#if her and kristen get back together I’ll be so fucking angry

[ithinkdogshouldvote2]

So not sorry when i say that I’m a tracker hater and a Nara fan.

#if her and kristen get back together I’ll be so fucking angry #Nara i love you they could never make me hate you #shes literally done nothing wrong?? and shes SOO hated for what #what if i say tracker shouldn’t be in a relationship and shes literally using Nara for her money #and influence #Nara you deserve sooo much better im so sorry that ppl hate you for no reason #if shes evil i dont even care she deserves to go apeshit because this shit with tracker is so not fair #princess nara #princess naradriel #tracker o'shaughnessey #kristen applebees #fantasy high junior year #fantasy high #d20 #d20 fantasy high

[harrysgloves]

The Devil You Know

Harry Styles x Reader

Story Summary: CEO!Harry punishes reader in his office after catching her flirting with his coworker.

Word Count: 5k

Warnings: Language // This is just straight up p*rn // Daddy kink // Spanking (belt) // Oral Sex (male receiving) // Vaginal Sex // Anal Sex // Degrading // The slightest bit of choking // Probably a whole lot more that I’m missing // Not edited... sorry

Authors Note: Another work in progress finally DONE! YAY! Hope you guys like it! Feedback is always loved and appreciated so much! Thank you guys so much for reading. xx

>>><<<

Your high heels clicked against the cold marble tile of the lobby floor for the second time that day. Your billowing black winter coat hit your knees with every step you took towards the elevator.

You could have seen him earlier but his secretary swore he was busy. Like he could ever be too busy for you. You scoffed, a roll of your pretty eyes before telling this no-good conniving bitch what was up.

"Tell my daddy that his girl was here," You said, tongue wetting your lips as you leaned over her desk. Your perfectly manicured hands landing loudly over the papers she should have been working on instead of hitting on your man. "And just so we're very clear on something, sweetheart. He's not my father."

You turned on the spot, hips swaying just a bit extra as you marched yourself back down to the elevator. Grumbling under your breath the whole way. 

Who did she think she was? 

Harry was yours. Your daddy, your sweetheart, your boyfriend. You two had been together for years. Your name was tattooed in red ink on his wrist for fuck sakes but that sense of jealousy burned deep into the pit of your stomach. 

The vibration from your phone was the only thing that pulled you out of your thoughts to go up there and teach that girl a lesson on who ran the show around here. His picture flashed across your screen. You scoffed, ignoring the call, and shoving the phone back into your expense handbag. Yes, it was against his stupid rules to ignore his phone calls but you were pissed. He could go screw Karen, or Tina, or whatever her name was for all you cared.

"Bad day?" The sound of another voice in the elevator made you jump. You didn't even notice someone else in here when you got on. How long had he been watching you throw a fit?

"You could say that." You sighed, your back leaning against the cool metal of the elevator as it reached the bottom floor. Door opening to reveal the perfectly decorated lobby floor.

"Pretty girls like you shouldn't have bad days." He flashed a smile towards you when you chuckled, shaking your head at him. He was cute, you'd give him that, but he was no Harry.

"I'll keep that in mind." You said as you started to walk out in front of him. Until your heel caught on the ledge of where the elevator met the floor. Your hands desperately trying to catch onto something before you hit your ass on the ground. You weren't dressed to be falling. A small silk camisole dress paired with no underwear didn't make for a good look if you landed with your legs wide open right now. 

Plus, that pretty pink plug Harry had fucked into your ass that morning before leaving you wanting and needy didn't exactly seem like the best thing to be landing on.

The hands around your waist was the only thing that saved you from mortifying public embarrassment. Your arms against his toned chest as he held you inches from the ground.

"Thanks." You breathed out, a cheeky smile on his face when he lifted you back to your feet.

"Well," he said, his arms still on the small of your waist. "I'm part-time broker, full-time knight in shining armor."

You laughed that big deep luscious laugh that made Harry fall in love with you. Your hand ran over his chest to lay back down the collar of his suit that you had grabbed. You backed away without a second thought, thanking him yet again before leaving the building. 

Not once seeing Harry's fuming face staring you down from the stairwell.

>>>

"Kristen?" Harry asked as he exited his office. His eyebrows scrunched together when he opened his door to see the new girl sitting there with no you in sight. He could have sworn he heard your voice.

"It's Catherine." She corrected what he assumed to be a flirty look crossed her face as he stood in front of her desk.

"Right. Anyway, was a girl jus' out 'ere looking fo' me?" He asked, describing you down to what you were wearing for the day. The mental picture of you sauntering around the apartment in that fucking dress when he didn't have the time to do what he really wanted to do to you that morning played in his mind.

"Uh, well, someone was but she ran off pretty quickly." She lied with a shrug of her shoulders. Harry's eyes narrowed at her when her cheeks flamed red. 

Why did he always end up with the crazy assistants?

"Y'sure 'bout that?" He asked again, his hardening stare made her splutter and crack as he rounded her desk to stand directly in front of her.

"You were busy, Mr. Styles, I sent her away." She mumbled, her eyes flashing away from him when he cursed under his breath.

He already knew what you'd be thinking. His hands fished in his suit pocket for his phone to press your icon. One ring, two rings, voice-mail. He took a deep breath, reminding himself of how insecure you could get sometimes.

Not like you ever needed to be insecure. He thought you were a total knockout. Plus, he was absolutely head over heels in love with you.

"Y'can pack up yeh things." He said as he slid his phone back into his pocket. Her eyes widened at his words, fake apologies started, but he didn't care. He only wanted to make sure you were okay. He needed to reassure you that you had no reason to feel insecure or jealous.

You were the only girl for him.

His fast steps down the stairs got him to the lobby in no time. Whatever thankfulness he had to catch you before you left was gone the second he saw that bastard touch you. 

He swore his eyes could have shot flames through that curly headed asshole. His chest pounded with a rage he didn't know he could feel when you laughed. God, that fucking laugh. His tongue wet his lips before his teeth ground together. 

You touched him. Your hands ran down his chest, smoothing out his suit, like you'd done for him so many times. Your fingers lingered a second too long. The guys hands tightened into the fleshy curves of your hips a little too much, pulling you in closer to him before you eventually walked off.

Your bouncing ass caught the attention of the guy who had touched you. Shameless staring at his fucking girl while you walked out of the building. He had to repeatedly remind himself that he couldn't beat the shit out of his own employees. 

His fist unclenched when you were long gone. He brought his phone out once again to send you a text.

My office. 7pm.

>>>

You stormed through the lobby, up the elevator, not paying any mind to the people around you. Ready to burst into an angry monsoon of jealousy, when the sight of his empty receptionist desk stopped you in your spot. Her things, gone. A baron desk with no sign of a girl simply gone for the evening greeted you.

He'd fired her.

Suddenly, the anger you'd had bubbling in your stomach faded. Replaced with that sinking feeling of guilt. He always seemed to know what was bothering you, even before you talked to him about it. Which was just another one of the many reasons you loved him so much.

You sighed, your shoulders slumped, as your hand laid on the doorknob, knowing he was going to be upset with you. It took everything in you to swing open the door to his office exactly at 7 on the dot. Not a minute early but not daring to be late after your little show of ignoring him earlier. 

His stiff demeanor screamed you were in trouble as you shut the door behind you. You swallowed thickly, heels clicking hesitantly against his floor as you made your way to his desk. Your fingers skimming the dark oak wood as you moved around to stand in front of him. Your bottom lip tucked between your teeth as you glanced down to see he hadn't moved a muscle.

No words had been spoken through the tense air. No sound dared to come from you. You knew better, knew how upset he got when you ignored him. So you stood, perfectly still in front of where he sat, your sight hyper focused on the scratch marks on his desk instead of his intense eyes.

You'd have to be easier on this desk in the future but you had a feeling today wasn't going to be the day.

"Got somethin' to say fo' yehself?" His voice was hard, leaving no room for your shit tonight. You swallowed the nervous lump in your throat as your eyes finally met his. They were colder than you'd ever seen before. 

Usually, when you acted out, he found a bit of humor in it. Teasing you about being nothing but a brat but always letting you know he wasn't going to put up with it. He always went easy on you and honestly, you were a good girl. You almost never broke the rules and when you did, it was something trivial.

You were never one to get in trouble on purpose, at least not with him.

"I'm sorry I ignored your call." You tried to say in the least shaky voice you could manage.

He hummed, acknowledging your words but not accepting your apology. Those dagger like green eyes burned through your body, directly into your soul as his thumb twisted his gold ring on his pointer finger. 

"Anythin' else y'need to tell me?" He asked as he raised from his chair. His large chest mere centimeters away from your face as you stood your ground, literally. 

"No?" Your eyebrows scrunched as you peered up to him. Utterly confused on why he was so pissed at you. 

The sharp stone like features of his face didn't help settle the racing thoughts in your mind. That cold chill that ran down your spine as his lips pressed into a hard line. The back of his hand as it skimmed across the highs of your cheek bone was the only feeling of warmth in the otherwise frigid room.

"Know why I got y'this?" His finger ran across the pink leather of your choker collar, across the gold "H" that was embedded in the middle.

Your big doe-eyes flashed up to him. You didn't sway an inch as his fingers laced through the ring that dangled at the bottom of your choker. His grip was firm around the cool metal. His hold kept in place as he stared down at you.

"Because I'm yours." Your eyebrows furrowed together as you looked at him, not having a clue as to why he needed to remind you. 

You gasped as he tugged you forward by your lead. Your feet barely stayed in their spot on the ground as your hands grasped around his arms for balance.

"And do you think I like what's mine flirting in the elevator with my employees?" His words shocked you, stuttering, spits of partial words fell from your mouth as you gaped up at him. "Think I didn't see?"

"Harry, I wasn't flirting with him." You tried to explain away the situation. It was simple, a misunderstanding. "He helped me when I-"

"Did I say y'could use my name?" He practically growled through clenched teeth. Your eyes widened as you stared up at him. Boy, were you in trouble.

"No, daddy." Your voice was soft, eyes all dewy as you stared up at him. A show, really, you loved when he got like this. That familiar ache already growing in your core as he dropped the lead on your collar. You quickly stood back up in your place, hands by your side as he stalked around you.

A hunter watching his prey.

"What's y'word?" He asked as he circled back in front of you. His suit jacket was abandoned over the back of the chair. Ringed finger hands loosening his tie around his neck.

"Peony." Your tongue wet your lips as he rolled up his sleeves in front of you. The crisp white linen of his shirt sleeves being rolled up was only a slight distraction from the nod of his head.

"And your hard no's?" 

He wasn't fucking around. You considered it for a second, all the things you two had previously taken off the table. 

"Still the same." You told him, knowing that this meant he was really going to push you tonight. 

He studied you for a second longer. His head dipping down to catch your line of vision, eyebrows raised as if he was mentally asking you the same question again.

"Good." He said when you gave a nod of your head. "Strip."

You took a deep breath, preparing yourself. Your hands shook by your side as you clenched and unclenched your fist, once, twice, three times. Just enough to get you in your head space.

The skin on your arms raised in goosebumps as the warm fur lined jacket slid off your shoulders and onto the floor. A pile of useless fabric pulled into a puddle at your feet. Your slip of a dress followed directly after it. 

A scoff of a laugh came from him, a shake of his head as he turned away from you. Long, silent, steps over to a much-needed drink from the bar cart in his office. Your eyes lowered to the floor, watching the pacing of his shoes. Ears zeroed into the sound of liquid pouring, a deep gulp, and then more pouring. That lump in your throat grew with every slap of his heel back in front of you.

Of course you had to pick today to be defiant.

"It's like y'wanna be in trouble, baby." He hummed and you swore if you looked at him right now he'd be wearing that smug little smirk. 

"Pretty." He mumbled, his fingers dancing across the lacy top of the underwear you'd slipped on when you got home. "Too bad yeh not 'posed to be wearin' 'em."

"Off." He snapped his fingers in front of your heated face. At least he wasn't ripping this pair. 

The stringy lace slid down your silky smooth legs. Each high heeled foot stepping out of the leg holes one at a time. Shaky hands handing over the garment you put on in a moment of anger. 

Your eyes refused to meet his as he slid the panties into his back pocket. Your lips rolled into your mouth as he stared at you. The heat in your body raised with each passing second as he finished his drink. 

God, you'd never been in this much trouble.

"Y'know I was gonna take it a little easy on yeh." His words and the sound of the glass being sat down snapped you out of your fixed trance on the floor. His shiny black shoes disappeared from your line of sight as he circled around you. "Figured my baby girl jus' got protective over her daddy."

His hand ran down your cheek from behind you. Your head instinctively nuzzled into the few fingers that trailed from your jawline to your lips. Chaste kisses pressed to his fingertips.

"But now, I see you need a good lesson on who makes the rules." You gasped when his hand clamped around the front of your neck, your head snapped back roughly against his shoulder. His fingers digging into the side of your neck made you whimpered, a low stirring in your stomach.

His hand released you only long enough to loosen his tie. The fabric you once gifted him for his birthday dug into the skin of your forearms and wrists behind your back. The restraint, a little tighter than usual, not enough to hurt but enough to let you know this wasn't some usual punishment. 

"Bend." He said with a tight grip on the tie that held your arms in an uncomfortable position behind you. Your body maneuvered by him until your hips hit the edge of his desk. You gasped as your bare chest was pushed against the cold wood. Your nipples peaked from the sudden ice like material that you now laid halfway over. His hand finally left the intricate knots holding your arms back when your cheek rested on the table top.

"Looks like y'know how to listen when it comes to this." You could imagine his eyes rolling as he stood behind you. His hand ran down your ass, to the plug he'd placed there this morning. A quick tug on the pink silicone drew a whimper from you, your legs shifting back and forth in their spot.

Harry had to hold back a groan as he watched your hips sway. His hand gripped his twitching cock that throbbed in his pants at the sight of your pretty wet pussy already soaking for him. A smirk spread across his lips, his hand gripping the flesh of your round ass again.

His perfect little baby girl was such a whore for him.

Fuck, you were perfect.

"Thinkin' three fo' 'ry rule yeh broke today." His accent somehow thickened the more turned on he got. That heat burned in your stomach that turned in anticipation and a bit of nerves.

"Y-yes, daddy." Your voice betrayed you with shaky cracks. 

The room quickly quieted again after his hum of approval. His hand left your ass, left you completely. Silence had you straining your ears for any hint of a sound when you heard it. 

That familiar clink of a sound.

You buried your head into the smooth surface of the table, lips pressed against the wood to hide the moan that wanted to slip past your lips. Your core clenched around nothing but air, not sure how this was anywhere close to a punishment when you constantly had to beg him to be this rough with you.

You gasped as the cool leather of his belt ran down the strain muscles of your back. Tauntingly slow as it passed over the fabric of the tie, dancing across your fingers.

"What're in trouble fo'?" He asked from behind you, your lips that had been tightly clamped between your teeth unrolled, just enough to talk.

"Not answering your call, wearing underwear, using your name, and-" you sighed, "Touching another guy." You finally spit out, not wanting to add anymore lashings to your ever growing amount. 

"Hm, think'll add three more fo' that one." His voice was hard and cold through the air around you. "Better hear yeh count, sweetheart."

He gave no warning other than that. The sound of the leather slicing through the thickened air in the office was your only clue of what was coming. The sharp snap of the hide hitting the soft flesh of your ass rang through your ears before you felt the sting. 

"One." You spoke into the wood. Your nose flat against the desk, hands tightening around your restraint as the shockwaves of a dull pain ran down your spine, directly to your steadily wettening folds. 

Two, three, four, more and the spark of a pleasure still burned, lingered down into a blazing river of red marks across your ass cheeks to your pulsating pussy.

"T-t-ten." Your words choked and contracted in your throat when the belt smacked across your ass, five more left and you were determined to make it through. The grunts and groans that rolled from deep in his chest as the leather dug into your flesh again and again. Whimpering sobs, face flushed with tears and mascara as he went harder on you than ever before.

And that fucking plug you decided to keep in.

You were teetering on the brink of your headspace when the final smack came. Your breast smashed against the now warmed surface with the force. You cried, pushed forward into that floating sensation of the deep part of your mind as you were lifted by your restraints. Body maneuvered until you kneeled before him, heels haphazardly kicked off in the motion downwards to the ground.

The searing skin of your ass cooled against the marble floor when your shaky legs gave out to the weight on them. You sighed from the little bit of relief you got, stuffy nose from crying so much, desperately trying to suck air into your lungs. You were too wrapped up in yourself to hear the clank of the belt hitting the floor.

Your foggy mind lifted out of the deep when you felt his hand around the back of your neck, his cold features barely broke through your vision that was clouded with tears.

"What do y'say, baby?" His hand tightened in the hairs at the back of your head. A hard jerk backwards had you gasping in surprise.

You were far from being done with your punishment.

"Thank you, daddy." Your voice cracked from the amount of tears you were holding back. The words you'd spoken did nothing to change his unimpressed facial features, his tongue slid across his front teeth as he studied your mess of mascara and eyeliner.

He stood up abruptly, his hand didn't leave the back of your neck, sufficiently holding you up from your ass resting on the cool tile. 

"Yeh know, darlin', daddy doesn't punish yeh as much as he should. That's on me more than yeh. Should've put yeh in y'place more often, sweetheart."

Your eyes widened up to him. Whatever shred Harry always kept of himself while he was in this role was abandoned. No, now, he was fully in his dominant role. The waves of demand rolled through every part of him. His voice, his demeanor, his words.

"That's okay though, baby, gonna learn who yeh belong to. Isn't that right?" He practically cooed at you. A mock tone that made your face heat as blood rushed to your face. 

"Yes, daddy." Your chest seemed to heave with anticipation.

"Open." He said as his hand clamped your mouth open for you. Your obedient tongue sticking out for him before you even had a chance to think twice about it. 

Harry hummed as he stared down at you. The hand that was around your jaw slipped into your open mouth. His finger fucked into your open and waiting throating. Your legs tightened together as his smirk grew wider at your movement.

Sure, you weren’t supposed to move but God, you always wanted it so bad he couldn't help the turning of his lips.

He lowered himself to your level. No words were said as he loosened your restraints. The fabric that held your arms back finally, finally, was gone. Your body slacked forward as Harry backed away from you. His towering form loomed over you as your hands fell forward to hold yourself up.

The strain on your muscles in the back seemed to lift only momentarily before he guided you upwards by your upper arm. Your back on the now warmed surface of the desk, your head hanging off the side, your freed hands clutched beside you as your anticipation for what was coming grew.

"Gonna show me how sorry yeh are, darlin'." His throbbing cock was finally released from its confinement. The hard, pulsating, tip was red and aching for relief. Only millimeters from your upside-down vision. 

Your legs spread wider at the sight of him. Your toes pointed against the smooth oak, your arousal felt like it could have been running in a river down your legs as you licked your lips. Your mouth opened without any demand from him as he stroked his cock in front of you.

"Good girl." He groaned, his hand guided himself into your mouth.

You always had a hard time taking him. He was just so big, so thick. Your tongue pressed against his tip as he slowly rocked into you. His hands grasped onto your breast as his cock slid further and further down your throat.

You moaned around his member that stretched open the sides of your mouth. You tried your best to relax your throat, breathe through your nose.

"Relax yeh throat." He grunted as your throat constructed around him again. The irritated tone in his voice only made your slick folds drip with your arousal.

"I said to relax." He said once your gag reflex halted his movement for a third time. A harsh slap of his hand landed on your open and waiting cunt. You would have yipped at the feeling if you could have. He ceased your moment of being off guard to finally push himself fully inside.

You moaned the best you could as your throat finally relaxed. His balls rested against your nose, the crotch of his pants and zipper rubbed against your face but you didn't care. He felt so good in your mouth. 

You heard him let out a moan as you felt your nipples harden. His fingers lazily rubbed at your swollen clit as he slipped down your mouth.

