

Kai sighed, “You’re right, I just… what will my aunt think?”

“What will your cousin think?” Tao asked. “Once he finds out you have a good looking girl living with you….”

Kai’s eyes widened with horror, “he shall never find out.”

“Not to mention,” Jongdae began with a sharp curve to his lips. “What your little buddy downstairs will think about this situation.”

“Jongdae! I’ll have your head!” Kai pounced on top of the table, reaching for his evil friend’s neck, when the center of his problems finally joined them.

“What did I miss?” Sloane asked Chanyeol under her breath as she slid into the seat beside him.

The tall boy shrugged, chuckling all the while, “Kai’s having some issues and Jongdae is really bad at giving advice.”

The girl nodded with wide eyes, placing a spoon filled with soup into her mouth thoughtfully.

After Kai was satisfied with the purplish hue Jongdae’s face took from the lack of oxygen, he settled back down and Tao rubbed his friend’s back as he coughed a lung out.

Once everyone was settled, Kyungsoo began talking, “the full moon is this Saturday.”

All the boys seemed to grow tense once the words were uttered.

Sloane, on the other hand, gasped, “Does this mean you’re finally going to go all wolf?!”

She began squealing.

“Why are you so excited to see us as wolves?” Kai asked, baffled.

Her jaw dropped, staring at him in disbelief, “why wouldn’t I?! It’s not every day you run into werewolves! I can’t wait to see your fur. How big do you guys get? Do you still have your human mind? Is the shift painful?”

“Whoa whoa!” Sehun said chuckling. “One question at a time.”

“Um,” Kyungsoo began thoughtfully. “Pretty big, yes, and yes.”

“But,” Kai drawled out, sending a warning with his eyes to his pack mates before meeting Sloane’s. “You are not going to be able to see our fur. You’re going to stay in the house for the entire night.”

Sloane’s face fell, “What?”

“It’s dangerous for you to be out with us in our wolf forms. Yeah, we do keep our humanity, but the full moon pulls us towards our wolves, those instincts are quicker. You can get hurt if you are not careful.”

Sloane’s shoulders fell, “but… I really wanted to see your wolf forms. I bet you guys are beautiful.”

“We can just tell you,” Jongdae shrugged. “And we can always half shift, you know? Our eyes change colors and our claws and fangs come out. But during the full moon is when we shift completely and it’s out of our control, and aw you think we’re beautiful?”

“Let’s just show her!” Sehun yelled excitedly. Tao gasped loudly and nodded in agreement.

“No,” Kai said immediately. He used his alpha voice, so the others had no choice but to listen. That didn’t stop Tao and Sehun from whining.

“You’re no fun,” Sloane pouted, twirling her spoon in her food.

Kai just shrugged, “being the alpha means keeping a level head.”

“And which head exactly is it that must be level, huh, Kai?” Jongdae questioned with a wicked grin.

“Have you not learned your lesson?!” Kai barked, hopping across the table to choke Jongdae out again.

Kyungsoo sighed, while the others started making bets over if Jongdae would pass out or not, and Sloane lifted her hand from her spoon, even though it remained swirling around her soup.

~*~

“There are rules to my house that we haven’t discussed yet,” Kai informed Sloane as he pushed a cart through E-Mart. She walked beside him, well around him, running from one side of an aisle to the other, tossing things into the cart.

“Like what?” She asked as she studied the different types of deodorant.

“Like…” Kai began, thinking of something. “You can’t invite anybody over without my permission.”

“Well that’s fine. I only know you guys.” She finally settled on a deodorant and continued towards the hair products.

“Any food that’s in the fridge will be for the both of us, I don’t expect you to get a job or pay rent or anything, but if you could hold your keep, you know, cleaning after yourself, cooking dinner, washing dishes—”

“Making sure my hair doesn’t clog the drain. I get it,” she placed watermelon scented shampoo and conditioner in the overflowing cart and continued on.

“Respect my things and my personal space and I think we’ll get along just fine.”

She twirled around to shoot him a quick salute and returned back to leading the way towards the toy aisle.

“Why are we here?” Kai asked skeptically.

Sloane laughed and stopped in front of the board and card games, “We should have game nights.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I think it is. Come on, Kai, live a little.”

Kai rolled his eyes, but helped Sloane decide on a few games they could play.

After they picked them, they headed towards check out.

“How can you pay for all this?” Sloane asked, munching on a Slim Jim that had been rung already.

“My parents had a lot of money,” Kai stated, sliding his black card to pay for their items.

“I couldn’t help but notice the ‘had’ in that sentence,” Sloane pointed out.

Kai shrugged again, feigning nonchalant. He didn’t say anything as they headed to his car.

Once on the road, Sloane played with the radio for a minute until she found a song she liked. She started shaking her curls and Kai pressed his lips together to hide a rare amused grin. Once the song was over, she turned the volume down, “You are one of the younger members of the pack, right?”

“Yup. Sehun’s the only one younger than me.”

“Then how come you are the alpha?”

He winced, “I’m the strongest.” He left it at that.

“But…” She let her sentence carry; knowing that Kai didn’t want to talk about this either. “Never mind. Sorry I asked.”

Kai blinked at her in surprise, and for some odd reason felt guilty, “its fine. I’ll tell you…someday.”

She nodded at him, “I’d like that.”

Kai pulled into his driveway, and the two dragged their bags into the house.

“Thank you again for taking me in. It means so much to me, I don’t think you understand.”

Kai scratched the back of his neck, “You saved my life, this is the least I can do. Just know that I am waiting patiently for you to fuck up so I can kick you out.”

“And ever so charming,” Sloane muttered. She perked up instantly. “I’ll make dinner!”

“I have another question,” Sloane said, once she started cooking. Kai, who was still putting things away, groaned and Sloane took that as permission.

“Why won’t you let me be around you guys once you change?”

Kai clenched his jaw, “I told you, it’s dangerous.”

“I’m not a mere mortal, Kai. I’m sure I could handle it. I can help.”

“There’s no need for help, Sloane. We change, we venture the woods, and then we turn back into humans at dawn. He meet here, eat, shower, and then they all go home. That’s how we’ve always done it, that’s how it will go on Saturday.”

“But, maybe I can fold your clothes for you, or cast a spell to make the shift easier to handle, or something?”

Kai shook his head, “We can handle it. We’ve been shifting together for a few years now. Just stay here and wait for us to return, alright?”

Sloane sighed, “Fine.”

Kai let out a relieved breath. He didn’t want to tell her how they hunted and killed innocent animals. How they howled at the moon for hours. How he used the pain of the shift as a reminder of the monster that he was, of the burden his family and fellow pack members had to carry. She didn’t need to know any of that.

~*~

The following day, after school had ended, Sloane found herself at the nearest public library. She had decided that she would try to help Kai and his pack as much as possible without being a burden or upsetting the alpha, so she spent about an hour and a half searching for the right books about plants and glancing around at books about witchcraft—coming up empty on the latter.

Satisfied with her borrowed books, she bounced out of the building with a warm smile on her face. The sun was shining despite the chilly autumn breeze, and she could tell that things were finally looking up for her.

Those thoughts turned sour as her body collided with one in front of her. Her newly acquired books tumbling towards the asphalt, but before she could finish her blink, the person she bumped had them stacked neatly in his hands. They never even touched the ground.

Her eyes widened as she took in the stack before lifting them up to see a boy around her age, a stunningly bright smile on his just as attractive face, “here you go, miss.”

“Thank you,” she stuttered, collecting them from his grasp as he bowed and proceeded on his way before she could yell out an apology. She followed him with her eyes; he seemed in a rush, almost running as he crossed the street.

“Weird,” she pouted. His energy was off, and she couldn’t figure out why.

“What’s weird?” A deep voice asked from behind her and she jumped out her skin as Kyungsoo seemed to appear out of thin air.

“I…” She spun back to where she last saw the boy but he was already long gone. “There was a guy….”

Kyungsoo just arched an eyebrow up at her, as she slowly came back to her senses. “How did you find me?”

He shrugged, a smug smile on his face, “I’m getting really familiar with your scent. Also Kai sent me to look for you, he was getting worried.”

She scoffed, “Kai? Worried about me? I’m sure.”

“He worries about anyone he feels he has to protect.” The two fell into step, heading towards Kyungsoo’s car that was parked on the corner of the street.

“He feels like he has to protect me? I’m a magical being,” Sloane almost scoffed. The two settled into their seats, and Kyungsoo took off towards Kai’s house.

“But you’re living under his roof. That makes you his responsibility in his eyes.” He could sense her disbelief. “It’s the alpha in him.”

She nodded understandably at that, “I never got to thank you.”

“For what?”

“For making him take me in. If it weren’t for you, I’d probably still be mooching off hotel workers. I hated doing that.”

Kyungsoo smiled at her, “all in a days work. You’re the first wit—uh… magical being we’ve ever ran into. At least, one around our age, who didn’t want our heads on a platter.”

Sloane smirked at Kyungsoo stuttering over her title. “So you have dealt with witches before?”

Kyungsoo nodded, “yup. Ones passing though who had a dislike for us pups.”

Sloane cracked a grin at that, “you’re funny, Kyungsoo.”

He blinked owlishly at her, “that’s a first.”

She burst out laughing at his reply and shook her head with a sigh, “you’re also very refreshing. I appreciate that.”

“You seem to appreciate a lot of things.”

“I’ve had a past that allows me to do as such.”

Kyungsoo sensed the bitterness she tried to suppress and it piqued his interest. He knew better than to press her on it though, deciding instead to change the subject quickly, “what you got there?” He pointed at the books in her hands.

“Some books about plants. You know plants have a ton of magical attributes? Certain plants give us certain powers or take some away.”

Kyungsoo nodded, “like Wolfsbane.”

“Yes. Which, please remind me, I must read up on. Now that I’m living and hanging out with a bunch of wolves, I need to know as much as possible about you all.”

“Do magical beings like you have plants that are your kryptonite?”

“I’m pretty sure. I haven’t looked into it, but I know there must be.”

“You’ve really made me curious about all this supernatural stuff. We haven’t really worried about these things, I guess being young and powerful makes you really ignorant to certain things at times.”

They finally reached Sloane’s new home, and Kyungsoo held the door open for her as they entered the loft.

“Yeah, we both have quite a bit to learn, huh?”

“It seems so.”

“Sloane!” Tao squealed once she was in his vision. He hopped off the couch and leaped on her, causing the books she was holding to fall again. Kyungsoo quickly plucked them from the air, gathering them into a pile in his hands.

“Wolf reflexes,” he smirked once he noticed Sloane’s shocked expression.

“Is that so?” she sputtered.

“Sloane! Kai told us you bought games! Let’s play some!” Tao, who was still wrapped around the girl said, dragging her over towards the bookcase where the games she and Kai had bought the day before had been placed.

Something Sloane had noticed was the way Tao, Sehun, and Jongdae treated her. Ever since she healed them, they had seemed to hover around her, always needy. She wondered if her power had anything to do with that.

They decided on Apples to Apples, and the rest of the gang joined them in the living room. Chanyeol and Jongdae were both really good at playing, although Jongdae tried to make his answers as inappropriate as possible. They snacked and joked and relaxed for a few hours. Sehun and Tao had Sloane sandwiched between them and Jongdae constantly asked her if she needed anything. Kai was suspicious, but his thoughts on the matter speculated about the same as Sloane’s.

“Those three seem to be smitten with you,” Kai mentioned when he was able to corner Sloane in the kitchen.

She nodded, digging in the pantry for more snacks.

“I couldn’t help but wonder if your power had anything to do with that.”

Sloane stiffened at his tone and spun around, facing the wolf, “are you accusing me of something?”

Kai smirked and shrugged, “you didn’t cast a spell on them to make them act like that, did you?”

“Of course not! Why would I?”

“Because if some of my pack members love you, it would be easier for me to accept you.”

“That’s ridiculous, Kai. I think when I healed them it made a slight bond. They’ll get over it in a couple days. I already told you I’m not evil.” She walked towards him so that she could clearly look into his eyes and so that he could hear her heartbeat better. “I’m not out to get you and your pack. So you can relax.”

Kai blinked at her, noticing her heartbeat remain steady. He clenched his jaw and snatched the chocolate cupcakes from Sloane’s grasp. Spinning on his heels, he returned to the living room where the others were waiting for them to return.

Sloane sunk into a stool near her, holding her head in her hands, feeling slightly exhausted from dealing with Kai’s attitude and distrust.

She was going to win him over somehow.

“You alright?” Sloane lifted her head to see Jongdae watching her anxiously.

“Yeah. Fine,” she tried to smile, but it wouldn’t stay on for long.

“Don’t mind Kai,” Jongdae advised, walking over to the girl with his hands in his pockets and a warm smile on his face. “He’s all bark.”

She laughed at that, “He doesn’t seem to trust very easily.”

Jongdae shook his head at that, “nope. It took him ages to warm up to me, actually.”

“Really?”

Jongdae’s grin stretched mischievously, “I appeared out of nowhere, kind of like you did. He had no idea what to do with me, and I got on his nerves. It just takes him some time.” He worked up the courage to place his hand on Sloane’s back, rubbing it reassuringly. “Will you please come join us? I have to whoop your asses at Apples to Apples again.”

Sloane rolled her eyes and pushed him away, following him out into the living room.

~*~

“Sloane! Sit next to me!” Sehun called as soon as Sloane stepped into their shared history class. She smiled and took a step, but as soon as she did, Jongdae ran into the room, wrapped his arm around her waist and dragged her away to sit next to him. Sehun stared in disbelief before he whined and began sulking, and a few girls that were sitting behind him started quietly squealing to themselves.

Jongdae began laughing hysterically and Sloane started questioning whether coming here was a good idea after all.

“Mr. Kim!” Their history teacher, Professor Park, barked once she entered the room. “Control yourself or I’m kicking you out… again!”

Jongdae waved his hand dismissively, but tried to contain his chuckles.

Their teacher began lecture and Jongdae leaned over to Sloane, “tomorrow’s Saturday.”

Sloane nodded her head; taking notes quickly before turning to Jongdae, “are you scared?”

He scoffed, “are you kidding? This is a part of who I am. I’ve been doing this for years now, it’s routine.”

“So why are you reminding me of it?”

“Because I can practically smell the tension on you. You’re not planning on going against Kai’s order, are you?”

Sloane blinked rapidly at her fellow classmate and shook her head vehemently, “no, no, that’s not it.”

“Well, what is it then?”

“I…”

“Sloane…”

She sighed, but before she could tell him what was going on in her head, Professor Park called on her. She answered her question correctly—annoying her teacher in the process—and returned back to her conversation, “I, uh, had a dream last night.”

Jongdae nodded slowly, “that usually happens when people sleep.”

“Jongdae!” Sloane grinned. “I’m being serious. I had a dream that… well, I can’t really remember what happened, but I remember my emotions, the urgency, the full moon, and fur… lots of it. Something is going to happen tomorrow, something out of the ordinary.”

“Are you psychic?”

“No, but I am incredibly intuitive. Also, I broke a vase yesterday!”

“What does that have to do with anything,” Jongdae questioned, truly concerned for the girl’s sanity.

Sloane grew distracted as the boy in front of her began answering a question. Jongdae watched as her eyebrows scrunched together and her eyes widened in realization, her eyes never leaving his neck.

“Earth to Sloane? You okay?” Jongdae waved his hand in front of her, causing her to come back to reality. “Did you just have a vision?”

“I… did I zone out?” Sloane seemed genuinely confused.

Jongdae pursed his lips. “You were staring at that kid as if he had a bug on his back.” Sloane tried to recall what she was thinking about, but came up empty.

“Great answer as always. Sehun, why don’t you elaborate on what Mr. Zhang was saying?” Professor Park said, staring at Sehun expectantly.

“Uh… I believe he covered it all, Professor?”

Sloane face palmed and Jongdae began his manic laughter again, causing both him and Sehun to get thrown out of class.

Sloane and Jongdae’s conversation was forgotten for the rest of the class.

~*~

“I made dinner!” Sloane’s voice was heard as soon as the door swung open. Six exhausted young werewolves stumbled into the kitchen with relief as the waft of stew overwhelmed their senses. The table was covered in plates and bowls and beside it stood Sloane with a nervous grin on her face.

“Sloane! You shouldn’t have!” Jongdae cried while Tao pulled her into a tight hug.

“You’re a life saver!” Chanyeol praised, quickly yanking a chair back to plop onto it. “Kai was promising us he’d cook and I really wasn’t in the mood for burnt kimchi fried rice.”

