#i'm so tired of hearing my dad say 'we can't live in a bubble'

[toomuchracket]

Alwaysss up for Christmas delulu think about d word babas first Christmas and they’re just in their own little bubble 😭 and like the fam and Denise visiting

yesssssss i do feel like i neglect baby alex in that au so let's talk about the first christmas after he's born. lyla was seven months old for her first christmas, so she was a little bit more aware and active than her little brother, who's only four weeks old for his. it's also different in that, last time, you all went to stay with matty's family, but this year you're at home and your families are coming over; your parents offered to host, given that you have literally just had a baby, but actually you and matty thought it would be easier for both you and the babies if you didn't have to leave the house lol. they're helping with dinner, but on christmas morning itself it's just the four of you - you snap awake when you hear alex crying just before 7am, but matty's over with him before you can get up, scooping him up like "oh, my boy. what's up? oh, wait, never mind - i can smell it", and he smiles at you and says "go back to sleep, sweetheart, i've got him". you're so tired that you can't even argue, and you wake up roughly an hour later feeling quite well-rested to the most adorable sight - alex lying on matty's bare chest, smiling at his sister, who's squished in between her parents, stroking his tiny hand. anyway, you all exchange merry christmases and kisses and cuddles, and you feed alex while matty and lyla go and make breakfast. then it's time for opening presents in the living room - lyla is so excited to give alex the soft toy she picked out for him, and she's adamant she wants to show him the book he got her (though neither of them can read lmfao), and you and matty both have to try not to cry at the presents the kids got you and the ones you got each other (he def buys you jewellery. maybe fancy earrings that "you could maybe wear on our wedding day, if you like", said in the most tender tone you could imagine. god you can't wait to marry him. anyway). and there are more family cuddles, because of course there are, before your parents get here and keep an eye on the babies while you and matty get a minute to yourselves to a) kiss and b) get ready; when everyone's properly dressed and matty's family arrive, there's more present exchanging, and then your dad starts prepping dinner while the grandmothers take turns cooing over the babies. your mum's like "i know i'm biased because he's my grandson, but alex might actually be the cutest baby boy i've ever seen" - you're like "you literally have two sons of your own", and she's like "yeah, but look at him! those eyes!", and you smile and kiss matty's head like "perfect eyes. exactly the same as his dad's". matty gets all blushy and snuggles further into you at that, and denise is like "it almost freaks me out how alike you he is, matty. but cuter"; he laughs at that like "yeah, his mum's genes didn't really get a look in, did they? but that must mean he'll be exactly like you personality-wise, darling, yeah?", and denise is like "what, not taking any of your nonsense? god, i hope so" lol. matty's perfect the whole day, though, quietly making sure you're comfy and have everything you need, and he sits with alex cosied into his chest during dinner while you get some time to yourself to eat (your dad is content enough to play the "you have a bite, then me" game with lyla the whole time lol) - it's a family effort to get the kids to bed, though, the grandmothers doing bathtime and the granddads doing the bedtime story. you kinda despair at that, because "it's christmas! you're our guests!", but they all say "we love you so much, but shut up and let us do this for you two and our grandkids. have a minute to yourselves!"; matty doesn't need much convincing, and he pulls you to the kitchen to make you a fancy hot chocolate and finish the profiteroles from dessert. you talk and laugh and kiss the chocolate from each other's lips, and matty's like "i love you. and our kids. and our family. today's been perfect, darling. thank you for making it that way". of course, you feel the same <3

#mads answers asks #matty asks #fluff asks #d word matty #literal d word #lyla #alex #moots <3 #christmas

[moonchildreads]

small town

Chapter 20 - Self Control

IN THIS CHAPTER: The last high school party, apple flavored Kool-Aid, and Andy gets what he deserves [10.3k]

WARNINGS: underaged drinking, mentions of drug use (weed), slut shaming, a little misunderstanding (gets resolved really quickly), suggestive themes? (very mild, eddie's just a little bit wired, okay?)

A/N: i know i'm a day late, i'm sorry T.T someone got fired at my job and i'm supposed to handle their shit now because my boss is kinda cheap. it is what it is. BUT. hopefully this chapter makes up for my tardiness because as you can probably tell from the banner, the slow burn is officially boiling, you guys! enjoy <3

masterlist - prev - next | playlist

In the night, no control Through the wall something's breaking

Saturday, May 31st - 1986

Dottie was pacing like a nervous dog in a cage, feet hitting the soft rug in front of her closet with each step she took. It was the first Saturday in a long time that she hadn't spent in a blissful domestic bubble with Eddie and she was feeling downright antsy. The night before, once Hellfire had officially said goodbye to its Class of '86, the two teens had sat themselves in a booth at the back of The Hideaway with burgers, fries, and milkshakes, and something had finally clicked into place for her. There was no longer a specific need for them to spend so much time together anymore - no more exams to study for, no more books to read or worksheets to fill, and yet there they were still, on a Friday night, getting food together like usual. Sitting opposite of Eddie in that booth, watching him try to lick ketchup from the corner of his mouth and not reaching the smudge with the tip of his tongue, it dawned on Dottie that she had never loved anyone the way she loved him.

It wasn't that Dottie hadn't loved throughout her life, because truthfully she had. She had loved her Dad first, tiny fingers wrapping around a big thumb when she was just a few hours old. She'd loved her Grandparents, all four of them equally, but maybe no one should tell them that Grandma Jo leaving after a visit would always cause the biggest sobs to escape her tiny toddler body. She'd loved her Uncle Johnny, always cuddling up to him while they lived together, not really understanding that he wasn't actually her Uncle until it was too late to start calling him anything else. She'd loved her friends back in New York, even though she knew now that they hadn't loved her back in return. Hell, she'd loved Tyler, or else it wouldn't have hurt as much as it did when he broke her heart. Dottie wasn't someone that didn't know what loving meant or felt like, but the way she loved Eddie was unlike any other kind of love she had ever experienced before, and she knew she had to tell him sometime soon or she'd regret it for the rest of her life.

But first, there was prom, and graduation, and most pressingly, a party for which she had absolutely no idea of what she was going to wear, hence the continuous pacing. James, tired of hearing the back and forth on the wooden floors for the last fifteen minutes, came into his daughter's bedroom resigned to play stylist for the night like he'd done so many times before. Keeping up with the latest trends for the sake of his little girl was a full time job he had long ago learned to love.

"Do you know what Nancy is gonna wear?" he asked, sitting down at the end of Dottie’s bed.

"No, I didn't think to ask. But she always looks so pretty, Dad, I can't look like a bum."

"How about you tell me what you don't want to wear and we can start from there, okay?"

Thirty minutes later, Dottie had an outfit laid out where James had been sitting and she was doing her makeup in a hurry before Nancy picked her up. The plan was simple: go to the party, say hi to Chrissy and thank her for the invite, hang out with Nancy for a bit, meet up with the boys, and if the party sucked, head over to Jeff's for a movie night. He'd rented Ghoulies and Weird Science for the weekend and he still hadn't seen either, so it seemed as good a backup plan as any. Besides, movie nights had always meant sharing a blanket with Eddie and cozying up to him when she got sleepy. No matter what ended up happening, she knew her night wouldn't be completely terrible.

"Honey? Are you done yet? Nancy is here!" James yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"I'll be down in a second!" she hurried to put on her clothes and ran down the stairs to meet her friend, crossbody bag bouncing behind her and hitting her backside.

She found Nancy politely making small talk with her Dad on the foyer; James had gone to school with her mom Karen and had fond memories of sharing a desk with her throughout their many years at Hawkins’ various academic buildings. They hadn't exactly been friends, but they always were on good terms and had even worked on a few projects together, namely one about growing sprouts from beans in mason jars when they were in middle school.

"Hey! Sorry for making you wait," Dottie said, stopping to hug Nancy who was better prepared to receive it than she had been in the school’s bathroom a day before.

"You're fine, don't worry about the time," Nancy reassured her. "There aren't any schedules to keep at these parties, everyone just comes and goes when they want to."

"Oh, good to know that we can just leave whenever if it sucks."

"Speaking of that," James said, getting his daughter's attention. "Call me if you're staying at Jeff's, okay? I'll come pick you up tomorrow."

"Donny can drop me off, you don’t gotta come," she waved her hand nonchalantly.

"Okay, but call me anyway so I know where you are. Take care you two, don't get too wild."

"Dad, seriously," Dottie rolled her eyes, exasperated but not without fondness. She knew he worried too much, but after all they’d been through, she couldn't blame him.

"Have a good night, Mr. Burke, it was nice to meet you," Nancy said, heading out with Dottie at her heels.

"You too, Nancy. Say hi to your parents for me, will you?"

The girls got into Nancy's car and drove away towards Loch Nora, the radio playing The Rolling Stones’ Harlem Shuffle softly in the background. They talked about random things, filling the empty space with the kind of anxious but lighthearted conversations one would have with someone they don’t know very well yet. So far their budding friendship had proved satisfactory for both girls, and they were willing to put in the effort to get to know one another better, even when that meant having to venture outside the comfort zone The Weekly Streak’s newsroom provided. During the ride Nancy complimented Dottie's outfit, and in turn, she had loudly admired hers, prompting the blue-eyed girl to admit she'd borrowed the shiny jacket with padded shoulders from her Mom’s wardrobe. After a good-natured laugh, Dottie admitted she had stolen her dress from her Mom’s closet too and Nancy told her her Mom had good taste. When they parked across the street from Jason Carver's house however, the friendly chatter ceased and both girls stared at the two-storey rising in front of them with apprehension.

"I'm so nervous," Dottie admitted, watching the colors spilling from the fairy lights inside the living room paint the veranda red, then green, then blue, and finally back to red.

"Me too," Nancy said, taking a shaky breath. "But we got this. How bad can it be?"

"Yeah. You’re right. It’ll be fun," Dottie nodded, and arm in arm they ventured inside the packed house in search of good old teenage normalcy.

Neither Nancy nor Dottie were having the slightest bit of fun. After a few shouted-over-loud-music hellos to some familiar faces, they had found themselves in Jason’s kitchen, nursing cups of a strange brown concoction that didn’t smell good and tasted even worse. Dottie wasn’t much of a drinker, and apparently Nancy wasn’t either, citing that the last time she’d gotten drunk, she’d embarrassed herself so badly she’d rather not have a repeat. The jocks and popular kids disagreed heavily with that assessment, and were having a lot of fun with two kegs in the backyard next to the pool. Dottie had suggested they venture out, sit by the water where it wasn’t as stuffy, but Nancy had quickly directed her into the kitchen where they ran into Marcie Hurley, an acquaintance from the newspaper club. Marcie was a lovely tall girl with a bold pixie cut; she was currently slightly intoxicated but full of ideas for stories to run in the last edition of The Weekly Streak before summer holidays started. Nancy pretended to listen to her with her utmost attention, but Dottie could tell by the way her eyes were glazed over that she was definitely calculating how much more she’d have to hear before she could get away without coming across as rude. Two girls Dottie didn’t know walked into the kitchen searching for something fruity to drink when they said something that caught her attention.

“What do you mean Munson said no?” one of the girls was saying.