"Why can't yeh be a good girl like this all the time for me, baby?" He asked as his hand held the back of your neck. His hips picking up to a pace that was almost too much for you. "So much fuckin' better for me when yeh jus' a hole for me to fuck." 

He pulled out of you suddenly. A string of your spit connected from his red tip to your mouth before he bent down to your level. The look behind his eyes was intoxicating. Fuck, he was enjoying this.

"Gonna have to keep you tied up to my desk, aren't I? Only time yeh good for me if when yeh have a cock stuffed in you." 

"I'll be good." You said as he stood back up. His hands gripped your thighs to turn your body around like a rag doll, your ass in the air as your face laid on the desk, again.

"Be good, huh?" He teased his tip against your opening, a deep groan left him from just how fucking wet you were. "Yeh call throwin' yehself at my employees bein' good?" 

"I didn't." You pouted, your bottom lip stuck out even though he couldn't see it. His cock parting the folds of your pussy, the thick tip against your sensitive clit had your hips shifting. 

You wanted him to stop being mad at you and just fuck you already.

"If I wanted someone else to touch yeh I would have told them to." He started to slip into you, the overwhelming sense of him starting to stretch you already filled you. Blood rushed to your lightheaded head as you restrained yourself from pushing backwards onto him.

"Such a tight cunt." He grunted as the thought from your earlier run in fell from his mind. Your velvet caves pulled him, his anger melted away as you clenched around him.

A hard thrust forward had him directly on your sweet spot, your eyes rolled back in your head as you held on tightly to the front of the desk. 

He wasn't messing around and he wasn't holding back.

You could feel his hip bones smacking against the abused flesh of your ass. The sting sent an electric shock through your body as he wrecked you. You could feel him pounding all the way into your lower stomach as your jaw unhinged from a sea of moans.

"Think he could fuck yeh better, sweetheart?" Harry asked as he pulled on the plug in between your cheeks. His cock rammed into you as the silicone slipped out.

"No." You finally managed to get out an answer through your moans, your wrecked vocal cords cracked until he let up. You almost turned around but you knew better, the sound of his bottom draw opening gave away his next move.

You two needed to fuck at his office less. He had way too much sex shit laying around here.

Your thoughts were interrupted by the cold gel of his lube coated fingers slipping into your tighter hole. Your breath caught in your throat as he slid back inside of your pussy. Your eyebrows furrowed together from the overwhelming sense of pleasure that pulsed through your veins.

"Such a slut, know that?" He spoke as a second finger joined his first one, fucking you open enough to take him. "Lemme fuck yeh in ever hole in my office." 

"Fuck." You moaned into the wood, your hands gripped around the front edge of the desk as he pulled himself out of you, a generous amount of lube slathered across your hole before he put some on himself. 

He took a second just admiring your wrecked state. Your pussy opened wide for him, able to be fucked so easily now that he'd destroyed it. Your ass shined red with lash marks, your hair a complete mess.

He had to stop himself from shooting a load into his own hand. His thoughts getting the best of him as he stroked himself from behind you. His tip pressed into you slowly as he waited for your muscles to relax.

You felt like you could have bit your bottom lip off from how tightly it was tucked under your teeth. Your nails dug into the desk as he pushed further into you, his head finally getting past your tight ring. His hips laid flat against your ass, his hands pulled back each cheek to get a good look at himself stretching you out.

"Gonna ruin you for anyone else. Y'understand?" He mumbled into your ear as he pulled up to his chest by the front of your neck.

"Yes, daddy." You squeaked out as he finally moved his hips. His head rested against your shoulder as you let out a sound you never wanted to admit to making. His cock hit all the right places, the stretch wasn't painful but you were so tight there you could feel every one of his veins pushing against your walls. 

You felt so full of him it was almost overwhelming. You could feel every throbbing jump of his cock as he pumped in and out of you. His grunts as his teeth dug into your shoulder, his fingers from his free hand swirled around your clit while his other one squeezed the sides of your neck.

Your arousal slicked all the way down to your shaky knees as your body bounced against his cock. You panted out moans as your body burned red hot. Your orgasm was just on the horizon, so close you could hardly keep your eyes open.

"Gonna cum with daddy's cock in yeh ass?" He asked even though you had no idea how he managed to put together words in this moment. Your own mind wasn't able to let you do anything more than nod.

"Cum for me then, pet." His finger pressed down harder on your clit, cock shoved deeper inside of you. 

Your vision blacked around the edges, body shook, your high washed over your head all the way down to your toes. The sound of your moans carried through the office, down the halls of the almost emptied building. Your mind barely had time to put together the fact he'd pulled out of you.

Until he slammed back into your cunt. 

A warmth filled you as you whimpered, your body slacked in his arms as his cum dripped out around himself. 

"I gotcha." He mumbled as he moved you both into his office chair. Your makeup smudged face pressed into his chest as you came down from your high. His hand ran across your back in soothing circles.

"Baby, yeh did so good." He said into your hair, his lips pressed in light kisses against your scalp. "Such a good girl. Made me feel so good, baby."

"Gonna take yeh home and get yeh a bath, hm?" He asked when your body felt less limp. You hummed your agreement, head still in that floating space for a second.

"Harry, you know I didn't flirt with him, right?" You asked after a moment. Your fingers danced across his bicep absentmindedly.

"Yeah, jus' like yeh know I didn't sleep with my secretary." He let out a chuckle when you raised your head to pout at him. "Gave me a good reason to fuck yeh like that though." 

"Shut up." You muttered to him. Your eyes rolled as he gave you a stern look.

"Pup, I jus' fucked yeh into next week, do not start with me again."

#Harry Styles #Harry #Harry Styles x Reader #Harry Styles x you #Harry Styles x Y/N #Harry Styles Fanfic #Harry Styles Fanfiction #Harry Styles Smut #Fanfic #Fanfiction #Writing #Mine #One Shot

[votederpycausemufins]

Alright, we’re reaching the end. let’s at least see if I can reach 100k words!

@petrichormeraki 

and also @helleborusangel I’m worried about you. You haven’t touched your tumblr in about 2 and a half weeks. if anyone has heard from them, please let me know, I am worried aaaaaaaaaa.

An explosion shook the room, making Grifter use his wings as cover for both himself and Sense. A moment later he flapped his wings to clear the air and see what had caused the explosion. He growled upon seeing a group of people at the door, recognizing that most of them were hermits. Standing there were both Xisuma and Xannes, Joe, Zedaph, Scar and Cub. There were also two non-hermits, one of which being Techno since he had brought the other hermits. The last was someone Grifter recognized all too well. Kristen. And she was also holding onto both Grifect and Sefter.

Grifter tried not to look angry or yell and attack, even using a wing to keep Sense back. “Oh thank goodness you all came! This is going to help so much!” Grifter couldn’t say more before a trident was thrown at his head, him barely dodging it. “What are you doing, I’m the good guy here?”

“I have a hard time believing that.” Xannes huffed, but Grifter gestured to where Nightmare lay dazed on the floor.

“No, you don’t understand. He’s the bad guy in this situation. He was after both Theseus and Tommy. I was told I had to deal with him. I didn’t have any choice!”

Xannes scoffed. “A likely story.” And weapons were pointed at Grifter. The avian’s eyes continued to go between Nightmare as well as Kristen as she held his kids, but he held his arms up in surrender.

From behind the group, Xisuma made his way over to Tommy. Grifter paid no attention to him, But Sense did, pulling out a weapon. Techno was the first to move to stop the attack, but Grifter beat him to the punch, using his wing to hit the weapon out of Sense’s hand. “As I said. Good guys here. Unless of course you are here to hurt Tommy, then things change.”

“You destroyed half of the server.” Techno said.

“I made sure to take precautions. None of this is permanent. Everything is backed up and I made sure everyone could respawn. Meanwhile you’re got Grian running around with one of his sons, not even worried about the bug in his system.”

“What-” Someone started to say, Grifter wasn’t sure who, when Nightmare moved. Grifter moved out of the way, having been watching the admin. Nightmare’s attack missed, but he quickly adjusted, his axe aiming for Xisuma’s neck. Sense pulled out another weapon and pointed it at Nightmare, firing it. The blast hit Nightmare’s wrist, making him lose his weapon, but in order to take the shot, it also went through part of Grifter’s wing.

“There…” Grifter said, holding his wing. “Believe us now?”

Weapons slowly moved from pointing at Grifter to pointing at Nightmare. A quick glance around the room let him know that Xannes seemed to be the only one left with his guard up, but that was fine, he wasn’t the most dangerous one here. Cub and Scar both had vex magic, but only both of them working together had been enough to break Grifter’s barrier, so while they could potentially be dangerous, they also weren’t the biggest threat. Techno was probably the least threatening of the bunch, Xisuma as a close second. He may be admin, but this wasn’t his server, so for now he was essentially powerless.

But the last three were much more dangerous. Kristen had the same aura around her that his dad did, meaning she would have to be death here. But it also didn’t help that she wasn’t the only one with that energy. And then of course ‘Joe Hills’. He was arguably the most dangerous, but he also had an easy weakness right now. 

“Do any of you know someone named Eret?” Grifter spoke up, glad to see Joe look up and over at him.

“I do. Why’re ya askin’?”

“We couldn’t quite get down there, but there seemed to be some prison cells and someone with that name was there. I was pretty sure the name was familiar, but of course, since this is another dimension, I figured I’d ask you guys.” Grifter explained, then hissing slightly as Sense tried to help with his wound.

Joe briefly looked over at Xisuma, who nodded. After taking one last look around the room, the man left the room. One down, two to go. Kristen was off the table with the boys in her arms, but if push came to shove, they could take care of themselves. Grifter used a bit of magic to heal himself, noticing that the world setting had been changed, letting people naturally heal and respawn again. He quickly changed that back and readied his magic for an attack.

Both of the Convex noticed something was up and they started to say something, but Grifter was faster. He flew into the air just enough to get a height advantage before attacking Zedaph with such a powerful attack, he broke through the floor. At the same time, Sense pulled Xisuma away from Tommy, messing with his helmet and breaking the filters on it. 

Xannes tried to grab Grifter, but the Listener was prepared and he drew a swirl symbol in the air, and a moment later Xannes was gone. Grifter was left panting and he couldn’t do much more after using so much magic. Sense was busy taking care of the Convex, so he couldn’t help much more. Grifter barely managed to get out of the way of Techno attacking him, but it just moved him closer to Kristen. 

“What did you do with Phil?” She asked, just making Grifter chuckle.

“Nothing bad. And even if it was, I doubt it would affect Dad.” He laughed again. “So, why are you here? I would have thought you’d stay away.”

Kristen didn’t answer as Sefter’s hand changed into a sword and he stabbed her in the side. Her shock made her drop both him and Grifect, who quickly ran to Grifter’s side. “Awe uwu okay dad? Uwu wook tiwed. I'm sowwy I messed up.”

“Aww, it’s okay pumpkin. You did just fine.” Grifter patted Grifect’s head and Sefter faced Techno, ready to fight him. “Now now everyone. I’m sure we can all stand down at this point.”

“You were the one to attack first.” Techno huffed, making Grifter pout.

“You all barged in here ready to attack me with my children as hostages. Now they are free and everyone is fine.”

“Xisuma is suffocating!” Cub yelled, and Grifter rolled his eyes and used a bit of magic to fix the helmet.

“There, is that any better?” Grifter huffed, still panting a bit. “You’re all ready to work with Xannes but I try to help and suddenly I’m the worst thing in the world.”

“Even he hates you.”

“And he also hates his brother, but you guys are fine with him. But sure, make that the defining answer.” Grifter grumbling, trying to ignore the nudge in his side from Sense. “Now how about we just all calm down, I deal with my job, and we all go home safe and sound.”

“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Scar asked, and Grifter nodded his head in Kristen’s direction, as well as Zedaph’s as he was just pulling himself out of the hole he had been stuck in.

“What are we talking about?” Zed asked, looking around, not having any context.

Kristen gestured to Grifter. “He’s got a request from Death that he needs to finish.”

“What? I never gave him anything like that. Was that you?”

“No, I assume it came from one of those in his world.”

“Oh yeah, that would do it. Oh by the way, look who I found!” And Zedaph helped Grian, Ranboo and Grumbot out of the hole. 

“Oh for fucks sake!” Grifter growled. “I just managed to salvage this two fucking times. Why aren’t you all dead?”

As soon as he had said that, everyone turned on Grifter once more, though this time he wasn’t trying to wriggle his way out of it. “Perhaps we should-” Sense started to say before the Listener slapped him. “Shut up! I don’t care how it happens, I am getting rid of that son of a whore admin! Now stay alive long enough to come back.” And three portals opened up next to Sense, Sefter and Grifect, pulling them in. 

“Fine. Gloves are off now.” Grifter said, staring directly at Grian, who knew exactly what that meant. Grian moved to pull Grumbot closer to himself while Kristen was the first to move and attempt to attack Grifter.

Before she could cause any harm, Grifter placed down some TNT which immediately exploded. The explosion blocked her view just long enough for him to move elsewhere and get the upper hand, shoving her to the floor. “Oh please, Dad’s already terrified I’ll kill him and become the next death or something. And seeing as how my uncle never shows his fucking face, I’m guessing he keeps shaking in his little pink lined boots.”

Xisuma was the next to attack, but Grifter kicked at the man, boots starting to tear at the seams. “And your brother is too much of a cocksucking ditz to cause any sort of trouble for me. Hacking skills or not. I had to deal with plenty in Deevo. And that’s when I was still learning everything!”

Grifter was whacked in the back, causing loose feathers to go flying. He turned to see that Techno had attacked with an axe, blood now dripping down the avain’s back. “You’re an improvement over the original at least. Euro’s one of the biggest cowards I’ve seen. I can hear when he kills himself from a mile away. It’s too bad he keeps getting to respawn, but when death doesn’t want you dead, it doesn’t happen.” One of Grifter’s wings hit Techno, the feathers stiff and sharp, opening wounds all over the piglin hybrid.

Next, vex magic attacked the Listener from both sides, leaving him cornered. “You two. Hah, now this is a challenge. Sort of. But I don’t give a fuck right now!” And Grifter pulled out a shovel, not having a better weapon readily available. He walked towards Cub, not caring as the magic started to burn away his clothes, revealing the discolored skin beneath. Cub did his best to increase his power and move away, and for a few moments it worked, pushing Grifter back, but then the shovel connected with his skull, knocking him to the ground. A few more whacks followed from Grifter for good measure, staining the metal red.

“Now, who’s up next?!” The Listener asked with a laugh, turning to face everyone. His outfit was a mess; torn and bloody, hanging limply on his body while his boots lay shredded to the side, talons having replaced his feet. His eyes were glossy, cataracts covering them leaving him essentially blind, but his ears had shifted, changing into something few had seen, the ears of a warden.

“What the heck?” Ranboo asked, having stuck by Grian’s side. “What is that?”

“Listener.” Grian responded, horrified. “When Watchers, and I guess also Listeners, use too much magic, their body shifts to better use it. I’ve apparently gone off the deep end once or twice and ended up something like that. Basically, if he was dangerous before… it’s worse now.”

True to what Grian had just said, Grifter moved swiftly, at Zedaph��s side the moment after he took a step. He was thrown against a wall, winding him before a metal clamp covered his mouth, making it so he couldn’t speak. As he pulled at it while also catching his breath, Grifter yanked out a handful of his feathers, blood pouring from the freshly plucked wing and the Listener’s own hand. He threw the feathers at Xisuma, them acting as throwing knives sent at the admin. A good number of them missed, but a few hit and sliced into his armor, fortunately also missing his helmet.

Kristen attacked Grifter next, getting an upper hand and using some of his own stray feathers as weapons. The Listener just stared at her, smiling as the edge of the blade like feathers pressed into his skin, drawing blood. “You aren’t going to kill me. Are you? You can’t. That’s how it works~ You’re the one who can’t interfere~ That’s your brother’s job. And oh, sounds like he can’t do that right now, can he?”

Kristen was going to do it. In this situation, she wasn’t bound by the laws of death. Grifter wasn’t from this dimension, so she had free reign. But the Listener’s words got to her, and for a split second, she looked away. Suddenly, Grifter’s wings moved and a number of his feathers were embedded in her chest, him laughing evilly. “Now don’t die~ I wouldn’t like that happening. Especially since he’s busy.”

Techno tried attacking Grifter again, but he was just swatted to the side. Scar was at Cub’s side, having pulled out some crystals to heal him. Zedaph was busy trying to free himself and Kristen was dealing with her own wounds. Grifter stepped closer to Xisuma before picking him up and breaking one of his helmet’s filters with his hand. Though it wouldn’t kill the admin, it would certainly cause him plenty of pain. 

Tossing Xisuma aside, Grifter finally made it to Nightmare. “Now, I should have been finished with you ages ago!” The Listener spoke, his voice filled with stifled laughter. “But this ends now. Dream? He’s easy. Everything’s already in a console because he was a little bitch who used children for his own benefit. I may not have many lines to draw, but I still have some.”

Nightmare started screaming as green magic surrounded him. For a moment, a figure of a second person stood next to him before it dissolved, disappearing completely. “Next, we need to get rid of those silly little admin powers you have because Dad wanted you dethroned.”

As Nightmare started to scream again, Grifter was attacked from the side. Out of all the people he expected, this was the last. Tommy stood, balanced mostly on his uninjured leg, holding a sword he had gotten from Xisuma. Grifter tisked a few times at Tommy, crossing his arms. “Theseus, Theseus, Theseus. What are you doing? Trying to get your revenge? That’s the same fucking mistake that put us in this situation in the first place. Why’d Dad even let you out?”

“Wrong person.” Tommy said weakly. He was light headed from blood loss as well as standing there, but he still swung his sword in an attempt to hit Grifter.

“Right, right. Well, I’m not called a Listener for no reason.” And then a wing swiped across the ground, hitting Tommy’s feet out from under him. “Stay out of this before you make it so much worse.”

Grifter turned back to Nightmare, continuing to use magic on the admin. No one had enough energy left to do anything as they listened to his screams. Slowly, they grew strained before it was finally quiet again. Grifter frowned and kicked Nightmare, the limp body giving no resistance. “Aww, it’s broken. Hmm, I guess I can have a little more fun with it.”

He started stomping on the body, making absolutely sure Nightmare was truly dead, damaging the body beyond recognition. The whole time, Grifter was smiling and having fun. Around him, everyone was slowly tending to each other’s wounds, the Listener not caring. Kristen checked on Grian who was helping her with the feathers still stuck in her. Zedaph assisted Xisuma with his helmet, managing to not make it more complicated than it needed to be. At the same time, he helped Tommy out a bit as the two were right near each other. Scar was still helping Cub, and for lack of anyone else to help out, Techno stayed near Ranboo and Grumbot.

Finally, Grifter stepped away from Nightmare, hands on his hips as he ‘looked’ at his work proudly. “Well, that could have gone better, but it was still nice! Now, since you all caused so many problems, who do I get to have fun with next?” When no one answered, Grifter pouted before turning to Tommy. “Hmm, let’s see-”

Before he could say anything else, Kristen was in front of Tommy and Grian was attacking Grifter from the back. Grifter growled, using plenty of magic to attack them back, nearly killing Grian in the process. But just as it looked like Grifter was going to win, he was suddenly thrown against the throne with enough force to break it. “Now why’d you go and start without me?”

Joe had entered the room, followed by Eret. “I’m sure we could have found a much more non-violent approach, left everyone in much better shape.” He stopped over at Zedaph, helping get the metal covering his mouth off. “I’m guessing he’s dead?” Joe gestured to Dream’s body.

“Eh, that’s Krist’s side of things, not mine. I’m busy keeping an eye on her husband.” Zedaph replied, jabbing his thumb off in the general direction of Phil. “That’s part of the reason she’s here is because I filled her in.”