“Hey!” Kai barked, eyes slits with the promise of death as he glowered at Chanyeol.

“What? it’s true!” Chanyeol stuck his tongue out at his alpha.

“What did you make?” Sehun inquired, glancing around the crowded table. Kyungsoo smiled appreciatively at the girl before sitting down as well.

“Well, I cooked a stew with astragalus roots in it, some beef, a salad, and warm agrimony tea.”

Once everyone was settled, they all began eating, the moans of pleasure didn’t go unnoticed to Sloane, and she bit back a smile, pleased that her cooking skills were still up to par.

“This is, without a doubt, the best stew I’ve ever had!” Tao squealed.

“Sorry, Kyungsoo,” Kai grinned at the smaller boy, who just rolled his eyes and took a sip of his tea.

“His stew is still better than your kimchi fried rice,” Jongdae muttered and yelped as Kai kicked him underneath the table.

“What did you say was in the stew and tea?” Kai asked Sloane soon after, acting as if he had not just given Jongdae’s shin a nice purple bruise.

Sloane slurped some broth before answering his question, “astragalus roots and agrimony.”

“Are those the plants that you found in your books?” Kyungsoo asked.

She nodded, impressed that he remembered. “Yeah, astragalus helps increase energy, both the body and mind. It will help you with fatigue and unclear decisions. While agrimony helps keep away negative energy and spirits as well as keeping a level head.”

Kai’s chewing slowed as Sloane continued talking. He blinked at her, and she must have felt his gaze, because she looked up at him.

“Is this your way of helping us?” He questioned. She nodded and quickly broke eye contact, awaiting a scolding.

“Thank you, Sloane,” his voice was strained, but Sloane could hear his sincerity. “I should have known you would find a loophole.”

“Aw! Our Sloane is so smart!” Tao gushed with a full mouth. He ruffled the girl’s hair.

“Our…Our Sloane?” She choked. Tao began laughing, murmuring a ‘how cute’.

“Are you still anxious, Sloane?” Jongdae asked soon after.

She glared at him and Kyungsoo cocked an eyebrow, “why were you anxious?”

“I…” Jongdae began his manic laughter and Sloane threw a carrot at him. It shut him up immediately and he pouted, feeling betrayed that Sloane would use violence against him. “It’s nothing really. I promised that I wouldn’t get involved…”

“But?” Chanyeol pushed.

“But… be on guard tomorrow. I feel something will happen, something different.”

“Good different or bad different?” Sehun asked.

She shrugged, “that’s up for you to decide.”

“She also broke a vase,” Jongdae added.

“Jongdae!” Sloane shook her head at him, and his lips seemed to glue together. His eyes widened and he pushed away from the table, causing him and his chair to stumble backwards.

“Now you get why I’m always beating him up, “ Kai sighed as the table burst into laughter.

Sloane just scratched her head and drank her tea, “I really did break a vase though, is there any way I can get you to lend me six dollars?”

“Mmm!” Jongdae yelled from the floor where he was practically convulsing, pulling at the pink flesh of his lips in an attempt to rip them apart.

“Shut up!” Kai ordered.

“It’s your fault you’re in this situation!”

“You really would try to act that way towards a witch and not expect her to retaliate?”

“Hey! I’m not a witch! You want your lips merged too?!”

“No! I’m trying to defend you!”

Outside the moon shown bright, nearly full with the promise of change.

~*~

“I’m curious,” Jongdae murmured sleepily the next day. “Why are we watching a movie about a werewolf hunter?”

“Van Helsing also killed vampires,” Sloane informed, running her fingers through Tao’s brown hair where his head sat comfortably on her lap. He began purring like a kitten.

“I still don’t get why we are watching it, regardless of what he murdered,” Sehun scrunched his nose at a particularly violent scene.

Kyungsoo sighed, “it’s an attempt at distraction. But… it really isn’t working very well.”

“Where’s Kai?” Chanyeol asked.

“He couldn’t stomach the plot,” Kyungsoo shrugged.

“He’s not the only one,” Jongdae muttered.

“Will you guys just relax?” Sloane asked. “You’re transforming in less then twenty-four hours. Eat, rest, and enjoy a cool action flick with both a hot leading and supporting role and horribly depicted werewolves.”

“The werewolves are a bit much,” Kyungsoo relented with a soft chuckle.

“I wish I was that muscular when I shifted,” Tao yawned.

“Those vampires don’t seem that far off though…” Chanyeol mentioned, causing a chilling silence to take over.

Sloane let out a gust of breath and a few of the boys glanced over at her.

“Don’t worry about us too much, Sloane,” Jongdae said. He threw her a reassuring grin after sensing her distress.

“Yeah, we’re big boys,” Chanyeol added, flexing one of his biceps and sending the girl a wink.

“I know. I don’t even know why I’m so worried, honestly. I hardly know any of you.”

“It’s because we’re so handsome,” Tao provided, his eyes still closed.

Sloane lightly smacked his arm and rolled her eyes, “and so dumb.”

“We’ll be okay, Sloane,” Kyungsoo assured with a warm smile. “We always are.”

~*~

“Look who has finally graced us with his presence!” Sehun yelled as Kai stumbled down the stairs a few hours later.

“Sloane made us have a werewolf marathon,” Tao informed his leader with a slight pout.

“All of them sucked, especially that shape shifting one,” Chanyeol added.

“Um, Blood and Chocolate was actually pretty decent. You have to admit that,” Sloane said. Chanyeol just shrugged.

“Well, I obviously haven’t missed much. It’s go time, you all ready?”

“But, the moon isn’t even all the way out yet!” Sloane said, her eyes widening with alarm.

Kai smirked, “we have to prepare some things. We shift pretty far from the house.”

“But—”

“It’s going to be fine!” Sehun drawled, throwing his arms around her shoulders. “You worry too much.”

“Can I at least—”

“Nope,” Kai interrupted, popping the P.

Sloane groaned with frustration, “then what am I supposed to do?”

Kai shrugged, “watch movies about witches. I heard that The Blair Witch Project is a good one.”

“Not cool,” Kyungsoo chastised as he walked past his best friend to grab some bags.

“What’s in the bags?” Sloane questioned, plopping back on the couch in defeat. She watched as Kyungsoo distributed the bags so that each boy got one.

“Snacks, extra clothes, first aid. Just things we will need if we change back early for whatever reason.”

“That happens?”

“Occasionally. It’s rare.”

“Usually, if we get wounded pretty badly or knocked unconscious, we’ll turn back to our human form,” Jongdae mentioned.

“Oh…”

“Oh great,” Chanyeol said, throwing his arms in the air. “Now she really is going to panic!”

Kai headed over to where Sloane was seated and knelt in front of her, “we do this every month. We will keep a look out for anything out of the ordinary, but until then, it will be just like always. You really need to chill, we know what we are doing.”

Sloane nodded, “I know, I know. Just be careful… all of you.”

Sehun saluted, “aye, aye, Captain.”

Kai rose to his feet, “I am the captain of this ship, and my first command is to head to the van!”

Sloane smiled as the boys said their farewells. Kyungsoo patted her shoulder, Tao gave her a slimy kiss on her cheek, while Jongdae kissed the top of her head. Chanyeol clipped her chin, Sehun rubbed her arm, and Kai walked out without so much as a wave—which was what Sloane was expecting.

“We’ll be back before you know it,” Sehun whispered to her before rushing to the others, closing the door behind himself.  Now alone, Sloane let out a shaky breath and played with her gold necklace, hoping that their confidence would get them through the night.

~*~

“She is really worried for us,” Jongdae mentioned as they all piled into the van.

Chanyeol jumped into the driver’s seat, Kai in the passenger, while the other four climbed into the back.

“It’s nice,” Chanyeol admitted as he pulled out of the driveway. “She’s like a mother. It’s kind of cute watching her fret over us like that.”

The guys in the back nodded in agreement.

“I just hope she doesn’t do anything stupid,” Kai muttered, closing his eyes and sinking into his seat, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.

The ride was mostly silent, as they made their way to the outskirts of the forest. The moon seemed almost reachable as Chanyeol haphazardly parked and they all filed out. They were in a small circular clearing; the trees in the area were easily fifteen feet, hovering high above their heads.

“You all ready?” Kai asked, locking eyes with each member of his pack and receiving a nod from each. “Alright, here we go.”

It took a few moments, as the moon slowly began to reveal itself. The wolves became anxious, hobbling from foot to foot, claiming to have to pee, and telling stale jokes to pass the time. But soon, they began to feel the shift.

Chanyeol was the first to change. He yelped, startling the other five, as he tumbled to the ground. With his last bit of sanity, he quickly yanked his clothes off, not wanting to destroy them during the shift.

Jongdae whistled, “looking good, Channie!”

“Fuck off!” Chanyeol roared before screaming in agony. Sehun winced as Chanyeol’s arms twisted in odd angles. The others undressed quickly, knowing their turn was soon.

Kyungsoo was the next to begin shifting. Tao, Sehun and Kai quickly joining him. Jongdae blinked in surprise, Chanyeol was practically full wolf now, his russet fur blowing in the breeze, as his snout started to form.

“I’m not shifting,” Jongdae spoke from the corner of his mouth nervously, knowing none of the others were listening, too distracted by the pain. “Uh…” He glanced around and glared at the moon, “what are you doing?! Let’s go! I’m on the clock!”

Chanyeol was full wolf then and his fire orange orbs stared at Jongdae, almost mockingly.

“Oh, shut up!” Jongdae snapped. He cursed loudly right after, feeling the bones in his feet break and expand.

“There we go!” He cheered with his signature laugh as he began to shift.

The shift took around ten minutes to endure, and slowly, the boys changed into wolves. Once Jongdae’s white and black fur fully covered his new body, the six wolves howled, quickly taking off through the familiar forest.

Quick as lightening, the beasts raced through the land, leaping over fallen logs with their tongues lolling out their mouths. A few roughhoused, snapping at each other’s necks, while others chased after squirrels and other small animals. The sense of freedom they felt while they were wolves was indescribable. Although the shift was painful, being a wolf brought a joy that made it somewhat bearable.

A couple hours passed with the six pups playing and running around. Jongdae and Sehun were play fighting, Kai and Kyungsoo were racing one another, Tao got distracted by a frog, while Chanyeol was chasing his tail.

While running, Kai suddenly stopped, causing Kyungsoo to become distracted and hit a tree. After shaking it off he studied his leader. Kai was stiff as a board, the chocolate brown fur on his back slowly rising and his gold eyes glowing brightly against the darkness. He began growling menacingly, and that’s when Kyungsoo smelt it.

He whipped his head in the direction Kai was glowering and joined his low growling. Kai let out a quick bark, and soon, the other wolves joined the two. Immediately smelling a threat, they all snarled dangerously low.

Finally, the threat came into focus.

Another wolf, about as big as them, hesitantly made its way towards the group. It had ashy grey fur and sapphire eyes. It made it clear it wasn’t looking for a fight…

But he was on Kai’s territory.

With a sharp bark, Kai charged the lone wolf, his pack following immediately. They began fighting with the wolf, but he was stronger than anticipated. He was able to ward off Chanyeol and Sehun, and dodge Kyungsoo and Tao’s advances, but Kai surprised him, coming at him from his right and causing him to land on his side.

He immediately rolled onto his back in surrender, but Kai was seeing red. He dug his teeth into the beast’s flesh, causing him to howl in pain. Somehow he was able to get Kai off of him and bite him back in defense. Once free, he turned to run away, but was wounded, and wasn’t as fast as he could have been. Kai, Chanyeol, and Kyungsoo were hot on his heels, and once again pinned him onto the moist ground.

The exhausted animal closed his eyes, tired of fighting them off, and awaited the deathblow Kai was so eager to give.

Before he could finish the wolf off, Kai was knocked over. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol growled in surprise as Jongdae stood protectively in front of the other wolf. He huffed and shook his head. Kai got back on his paws and barked, ordering Jongdae to move, but the pup remained in front of the wolf, who was now unconscious.

Sehun and Tao joined the rest, ears perked with wonder, as they watched the confrontation.

Kyungsoo yelped in surprise as his attention was brought back to the strange wolf—who was a wolf no longer.

A boy around their age now lay were the wolf once had. Realization hit them all slowly—except for Jongdae, who had pieced everything together while Kai was blood hungry—and panic slowly took over the situation.

Another werewolf had shown up on their turf and approached them, probably asking to join them, and what did they do? They attacked him, nearly killing him in the process. Four out of seven wolves present were covered in blood, but the boy had bite wounds on his neck and belly, and blood was pouring profusely out of them. Almost without thinking, Kai dragged the boy unto his back and took off, rushing towards his house, to Sloane, who he knew could help the boy. He heard the pounding of his members’ paws against the rough earth as they followed him, some limping. It was a race against the sun, which was beginning to rise over the horizon.

It took about thirty minutes to get back to the house. Kai yipped once he saw the familiar wood of his home, but as soon as he left the clearing of the trees, he stumbled and fell, convulsing as his human form began to resurface.

One by one, the boys began to shift back to their human forms. Kai tried to crawl to the door, as he was still changing back with an unconscious guy still on top of his back. It was a struggle, but he was able to bang on the door, leaving blood stained handprints in his wake.

“Sloane!” He croaked, his voice was still laced with his wolf. “Sloane! Please help!”

Exhaustion got the better of him and he relented. He was aware long enough to see the door swing open and smiled with relief as a startled Sloane appeared before him.

~*~

Could it be possible for silence to be so loud it could startle someone awake? That’s what Kai’s first humane thought was as he jerked from his sleep. He was disoriented, still stuck between his wolf and human minds, but as he began blinking into focus, he realized that he was in fact human.

He sighed, running a hand over his face as the night’s events began surfacing. He was in his bedroom, clad in only a pair of black boxer briefs. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand—three forty-six. He checked the skin of his stomach, remembering he took a hit, but saw that his slight wounds were already closed in a fading pink.

He still had dried blood under his fingernails.

With a groan he climbed out of bed, trudging down to the living room. Once down there, he noticed that the television was off. Everything was off and it was silent. The silence made him feel incredibly guilty of his behavior, and he needed some type of distraction.

Chanyeol, Tao, and Kyungsoo were all in the living room, asleep. Tao on a couch, Kyungsoo siting up in the armchair, his chin resting on his bare chest, while Chanyeol’s tall frame was sprawled on the floor.

Kai headed over to the kitchen and saw Sehun sipping on a glass of milk. They locked eyes and Sehun bowed his head a bit in greeting, his face blank of any emotion.

“How long have you been up?” Kai asked the younger boy, his voice still rough with sleep.

Sehun shrugged, “about twenty minutes. The groaning woke me up.”

Kai cocked an eyebrow but didn’t question. “Where’s Sloane and….” He dropped his head, the guilt closing up his throat.

Sehun sighed, leaning back in his chair and drinking more of his milk, “in her room.”

Kai patted the wall before heading down the hall to his roommate’s room. After some hesitation, he knocked quietly.

“Come in,” he heard her say, and did as he was told.

Sloane was sitting on the floor in the middle of her room, Jongdae sat at her desk, looking the most serious he ever has, and on the bed laid the werewolf Kai tried to kill. He gulped, seeing him in the light. His wounds were closed, but the dried blood still remained.

“He was having trouble earlier, but he’s all healed now,” Sloane informed, her eyes never leaving the stranger’s sleeping form. “You got him pretty good.”

“I didn’t know,” Kai said.

“I know.”

“I did,” Jongdae admitted. His voice was hard with anger, and when he locked eyes with Kai, they were stern and shown a bright hazel—his wolf’s eyes. “I tried to get you to stop.”

“You did,” Kai sighed, looking down at his bare feet.

“There’s a question I can’t get out of my head, Kai. I keep wondering what would you have done if he hadn’t shifted back? Would you have killed me too? Just to get to him?”

“Jongdae! You know I wouldn’t.”

Jongdae shook his head, “how could you be so careless? How could you let your bloodlust take control over you like that? You weren’t you, man….”

Kai kept his head low like a scolded child, knowing he deserved this.

“You nearly killed someone, and for what? What reason, Kai? Because he was in your territory? Please, you don’t kill someone who approaches you with caution! You don’t deliver a deathblow to a wolf who has his fucking belly up in surrender!”

“Jongdae!” Sloane called. She spun around to see her usually casual and goofy friend. He was glaring at Kai, his chest heaving. “You’re going to wake him up.”

Jongdae stood up and walked out the room, but when he was in front of Kai he muttered, “I’m disappointed in you, Leader.”

Once he was out of the room, Sloane sighed and Kai sat where Jongdae was sitting prior.