“He said he wasn’t selling tonight! Which is honestly such bullshit, he was smoking with some other guys, he definitely had something on him,” the second girl said, pouring vodka into a cup.

“Show him your tits, maybe he’ll share with you.”

“Ew, I’m not that desperate!” the first one laughed loudly.

Dottie scowled immediately. She’d once gotten curious about him dealing and asked him a couple of questions, like how did he get into selling and if he was allowed to smoke his own product. Eddie hadn’t been particularly proud of his answers, but she told him she didn’t mind: the money helped pay for some bills around the trailer and put food onto their table. It wasn’t like he was dealing hard stuff or was some kind of mafia lord moving tons of product, for fuck’s sake. People talked about him like he had his thumb on the illegal underground in Hawkins when in reality, he was just a teen selling weed and a couple of pills here and there to a few fellow students at parties. Dottie hoped he’d never done something as gross as asking a girl to show him her body in exchange for a couple of hits of a shitty joint. She liked to believe she knew Eddie, and in her opinion he’d never do something like that, but teenagers had never been particularly known for making good choices. Nancy was already looking at her when she turned around, a knowing smile on her face. She nodded towards the door once, and after a whispered “thank you” off Dottie went in search of her friends.

The boys were enjoying the fresh air and sharing a smoke on the veranda at the front of the house, not really ready to go inside and face the music just yet. Donny had picked up Gareth and Jeff on his way to the party, but Eddie had arrived solo just a few minutes after them. They were talking about music, as they often did, when Dottie opened the front door and jumped on Jeff’s back, who flinched in surprise.

“Fucking hell, Dot, you’re gonna kill me someday if you keep doing that,” he said, rubbing his chest.

“I was worried you guys weren’t gonna show up,” she admitted, hanging onto his shoulders. He leaned his weight into her, hands wrapping around her loose wrists like they were backpack straps to keep her in place as they swayed side to side.

“Party sucks that much?” Donny asked, passing along the joint to Gareth.

“I mean, it’s not like I know a lot of people here. I’ve been hearing Nancy talk to other girls all night, and I think she’s as fed up as me.”

“Wanna ditch?” Jeff asked.

“We’re not leaving until I drink my fuckin’ weight in rich people’s beer,” Gareth declared, giving the cig to Eddie who took a long drag and put the roach out on the underside of the railing he was leaning against.

“If you want beer, there are a bunch of cans in the kitchen but you gotta fish them out of the cooler and someone spilled something green in there. It’s kinda gross,” Dottie grimaced.

“What? No keg?”

“Actually, there’s two in the backyard but the basketball team took ownership of one and I think the football team was doing handstands on top of the other one.”

“That’s so fucking lame,” Donny scoffed.

“Well then, who’s down for fishing?” Jeff looked at the guys, and Gareth shrugged, putting his hands in his jean pockets and following him inside.

“You coming?” Donny asked Eddie who didn’t move from his spot.

“Nah, gonna smoke a cig first. You go ahead,” he said, getting his Camels out of his front pocket.

Donny headed back inside and then it was just Dottie and Eddie under the moonlight, the tiny lamp above the front door doing nothing to shield them from the darkness. Eddie smiled, putting the cigarettes back in his pocket and opening his arms so Dottie could sheepishly tuck herself into him. She felt like she could finally breathe easy when feeling his chest rising up and down under her cheek, his warmth seeping into her bones.

“Too many people?” he asked knowingly, cupping the back of her head with one of his hands. Her fingers drew patterns on the soft cotton of his shirt.

“Mhm,” she nodded. “This is nice.”

“Yeah? You like my shirt?”

“Smells good,” she laughed. He smelled like Old Spice aftershave and laundry detergent.

“Why, thank you for noticing I showered, princess,” he said, grinning. “You look pretty. This your Mom’s dress?”

“Yeah,” she beamed, looking down at her shift baby blue dress. “I didn’t know what to wear so I just played it safe. The socks are new though,” she lifted her leg to show her white ankle socks with frills under her black kitten heels.

“So cute,” Eddie pouted theatrically, making her slap his chest in return. “No, really. You look nice.”

“Thanks,” she settled back against him, cheeks burning.

They enjoyed each other’s presence for a few seconds when the front door opened with a bang, an overexcited and red-eyed Chrissy Cunningham spilling out from the inside, her giggles following her as she skipped towards them in tune with the music coming from the speakers in the living room.

“Am I interrupting something?” she asked, a mischievous grin gracing her fairy-like features.

“Hey, Chris,” Eddie smiled, still holding onto Dottie as she turned in his arms to take a look at the newcomer. “How was your latest purchase?

“It was so good. Valerie, Julie and I just smoked a joint each in the bathroom,” she whispered conspiratorially, making Dottie laugh.

“Oh my. What would Jason say if he knew you were hotboxing his shower?” Eddie matched her tone.

“What Jason doesn’t know won’t hurt him. D’you want to smoke with us later, Dot? Only girls allowed.”

“Sorry, I’m not really a smoker,” Dottie said, feeling a little bit dumb. “But I’ll take you up on that Queen song you promised me yesterday if you wanna dance.”

“Oh my God, yes!” Chrissy grabbed her arm and pulled her out of Eddie’s grasp. “She’s mine now, Ed!”

“I can see that. I’m gonna go get a beer,” Eddie said, following them inside. “Have fun, ladies!”

“We will!”

Weed affects different people in different ways. That was a fact Dottie knew after spending so much time with the members of Corroded Coffin, better known as her best friends. Donny was always virtually the same after a good session, just got very thirsty. Eddie would get deep and thoughtful, and once the effects were gone, he’d get so hungry he’d eat drywall if it was the only thing around. Gareth, like Chrissy, would get giggly once he hit that sweet spot. It was like drinking, Donny had told her once. Everyone had a different tolerance, and most of the time taking a few hits of a shared joint wouldn’t be enough to change anyone’s personality significantly. There were other people like Jeff, for example, who had a very low tolerance and had decided to stop smoking altogether after realizing he’d get panicky and his clothes would always start itching each time he indulged in the vice with his friends. None of them had ever questioned him or pressured him to smoke after that, the same way that they didn’t pressure Dottie to smoke or drink when they were doing it around her. They’d always smoke outside, and Dottie and Jeff were free to lounge around on the couch and talk about anything and everything until they all regrouped inside again. Watching Chrissy be so carefree and joyful made Dottie think that maybe she’d enjoy being invited to one of their movie nights some day.

Chrissy, on the other hand, was a girl on a mission. There were no movie nights being planned in her head; she was instead focused on getting information out of Dottie to relay to Eddie at his earliest convenience. Chrissy liked Dottie, she really did. She liked how kind and attentive she was despite always walking around with an anxiety cloud above her head. She liked how she dressed, with her vintage clothing and big earrings Chrissy couldn’t wear because it’d be dangerous for a cheerleader to be tossed around with hoops or fun acrylic shapes dangling from her ears. She liked how she made Eddie feel, and Chrissy liked Eddie very much, so that just cemented Dottie in her mind as a good person to have around. And so, the blonde lulled her into a sense of comradery with heartfelt compliments and wild dances, trying to get to the bottom of the question she’d had swirling around in her brain for two months now: do you like my friend or is he wasting his time to end with his heart broken? To her credit, what came out of her mouth was much more subtle than that.

“Eddie’s awesome, isn’t he?” Chrissy asked, casting her line into the sea and waiting for Dottie to bite.

“Yeah, he’s great!”

“He was so right about us being friends! I’m so happy you came!”

“Well, thank you for inviting me!” Dottie smiled at her, and Chrissy squeezed her hand in response.

The party was in full swing now. Nancy had found a couple of classmates she got along with and finally managed to escape Marcie’s insistent newspaper talk; she looked much more happy talking to them near the door to the backyard than she’d looked like back in the kitchen. Donny, Gareth and Jeff were fishing out beer cans from the cooler and passing them along to people that normally ignored them in the hallways, their bravery for sticking their hands into the horrid green liquid making them the heroes of underaged teens trying to get unbearably drunk before inevitably throwing up all over Mrs. Carver’s bushes. Eddie stood to a side, near the archway that led to the stairs where bubblegum pink eyeshadow Marianne from his Sociology class had just disappeared up to with his lovesick boyfriend trailing behind her, much to his friends’ jeers and claps. The metalhead had a barely sipped on beer in his hand and hearts in his eyes as he watched Dottie and Chrissy spin around in the middle of the living room, singing along to Top 40 hits and dodging couples making out.

Eddie had never felt happy at a house party before. He’d usually drop by, deal a little bit from the back of his van, and speed away either to Jeff’s house to hang out with his friends or back towards his trailer where he’d smoke and fuck around with his guitar until he’d fall asleep on his tummy with his jeans still on. But standing there, seeing his friends being treated like normal people instead of the dirt beneath a shoe, he felt happy at a party for once in his life. He felt like a normal teenager, like everyone else in the Hawkins High Class of ‘86 saying goodbye to a long school year and hello to the unforgettable summer ahead. Chrissy made a suggestive face at him while dancing around with Dottie and Eddie laughed.

“Hey, Munson!” a familiar voice said, coming to clap his shoulder and snapping him out of his trance.

“Hey, Foster. How are you doing?”

“Weird seeing you here,” Kyle Foster of the Yearbook Club said, looking friendly but fidgety. “You never sell inside at these things.”

“Not selling tonight, man. Just enjoying the beer,” he lifted his can above waist level to demonstrate.

“Ah, dude, that sucks. I had a twenty with your name on it,” he clicked his tongue. “But if our deal still stands, I guess in a couple of weeks you’ll have a bag with my name on it.”

“I’m a man of my word, Foster,” Eddie smirked, shoving his hand into his pocket. “But here, for your troubles.”

He produced a tightly rolled joint from inside his packet of Camels and extended it to Kyle, who looked at him like he’d grown two heads. Never in his entire time being Eddie’s customer had he sold him a pre-roll, much less one that he had intended to smoke himself at some point. He eyed him curiously, not making any moves to pluck it out of the dealer’s hand.

“You sure about that, Munson?” he asked, giving him the chance to recant his offer.

“Yeah, you can have it. I’m not gonna smoke it and I’m feeling generous tonight. Just don’t send anyone else my way, okay? It’s the only one I had.”

“Y-yeah, man, sure! Thanks,” Kyle smiled, grabbing his prize for holding a polite conversation with the town’s freak who felt like less and less of a monster as the school year came to a close. “Here, take the twenty anyways,” he pulled a single bill from his back pocket. “Sorry about, y’know, that whole thing. See you when the yearbooks come out!”

And with that, he shoved the note into Eddie’s hand and left towards the backyard, probably in search of a borrowed lighter to spark up in a corner of Jason Carver’s lush garden. Eddie looked down at his hand, snorted, and put the twenty bucks away to spend another day. Maybe he’d get Dottie a strawberry milkshake like he’d done the day before, only to watch her eyes light up at the first taste and indulge in her pleas because it’s so good, Ed, you gotta try this! They make them with real strawberries! Chrissy found his eyes again over Dottie’s shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him. He clutched his chest like he had been hurt by her, overdramatic as always, and Dottie twirled Chrissy around breaking their eye contact. The songs changed but the girls stayed dancing and he kept on watching them with a satisfied smile on his face. It was a shame, really, that Eddie often became blind whenever he saw the girl he was in love with being truly, completely happy, because if he didn’t, he would have noticed one Andy fucking Humphrey staring at him like he could make the dumb metalhead drop dead in a heartbeat just by looking at him.