Joe nodded and walked over to Kristen, who was sitting on the ground next to Tommy. “Zed said to check in with you. How’s he looking?” Joe gestured to Dream’s body again.

“It’s a bit complicated with the fact that a hels person got mixed up with things, but for all intents and purposes, they’re both dead.”

Joe nods. “And how’s Tommy doing? Not too hurt?”

“No, he’s doing fine. I’m… more concerned about Grian.”

Joe looked over his shoulder to look at Grian. In attacking Grifter with Kristen, he was using magic he really couldn’t easily use, leaving him in a similar situation to Grifter. At that moment in time, Grian had plopped himself down on the ground and was summoning plenty of wheat. “Oh yeah, he’s fine. I’d say you should get him to stop using magic right now, but it’s nothing dangerous and he could use a break. Maybe stick around a bit.”

“I’m not sure. With my job-”

“Zed takes breaks all the time. You can let yourself have a few too. I mean, you must’ve taken a few to have a family, take some more to spend time with them. I know that’s what I’m planning to do.” And Joe half gestured to Eret, who was currently looking over the damaged room.

Kristen wanted to say more, but then Grian came over and started dragging Tommy away, Kristen quickly following behind. Grian had used the wheat to make plenty of hay bales which were spread out in the approximation of a nest. Tommy had been placed down within it in a rather cushy area, glad for something other than the hard ground.

Grian doted on Tommy for a bit more before hopping away, leaving Tommy chuckling. “Pfft, bird brain.” He then leaned back, putting his hands behind his head and looking over to Kristen. “So, seeing you is different.”

“Hi Tommy.”

#hermit!tommy au #hermit!tommy #hc x dsmp #hels!grian #hels!Mumbo #xisumavoid #xisuma #evil xisuma #joe hills #zedaph #goodtimeswithscar #cubfan135 #technoblade #mumza #mumza as death #zedeath #dreamwastaken #hels!dream #ranboo #grian #watcher!grian #grian xelqua #avian!Grian #grumbot #tommyinnit

[hockeylvr59]

Positive Part 2 || Kevin Hayes

Requested: [ ] yes [x] no

Authors Note: I’ve had a good portion of this draft sitting around for months but I absolutely hated it. Finally was able to rework it into something I like a little bit better so hopefully, you all enjoy it as well. Before you ask I have no idea where this could go from here so if you have any thoughts, send them my way. 