“He’s right,” he confessed, running his fingers through his hair to yank on the strands. “What was I thinking?”

“You told me that it was dangerous,” Sloane began, after a small silence. “You being a wolf. You said that you don’t have complete control; that the wolf takes over. You saw a threat and proceeded to get rid of it.”

“But Jongdae is right. When he approached us, he was cautious, letting us know he didn’t want any trouble. Still, I attacked him. Even when he was surrendering, I was all too willing to end his life. I’ve never been like that before. It scares me.”

Sloane sighed, sitting a tad straighter. “I know this guy.”

“What?” Kai’s arms fell limply at his side.

“I mean, I don’t know know him, but I saw him earlier this week.”

Kai didn’t know what to say to that.

“At least you stopped,” Sloane continued. “At least you were able to get him here safely.”

“Not without him nearly bleeding out.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m here then, huh?”

They sat in silence, watching the boy sleep. He had pale skin and jet-black shaggy hair. His face was blessed with angelically soft features and his build was sturdy, yet lanky.

He began twitching in his sleep, and with a loud gasp, the boy sprang forward. His bare chest was shiny with sweat and was rising and falling quickly.

He sensed the two in the room and jerked his head towards them, “who are you!?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Sloane murmured with a soft, yet dazzling smile.

The boy looked confused, his eyes wandering back and forth between Sloane and Kai as his nose flared.

Finally, his eyes widened with realization as they bored into Kai, “You…you tried to kill me!”

Kai winced. Of course, he would recognize his scent.

“I—”

“Don’t worry about him right now,” Sloane interrupted. “As a matter of fact, he’s leaving.”

“I am?”

“Yes,” She said sternly.

Hesitantly, Kai left the room, shuffling back to the living room where the others were sitting, awake and aware.

“We heard him. Is he awake?” Kyungsoo asked.

Kai met his eyes briefly before nodding.

“Come here,” Kyungsoo ordered, pulling his leader down on the chair with him. “We’re not angry with you, Jongin.”

“One of you are.”

“Jongdae will get over it,” the shorter boy assured. “Don’t beat yourself up, alright?” Kai didn’t answer, so Kyungsoo punched him slightly on the arm. “Alright?”

Kai nodded again and sniffed, not wanting to cry in front of his members.

~*~

“Do you remember me?” Sloane asked the werewolf, who had relaxed somewhat since his attempted murderer left the room.

He studied her and slowly nodded, “the girl… I bumped into you earlier. You dropped your books….”

“And you caught them all before they had the chance to even hit the ground. I should have realized it then, but I still don’t know much about werewolves.”

He blinked at her.

“I’m sorry about what happened last night. I’m not even sure they all know what happened, but I know they are all incredibly sorry. Especially the one that was in here. He’s the leader of this pack.”

“And what are you? You’re definitely not a werewolf.”

Sloane grinned, “That I am not. I’m not sure what I am. I hope you don’t mind, one of your wounds was infected, so I took the liberty to help with healing you.”

The werewolf reached up to his neck, but was met with smooth flesh. He sighed with relief and glanced back at the girl, “you’re overflowing my senses with your power. Are you a witch?”

“No,” she answered, mostly out of habit.

He stared at her in wonder.

“Are you hungry?” He shook his head. “Are you tired?” He shook his head again. “Are you going to tell me your name, at least?”

He finally broke into a smile, and it was beautiful, “Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun.”

“Hello, Baekhyun. My name is Sloane Collins. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“You as well.”

“One of the members brought you some clothes… It’s not much, but it would probably be easier on the both of us if you were clothed.”

Baekhyun glanced down at himself and his face turned an endearing bright red.

Sloane chuckled and placed the pair of shorts and plain white shirt on her bed, “I’ll be in the living room. It’s right down the hall.”

He smiled at her appreciatively as she headed out.

Sloane fell on top of the couch with a huff. Sehun and Jongdae quickly joined the others in the living room and they all stared at her expectantly.

She groaned when she realized all eyes were on her, “what?”

“You know what,” Kai said.

“He’s awake…”

“We know,” Tao sang, pointing at his ears. “What happened? Is he alright?”

“He’s fine… A bit disoriented, but fine.”

“Did he tell you anything about himself?” Kai asked.

“His name is Byun Baekhyun, but that’s all the information I have on him. He’s changing right now, I told him to join us once he is dressed.”

It didn’t take long before Baekhyun was shuffling into view. He nervously glanced around the room at the werewolves before making his way to Sloane, sitting stiffly beside her. He stared at her expectantly, blinking innocently, but jumped as a few of the boys groaned.

“Not you too!” Chanyeol complained, throwing a couch cushion in the air.

“W—what?” The boy asked, utterly confused.

“She healed him,” Kai informed his pack, although none of them realized what that meant.

“Anyways,” Sloane began, demanding their attention. “I believe there is something that needs to be said before we continue any further.”

She gave Kai a meaningful look and he cleared his throat uncomfortably, “I’m sorry, Baekhyun. About last night, I didn’t mean… it was not my intention….”

“It’s alright,” Baekhyun stated with a small smile.

“It’s not!” Kai countered, finally working the nerve to meet the stranger’s gaze. “I was going to kill you.”

“But you didn’t,” Baekhyun said with a shrug. “That’s all that matters.”

The other boys apologized as well, and Baekhyun accepted them graciously.

“Now that that’s all out of the way,” Sloane said. She turned towards the boy, “how did you end up in Kai’s forest last night?”

Baekhyun shifted uncomfortably, “well, I’d been in town for a couple weeks. I knew there was a pack nearby and was waiting to approach you, but I didn’t know what to say. I decided that the full moon would be a good idea, because you would see me as a wolf and not question it… at least, that’s what I had hoped for.”

“Why did you want to meet us?” Kyungsoo asked, handing the boy a glass of water.

“I don’t belong to any pack,” Baekhyun informed once he chugged half the glass. “I’m alone.”

“He’s a rogue?” Tao asked, the pitch of his voice higher with fear. Sehun, Chanyeol, and Kai’s eyes changed into their wolfs’ at the idea of a rogue.

“Calm down!” Jongdae barked. “If he wanted to kill us, we would have a while ago. Not all rogues are vicious anyway.”

The three relaxed, and Jongdae rolled his eyes.

“What happened?” Sloane asked, visibly concerned. “Why are you alone?”

Baekhyun stared at his hands that were wrapped firmly around his cup, his knuckles were snow white from how tightly he gripped it, “I don’t know. I’ve always been.”

“Were you bitten?” Kai asked.

Baekhyun shook his head, “no. I was definitely born a werewolf, but I’m an orphan. The first time I shifted, it was in front of my foster parents. They were so terrified they kicked me out on the spot. I’ve been wandering ever since.

“I told you all I have been here for a few weeks. In that time, I watched you. You seemed like a nice pack, and I was envious—especially of you, Sloane.”

His eyes flickered over to her and he chuckled lowly—self-consciously.

Sloane tilted her head, “why?”

“Because,” his kept eye contact with the magical girl. “You all seemed like a family. I knew you weren’t a werewolf, yet they had accepted you. I wish I could feel accepted.”

“You can,” Sloane whispered, and she smiled reassuringly at him. “You can. With us. Right guys?”

She scanned the six pack mates. They were silent, for whatever reason. All of them avoided her gaze.

“Kai?” She tried.

He scratched his chin and whined silently before meeting her gaze, “what? You want him to stay with us too? As if I have the room?”

The hostility in his voice caused Baekhyun to flinch and his shoulders to slump.

Sloane was unperturbed, “If he doesn’t have anywhere else to stay, I don’t see why not. He’s been alone all his life. He needs brothers, Kai. He needs you guys.”

“But I—”

“He can stay at my place.” All heads snapped over to the giant who had been sitting quietly on the floor beside the television for most of the conversation.

“You don’t have to feel obligated to do so, Chanyeol,” Kai assured.

Chanyeol shrugged nonchalantly, “Why not? I highly doubt my parents would mind another werewolf in the house. I don’t have a spare room, but my bedroom has a lot of space, and I wouldn’t mind sharing.”

“You would do that?” Baekhyun breathed in awe, slightly overwhelmed by the hospitality the giant shown.

The two locked eyes and Chanyeol nodded firmly, “I know what it’s like to be an outcast, Baekhyun. No one should have to deal with being a werewolf alone.”

“That’s our little Delta!” Sehun gushed, falling on top of Chanyeol. The two began wrestling on the floor, knocking over a lamp in the process.

“Are you alright with adding another member to your pack, Kai?” Sloane asked the tense alpha.

Kai ran through the events that happened not even twenty-four hours ago. Of him attempting to take Baekhyun’s life. He had no idea what the pup had been through prior to that night, and now the guilt seemed to pile onto his skin like dirt, making him feel grimy and gross.

He gasped for air and looked up, looked at Baekhyun—at the earnest and hopeful look in his eyes—and knew without a doubt, that he wanted him in his pack, “any werewolf is welcome. I’m the alpha of this pack, Kim Jongin, but I go by Kai. From this day on, I will be your alpha, Byun Baekhyun. Welcome to our pack.”

All the boys hooted and hollered. Sehun ran over and ruffled Baekhyun’s hair, yelling incoherently in his ear. Sloane clapped along, a giant smile on her face, but it was dim compared to the one on Baekhyun’s.

“Now that that’s all settled,” Sloane said once the excitement died down. “Will you all please get dressed?! I’ve seen enough naked bodies to last me a lifetime!”

“Hey!” Sehun huffed. “We’re all wearing underwear!”

“I’m sick of all the skin! Are you all not cold!?”

“You know werewolves run hot!”

“That doesn’t mean you have to act as if you think you are hot enough to walk around this house half naked!”

“Whatever, Sloane! Don’t act like you don��t like it!”

“Ew! Sehun, don’t touch me!”

The day ended on a high note, the boys’ surviving another full moon.

3. The Sullen Siblings

The halls were silent.

Almost eerie, considering the time. Byun Baekhyun gulped as his eyes skittered around the dimly lit hall.

His ears perked, noticing the small explosions of heels on tile and he sighed from the familiar sound.

“Are you nervous?” Her voice smooth, sweet, comforting. He couldn’t help but smile at just the mere thought of her, but she was there in his presence, an eyebrow lifted as she studied him.

He cleared his throat and wiped his sweaty palms on his pant legs, “is it that obvious?”

Sloane slowly shook her head, “no. Not for others, at least. Come.”

She grabbed his hand and led him down the hall into the office. It was stuffy and smelled slightly moldy, but Baekhyun tried his best not to cringe.

He hated school.

When he actually attended school, he was bullied relentlessly, but he had faith that this school would be different. He had faith in his pack, in Sloane. Hence why he was allowing her to drag him into the office.

His pack. He still couldn’t believe after nineteen years, he was finally able to say those words.

Apparently, Tao is ridiculously rich, and he begged his parents to yank some strings so that they could get Baekhyun enrolled. As before mentioned, their university was prestigious and private, only accepting the best of the best—also known as the rich of the rich—so it came to no surprise that getting Baekhyun in wasn’t going to be an easy feat.

Unless, of course, you’re Huang Zitao.

Baekhyun couldn’t even feign his surprise by Tao’s generosity. Tao seemed rather… Detached. Unbothered by everything. Baekhyun would even go as far as to classify the tall werewolf as frightening. But when he brought it up to Sloane the night before, she laughed, genuinely confused by his assessment.

“Well, if that’s what you see, it definitely won’t last for long. Trust me.”

The two new students headed over to the desk where the principal’s assistant sat and she printed out Baekhyun’s class schedule.

Once they were out, he kept staring at the piece of paper in awe. Sloane noticed the slight shake of his hand and grinned.

“Would ya look at that? We have biology together.”

Baekhyun’s head snapped up to stare at her, his expression still in that dreamy state of disbelief. “We have a class together?”

She nodded; getting the reaction out of him she wanted. “Yup. Chanyeol is also in that class.”

The sparkle in his eyes nearly tripled.

But then the bell rang.

Doors sprang open and hoards of students trailed out, flooding the halls.

Baekhyun’s nerves got the best of him; flashbacks of his brief time in school making him break out in a cold sweat as shoulders bumped into him. He was instantly aware of his clothes and hair and height and everything he ever was insecure about and he could feel a panic attack crawling up his throat.

A warm soft hand slid into his damp one, tightly gripping his limb and bringing his attention to Sloane.

“You’re okay. You’re here with me.”

“And me,” a deeper voice called and Baekhyun was surprised he could hear it over all the chaos around him.

The hall in front of them seemed to part and about five feet away, Kai, Chanyeol, Tao, and Sehun were making their way towards Baekhyun and Sloane. Kai was the one Baekhyun heard and it made some sense now, because people were quieting down as the boys walked.

Sloane had been at the university for about two weeks now and in that time she had sensed that the boys who she was starting to consider her friends were pretty popular. But, she could admit, she was very ignorant to it all—for there were more important matters to her. But now she was seeing it all first hand and wow how could she not have noticed it before? The way girls—and guys—were not only giving them space, but also how they all giggled and gushed once the guys passed them. Not to mention the ogling….

They were viewed as gods here.

She couldn’t help but to wonder where that put her in the college hierarchy.

It wasn’t looking too good.

She shook away her thoughts and the sense of impending doom and glanced at Baekhyun, who would be a part of all this attention in less than a minute.

He seemed to gather what was coming for him, and his free hand twitched at the hem of his uniform jacket. Sloane could tell how uncomfortable Baekhyun felt in it, as if he were not worthy of such things, and it hurt her soul. She was going to do everything in her power to make sure that beautiful smile of his never faded.

Kai and the gang finally met up with the two and stopped before them.

“Did you get your schedule?” Chanyeol asked Baekhyun.

Baekhyun nodded and practically threw the piece of paper at his new roommate. Chanyeol grinned at the action, but didn’t mention it as his eyes wandered down the sheet. He wasn’t the only one with wandering eyes. A lot of the students were now noticing Baekhyun, and he felt each stare penetrate him like a knife.

“We have biology together,” Chanyeol said. Handing him back the paper.

“I know. Sloane told me.”

“Did she also tell you that you’re sweating like a stripper in church?” Tao commented with a slightly disgusted look on his face.

“I….”

“Leave him alone,” Sloane hissed, narrowing eyes on the taller boy. “It’s his first day and you all are giving him more attention than he needs.”

“Well he better get used to it,” Sehun sighed. “It’s not going to get any easier.”

He sauntered passed them, heading over to his next class.

“He’s right,” Kai murmured to Baekhyun. “The students here… they have nothing better to do with themselves, I guess.”

“Ya’ll are hot and mysterious,” Sloane shrugged. “Of course you are popular.”

Kai scowled.

“You think we’re hot?” Chanyeol smirked, eyes glittering flirtatiously.

Sloane shrugged, unfazed. “I have eyes, Yeol.”

Chanyeol stiffened at the name, “you… you gave me a nickname!”

Kai rolled his eyes, “come on. The bell is about to ring.”

The four dispersed. Baekhyun, Sloane, and Chanyeol had their shared biology class next so they headed there.

The minute walk felt like an eternity to Baekhyun. The whole time his eyes flittered around the hall, taking in everything. A lot of people they passed whispered to one another, gazes trained on the three of them. The hot and popular Park Chanyeol followed by the mysterious new foreigner girl and an equally as attractive new boy. Baekhyun didn’t know how to take the ‘being attractive’ thing, so he decided not to let it get to him.

He also didn’t really like the way people were talking about Sloane.

She told him that his strong need to be around her was a byproduct of her power. That a slight bond had been made between the two of them and it would wear off in a week or so, but he wasn’t so sure. Since the first time he saw her, he knew he wanted to be around her. She had a calmness about her, a gentleness that made him like her.

But he seemed to be the only one.

Everyone they passed was either curious about her or completely disgusted. It made his wolf furious that people were so quick to judge someone they obviously knew nothing about.

Chanyeol must have sensed it, because he glanced at the smaller boy with wide eyes that grew impossibly bigger once he saw the glowing deep ocean blue of his irises.

“Whoa, man!” He whispered so that no one else could hear.

Baekhyun’s eyes snapped shut as he tried to control his wolf. Chanyeol’s big hand came up to rub his back encouragingly and after a short moment, Baekhyun’s melted chocolate colored eyes returned.

“Thought we lost you there for a moment,” Chanyeol said. His face was drawn together with concern as he took in his member’s appearance.

“What happened?” Sloane asked as they slipped into class right before the bell rang.

“The way they were talking about you….” Baekhyun locked eyes with the girl and she gulped. The blue was slowly bleeding into his iris.