Jason Carver wasn’t the typical high school bully you’d see in films. Truthfully, he wasn’t even a bully; he just kept quiet while his friends did all the fucked up things the basketball team was infamous for. He was known as someone who would fly off the handle quickly, but not without reason. He took freshmen and sophomores under his wing, taught them what being a good teammate looked like, gave them a family within the walls of Hawkins High as part of his team. Jason was, if anything else failed, extremely protective and fiercely loyal to his own, and expected the same considerations to be returned to him. So when Andy, one of his best friends since elementary, came running to tell him that The Freak of Hawkins High was trying to flirt with his girlfriend in front of everyone, Jason had no reason to doubt him. Why would he, when Andy had been nothing but reliable all this time?

“What do you think you’re doing, creep?” Jason told Eddie, his tone low, trying not to call too much attention to themselves. Chrissy didn’t need to see this, she didn’t have to know she was being ogled by a pervert under his own roof.

“Drinking your beer, Carver, what does it look like I’m doing?” Eddie said with a sour tone, and instantly knew that had been the wrong answer.

“Yeah? What makes you think you’re welcome in my house?”

“Chill, man, I got invited, same as everyone else.”

“Who would want you here?” Chance Peterson said, appearing at Jason’s shoulder. This was bad.

“Uh, his girlfriend? Just like everyone else?” Eddie deadpanned, putting his can of beer on a ledge and lifting his palms. “Look, I’m really not looking to cause any trouble tonight-”

“Why would Chrissy invite you? You aren’t friends,” Patrick asked, and Eddie held back a scoff. He was willing to bet he knew Chrissy, the real Chrissy, more than any of these meatheads did.

“She invited all the seniors, that’s all there is to it. I’m a senior too-”

“Yeah, a senior citizen, you freak,” Chance said. “Why don’t you go home early and leave us actual seniors alone, huh? What is this, your tenth time trying to graduate?”

“See Peterson, I always knew you didn’t know how to count, but didn’t think you would be so bad at it. Should have known though, it’s not like anyone expects you to do anything that isn’t playing around with your balls. Now why don’t you back off and let your captain here and I have a civil conversation, alright?” Eddie looked down at Chance who narrowed his eyes at him, but Jason threw his arm out to stop him from moving forward.

“We’re not having a conversation, Munson. Back off my girlfriend or leave.”

“I’m not interested in your fuckin’ girlfriend, Carver,” Eddie said, bewildered.

“You say that, but you sure were looking at her before we walked in,” Andy said, stepping around his friends to stand next to Jason. “Wanna explain that?”

“Is looking at someone a goddamn crime now? Can’t exactly leave my eyes at home, you dumbass,” Eddie said, getting loud.

“So you were looking at Chrissy!” Jason yelled.

“No, I wasn’t! Believe it or not, not everyone is fuckin’ in love with your girlfriend, man!”

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Donny flanked Eddie, his voice booming over the sound of the music.

“Back off, dude, what’s your deal?” Gareth threatened Chance when he shoulder-checked him.

People were starting to catch on now, curious eyes looking around for the latest gossip. Jason and Eddie yelling at each other wasn’t exactly new, but both groups of friends having a screaming match at a house party? Now, that was juicy. As everyone started insulting and trying to intimidate each other, Eddie looked around trying to find Dottie in the crowd. She was still dancing with Chrissy, oblivious to the conflict, and now another cheerleader had joined them; he was pretty sure she was a junior and her name was Valerie.

“Hey! Stop looking at her, asshole!” Andy said, grabbing Eddie’s hair and turning his head back towards the imminent fight.

Andy’s voice was loud enough to startle the girls and make them look their way. Chrissy and Valerie paled instantly, hurrying forward to try to contain the scene before it turned truly ugly, leaving a path open behind them for Dottie to follow. Chrissy grabbed Jason’s arm and tried pulling him away when Eddie turned to Dottie and shook his head, his curls still in Andy’s grasp.

“It’s okay, Dot, stay over there!” he told her, not wanting to get her involved and hurt.

But it was too late, because Andy, as stupid as he was, caught on pretty quickly. He hadn’t recognized her before, all dolled up and giggly while she danced with Chrissy and Valerie. He’d simply assumed she was one of their friends, maybe even a junior he hadn’t really paid too much attention to while in school. Insistent on Eddie perving on Chrissy, he’d missed a crucial detail: that the unknown girl she was dancing with was the same girl that had threatened him in the AP Spanish classroom just a week ago. The same one that had told him to stay away from the Hellfire Club. That girl wasn’t Chrissy’s friend, she was a freak, merely blending in with the rest of the school population because she didn’t wear dark colors and leather. Andy turned on her so quickly she didn’t have time to heed Eddie’s warning before he was spewing venom towards her.

“I see now, freak,” Andy said, letting go of Eddie’s hair with a shove and stepping towards Dottie. “You weren’t looking at Chrissy, you were looking at your bitch.”

“What the fuck did you just call me?” Dottie said, angrily.

“That’s what you are, isn’t it? The freak’s little bitch. That’s why you came after me last week, huh?” Andy was seething. “Did he tell you to do that?”

“You brought that on your own by being a smug idiot,” she told him, not backing down from the fight even though she was terrified of him.

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Patrick asked.

“This slut tried to tell Mr. Lorenzo that I cheated on a test if I didn’t leave her friends alone,” Andy explained, once again looking smug. Everyone was watching them now. “Said I was gonna lose my ride to college, acted all flirty and shit. What is it, honey? The freak not giving it to you good enough? Do they all share you, like the big whore you a-”

“Fuck!”

Dottie hadn’t hesitated. Instead, she’d just simply punched him right in the face with her right fist, thumb on the outside like her Grandpa Ken had taught her when they were boxing in his backyard one summer, hitting pillows and humming along to the Rocky theme song while Grandma Caroline made fresh lemonade. The crack that followed the punch was deafening. All chatter ceased and the music was turned off - if a needle were to hit the floor, it would have been so easily heard in the silence that followed her expletive. It had hurt for him, yes, something was definitely broken, but the impact on her knuckles had split the delicate skin covering them, not used to being treated so roughly by colliding against a jock’s bones. Andy pinched his nose with pain, blood starting to pour down his cupid’s bow.

“Wait, no!” Chrissy gasped, as Andy reached over to take someone’s beer can out of their hand and emptied it on Dottie’s head, throwing it away once it was empty. The metal clang on the floor until it hit someone’s shoe.

“What the fuck?” Gareth managed to say, before Eddie launched himself and pushed Andy away from Dottie who just stood there clutching at her hand and looking at the floor in shock.

Her Mom’s dress was ruined, sticky liquid dripping from her hair onto the soft fabric, staining everything as it went down, down, down onto her thighs and legs until it reached her socks. She smelled like an alcoholic and her fingers hurt. She felt empty, adrenaline leaving her body as she shivered while everything around her dissolved into utter chaos. The Hellfire Club and the basketball team were yelling and pushing each other once again, people rushing to get out of their way so they wouldn’t get hit. With the reflexes of someone used to being on alert, Nancy grabbed Dottie’s arm and yanked her aside just in time for Andy to push Eddie off himself and into a side table. Eddie hit the floor with a sickening crunch, but what made everyone stop the brawl was the sound of the lamp on top cracking into a million little pieces right next to the couch.

“Jason, stop this!” Chrissy pleaded, hanging onto his arm.

Andy, not one to be deterred, snapped his head towards Dottie, not caring that Nancy threw an arm out to cover her with her own body. He raised his hand, fully on board with hurting either of them to make a point, when Jason finally snapped into action and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him into Patrick’s arms who instantly held him in place, Chance coming over to help.

“Are you crazy?” Jason yelled at his friend. “We don’t hit women!”

He turned just in time to see Chrissy helping Eddie up, the two of them muttering to each other softly, looking a lot more friendly than he liked. His eye twitched once and he looked at Hellfire as they huddled closer to each other and started inching towards the exit, Nancy and Chrissy herding them out.

“Get out of my fucking house!” Jason told them, like they weren’t already trying to leave.

“Gladly,” Donny said, closing the door behind them and shielding them from further aggressions.

“You guys, I am so sorry,” Chrissy was saying, not knowing who to direct it to first.

“It’s okay, Chris. Not your fault your boyfriend has shithead friends,” Eddie said, patting her shoulder in comfort.

“Still, I should have-,” she cut herself off because there was nothing she could have done; the basketball team and the Hellfire Club were destined to hate each other until the end of time. She turned to Dottie instead. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, I think so. My hand hurts,” she sniffed. “I’m sorry we ruined your party.”

“Oh, please, that party sucked,” Chrissy snorted. “The most fun I had all night was when we were dancing with Val.”

“Come on, let’s get you home,” Donny said, guiding Dottie towards his car.

“I can drive her, I brought her here,” Nancy offered, giving him half a smile. She wasn’t friends with the guys, but she knew enough about them through Mike to have at the very least positive feelings towards them. Besides, it wasn’t like Jonathan hadn’t also been an outcast back when he was still in Hawkins. She knew what that was like.

“No, no,” Dottie hurried to say. “You should both go back to the party. Eddie can drive me, Don, I don’t want to ruin your car.”

“Are you sure?” Chrissy said, not wanting to leave her in such a vulnerable state.

“Yes, I’m sure. Go back inside, it’s your party,” she squeezed the blonde’s hand. “I had fun dancing with you, thank you for inviting me.”

“Maybe we can do it again some day? Just us girls?” Chrissy said, eyes full of hope.

“I’d love that,” Dottie said, and she really meant it.

“Okay, then… let’s go back inside, Nancy. Bye guys, drive safe,” Chrissy waved at them, pulling her cardigan closed and both girls disappeared back into the house.

“Is this a bad time to say that I stole a case of beers?” Gareth said, lifting a 12-pack and bringing some much needed humor to the situation.

“Let’s go back to mine then, we can sneak in through the basement door,” Jeff proposed, and Donny nodded.

“I’m… I’m gonna pass, guys,” Eddie said. “I’ll take her home and head back to the trailer. My ass kinda hurts.”

“Have fun without us, okay? I’m sorry I ruined it,” Dottie said, tears swimming in her eyes. Whether it was because of the shame or the pain in her hand, no one knew but no one asked her either.

“Hey now, you didn’t ruin anything. We’ve got an awesome story to tell the kids someday,” Donny laughed.

“Yeah! We’ll be like: Auntie Dot broke a jock’s nose back in high school because he called her names,” Jeff said, putting on an old man voice and Dottie chuckled wetly.

“Come on, let’s go,” Eddie said, guiding her towards his van with a hand on her lower back.

“I should sit in the back, I’m gonna get your seats dirty,” Dottie said.

“Don’t even think about it, there’s no seatbelts in the back,” he said, climbing in and rummaging around for the tarp they covered Gareth’s drumset with when they moved it for gigs.