Warnings: cursing, more angst

Word Count: 1,692

~~~~~~~

Pregnant. You were really pregnant. 

The weight of that word crushed down on you and a fresh set of sobs overtook your body. This couldn’t be real...except it was. While you were normally a very level headed person, it was like your brain had shut down entirely and all you could do was sob into Kristen’s shoulder as she pulled you into her arms. You were so lost that you completely missed what had happened next. 

Jimmy Hayes walked through the door. He spotted his wife holding a sobbing woman. He stepped closer out of concern and his eyes fell to the pregnancy tests. When he looked back at his wife she was mouthing two words to him ‘call Kevin’. It was only then that he realized who the crying woman was and the mess that he had just walked into and he nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he headed to the backyard. All it had taken was the utterance of your name and the statement that Kevin needed to come home for an agreement to be made. It didn’t matter that Kevin was halfway across the country. It didn’t matter that he was supposed to play a game that night. None of that mattered because you needed him to come home. 

As you attempted to pull yourself together, thanking Kristen but stating that you needed to be alone for a little while, you had no idea that Kevin had called his coach about a family emergency before booking a flight to Boston. As you stumbled into your apartment knowing that nothing would ever be the same again, you had no idea that Kevin was on his way to you, worried about what possibly could have happened to cause his brother to call him in a panic. As you climbed into the shower because your efforts of falling asleep to wake and find that this was all a dream had failed, you had no idea that Kevin was pacing back and forth in the living room of his brother’s house becoming frustrated by the lack of information he was being given. And as you threw on an old rangers sweatshirt that had once belonged to Kevin, you had no idea that the man himself was standing outside your door. 

And then he knocked. 

The sound startled you and you sighed wondering who the hell would be at your door this late. Throwing it open you had every intention of telling whoever it was to go the hell away because you weren’t in the mood. Instead, your eyes were met with the familiar frame of someone that you had considered one of your closest friends, someone who was supposed to be anywhere but here, someone who had turned your life upside down. Immediately, your eyes started to water because it seemed like all you could do lately was cry, but you quickly pushed the tears away, a neutral expression settling onto your face. As you battled your emotions, Kevin pushed his way inside your apartment, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Seeing him just waltz in sparked a wave of anger inside you and you practically growled at him.

“What the hell are you doing here Kevin?”

“Jim called me,” Kevin stated. “Told me I needed to come home because you needed me but wouldn’t tell me why. So care to enlighten me?” His tone held just a bit too much snark for your brain to handle and you cursed Kevin’s family for pulling him into this. 

“Well, I don’t need you so you can go back to your team.” You snapped. “I didn’t ask him to call you.” You added, now cursing yourself for turning to Kevin’s family in the first place. 

“That’s bullshit and you know it.” Kevin threw back, his frustration now seeping through. You could feel his heavy gaze but were oblivious to the fact that his brain was quickly making note of the fact that you were wearing his sweatshirt, you appeared paler than usual, and you’d clearly been crying recently. “You look like you haven’t slept in weeks, you’ve obviously been crying, and my brother and sister-in-law could only give me pity eyes while refusing to tell me what the hell was going on other than that you’d been there earlier. So please fucking tell me what the hell is going on Y/N!” 

The sound of his raised voice caused a fresh set of tears to form in your eyes but you quickly shook your head, once again pushing them back. 

“Get out Kevin.” You stated, voice low but serious. “Just go.” 

“I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s going on,” Kevin demanded, his body crowding forward to trap you against the back of the couch. Shoving at his chest you cursed him. 

“Kevin. Get the fuck out of my apartment.” You repeated, too afraid of getting hurt and too hormonal to open up to him. 

Kevin pulled away and for a moment you thought he was actually going to leave before he paused in the middle of your living room. 

“Fuck, fine. If you aren’t going to talk to me then you can just fucking listen.” His fingers raked through his hair as he paced. “You know...since you’re the one that decided the conversation was over before...it’s my turn. Fuck...I never should have let you leave. I just...I couldn’t believe it.” Kevin’s tone slowly started shifting from angry to vulnerable to resigned. 

“I thought you knew. The trip, the date, that night, my proposition....how could you not know that I love you.” He mumbled. “Everyone else knows that I love you. That I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. I know I’m shitty at expressing it but I could have sworn that by Sunday night you knew and felt the same way. I’ve been kicking myself for not stopping you...for not making you see. You said it was a mistake because I don’t love you the way you love me. But Y/N I’m pretty sure I do. But if you want me to go I’ll go. I just...I can’t leave without making sure you knew. I love you. So this not working...that’s on you, not me. Because I was willing to do whatever it takes.”  

You couldn’t recall ever hearing Kevin say so much in one sitting, and you’d certainly never seen him so vulnerable. With your brain overwhelmed by the emotional dump he’d just done on you, you didn’t even realize he was gone until you heard the click of the door. 

Without even realizing it, you were racing out after him two words quickly falling from your lips and echoing down the hall. 

“I’m pregnant.” 

For a moment you worried that he hadn’t heard you. But then you watched him stop in the middle of the hallway. His fingers ran through his hair. Your eyes fell closed not wanting to see him walk out of your life completely even though you wouldn’t have blamed him in the slightest. They stayed closed until the weight of a warm hand fell to your hip and a feather-light touch brushed against your cheek. Peeking up, your eyes met his which were filled with nothing but warmth even as tears fell from them. 

“Oh thank god.” Kevin eventually murmured and the fact that those were the first words to come out of his mouth took you by complete surprise.  

“What?” You questioned, as you reached up to tangle your fingers in the fabric of Kevin’s shirt afraid that he would just disappear if you didn’t hold on tight.

“I said, oh thank god,” Kevin repeated, a prideful smirk growing on his face. “I’m not gonna be upset that you’re having my baby sweetheart. Jim had me fearing that something was actually wrong. This...this isn’t a problem...this is a blessing.” Kevin’s reaction had you feeling like you had whiplash because it was completely opposite to how you were feeling. Your body frozen in place, Kevin took two steps forward, ushering you back through your apartment door before turning and pinning you against it. His thumb brushed over your cheek again and he chuckled, shaking his head. 

“I’m gonna be a dad.” He murmured, the hand that had been on your face dropping down to caress your stomach lightly. Though you swore you couldn’t possibly have any more tears to cry, suddenly your cheeks were wet again. Why you were crying you couldn’t even express but it seemed to be the only way your brain could cope with all of this. 

“Shh…” Kevin whispered, attempting to soothe you. The rollercoaster of emotion from the past fifteen minutes seemed to finally get the best of you when you felt your stomach twist for the nth time in the past week or so. Throwing a hand over your mouth, you pushed Kevin aside and bolted for the toilet, kneeling over it while bile made its way out of your body. 

Almost immediately, a warm hand fell to your back, rubbing gently until you had finished puking before guiding you into a strong chest as you continued to cry. 

“Sweetheart...we’ll figure all of this out.” He insisted. “It’s okay. We’re okay.” When you still couldn’t stop crying, Kevin lifted you into his arms and carefully carried you back to your bedroom, laying you down and pulling you onto his chest. 

“Don’t go.” You whimpered, clinging to him. 

“I’m not going anywhere.” He promised, tilting your chin up to press his lips against yours in a feather-light kiss. You were certain it had to be gross because you hadn’t brushed your teeth since vomiting, but Kevin didn’t seem to mind, instead just whispering softly to you about how excited he was, how much he loves you and how sorry he was for not just saying it earlier. 

It was with his voice in your ear, his body below you, and his hand on your stomach that you finally cried yourself to sleep, praying that tomorrow you’d feel better. 

#kevin hayes #kevin hayes imagine #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #hockey imagines #hockey imagine #philadelphia flyers imagine #philadelphia flyers #pflyers #027

[nygmobblepot-trash]

S1 of gotham.

Jesus Ed is creepy as hell. Did I just gloss over that before? Like I remember honestly being mad that Kristen didn't go for Ed earlier and treated him "badly". She tried so hard to be nice while he never left her alone. Ed i understand you struggle with people skills, but you seriously need to chill. It's one thing to be made fun of because you have to spout riddles every second, but it's another to bother your coworker after she has told you countless times she is uncomfortable.

Also speaking of Ed why didn't they just give Ed the position of medical examiner or hell make him a detective. Clearly education doesn't matter because he gets the job of ME later. He's clearly very smart and solves most of the cases for Harvey and Gordon.

I also forgot how cunning Oswald is and how hard he plays everyone is Gotham. Which of course makes his decisions in s3 that more stupid but we'll get there... heavily intoxicated though.

Honestly love the dynamic of Jim and Harvey. Someone beaten and tired from the system vs someone who can think they can make a difference and save everyone.

Fish and Butch are great too. Liza didn't deserve what happened to her.

Alfred is a huge catalyst for Bruce. He's so chaotic and I love it. You want to investigate yourself? Cool. Fuck the police. Oh and if you find the dude I'll kill him for you. Also I might as well teach you how the beat the living shit out of everyone. No pussies in this house.

Also why is Selina so god damn angry all the time. Yeah I get that Bruce has no clue about the real world but he tries. He proves himself by living on the streets with her. He also doesn't get mad when she steals his shit. He actually cares for her and has never done anything to actually hurt her. He risked himself to save her countless times. Yeah he wants to know who killed his parents but he also cares about her. He proves he isn't manipulating her. Someone please help the small child.

Honestly wtf is up with babs? Like they gave her nothing to do except be rich and want to know what Jim does at work. They only gave her a personality after they made her crazy. Well not really but thats for s2.

Lee has more of a personality but falls for Jim in like .2 seconds. Which I guess happens the real world but whatever. She of course doesn't like how Jimmy walks the line. But it's gotham and you can't get shit done without being morally gray from time to time. Actually sorry I'm going back. Can anyone name one thing Lee likes? Any hobbies she has? Harvey like to drink. Gordon is always in work mode. Ed nurses stray birds back to health. Oswald takes care of his mother. Babs goes to parties alone and worries about Jim all day. Bruce does a lot of different things. What about Lee? Fuck maybe Lee was a step back. Bab just got less screen time.

Speaking of nursing birds back to life, let's talk about the totally straight friendship of ed and Oswald. Now this is me sort of jumping ahead... if the writers didn't want the relationship why did they write them like this? Honest to whatever God you pick, what the actual fuck were they thinking? Ed literally had to pick up Oswald and take him back to his place. Sow up any wounds. Probably wash him too. AND find him clothes. Look Oswald wouldn't fit into Ed's clothes. No way. Ed is a tall boy. Thus the conclusion is he had to figure out the bird's size and buy him clothes. Then this boy goes above and beyond to not only heal this angry man's body but his heart too. Why go through all that trouble? Hell he even told Oswald about the very bad thing he did.

FUCK side tangent. Kristen did not deserve what happened to her. They were so cute together too. I do honestly wish she wouldn't have reacted that way to hearing what happened to her ex. Ed was honestly just trying to help her. I'm not saying that she would have every right to get the fuck out of there or question if that was Ed's real motive. It's ironic though. Ed killed a man because he feared he would continue to hurt her or kill her. He ended up killing her on purpose to save himself. I do wonder if he allowed Kristen to leave if she would rethink he stance and either go back to him or just not report it and stay away from Ed. It would also be interesting to see how Gordon and Harvey would react. Killing Offer dorty (idc how to spell it) could be morally gray. Anyways Ed's a jackass.

Where were we? Oh yeah. So does Ed have multiple beds? Like we know he doesn't have friends so why would he pay for a two bedroom apartment? So I have to know did Oswald force him to sleep on the floor? Remember guys they're not gay for each other or anything. They just bonded and worked though some shit together and sang a song together. Sure if it was Gordon and any chick they would've fucked immediately but thats not the point. They're friends. You know how Harvey nursed Jim back to health and helped Jim continue being a detective? Also during that period they'd gaze into each other's eyes for a painful amount of time. Not to mention the part where Harvey bathed and gave Jim new clothes. Exactly like that. What that never happened? Why, because it may imply they aren't just good buddies?

Also why wasn't Ed involved in the final fight? I'd be funny if he was back up and showed up and saved them. Or was he there in the back taking notes minding his own business?

#gotham

[rpausandwhatifs]

Jayde's Secret Santa Gift (AU) 2020| Matt + Kristen

A/N: It’s a gift that’s SUPER late for my buddy @nevergoodenoughforthetruth and I hope she enjoys this! Love you boo!

Kristen couldn’t believe the insanity of Shayne. She had spent the night in holding, her hair never went back to its usual lay no matter how much she tried to finger through it so she wet the whole thing and threw it into a ponytail. Matt had risen out of his bed at three in the morning from Kristen’s only phone call, even though they hadn’t spoken in about two and a half years at this point. He threw a hat over his messy wavy hair with only a hoodie and old baggy skinny jeans and skate shoes and didn’t bother with putting in his contact lenses. He questioned everything about the call while he drove 3 hours downstate from his apartment in Nevada to Flagstaff, Arizona. 

Matt knew from her voice this was the side of Kristen he usually didn’t see, but had heard what she meant. He knew that as much as she fought, she wouldn’t fight to come up empty-handed. She didn’t want anyone to tell her that she fell for the wrong one, even when it became blatantly apparent. Shayne picking up work with Smosh after they graduated was a godsend, the honeymoon phase in their relationship had been in full swing and her fight to keep their happiness shone brightest then. She wasn’t exactly there for Matt when Suzy finally dumped him to take Arin back, and for that he had held a grudge; however, it was Shayne who created the wedge. All of the sudden her brother was a burden on her happiness because her happiness was her relationship with Shayne. The blonde had made Kristen believe that no matter what Matt was trying to say it was a lie. If he could be comfortable lying to Gabbie, and he and Suzy lying to Gabbie together, which should have caused their severance before, what was to stop him from lying to her the entire time and being someone who’s just trying to get with her because she’s got a lot to be used for? It lit Kristen up to hear it from Shayne that Matt had been manipulating her like he had Gabbie and Suzy. She trusted him, but it twisted how she trusted Matt. 

Kristen couldn’t believe that she trusted Shayne. He’d not only been cheating on her, but manipulated her and isolated her, using her aggression and fear of feelings to protect herself and being used by others against her. Now she had been used, now she had been wrong. Coming home to hearing those noises that she was familiar with, her Chicken Muffin barking profusely from the bathtub in the locked bathroom before her wide-open bathroom door. 

Courtney Fucking Miller.

Kristen welcomed her into her life and, unknowingly, her relationship. The girl seemed so sweet and innocent, she liked her energetic appeal and her commitment to caring for someone. It was always too perfect that she took care of Shayne while working on set, but Kristen couldn’t while she was working on her own stuff, so maybe she was right to let it slide. She will never make that mistake again. Her style spoke volumes to the hours of conversation and lies she had with her that tainted her purely artistic mind and the other girl’s pure need to create and to be inspired to create. 

Beating the absolute shit out of her made all of it worth it. All it took was for them to get sloppy with their lies. Red is usually never wrong. Red was the only thing that she could hear once Matt was gone even though she would hear them then, Blue would be louder:

She’s totally looking at him like that.

Friends don’t hug friends like that.

You’re fucking digusting for believing this scummy ass guy and his bitch.

You’re letting THIS...this fucking thing touch you.

Matt was a damn dog, you’re better off getting fleas than looking like the fool you are now.

She doesn’t respect you.

You should slap her in her stupid head.

Fucking stomp her out, you fucking idiot.

You’re going to end up alone, just because you’re so fucking stupid.

You’re a fucking idiot, I don’t even know why you bother.

You are doing the absolute WORST that you could do. 

Moving in? Really?! You’re actually going to think this is worth it.

You deserve to be alone.

Kristen began taking more medications, prescribed to her by a bad therapist, to soften Red to a whisper. He said that it was simply an inferiority complex that branched out of her low self-esteem, so with time she will no longer hear it and it wouldn’t cause her such issues. She left the Youni with so much more and had healthier solutions 

“So..what-”

“I fucking punched her. And kicked her, brother…” she laid on Matt’s couch, wearing an oversized wrestling t-shirt of his, some cute socks she was already wearing because she refused to get anything more from the larger man and not much else.

Why must you be so resistant? At least he answered your call.

He’s so sweet, taking pity on us. It’s the least he could do.

“I saw the police report and the release forms I had to sign had a pretty detailed section about your mental health state..I want to know what that asshole did to you,” Matt said gruffly, standing over her, smoking heavily through a pack of cigarettes.

“I thought you quit…” she said, watching the billows of smoke before holding her fingers up to take the cigarette. 

He’s kinda cute with that rough look, the cigs are a nice touch.

Still no style, but that means a blank slate!

He’d be a great model. Maybe you two should do look books together.

“I thought we weren’t friends,” he said while exhaling and handing it to her, “You can finish that.”

“We aren’t...I just needed someone to post my bail-”

“You remembered my number..You didn’t call your parents..” he sighed, going over and attempting to bend down to pick up the girl’s legs as he sat as a way of excusing himself, but Kristen flinched before allowing him to take her ankles up and place them in his lap as he relaxed into his couch, “But sure, I’m not your friend.”

“You’re not…” Kristen said quickly, turning over. Her head beginning to fog up while her body was slipping, to keep it awake, she shifted and turned her body to the side, smoking lightly and ashing on his coffee table, “I did what I had to do...you know…”

“All I see that you did, Kristen, was get arrested for assault and battery..It wasn’t even on Shayne, it was on-”

“DOn’t...just don’t..please..” she begged, whipping her head to look at the man.

When did his beard get so long?

Gabbie had a point about his beard really complimenting his face.

When we model he’s going to have to cut it down, but it’s just so distinguishing.

“Fine...are you hungry?” he asked, lighting another cigarette.

“No..Too sick,” she responded.

“Guessing your buff prince charming wasn’t all he was cracked up to be-”

“GOD I said shut up, brother!” she snapped, yanking her legs and curling into a ball, allowing some tears to fall, “I know I’m fucking stupid…”

“So even though you had enough vulnerability to call me, you don’t want me to help you, feed you, take you back to your apartment, comfort you, or even know what happened? You do understand that you called me in the middle of the night-”

“I could tell you in the morning, I’ll have a plan in the morning, brother,” Kristen held her hand out for his other cigarette.

“Kristen..I’m worried..I’ve been worried. I don’t wanna see you like this..” he began meekly.

“You think I want you to see me like this?!” she snapped as she smoked and pushing her fingers through her hair for the 8th time.

“Well, you called me for a reason..you could at least tell me what you were thinking…” he said, looking at her as he handed her the cigarette after his puff, leaning over and sipping from the beer he left on the table. His heart was breaking while it sat in his stomach acid eroding it away. This was something he got to see a glimpse of when they were going to graduate, before all of this was an issue and Kristen was there for him. It was so welcoming and just what he needed, it was only fair to give it to her, even if she wasn’t going to tell him directly what was going on. 

Kristen was in such a battle. Blue called Matt, Blue remembered his number, Red was silent but agreeing. She had proved that was going to handle herself for literally everyone. This is probably the plan: she was going to lay low with him for a few days while the media and the internet died down. She didn’t turn her phone on yet, so her family and friends couldn’t get to her. She gave herself until the morning to tell him or not, but she was going to have to tell him eventually. There was just something that still didn’t add up. Gabbie would have easily drove to get her. Ro would have done it no questions asked. She’d be more comfortable with them. Hell, she could call Mari or Olivia, or any woman she knew and they would have come and got her. Red had been the one who had needed to calm down and had made her ears ring to the point where she was nearly deaf. She had never been so angry and blacked out so quickly or so long. Now her heart was beating out of her chest. Now she was sweating and looked a mess. She was fine in holding all night and on the ride over to the police station. She didn’t care how she had looked, but now she’s stuck looking like all hell hit her in her ex-friend’s apartment during sunrise in southern Nevada. The sun was shining bright red-orange through his windows and curtains, and the girl was bathed in it as the man turned on the news. 

Matt got up and went to his kitchen to start making breakfast, "You work today or anything?" He asked while he pulled a pan out of the cabinet and started cracking eggs into a cup, "You want some breakfast?"

"My phone is turned off..I had appointments but-" she started before sighing, still trying to curl into herself, realizing how much she always hated how cold Matt keeps his place, even in Nevada.

"Turn your phone on and cancel your appointments, Kristen… handle your business so you're clear-"

"It's fine brother-"

"Kristen I fucking swear to god," he snapped, slamming his fridge door, the drawers and his trash can lid.

"Can you make breakfast like you have neighbors and stop worrying about me so much…" She was starting to get frustrated with Blue and surprised that it could be so loud as just one voice when she usually wouldn't get above normal speaking volume, always getting drowned out by Red.

“Can you actually let me help you like you called me and asked me to do? I can just take you home, dude..I don’t need this,” he said exasperated. Matt knew how hard it was for Kristen to let someone help her, but now he didn't really care what her attitude and pride were trying to save her from. 

"I..I dunno what I was thinking okay?!" She got up rushing to the kitchen nook, "You'd be up at 3-"

"You woke me up outta my sleep. I wasn't awake, dude..This isn't the Youni anymore!" He cut her off, then took a breath as he started to brew his coffee, turning around and leaning on the counter to face her, "Kristen. I know you're hurt and that you're kicking yourself for this, but...it's time to face facts: you fucked up. I know back in the day it was you telling me that I fucked up all the time, but life goes on, man...and you wanted yours to go on without me.."

"I shouldn't have said that," Kristen finally admits, trying to hide herself to avoid his gaze, "Sh...he made me do it..he told me that you'd screw me over just like Gabbie and like Suzy did...That you were just bidding your time until I'd end up like them..I didn't mean anything to you."

"Heh. Figures," Matt scoffed as he pulled another cigarette from his ear and lit it on the stove, "He had everyone fooled. I really thought that you'd been stronger than that, honestly..that isn't the first time something convinced you to see and believe something like that."

She walked closer with a shrug, rubbing the back of her neck as she held her hand out to take the cigarette, but instead she was met with the tall man's open arms. She fell into them for the first time in years. The girl could count on her hand how many times she hugged Matt and every time it was because of something she was wrong about. He was always so patient and welcoming, he took the time to understand her boundaries and knew when it was high time he passed through them. "I'm sorry...and thank you again..for...you know.."

"Anytime, darlin.." Matt said by accident, feeling his wife beater getting wet with her tears, knowing that she probably didn't care at the moment, closing her in and putting the stick out on the counter behind him, "I know...I know it hurts...so listen to me, okay?...You don't have to turn your phone on today, but tomorrow I need you to at least call your mother and your clients so you don't have to lose business." The girl nodded as she sniffles, whining quietly.