“They talk,” Chanyeol dismissed, loosening his already lazy tie even more. “That’s what they do.”

“Not about Sloane,” Baekhyun growled, baring his teeth.

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow, then lifted his hands in surrender. “Alright, Baekhyun. You’re right. Let’s sit down, okay?”

Baekhyun was fighting his wolf again and it caused his senses to skyrocket. Sloane bit her lip in worry as he remained standing in the front of the classroom, the teacher introducing him to the rest. His neck was tight with strain and his eyes were closed in case they weren’t the right color.

He bowed quickly once he was introduced and made his way next to Sloane, who immediately grabbed his hand under their shared table.

The bond between them flared, and Baekhyun gasped as energy ran up his arm.

“You’re alright now,” Sloane grinned mischievously. Leaving Baekhyun stunned, but his wolf was dead silent, and he sighed with relief. “Now listen to the teacher and do good in school, okay? We didn’t get you enrolled so that you can scare everyone.”

“Yes ma’am.”

~*~

“I haven’t even been here the whole day and I’m exhausted,” Baekhyun pouted. His backpack was already trailing behind him on the floor and his jacket was hanging off his shoulders.

“It’s lunch time,” Jongdae began in a warning tone. The two had calculus together which was their class right before lunch break. “You better brace yourself. Chanyeol told me about your wolf coming out this morning.”

Baekhyun groaned, ruffling his dark hair. “I don’t think he will be making another appearance today, but—” he took a deep breath in front of the wide doors to the cafeteria. “Alright. I’m ready.”

Jongdae chuckled and pushed the doors open. The dull hum of multiple conversations exploded and Baekhyun shuddered before entering the giant room behind his pack member.

Out of all the boys, Jongdae was definitely the most caring to Baekhyun. He was sure it had something to do with being the only one without a guilty conscious for attacking him the first full moon together. Jongdae has felt like an older brother for the past days, helping him with whatever issues he has had and always asking him if he is all right. Baekhyun has been thankful.

They grabbed a tray and loaded it with food before Jongdae led Baekhyun to a table nearly filled with familiar faces.

“How is it going so far?” Tao asked curiously.

Baekhyun bit his lip. “Besides nearly going wolf a couple times, it hasn’t been too bad. The classes don’t seem too difficult.”

“Has anybody tried talking to you?” Kyungsoo asked.

Baekhyun shook his head. “No. But I have been getting a lot of stares. It makes me nervous, I don’t like it.”

“I told you earlier that you need to get used to it,” Sehun said. “Hanging out with us, well, we get that a lot.”

“We’re kind of like celebrities,” Jongdae revealed with a relaxed shrug.

“Celebrities?” Baekhyun repeated, eyeing the cafeteria and locking eyes with more people than he would like. “I don’t know….”

#exo scenario #Chanyeol scenarios #Baekhyun scenarios #baekhyun #chanyeol #kai #exo fanfic #exo drabbles #exo scenarios #exo #exo oneshot

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thisendlesslostparade · 5 years

Text

Becks Ice (Tyrelliot)

Summmary: Elliot didn't think he would see Tyrell ever again after their friendship ended years ago, but then they meet again at a party and all of his feelings come back up...

(Vaguely based on "Becks Ice" by Von Wegen Lisbeth, doesn't matter at all if you don't know the song though. I wanna start posting some of my fanfictions on here, but this is already available on ao3 under the same username as I have on here. Enjoyy)

Content notation: Unrequited love, mention of alcohol and partying

He wasn't supposed to be here.

Maybe this was a glitch in the matrix, maybe he had somehow entered a parallel universe and no one had told him, but this was completely impossible. His fingers started shaking, as he held on closer to the glass in his hand.

When Angela had told him to have a drink so he would "cheer up" and "relax", he had laughed at her. How was he supposed to relax with all these people around? He hated parties. And now ... now THIS.

Angela hadn't seen the certain someone yet, obviously - she was too busy flirting with every average looking straight guy she could find. Her taste in men had always been terrible, no doubt about it. All these arrogant, sexist jerks she ended up with - Elliot would never get used to them.

But now he certainly had more important problems. 99 problems and the tall guy across the room was every single one of them.

He hadn't changed at all. If he had, maybe Elliot would be able to convince himself that this was just a doppelganger. But it wasn't just his face, the striking blue eyes, the slicked back blonde hair that felt a lot softer than it looked. Elliot shook his head, shaking off the memory.

No, it wasn't just that. It was the arrogant smirk on his lips, the look in his eyes, the way he immediately seemed so much softer when he genuinely laughed. It had never been hard to tell when Tyrell REALLY found something funny - his whole face scrunched up and he didn't look so condescending anymore. He looked almost adorable.

"Angela?"

She immediately stopped talking to the flashy asshole and turned to Elliot. At least he knew he could always count on her, no matter what.

"Look." He raised his glass and pointed towards the guy who was most definitely Tyrell Wellick.

Angela raised her eyebrows. "Who?"

Elliot rolled his eyes internally. Maybe she was so drunk that she really couldn't see what he was referring to.

He raised his hand and pointed again, making sure that no one else saw what he was pointing at.

She tilted her head. "Meh, too blonde for my taste."

It was unbelievable. Apparently Angela would be of no assistance in this situation. He downed the beer at once and then walked towards the group on the other end of the room.

Yup, it really was him. It almost felt like a deja-vu - three years ago it had been a party just like this one. A little smaller, and all of the guests had been wasted high school students who used their remaining two brain cells for staring at people's breats or running to the bathroom every few minutes, either to throw up or to check their make-up.

Quite obviously, Elliot had never liked parties. But just like today, Angela had convinced him to go. "Just for an hour or two, pretty please!"

But then there he had been, the guy of Elliot's dreams, smiling at him across the room and it had begun - the most terrible, wonderful, heartwrenching love of Elliot's life.

"We'll stay friends", they had promised each other, in each others arms at the airport before he went back to Sweden. And even then his heart was breaking because Tyrell Wellick had never, at no point in time been like a friend to him.

He had freaked out and high-fived him, shared his excitement every time Tyrell made out with another pretty, popular girl, or another football player. Yes, he had been THAT guy. Came to America for one year and had sex with what seemed like the entire school - or, well, everyone except Elliot.

And even now he had the attention of everyone around him. It was something about his attitude, something Elliot envied him for, while at the same time he knew he didn't really want to be that way.

It wasn't in his nature. He was the guy who made out with people when he was absolutely wasted, and then had them text him the next day: "Hey, I'm sorry. I usually never do stuff like that. I was really drunk."

And maybe, deep down, he simply didn't feel like he deserved more than that... It certainly never surprised him.

His throat felt so dry, he was already craving another drink. Seeing Tyrell here was more than he ever could've dreamed of, and everything he feared.

He hated him for leaving him, hated him for simply not understanding what Elliot really felt for him... and he hated himself for not being able to remain friends with the person he had once loved more than anyone else in the world.

And wasn't love supposed to be selfless?

He couldn't bear it any longer. Every cell in his body was longing to walk towards him and hug him just one more time, or tell him to never ever leave him again.

Only a few shaking steps further and Tyrell finally recognized him. His face froze in disbelief, then it lit up as if someone had turned back on the lights in there.

"ELLIOT!" He yelled and pushed the girl next to him aside to walk towards Elliot, taking him in his arms and almost squeezing him to death.

Elliot swallowed down the lump in his throat, fighting back the tears, as he breathed in the scent he hadn't thought he would ever smell again. Something flowery, never too much though, and something that was just so completely unique for Tyrell.

"What are you doing here?" he squeezed out when they finally let go of him.

"I'm visiting my host family", Tyrell said, still the widest grin on his face. "You know I really thought about telling you... but... you know, you never texted back anymore so..."

The pain in his voice made Elliot want to slap himself.

"Yeah sorry, I'm so sorry, I was just really busy with graduation and college, you know?"

The truth was that he had thought it was better off this way. A whole ocean between them, and there was no way he would ever get over the Swede with the striking blue eyes, if he kept seeing the status updates of all the beautiful things and beautiful people he was doing now.

Tyrell shrugged and the smile returned to his face. "That's fine. Hey, I'm here now. And I'm staying for another week so we could hang out a bit if you want."

The sparks in Elliot's stomach felt like he was going to explode and set the whole room on fire. Another week... so much and so little at the same time. It made his heart hurt.

"Maybe you could show us around a bit? It's been so long and the city changed quite a bit... I'm not really being the best tourist guide for Jonah." He laughed.

With every word Tyrell said, the clear blue sky of Elliot's mood got more and more cloudy. He could already feel the thunderstorm coming up.

"Jonah?"

"Yeah. Oh, sorry, I forgot you don't know each other yet." He put his arm around a small, dark haired guy standing a bit aside and pulled him away from the conversation he was currently having.

"Jonah? That's Elliot, my friend from America. Elliot, that's my boyfriend Jonah."

Boom. There it was, the thunderbolt hitting Elliot's head and burning him to the ground.

I need a cigarette, Elliot thought. Where the fuck....

"Hi Elliot. I heard a lot about you." Jonah smiled and reached out his hand. It would've been easier if he had been an asshole. Elliot's mind kept racing and yet he had no idea what to say.

'Hey, you seem like a sweet guy. You look cute together. But all I can think about is stealing your boyfriend and kissing him until he forgets how to breathe'.... Well, not a great idea.

"Hi." Elliot cleared his throat, then he looked at Tyrell. "Can we maybe go outside and have a smoke?"

"Oh, I don't smoke anymore. But sure." He gave Jonah a way too exaggerated kiss that almost seemed like a provocation to Elliot. Elliot bit his tongue so hard he tasted blood.

What on earth had happened? Tyrell drinking cocktails? Tyrell not smoking anymore? Tyrell in an actual committed relationship?

He shook his head and walked towards the exit, convinced that Tyrell would follow him.

The cold wind on his skin felt amazing. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, then took out his cigarettes.

"Is everything alright?" Tyrell appeared next to him, looking a bit concerned.

Elliot nodded slowly. "It's a bit overwhelming seeing you here."

"Overwhelming?" He frowned. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Yeah." Elliot sighed. "But .... don't you have all these memories coming back up?"

Now Tyrell seemed to understand. He smiled. "Yeah. It was intense back then."

Both laughed, lost in memories. Taking another drag from his cigarette, Elliot tried to stop himself from comstantly looking at his lips... lips that had kissed someone else only moments ago. He must've completely gone insane - or maybe it was the alcohol.

But fuck it.

"I loved you", Elliot said, not averting his gaze, feeling braver than he ever had before. "I really, really loved you."

Tyrell's face went soft. "I loved you too."

"No you didn't." Elliot blew out the smoke and shook his head. "You liked me. You liked spending time with me. But I loved you."

He pursed his lips. "You know there's different kinds of love right? I did love you. You were the only person in this shit city I really trusted, El."

The old nickname, without a warning. Elliot could almost feel himself tearing up again. Walking around the city and singing their favorite songs together. All the base ball games. The nights at Elliot's place, cuddled up, watching movies under a huge blanket. Tyrell's hands in the pockets of Elliot's hoodie when it got cold outside. Trying to hold back their laughter in class when they were supposed to be quiet but something was just so hilarious, something only the two of them would find funny. Memories, memories, memories.

"I just don't understand how you could know ... I think you knew. You always knew how I felt about you. You just didn't care. It was too much discomfort for you to stop hanging out with me. But you didn't even like me enough to tell me it's not gonna happen."

He didn't disagree, he just looked at the floor.

"I just hoped your feelings would go away eventually, you know. I needed you as a friend. But I also know that... sexual tension was always between us. I'm not completely stupid. It was just... never more than that."

The truth hurt more than anything he could have made up in his mind.

But before Elliot could say another word, Tyrell stepped forward and took the cigarette out of his mouth, taking a drag himself and gazing into his eyes, just for a moment. Elliot closed his eyes because he couldn't handle it anymore. Too much old, dusty pain coming up from his subconscious, too many sleepless nights when all he saw in front of his inner eye, was Tyrell's face. Then Tyrell put his lips on his.

It was only a second or two, but Elliot kept his eyes closed, breathing him in, while his stomach felt like the explosion had finally gone of. Tyrell stroked the side of his neck, sending shivers down his spine, then slowly pulled away.

"Goodnight, Elliot." He put the cigarette back between his lips. "I'd be happy if you called me someday. When you're ready."

He stroked his cheek, almost as if he were fragile, delicate. "And I'd love to meet your future boyfriend. Gotta make sure my former best friend gets the treatment he deserves."

A sad smile on his lips he disappeared back inside the building.

Elliot looked after him, the feathery walk he had seen so many times, now for the last time walking away from him.

He turned around, and went home.

The wind suddenly didn't feel so cold anymore. It was refreshing, taking away the heat.

Making room for something new, something different. Something more.

#tyrelliot #tyrelliot fanfiction #tyrelliot os #tyrelliot au #fanfiction #mr robot #tyrell wellick #elliot alderson #mr robot au #unrequited love #high school au

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foxyotomelady · 5 years

Text

It wasn't supposed to be, Chapter III (JuminxOC/Reader)

Author’s notes:

Guys, I'm still doing it. I'm still keeping it as a slow burn.

Let's see how long I can last.

Buy Me A Ko-Fi Have a nice reading!

Riyu was terribly bored in this large apartment. She had no idea how Jumin could live here alone - it was far too much space for one person and a cat. But Jumin spent most of his time at work anyway.

The only thing she could do here was watching TV and having fun with Elizabeth - even though Jumin did not want her to approach the cat. However, she could not help that the cat clung to her, asked for caresses and followed her step by step - she had to feel lonely here, left alone for so many hours.

Riyu was just sitting on the couch in the living room, with Elizabeth on her lap when her phone rang. She looked at the screen and cursed under her breath. It was Mr. Chairman. Her stomach twisted. At times like this, she was losing faith that she could really manage it longer.

She took a deep breath, picked up the phone and spoke in the sweetest voice she could manage, "Hello, Mr. Han. How are you?"

"Hello, darling. And how are you? My son is giving you some problems?" She refrained from telling the truth, "No, absolutely none. He is very kind to me." "Wonderful, I knew I could count on him. I hope that this time will allow you to get to know each other better and get along. Our dinner did not go very well, but I think that with time Jumin will accept our relationship." No, She thought. He will never accept it. He will always despise me and I'm not surprised at all. "Yes, I think so too!" She said. "How the delegation is going, Mr. Han? Are you very busy?" Mr. Chairman sighed, "Yes, unfortunately. Sorry, darling, I won't be able to call too often." Riyu refrained from squeaking in joy and relief. Instead, she gave her voice a sad and disappointed tone, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I wish we could talk, but I understand." "If something bad happens, call my son. He'll definitely help you." "Um... Actually, I don't have his phone number." "No? It is very irresponsible of him that he did not give it to you. I will send it to you in a moment, darling. Sorry, I have to go, have a nice day." "Thank you, the same to you!" Riyu hung up quickly and leaned back on the sofa with a loud sigh. After a moment, she received the promised message with Jumin's phone number. Elizabeth brushed over her hand, demanding caresses again. Riyu scratched her ear, "You don't even know how lucky you are. You have great protection, someone who loves you sincerely... You don't have to run away from anyone. I almost envy you that you're a cat." In order not to go completely crazy and stop talking to the cat, she turned on the television - today she turned it off and on several times, unable to find anything interesting to watch. This time she found something that made her heart jump to her throat. They talked about... about her! Not just about her. About the dinner she spent with Jumin and his father. Shit! The media thought she was Jumin's girlfriend! She snarled angrily and buried her face in her hands. She hoped that this news would not reach Mr. Chairman. For a moment she even wondered whether to call Jumin, but she thought it would be too tactless. Besides, he hated her. He certainly didn't want her to disturb him at work.

"Assistant Kang, contact every online service, every magazine and every TV channel that spreads these funny rumors. Tell them that if they do not take them off or correct their information, I will sue each of them." Jaehee looked at him with wide eyes, "Mr. Han is... This's very much-" "You don't work here to hang around," He interrupted her coldly. "Yes, yes, of course. I'll take care of it immediately," Jaehee was about to leave, but she stopped and looked at him. "Mr. Han, I read the chat room. Is it true that this Riyu girl is... in your apartment?" Jumin nodded, returning to studying the reports and documents to sign, "Yes, at my father's request."