The music from inside the house was booming again when Donny’s car pulled into the street and the boys left, saying goodbye by honking twice. Eddie covered the front seat with the tarp and helped her get in, clicking the seatbelt for her in place and jogging to get to the driver’s side. Dottie stared out the window as Eddie turned the van on and backed up into the street, waving at a defeated Chrissy who was looking out from the living room’s window. When Eddie stopped at the first intersection, Dottie turned to look at him.

“Ed?” she asked in a shaky voice. “Can you take me to yours instead?”

The trailer was empty with all the lights turned off when they arrived, which was unusual for a Saturday night. Wayne had always had weekends off, after all, he had a kid at home to take care of and nobody was an asshole enough to ask an old man to come in during his time away with his family. Still, as Eddie kneeled down next to the entrance to help Dottie undo her heel buckles, she looked around while holding onto his shoulders and found herself missing her Mr. Wayne. Eddie had asked her in the van why she didn’t want to go home, and she had simply replied she didn’t want to tell her Dad she’d gotten into a fight just yet. She’d failed to mention that she was expecting Wayne to give her the parental comfort she needed, but without the grounding she was sure she was gonna get from her own father.

“He’s at the plant,” Eddie said, guessing her silent inquiry. “He’s doing extra time this weekend so he can take a couple of days off for graduation.”

“That’s really sweet,” she smiled, stepping out of her shoes now that he’d gotten them unbuckled. The beer that had dripped down her legs had stained the tops of her socks.

“Wait here, okay? I’ll get the shower running for you, the knobs are… well, they’re stupid,” he shrugged with resignation. “You can call your Dad if you want, tell him where you are.”

He started the shower for her while she dialed home, James picking up after a few long rings. He listened to her talk quietly while getting her a towel and clean clothes; she hadn’t exactly asked, but Eddie got confirmation that she wanted to spend the night when he heard her lie to her Dad about being at Jeff’s and having a movie night. Eddie wasn’t about to complain about her not mentioning she was with him if it meant he could sleep next to her for a full night. He went back into the bathroom, lowered the toilet’s lid and put the things he’d gathered for her on top before opening the mirror cabinet and pulling out a new toothbrush along with a packet of makeup wipes. She hung up and walked into the small bathroom after him, looking at the items in his hands with a quirked eyebrow.

“I wear eyeliner for our gigs sometimes,” he admitted. “It always looks like shit, but if it’s good enough for Ozzy, it’s good enough for me.”

“Maybe I can teach you how to do it right sometime,” she said, the corner of her mouth lifting into half a smile.

“Maybe you should just do my makeup so I don’t poke my eye out.”

“Okay,” she agreed. “I’ll do your makeup next time.”

“Kick your clothes out the door when you take them off, I’ll throw them in the washing machine for you,” he said, and left her to her devices.

He went back into his bedroom to give her privacy and get changed into his own PJs, which consisted of an old ratty t-shirt with a couple of holes around the neck and plaid pants he was sure had belonged to Wayne at some point in their lives. While he busied himself changing his sheets into fresh ones, putting her clothes in the washer and making his bedroom look somewhat presentable, Dottie tried to hurry up in the shower, not wanting to use up all the water. Still, she couldn’t help but take her time appreciating the fact that Eddie actually owned conditioner and that the green apple smell that surrounded him in the mornings belonged to the big bottle of shampoo in the corner of the tub. She washed all the beer off her skin and hair and, feeling a lot more like herself, wrapped her body into the soft off-white towel he’d gotten for her, standing at the mirror to rid herself of her make up as best as she could. She brushed her hair quickly, scrunching her curls into the towel to remove the excessive moisture, and brushed her teeth making a note to buy him a new toothbrush to replace the one she’d used. Timidly, she also reached for his deodorant, reasoning that it was better to use it than to stink up his clothes and bed with her sweat.

She was studying herself in the small mirror, not entirely believing that she was wearing Eddie’s clothes, when she realized the light scabbing on her knuckles had probably loosened up with the water and they were all bloody again like she’d never cleaned them up in the first place. Poking her head out of the bathroom, she directed her voice towards his bedroom where she could hear him pottering about.

“Eddie?” she called.

“Yeah?”

“D’you have any bandages? My hand’s bleeding again.”

“Uh, lemme see,” he pushed the door open and rummaged around in the sink cabinet, grabbing a little bag that contained their first aid supplies. “Come, sit on the bed,” he instructed, and she did as he asked without a word.

He kneeled in front of her and inspected her right hand, closing each finger carefully and pressing on parts of her palm to see if anything hurt. Nothing seemed to be permanently broken, so reached over to his bedside table where a cup of water sat and gave her an ibuprofen to help with the swelling before moving on with his next task. She watched him as he worked diligently to clean the scrapes, long thick fingers fluttering softly on her skin.

“What’s the diagnosis, doc?” Dottie asked.

“I’m getting a weird déjà vu here, princess,” he chuckled. “You need to stop getting into trouble before I get into pre-med.”

“Can’t help it. Trouble’s my middle name.”

“I thought it was Ann?” Eddie said, laughing.

Truthfully, he was joking around to hide the fact that he had been losing his mind since she’d opened the bathroom door and came out all rosy-cheeked, smelling like him and wearing his clothes. He’d given her one of his old shirts, a white one he hardly ever used anymore with a Garfield print at the front and his blue checkered boxers, not expecting them to look as big on her as they did. The hem of the shirt almost covered the shorts, and the short sleeves went past her elbows. The less was said about his gray socks that bunched up at her heel, the better, and he tried not to think about the fact that he knew she wasn’t wearing a bra because he’d had the most mortifying pleasure of throwing the cute cotton garment into his washing machine fifteen minutes earlier. Eddie was wrapping up her knuckles with a long piece of gauze when he noticed she’d gone strangely quiet. He looked up at her face to find her teary-eyed and chewing on a wobbly lip.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, holding onto her hand. “Is it too tight?”

“Is that… what everyone thinks about me?” she whispered, like she was afraid of asking out loud.

“I- I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about, darling.”

“Wh-what Andy said. About me being… does everyone think I’m a slut?”

“What? No! Of course not!” he stuck the gauze in place with a piece of medical tape and lifted himself onto his knees between her legs to hug her. “Dot, he didn’t even know who you were until tonight, he was just talking out of his ass.”

“I’m not a whore,” she muttered into his shoulder. “I promise I’m not.”

“Darling, what are you on about, huh?” he grabbed her face with two hands and brought her eyes to his. “I know you’re not. You could sleep with half this town and I still wouldn’t think you’re a whore. You- you can do whatever you want with whoever you want! I know you, you’re… Dot, you’re so fucking nice to me, to all of us, and the only reason Andy said that bullshit about you is because you’re friends with the freaks.”

“I’m not,” she said, and he looked at her in question. “I’m not friends with the freaks. I am a freak.”

“Hell yeah you are,” Eddie smiled. “You are a freak, and you shouldn’t let what that piece of shit said get to you, okay? You broke his fucking nose because he talked shit about you, Dot. You’re so fucking amazing.”

It was probably the way Eddie was looking at her like she’d hung the moon and all the stars, or maybe it was the way he was holding onto her face with a gentleness no one associated with the rugged metalhead, fingers extending under her ears and into her damp hair, thumbs on her cheeks. It was most definitely the way he always took care of her, how he cleaned her wounds like she was the most fragile thing on Earth and how he never hesitated to pull her into his arms whenever she needed a hug without questioning her reasons. But honestly, it was most likely the fact that he was so close to her, his warm breath mingling with her minty one, that had her leaning forward and pecking his lips with hers in the most chaste kiss she’d ever given to anyone in her entire life.

She tried pulling away as fast as she had leaned in, she really tried to, but Eddie felt like he had been struck by a live wire and instinctively chased her mouth with his own, still cupping her face but moving one of his hands to tangle into her hair, finally taking a hold of the proverbial carrot dangling in front of him. He was kissing her - Eddie Munson was kissing Dottie Burke and he couldn’t get enough of it - he needed more, he needed to consume her and she to him until there was nothing left for anyone to see. He grabbed onto her bare thigh to pull himself up and she whimpered, the walls of the illusion suddenly crashing around him. She’d just tearfully asked him if the town thought she was a whore, and his way of reassuring her, had been to deny it and then make a move on her. Eddie jumped back so quickly he fell onto his bruised ass and hissed in pain.

“Fuck, Dot, I’m- I’m so sorry!” he pleaded, leaving her dumbfounded and glazy-eyed.

He’d fucked up. He’d ruined everything. With his eagerness, he’d jumped the gun and now his plan was ruined, and she probably, maybe, definitely thought he was a fucking pervert trying to get into her pants, and yes, he very much would like to do that but not like this. Not before she knew he would quite literally die for her, not before he’d confessed to her the profound love he felt and had finally become the kind of man she deserved to have. Dottie looked at him not understanding what had just happened, but when she moved to get off the bed and closer to him, he jumped off the floor and put even more distance between them.

“I’m so sorry, we shouldn’t- fuck, I didn’t-”

“Eddie, it’s fine-

“No, it’s not fine!” his hands tangled in his own hair while he tried to find the words to explain himself. “This is all wrong, goddamnit-”

“Eddie, calm down-”

“Fuck, Chrissy is gonna kill me, I’m such a fucking idiot-”

“Ch-Chrissy?” Dottie whispered, but he didn’t hear her in the middle of his freakout.

Oh. Oh. She was so stupid. She couldn’t even blame him, she’d been influenced by her aunts and by Gareth - and of course, who wouldn’t be in love with Chrissy Cunningham, Head Cheerleader and Queen of Hawkins High? She was so kind, and friendly, with her gorgeous eyes and warm smiles. And by his own admission, if she was going to kill him, well, that certainly meant she returned Eddie’s affections, did it not? She’d be an idiot not to love Eddie back because Eddie was so loveable. Sweet, silly, wonderful Eddie who had just kissed his best friend and regretted it deeply. She had to get out of there if there was any hope of saving their friendship.

“I’m so sorry,” Dottie said, rushing out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.

“Dot, wait!” Eddie followed her. He had to fix this, he had to tell her, he was gonna tell her- “What are you doing?”

“I’m really so sorry, Eddie, I didn’t know,” she got her damp clothes out of the washing machine; the cycle had probably ended in the middle of his upset rant and neither of them had heard it.

“Where are you going? It’s midnight!” he watched her shove her feet into her heels, not bothering with fastening the buckles before she opened his front door. He had to act fast or he was going to lose her forever.

“Eddie, please,” she asked, tears pooling in her eyes again, voice broken. “I just want to go home. Everything’s fine, I’ll see you on Monday-”

“No!” he threw himself onto the door, closing it again effectively locking her in. “Y-you can’t leave like this! What are you gonna do, walk home in your heels? Are you insane?”

“Please, I’m sorry,” she sobbed, breaking his heart into a million tiny pieces. “We can forget this all happened, please, just let me go!”

“No!”

“Eddie!”

“No! We need to talk about this!”

“There’s nothing to talk about! I didn’t know you were dating her, just let me-”

“Wait, what?” It was Eddie’s turn to be confused. “I’m not dating anyone, what are you talking about?”

“I’m not fucking deaf, Ed! You just said Chrissy was gonna kill you!”

“Yes, but that’s not- Fuck! That’s not what I meant! She’s dating Jason Carver, for fuck’s sake!”