Kristen felt so safe in his arms, and she never got here unless she told him she wanted to be there.

You can’t act like this forever. He’ll just take you home.

He’s so considerate, and he’s got a point. However, you gotta do something.

Things are better already; you even stopped crying since you got out of the car. 

Just tell him you’ll get to it after breakfast.

The fact that he knows about your business after you told him to kick rocks and suck a fat dick even if he doesn’t have one says a lot. 

Matt broke away to start getting eggs and cracking them to scramble them in a bowl, “Now, I know it’s not the avocado toast with prosciutto you usually get for breakfast when we used to go out, but I hope eggs and bacon is fine.”

“You have sausage links?” she asked almost automatically, not realizing that she let herself speak.

“Uhhh does Italian sweet or hot work? I ran out a couple of days ago.”

“It’s fine. I’ll take the bacon,” she shrugged, then sighed as she jumped onto the counter, then scoffed, “You’re usually the one I’m taking you to breakfast. Since I usually get to my matters after that, then that’s...that’s what I’ll do.”

“Yeah, I know..even down to the tea spilling,” Matt said, then sighed at the realization, “Sorry for yelling at you.”

“It’s cool. I’m too stubborn for my own good,” Kristen replied, staring at him, “Sorry for making you get up in the middle of the night to pick me up.”

“Look, even if you don’t know why, you needed me. Not anyone else. That means something about our friendship..which has now survived some real war.”

“You called that war? I wouldn’t call it that. I’d call it..uhh...me getting swept up into this dream that some muscly guy tried to sell me and then use...very unsavory levels of manipulation to...isolate me and make me look like a fucking fool..what are you even doing in Nevada anyway?” she asked, trying to gesticulate as he handed her a complete cup of coffee and allowing her to smell it and take in its scent.

“Just kinda ended up here. Wanted to stay close to LA to try my hand at direction and stuff, then my channel fucked me over when it got hacked, so I’ve just been doing work for other people...and I took your advice and been mostly riding solo and commuting to work here and there and sold my channel and I still get some profit from letting techies run it,” he mentioned while he continued to cook.

“Wow..just your main channel?” Kristen asked, shocked.

“Yeah, but I have a whole second channel for blogs and I work on a few other peoples’ channels so it’s not like I’m broke,” Matt shrugged sounding exhausted, “I’ve been kinda circling in your realm at times and people referred your services to me, but I just knew that I was the last person you wanted to see.”

They shared a isolated giggle while he plated their food and handed her a plate. Matt leans over and kisses the girl on the forehead, but feels something pull on his wifebeater before pulling away. He looks down to see her hand gripping the fabric, then looks back into the girl’s eyes, “Thanks for breakfast..and I’m thirsty so do you have orange juice or something?” The look makes him weak, but he refocuses himself.

“But..I just made you coffee,” he says with a nervous chuckle.

“Oh..uhh..yeah, you’re right..maybe it’s too hot and I need a tall glass of orange juice..” she says with a shrug.

Not what I had planned, but are you actually doing what I think you’re doing?

You’re flirting with him, but why?

You’re desperate. You’re not thinking straight. You know that he feels a certain way about you, maybe you should think about this a little more.

On the other hand, he does look really nice and he’s been an absolute peach this entire time, and he smells so...

“Kristen, uhh..maybe you should-...are you feeling okay?” Matt asked, taking his hand up to remove hers from his shirt. To his surprise she contorts and intertwines her fingers with his, “Your food’s getting cold, now, maybe you need to-”

“You’ve always been so nice to me, even when I’ve been an absolute bitch…” she says, finally making her voice softer, revealing how vulnerable he actually made her as he brings her hand down to the counter.

“Yeah, I mean, I know what I signed up for..but you’ve been through a traumatic experience..I-I don’t think you understand-” he attempts to let her down gently.

“I don’t think I’ve..been..completely honest with myself about what I need you for..” she sighed, looking down at her hand and pulling his fabric again with more force, bringing him closer between her legs, “How I feel about you..what I think when it came to..how...fucking angry I was when Suzy played you..the fact that I allowed Gabbie to fuck up your life like that...Like I just..I dunno...but that hug was so...and every hug you’ve given me..it’s different.”

“Different..?” he asked, eyes darting down and back to her eyes as she explained, then shifting as he furrowed his eyebrows, “Different how?” he brought his hand up to caress her cheek, which she leaned into and and wrapped her legs around his waist, “Oh..that different..uhh..I don’t...I really wouldn’t...I don’t think I can handle this..I thought I was your brother to you..we’ve...always been siblings to you-”

“I know...but siblings don’t look at me the way you used to look at me. I ignored it. I just...I thought it would go away-”

“Can we like..drop this incest thing because...because uhh...it’s not right and it’s kinda classist given that I’m from the south and would never fuck Holly or Raven,” he said quickly as he finally decided to lean into her caressing her hand with his thumb. They share a giggle, “So...you do like me like that?..I thought the idea disgusted you..”

“All of this..everything..ever since you didn’t fight about Sh..him...I realized I might have been going about this differently wrong,” she shook her head when she corrected herself, and went back up to those eyes bathed in the desert morning light, “Maybe I should have..given it more thought..”

“You’ve given it more thought?” he asked, waiting and beginning to tremble at her words, becoming more nervous at the realization that he might be getting setup until she pulls him by his neck to kiss him on the lips, deepening quick.

~

Kristen leans over and lights his last cigarette as they laid together on his couch, kissing his head, “You should go back to quitting,” she said as she finished her drag.

“Then you’ll be the reason I quit..cus that’s my last pack,” Matt chidded as he kissed her forehead. 

“I’ll gladly be that reason...so...what now?..I didn’t exactly...plan for this. This changes a lot of things,” Kristen said as she expressed her dissonance in her glow.

“I’m gonna guess you haven’t planned anything for the past like..week. And..this doesn’t have to change anything if you don’t want it to..” he said, shifting so that he sat up and she straddled his waist, taking the cigarette, “I gotta tell the girl I’ve been seeing to buzz off, but she’s been super flighty anyway, so that won’t be that hard..uhhh, there’s a reunion party-”

“Oh fuck! I forgot about that! I’m supposed to be helping submit the theme next week to Ro-”

“Right..there’s that and you’re supposed to show up with..not just me, but..honestly I don’t feel like going-”

“You’re going, brother.”

“I’ve been fucking you for 2 hours, can you not call me brother?” 

“Matthew! Whatever! Ugh, I completely forgot about that…”

“I’m pretty sure you’ve gotta go back to Arizona and work out all of that legal shit and PR about the fact that you got arrested for aggravated assault..if you want I can contact you with my lawyer..she’s really good,” he said ashing and covering her with the throw blanket lazily.

“Wait, your lawyer’s a woman?”

“Yeah. I have a woman lawyer, she got the job done and won my family’s case for me…”

“Speaking of...why aren’t you with them?”

“They don’t really need me. I’d been away and getting better for so long that my auntie just took over custody and Holly is turning 18 soon, so she said she’d take over for Raven with an emancipation stipend...it was a lot of paperwork and I already did my appearances in court...You don’t have to go with me for Thanksgiving or Christmas or anything..” he explained.

“Okay..so yes to the lawyer..yes to the holidays…”

“Don’t forget that you still have to tell your clients you’ll be taking a little longer with your consults given all of this- and you never got to breakfast-”

“What time is it?” she asked, looking around for his phone and picking it up off of the coffee table, “Fuck..”

“Just tell your clients today and you can deal with everything else tomorrow...your coffee’s cold and I’m already thinking about lunch,” he mentioned.

“Yeah...so..you’re not busy today?”

“First day off in a few weeks...and I’m spending it getting your life together..” he said, causing her to slap him and he leans up to grab her face gently and kiss her on the lips, “Kinda worth..I was just gonna play games all day..and go food shopping..”

#matt #kristen #au #future

[malecftw]

Distractions

A/n: so this was an idea I’d been playing with for a while. It’d been sitting in my drafts for like a month and rn I was just feeling best friends to lovers, a slow cute fic sooooo that’s what came out lol tadaaa. I’ve never really written for David or the Vlog Squad before but let me know if you liked this, maybe I’ll write more in the future. Hope you like it :)

Word count: 1814

Warnings: Idk if Jeff being rejected counts as a warning but here we are, I mentioned the word vagina and idk why but in the context it seemed weird but also okay so yh lmfao y am i acting like im 12

Masterlist.

The LA air was soft and warm, making a strand of hair fall out of your loose bun and tickle your cheek. LA seemed quiet at this time of day, the sun was beginning to set, golden hour was upon you. Lana Del Rey was playing on the background, her deep, soft voice flowing out into the crisp summer air through the open windows. The smell of food made it’s way into your nose, your stomach beginning to rumble at the thought of dinner. Heath, Scott, and Jeff were having a beer at the barbecue whilst Jason was grilling the various types of meat. Kristen, Mariah, Carly, Erin, and Corinna were setting out white plastic chairs in a circle on the grass. Rosé was being spilled, laughs were had and a carefree feeling overtook you.

You still couldn’t believe this was your life. You were living in one of the most famous, loved places on earth surrounded by good friends who were always looking out for you.  Your daydream was cut short when you got nudged in the side. Your head turned around to see Zane standing next to you, leaning on the glass just like you were. “What’s up?” “Not much.” He nodded and directed his eyes to the skyline of LA. “So when are you going to tell him?” He asked, not taking his eyes off of the beautiful view before you. “Probably never.” Your nails clicked slightly against your plastic cup, preferring a soft drink before having a glass of wine with dinner. “Why are you so hesitant. You’re perfect for each other.” You shrugged, being uncharacteristically comfortable with the topic around Zane. “I don’t know. I’ve been flirting with Jeff. I’m just going to look like a slut if I fess up now.” He clicked his tongue at your answer. “Please y/n. You were never in a committed relationship with Jeff. Hell, you never even kissed. He’ll get over it. And we know you, none of us would ever put your name and the word slut in the same sentence.”

A sigh escaped your mouth yet you didn’t have a chance to reply when Heath called out to Zane. He quickly squeezed your arm in comfort before heading over to the boys near the barbecue. You pushed yourself off of the glass and made your way inside. Enough with the overthinking, it was time to make yourself useful. “Nat, can I help?” Natalie looked up at you, pausing mixing the dressing and the salad for a second. “Sure y/n. Could you bring this over to the yard, just put it on the table.” She said with a smile and pushed the salad bowl into your hands. You just nodded and did what she asked. The notification sound of your phone distracted you as you set the bowl on the table and while you quickly replied you felt an arm being swung over your shoulder. “What’s up y/n? Why so quiet?” Jeff said, a silly smile on his face as his eyes screened over your expression. “Not now Jeff.” You shrugged off his arm and started walking away when he grabbed your arm, concerned for your obvious distress. “Hey what’s wrong?”

“Is everything okay here guys?” David walked up, noticing your tense figure and Jeff’s already apologetic one. He didn’t even know what was wrong but was already stressed thinking he was the cause. You looked back and forth between the two guys. Life was playing another trick on you and frankly, you were sick of it. Why couldn’t you just go for the obvious choice? You had a beautiful man right in front of you willing to take things to the next level but no. Instead, you had to fall for the one dude that wouldn’t notice an eager vagina if it slapped him across the face. 

As you were having this inner dialogue with yourself the two guys still looked at you, confused by your off behavior. “Nothing is okay David, just leave me alone.” You headed for the living room and David took your words like a man. “What the fuck did I do?” He shouted as he ran after you. “Nothing. That’s the problem.”

“Wait what? Y/n what the fuck?” Of course, he didn’t get it. You hadn’t made a move since you were too busy distracting yourself with Jeff. “I just... Just... Just drop it okay. It’s about me, myself and I don’t worry about it.” “Sure doesn’t sound like it.” You rolled your eyes but were secretly grateful for everyone staying outside to give you some privacy. You even notice Nat sneak out of the kitchen, feeling the uncomfortable switch in the room when you walked in.

“Y/n. Just talk to me. Remember that time when you accidentally spilled glue in my hair and we had to shave my head? Didn’t snitch on you then. I looked like a bald man child. I still didn’t snitch. And let me tell you, it wasn’t a look.” David said in a cute attempt to make you feel better. “Of course you didn’t snitch. It was your own fault. Who the hell decided to smack my hands with their head while I was holding an opened bottle of kids glue.” “I’m sorry I forgot to turn on my spidey sense, else I would’ve known you were standing right behind me before I stood up.” “It’s not my fault you were shorter than me.” David placed his hands over his heart, jokingly looking offended. “Ouch.” He teasingly took a couple of steps closer to you causing him to tower over you. “Not anymore though. Now you’re tiny.” You look up at him, arms crossed, confused and annoyed by your feelings for the big man child in front of you. “Now, tiny, are you actually gonna tell me what’s up or am I going to have to keep you hostage until you do?

A pressed sigh leaves your lips. Now or never. His expression turns more serious when he sees your big eyes gloss over. “Hey whatever it is, we can work it out. You and me.” “I’m not so sure about that.” “Well I am.” “I just don’t want to mess things up between us. You’re my best friend.” David immediately knew where this was going and a wide smile formed on his lips. “And?” He said teasingly, eager for the moment in which you’d fess up the same thing he’d been feeling for a while now. “Ugh David you’re a pain.” You say as you softly poke his stomach with your index fingers. “But am I going to be your pain?” His voice has turned hoarse, excited yet on edge. He never dreamed of going there with you. He never had those feelings for you. Until one day, he started seeing you in a different light. He couldn’t pinpoint one moment, it just slowly happened. At first he’d thought it was a silly random idea his mind for some reason made up, but he couldn’t help but think about it from time to time. Then he started getting used to the idea of you two together. It grew on him. Suddenly it didn’t seem weird, it didn’t seem awkward. It just seemed right. But then you’d started flirting with Jeff and David knew he had no chance.

Until now.

You swallowed loudly, your hands pausing, staying put on his sides. “If you want to be.” He nodded slightly, it was the only answer he needed before leaning in. He paused, needing your permission. He needed to know this was it. That this was something you both chose. You slightly pressed your fingers into the clothed skin of his sides, allowing him to connect your lips. It’s wasn’t earth-shattering, it wasn’t filled with sparks and fireworks. It was sweet, soft and gentle. It was what you both wanted. Needed. It wasn’t filled with sexual desire or incredible passion. It was the confirmation you’d both been waiting for. You’d found your person. Ironically enough, he’d been there all along. Love was a big word, you’d known you loved David for as long as you could remember. But back then, you loved him as your best friend.

You both pulled away smiling like idiots. You could see the love and happiness on his face, but he also looked pensive. “So what about Jeff?” You nodded. Of course, it looked really bad. “I like Jeff. I thought I could learn to love him. I needed to learn to love him. I was still waiting for the click in my brain, but it never happened which is why I never took it to the next level. It wouldn’t have been fair to him. He deserves better than a girl whose heart isn’t really in it.”

David’s eyes moved from you to something behind you so you turned around. Of course, like in any other predictable movie or show, Jeff was stood right there, leaning against the window frame. Your mouth fell open, You wouldn’t blame him if he was angry even if he didn’t seem that way right now. “Don’t worry about it y/n. It’s okay.” His thick New York accent filled the room. In a few big steps, he was stood right in front of you, looking to David quickly before grinning. His arms wrapped around your neck and kept you in a playful headlock, messing up your hair as he laughed. “You respected me enough to not go there with me. I appreciate that. At least now I still get to tease you and prank you. David’s lost those privileges.” Relief washed over you. This was the most drama-free ending to this situation you never thought you’d get. 

David put his hands in the air, looking happy and relieved as well that things went as smooth as they did cause let’s face it,... They rarely do. “Hey, as long as I get to film it that’s cool.” He said laughing and you smacked his chest. Jeff let go of you and shot you and David a smile before joining the others in the backyard. David sighed as he took you in his arms, looking down at you before bringing both of your attention to your intertwined fingers. “You ready baby?” He asked, voice high and excited to show off what had been his for the longest time but never really realized until now. You nodded and slowly made your way into the backyard. Jeff probably already told everyone since not a single soul seemed to question what had happened.  “Yes, baby girl you finally did it!” Zane shouted, holding up his beer and everyone cheered.

The smiles on each one of their faces only made it more clear to you.

This had never been a matter of if. 

This had been a matter of when.

#jeff wittek imagine #david dobrik imagine #david dobrik #david dobrik x reader #david dobrik blurb #vlog squad imagines #vlog squad #jeff wittek x reader #jeff wittek

[dobrikburrito]

dirty secrets pt. II, d.d.

words: 2.9k

requested by anonymous

have you considered doing a part 2 to dirty secrets? like ending with them getting nearly caught, I want more lol & continuation of dirty secrets where the squad finds out david and reader just fucked?

disclaimer: it is late but it is here. there’s fluff, there’s smut, there’s a little bit of angst. it’s fun for everyone. am I cooking pt. III bc this was too long? maybe. 

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“Okay, let’s do this.” Jack said, positioning himself a few feet from the pool. “Just do that again, come out of the water and then up the pool.”

I closed my eyes and held my breath, diving in the water from the pool of our Coachella house. My hair was completely wet… as was the crop hoodies and desert shorts from the new fanjoy collab Vlog Squad merch. Once I rise, the water drips from my hole body, as I hold myself onto the side of the pool to sit by the edge, looking straight at the camera.

“That was… perfect.” Jack said. “It looked amazing (Y/N).”

“That will look amazing on the montage.” Zane commented, loving the scene.

“Thank God we have Jeff and (Y/N) to sell the merch. Can you imagine if it were just me? We’d be doomed.” Jason joked and everybody laughed.

“Oh yeah, because this isn’t awkward for me at all.” I laughed, clearing my eyes from the water.

“What do you mean just Jeff and (Y/N)?” Todd asked, hands on waist, outraged. Jason shrugged.

I was laughing at their interaction, when I felt my skin burning. I looked around only to see David staring back at me, smiling and biting his lips. I looked away and smiled, trying my best to keep our little act together.

Since the party, we couldn’t keep our hands off of each other. There wasn’t a day where we didn’t secretly met and fucked. We decided to keep it a secret from all of our friends, which required some skills to achieve. After barely making out unnoticed from the party, with some lame-ass excuse that only worked because everybody was hammered, we were smarter and strategic about our sneaking around. We developed signals and little hints. Making sure our dirty little secret was only ours to keep.

Natalie gave me a towel to dry off, since I was freezing a little. “I desperately need to change clothes.” I told Natalie and in that moment David smoothly entered the house, headed to the one room were Jack was storing boxes of the new merch.

“Yeah, there’s dry ones in the merch room, everybody got the ones we stored in the living room already.” Natalie suggested, mindlessly.

“Oh okay. Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’ll be right back.” I told Natalie, smiling softly.

I walked calmly to the inside of the house, but as soon as I turned left to face the hallway, I ran for my life. Laughing as I found the right door, I opened it only to find David’s hand grabbing mine and pulling me inside, quickly closing the door behind me. Our bodies collapsed and his hands were on my face, pulling me to a kiss, where I couldn’t help but keep smiling.

“I’m literally making you all wet, baby.” I whispered to him, kissing him back.

“Oh no, that’s my job!” David laughed and I felt his tongue sliding into my mouth.

We found a wall free of boxes and packets, David masterly took off my hoodie and shorts in a split second. “You’re getting better at this, quicker.”

“I’m good with my hands,” He stated as he kissed my thighs from the knee up.

I nodded, “I’m one to tell.” I bit my lower lip, crossing my fingers in his brown messy hair.

We discussed previously that since literally all of our friends were in this house with us for the whole weekend, maybe we should keep apart and not call attention to ourselves. In the end, it was only three and a half days. We could do it, right?

Wrong.

We arrived four hours ago to the house. Posted some Instagram stories. Played some volleyball. Changed clothes to the new merch, filmed endless bits for David’s montage. Took pictures to advertise the merch later. All of the VS protocols, you might say. Needless to say, when I saw David wearing the desert shorts, I sneaked him into his room and got down on my knees.

We didn’t even last four hours. Three and a half days? Yeah, no.

“David, you need to stop looking at me that way. You know what it does to me.” I whispered and closed my eyes when he took off my panties and started licking me. “How am I supposed to keep my hands to myself that way? Oh. OH.” He hit some right spots and I pressed my hands on his hair, harder.

“I can taste what my look does to you, actually.” He teased. “It’s really good.”

“Son of a… Oh.” He resumed his business, knowing exactly how to make me tic.

David positioned one of my legs over his shoulder, giving him more liberty to, well, basically destroy any sanity I had left. The wet and warmth of his tongue hitting just the right places in my clit was giving me a quick build up, which raised even more when I felt his long fingers inside of me. My hand went straight to my mouth, biting the back of my index finger to keep myself from moaning. I circled my hips on his face and he hummed, always loving when I did that, specially when I sat on his face.

Took me a second to reach my orgasm and any strength I had left in my legs were quickly gone. Luckily, David was clever enough to hold me tight by the waist, leading me down to the ground, on top of him. I fell by his side, smiling happily, giggling when he made his way on top of me, kissing my face, lips and neck.

“You look amazing when I make you cum, did you know that?” David whispered to my ear, biting my neck softly. “Even more amazing than when you looked all wet with my merch.”

“You did like that, didn’t you?” I laughed to myself. David nodded, now kissing the valley of my boobs.

“I might not even put on the montage, because I’m jealous of it.” David smiled, knowing exactly how my reaction was gonna be.

“You wouldn’t dare! You know how hard it is to do that and not look like a gumball?” I looked at him, caressing his face.

“You’d never look like a gumball.” David chuckled, giving me a quick peck.

“Wait until the third day of Coachella, you might change your mind.” I joked back.

David changed his shirt to a dry one and left the room swiftly, firstly hearing if anyone was outside and then making a run for his room. I took my time to dry my hair and put on another pair of shorts and some t-shirt. When I made my way out to find everybody, they were still out playing and eating some food that Jason was preparing.

Then Coachella happened, all of us got drunk, danced, walked around from stage to stage, took a bunch of pictures together and had the time of our lives. For the whole first day, David and I spent mostly apart, which was a fun change of pace, because by night, even if we were exhausted from the festival, we’d be texting each other and sneaking out at 4 am to be together somewhere where no one would see us.

Honestly, a part of us were loving being together but the adrenaline of sneaking around and maybe getting caught was giving it an extra thrill. We didn’t want our friends lurking around and asking us a million questions about relationships since we didn’t wanna label anything or ruin this amazing thing we have.

On the second day, though, the girls and I spent the morning getting ready together, helping each other look our best. Not to suck my own dick, but I looked gorgeous, as well as my girls Nat, Cass and Kristen. Needless to say, it annoyed the hell out of me when despite our mutual arrangement of keeping a distance, David spent his day with Madison Beer, Kelsey and Stass.

And I couldn’t even bitch about it to my best friends.

“Oh, you’re in a mood. What’s up with you, girl?” Kristen noticed my grump.

“Nothing,” I said, like a spoiled child.

“Are you 5 years old?” Kristen laughed at me.

“Yes,�� I frowned, then laughed with her. “I’m tired, my feet hurts, that’s all. I really want an iced coffee, but I’m trying to manifest it coming to me instead of me walking all the way over there.”

I was great at excuses with most people. Not David, though. He always read right through me. That happened when the little time we spent together inside the group bus after the festival, he asked me something and I barely answered.