Jaehee said nothing more, just adjusted her glasses and left. However, Jumin knew that she thought exactly the same as he did - this situation would not affect the company's image well. He could do nothing more than just bury himself at work. After a few hours of intense mental effort, when he took a coffee break, his phone vibrated. Jumin raised an eyebrow - the message came from an unknown number. Hello, Jumin. Riyu here. I hope I'm not disturbing you. I just wanted to let you know that your father gave me your number. In case I need to contact you suddenly. If you mind, I will remove this number from my list. Jumin took a big sip of coffee and thought for a long time. He hesitated. Ultimately, however, he decided to write a few sentences in response. Keep my number. I also add yours. You are now in my care, so please contact me if you have any problems. I don't want to disappoint my father. He thought that this would end their brief exchange of messages, but no. In a moment he received another one. Thank you, you're very kind. I hope we can get along. How is Elizabeth the 3rd? He had no idea why he wrote it. He did it faster than he thought. Not much time passed and he received a reply message. She is fine. I know you didn't want me to get close to her, but I can't help it! Just look at this! There was a picture in the message. Elizabeth was lying on the girl's lap, curled up, definitely happy and calm. Jumin couldn't control how his lips lifted in a slight smile. Isn't she a magnificent creature? Definitely! She's beautiful! And her fur is so soft and delicate :) Can I brush her? I don't see a problem. You should find the brush in the cabinet near her bed. Yes, I found it. Have a nice day at work! What... What just happened?

Jumin froze for a moment, his cup of coffee stuck in the air just before his mouth. He was stunned. Why did he even write to her? And let her take care of Elizabeth? He set down his cup and frowned. He had to admit it, she was really good at this game. He didn't think it would ever happen. That one of his father's women would force him to be nice to her. He wondered if he would write to her to leave Elizabeth the 3rd alone, but he thought it would be too inappropriate now. It was difficult for him to focus on work for the next few hours. He was nervous and stressed. He didn't even want to get in the chat room, though his cell phone kept him informed that someone was writing something on the messenger. They must have been fooling around again, not understanding the gravity of the situation. When he returned to the apartment, Riyu was sitting on the sofa in the living room. Not for the first time, he found her in this state - thoughtful, she did not move, stared blankly ahead. Why did this view bother him so much? He cleared his throat and only then did the girl realize his presence. She twitched in her seat, turned off the television, which she didn't seem to watch anyway, and got up from her seat. "Hello, Jumin. How was your day at work?" Jumin looked at her sharply, "Are you really interested in this or are you pretending to please me?" Her face also became more acute, "I'm trying to behave normally, as we will spend some time with each other. Should we still argue and bite each other's heads off? Don't you think that it will be quite tiring for both sides?" "You have a point." Jumin adjusted his tie. "I will order dinner, do you want something specific?" Why did he even ask her that? The girl blinked, apparently surprised no less than him, "Oh, some scrambled eggs are enough." "Scrambled eggs? Wouldn't you like to eat something more... exquisite?" Riyu smiled to herself, "You ask because you really are interested or do you want to please me?" He looked at her for a moment in a misunderstanding, and she burst out laughing. She had a surprisingly pleasant laugh. "I was joking," She explained. "I don't need anything fancy. I'm rather used to ordinary food." "Let me choose something for you, though. I insist. I don't want you to complain to my father that I didn't host you properly." So, Jumin ordered a dish of fresh salmon with boiled vegetables and honey sauce. As they waited in the kitchen for the food to be delivered, again in embarrassing silence, Elizabeth suddenly jumped on Riyu's lap. "You see it yourself!" The girl called with a smile. Elizabeth purred as she began to stroke and scratch her. Jumin watched them both for a moment, "Maybe she did like you for some reason." Riyu had a very delicate and surprisingly nice smile on her face as she looked at the cat on her lap, "Maybe she senses that I like animals. I used to have a dog, but unfortunately, he has already left me..." Jumin's throat tightened. When it came to animals, it was difficult for him to control his emotions, "I'm sorry. It must have been difficult for you." The girl nodded, "He was my only friend. The animals are extraordinary, don't you think? They have clean, sincere hearts. They love unconditionally, they don't want anything in return." Jumin was really positively surprised to hear these words from her mouth. He almost didn't believe Riyu was really saying it. Have he really been wrong about her so far? The doorbell rang. Food was most likely delivered. No, he couldn't be wrong about her. She was just clever and knew what to say to make him doubt his judgment. When dinner was ready on the table, the girl looked at the elegantly decorated dish with delight. It was actually one of the more casual dishes he ate, but she was delighted like a child. How strange. They ate in silence until Elizabeth the 3rd began to mew, sitting on the floor near the table. "No, Elizabeth. This food is not for you," Jumin sighed. "Oh, don't be like that!" The girl said loudly, pouting. "Can't I give her a piece of salmon?" "Okay, but make sure it's not covered in spices and not dipped in the sauce. It could hurt her." Riyu looked at him like at an idiot, "I know that."

"Right, you said you like animals, so I'm guessing you might have some knowledge about them," He corrected himself, then got up from his seat. "Would you like some wine?" The girl was just handing Elizabeth a piece of salmon, which the cat snatched from her hand and fled to eat it somewhere far away from them. Then Riyu nodded, "Maybe a little bit." Jumin took wine and glasses from the top shelf. He poured a little to each one and sat back in its place. Again, they ate and drank for a while in silence, which this time the girl broke, turning the glass in her hand and looking at the wine flowing down the walls, "Jumin, did you see the news?" "The news?" She nodded, "News, media on the internet and the like. Everywhere they screaming that I'm supposedly your girlfriend." "Don't worry about it. I've already made sure to cut those ridiculous rumors. It won't affect your plans for my father." The girl took a long sip of wine, narrowed her eyes, "You really judge me without thinking. But well... I can't blame you for that." For the rest of the dinner, Riyu continued refilling her wine. He didn't stop her. It wasn't his business. Finally, he left her alone in the kitchen and took care of his own matters. He still had some work to do, and after that, when he left the home office to go to the bathroom before bedtime, he was surprised by a certain view... Riyu was dozing on the sofa in the living room. An empty wine bottle stood on the floor next to it. Elizabeth the 3rd lay curled up in the girl's legs. Jumin approached her slowly, leaned over her, "Riyu?" There was no answer. The girl was completely gone. Jumin looked at Elizabeth, "You really like her, don't you? How strange." He found the blanket and covered the sleeping girl with it, then looked at her small and thin figure for a moment. Again these tormenting thoughts caught him... Something was bothering him. He adjusted his tie, massaged his eyelids and went to the shower. He hoped the cold water would let him chase away this anxiety. When he left the bathroom, ready to sleep, he saw that the girl was still lying on the sofa, now curled up like a cat sleeping next to her. He left her like this and went to his bedroom. Finally, already in bed, he decided to look at the messenger.

[Jumin Han has entered the chat room]

V: Hello, Jumin.

Jumin Han: V, you are here.

V: Yes, I finally found some time.

V: Is it true what everyone is talking about?

Jumin Han: You mean?

V: That girl. Riyu?

Jumin Han: Yes, unfortunately, it's true. She is my father's new prey. And she is currently in my home.

V: It must be very...

Jumin Han: Uncomfortable? Yes.

V: Actually, I was thinking about something.

V: This may seem strange to you, but please hear me out.

Jumin Han: I'm listening.

V: It's interesting that this girl suddenly appeared. Just when I started thinking about resuming hosting parties.

Jumin Han: You want RFA to host parties again? But what does this girl have to do with it?

V: Well, does Riyu have any occupation? Jumin Han: I have no idea. Probably not. Jumin Han: I still don't understand. V: What would you say about her taking over Rika's duties? Jumin Han: What? V: Since there is nothing she can do there to occupy herself and she will stay in your house for some time, V: I thought she could take care of inviting guests. You could help her if needed. Jumin Han: Let me tell you something, V. Jumin Han: Riyu currently is sleeping on the sofa in the living room. V:

Jumin Han: She drank so much wine that she just fell asleep there, not caring about what I think of her. Jumin Han: Do you really want such an irresponsible person to host parties? V: I understand what you mean, Jumin. V: But many times, I've seen you in a similar state. V: And that doesn't make you an irresponsible person. Jumin Han: You have a point. Jumin Han: I always appreciated and considered your ideas. Jumin Han: But still, Jumin Han: this one is your stupidest. V: ^^' V: I think it will be quite refreshing for everyone if we start hosting parties again. Jumin Han: I understand, but why her? V: Well, we don't have anyone else to do it. V: And I have a strange feeling that we can't miss this chance. Jumin Han: A strange feeling? You know I don't believe in such things. V: So just try to trust me. Jumin Han: What about the others? V: I wish they'd be here. But I'm guessing they'll read this conversation. V: Please, talk to them about it. And discuss it with Riyu. We can't force her to do it in the end.

V: I feel Rika would want that.

Jumin Han: How could Rika wants that? She didn't even know this girl.

V: I feel that she would like someone to continue her duties. Please, can you trust me?

Jumin Han: Fine, just because you ask for it.

Jumin Han: But I can't guarantee that others will agree.

#now things are about to get real interesting #poor Jumin is confused #fanfiction #mystic messenger #mysme fanfic #mysme #jumin #jumin han #Jumin x Reader #jumin x OC #jumin han x reader #jumin han x OC #V #slow burn

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demethinkstoomuch · 5 years

Text

The Lucky One, pt. 1

Imagine what a strange position this must be: You’re Sylvain Jose Gautier, you’re fifteen years old, and all you want is to get laid. But it was just the worst day in everybody you care about's lives, the world is falling apart around you, and you're completely unharmed by all of it.

Content Warning: Physical Abuse, Blue Lions-typical Unresolved Grief

Read on AO3!

Part 2 | Part 3

Life, you reflect as the streets of Fhirdiad roll by, isn’t fair. You’ve known this for as long as you can remember.

The world’s falling apart around you. You’re Sylvain Jose Gautier, you’re fifteen years old, and all you want is to get laid. It’s not so much to ask, really. You want to hang out with some of the few decent people in your life, and you want to add a lot more people, usually girls, who are maybe only half-decent (at best) into your life for brief but enjoyable periods of time.

When you compare that wish to everything else going on right now, it’s really pretty pathetic. Because that’s a really stupid wish, put in context; because somehow you are, as always, the lucky one. You already know this, but now more than ever, it tastes like ashes in your mouth. It sinks into the pit of your stomach as you watch building after building pass the carriage window, all draped in sable black. The windows of the shops are covered. Normally when lots of important nobles are visiting, you’d think people would be on the streets to curiously peer towards your coach, maybe a cute girl you could wink at and she’d smile at the fancy noble in his fancy carriage — and there will be, later, because they’re like you: lucky that all they have to worry about is getting a view of the funeral procession. But right now, they’re closer to the disaster than you are — so they’re inside, waiting, leaving the streets so quiet that what movement you do see feels like someone’s trespassing.

You reach up a hand and rub your neck, still bruised sickly yellow and faded maroon under your fur-lined collar. Ok, if you could complain for a minute, you do sort of have a way in which you are not very lucky: you got caught up in someone else’s bad luck. And you can’t help but think of that, and feel the punch in the gut that’s your own fortune again.

Your old man had called everyone into his study when the letter, the one that ultimately brought you here in the best black clothes money could buy, had arrived. He was a serious guy, your father. But you’d never seen him quite so serious. With the whole family assembled, too. Your mother gave you a faint and insincere smile when you came in, with her eyes flinty and distant. Just the three of you would have been suffocating enough. But you and Miklan were in the same room together, which was a state you really tried to avoid. You tried to avoid it a lot since the whole well incident. Sometimes, you couldn’t help it. Those times, this time, tended to not go great for you.

“There’s been... “ Your father paused like he didn’t know how to say it. You added it to the number of things horribly wrong here, because he always knew what to say to get what he wanted. He always wanted something, even when you didn’t know what. “An incident. The king’s party was ambushed on their visit to Duscur. Most of them are dead.”

He sounded wooden as he delivered the final verdict.

“The king is dead.”

And everyone in the room experienced their first and last moment of family unity. You all shared a moment of stunned horror where no one could say a word.

“What about Dimitri?” Maybe you should have held back, but your head just sort of jumped. Sure, the king was the king, and he was a great guy and all. But Dimitri was your friend, that sweet kid who’d encouraged you to be free when you hadn’t thought it was possible — and somehow put up with the consequences. And if he was dead when the king was dead, what was going to happen to Faerghus?

“Prince Dimitri was injured in the attack, but survived. At the cost of all his knights...He alone survived.”

You were so relieved you dropped into a chair. It took you a half-second to even hear the rest of what your dad had said. It wasn’t like Dimitri was your only friend there — but this time, you don’t ask about Glenn. You don’t have to, even if you wanted to imagine there’d be another answer. That if you asked, you’d get something else back from that moment of fear.

“Poor Duke Fraldarius,” your mother said. “To lose his precious heir so easily…And he was so young.”

“Young? Glenn was barely older than Sylvain. Of course, maybe if he wasn’t such an idiot, he’d have joined them.” Miklan glared at you, and, hey, it burned off the slow horror of realizing that that brave, dashing friend wasn’t immortal, you weren’t immortal, no one was. You were just fed up. So that was the upside.“Shame you weren’t, you fool.”

“Miklan!” your mother snapped. Her hands were shaking. Was that her maternal heart, stirred by the loss of one of House Fraldarius’ two crest-bearing sons, and thinking of what might have been the loss of her one? (Your mother envied Duchess Fraldarius something crazy when she was alive, you remember hearing her say one quiet night.She’d never stopped envying her, and sometimes your mother thought Felix was born just to spite her. Maybe her life wasn’t fair, either, but she’s the one who decided to live like what sort of blood her kids had mattered so much.) You couldn’t tell if you hoped so or not.

“Oh, shut up, Miklan. Is this really the time for this?” you shot back. It’s not like Miklan was different — not in being a good-for-nothing, no, he’s more of an asshole — he could have been there, too, if fate had been a little different. But you weren’t going to say that, because it was really just the hour of hating sylvain, the only time that existed for him.

“I’m only speaking the truth. He’s worthless, undeserving of even a basic knighthood — but he gets to saunter around without a care in the world, heir to the family. Good knights died, and this waste of space lives to drag House Gautier with him!” He’s right, of course. Miklan’s tried hard. Studied hard. He was pretty smart, even if he was an unrelenting asshole. But he didn’t figure out how worthless it all is the way you did. So he’d hoped to live the life he wanted.

“Miklan, you will take back those words about your brother, my heir.” Nothing but finality rang in your father’s words.

“No, no, I won’t! Why do I have to watch my tongue about this spoiled brat?!” He rose up to his feet, shoulders squared and mouth a grim, intense line.

“Wow, Miklan, tell us what your really think.”

“ Stop. ” Your father’s voice was a clap of thunder, rolling through the room. Your father had stepped out from behind his desk, and his experience showed through. He was a soldier — the Margraves of Gautier had to be. He looked more like you in the face, but there, he was using the way his body had more of Miklan’s raw, intimidating bulk. His muscles tensed like an animal on the edge of biting, visible even under his fur coat. There was an indescribable feeling to those arms of his: not a tremor, not a pulse, just the sudden and certain way your eye was drawn that broadcasted something else in him, waiting to draw itself out of his movements if he needed it. And that shut Miklan up — it had to, and you couldn’t blame him for the hate in his eyes, seeing that something he couldn’t have bubbling so close to the surface.”Everyone. That’s enough, Miklan. Apologize.”

“...You have. My apologies,” Miklan grunted through gritted teeth, eyes staring daggers at you. You really wished the old man hadn’t done that; what happened next was going to be worse because he’d had to say it.

“You are all dismissed from my office. I will discuss the plans concerning the funeral later.”

(The plans were ultimately that you’d go alone. Your father would watch the region in case the instability brought trouble. Your mother would send you off looking your best, because she wanted you to be shown off as a man who was becoming more independent. Miklan would continue to be too unimportant to them to go anywhere, and he’d seethe. This was not part of the plan. You were just aware of it.)

You all shuffled out, one by one. Last out the door, you had thought you’d have a second to do something like sort out how you felt. That wasn’t what was in store for you then.

A hand reached out for your shoulder and pinned you savagely to the hallway wall. Miklan still had a way of looming over you even though there wasn’t a big difference in height anymore. But he was bigger than you anyway and threw his weight into that like a man who meant it. He locked his other hand into place on your opposite shoulder, leaving no escape for you but turning your head.

“I should wipe that smug face right off your head,” he growled. “I have nothing to apologize to you for, you crest-bearing fool.”

“Oh, I get it, it’s fine. I get that that was fake,” you tell him, which sounded like a really great way to make this worse; that must be why you said it.