“It’s okay if you like her, she’s fucking perfect-” she babbled, fat tears leaving tracks on her cheeks.

“You’re fucking perfect! God, fuck, this is not what I-” Eddie took the clothes out of her arms and threw them into the living room, pulling her into his arms again.

“Eddie, what the fuck?!” she shrieked, trying to get away from him but he held on tight, throwing her onto his shoulder and sitting her down onto the kitchen counter.

“I made Kool-Aid!”

“What? I don’t want fucking Kool-Aid-”

“Just stop arguing!” he yelled, effectively shutting her up. “I made apple Kool-Aid.”

“...I love apple Kool-Aid,” she said, for lack of a better response.

“I know,” he said, leaning back and looking at her sitting between his arms, palms on the cold surface of his kitchen countertop. “That’s why I keep buying it. For you.”

An ugly sob bubbled up out of her throat and she hid her face in her hands. She wasn’t strong enough to keep fighting with him, and when he hugged her again, fingers tangling back under her ears, she simply bowed her head and cried harder. Eddie kissed her hair and held her, letting her release all the pent up emotions that were swirling in her mind. When she breathed a little bit easier, he looked at her, drying her tears with his thumbs.

“Can I trust you to stay here while I get the Kool-Aid?” he asked, softly.

Dottie nodded, so he moved away from her to get the pitcher out of the fridge. He filled a mug first, watching her legs swinging lightly back and forth while she sniffled and picked at her nails, and stopped before filling the next one. She saw him frown and look around the kitchen before finding what he was looking for: a yellow ceramic mug with a gnome playing the accordion on the front. A couple of weeks ago, the teens had been studying in the trailer on the small table in the kitchen, and Dottie had mentioned to Wayne she was gonna get him a hat with her college logo when she was in Michigan so he could add it to his collection. He’d glowed at that, joking that he was gonna tell everyone his niece was a genius and that he’d leave her her favorite mug in his will in return. The two of them had spent around 30 minutes going through every mug until she decided on one, all while Eddie worked on his homework with a dumb smile on his face. She’d picked a yellow mug with gnome playing the accordion on the front, the very same mug Eddie was now gently putting into her hands filled with apple Kool-Aid he allegedly kept buying because he knew it was her fave flavor.

They sipped their juice in silence until Dottie calmed down, holding onto the mug with both hands for comfort. Eddie stood there, waiting for her to say anything and when it became clear she was not gonna be the first one to talk, he put his mug down and turned to her, pulling on the hem of her borrowed boxers.

“Hey,” he said, ducking his head down to look her into the eyes. She made a small sound of acknowledgment but kept staring at the liquid between her hands. “I’m not dating anyone.”

“Okay.”

“I don’t like Chrissy,” he kept going.

“You don’t have to explain anything to me.”

“Yes, I do. I really fucking do,” he took her mug out of her hands and ducked a bit more. “Dot, look at me. Please.”

“Eddie, it’s fine-”

“I’m kind of insanely in love with you.”

“What?” Dottie breathed out, eyes widening.

“Darling, I haven’t been able to even look at anyone else since the day I met you. I’m so fucking obsessed with you it’s actually embarrassing,” he smiled at her, finally hitting her with the full force of his confession.

“You… you like me?”

“Mhm,” he nodded, lifting her hand and kissing her gauze covered knuckles. “Chrissy has been helping me plan how to ask you out. We’re not secretly dating, she knows I’m crazy about you.”

“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t know,” Dottie murmured, ashamed that she’d jumped the gun with her conclusions.

“You couldn’t know, that was the whole point,” he chuckled. “I was gonna ask you out after graduation, I wanted to have our diplomas and everything but then you kissed me and… you’re awfully impatient, has anyone ever told you that?”

“God, I’m an idiot,” she laughed, hitting her forehead with her palm. “How long had you been planning that?”

“Since around your birthday,” he admitted, and she groaned. “I would have asked you earlier but I wanted to set things straight before, y’know? I wanted to graduate first, maybe get a job, I dunno… Give you what you deserve. Instead you get… this,” he waved his hand around. “Sorry.”

“Eddie, I’m so in love with you, it’s not even funny. What are you talking about?”

“What?”

“Oh my god, we’re both idiots!” Dottie groaned again, and he laughed in disbelief.

“You’re in love with me?”

“Yes! Why did you think I kissed you?!”

“I mean, I kinda figured out you liked me, but love, darling, that’s… That’s a lot.”

“You just said you are “kinda insanely in love” with me, what do you mean it’s a lot?” she looked at him like he had just told her the sky was green.

“Well, yeah, but- that’s different! I’m me!”

“Okay, what the hell does that mean?”

“I don’t know, I just- fuck, I love you and I really, really want to kiss you right now. Would that be okay, darling? Can I kiss you?”

She shook her head at him like he had just said the stupidest thing on Earth and wrapped her arms around him, bringing him forward and pressing their lips together again. Eddie laughed against her mouth, hands coming up to cup the sides of her jaw, thumbs rubbing circles into her skin. They kissed with no hurry and no other motives than to just kiss, savoring the moment like a cold sip of water after a long race. There were no more places to hide, no more shadows lurking in the background. It was just them under the mismatched light bulbs in the Munson kitchen, two mugs and a pitcher filled with Kool-Aid, and limbs tangling with one another, scratching an itch that had once seemed impossible to relieve.

Eddie moved his lips from hers to her cheek, up her nose and eyelids until he reached her forehead and stayed there, just breathing in and basking in the knowledge that they’d jumped off a cliff together and had landed on the other side unscathed. There were so many conversations to be had, so many things to be said, but this was more than okay for him now. This was enough, and for the first time in his whole life, he was enough. Dottie’s hands moved under his shirt, lightly running her short nails over his skin, the motion calming and grounding him. He was hers, and she was his, and there was nothing else that mattered anymore. The waters were calm. The locked padlocks remained in place, but the keys weren’t forgotten or hidden anymore. She felt at peace in a way she had never once felt before, knowing that no matter what came next, they would face it together. She yawned once, burrowing further into his skin, and he chuckled.

“Wanna go to bed now?” he asked, softly.

“Yes, please,” she replied.

Eddie helped her off the counter and let her get comfy in his room while he finished getting ready for bed, turning all the lights off and brushing his teeth with a dazed expression on his face. He found her tucked in on the left side of his bed, the one closest to the wall and realized that he could get used to this so easily. He was sure that once she went home the next day, he’d have trouble falling asleep until she was back next to him, nuzzling into his chest and wearing his clothes. They cuddled in silence, soft touches in the darkness, just exploring skin and calming rapid heartbeats with innocent caresses that revealed just how much they’d longed for this. There would be time for bolder actions, but tonight they just wanted to hold each other tight and never let go. Eddie, however, had one more question to ask before sleep could whisk them away to Dreamland.

“Darling?”

“Mhm?”

“I don’t want to, like, ruin the moment, but… what happens now?”

“Dunno. What do you want to happen?” she asked, moving her leg on top of his so he could shuffle closer to her.

“Can we maybe not tell people this happened so I can ask you out like I planned?” he said, shyly. “I just… I want to do things right with you. I don’t want to fuck this up.”

“You’re not fucking anything up, Ed. But sure, we can pretend this didn’t happen and I’ll act surprised when you ask me out,” she rolled her eyes playfully.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” he squeezed her closer. “I meant it more like… not telling the guys? You can tell your Dad if you want, though.”

“How about this?” she said, reaching up and kissing his jaw sweetly. “We don’t tell anyone anything, and my Dad doesn’t get an aneurysm every time he sees you. Sound good?”

“You want to lie to your Dad?”

“Not forever. We can tell him before I leave for college. You’re gonna come see me, right?” Dottie asked, hopeful.

“Baby, Michigan is only three hours away. They’re gonna think I’m your roommate with how often I’m gonna be there,” he pecked her hairline.

“Baby?”

“Just trying it on. D’you like it?”

“I love it. And I love you.”

“Fuck, I’ll never get tired of that. I love you,” he chuckled, leaning in to kiss her. “Okay, we won’t tell anyone so your Dad doesn’t murder me.”

“I have one condition though.”

“Okay?”

“I still get to kiss you when we’re alone.”

“You just want me to be your dirty little secret, don’t you?” Eddie joked, poking her side.

“I’ll be yours too if that helps,” she said, cheekily.

“Oh, don’t tempt me with a good time, princess,” he said with a mischievous tone. “Who knows? Might be fun to sneak around all summer.”

Half an hour later, when they were finally falling asleep between soft kisses and whispered sweet nothings, they both agreed that a little bit of teenage disobedience might just be the missing piece they didn’t know they were looking for to complete their perfect summer before officially being adults. After all, it always looked so much fun in movies, right?

taglist (comment below or send me an ask if you want to be added!): @munsonology @kurdtbean @every1lovesanunderdog @eg-dr3amer3

#bunny writes #small town fic #eddie munson x female character #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x oc #eddie munson x ofc #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fic #eddie munson #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #stranger things 4 #stranger things #nancy wheeler #gareth stranger things #jeff stranger things #chrissy cunningham #jason carver #patrick mckinney #andy stranger things #chance stranger things #joseph quinn #baby's first fic

[dailyaudiobiblechronological]

10/4/2023 DAB Chronological Transcription Part 4

Community Prayer Line

Good morning, family. It's Inga from Denmark. I'm calling in today to pray over the Brown family. I want to pray for China and Ben, Reagan the brave and this little new brownie that's about to make its way into our world in this community. And they're beautiful family. So, God, I just place each of these wonderful individuals in your hands, your hands that created them.That wove them together in their mama's womb. And that verse, especially when you're pregnant. And when that human being that you won't is actually getting to grow inside of you. So I just thank you for the miracle of life. I think you for China and Ben. I thank you for their marriage and I thank you for their family. I thank you for China's Willingness to serve on the DABC that blessing that she is. I'm going to miss you, China. And I mean that. I mean that I'm going to miss you. And I really hope that God is going to call you back to us. But for now, God, I just pray that you embrace her and that you give her your peace, your Patience and endurance for this last bit of the race. I ask you to give her a beautiful birthing experience of her second child. I pray your protection over her and the little one and God I ask you to protect her against Postpartum depression. Afterwards, I ask you to grant her just that beautiful baby bubble feeling and that it may not be interrupted by anything else.

Hello DABC family. My name is Mindy. I live in Nashville, TN. I'm originally from Kentucky. I'm on my way back to Nashville right now after visiting with my dad and I would ask that you all pray for my family and my dad has been recently diagnosed with Stage four lung cancer. It's metastasized and also has liver damage. And he knows the Lord. He knows he's on his way to spend eternity with him. He's on his way to glory, which I'm so thankful for, and we have that hope. But I ask that you would pray that the Lord give his his journey to glory A smooth passage and that he would have an ease with it. And I asked that you would lift up my mom and one of my brothers that is there as caregivers. They are tired. It is exhausting being the caregiver. I hate that I can't be there. I come up as much as possible. But pray for my mom. 