I met him outside the house at 3:45 am. I lied down on the grass, looking up to the sky and seeing the stars, something that was hard to see in Los Angeles. David made his way to me and lied by my side, but instead of looking at the stars as I did, he kept looking at me.

I didn’t really say anything about his arrival, “Are you gonna tell me what’s been bothering you?” His fingertips ran through my arms, giving me chills. It’s hard being mad when my body doesn't even follow.

“I can’t.” I told him.

“Why not?” He kissed my shoulder.

“Because if I do, I’m just gonna look like I need to be put into an insane asylum.” I stated. David laughed at me, even though he seemed unsure if he could without making me more upset.

“If it makes you feel any better, I already think you need to be put into an insane asylum, so anything you say or do won’t change anything.” He told me, affective and cute.

I tried really hard not to smile. “I’m going to scare you away.”

“Are you a serial killer?” David asked me, pretending to be serious and furrowing his brows.

“No.” I raised one brow at him, confused at his question.

“Then you’re not scaring me away,” David was destroying any angry bone in my body. I was now back to being my normal pudding self.

“God dammit, you make it really hard to be angry.” I hid my face in my hands.

“Just tell me, please?” His hands caught mine and caressed it. I sighed and nodded.

“Maybe I’m a little bothered by the fact that your day was filled with Instagram Models and Pop singers.” I shrugged, rolling my eyes to myself.

David chuckled. “I was just staying away as we agreed.”

“Yeah, but… I thought that would be around Jason or Dom.” I whined and David laughed louder.

“So, the girls are the problem.” David nodded and messed his own hair. “Okay, I get it. If it were the other way around I’d be bothered too. But honestly, I was just trying to get some content for the montage. I’d rather just have been with you.”

“Did you get any good shots at least?” I touched his face and caressed his skin.

“Not sure, maybe one or two. I’ll probably just walk around with Jeff tomorrow and make him be dreamy and stupid and that will be the montage.” David chuckled, leaning his face on my hand.

I laughed. “Honestly, if you put Jeff doing the most random shit in the world, the viewers will still absolutely go nuts.”

“That’s true.” He smiled at me. “Are we okay? Do I get to kiss you now?”

“I was hoping you’d do worst things to me than that Dobrik,” I bit my lip and pulled him closer by the collar of his shirt.

It was all dark outside, everybody was sleeping. Having him all to myself was enough to get me wet. I was wearing just an oversized merch shirt and panties, which earned me an approval growl when David slid his hand under it to find my boobs. Pulling the shirt up, he put his mouth on one of them, sucking and biting and licking. His left hand spending some time on my other boob, but then sliding down, feeling my body, taking my ass in his hand and groping, pulling me closer.

I loved how at this moment, there was no rush. There was desire and fire, but we could take our time and feel everything. The chilly night weather and the fact that someone could walk in on us was a trigger, but at this point we didn’t really care. David’s mouth found my neck and then my lips, which he continued to kiss intensely, making me breathless of how much feeling was there in his lips and tongue. His hand found my panties, which he slid into and started rubbing my clit, teasing me. His hair was soft on my hand, but I wanted to tease him too, so I found his already hard dick pulsating inside his pants. I took his whole length in my hand and slowly stroke him, competing on who could be the bigger tease.

David one-upped me, thrusting into me with three fingers, which made me moan in the middle of our kiss and made him smirk. Bastard. I bit my lips, pulling him back to the kiss, wanting him more. His curled up fingers inside of me knew how to read the one spot that would corrupt me. As payback, I jacked him off faster, but he was winning by a mile. I bit his lower lip and he moaned, softly, he liked a little bit of pain.

My pleasure was rising fast and he knew, he could feel it in his fingers. “You’re so fucking hot and you’re all mine. Every piece of you is mine to do whatever I want with you and to make you cum as many times as I want.” His whispers in my ear were filled with breathless sighs and growls.

As I was about to reach, he stopped and as a reflex my hand held his arm and my nails carved into his skin. “David…” It was a warning and a beg.

“Shhh… Be a good girl (Y/N).” He bit my collar bone.

In a swift movement, he took me by the waist and pulled me on top of him. Arranging everything, he moved my panties to the side and let his cock out of his pants, positioning himself on my entrance. “I want you to ride me, (Y/N).”

I barely could say anything, as my body easily slid down on his cock and I felt him filling me whole. “Fuck.” I whined in pleasure.

David sat down on the grass to help me ride him, both of his hands on the back of my thighs to give me the support I needed to come up and down on him. First slowly, then gradually getting faster and faster, the positioning allowing him to reach even further inside me. I managed to pull him back to kiss me again, but that lasted a couple of seconds since my moans were taking the wheel here. His kisses went to my neck, sucking it, my head fell back, giving him room.

“Fuck, baby. You’re so good to me. No one rides me like you do,” He praised me and that just made me even hornier. He kept motivating me to go harder and faster, kissing every bit of skin he could. “Yeah, just like that, feel me all inside you.”

His praises were rusky in his deep tone, faded with deep sighs. He slapped my ass, which earned him a louder moan. He loved how responsive I was to everything he did and how, just like him, I loved a little pain. 

I kissed him again, harder and more desperate, as I was reaching my climax, that way helping him come undone as well. I rode him faster and faster and then slower and slower. Finding my own rhythm back down from that high. Once we were done, both breathless and sweating, I kissed him softly and fell beside him on the grass, chuckling.

Todd had the worst headache, which woke him up after a couple of hours of deadbeat sleep. He found some Advil in his bag, but his water bottle was empty, which made him whine and get up, sleepily walking towards the kitchen. He tried to fix his hair, which was all over the place, without much success, and his eyes were barely able to fully open. 

He found the kitchen, opened the fridge and got himself a cold bottle of water, then after a few sips he swallowed the pill. Walking outside of the kitchen, he faced the yard glass door. Everything was dark, but far on the grass bit of the yard there was something moving, something he couldn’t exactly tell what.

“Is that a coyote?” Todd asked himself, frowning.

Quietly, he opened the door and lurked in the shadows, trying to figure out what the hell was happening there. He took a couple more sips of water, until his eyes were used to the darkness and started to give form to whatever that was.

The movements were steady and repeating. Then it hit him. Someone was literally fucking in the house yard in the middle of the night. “Holy fucking shit.” Todd whispered.

“Is that...?” He squinted to try and find out who that was. The girl was on top, clearly, and then she fell onto the grass and Todd saw the guy fixing his messy hair. “David?” His eyes went wide. “Holy shit, but wait… Who the fuck is that?”

Then he put two and two together, realizing that there was only one single girl at the house with that length of hair. “Oh my fucking God.”

He couldn't wait to tell Jeff.  

#david dobrik #david dobrik x reader #david dobrik fluff #david dobrik ff #david dobrik smut #david dobrik angst #david dobrik fanfic #one shot #smut #angst #david dobrik request #requests #vlog squad #vlogsquad #todd smith #toddy smith

[percysbluepizza]

Oh we ARE impertinent

okay since @annabetncnase asked for it, my big ole post, UNEDITED about the Lightning Thief Musical on Broadway. good luck to anyone who attempts to read this shit

ACT 1

Prologue/Day I Got Expelled

Alright so there is big boom lightning at the very very beginning of the show because Of Course there is? But it also comes with a huge flash of light, which startled liTERALLY everyone in the audience. Very fun, good use of technical effects. First guy on is James Hayden (Luke + Some) and he opens with the line. Then KRISTEN FUCKING STOKES (whom I have grown to ADORE) and the rest of the ensemble (Sally, Claiese, and Grover) come on and have this AMAZING choreography. They’re singing and all and then these curtains (which have been up and are on my pic) get pulled away from both sides by the whole onstage cast and CHRIS runs up and does this slide thingy to the very tippy top of the stage, where he sat for a moment, then turned to the audience and started. I about screamed and I’m not joking, he’s so expressive and such a great Percy (god I’m in love with him great work). As the song progressed, I was impressed by the ability with lighting use and all these cool stage tricks to have the Mrs. Dodds and also the pen/sword thing! Jorrel plays Grover so well, he’s so empathetic and caring toward Percy and I!!! So the whole story of him getting expelled is explained and god it is so fucking sad. Percy’s voice cracks. Percy’s fucking upset clearly and doesn’t understand and ouch…. ‘So if you think you are a half-blood’ is said so gently, and then THE DANCING. Chris can dance. Like well. Very well. So during ‘THis ain’t Odyssey’s Odyssey” he did a big ole kick and danced his heart out. SO good.

Strong

So obviously there’s some talking in between the first piece and this one, and there was a scene change when the lights went out and now they’re in Percy’s apartment with his mom and Gabe. Gabe is like… god you seem him and you loathe him bc he’s played so well. Percy sprays a chan of ‘aerosol’ at one point bc Gabe smells. And Chris just captures Percy’s compassion so well… He tells his mom that she doesn’t have to stay with Gabe and doesn’t deserve that and ugh so good. There are genuine blue marshmallows. and the way they did the little fire with the fog in the bucket and Percy’s mom’s comforting him hhh.

The Minotaur/The Weirdest Dream

The transfer to this scene/piece is very quick, Grover comes running in with a trash can over his head and he asks if Percy told Sally about the field trip and she said no and it was just a big mess of miscommunication. He basically gets to the point where he says the Minotaur is after Percy and holy shit. This boy is massive. And the design of it is insane and it’s got red eyes and wow. ‘I hope you’re really a SWORD” and he fight and it’s all just great. Sally goes away, Percy kills the beast and then ‘Don’t pass out…” Poseidon is in a tank top and a open Hawaiian shirt as well as flip flops and just “oh look, a man in a Hawaiian shirt’ He takes the seashell and is just the most confused. And then they bring in Annabeth, pushing her on one of those dolly things and she’s ‘floating’ and the whole thing is a big dream. Up until she tells him “You drool when you sleep” right and the thing is… the banner for CHB unfurls and the lights come back up and all of that and just it’s a true rude awakening. Then he looked around the camp and was so confused, Annabeth (beautiful, amazing, badass Kristin) started explaining what was happening and he had no clue. She then calls for Mr. D  

Another Terrible Day

I don’t think you guys realize how good Jorrel is. Maybe you do but we stan Jorrel. But he comes out dressed in not matching clothes with a bright button up (pink) and plaid shirt, suspenders. He’s angry. Percy explains that he has no clue what’s going and everything’s getting explained to him with the other demigods. The other demigods are so cute and I love them so much. And he’s yelling through a megaphone. Jorrel can do so many roles so well and he did a great job. “You’re a horse?!” also he just clops. Like it’s human legs. Clip clop bitch. With a tail.

Their Sign

Again the transition from the first song to this second one is really fast. Chiron’s comforting but god is Percy angry. I love that tbh. Chris is clearly upset and he feels for Percy. And he shows it. He’s upset and then Percy’s voice goes all soft… Love that. Luke starts being buddy-buddy and showing him that it’s gonna be alright. Supposedly.

Put You In Your Place

Fucking. Sarah. Goddamn. I can’t believe how good she is. We stan so hard. Her fit? Great. Her voice? Belted. Awesome. Annabeth truly out here though. SHe’s intimidating as fuck and she knows what she’s about. There’s so much cool battle choreo in this scene and it just looks great. There’s blocking and stabbing and it looks awesome. Also that guitar riff that she comes in with is rad. And then the bathroom thing. Great. Percy’s cornered and it clearly shows that his powers came as a last resort with stress and the way they flashed the blue lights is just great I love that so fucking much. And they’re asking about the way he figured out those powers and they’re freaked out. Cool shit. Also “The plan would have worked either way.” Holy fucking shit. Annabeth is fucking scary as hell. She gives zero fucks about Percy at the beginning

The Campfire Song

The way they made the campfire is so cool! Very techy. And I didn’t realize they’re sitting around the campfire eating dinner together as a camp. Very family much love I’m a big fan. They’re putting the food into the fire and then complaining and I love it. Percy’s so sweet trying to talk about his mom and then come back around once they tell him what’s going on. Also they have a cute dance they do together. SO unified and lovely. And then THE FUCKING SIGN COMES. Percy’s sign. The whole thing. They’re looking and he’s like “Is that a fork?” “I’m the Son of Poseidon? sweet!) Everyone freaks out when they’re sure he’s a son of Poseidon. Percy is told to go see the “Mummy in the attic” “That’s old people talk for Mom, right?” Cue the Oracle.

The Oracle

This sounds so dumb but kinda like… found the Oracle impressive. Spooky. 10/10 Also… side note… Chris plays Percy with a lot of random mannerisms and movement and it’s really quite fun to watch. Anyway the Oracle is big spooky and she’s in a huge dress and she’s pointing to him and it has all the people who are in the next scene sitting there underneath and moving the dress. Big cool. And the vocals! Sis can sing. And it’s just beautiful bc then Percy has to see Mr. D and Chiron, the first of whom wants to turn Percy into a dolphin. “Percy you have no choice.” “You’re expelling me again?” Basically Percy is getting kicked out of camp bc of his unwillingness to do the quest. And there’s the transition to Good Kid my friends.

Good Kid

Guys oh fuck. Oh shit. Chris just really came out here to kill with the vocals tonight. And My heart? He kinda does a fist thing toward what would be the Big House and walks off to sulk, starting the song and walking around being angry ugh. He climbs up the back of the stage (which is essentially scaffolding) and sits at the end to deliver the sad part of the line when everything goes piano-y and soft and essentially that’s him sitting at the docks at the lake and watching the water. Luke later finds him (“If you’re a son of Poseidon, don’t hide at the lake, that’s where everyone will look.” and talks to him about the quest, where they figure out his mom would be in the Underworld if she was anywhere. Also there’s a trident where Percy is the middle prong and the other two are blue and shine on him UGH yeah

Killer Quest

“Yeah I’ll do it!” Was delivered so well, so sweet and innocent. This kid just misses his mom. Also since when did Luke and Percy get a bro handshake? Grover shows up with a bunch of bags and says he’ll go too (Luke’s chilling in the background) and he gives him the official questing backpack. I think Luke leaves at this point to get some shoes. Annabeth is there with a bag telling him that she’s going too and that her mom will be excited and they’re all dancing together and god I’m so emotional. They dance and they all work as a team so well great work you guys. And the lights turn out with them starting their quest!

Lost

Return from intermission with a literal bang, as there are three demon triplet math teachers on the bus, with Percy on top and Grover and Annabeth inside. The driver’s screaming, they’re screaming, Percy hops off the top and then fights the fury outside and eventually… The bus explodes, with confetti raining over the audience. Awesome. The piece of paper is in Annabeth’s bag pocket actually. And Percy’s trying to be a reassuring friend to Grover, who’s freaking out, and he’s trying to keep Annabeth safe too… ugh great stuff. They move all together when they say “We’re lost in the woods” for the first time. Their priorities really become clear later in the song when they talk about what they’re wanting. Grover could not be more enthusiastic about the squirrel. Also this is the first time we see Annabeth laugh at Percy “I think that’s kind of nuts” is the line and she turns around to laugh into her hand. PURE AS HELL. Wandering aimless through the forest occurs for a minute longer until Percy decides. This point in the musical made me realize that these kids are young. Like 11 or 12. I love that. I felt that in this one. The kids go into Auntie M’s art studio. Annabeth’s asked to take a picture and she’s checking her hair in her dagger, meanwhile Percy’s getting a bad feeling now and Grover’s looking more and more intently at Uncle Ferdinand. Percy is then asked to join in. No camera you say? MEDUSA REVEAL. They do a big battle and Grover ends up picking up Percy and swinging him around to cut off Medusa’s head. Which gets thrown in her own fridge for the time being. Grover leaves.

My Grand Plan

Bitch. This was the moment I teared up a lot. She sat down and started singing and I felt. I FELT. I’m depressed as fuck at the moment and I started feeling things bc of this damn song. Kristin Stokes I love you. Anyway, she’s singing and Percy intently watches, and she’s telling the gods to Wise Up by pointing directly to the sky. SHe’s saying BITCH YOU WILL NOTICE ME. And the pain in her voice when she explains her family situation. The soft part? She’s talking directly to Percy and looking at him, telling him what’s going on. Dear god did I feel. I’m so proud of her my queen Annabeth Chase. She finishes explaining and Percy says: “No more fighting” and she says “Not between us anyway” and they shake on it. I love that. Then Percy decides to have a little fun with the gods and boxes up Medusa’s head. “THey’ll think we’re impertinent Percy.” “Oh, we are impertinent.” He writes both Annabeth and his own name on that box and ships it via the Hermes express. Grover comes back in. “While you guys were in here not solving all our problems, I found these!” “Three Amtrack tickets!?”

Drive

We boarding the train. WE singing. Life is dandy again. Percy sticks his hand in a dog cage and it bites him. They take a tractor which is scaffolding tied to a wheelchair which a guy pulls. They meet Bianca and then they meet Ares after arguing with each other. Cool guy. Also Percy looks so free and proud of himself when he’s on the back of the motorcycle “I mean, look at where I am!” He’s so PROUD holy shit. Also they all put one foot forward during the different lines god the Choreography so fucking cute dear lord. Anyway they’re going and going and they meet Bianca who’s got braids and then they move on!!! I love them! I’m proud. They take another bus. “This time we just won’t blow it up.” They’re sitting on the bus (or train not really sure) and all asleep. Percy’s dreaming now. And Annabeth and Grover are also sleeping. Each is on a chair and it’s kind of cute tbh.

The Weirdest Dream (Reprise)

Percy’s standing there in his dream and he’s very confused. This is ‘scary” and I love that. He’s standing and listening to the these people in his dream talking. Kronos is so fucking scary they literally make him scary. His voice is so deep and spooky and fuck man. Luke’s talking to him (downward, into a pit, technically on the top of the scaffolding) and he’s in a cloak and Kronos says Percy’s name and the lights flash all sorts of colors and then he’s back in his seat. Chris does a bunch of spins until he gets back to his seat and Grover’s shaking him awake, saying he was screaming. Annabeth can’t sleep either. Everyone’s on edge. Thalia’s name was mentioned in the dream and Grover sits up straighter and says he hasn’t heard that name in awhile.

Tree on the Hill

Oh shit this was so emotional. So Grover explains that he didn’t tell Percy this any sooner because he was afraid Percy might not want him to come. Big sad. But he starts the song and let me tell you I never felt like crying more. So Grover’s narrating this story and Percy’s listening on the train and above them, like with the main bridge, Annabeth, Luke and Thalia are slow mo acting out the details of the story until Thalia becomes a tree. Thalia is the same girl that plays Clarriese, and every other character almost omg. But when he’s explaining her turning into a tree, Annabeth and Luke stand behind Thalia and become the branches. So symbolic and so beautiful. Percy comforts Grover and then it’s the last stop.

DOA

THis song. At first I didn’t like it on the soundtrack. Skipped it. But goddamn what a bop. The sparkly dress, the funky tunes, the control of all of the kids so they all dance together. Also dying in a really big bathtub. Yeah. Real. The way they did the elevator with the lights moving in the background was actually super convincing and I Loved that. The dress sparkles all over and all the other background people are in cloaks are dancing too, including James who makes this beautiful jump I love it so much. But they’re all scared and cornered against the light and then have to reconvene together. They all get up from the ground frazzled and then Percy’s shoes start doing something weird. His feet start flying away from him and he’s confused and freaking out and all of a sudden they’re in front of the pit. Oh god the pit was so cool. I thought the feet were shaking and it’s so cool and and the pit literally looks like a pit. I know they’re looking into a light but it’s so scary! The shoes go down into the pit and the tartar sauce joke is made. I love this. SO scary. AND BOLT REVEAL. The line that Percy’s says “betrayed by a friend’ that accuses Annabeth after she pulls the bolt from his bag. I gasped. And then Hades comes around and he’s in a sparkly jacket and says he’ll have his friends and his mom back if he gives him the bolt and then gives them a chance to decide. Everyone walks off stage and he stands there and debates.

Son of Poseidon

Percy’s mom comes out and tells him that what belongs to the sea can always return. She does a little loop around him and he spins in a circle and follows her for a moment. He starts singing and GOD CHRIS. He’s realizing that he has the shell and all that. He blows the conch and a blue light shines on the right side of the stage, the PORTAL. They jump through the portal and they’re all excited that they survived. Standing on the beach and Percy pulled new shoes out and starts putting them on. He tells them that they’re his two best friends and he hugs them close and fuck man the original trio feels. They summon Ares. Ares comes out and he’s fucking ripped and got a pipe. A literal pipe. They start fighting and it looks like they’re losing, Annabeth lost her dagger (which was strapped to her thigh goddamn) and Grover’s down, Percy’s lost his sword. “Percy get to the ocean” He runs to the stage, Kristin and Jorrel run backstage and deliver the blowers with TP. “How about a lot of it!”He yelled and theres the music and he’s relishing the moment, Chris is just giving it his fucking all and there’s a lot going on and I just.. Was amazed beautiful. Great work cast. Ares is washed away and then Percy says: “You can escort us, back to camp.” They’re escorted back.

Last Day of Summer

Percy is standing there and he’s stunned essentially. What does he do now? He gets a letter from his mom with her newest sculpture and that she’s going to school. Annabeth passes him and talks to him about going home and she calls him Seaweed Brain. He and Luke battle when he accuses Luke of being the lightning thief. Luke fucking says yes right and then STABS HIM after trying to convince Annabeth to pick the right side (his side) and she disarms him but he takes a knife and stabs Percy. He runs away, Percy’s on the ground, Annabeth’s at his side and holding him. She’s giving him emergency ambrosia as he’s dying and he looks like he’s gone but then he comes back. She says Seaweed Brain and he says Wise girl and hugs him to her and SHIT man.

Bring on the Monsters

Percy motivates the camp. Tells them it’s real, shits getting real and they need to get ready. He’s got his sword and his fresh stab wound and he motivates them to get going, all of them sing and then Chris does his beautiful solo thing and stands in front with his sword and they’re all singing in the background. When he maintains his line on the bottom people are passing back and forth around him and touching his shoulder as they pass him and he yells excitedly back next summer at one point. And they all stand together in the back and the spotlight hits him as he says he’ll be back next summer and the guitar ends. damn.

The curtains come up and they’re all there taking bows and I love them. Main points: these boys flexible, they’re all doing kicks and all sorts of shit like that, jumping up and down and dancing as well as singing, I’m very impressed. also Chris plays Percy so well. He’s got all the things that were in my head for Percy for all the quirks and ADHD and UGH I love that. Kristin rocked my fucking world and Jorrel played every character so cleanly and had such great vocals. I love them. I love them all. The end.

If you made it to the end of this fucking long ass post send me an ask or a message bc I’m proud of you and you deserve a reward 

#julz talks #tlt musical #I am very emotional and in love with every single on of them #also... I wrote this right after the show so I was just FEELING my dudes

[toddysdiaries]

Not Together Anyway - Jeff Wittek x Reader

((GIF IS NOT MINE))

Pairing: Jeff Wittek x Reader

Requested?: yes, by anon:

‘Could you do a Jeff imagine where there’s a lot of staring at each other from afar and smiling and casual flirting but no one acts on it and Jeff ends up making out with another girl at a party and y/n gets really upset and someone (maybe Heath or Zane) comforts her and confronts Jeff afterwards (against her will)’

Summary: Jeff and the reader have an unspoken relationship that neither of them has acted on yet and then Jeff makes out with another girl and breaks your heart, Heath tries to defend your honour. 

Words: 1,751 words

Warnings: confrontations, not-cheating (kind of cheating but they’re not actually together), physical fighting (like one punch), few swear words, angst angst angst

A/N: Requests are open!