“You don’t understand anything! If the Goddess won’t kill you, then I’ll finish it!” And that was when his hands stopped being on your shoulders, when the world went briefly black and blue and floorless, when the air got crushed out of your throat in the sweep of rough hands. Their callouses pressed into your windpipe. What in the flames. What in the infernal goddess-damned flames, Miklan. That was just the thought that ran through your head. “Just by existing —!”

In retrospect, it wasn’t actually worse than the well thing. It really wasn’t. You kicked him pretty hard, just wherever your feet could find the purchase, and he let go with a high yowl. Over in a second.

So you don’t know why, gasping for breath, that was what got the waterworks going. But you didn’t want either of your parents to find out — crazy, right? You didn’t want anyone knowing. You didn’t want anything getting more messed up than it already was. You weren’t even sure how you felt — or, maybe, you aren’t sure, because you’ve rolled it over in your head, trying to find an easy name for it, so many times. But you didn’t stick around for anyone to see. You ran, you didn’t say anything, you hid your neck.

Just by existing, you took everything from me.

That was what he’d wanted to say. What he has the right to say. You just wish he hadn’t tried to say it with his hands. You’d never thought he would — not so directly. The mountain was bad, and you’re never going to forget trying to keep a grip on the well’s side for hours. But even those weren’t that big a deal. You hadn’t expected him to take it into his own grasp, to not let something else do his dirty work.

Where could it go from here? It feels like a rope in the family is getting drawn tighter and tighter, and it’s always been frayed. You just don’t want to be there when it snaps. You sigh and sink against the window of the carriage, feeling the cold that seeps in from the outside. A brief stop as city gave way to castle; it’s showtime, Sylvain old buddy.

#fire emblem #fire emblem: three houses spoilers #Fire Emblem: Three Houses #fanfic #my writing #Sylvain Jose Gautier #Miklan Gautier #This is slightly terrifying for me but I'm also proud #Are you ready for awkward teenage forms?#They're all awkward teens in canon #but this is more so #Traumatized Teenagers #someone please hug them #Look at how OK Sylvain is He Is Definitely OK #Definitely #Second Person POV

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uwusmash · 5 years

Text

look at me

bakugou x reader

italics means inside voice:)

omg this is so bad ew

“Thinking about bakugou again?” Todoroki discretely asked while copying down notes. You quickly turn to face your seatmate. “I Am nOt” furiously whispering as heat begins to crawl onto your cheeks. Ever since you told todoroki about your crush on bakugou the boy had made it his personal mission to tease you every second of the day.

“then why did you draw a heart around bakugou’s name?” todoroki gestured to the doodle on your notebook. You shamefully look down and realized you absentmindedly did just that. You violently scratch out the embarrassing drawing.

“what happened to the old silent todoroki?? I miss him” pointed looking at the boy

“y/n you can miss todoroki another time, pay attention or I’ll give you detention” said aizawa.

Surprised you look up only to have the whole class staring at the both of you. Embarrased, you let out a quick apology. Everyone returns to the task at hand, but you feel a gaze burning into your head. You turn to the left and lock gazes with a certain set of crimson eyes. I haven’t seen him that angry in a while... A light chuckle to your right breaks the heated moment and you elbow the boy next to you.

——————————-

“So, when are you going to stop ignoring bakugou?” todoroki blatantly asked

Giving him a disgruntled look, you bite into a piece of chicken and give a big sigh. Ever since you discovered you had feelings for bakugou you had been doing everything in your power to avoid him. Whenever class would end you’d dash out of the room before he had a chance to corner you. You’d even gone as far as learning all of the route’s to class bakugou took and made sure you’d haul ass the opposite direction. Believe it or not the two of you were good friends. You had been by bakugou’s side ever since the entrance exams. In everyone’s eyes bakugou might not be the number 1 hero but he was for you. The boy oozed confidence and strength but most important of all he never gave up ‘til the end. You constantly babbled to him about how amazing he was and who was bakugou to deny constant attention and praise? Eventually the two of you became good buddies. He often helped you train whenever you fell behind or when you had trouble in class he’d be right there in your ear yelling about quadratic functions.

“hmm I don’t know? when are you going to sit with midoriya during lunch?” you gently teased the boy. The half boy was just as hopeless as you were. You’d notice the longing glances Todoroki would throw towards the table occupied by a certain messy green haired boy.

“you can go sit with him, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t mind, you guys are friends now!”

“I’d rather watch you suffer over your burning passion for baku-“ Quickly cutting him off you throw body towards him and force feed him some cold soba to silence his big mouth.

“Geez I really do miss the old days” grumbling to yourself while keeping a tight grip on the boy. For the second time that day you feel the same gaze burning into your skull. Too scared to turn and face those crimson eyes, you decide to ignore them and tease todoroki for the remainder of lunch.

__________

Another day of successfully ignoring bakugou...how pathetic y/n...how do you expect to become a hero when you can’t even do the simple task of telling someone how you feel. Furiously pulling your hair you bump into an unsuspecting body.

“Oh my gosh i’m so so-“ halfway through your apology the person turns and faces you. You look up and your face goes a shade paler

Those crimson eyes burn into you a third time. Oh crap you’ve really done it now y/n. Woah that look he’s giving me is so scary .. QUICK say something you idiot don’t just stand there!!

“uhh you’re hair looks good today katsuki” you nervously chuckle

He continues to looks down at y/n with that same intense gaze. Bakugou gives no reaction to her comment and a tense silence grows over the two teens.

It had been 2 weeks since y/n had decided to ignore me...not that i’m counting.

Bakugou hated to admit it but y/n had weaseled her way into his life. She had became such a constant presence in his life that her forgot what it felt like to not have her by his side. And he quickly learned that he hated it. Bakugou grits his teeth in annoyance and hot anger flushes over him. He couldn’t help but be angry at the her. Of course she was his favorite girl but he couldn’t push away the resentment that had been accumulating for the past few weeks. Bakugou knew he had a soft spot for the girl, the way she paid attention to him and always praised him. The constant attention y/n gave him pushed him to do better so she can keep her eyes on him. Only him. So when she decided to pull this crap he was angry.

“At first I thought i’d let it go, just assuming you were going through something but ignoring me for two straight weeks and pretending I don’t exist... frankly It’s pisssing me off” bakugou explained trying to keep his anger to a minimum. But to no avail his mind wandered back to class this morning and lunch

His eyes quickly searching through the crowds and tables filled with kids. Scanning for a familiar head of y/c/h. He catches sight of the girl and doesn’t like like what he sees. It’s that damn icy hot bastard sitting next to y/n again. Bakugou mercilessly attack’s his spicy katsudon.

“When is y/n sitting with us again? I miss her cute face” Kaminari dramatically exclaimed

“Maybe she realized how ugly bakugou is and dipped” teased Sero

“SHUT THE HELL UP WEIRD ELBOWS”

“Guys don’t look now but y/n is totally feeding todoroki right now” ignoring kirishima, the whole table turns and watches the two

“awwww man why can’t that be ME”

“well they are seat mates and they seem pretty close”

“maybe they’re dating?!” the whole table soon erupts into gossip remeniscent of older women. Bakugou ignores the rowdy group and keep his eyes on the two. The more he stares the more rage builds up inside him.

Dammit.

Look at me dammit.

Unable to swallow the burning envy, he grits his teeth

“WHY THE HELL DID YOU HAVE TO GO AND HANG OUT WITH THAT ICY HOT BASTARD?! I’M BETTER THAN ANY SHITTY GUY IN THIS WHOLE SCHOOL ” bakugou shamelessly yells at you.

Shocked by the abrupt confession you remain silent. Was THE bakugou katsuki jealous?! omgomg what do I do ?! what should I say?! Gathering your thoughts, you clench your fist and muster whatever ounce of courage you have left.

“Ya’ know ever single time I praised you I thought it was because I wanted to be like you. I admired you and always watched you. It was true but.. I think it was more than that..It always was. It was because I liked you..” You breathlessly confess the pent up feelings you’ve been harboring yourself. Feeling incredibly shy, you keep your head down with a bright blush littered across your cheeks.

A sudden pain greets your forehead. You yelp and tend to your now sore forehead

“What the hell bakugou?!” you grumble to the latter demanding an explanation

Bakugou grabs your hand and pulls you alongside him. A cute blush is sprinkled across his cheeks as he responds

“c’mon shithead we’re goin on a date”

#bnha imagines #mha imagines #bakugou x reader #my hero academia imagines #katsuki bakugou #bnha katsuki

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imaginekpoplikethis · 7 years

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‘Bestfriend’ - Kim Seokjin X Reader

I don’t know how many people read these notes but oh well.

So… I know loads of people are waiting for 7 Years but I really needed to get this out. This is a true story (lol mine) and everything stated in it happened literally last week. Well, everything up until reader starts hanging out with Jin (because i’m not that lucky). I decided to post it because It’s been finished for more than a week and I’ve been so busy with school and I didn’t want to leave you guys with nothing for this week. The next part to 7 years will definitely be out later today or tomorrow.

I legit don’t know what to do with my friend right now, I feel betrayed but I’m not petty (or confident) enough to confront her. (I’m secretly happy when something is wrong with their relationship because I’m a silent but deadly bitch. Kind of like silent farts.)

Anyway, thanks for reading. <3

It had taken you exactly 3 days to admit you had a crush on a boy. It had taken 2 seconds for your best friend, Eun-ha to approve of the relationship, claiming you were her ‘OTP’.

Dong-Woo wasn’t just any boy, at least not to you. You had been placed next to him in the seating arrangement at the beginning of the school year and had at first ignored him. However, he had easily broke through the wall you had placed around yourself, with his charming humour and soon enough you had become friends. You shared the same music, game and movie taste. It all seemed unreal if you were being honest because how can two people have so many common interests?

Your friendship had progressed with each week until suddenly his comments began to do more than make you laugh. Butterflies flooded your stomach and no matter what he said it never failed to bring a smile to your face. You hated it at first and had been in denial.

That’s when Eun-ha had come in. She took notice of your exchanges and your reactions and had enthusiastically told you she envied your friendship. She pestered you about your feelings for 3 days and you opened up, not being able to take her nonstop questioning.

Soon enough all of your friends had found out about your feelings and had taken it upon themselves to comment on how much of a cute couple you and Dong-Woo would make.

Your interactions with him seemed to get deeper and you felt as if maybe, just maybe, he felt the same spark you did.

Then out of nowhere, you began to grow distant. You weren’t sure how or why but your conversations grew shorter along with the amount of times you saw each other a week until a time came where you didn’t speak at all. You were hurt to say the least and you ignored the rumour being spoken about him.

However, Your friends had heard the rumour and they were evidently worried about you. They had told you he had played with another girls feelings and you, in return, told them that you had gotten over him. That there were no lingering feelings. The doubtful look in their eyes was enough to let you know that they didn’t believe you.

To be honest, you didn’t believe yourself either.

Then came a time where he was added to a group chat you were in. You didn’t know if you should feel excited or annoyed so you stuck with in between. You occasionally spoke to him, your friends joining in and you were reminded of how things used to be.

That is until Eun-ha messaged you to let you know he had been private messaging her. You didn’t think much of it, it’s not like they had even held a conversation let alone hung out together. When she had shown you the type of messages he had been sending, you brushed it off, telling her he was probably speaking to other girls too. That didn’t stop the little pangs in your heart that came with every time he sent her a kiss.

The painful throbbing didn’t stop there. He began to boast about an amazing girl who seemed like the perfect one for him on the chat and you hid your true feelings behind 'lols’ and sarcastic comments.

A day came when he private messaged you. You remember how your heart had skipped a beat at the sight of his name at the top of your screen. Upon opening the message, your heart dropped to the pit of your stomach.

'Hey, if you’re not still going to meet Eun-ha, I could go instead. I kind of want to see her today…’

A frown graced your face and annoyance settled within you. Why was he so obsessed with her? They’ve literally been speaking for 4 days. You sighed, deciding to give him a blunt reply.

'I’m still going.’

His answer was immediate.

'Oh okay, well where does she live because I’m in the area and I’m not familiar with it.’

That’s right, he lives about an hour and a half away. All this just to see Eun-ha. Instead of dwelling in your thoughts, you gave him directions on how to get to her house.

Looks like you’d be seeing Dong-Woo today.

Dong-Woo arrived at Eun-ha’s house half an hour after you. At first, the familiar casual conversation sparked up between you two but as soon as Eun-ha was in sight his face brightened. Soon enough, you were forgotten and laughter filled the room as Dong-Woo cracked jokes with her.

You decided to go home early.

The next day you were shocked to discover that Dong-Woo had ended up staying the night. When your friends had questioned Eun-ha on her feelings for him, her response was that 'she didn’t like him like that and would never do that to Y/N.’

Then came the party. She had organised a little gathering with your group, Dong-Woo and one of her new friends who went by the name Seokjin. As the night progressed, you spent your time getting to know Seokjin or, as he preferred to be called, Jin.

Drinks were soon brought out and slowly, people began to get drunk. You blamed the alcohol for the public displays of affection Eun-ha and Dong-Woo were sharing, even though you knew better. You decided to retreat to the kitchen with Jin.

“So… what do you think of Dong-Woo?” Your head snapped up at the mention of his name only to find Jin staring back at you expectantly. You let out a small smile and rested your cheek on your palm.

“He’s obsessed with her. It’s obvious. I wouldn’t care if it wasn’t for the fact I liked him.” Jin nodded and silently sighed to himself.

“I don’t think it’s right for people who only began talking a couple of days ago to be that touchy. Especially since he threw away his friendship with her ex just to be with her. But that might be just me overthinking things.” You shook your head and sipped your lemonade before responding.

“No, I agree but there’s not much we can do about it now.” He took a bite out of his slice of pizza before slowly nodding.

Towards the end of the night, your group had somehow managed to end up in the park next door. As usual Dong-Woo and Eun-ha were all over each other and you stuck by Jin making light conversation. It was when they had both retreated to the side of the park alone that you decided that the best option would be to leave with Jin but as you parted ways with him you felt a lingering sense of guilt for leaving your other friend drunk.

Upon returning you were greeted with the sight of Dong-Woo and Eun-ha passionately kissing. You weren’t sure whether you regretted coming back but you focused on getting your friend home.

When you had made it back home the first person you spoke to was Jin. He seemed as surprised as you were and you were glad to know someone felt the same way. Seeking comfort you spent the rest of the evening speaking to him.

Waking up the next morning, you were greeted with the news that Eun-ha was officially dating Dong-Woo. Crying was what any other person would do but you realised that you didn’t feel anything. Not hurt nor happy.

“I must be a cold-hearted bitch to not feel anything.” That’s what you told yourself and although you truly did not know how you felt, you found that they both occupied your thoughts almost every minute of every day.

As the weeks had come and gone, you found yourself talking to Jin more and more until you had started hanging out on a weekly basis.

“Wait! So you were serious about liking Dong-Woo first? I thought that was a joke.” You chuckled at his cluelessness. “Yep, I was deadly serious.” He stared at you wide eyed as if you had done something he had never seen before.

“And you just let the relationship go on? That’s admirable.” You covered your face with your hands, suddenly embarrassed.

“But not as admirable as me, Kim Seokjin.” You burst into another fit of laughter at his confidence. “If only I had your confidence.”

You felt a burning gaze on you and when you turned to look at him, you found him already staring intensely.

“You should. You’re a really beautiful person. Not as much as me, obviously, but almost on par.”

You smiled at his words because you knew that was probably the biggest compliment he had ever given in his life. “Wow, if I didn’t know any better I’d think your trying to tell me something Jin.”

He took a bite out of his third bowl of noodles, slurping them into his mouth and chewing, mumbling something with his mouth full.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“Maybe I am.”

For the first time in possibly 3 months, the familiar feeling of butterflies returned and you felt your cheeks grow warm.

“Tell me then…” As the words left you, he let grin slowly spread on his face.

“Maybe another day.” He placed a hand to his lips and blew his signature flying kiss towards you, a giggle escaping your lips.

“Okay, another day.”

You were fine with that.

lol.