Hello. Hello. This is Walking in Truth from Florida, and it has been a long time, I feel like, since I have called in. But today, Jill, when you were reading the Christmas story, the whole time I just kept hearing Charlie Brown's Voice and it. I got a little chuckle out of it, but was I was wondering how many other people. I heard the same thing and then to have your commentary saying that you did as well, I just that warmed my heart and so I wanted to call in just to pray for our country. It reminded me that we were once a country who Preached the gospel in the public square and on TV and in the movies and and how far we've fallen since then. So, Lord God, I just want to lift up our country, our nation to you. I pray, Lord God, that you would raise up Christians That are bold in their faith, that proclaim the gospel in the at home, in, in, at work, and in the public square, Lord God, that we would be having the Spirit of the lion of Judah, and that nothing can contain the gospel from our Lips Lord God, I I pray that you would just have mercy upon us, Lord God, in that you would raise up a remnant, Lord God, who will serve you faithfully till the very end. Lord God, bless our nation, Bless our nation. We do not deserve it, but we ask for mercy. We pray for guidance. We pray that your hand would never depart from us. And Lord, we love you Jesus, and we ask this in your mighty name. Amen.

[absoloutenonsense]

.

#venting #i'm so tired of hearing my dad say 'we can't live in a bubble' #like i get it i really truly do #he owns a restaurant he's coming at it from a different perspective #but he had lunch with someone yesterday who tested positive for covid today and he firmly was like 'i don't have covid' #and i'm like you can't know that??? #he was like 'we don't 100% know how it's transmitted' #meaning which days etc... #and there's more to this but again i'm just tired of it in general #he is quarantining and will not be at his restaurant until he gets two negative test results over the next week #but just the certainty of it blows my mind like i don't know how he can be so ~~~~ about it #i've already canceled my flights home for christmas but it's all just making me feel like i'm not going to be able to go at all #for a long while #at least not until we have and have all taken a vaccine #idk i'm just really sad and i miss my family but i can't in good conscience go and see them when it's like this #i guess it's just a tough night #maybe i won't feel as sad and tired about it in the morning #here's hoping #covid #coronavirus #jferioajgfioeawjfoewafjewa

[voidstilesplease]

in another life

part two

Stiles assures Theo answers for all of their questions -god knows they have so many- tomorrow. Theo's reluctant at first, doesn't intend to let go of Stiles's words hanging in between them: "You think she's alive?" Eventually, Theo nods, finding something in Stiles's eyes and placing his trust in him. An odd feeling of protectiveness settles in Stiles's stomach at the vulnerability that Theo freely displays - in the past, he used to act guarded like everyone was out to get him. Granted, Theo had conned most of them before with charm and fake tears, and it's not above him to try it again if Theo could gain something worthy from it. But Stiles doesn't feel the usual tingle in his bones when he meets some shady criminal mastermind. His instincts have gotten him this far, so he gives it credit.

Stiles sighs. Innocent until proven guilty. He hopes Deaton has answers that expose the truth.

In the meantime, they have saddled him with more responsibility: bringing Theo home with him. Theo refuses to be stuck with either Liam or Mason any longer, it is unwise to put Theo alone with Melissa, and stupid to leave him unattended. So Stiles is the only viable choice. Plus, Theo thinks they're together. It only makes sense. Maybe.

It probably won't to his dad initially, but hey, after a while of normalcy, even he will acknowledge the need for something to go down - even dressed as Theo Raeken.

•••

They're in Stiles's Jeep, driving home to the Stilinski's, and it is a little disconcerting how Theo seems to be accustomed to his car. Theo had seen and been in the Jeep before, but this is different. He's too comfortable in the cramped space, even knows how to operate Stiles's defective radio. And the way he leans against the seat on the passenger's side and knows where to keep the screwdriver Stiles uses to manipulate the ignition is boggling his head worse than the snow outside.

Stiles draws in a breath, glancing sideways to his quiet company. "So, um, Deaton," he says, "we're going to Dr. Deaton tomorrow."

Theo turns to him, frowning. "What kind of doctor? Are you taking me to a shrink? Babe, I'm not crazy. What happened is freaky, but you have to believe me."

Okay, the babe thing, they're going to have to iron that wrinkle as soon as possible. Not even Lydia called him babe when they dated, and certainly not Malia. It's a cosmic joke that the once bane of his existence gets to call him that first. "No, he's not a shrink," Stiles promises him. "He's a veterinarian. But he knows about these things."

Theo arches a brow, "He knows about teleportation?"

"Telepor-" Stiles creases his forehead, jerking his head to Theo. The latter is expectant when he looks back. Stiles blinks, disbelieving and a little horrified. There's also a small bubble of hysteria beginning to form in his stomach. Somehow, this takes the cake in the weirdness of the situation. Because, of course, Theo also doesn't remember he's a chimera, does he? Blowing a heavy breath, he turns back to the road. He rubs the side of his temple, where it's starting to hurt, and purses his lips. "Yeah, sure. Teleportation."

Silence hangs in between them for a moment, Stiles sighing when he takes the last turn to his street. He can feel the burn of Theo's stare at the side of his face.

"You really don't remember we're together?" Theo sounds genuinely small when he speaks. "Then why are you here, if not to take me home? The two -Liam and Mason- are accusing me of having amnesia. But it's you who can't remember."

Stiles opens his mouth, but he doesn't know what to say. He knows that if he tells Theo that he remembers an illusory life, it's only going to invite more questions Stiles has no answers yet. In honesty, he's still reeling until now, and he's too tired to consider diving into research mode immediately, much less form a cohesive plan other than to bring Theo to Deaton first. And the best thing for them both to do before then is rest. They can't do that if Stiles stays up all night convincing Theo that they're not even friends, that he was a lying, conniving chimera asshole that tried to break his pack once, before turning a new leaf and helping them, and then disappearing on them like a bubble one day. Oh, and yeah, that it's so twisted for him to think his sister was alive when he had allowed her to die when he was nine.

No. Rest, Deaton, and then fuck up some shit - Stiles is doing this in that order.

"Hm," is what he ends up saying. Stiles pulls in the driveway, noting the blue truck already parked there. He's relieved to find a change of topic. He clears his throat, pointing at the vehicle. "That's your truck. Corey, Mason's boyfriend, drove it here."

Theo doesn't look away from him for the entire minute it takes Stiles to turn the engine off and gather his belongings. When he looks at Theo, that's only when the other man lowers his head and breathes. Theo nods and gets out of the car, moving towards the truck. Stiles silently prays for more strength if this is how awkward it is going to be for the whole evening until the morning.

Theo is studying his blue truck, eyeing it with trepidation. Stiles slings his messenger bag and stands beside him. Theo turns to him, shaking his head. "This isn't my car."

Stiles moves to the bed of Theo's pickup. "It is," he tells Theo. 

Stiles is, unfortunately, familiar enough with this car, and not with pleasant memories. Stiles lifts the haphazardly strewn cloth covering most of the space of the truck bed and makes a noise of disgust with what he finds underneath. It was definitely tidier before.

Theo also peeks under the cloth and pulls his face in a similar reaction. An alarming amount of empty plastic noodle cups and take-out boxes litter the covered area. "It can't be mine because I'm not crazy for instant ramen."

Stiles drops the cloth and walks to the driver's seat. He cups his hands on either side of his eyes and looks inside through the window. He finds a folded blanket at the backseat and a pink sweater on top of the pile of clothes. The chimera wore the hell out of those, Stiles remembers grudgingly. Transferring his scrutiny on the passenger side, he sees empty water bottles and coke cans, and old receipts. What the hell has Theo been up to that he can't even throw his trash out or attempt to be less sloppy?

One thing is sure, though. The car is where Theo lives; the pizza in the backseat looks stale but not molded. He faces Theo and gives him a grim nod, "Let's discuss the condition of your car and your unhealthy lifestyle tomorrow, yeah?"

Theo huffs, wanting to protest and eyeing his car in disgust, but shrugs in agreement.

•••

His father is working the night shift, so explaining Theo is a problem for future Stiles, which makes him sag in relief under the hot spray of his shower. When he's finished, he changes into clean sweatpants and an old Christmas ugly sweater and goes back to his room.

Theo is already sitting on his temporary bed on the floor. Stiles refuses to make him sleep on the couch where the kitchen and knives are near. At least, inside his room, he can fight him should Theo attempt anything at all. Stiles has gotten better at hand-to-hand combat since the FBI, and also a very light sleeper and sometimes prone to insomnia, especially on stressful occasions like this. Any minor shuffling from Theo will alert him. Not that he thinks Theo will do anything. His impulses tell him that Theo's memory dilemma is not made-up, and he's truthful this time, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Theo looks up when he enters, offering a small smile. Stiles's eyes catch sight of the outline of a necklace hidden underneath the collar of Theo's borrowed shirt. Stiles's clothes look a bit tight on him but otherwise, more comfortable than the dirty jeans he was wearing earlier. 

"It's so weird to see your old bed," Theo says, looking at the said bed. "Noah brought you a bigger one so that we can share when we visit. I wonder what happened to it?"

Stiles drops onto his bed with a small bounce. He didn't expect that. "Oh, um,"

Theo meets his eyes, "And Roscoe," a shadow crosses his face. "You took down all of the polaroid pictures we put of us. You even replaced the screwdriver that I gave you with an old one."

He sounds so betrayed that Stiles is stunned by what he's hearing. What startles him most, though, is: "You know my Jeep's name?"

At this question, Theo looks downright affronted. But Stiles has every reason to be surprised. His mom, his dad, and Scott are the only people apart from him who knows his Jeep's name -not another soul. Not even Lydia.

"Of course, I know your Jeep's name," Theo responds with a deepening scowl. "We've been together for four years, Stiles."

Stiles raises a hand to halt Theo as his cogs turn in his head. A swell of panic takes root in him. This memory thing is more serious than he initially thought. Theo's not only hallucinating a different life but he also somehow knows things he shouldn't. The screwdriver compartment, his broken radio, his Jeep's name -what else does he know that he isn't supposed to?

"Okay," Stiles finally says, lowering his hand and barrier from Theo, who's still glowering. It seems he has lost his patience with Stiles, as well. If this continues, Stiles might snap, too. So he says as appeasing as he could. "Let's say that whatever happened to you affected our memories of each other. But we'll go to Dr. Deaton for answers tomorrow, and then we can go back to our normal lives. Yes? Do you trust me?"

As soon as he says it, Stiles wants to take it back. It seems like a strange concept to ask Theo, of all people, to trust Stiles after everything. As crazy as Stiles actually trusting Theo. But here they are.

Theo doesn't reply for a long time, but he looks pensive and considering as he glares. In the end, he huffs in surrender, shoulders drooping in defeat. For the first time, the bags under his eyes become more prominent in his features. He looks so weary, hurt, and confused. Stiles is well acquainted with that look. It's the look of someone who hasn't been sleeping well. With the state of Theo's truck, Stiles has no problem picturing the man twist-and-turning to find a good position and not finding any.

Theo dips his head, replying with a rough voice, "Yeah. I trust you."

Before Stiles can say any more, Theo gives him his back and reclines on his mattress. He pulls the covers on himself, like a shield, and mumbles good night to Stiles.