You'd met the vlog squad through Mariah, a girl that you danced with. She was dating Heath, one of the original vlog squad members. You were unaware of the YouTubers before Mariah had introduced you to them for a bit for a video.  From then on you became a regular in David's bits, and you were in a lot of Zane and Jason's videos too. You'd gotten very close to Heath and Zane over the time you'd known them. Heath, in particular, you had become a little sister to.  

The subscribers all loved you and wanted you to make your own channel and they all shipped you with Jeff, a guy who had joined the vlog squad not too long after you had. You had forged a great friendship with Jeff, and in the past couple of months, the two of you had definitely become a lot closer. The whole vlog squad knew that you and Jeff were right on the verge of dating and they all weren't sure why you weren't already dating, and you weren't really sure either. You assumed that Jeff just wasn't ready after his last relationship and because he was such a great guy and you liked him so much, you were willing to wait for him.

Everything was fine between the two of you until the party that David decided to throw. In fact, you were fine for the first half of the party too. You can't quite figure out what went wrong. You danced with Jeff, grinding up against him, his hands on your hips and his low Staten Island accent whispering in your ear, until you felt like your feet were going to fall off and disappeared into the kitchen to get a drink. That was when things went wrong.

You returned from the kitchen feeling refreshed, two drinks in your hand, one for yourself and the other for Jeff. That's when you saw Jeff passionately making out with a woman, one you'd never seen before. You froze and almost dropped the drinks that you were holding, but managed to calm yourself. Your heart, however, did drop.

Spinning on your heel, you made your way back into the kitchen where you had seen Mariah and Heath. Fat tears began to drip down your flushed cheeks, you knew that you weren't together, but you had assumed it was just a matter of time until you were, everyone had. It was Heath that noticed you first.

"What's wrong, baby?" Heath retracted his arms from around Mariah, who looked alarmed too, and made his way over to you. Heath took the drinks from your shaking hands and wrapping you in a hug.

You sobbed. "I thought he liked me." You buried your head into Heath's shoulder, arms wrapping around him.

"Jeff?" Mariah asked, gently rubbing your back.

Sniffling, you nodded against Heath's shoulder. You gave an anguished wail and shook in Heath's arms.

"What did he do?!" Heath demanded, pulling back to look into your red-rimmed eyes.

Pointing off in the direction of where you had seen Jeff, you explained. "He's kissing some girl."

Heath pulled away from you and began marching off in the direction you had pointed to. Alarmed, you turned to Mariah. "What's he doing?!"

Mariah brought you closer to her and wrapped her arm around your shoulder. "Let's go and see."

You quickly made your way into the living room, in time to see Heath pull Jeff away from the girl he had been kissing, you still didn't know who she was, and push him against a nearby wall. "How could you?!" Heath's voice was loud, audible even over the booming music and definitely loud enough to draw the attention of everyone who was there. Someone turned the music off, and everyone's eyes were on Heath and Jeff. "We trusted you with her!"

"Stop, Heath!" You pleaded from where you were wrapped up in Mariah's arms.

"What did he do?" David's voice came from behind you, and you were seriously unimpressed to see him recording the incident.

Heath turned around, arm still pressing Jeff up against the wall. "This 'motherfucka' seems to think that it's okay to mess Y/N around. He was kissing another girl."

The arm that was holding David's camera dropped, obscuring the incident from the viewfinder of the camera. "What the fuck, Jeff?!"

Jeff's face dropped when he realised that no one was going to support him. He wasn't trying to hurt you or break your heart, he was just starting to feel a little bit claustrophobic in your situation and addressed it the wrong way. "We're not even together!"

There were a few winces, and you felt Zane hug you from your other side. Jeff quickly realised that that was the wrong thing to say and tried to backtrack. "It's not that I don't like her, it's just we're not official or anything!"

"You might've well have been!" A new voice spoke, and you turned to see Kristen's angry face. There were a few shouts of approval you recognised as Toddy, Scott and Zane.

Heath turned back to Jeff and raised his fist. "Stop!!" You yelled, struggling to get out of your friends' hold. You yelped and tugged on Zane's sleeve. "Zane, make him stop, please. I just want to go home." You burst into tears as Heath's first made contact with Jeff's beautiful face. "Zane, please!"

Seeing how distressed you were, Zane jumped forward rested his hand on Heath's shoulder. "Heath, man, you need to stop. You're scary and upsetting Y/N. Violence isn't the right way to solve this anyway."

Looking back at you, Heath's face fell, you looked scared shitless. Once Heath stepped away from Jeff, who sagged against the wall, you turned and ran. You pressed your hands to your pockets to check that you had your phone and house keys and didn't stop running until you were a block over from David's house, then you called an Uber.

You went to stay with a friend, knowing that your friends would come looking for you and ignored all the messages, calls and voice messages that you received from them, not even giving them a glance. You were heartbroken about Jeff, but you were also upset with Heath. You knew he cared about you, but you couldn't believe he had actually punched Jeff in the face. Jeff was his friend too, and he didn't deserve to be punched in the face.

Eventually, you went back to your apartment and looked at your messages. Although everyone in the group had sent you a handful of messages, the vast majority of your messages were from Heath, Mariah, Zane and Jeff himself, but nearly all of the missed calls and all of the voice messages were from Heath and Jeff.

As you were looking through the messages from Heath, a new one popped up.

'Please talk to me Y/N. Let me know you're ok.'

You bit your lip and tapped out a reply. 'I'm ok. Still pissed at you.'

'I'm sorry. Please can I come over? Are you back home?'

Biting your lip again you weighed the pros and the cons. Heath and Mariah were your best friends, and you knew that Heath was just looking out for you, but he had scared the crap out of you and hurt another one of his best friends.

'Ok, bring Mariah.'

Heath and Mariah were at your door not too long after that and Mariah was taking you in her arms. "I'm so sorry Y/N." She murmured into your shoulder. Heath kept his distance, not wanting to scare or upset you.

"What about?" You asked, unsure if she was apologising for Jeff or for Heath.

Mariah sighed and pulled back. "That Jeff kissed that girl."

Heath cleared his throat. "I'm sorry for punching him, I knew you didn't want me to, but it made me feel like I was doing something to help. You were so upset, and all that I could do was punch him."

You pouted when Heath said that, you could never stay mad at him when he said things like that. You nodded and held your arms out to Heath, you had to forgive him, he was your best friend.

The three of you spent the afternoon together, Heath and Mariah catching you up on all the happenings of the vlog squad, from Zane's drunken antics to Natalie's snacking being exposed. Heath and Mariah were thinking about making a move when there was a knocking at your door.

Frowning, you went to open the door, not sure who would be knocking on your door at that time of the day. You were shocked, to say the least, to see Jeff standing at your door. The cheek of that man.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" You blurted out, speaking without thinking, not that you really cared about Jeff's feelings at that point.

Heath appeared behind you and you were reminded of the last time you had seen the two. Jeff had a nasty black eye and a cut over his eyebrow, but it looked as if it was starting to heal.

"I thought we told you to leave her alone?" Heath sounded fairly threatening, and you turned to glare at him.

"Jeff, you have two minutes, talk quickly." You rolled your eyes and made no move to let Jeff in.

Jeff scratched the back of his neck and eyed Heath nervously.

"Heath, go back in the living room, I'll call you if I need your help." You gestured towards your living room. "Talk."

"I do like you; I really like you." Jeff started. "But I was starting to feel kinda trapped, we were together all the time, and we weren't even together. I was starting to wonder what it would be like when we were together, and I just spiralled."

You scoffed. "All in the five minutes it took me to go to the kitchen?"

"It was on my mind for a while," Jeff admitted.

Rolling your eyes again, you rested against the door frame. "And you then thought it would be better to destroy anything we did have and change our friendships with everyone instead?"

Jeff's eyes were downcast. "I just didn't think." He shifted on his feet. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine." You plastered a smile on your face. "We weren't together anyway, and now we never will be." You slammed the door in Jeff's face. You murmured to yourself. "We weren't together anyway."

#vlog squad imagine #vlog squad #jeff wittek x reader #jeff wittek imagine #jeff wittek

[idkthisisjustforfanfic]

Chapter 10 - (totally uninterested.)

Sober Harry didn’t really have much patience for drunk Nora. Or at least, the look on his face seemed to convey that when I met him in the lobby of whatever apartment building I was in. He stared straight at me--his eyes unimpressed as he looked me up and down.

“Thanks for coming,” I told him, trying my best to tame the drunken beast inside and form sentences that wouldn’t piss him off. 

He let out a heavy sigh, his eyes avoiding mine for a second as he pulled out his phone. “Well, I’m parked outside, so, let’s go.”

I nodded and moved my feet, watching as he turned on his and headed for the front door. His grey t-shirt fell over his shoulders nicely--tight around his arms and showcasing his tattoos in a way that Drunk Nora couldn’t quite handle. 

“Are you mad at me?” I asked, my warm breath floating up into the fall air. 

He opened his mouth to speak but then shut it. “Nora--just get in the car.” His hand reached down to the handle, opening the passenger door for me to find my way into warmth. I slid down and looked up at him.

 “I’ll take that as a yes.”

He rolled his eyes and let the door shut between us--walking around the front of the car to get behind the wheel. He’d hung up so quickly on the phone that I didn’t even know if he’d heard what I said. I assumed he did. I assumed he didn’t like it. 

“You’re drunk and mad at me and I’m mad at you and we’re not going to fix anything right now.”

I didn’t expect him to be that transparent, and when he saw the look of surprise on my face, he smirked. 

“I’m mad at you for being a dick to me in front of everyone we know.” 

He put the car into gear, pulling back onto the street as he mulled over my words. They fell between us in the car, settled in the cup holder than held what used to be an iced coffee. 

“I said I don’t want to talk about it now.”

“Then what do you want to talk about Harry?”

“Nothing.”

I stared at him--too tired to put up a fight. So I kept my mouth shut. I watched as he drove by different apartment buildings and street signs, until things slowly became more familiar. We passed the library, the lights were on inside even though it was long past closing. 

The radio hummed quietly, and I wondered, for a second, what would happen if I leaned over to kiss him. 

The car came to an abrupt stop and he cut the engine--parked in a spot outside his own apartment complex. 

“I have to walk all the way back to my apartment now?” I asked--anger in my voice as I unbuckled the seatbelt over my chest. It wasn’t that I was unappreciative. Sure--Harry had gone out of his way to come and give me a ride back to campus. 

And I wasn’t really mad about the prospect of having to walk. I was more upset about the idea that he didn’t want to talk to me and was perfectly fine with letting me walk all the way home without a single word after the saga of events between us. 

“I think you’ll live,” he said, his hand reaching for the door as I climbed out. A few people milled about in the parking lot--seemingly making their way home from what was sure to have been a better night than mine. 

“Why are you being such a dick?” my voice was louder now, eyes on his face as I waited for an answer that he likely didn’t want to give. 

“Why am I being a dick? You’re being a dick, too.” He shut the car door with force, turning to walk towards the entrance to his building. 

“I’m not being a dick, Harry--I’ve been trying to talk to you.” I reminded, cutting in front of him to block his escape. 

He stopped in his tracks and looked down at me--his face a mix of unreadable emotions as he pursed his lips. “Maybe I just don’t want to talk, Nora, ever thought of that? Maybe I’m just mad at you and annoyed and maybe I just don’t want to ever mention any of this again.”

That caught me off guard--that left me with a feeling of breathlessness in my lungs that seemed to keep my feet rooted to the ground as he side-stepped me and made another attempt to leave me in the parking lot. 

“This was the plan Harry,” I called after him, suddenly following him again and hoping that he’d just turn around and hear me out. “We agreed to this--we agreed that the whole point was so I’d end up with Ethan!”

I reached for his arm, grabbing at it to keep him from putting distance between us. At the contact, he turned on his heel and jerked his arm away from me. “Plans change, Nora, alright?”

I couldn’t decipher his words--and frankly, I didn’t have a low enough blood-alcohol-content to do so. “Fuck you, Harry.” 

“Fuck you, Nora.”

My face must have distorted into one of anger--because Harry rolled his eyes. But then I leaned forward and pushed my hands to his chest, giving him a shove in the parking lot to prove how angry I was. 

He only laughed at this--his mouth pulling up into a smirk as he watched my eyes well with tears. “It’s not funny!” I said, giving him another shove.

“Nora--you’re drunk. Go home. Go to sleep, and leave me alone.”

I stared up at him, still confused by his words and his anger and wishing--with everything in me--that I could rewind to Halloween and force him to talk to me instead of creating the whole scene in the living room of his apartment. 

But instead--since I had no reason to believe that time travel was possible--I stood in the parking lot and watched him walk back into his building. The door shut behind him and soon he was out of view, leaving me alone with the long walk home to sober up. 

**

Working with Casey Northby wasn’t as terrible as I’d anticipated. After our first week together, she seemed to lighten up around me and be considerably less annoyed when I would put my feet on the desk and show up in a baggy sweatshirt. She only worked two nights with me, but it seemed to be enough to allow her to feel more comfortable in my presence. 

She didn’t, however, approve of the fact that Ethan would come to visit every once in a while and would lean against the desk for a good forty minutes before she forced me to go stack books--bringing Ethan in tow. 

“She’s a bit of a hard ass, huh?” Ethan laughed, following behind me as I climbed the stairs to the second floor. I didn’t have much of a clue as to what was going on between the two of us--but his text messages and library visits were a welcomed distraction from the sudden loneliness I felt. 

I hadn’t realized how much time had been taken up by Harry. Whether it was work or studying or grabbing food at the dining hall--my life seemed to be laced with reminders that he wasn’t there. 

A sweatshirt he’d left in my dorm sat folded on top of my desk--and I was more than willing to let it sit there until we moved out in the spring. Maybe it’d find it’s way to a garbage, or maybe it’d find it’s way into a drawer--but either way, it seemed happy with it’s home for now: it was the perfect spot to ignite the ache in my lungs for the boy who’d accidentally become somewhat of a fixture in my days. 

“Casey’s special,” I shrugged my shoulders, leading him down the biography aisle as I tried to alphabetize the books stacked in my hands. “She’s grown on me though. At least it’s not Harry.”

The last part of my statement may not have been true, but Ethan didn’t need to know that. He hadn’t brought up Harry too much--in fact, the look on his face at the mention of his name told me he’d prefer if we never spoke it again. 

“What was that face for?”

“I--nothing, I don’t know. Have you, like, talked to him at all?”

I pushed my lips out in thought--wondering how much to divulge. I’d forgiven Ethan quickly the next morning when he claimed via text message that his phone had been acting up the night before. I didn’t really care if it was the truth or not--especially when it was increasingly unclear to me if the hangover I had that day was caused by alcohol or Harry. 

“He brought me home that night, actually--when we ended up in god knows where after we were at Casey’s brothers.”

“He did?”

I shoved a book into it’s slot on the shelf. “Yeah,” I shrugged. “Kristen didn’t answer, you didn’t answer. I was drunk and my phone was going to die and I figured he’d be awake.”

There was more to it than that, but I didn’t feel the need to explain it all to him. 

“Did you hang out with him?”

Hang out with him or hook up with him? I didn’t know what information he was actually looking for. 

“No,” I rolled my eyes, turning to head a few steps down to return another book. “He literally made me walk from his apartment back to Wilson.”

Ethan nodded but didn’t reply, instead, his eyes wandered to the group of students who walked by the aisle we were in. 

“Have you talked to him? Or any of them, I guess?” I put the question back on him--wondering how he’d made it through basketball practice if none of them were speaking. 

“I mean--barely. They acknowledge me at the gym but they don’t go out of their way.”

I nodded--feeling somewhat sorry that Ethan had gotten dragged into the mess I made. He’d never asked for it. He didn’t know anything about the whole charade and the whole plan and now he was left with a group of friends who were mad at him because--more or less--I’d set him up. 

“I’m sorry, Ethan--I feel really badly that you got caught up in this.” He didn’t know half of the truth, but I still felt the need to apologize. 

“Nora, it’s fine, okay? I’m glad that we’re--hanging out. I like you.”

His words sounded like they should ignite a fire in me, but instead, I offered a sympathetic--and guilty--smile. “Speaking of hanging out,” I changed the subject. “Are you going to come to my birthday this weekend?”

He pushed himself off the bookshelf to follow me as I made another move down the aisle. “Yeah--what did you want to do?”

I sighed--I’d long been contemplating what the best plan of action was--especially since my whole friend group seemed to fall apart. “Well, I’d kind of been planning to just go to that bowling place between Georgetown and Foggy Bottom--but, I don’t know. I don’t know who will want to come.”

“Well, you and me, Kristen, Georgia,” he started to count on his fingers. 

“Casey and her brother,” I added.

“Casey and Kevin,” he added them to the list. “Who else?”

“You can invite some friends if you want,” I told him, sliding another book into a spot on the shelf. I thumbed through the remaining few in my hands, looking up to the aisle number that hung overhead to determine where we were headed next. 

“Are you going to invite the guys?”

I shrugged my shoulders quickly--hoping that he couldn’t read the sadness on my face. “I don’t know--I can text them I guess.”

“Harry, too, or?”

“I don’t know, Ethan,” I turned to look at him quickly. I suddenly felt like he had a question about everything and couldn’t even give me the space to process any of it myself. “I haven’t thought about it too much yet.”

“Okay, I’m just asking,” he shrugged defeatedly, looking down at me with a look of surprise on his face. I felt resentful, for a second. Resentful that he didn’t seem to know me like Harry had. 

He didn’t know the way my brain worked and he didn’t seem like he could handle the shit I’d give him if he said something annoying or stupid. I stared up at him for a minute, wondering what he thought of the way we stood--awkwardly a few feet apart, our bodies tense and uncertain about the air between us. 

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead--which felt incredibly too intimate for the people we were. And the worst part, really, was that I couldn’t squash the part of me that knew that it was Harry’s thing--not Ethan’s. 

**

I knew at some point I’d see one of them somewhere. I didn’t know if it’d be Ryan in the dining hall or Alex in a classroom building on the North side of campus--but I certainly didn’t expect for it to be Niall walking out of Wilson hall late one night after my shift at the library. 

The elevator doors opened, leaving us face to face in the lobby of my building. An awkward beat passed between us as he stepped off and offered a smile. “Nora--hey, how are you?”

“I’m okay,” the words stumbled out--my thoughts running a mile a minute as I tried to determine why he was here and not in bed at midnight on a Thursday night. 

“S’good to see you,” he said, shifting on his feet as he adjusted the backpack on his shoulders. 

“Niall--cut the shit,” I shook my head. “What are you doing over here?”

It wasn’t that I needed to know--it was more that I didn’t want to pretend we were only acquaintances who engaged in elevator small talk. He laughed a little at my words, the smile on his face making me immediately less tense. 

“I was just studying with a classmate--big test in Donahue’s class on Monday.”

I nodded--I’d taken Donahue’s Morals and Coverage class the semester before, so I knew the type of anxiety that set in before a test. 

The desire to ask about Harry--ask how he was and what he was saying about me--was strong, but I tried to swallow the urge as he picked up his phone to look at the time and date. 

“Your birthday’s this weekend, yeah? Doin’ anything fun?”

I made a face at his question--feeling sorry for myself that my 21st wasn’t going to be nearly as fun as I’d expected it to be a few weeks ago. “I mean--maybe bowling at Pinstripes--the place with the bar and stuff?”

“Oh, yeah, near Georgetown?”

I nodded. “I’d love it if you came--all of you, I mean. I know things are weird and all, but, you only turn twenty-one once, I guess.” I smiled a bit--hoping that my attempt at being nonchalant would convince him that we could handle it. We could all show up somewhere for my birthday and ignore the awkwardness that seemed to linger in the air despite the fact that Harry and I didn’t really break up and we were never really dating to begin with. 

I didn’t mean for all of it to happen this way--and standing with Niall in the empty lobby of my dorm made me feel even worse about the way our stupid plan had seemed to rearrange the entire group of people who’d become important  in my life. 

“S’Ethan gonna be there?”

I traced my lip with my tongue--buying time as I tried to find the right way to word it. “Yeah--but, not like--with me, or anything.”

“What do you mean?” his eyebrows dipped together in an innocent fashion--insinuating that my subtly hadn’t worked.

“We’re not, like, together, Niall. I was drunk and he was drunk and what happened on Halloween was stupid.”

“You’re not datin’?” 

“No,” I shook my head.

“Kinda seems like it.”

“Well, we’re not. Is that what Harry thinks?”

“That’s kinda what we all thought.”

“Well,” I said again, shrugging dramatically and raising my eyebrows to sell my point. “We’re not. We’re friends. Just like all of us.”

Niall sighed, running a hand through his hair as he shrugged his shoulders. “We all miss ya, Nora--s’weird not havin’ you around.”

“I can imagine,” I teased, smirking up at him as I crossed my arms. “You should all come, even Harry. Saturday night, 8pm. I can text you more information?”

“Yeah--I’ll let them all know. It’ll be fun.”

He offered a hug and then headed for the doors--leaving me to ride the elevator alone with the hope in my heart that maybe--things could feel as normal as they once did.

**

I had a drink in my hand as Kristen forced a tiara onto my head--which felt more obnoxious than the pink and fruity drink she’d handed me shortly after walking in. We’d reserved a lane to celebrate--and I was happily greeting our friends who showed up on time. 

“Quite the venue,” Ethan gave me a hug as he seemed to smile at Kristen over my shoulder, “for quite the girl.”

“Okay, relax,” Kristen said, pulling me away from Ethan as she pulled me in the direction of the other faces who seemed eager to greet me. Kristen wasn’t a fan of Ethan--that had always been clear, but her comfort with making that known seemed more entertaining after finishing my first drink of the night. 

We sidestepped Casey and Kevin--who held drinks in their hands and tried to program the computer that would keep score as we bowled--as she led me towards Niall, who had Ryan and Alex in tow. Despite the absence of Harry, I was pleasantly surprised that they’d even made the trip out. Kristen had informed me earlier in the day that Niall would be there--she said she ran into him at the dining hall with Harry. 

Harry barely acknowledged her, she’d said, but Niall made it seem promising that they’d all come by for a drink and a game or two. I’d asked her a thousand questions--how did he look, what was he wearing, did he seem interested in hearing about my birthday plans--before she escaped my pathetic digging in the shower, claiming she needed to start getting ready.

“Happy birthday!” Alex offered a hug now, his smile somewhat hesitant as I wrapped my arms around him. He let go of me quickly--almost as if being friendly was breaking some kind of unspoken guy code. I wondered, as I pulled away, what they’d said about that night. 

Did they think I was the one who ruined it all? Did they hear Harry’s monologue and wonder what had happened? Did he tell them everything--did they know it was all fake and I was stupid enough to think that maybe the plan would work and everyone would be unaffected?

And that was the thought in my head as I hugged Ryan. I’d been selfish enough to put my stupid crush before everything else: my friends, my classes, my job, Harry. I’d been so blinded by lust that I’d put everyone else in a terrible position. And now, without trying, I’d lost the chance at having true friendship with people in the hopes of what was doomed to be a short-lived romance with American University’s star basketball player. 

I was grateful for the fact that Ethan had brought a friend from our unfortunate night in Deanwood who now kept him occupied on the other side of the lane. Matt Kerrigan was on the soccer team--I’d met him at a party once at Harry’s--but he seemed more than happy to celebrate my birthday without any questions asked. 

“Thanks for coming,” I said to Ryan, who let an arm wrap around my shoulders as he stood beside me. “I really appreciate it.”

It sounded forced and distant--not the way I ever spoke to them before this all happened. Ryan, who rolled his eyes, seemed to pick up on the way I felt. 