#bts kim seokjin #bts fanfic #bts scenarios #bts imagines #kim seokjin #kim seokjin x reader #seokjin x reader #seokjin x you #jin x reader #jin x you #seokjin scenarios #seokjin imagine #seokjin fanfic #jin fanfic #jin imagine #jin scenarios

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livinglavidalibro-blog · 7 years

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Gone With the Wind

This was the first classic book that I read and at the time it was the longest book I had ever read and so I was really proud of myself for reading it and I really liked the general love story. I was a little uncomfortable about the whole racism thing the first time I read it, and when I re-read it a few years ago, I was even more uncomfortable with it. It’s an interesting love story with pretty good writing and the awful addition of racism. 5.5/10, I think it’s only considered a classic because it’s really long and moderately good…

DETAILS Written by Margaret Mitchell and published in 1936

SUMMARY Scarlett O’Hara is a sixteen year old girl living on a plantation in rural Georgia shortly before the Civil War breaks out. She is beautiful (and she knows it) and has many suitors. And while she loves to flirt with men and let them shower her with attention and praise, the only man she loves is Ashley Wilkes. Unfortunately, she finds out he is going to get engaged to Melanie Hamilton. She decides at the next ball she’ll just have to make sure he knows she loves him and then he’ll pick her instead. What actually happens is that she gets him alone in the study, confesses her love, and he politely rejects her, telling her they are too different and she wouldn’t really love him. After he leaves she discovers there was actually someone else in the room, a man she’s never met named Rhett Butler. She “fiddle-dee-dee”s at him and leaves. She goes and gets engaged to Melanie Hamilton’s brother and then the announcement that the Civil War is officially starting means they rush their wedding so he can go off to war (Ashley and Melanie also rush their wedding). Scarlett’s husband dies during training, but not before getting her pregnant. She is miserable to be a widow, thinking her life is over. Also she has no interest in her kid. She moves to Atlanta and lives with Melanie and her Aunt Pitty Pat. She sucks at being a widow and at a fundraising ball for the war she runs into Rhett Butler and dances with him and everyone is shocked. Basically, they become friends and hang out a lot and flirt and fight and all that jazz and no one likes him because he is a smuggler and they think that makes him a traitor and then the war ends and Scarlett goes back to her home and they are super poor and her parents are dead and they can’t afford food plus they have to feed Melanie and Melanie’s new baby in addition to everyone else. Ashley returns from war and Scarlett still loves him. She needs money so she asks Rhett but he’s in jail for being a traitor so she marries a guy named Frank and they have a baby and she buys some sawmills and it turns out she’s a great business woman and everyone is scandalized. Then Frank dies and Scarlett quickly becomes engaged to Rhett, who secretly loves her but she still loves Ashley. They fight a lot but secretly he still loves her. They have a baby and Rhett loves the baby so he decides to turn into a good guy. People like him now but they still hate Scarlett because she brags about her money and also owns sawmills. One day Ashley visits Scarlett alone at her sawmills, rumors abound that they are having an affair. Melanie doesn’t believe the rumors but Rhett does because he knows Scarlett loves Ashley. Scarlett and Rhett’s daughter dies in a horse riding accident and it devastates Rhett, causing even more strain on his marriage to Scarlett. Then, Melanie gets sick and on her deathbed, asks Scarlett to take care of Ashley and their son. Scarlett realizes she doesn’t love Ashley, she loves Rhett and runs home to tell him, but he has moved on and famously tells her, “Frankly, my dear I don’t give a damn” and leaves. She decides that the next day she’ll go back to her childhood home and come up with a plan to get him back.

ANALYSIS There is a lot that goes on in this book. It is like 1,000 pages of events over the course of approximately twelve years. It uses the story of the young protagonist Scarlett to detail the changes that took place in the South during and after Civil War. The changes are highlighted essentially by the fact that (until the very, very end) Scarlett herself does not change. Despite the fact that both of her parents, most of her childhood friends, two of her husbands, one of her children, and her best friend all die, she remains almost exactly the same. Three marriages and just as many children is not enough to change her in any notable way. She starts out a vapid, wealth obsessed, vain girl, convinced that she can make any man fall in love with her and determined to win the affections of a man who does not love her back and ends the book in exactly the same situation. The difference being that in the beginning of the novel, she is popular and, although envied by some, generally considered exactly what she should be. But by the end, she is hated and seen as a heartless, materialistic and scandalous woman. She did not change, but the society around her did. The war hardened people: loved ones had been lost and people had lost all of their wealth and property, slavery, a pillar of the society, had been outlawed, and the social order of white supremacy was being challenged. People in the south felt lost and hopeless and defeated. They were changed, their lives were changed, their society was changed. Scarlett was not. Scarlett’s slow descent into shame, marked by her lack of personal evolution, serves to highlight the extent of the change southern culture and life experienced during and after the Civil War.

But Mitchell was not trying to say that the South was destroyed because it had changed. In fact, the novel focuses intensely on resilience and the willpower of the south to rebuilt. Scarlett herself is an example of this: no matter what happens to her, she simply decides that she can deal with it and after a horrible winter after the war where she has no money and she and her family nearly starve, her personal slogan is that she will never let anything like that happen again. She is determined and she succeeds. Just as the south was determined to rebuild and not let itself fall apart after the war. At first after the war there are Yankees in power, making laws that the southerners hate, but after a few years, we see the northerners being driven out and many of the laws that they made being overturned. Just like Scarlett, Mitchell is showing us that the south was resilient and willful in the years after their defeat, and that it paid off. This is further symbolized in Atlanta: it was a bustling and prominent southern city before the war, and important city during the war, a devastating loss when it was burned to the ground by Yankees, and a proud victory when it was rebuilt, practically good as new, after the war was over.

It also has to be mentioned that this book, for something written in the 1930s, is pretty feminist, in the sense that Scarlett is a smart woman. She ignores social norms when they aren’t convenient for her, she ignores men when they aren’t as smart as her, she is a woman in the 1860s who owns and manages her own business – a sawmill, at that. Not a sewing or knitting business or something “womanly” but a sawmill. Where she hires and works close with convicts. She does not care about gender roles one bit. She also uses and manipulates men as she pleases, which is a mean thing to do, but is also a display of her power and is her way of taking gender roles and twisting them to her advantage instead of letting them hold her back. She also defies the general stereotype of women being nurturing and maternal because she has basically no interest in any of her three children (although on rare occasions she does display concern or love for them).

Although it may be vaguely feminist, this book is very racist. I mean, written by a southerner in 1930 about southerners during the Civil War...it shouldn’t be that shocking. But it is uncomfortable. There is a lot of “pro-slavery” talk by characters throughout the book. Every slave is portrayed as the “happy slave” stereotype and all of the slaves and former slaves that Scarlett personally knows are completely lacking in intelligence and totally and happily dependent on the white people in their lives. The only black people in the book who Scarlett does not personally know are terrifying, violent criminals.

THOUGHTS I like that Scarlett defies gendered stereotypes and takes control of her own life. I dislike that she is a horrible person and there is no other woman in the book who is remotely feminist who is not a horrible person. I’m torn between being glad that at least someone is empowered and upset that it kind of implies that being an empowered woman makes you a bad person. Also, the book is racist. Obviously, people talk about how it wouldn’t be authentic if the characters weren’t racist, given the setting of the book. And that I understand. It’s uncomfortable, but I understand. But it is possible to have racist white characters and not make all of the non-white characters horribly racist stereotypes. Having all of the black characters be offensive stereotypes changes it from a book about racists to a book that is racist. And that is not good. I just don’t enjoy reading racist books. Still, I guess it is a classic for a reason: you really get hooked into the story and you want to know when Scarlett will stop being so ignorant and realize she loves Rhett and if they’ll end up together. It’s a really long book but it’s got a pretty interesting plot so it doesn’t feel that long. It doesn’t exactly feel short, but it’s the quickest 1,000 page book I’ve read.

#Gone with the Wind #Margaret Mitchell #books #review #summary #analysis #queue

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everlarkbirthdaydrabbles · 7 years

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Hi my birthday is February 10, I'd like one set in college, fluffiness and in any rating. Thank you!

Happiest of birthdays to you! To celebrate in style, the always amazing @titaniasfics has written this delicious little everlark drabble, just for you! Enjoy!

Near-Sighted

The prompt asked for college!Everlark, fluffy or smutty. This one came out rated T.

Many thanks to @eala-musings for her betaing magic and @akai-echo and @everllarkingnewtina for prereading.

Happy birthday!

Katniss was absolutely positive she’d left her glasses sitting between The Aeneid and her laptop. A cursory glance over the piles of books on the cherrywood table assured her that her glasses were most definitely not anywhere to be found. Not on the assorted tomes lining her work area, not in the middle of the notes she was taking for her Latin Literature in Translation class. Not on the chair, in her backpack, her shirt pocket or even on top of her head. In a huff, she gave a cursory scan at the stacks she’d visited, but her vision was blurry and nothing stood out at her.

Dammit, she needed those glasses!

Her problem was not the reading or note-taking - she didn’t actually need glasses to read. She had no problem whatsoever seeing what was right in front of her. But she did need her glasses to see far away, especially as she was going to meet Madge for dinner after she finished studying. She needed them most at night if she wasn’t planning on walking into poles and sides of buildings.

She slowly expelled a lungful of air, trying to calm her frustration at having arrived at this predicament. Rounding her table, she checked the floor, the trash bin, even the lamp attached to the wall. Anything that might point her in the direction of her second pair of eyes. Finally, she issued a muffled squeal of delight when she saw the very glasses she sought on another table, just a few feet down and across from her. She walked quickly, oblivious to everything around her except for her goal of reaching her missing accessory. When they were within reach, she scooped them up from the top of the book pile and, with a sigh of relief, put them on.

Yes! Yes!

Oh, no…

She pulled them off of her eyes, blinking quickly to clear away the distortion of her surroundings. Instead of coming into focus, the world had become curved and elongated, like a mirror in a fun house. She studied the frames carefully. Solid black. Square frame. Almost too big for her face. Touch of silver inside the right earpiece…wait, no touch of silver inside the right temple tip–

“Excuse me,” came a man’s voice, so close to her, she started involuntarily.

She still held the confounding frames in her hand when she raised her eyes to meet the speaker. He was a student, like her, not entirely unfamiliar, though she’d never spoken to him. Medium build, ashy blond waves and eyes that were an absolutely riveting shade of blue. She didn’t speak as much as croak, “Yes?”

“You seem to have become fond of my glasses,” he said, a lilt of humor in his voice.

Katniss looked at him, then down at the glasses, then back up at him before thrusting the glasses forward. “Well, that explains why I can’t see with them. Your vision is worse than mine.” She placed them on the stack where she’d found them, burning inside and out with embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I was sure they were mine.”

“Did you misplace yours?” he asked, taking the glasses, wiping them briefly with a white cloth the kind that always came in eyeglass cases. He put them on and she suddenly envied him and his possession of glasses that should have been, and very nearly were, hers. Except for the fact they were not.

“Sadly, yes. They look exactly like yours and now I’m afraid I’ll never find them.”

He nodded thoughtfully, evidently thinking and scanning the stacks as she had, although she could have assured him that it was an exercise in futility.

“Where are your books? The ones you took from the shelves?”

I pointed at the table where I’d been working. “There.” I followed him as he made his way to my work area and perused the selections.

“Are you taking your lit class with Professor Coin?” he asked, picking up each book and scanning the spine of each in turn.

“Yeah,” she answered. “I was working on a paper that’s due next week.”

“Do you like her?” he asked, putting one of the books under his arm and indicating towards the stacks.

“Eh, well…” I started, wondering instead where he was going with my book. “She can be…abrupt…sometimes.”

“You’re too polite. She’s unpleasant and cold. I had her last semester. Almost made me hate reading, and I thought nothing could make me hate reading.”

She chuckled, nodding in agreement. “That’s a good way of putting it.” She pointed at her book. “What are you doing with it?”

“I figured I’d use your books as a map, go back through them until we get to the place where you lost your glasses.”

Katniss was taken aback at the offer for help. “Please, I can do that, I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

He smiled, his eyes literally twinkling, an effect that momentarily befuddled her. Even with the glasses, his eyes were a captivating shade of blue. “I needed a study break. I’m Peeta, by the way. You actually look familiar.”

“I’m Katniss,” she said, wracking her brain before clearing her throat and speaking. “And yeah, I think we might have taken a freshman class together or something.”

“We were in the same Freshman Composition and Survey of World History classes together. You also took your lunch in the cafeteria about the same time every day for a while, but…” He rubbed the back of his neck, perhaps not completely oblivious to Katniss’s surprise. “Well, it’s nice to finally meet you,” he said, a slight flush tingeing his cheek. He turned and looked again in the direction of the stacks. “Let’s start here.”

Katniss took a couple of books and followed him, attempting to study the binding for the call numbers as her mind raced. How did he remember so much about her? Yet she barely recalled him, though in her defense, freshman classes were impossible large and often taught in amphitheater-style rooms that prohibited people from interacting with anyone who was not seated closeby.

She scolded herself, setting off to search the shelves with renewed energy, attempting to focus on the task before them.

“Are you staying on campus?” he asked after several moments of scanning the row upon row of books.

“Oh, me?” she said, looking up only to become distracted by the way his back flexed under the thin materials of his white t-shirt. “I have a little place off campus that I share with three other roommates. It’s cheaper and quieter usually.”

“And probably cleaner. I’m in the dorms with another roommate, but it’s a zoo sometimes. That’s why I come here to study.”

Katniss nodded to his turned back and remembered to speak. “Me, too. I think sometimes I’m the only one in my apartment who actually studies.”

He stopped and turned with an expression of surprise. “Right? I mean, at some point, between the parties and the hanging out, you have to earn a degree, right?”

“Yeah,” she said, “I have a scholarship to keep up. Otherwise, I get sent home.”

He gazed at her, the intensity in his eyes flaring momentarily, making her feel both flushed and shivery at the same time. “I’m on a scholarship, too. Seems we have some things in common.”

“Yeah,” she said, very near breathless now. She didn’t understand how looking at someone while they spoke, something she was accustomed to doing with everyone, could have such a strange effect on her. She wasn’t much of a talker, but there was something about him that inspired a wave of contrasts - hot and cold, speech and silence, interest and shyness. She was grateful when he turned to the next aisle, leaving her momentarily alone to take a deep breath and compose herself. She hadn’t felt like that in, well, never.

When she rounded the end of the stalls, Katniss could tell his search had been unsuccessful. He was about to speak, but the buzz of her phone reverberated between them.

“Excuse me,” Katniss said as she pulled the cell out of her pocket. It was Madge and, judging by the time, she was already running late to dinner with her friends. This was confirmed by Madge’s message:

-Are you coming?

Katniss smiled apologetically at Peeta as she typed out:

-Sorry. Got hung up at the library. Misplaced my glasses

“My roommate,” she said by way of explanation. Madge’s response vibrated to life.

-Dummy, there’s a pair here, on your desk

Katniss groaned when she read the text, a sound that drew Peeta’s attention. “I’m completely brainless,” she said, shaking her head at herself.

“Why?”

“Madge…my friend…she told me my glasses are home. I’ve wasted your good time and mine also. I’m sorry.”

Peeta’s eyes widened before he chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. It’s probably the only kind of adventure you can actually have at the library. I’m happy to say I can take that off my bucket list, now.”

Katniss laughed, noting how far his humor went towards making her feel at ease. She actually didn’t really care about the glasses anymore. The phone vibrated insistently in her pocket, reminding her that she had other obligations that she simply didn’t care about either.

Peeta handed back the book he was holding, which she took absently. On an impulse, she spoke, tripping over her words, “I…I haven’t had dinner yet, and I can’t get too far without my glasses. Blind, you know?”

He tapped his own pair. “I might know something about that.”

She felt her skin prickle with heat and a certain excitement. “So…there’s a place nearby. You could…come with me…keep me from falling into a construction pit or something.”

“Ah, or from playing in traffic,” he said, the deepening pink of his cheeks and neck betraying his own nervousness. “I would love to have dinner with you.”

“That’s..great…I’ll let my roommate know,” she said as she tapped out a quick message to Madge:

Have other plans. Text you at 11

The response was nearly instantaneous:

It had better involve a guy and there had better be lots of naughty bits

Katniss glanced at Peeta, who waited patiently for her to finish, and answered:

It does and I hope so too ;)

fin

#Everlark birthday drabbles #neverstopwhileyoureahead #titaniasfics

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tessalivesandbreathesbooks · 7 years

Text

Love at Last

Next chapter is up!

Love at Last is a high school AU whose characters belong to SJM’s world, not to me. You’ll find characters from both ACOTAR and ToG whose lives you’ll learn as the story progresses. Some characters might not make an appearance, such as Manon or Elide, mainly because I haven’t got as far in the real books yet and I know I’d not make a fair representation of these character’s personalities. They might appear in the future, though. The ships I’m supporting in my story are all canon: Feysand, Rowaelin, Nessian, Elucien and Morazriel, for now.

Chapter 6 (AO3)

Nesta's POV

"Nesta? Nesta?" Elain snapped her fingers before her. "Are you even listening to me?"