Sighing, Stiles turns the desk lamp off and lays on his bed, staring at the ceiling for who knows how long. After a while, he exhales and rubs the bridge of his nose. His body is exhausted, and so is his mind, but they're not shutting off like they're supposed to. He almost wishes he is back in his dorm room in Virginia, staying up to piece the puzzles of a case. He has dealt with mundane human crises for so long that coaxing the supernatural mojo back appears to be an impossibly draining affair.

When he glances back at Theo on the floor, he pauses as he notices it. There's a blank inked mark on Theo's nape: a tattoo that Stiles knows for sure he didn't have the last time they saw each other. He turns to his side to look closely at it.

The tattoo is of a circle interlaced with three interconnected ovals. It reminds him closely of Derek's triskelion tattoo. But unlike Derek's, Theo's mark gives him an ominous feeling.

Because Stiles is sure, it isn't an optical illusion when it glowed in the darkness of his room for a second.

~•~

#steo #steo fic #steo ficlet #teen wolf #stiles stilinski #theo raeken #stiles x theo #parallel universe au #in another life #part 2 #fics tag #well the christmas prompts may have been lost #lmao #but well I guess I'll just continue with this #omg this is going to be a disaster fic #i can just feel it lmao

[bmongmong]

Chapter 7 - Party

Blue pill or red pill - Jungkook

Description: You're a young girl, who's a little bit introverted and afraid to be under everybody's eyes. You only have your best friend, but it's ok for you. You don't want to be popular and believe in minimal things. One day you meet a guy. Or two?

Jungkook x Reader

The imagines I used are not mine Credit to the owners

Rosé's pov

I see y/n on the ground, crying really hard. Then I look at the room. There were pens and pencil on the floor, pieces of paper everywhere, a broken mirror on the ground. Then I notice something in y/n's hands.

In the right one she's holding her teddy bear, which is ripped everywhere. On the other hand she's holding a cutter. I assume she used that on the teddy bear.

I close the door behind me and slowly walk towards her. I take from her hand the cutter and put it on her desk. Then I start to clean her room while she's still on her knees. As I put things on their spots, we stay silent.

Once I'm done with cleaning, I take her hand and pull her up and make her sit on the bed. I can feel the bad energy coming out of her pores. What could have ever happened?

She suddenly hands me her phone and the first thing I see is the chat with Jungkook. They seem happy, I don't understand why she's acting like this. But now I remember that she was with Jungwook.

"What did he do? Did he see this conversation between you and Jungkook?" I ask her, predicting what happened. She just nods and look at the ground.

"Y/n it's ok if he knows. After all the 'relationship' between you and Jugnkook won't be secret for forever, right?" I say as I caress her back. "Did Jungwook do something else?" as I ask this question I can feel her breath being uneasy and I see her start crying harder.

"He kissed me" she says sobbing. I'm shocked. I mean, it's just a kiss, it's not the end of the world. But at the same time I know that it's difficult for her, since she's always been inside her little bubble for the majority of her life and perhaps, that was her first kiss.

"I'm not mad because of the kiss" she says, proving that my assumption was wrong "It's because I hurt Jungkook. If he'll find out about this, he'll be disappointed in me."

"Y/n it's not your fault! It's Jungwook's." I try to reassure her, but it doesn't seem to work.

I stayed with her until she fell asleep. It was early, but she seemed tired.

A week is passed since then, and y/n seems to feel a little better. During classes we tried to act as natural as possible. We didn't tell anything to Jungkook, but his brother kept sending hints and saying teasing things, only to make me and y/n look even more nervous.

Y/n pov

It's Friday morning and it's Jimin's birthday. I slowly wake up and feel the anxiety hitting my stomach, like every other morning.

"I promise" I say to my ceiling "if something else bad happens, I promise I'll go back to white. My life will become white again. I really promise"

By now, I got used to this feeling of oppression, since it has been more than a week. As I stand up, I hear my phone vibrating. It's Jungkook. Every time he texts me, it's like a stab in the chest.

Jungkook:

Good morning y/n! Would you like to take the bus with me today? 😊

It's the first time I take the bus, I usually walk with Rosé. I feel nervous, but for some reason I smile. I quickly send a message to Rosé, saying that I'll go to school with Jungkook. And, of course, I said yes to the sweet guy.

He told me that he'll wait for me on the bus and he also told me the bus line.

Now I'm at the bus stop waiting for it to arrive. I see it coming from afar and I quickly take out my hand to gesture the driver to stop. As it stops and opens the door, I slowly walk inside. There aren't many people and I suddenly see a hand waving from one seat. As I look better I notice it's Jungkook.

I go to him and sit next to him. I don't look at him in the eyes as we start talking, but I notice something different in him.

He's now looking somewhere else and I take this opportunity to look at him.

He's very handsome today. Not that the other days he's not. But today he's particularly handsome. It looks like he did his hair and put on some cute clothes. The combination of his cute side and his handsome face, gives him a strong aura. Maybe it's just me, but he's really attractive.

He suddenly looks at me asking:

"Is anything wrong ?" he also shows me his warm and calming smile.

I swear, he'll make me melt someday. I just shake my head at his question.

"Tonight there's Jimin's birthday party! Since tomorrow we don't have any classes, we can stay awake till early morning" he says excited "He also said that his parents will go out for a couple of days, so we have his villa all by ourself!"

"It's going to be funny!" I smile at him. I'm actually nervous, I'm afraid something bad will happen tonight.

The morning went pretty fast. I kept staring at Jungkook and tried to ignore Jungwook's teasing, nothing new. And now I'm walking home with Rosé.

"Y/n, this early afternoon I'll go to Jimin's house to help him with decorations and stuff. He said that you and the twins can come at 6 PM. Here" she says handing me a piece of paper "This is his address"

I think there'll be no problem for me to get to his house, since now I kinda now where he lives.

"Oh right!" she shouts, making me flinch a little "make sure to wear something elegant!" she says winking at me.

Now I'm at home and it's 4.30 PM. I quickly prepare a bag with comfortable clothes and shoes, because we'll all sleep at Jimin's house. Now I'm putting on make up. I want to keep it very natural, but at the same time chick. Once I'm done with that I start to look for a nice outfit.

I think this'll do!

It's now 5.30 PM and I think it's time for me to go to Jimin's house. As I take my purse, I open the door and head downstairs. While I walk, I can hear my parents talking to someone. Who could it be? I guess it's none of my business. Finally I reach the leaving and I see the person to whom my parents are talking to.

What. The. Hell.

Jeon Jungkook.

He looks so good. The suit that he's wearing, looks perfect on him. I'm speechless.

"Oh my god y/n!!! This is the guy you studied with that day, right?" my mum asks me with the biggest smile ever. I've never seen her this happy and it's kinda scary. "He's so handsome!!"

"Hi y/n" Jungkook says with a warm smile "you look beautiful" as he says those words I can hear my mum screaming due to the excitement and my dad crying at the back. Seriously what's wrong with them.

I see Jungkook looking at me from head to toe. He's blushing so hard.

"H-Hi Jungkook" I say nervous "what are you doing here?"

"I came to pick you up. I know Rosé is already at Jimin's place and that you'd be alone. I didn't want you to walk completely by yourself in the dark, so I came to keep you company" his voice is so soothing and makes my anxiety go away. I actually forget about everything bad every time he talks.

"Let's go" he says holding out his hand. After smiling, I reach out for his hand and hold it tight.

"My princess!!" I hear my dad crying again "she grew up so fast" he's really embarrassing. I really want to bury myself.

I drag Jungkook out of my house and apologize for the embarrassing things that my parents said in front of him.

Now we're walking, still holding hands. I feel so nervous because it's only me and him, but at the same time I feel butterflies in my stomach. The excitement is pervading my whole body and I can feel my legs shaking from the adrenaline.

"I know I already said that" Jungkook says after ten minutes of pure silence "But you really look gorgeous" I feel him tightening the grip on my hand.

"You also look handsome..." I say really embarrassed.

"That's not true" he says laughing. I stop walking and look at him straight in the eyes.

"No, really! You look so good right now" I don't know where I'm going by saying this. It's not that I just want to compliment him because he also did. I really feel this way. But now I look pathetic, I'm really telling my crush that he looks handsome.

"Ok ok I believe you" he says laughing and suddenly pull me into a warm hug. I can feel one of his hands on the upper back and the other one on the back of my head. "Seriously y/n...you're driving me crazy" he whispers. WHAT DID HE SAY?? WHAT DO I DO? DRIVE HIM CRAZY? Is this a dream? Please, can someone give me a slap in the face? If this is a joke it's not funny! I'm really freaking out.

I don't know what to answer. I prepare myself mentally to ask him about his feelings, but he speaks before me:

"Let's go or else we'll be late" and with that he started walking. As we keep going, we just stay silent. It's not awkward. I feel like if don't say a word, I won't embarrass myself any further.

Now we're here. We ring on the gate bell and wait for an answer. Finally we hear Jimin's voice ordering us to enter and keep walking until we get to the main door of the house.

"Wow it's huge!" I say to Jungkook as I look at the garden.

Now we're at the front door and I knock on it. After a few seconds, the door opens and we are welcomed by Rosé. She looks gorgeous.

"Hi guys! Come inside" she says to us. As we get ourself in, I can't stop thinking at how big this house is. It's even bigger than the twin's house.

When we get to the living room I see Jimin, setting on the speakers and the microphone for karaoke.

"Wow Jimin! Did you dye your hair pink?" Jungkook asks smiling. He actually looks good with pink hair.

"Yes! Rosé helped me earlier. It's one of those hair dye that goes away after a few washes. I guess that in a couple of days I'll be black to blonde. I just wanted something different for my birthday" the pink haired guy says.

"You look handsome!" both me and Jungkook says.

"You also look gorgeous y/n" everybody turns around facing the guy who just complimented me. It's Jungwook.

Wow. He's honestly handsome. I just nod at his statement and slowly look at Rosé. I'm a bit scared right now, but she reassures me by taking my hand and smiling at me.

"Shall we start drinking?" Jimin asked excited.

"YESSSSSSS" everyone of us shouted in response.

Now I'm with Rosé and she's preparing a drink for me. It's not the first time I drink, but I'm a little bit worried, because she told me that during Jimin's parties, everybody gets wasted and throws up everywhere.

"Don't worry y/n" my best friend says handing me the drink "I'm good at making these things. I bet it tastes good!" she smiles brightly, before taking a sip from her drink.

I do the same as her with mine, after she handed it to me, and it actually doesn't taste bad. I give her a thumb up and we go to the boys who are now dancing like crazy. They seem to have fun and the only one who's not enjoying the party, it's me. I'm still thinking about the kiss between me and Jungwook and the fact that I'm scared that he's going to ruin everything between me and his brother.

People say 'drink to forget' right? That's what I want to do. I clench my fist and drink all of my drink in one breath.

"One shot!!!! Well done y/n!" I hear Rosé screaming. Right after that, everybody lifts up their drinks and scream at the same time:

"ONE SHOT!!" and they drink it all. We're all laughing.

"Y/n do you want another one? I can make it for you" Jungkook says smiling at me. I nod and smile back and then we head towards the kitchen. As he starts making the drink, I decide to talk a little:

"You seem good at this!"

"I'm neither the best or the worst. I just put a little bit of alcohol and a little bit of soda. Usually I put less alcohol, but tonight it's a special night" he says winking at me. I blush and quickly look away.

After a couple of seconds he gives me the drink and makes another one for himself.

"Jungkook!" I hear Rosé calling his name "Make some more also for me, Jimin and your brother, please!"

"Of course" he responds laughing a bit. He's really kind and this gives him another point.

Suddenly I feel a hand on my lower back and I quickly turn around, to see Jungwook. I step away a little and I hear him saying:

"Hi two love birds. Is the party good enough?" he says smirking at me. I wanted to answer but I get caught off by Jungkook:

"It's perfect" he says handing his brother the drink he was preparing for himself. "You can go now and have fun" he says with a fake smile. I guess Jungkook gave him his drink, in order to not bother us anymore.

Jungwook just gives him a fake smile as his, and leaves.

Then Jungkook kept preparing the drinks and after that we got to the others.

"Thankssss" Rosé says. She seems so happy today. I wonder what will happen to her and Jimin. She told me that she wanted to surprise him.

It's now 1 AM. Jimin opened the present we got for him and we ate the cake that Rosé prepared. Now we're all wasted. We're all dancing with a drink in our hand.

My head is spinning like crazy and I feel my body very light. Is not that I don't know what I'm doing. It's just that I don't care.

As I keep dancing, my attention drafts to Jungwook. He's all sweaty and hot, as he dances as well. He notices that I'm staring at him. I see him taking off his necktie and unbuttoning a bit his shirt. He then looks at me smirking.

He's so hot right now. I don't know why, but I'm so attracted to him. He slowly approaches me and puts his hands on my hips. I honestly don't care, we're just dancing after all. He then turns me around and pulls me closer to his chest, by putting his hands on my lower stomach.

As we keep dancing I can feel his pelvis on my ass. As we move to the rhythm, I feel him grinding on my behind. It's the first time someone dances like this with me and it actually feels good. It makes me excited. Then I feel something wet on my neck and I find out pretty soon that it's his mouth. I put my hand on his hair and pulling a little.

But then, someone separates us.

"Leave her alone" I look up and it's Jungkook "She's drunk. Tonight she's with me, not you"

"Oh little brother, I didn't know you were looking. To your information, it wasn't me who initiated the act. She was glaring at me and we started dancing naturally" Jungwook answers to his brother.

Jungkook slowly gets closer to his brother and I see Jimin immediately running and standing in between them:

"Please guys. At least not on my birthday" the pink haired guy says. The other two just nod and look at each other. The bad guy has an evil grin on his mouth, while the other one seems rather pissed.

After about twenty minutes I hear Jimin saying:

"Guys, let's change into comfortable clothes"

Me and Rosé went to the bathroom, while the guys changed together in the living room. After changing we get to the others. Jungkook quickly approaches me and says:

"Y/n, I need to talk to you"

#kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #park jimin #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook #bts #bts forever #bts fanfiction #bts imagine #rm #rap monster #jin #worldwide handsome #min suga #lil meowmeow #hobi #jhope #chimmy #mochi #tae #taetae #v #kookie #bunny #seokjin #yoongi #hoseok #namjoon

[trynnabemultifandom]

Bodyguard| Captain America x Reader

Requested: No, made it coz I like the idea of it

Summary: you're the presidents daughter and because of a traumatic event that has happened in the past, he hires Steve Rogers to be your body guard when you visit. Will this trip be all happy families? keep reading to find out

Warnings: swearing(ish) towards the end

A/N: Y/N = Your Name

F/N = First Name

L/N = Last Name

From a young age, my life had been hectic. 'Why?' you might ask. Well because, my father had decided to run for mayor. Crazy right? I know what you might be thinking, 'having your dad as mayor will be a good thing', but it has been nothing but trouble. My life got destroyed when I was 7. I watched my mother get shot right in front of me and that is something that stays with you forever. Some people say it was my dad's fault and others say it was her own because she got involved with this sorta stuff, but I honestly have no clue who's fault it was. the thing that angers me the most is that I wasn't even able to do anything to prevent her getting shot, for the past couple of years I have been blaming myself for it all happening and people do try there best and tell me it wasn't my fault, but I know it was. I could have done something to stop her being shot. Moving away from that, my dad was really getting involved in all the political stuff and not backing down from it. As I grew up, I had given into the fact that my dad wasn't going to stand down any time soon, so I just had to accept that. When I was 13, my dad had ran for president. it wasn't until I was 16 that he got enrolled though. I am now 21, no longer living with my dad and doing ok on my own. It has been a while since I have seen him so why not give him a visit.

(Time skip to when you're at his house)

It is now 6 o'clock. I have finally arrived at my dad's house. The last time I saw him, I was a depressed 17 year old, who was still trying to cope with my mother's death. My taxi pulled up in front of his big house. "Mason, wake up. we're here" I said to my 3 year old son. Once I was ready, I started to make my way to the front door. Before I even got a chance to knock, the front door opened and 2 or 3 people were ushering me inside the house. They picked up my bags while talking fast and saying "we'll take your bags to your room" I nod and look down at Mason who was still sorta still sleeping with his head on my shoulder. He looks so peaceful.

I decided to put him to bed. When I came back down, I saw my dad sitting on the sofa with a good looking guy wearing a blue, red and white suit and a cool looking shield on his hip. I walk over to them and sit on the seat beside my dad "hi dad" I smile at him "hello (Y/N)" I look at what he's wearing "are you going out somewhere?" he looks at me "yeah, I have a meeting downtown. I will be home later though" he stands "Mr. Steve Rogers will be here protecting you, and if you want to go out to town, he will act as your bodyguard" before I can say anything in protest, he was gone. "and just like that, he's gone" I put my head in my hands and sigh. I feel the sofa dip on the side my dad was sitting on before he left. I look up to see Steve sitting beside me

"why don't we get to know each other" i nod "sure" "ok, I'll go first. My name is Steve Rogers, I work with Nick Fury and a bunch of other badasses and when we are all together we're called The Avengers. Of course, none of my team mates are as badass as me" I chuckle at his attempt to lighten the mood "of course not Mr. Rogers. so I suppose its my turn for the introductions now" Steve nods and smiles. I take a deep breath and continue "ok, my name is (F/N) (L/N), I currently don't have a job, I came here to try and have the father-daughter relationship I missed out on years ago. I have a 3 year old son and his name is Mason" he looked shocked at the last part

"you have a son?" I nod and look down "yeah" I can already tell he has a lot of questions about it all "where's the father" i freeze on the spot "he's uh- he's gone" i try my best to hold back the tears. I feel a hand on my shoulder "hey, it's ok. for as long as you're here, I promise I will do everything I can to help and protect you and your son" I look up at him and smile letting a couple of tears fall "thank you Steve, that means a lot to me" he smiles and I hug him "all part of the job" he says hugging me back. we were pulled from our moment by small footsteps making their way down the stairs

"mommy I can't sleep" I turn around and see Mason standing there looking tired "come here baby" I reach out my arms for him to sit on my lap "you ok Mace?" he shook his head and hid behind me. I turn him around "Mason this is Steve, he'll be looking after us while we're here" I turned to Steve "Steve this is Mason, he's a little shy" "mommy can I have some food?" I smile "of course darling" I leave Mason and Steve to get to know each other and head off to make food for Mason

(Time skip to when your dad comes home)

Because I had arrived just hours ago, my clothes still had to be unpacked so Steve told me to go unpack and he'll keep Mason occupied. I have to say, for someone who has to keep it so professional, he's really childish and sweet around Mason. Just as I finish unpacking, I hear dad come in the front door with all his little minions. "oh shit" I mumble to myself. he doesn't know about Mason. it's not like I wanted to keep it a secret that I had a kid but I know how he'll react. I quickly get my stuff put away and run down the stairs, I was too late to stop him from seeing Mason. As soon as Steve saw me, he had the look of he sorry written in his face. I mouth "its ok" just so he knows that I'm not mad at him

When dad seen that Steve was looking over towards the stairs, he then looked in that direction and seen me "when were you going to introduce me to this little guy?" I didn't know whether to be cold or not when answering him because I know no matter what I say to him, he'll be mad and act out. My dad wasn't really the best of people, although he never physically abused me in any way, he would always prioritise his work over me and that made me feel shit "when you were gonna stick around for more than 5 seconds" he looked shocked at my answer "I'm here now aren't I (Y/N)?" I scoff "i am not talking about this here. I want Mason upstairs with one of the maids before we even discuss anything"

At the snap of his fingers, Mason was being brought upstairs and my dad was showing me to his 'study' as he calls it. I was honestly scared to confront him after all these years, because not only will he probably react badly to the fact I had a child at 18 and the father is gone, I never even told him. I thought it was just us two until I look behind me and see Steve standing at the door. he gives me a look of reassurance. I turn back to my dad and I was going to figure out where to start but he already bet me to it "so when were you going to tell me you had a kid, and don't give me shit saying 'when you stick around more' or whatever. I want the truth because nows your time" I nod, "if I'm being honest, I don't know when I would have told you" "I suppose you don't know who the father is" I look at him for a second

"I'm sorry, who do you think you are? Are you forgotting that I'm your daughter and not some hooker you seen on the side of the road?" I can feel my anger bubbling already and I haven't even started yet "tell me when it happened" I was hesitant at first because not only would my dad be ashamed of me, but so would Steve "my 18th birthday party, I got drunk and some guy took advantage of me. I ended up pregnant which in a weird way was the best thing that ever happened to me. although it wasn't under the most perfect circumstances, Mason is my everything. he is my sunshine" my dad scoffs. I glare at him "look, I'm just looking out for you. Now that you're with me, you can unwantedly be in the attention of the public and people could try to harm you like what happened to your mother" oh that's it. he's crossed a line

I stand up abruptly, tears forming in my eyes and so angry "Don't you fucking dare talk about her. you hardly knew anything about her because you were always busy working to pay attention to either of us. you weren't the one who was standing right beside her when she was shot and killed and you weren't the fucking one who held her lifeless body and cried for her to come back. No because you were too busy, too busy to check and see how I was at her funeral, too busy to check on me everytime I had a nightmare and too busy to get me through the hardest time of my life. So please, don't you fucking dare pretend like you feel the same amount of pain I do, because I know you don't" i take a breath and start to fully breakdown. I run out of the room and into the living room.

I was too busy breaking down to realise that Steve had come in after me "hey (Y/N), come here" he immediately imbraced me in a hug and I just let it all out, at this point I didn't care if I looked a mess or not. After a while of Steve hugging me as I cried, I finally pulled away and looked up at him "i am sorry you had to see and hear that. you probably think I'm a disgrace" he sighed and shook his head "never. if anything I think you're very brave. the way you explained how much Mason means to you and how you actually managed to tell him how you felt and get everything off your chest" he hugged me once more and rubbed my back. "get comfortable, because you're going to put on a movie and I'm gonna make you some food. you need it. I'll see if Mason wants to join us" I smile "thank you so much Steve. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here" he smiled and went off to find Mason and I sat down on the sofa to pick a movie. Maybe this trip won't be so bad after all

please give me your honest feedback from this because I want to know if its good before I can make a part 2. tell me if there's anything I need to fix

Tags:

#captain america x reader #steve rogers #marvel #angst