Nesta rolled her eyes. She's been enduring her sister talk about Lucien for hours now. Elain had fancied Lucien for some time now, even if she had never acted upon it. She had always been too shy to ever approach him and it had only been recently, when Feyre started dating Tamlin, that she had started to flirt with him. But flirting with Elain meant batting her eyelashes at him for long periods of time and smiling at him sweetly from the distance. Lucien hardly noticed it, Nesta didn't know if it was because he was dense or just oblivious to it all.

However, now that Feyre was working with Lucien on that project, Elain could enjoy some time alone with him when he was at their home. Which was good, she guessed. Nesta had met Lucien when they were kids and they had been friends ever since. He was really fun to hang out with and he had a knack for making others mad, which had always amused her. She had been glad when her sister had told her what she felt for him, but she had also been surprised, mainly because he was her total opposite. She was so sweet while he was such an ass. They would make an interesting couple. If Lucien ever noticed Elain's flirtation and advances.

It pained her to think though how much things had changed since Tamlin arrived to school. Lucien had always been her friend and yet, all she could feel towards him lately was ... bitterness. Bitterness and rage. It pissed her off how cowardly Lucien always acted towards Tamlin. Lucien had always radiated charisma, but for some reason ever since Tamlin came to school, he's been behaving like an fool, doing whatever Tamlin wanted all the time, following him around like a lost puppy. And she hated it. She hated to see him bow before Tamlin. It was such a pitiful sight. And it reminded her of ...

Feyre.

Nesta and Feyre had done a good job of avoiding each other since their confrontation this past Thursday. Today, however, Feyre was coming to have lunch with her, Elain and Mor. Apparently, Tamlin had an appointment with the doctor so she was free.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday school ended at 2 PM, which meant they could avoid those terrifying school meals and head somewhere else to eat. Having lunch together had been a common thing for years, a tradition almost. However, ever since Feyre stared to date Tamlin she's been ditching most of their meals to be with him. She had been surprised when Feyre had texted them to let them know she was waiting for them at home, having finished her classes already.

If Nesta were honest with herself, she was tired of thinking about her sister. She was tired of seeing her like this ... sad and sorrowful, slowly breaking apart. But there wasn't anything she could do. At all. And that broke her to pieces.

She could keep trying, but ...

This is my problem, not yours, Nesta.

Nesta sighed and shook her head. "No, I wasn't. But let me guess, it was something about Lucien?"

Elain smiled at the mention of his name and said, "yes. He's just so ... perfect. I wish he would notice me. You know him better than I do so ... any tips, lovely sister?" Elain batted her eyelashes at Nesta and she chuckled.

"I don't think there's anything to do, Elain. You are one of the most incredible girls out there and if he doesn't see it, he's a fool."

Elain sighed. "Yeah, well, he's not seeing it, apparently. It's frustrating. I don't know how Feyre did it."

Nesta stared at her sister, shaking her head. She noticed how Elain's hair seemed to catch the rays of sunlight, giving her the dazzling effect of a golden halo. Elain was beautiful. She was without any doubt the most stunning of the Archeron sisters. Her long wavy chestnut hair, along with her beautiful warm face and bright brown eyes made a stunning combination and her sweet and docile demeanour made it easy to be with her. She was the perfect companion and if Lucien didn't see it then he was a fool. Even more than she thought.

Feyre was also beautiful, she guessed, although perhaps in a less apparent way. Her features were sharper than Elain's somehow and she was leaner, more raw-boned. Her hair was golden brown, similar to Elain's, but it was her eyes what truly marked the difference between them: they were of a deep blue-gray color, depending on the incident light. She was also more wicked, more intense than Elain and her charisma brought the attention of way too many. Like, Tamlin.

And then there was Nesta.

Nesta and Feyre were similar, physically speaking, but her features were indeed more jagged. And while Feyre's eyes gleamed with wickedness, Nesta's burned with a fierceness and a iciness that made others wary. She was cranky, humourless and hot-headed, which was another of the reasons few dared approach her.

Nesta didn't care though. She liked that nobody ever dared anger her or that she could see fear in other's faces when they faced her. She liked that respect. She was proud of it, even if it sometimes made her feel lonely.

It was true though that sometimes she caught herself envying her sister, when she saw her laughing at something Tamlin had whispered in her ear or when he kissed her or looked at her in utter adoration. She sometimes caught herself wishing she found someone who looked at her with love in his eyes, someone who loved her and accepted her despite her flaws. Someone who got her and saw through her armour.

But then she saw how Tamlin snarled at everyone and everything Feyre spoke to and she lost all interest.

Love. What a huge waste of time.

Nesta shrugged and said. "Boys are easy. If you want to impress him, then dress fancy, talk to him and he'll fall all over you."

Elain tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and muttered, "you make it sound so easy when it's evidently not."

"That's because it's easy." Nesta shoved her sister gently and smiled. "Just be yourself, Elain. Don't overthink it."

Elain shook her head and smiled. "Someday Nesta, you're going to fall in love and I can't wait to make fun of you for it."

Nesta rolled her eyes and snapped, "right. Whatever you say."

Elain looked at her and giggled softly. "It's going to be fun, I think, to see you turn into a nervous wreck."

"I won't turn into a nervous wreck."

"Yes, you will," Elain argued, taking out her cell phone which had just vibrated in her pocket. She looked at the message on the screen and started texting back while she said, "and it will be okay, Nesta. You don't have to be so serious all the time, so ... angry. I think falling in love would do you some good." Nesta blinked, completely taken aback. Her sister just continued and asked completely unaware of her sister's shock. "Okay, Feyre is asking where we should head over to eat. Do you have any ideas?"

Nesta shook her head. She threaded a hand through her hair and said, "ehhh ... there's this new place, La Giara. I've heard the food is pretty good, maybe we could try it out."

Elain nodded and texted back at Feyre. Then she looked at her and smiled. "Perfect. Okay, so I'm heading home to change first, but why don't you go ahead? It'll be just a moment, I swear."

Nesta shook her head. When Elain said a moment it meant forever, but she just answered. "Right, cool."

Elain smiled and hugged her. Then she sprinted right towards their house and said, "and don't worry, this time I promise I won't be late!"

Nesta gave a dismissive wave of her hand and yelled, "yeah, yeah. That's what you said last time!"

The last thing she noticed was her sister, disappearing in the distance, as she made her way towards the restaurant.

When Nesta entered the restaurant she was greeted by the soft smell of garlic and oregano. She loved that smell, almost as much as the food itself. It reminded her of her childhood somehow. Her mother used to cook a lot of Italian food when they were little and whenever she did she always made the house smell like cheese, garlic and tomato. She remembered her favourite food at that time had been Bucatini Pomodoro, which was a fat spaghetti with tomato, olive and oil. She missed her childhood, she missed how easy things used to be.

Their mother had died of cancer when Nesta had been barely eight years old, leaving three little girls alone in the world. Maybe that sounded a little bit dramatic, but it had been what had happened. Their father had been unable to look after them. The death of their mother had hit him hard and he had stopped caring about anything else: he would spend the nights out drinking himself to stupor and the mornings and afternoons sleeping like the dead or crying alone in his room. He had stopped working, leaving them almost in bankrupt, without a penny to buy food or clothes.

As of now, she didn't know what he was doing. He hadn't come home in a while, but again, that was normal. He sent them money to survive, but little more. Maybe because he didn't care. Maybe because he never had.

The memories of those first moments after her mother died would always stay with her though, no matter how hard she tried to erase them: her father's crying, her mother's last breath, her own tears shed during the night when nobody watched her, Feyre's dead expression ... she had a lot of be grateful for Feyre. During those first weeks of utter desolation and grief, she had been the one who had taken care of everything. She still felt guilty about it mainly because Feyre shouldn't have had to endure it all alone. Nesta should have been able to help her ... but she hadn't.

She was just as bad as their father. A coward, a useless nobody. She hated him so much ... for doing nothing when they had needed him the most. For failing her, for failing them.

Just as she had failed her sisters.

Nesta gritted her teeth, her knuckles white from clenching her fists too hard. She swallowed and took in a deep breath, trying to remain calm despite her storm of emotions. She had been enduring lots of stress lately with her own problems and Feyre's, she didn't need to upset herself even more thinking about her mother.

Suddenly, she remembered her sister's words: I think falling in love would do you some good.

Would it? No, she didn't think so. Love was for dreamers. People who live as crushed by reality would never stand a chance.

Nesta shook her head and looked around. The place was almost empty, only a few tables occupied by customers. She noticed a small table by the window and she went to sit there. She could feel the fury boiling within her, pushing to get out. No matter how hard she tried, all she seemed to feel lately were fury, pain and desolation. And she knew that someday, if she keep pressing it all down, she would explode.

And whoever stood before her would regret it for the rest of their sorry life.

Suddenly, she heard someone approaching. She felt her anger stirring in her gut. Today was not a good day to mess up with her. The last thing she needed was ...

"Hey there, beautiful."

Nesta looked up, her eyes flashing with indignation and anger. If she were honest with herself, she had been expecting to find some random dude, who would have been more than sorry for bothering her when she was in such a bad mood, but ... no, that wasn't the case.

Before her stood the most handsome man Nesta had ever seen. He was looking down at her with a wolfish grin on his face. He was tall, maybe a head taller than her, with shoulder-length dark hair and bright hazel eyes that were looking at her with intensity. Her mouth dried at the sight of him. When he noticed she was speechless, he smirked, clearly pleased.

"Cat got your tongue, sweetheart?" He chuckled. "Not that I blame you. Who can resist to this?" He gestured his body with one of his hands, his eyes gleaming with wicked delight.

Nesta blushed with embarrassment. She grunted, "a little less of pride wouldn't hurt, prick."

He smiled even broader. "So the kitten has claws. Nice."

Nesta's face went red with anger and she hissed, "are you here just to piss me off or do you have a purpose?"

The smile remained on his face when he said, "I'm you waiter, actually. Although I'm wondering if you're going to have lunch all alone. It's a pity, truly, that a girl as beautiful as you has to eat on her own." He winked. "Let me invite you for lunch. My shift finishes soon and I do know a few places we could go."

Nesta glared at him. "And why would I ever go with you anywhere?"

He arched his brow, "it can't be worse than eating alone."

Nesta clenched her fists beneath the table and gritted her teeth. She said, with a voice full of contained rage, "I'm not eating alone, you jerk. I'm waiting for some friends."

He held up his palms, that smile still plastered on his face. "Okay, okay, fine." He looked over his shoulder and then back at her, his eyes gleaming with malice. Then he sat down, right next to her.

She growled, "what do you think you're doing?"

He just looked at her and smiled sweetly, "I'm going to stay with you until your friends come up."

"No, you aren't."

He chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning on the chair. "And why, exactly?"

"I don't know, maybe because you should be working?"

He looked over again and gestured to the tables around them. Then he said, his voice as sweet as honey, "I don't know if you've noticed, but the place is pretty empty right now. I think they won't notice if I'm away for a couple of minutes."

"If I scream, I'm sure they will."

He smiled even broader, showing off deep dimples in both cheeks. She blushed. What was wrong with her?

He continued, clearly amused at her frustration. "I think I like you, wildcat."

She looked away and grunted. "Just go away."

She looked around for any of the other waiters, but none of them seemed available. Suddenly, she felt his fingers lifting her chin to look at her directly in the eyes. She blushed and stared at him, anger pouring out of her in waves. He just looked at her and purred. "My name's Cassian, by the way."

"I don't care." She shook his hand away and glowered at him. "Look, I'm not interested in whatever game you are playing so just go away and leave me the hell alone. If you don't, I'll make you and it won't be nearly as pleasant as you think."

He just stared at her, a small smile on his face. He shook his head. "You can resist to me all you want, wildcat, but in the end my charms will win you over."

She growled. "We just met."

He laughed. "And it was clearly love at first sight."

Nesta raked her fingers through her hair and sighed, frustrated. "Just ... stop, okay? This is not funny."

"What's not funny?"

"You. This." She gestured at them with her hand. "Don't pretend you like me when it's obvious you don't. You've probably flirted with every single girl who's been here just because you can. And I'm not interested in that, in you. So just, stop, alright?"

He stayed silent for a while and she didn't dare look at him. When he spoke again, she couldn't identify the emotion behind his voice. "Can you at least tell me your name?"

She sighed in exasperation. "Haven't you heard anything I've just said? And why do you want to know?"

"Because I do."

She shook her head and finally dared herself to look right into his eyes. His eyes were burning with an emotion she couldn't quite place and he was looking at her like a predator seizing his prey. They stared at each other, oblivious to the voices around them. Then, something flickered in his gaze and Nesta's heart skip a beat.

Suddenly, Cassian leaned in until their faces were inches apart. He whispered, "haven't you considered that maybe I am trying to flirt with you because I like you? That the only reason I'm talking to you is because I am clearly interested in you?"

Nesta drew in a long breath. He was still looking at her, his eyes locked on hers. Without any warning, she felt his focus shift to her lips and her mouth dried. The rest of the world ceased to exist for a split of second and the only two people on the planet were them: two magnets, colliding. Nesta's heart raced in her chest, the only sound of the room. His eyes moved towards hers again, pleased and determined.

"Nesta!"

Her sister's voice broke the spell they were in. Nesta withdrew from Cassian and looked over to see her sisters waving at her. She closed her eyes and let out a harsh breath.

"Your friends?" Cassian asked softly.

She gulped. "My ... my sisters."

He nodded absently. She noticed her sisters were approaching the table, and she made as if to get up, but he grabbed her by the arm and whispered, so low she almost didn't hear it. "This isn't over, just so you know."

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I'm not giving up. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I'm going to make you fall in love with me."

Nesta's heart skipped a beat. Even though she was a mess inside, her voice was calm when she said. "You are crazy."

He smiled softly. "I haven't flirted with anyone else by the way. Not today, not a week ago. Just you."

Nesta's heart pounded wildly in her chest. "It doesn't matter. You and I ... we're probably never going to see each other again. You know that, right?"

He chuckled. "Such pessimistic thoughts. Are you always like this?"

"Not always, but most of the time."

He smiled and let go of her. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Nesta. Until we see each other again."

She shook her head. "If we see each other again."

He started to walk away, but she heard him say, his voice barely a whisper. "Trust me, we will."

Nesta stared at him as he disappeared behind a door. Suddenly, she heard a voice behind her.

"Who was that?"

Nesta blinked and turned around to see her sisters standing before her. Feyre was looking at her curiously and Elain was practically glowing with happiness.

Nesta grimaced. "Nobody."

Elain grasped Feyre's arm and exclaimed. "Oh my goodness, are you blushing? Feyre, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Feyre smiled a knowing smile. "I think I am."

Nesta grunted. "Can you please stop?"

"Are you kidding? Of course not!" Elain stared at the empty place where Cassian had been. "Who is he? Do you have his number?"

"I don't care and no, I don't."

"And what are you waiting for?" She starting looking for him around the place. "Where did he go?"

"Elain, stop."

"Oh c'mon, Nesta, stop being so serious! You ... "

"Elain, can't you see you're making her uncomfortable?" Feyre asked, her voice soft. She looked at Nesta, understanding flashing in her eyes and said, "leave her alone. She will do what she sees fit." Elain huffed and Feyre looked at her clock. "And let's go eat somewhere, it's late and I'm starving."

Elain glanced at Nesta. "We were supposed to eat here."

"Well, it seems we're eating elsewhere so let's go."

Elain was still rumbling when they got out of the restaurant, clearly mad at them. When they were out, Nesta whispered softly to Feyre. "Thank you."

Feyre gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "No big deal. But Nesta?"

"Yes?"

"If you ever need someone to talk ... I'm here, okay?"

Nesta looked at Feyre. Feyre's eyes were shining with understanding and seriousness. Somehow Feyre had always been able to understand her, better than anyone else. And now ... she knew she understood. Feyre understood that she needed time to process what had just happened, what she was feeling, she needed to think it over and calm down before talking about it to anyone. And Feyre's stare ... it told her that she was willing to wait for as long as she needed. She would wait for her until she was ready.

Nesta and Feyre kept walking and before Nesta could think it too much she said, "I'm sorry for being so mean to you the other day."

Feyre looked down and shrugged. "I said some pretty mean things too. It's okay."

Nesta nodded and she said, "and, Feyre?"

Feyre looked at her again. "Yes?"

"If you ever need someone to talk, I'm here too, okay?"

Feyre smiled softly. "I know."

#love at last #chapter 6 #fanfiction #nesta's pov #fanfic #nessian #nesta x cassian #nesta x feyre

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