“S’all good, Nora. We haven’t meant to be weird--we just--don’t want to be in the middle, I guess.”

“I totally get it,” I nodded--perhaps too forcefully. “I don’t want you guys to be in the middle. What happened between Harry and I was dramatic and a lot and I’m sorry that you all got dragged in.”

Kristen offered me a smile--appreciative that I made an effort to make amends. “Is he coming, by the way?  I saw him at lunch and he said he might.”

I shot her a look--one that warned her to not be too obvious that I’d already peer-pressured her into asking them for me. 

Niall shrugged down at my roommate, unaware that the question was for my benefit and not hers. “Dunno--he had practice this afternoon and said he might stop by. We’ll see, though.”

I tried my best to play it cool--I tried to ignore the fact that the possibility of him coming made my pulse quicken and my hands get clammy. Instead of addressing it, I turned to look towards the bar. “It’s still happy hour,” I told them. “If you go now, you can get a pint for five dollars.”

“Oh shit,” Ryan laughed. “We’ve got to get over there, then.”

Niall and Alex trailed behind him, leaving Kristen and I alone for a minute near the benches. 

“Will you be okay if he comes?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Totally fine.”

“Nora,” she eyed my suspiciously, making it clear that she knew I was lying. 

“Well, what?” I lowered my voice, pulling her closer by her wrist. “I’m supposed to just be cool about the fact that he might show up at any second?”

“You’ll be fine--there’s plenty of people here. You don’t have to hang out with just him.”

“I want to hang out with just him,” I replied, my shoulders slumping in defeat as I watched her scan the room. 

“Well, just don’t be an idiot and hang out with Ethan when he’s here. That’ll be sure to fuck things up even more.”

“Okay,” I said, agreeing to her condition. “But then you need to help keep him away from me.”

“That was already my plan,” she laughed, giving my arm a tug to bring me back towards Casey and Kevin--who’d already decided that I had to start our first game off. 

I picked out a bowling ball, posed for an obnoxious picture with my obnoxious shoes and tiara for Kristen, and then let the ball fly down the lane--hitting three pins before being spit back through the underlane track. 

We made it through one round--which took an inordinate amount of time based on the number of people playing--but I was thankful for the laughter and friendship around me. I sat with Niall and Alex while Ryan knocked down 9 pins--the most out of anyone so far. Kristen--who was better at bowling than anyone could have guessed--was proud of the fact that she ended our first round with the only strike of the night. 

Ethan had offered me another drink after his turn--clinking his cup against mine to wish me a happy birthday--when Kristen called my name from the lane. “You’re up, Nor--stop messing around and take this seriously, will you?”

I laughed, leaving Ethan by the bar as I handed my drink to Ryan--who took a sip and smiled as I took the ball from Kristen. “Relax, will you? I’m here to enjoy myself not win any titles.”

“Clearly not with the way you play,” Niall teased, watching on in amusement as I rolled my eyes. 

“It always takes me a game or two to warm up,” I informed them, rolling my shoulders out as I cradled the ball. 

I wouldn’t have seen him walk in if I’d just taken my turn--but of course, Nora Hanson had to put on a show for the people crowded around, watching on with smiles on their faces as I geared up to release the ball. 

I turned my back quickly, hoping to not embarrass myself too much in front of him as I wound up and let it leave my fingers, barrelling towards the gutter. 

“Oh nice one, Nora--great form there,” Ryan laughed, raising my drink in the air to salute me. 

Harry--who’d made his way towards us and kept his eyes on me as I tried to ignore him--clasped a hand on Niall’s shoulder when he joined us. “Hey,” he said.

“Hi,” I offered a wave, aware of the way Ethan’s body seemed to still when he looked up to see who I greeted. 

“How’s everybody doing?” Harry asked--running a hand through his long hair as he looked around the group. 

I couldn’t tell if I was imagining it or not--but it felt like all eyes were on me as Harry waited for an answer. 

“Good, yeah, thanks for coming.”

The ball return hissed and clanked, letting my know that the lane had been reset and I was welcome to try again. I ignored the rest of them and turned around, tossing the ball again in hopes of breaking up some of the tension in the room. 

It made its way down the middle, knocking all ten pins on their sides as I turned around to face them again--unfazed by my sudden luck. “D’you want a drink?” I looked to Harry, moving back towards them as Casey made her way over from another bench--where she laughed and drank with Georgia and Alex. 

“Sure, yeah,” he looked over his shoulder to the bar, nodding solemnly as I stepped down from the lane and back onto the red and blue carpet. Ethan was occupied by Matt and Kevin--but I knew he was aware of my movements and my company as I trailed behind Harry towards the high top tables and counter where we’d order. 

“Happy birthday,” he said, glancing over at my casually before leaning his arms on the bar. 

“Thanks,” I said, mirroring his movement as I leaned beside him. “Twenty-one feels the same as twenty.”

He let out a laugh at this, shrugging his shoulders. “Yeah--I think that’s how most ages work.”

“Probably,” I admitted, offering a smile to the bartender as she appeared in front of us. 

“I’ll just do a Stonybrook IPA,” he said. “And then whatever she wants.”

“Angry orchard, please.”

She nodded and disappeared, leaving us alone at the counter again in silence. Cheering from our friends caused us to look over our shoulders--just in time to see Casey high-five Ethan in victory.

“How’s that going?” He kept his eyes on Ethan, watching as he took a sip of whatever beer he had--an unreadable expression on his face. It felt more and more common now that I couldn’t make out what he thought or felt. At one point it seemed we were in sync--I could decipher his thoughts based on the way his forehead dipped or the way his lips pulled up towards the sky. But now, as we leaned against a sticky bar counter in Georgetown, I let out a sigh. 

“We’re not, like, together or anything, if that’s what you’re asking.”

He licked his lips and then looked down at me. “Seemed that way on Halloween. And since then, really.”

“You haven’t really spoken to me since then, so how would you know what it seems like?”

I didn’t mean to be so defensive--but he’d left me in the parking lot of his apartment complex when I tried to explain myself. He didn’t give me the chance to clear the air--so he had no right to draw conclusions. 

“Nora--it’s a big campus, but it’s not that big.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well--I don’t know what to tell you. We hang out sometimes, but he’s not my boyfriend.”

He didn’t respond. He kept his eyes on the group as Georgia made her way up to the lane, picking out a ball before swinging her arm towards the pins. 

“You and I hung out and you weren’t my boyfriend,” I reminded him. I didn’t mean for the words to sting, but he let out a short laugh and then looked down at me. 

“Yeah--loud and clear.”

“Harry, I don’t know what you want from me, okay? I don’t know what you want me to do to make this right.”

“S’fine, Nora, alright? Let’s just forget it happened.”

I rolled my eyes, not pleased with his answer or his attitude. I didn’t know what he expected--he was mad but wouldn’t talk to me, upset but wouldn’t say why. 

“Harry, I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable, okay? I’m sorry that I kissed him that night and that things happened the way they did, but you started it by saying what you said in front of everyone.”

His face softened at this, a breath falling from his lips as his tongue seemed to glide along the inside of his cheek. “I--,” he paused, turning around at the sound of the bartender’s voice. 

“Here you go,” she smiled, sliding both of our drinks onto the counter as Harry reached for his wallet. 

“My treat,” he said, handing his card over and watching as the woman swiped it in the register. I reached for the drink and brought it up to my lips, watching as he signed the receipt and returned his card to his wallet. 

“I’m sorry I embarrassed you,” he said. “I was drunk and annoyed and it was a shit move to say all of that.”

I nodded--feeling less pleased than I expected to upon hearing his apology. Things weren’t magically fixed--it wasn’t back to normal. Instead, we were still awkward and hesitant and distant--a completely different version of us than what I’d grown to love. 

And I didn’t know how to be around him like this. I didn’t know how to just exist beside him without the feeling that he was my person. He’d gone from being my coworker to being the person to memorize my drink order and class schedule. So where did we go from here?

“Let’s just enjoy tonight, okay? Let’s just bowl and drink and try to be normal.”

He took a sip of his drink and laughed a bit, leaving me to question if he was just as confused as I was about what that meant. 

“Okay, Nor--whatever you want.”

**

“That’s not even allowed!” Harry cried from his spot beside Niall in their apartment--his hands up in the air as he accused me of cheating for what felt like the 18th time. “You’re moving too close!”

“She’s fine, Harry--you’re just bitter that she’s kicking your ass,” Ryan defended my honor, bringing his eyes back to me as I held the ball in my hands once more. 

When we’d first arrived back at Harry’s apartment after our night of bowling ended, things felt awkward. Harry was quiet and he seemed more interested in watching the rest of us have a good time than he did in actually engaging. It took until the start of the second game of pong for him to loosen up (albeit with the help of a few drinks) and eventually, he was ready to join the game and it almost felt like nothing had happened. 

Maybe it was the fact that we were in a group--I doubted that Harry and I would do this well on our own. 

Georgia encouraged me from the sidelines. “Just shoot, Nora--don’t listen to him.” 

I turned around to offer a smile at the lot of them, hoping that everyone else was feeling as tipsy and happy as I was. “I can’t perform well with all the pressure,” I said theatrically. “I need quiet.”

“You heard her then, everyone shut up,” Niall raised a hand to get the attention of the rest of our friends--who’d now spread out in the living room.

Kristen and Harry had decided to team up against Niall and I--much to the displeasure of Ethan, who had left the party altogether when he got an invite to another apartment. He’d asked if I wanted to go with him--but the fact that he wanted me to tag along with him on my birthday felt out of touch and tone deaf. 

I turned around, aligning my feet on the floor to best aim the ball for the last three cups. I took a deep breath, letting air circle through my lungs as I kept my eyes locked on my target--my hand gripped the ball and brought my arm back before releasing the small white ball into the air.

When I did, they got even more quiet, wondering if I’d make it even.

“Fuck,” I said, watching as the ball made contact with the rim of a cup before falling to the table as Harry let out an obnoxious laugh. I looked up at him quickly, making eye contact with him as I narrowed my eyes--holding back the giggle that seemed to rise in my throat. “You’re an asshole!”

I sidestepped the table and walked towards him--but he met me with raised hands that caught mine as I got too close. “No m’not!” He said. “You’re just losing skill the more you drink.”

If it hadn’t been for Niall’s raised eyes at our interaction--our fingers laced together as we both seemed to laugh in each other’s faces--I wouldn’t have noticed. It felt natural to be bickering with Harry and feeling his skin against mine. 

I pulled my hands back, trying to regain composure as Kristen picked up the ball and readied for her turn. “I’m not losing skill,” I said matter of factly, trying to keep my eyes from glancing over to her or Niall--who I knew were watching on with wide eyes. “I’m just a little drunk.”

Harry nodded--also suddenly more closed off and collected than a moment earlier. “As you should be--s’your birthday after all.”

I cleared my throat and stepped away from him, thankful that most of the group had kept their eyes on Kristen’s shot--either unaware or uninterested in whatever happened between Harry and I. 

One pair of eyes, though, was still glued to me as I went to retrieve my drink from coffee table. I picked it up and took a sip, hoping the liquid would give me an excuse to collect my thoughts. 

When Kristen sunk their last shot and threw her arms around Harry in victory a bit later, Niall patted me on the back and apologized for our loss. I shrugged it off, heading for the kitchen to refill my drink and find a snack. Harry, though, stood from his seat on the couch and rounded the corner, joining me as he shoved his hands in his pockets. 

“How’s the library been?”

I let out a scoff--looking up at him with arched brows as I reached for the vodka he had in the freezer. “Oh--you care now? You care how my shifts are going after you so clearly ditched?”

He rolled his eyes at my show of emotion, the smirk on my face was contagious and caught on his lips. “M’just wondering, Nora, s’all. How’s Casey Northby? Didn’t really expect to see her here tonight.”

“She’s actually an excellent coworker, so I should really thank you. We’re a good team,” I told him, pouring more liquid into my cup. “Much better than the two of us.”

“I doubt that,” he laughed, his eyes watching Niall and Kristen take a selfie through the wall pass-through. 

I crossed my arms and looked up at him after putting the bottle away--a pang of guilt washed over me as he brought his eyes down to me. I wondered if he missed me the way I missed him--if he tried his damnedest to avoid the small reminders of me that were strewn about his life. 

“How’s everything with the court case? Did you have your final hearing?”

“Mhm,” he nodded. “Judge dropped all of it--since I completed my hours. So, should be all good.”

“All set for public office,” I teased, bringing bringing the cup to my lips to test it. The plastic was cool against my mouth, making me realize the flush on my cheeks that was present just from talking to him.

I hadn’t been planning on asking him--but the feeling that things were moving in the right direction made the words float out of my mouth before my brain could stop me. “Are you going to take your shifts back ever? Or am I stuck with Casey and Tyler Williams forever?”

He shifted on his feet a bit awkwardly, looking down at the floor before meeting my eyes once again. “I--m’sorry about that, by the way. I just needed some space, I guess.”

I nodded--still hoping for an answer to my original question. 

“I could, if you wanted. Do you think Casey would care? I only switched that one shift with Tyler so it’s mostly up to her.”

“I think she could also use some space from me,” I laughed, lifting my glass in her honor--though she wasn’t anywhere nearby. 

“Hey,” Kristen appeared in the doorway suddenly with Georgia in tow. “We’re heading out. Want to tag along?”

“Uh--” I looked up to Harry--who’s eyes were settled on my face but didn’t seem to give any clear message. “I’ll stay, I guess. I’ll make him walk me home--or Niall, I guess,” I tried to backtrack after motioning up to the boy with long hair and an unbuttoned floral shirt.

“Yeah,” Kristen nodded, a small smile on her face as she gave me a thumbs up. “Sounds good, enjoy. Text me, please. Let me know you’re alive.”

“I will,” I groaned a bit, rolling my eyes at her as they headed for the door. 

Harry laughed, finishing off his own drink before raising his eyebrows suddenly. “I forgot to tell you--the soccer kids got me a gift.” He took my hand in his, leading me out of the kitchen and towards his bedroom, before stopping in front of his desk. 

He pointed down to a picture that sat on top of his closed laptop--white paper with all of them on it--drawn in crayon and marker. Harry was in the middle--his hair seemed longer when it was recreated in Crayola’s Earthtone Brown. “That’s you,” he pointed to  the slightly shorter figure next to him, with bangs drawn in the same color.

“They drew this?”

He nodded, flipping it over as he smiled. “And they wrote messages. I like this one.” He pointed to a sentence in purple marker. 

Thank you Nora for making soccer more fun. 

I smiled excitedly up at him, my eyes wide as I let out a laugh. “That inherently implies that you made soccer not fun,” I said matter-of-factly. 

“No it doesn’t,” he rolled his eyes, stepping back from his desk and crossing his arms. “It just means that one obnoxious little twit liked you. Don’t get all cocky.”

“They liked me better than you,” I sang loudly, poking him in the stomach as he tried to grab at my arms--as if to wrangle me in. 

“You’re so full of yourself,” he laughed, his hands holding onto my wrists as I wriggled away from him. 

“You’re just jealous--people like me better!”

“They’re not people, they’re children.”

“Same thing,” I laughed, still hoping to pull away from his grasp. 

He tugged harder--pulling me flush up against him as he back-stepped towards his bed. I hit his chest with a thud, causing him to laugh a little as he tried to steady me. 

“Sorry,” he smiled, bringing his lips down to kiss my forehead. “I forgot how easy it is to toss you around.”

I smiled up at him, feeling my heart swell when his eyes scanned over my face. “Hey,” I said suddenly, looking over at the clock on his bedside table--still pressed against his chest.

“What?”

“It’s not my birthday anymore.”

“Good,” he laughed. “So I don’t have to be nice to you now.”

I frowned up at him, eyes narrowed as my eyebrows knit together. 

“But I still will be, of course,” he rolled his eyes. 

I pushed myself up on my toes, letting my lips press against his in the dark of his bedroom--the muffled laughter of the party still audible through the closed door. His arms moved up from my lower back, his hands cupping against my face. 

He was drunk and I knew it--but I was drunk too. I could taste the liquor in his mouth and I could tell by the way he stumbled back towards the bed, pulling me on top of him as he fell backwards. 

I didn’t mind, either, when his hands began to roam for exposed skin, my hands pressed against his mattress on either side as his thumbs found hips and pulled me closer to him. Instead of wondering what it meant or how he felt, I closed my eyes and hoped that it would last forever.

AN: Ahhhh chapter 10! As always I love to hear your thoughts or predictions or questions or theories or ANYTHING. Thank you for reading and if you enjoyed reading this chapter,  PLEASE reblog! This site is filled with talented creators who don’t get credit for their hard work--so keep sharing as a thank you! 

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unBEARable- the first 🐻 & 🐨 collaboration

A/N: be ready

You pulled the fabric of your black dress down your leg a bit and adjusted your cleavage ever so slightly as you followed Mariah and Kristen through the crowded bar. You guys rarely went out all together but your boyfriends insisted and David needed content. As always.

When you finally made it to the bar you stood on the platform and leaned over to yell your order in the bartenders ear. You watched out of the corner of your eye as he shook up some green tea shots for the three of you. Just as you were about to ask Mariah a question you felt a hand slip gently around your waist from behind. You backed away softly. Turning your head you expected to see David but instead a smiling dusty blonde man towered above you.

Your mouth hung open as you took a step back to get a full look at him.

“Nate! What are you doing here?”

“I thought that was you” He chucked. His familiar smile beamed down at you, those perfect teeth beaming even in the low light of the bar. “What are you doing here?”

“I asked you first” you smiled, giving him a polite hug only allowing the one side of yourself to embrace him.

“Just visiting a friend, you?”

“I live here now. Uh oh sorry, these are my friends, Kristen and Mariah.” You stood back as they shook his hand. Kristen and Mariah exchanged nervous glances as they could tell Nate had more in mind than just saying hello to an old friend.

“Kristen, Mariah, this is my friend Nate. We’re friends from college,” you looked to Nate as the last sentence left your mouth, hoping he wouldn’t elaborate.

“We kinda dated,” he said, twisting is expensive watch nervously. Glancing up Nate could see two guys begin to walk up to the group and greet two out of the three girls in front of him.  

“Kinda,” you said softly. Nate exchanged a quick glance with you. You could only pray that the floor would open up and swallow you because as you saw Scott and Heath enter the conversation your mind only could think of one person who definitely wasn’t far behind. The boys stood there sizing up Nate as if to warn him away from not only their girls but you as well.

You introduced him to them briefly and as you suspected, just as Nate shook Scotts hand, David approached, camera in one hand.

“Hi.” He said to the group, coming to stand next to you.

“David, this is Nate. We went to college together.” You tried to keep it short, hoping Nate would join in a conversation or two and head back to his friend. Not to your surprise, things didn’t go that way. Nate was always an extravert. He practically knew everyone in your graduating class back in college, so when your friends were quickly laughing at his college stories it was no shock. Nate was likable, you remembered.

For a while everyone got on great. Nate only managed to tell one embarrassing story of you. “Everyone was so drunk and all i remember from the whole night is y/n and these two other girls flashing our uber driver at the end of the night.” Davids grip on your arm had tightened at the end of that story. You looked up to him with a faint smile, his expression was unusually stiff and you were suddenly very thankful David didn’t know you guys used to fuck. You knew what that laid back expression actually meant, David wasn’t too pleased with your college shenanigans nor that this random male had seen you half naked.

Things eventually progressed to the dance floor for some of you. Nate also had a tendency of throwing his money, or his dad’s money, around. At first you thought David was warming up to him after Nate bought the guys a shotski and champagne to pop and David to film.

You were soon proven wrong. You felt Nate’s fingers grace your bare thighs as you danced on Mariah. You shot him a look, hoping he’d take it as a “fuck off.” The touch was subtle, but David wasn’t dancing as always and you could only hope he was off in a corner editing somewhere and not watching, but the knot in your stomach and heat from someone stare on the back of your head told you otherwise.

You ignored it as best you could and brushed Nate off. You continued dancing, twirling Kristen around in your hand. Then suddenly you felt a hot breath in your ear. “You look good.” Nate whispered. You held your breath, paralyzed. “Better somehow even,” his words were slightly slurred and you swallowed hard.

“Nate. My boyfriend is right there.”  You backed away, slightly pushing him away from you.

“Oh? I thought you’d remember.” He took a step closer again. “Boyfriends haven’t stopped me before.”

“I thought you’d remember that’s why we never dated.” you spoke shortly/through clenched teeth to not draw attention to yourself. Mariah was watching closely.

“Who cares about dating.” He took a step closer again leaning on you and whispering in your ear. “Our sex was amazing remember.” Nate’s hand wrapped around your body and tightly clenched your butt cheek.

“NATE” you screamed, shoving him away from you. In seconds Heath was in his face, screaming at him to “back the fuck off”. David wasn’t far behind.

“What the fuck was that?” you asked, watching as Heath backed him away from you. David’s hand gripped your wrist.

“Are you okay?” he growled as he stalked past you and towards Nate who was being surrounded by Scott and Heath. All you could do was nod.  David’s grip left you and in seconds he was in Nates face.

“DONT YOU EVER TOUCH HER AGAIN. You son of a bitch!” He screamed, lunging his body towards him, chest heaving, “Who raised you? you cunt!” Scott was holding him back now and bouncers were closing in on the scene in front of you. Kristen grabbed you and pulled you away slightly as you yelled after David. “I’ll kick your fucking ass!”

You barely breathed as you watched the bouncers swoop in and break up the scene. You could here Nate yelling profanities your way. As he was being pulled away you heard him yell. “I bet your pussy boyfriend can’t get you off like I could y/n. Does he even know how to get you off, does he even know about what you want from a real man in the bedroom?”

“You piece of shit!” you yelled back at him.

“I bet he can’t do shit with that small dick of his.”  he screamed.

You yelled back again until he was out of ear shot. Mariah even joined in throwing insults his way. As Nate was pulled away, Scott and Heath slowly released their grip on your angry boyfriend. As they did he impulsively grabbed a glass of the nearest table and slammed his fist into the nearest object, the wall, leaving an impressive dent that surprised the whole group, glass shattering and flying around him. You saw the shards leave behind small cuts but nothing warranting a hospital visit, thank god.

“David?!” you screamed, almost in unison with Kristen. “What the fuck?” you asked. The bouncers had had enough. They were less rough with you, leading the entire group outside around the back.

You walked toward the Tesla, the night ruined. You were more concerned about David. He was silent, a serious stern expression plastered on his face. His jaw was so tight you could see the veins in his neck. Although your mind was whirling it was turning you on.

When you reached the Tesla you grabbed his arm as it reached into his pocket. “What?” he spat, turning to you, his lip and cheek had small cuts along with the hand you were currenly grabbing onto, you wiped his spit off your face and shied away from him, surprised at his harshness toward you.

“You need to calm down. Or let me drive.” He simply dropped the key into your hand. You kept calm although you were in complete shock. You’d never seen him so mad, and the fact that he let you drive without a word was almost jaw dropping.

Everyone else had already climbed in the car, you heard David slam the passenger side as you walked around to the driver seat. You turned the car on and sat for a second to breath.

“That was fucking crazy.” Heath yelled from the back. “David I’ve never see you so fucking mad.”

“David turned from cub to full on bear real fast.” Mariah joked. Everyone laughed. David cracked a fake smile.

“I could kill him.” He muttered. Your eyes veered from the road to your boyfriend.

“Dude you almost did.” Scott said.

“I can’t believe you didn’t get that on film.That would have been perfect clickbait” Heath laughed.

“Fuck” David said, holding up his camera. “I think i did.”

“No way.” kristen laughed.

“The audio at least.” David sighed, brushing his fingers through his hair. He was calming down a bit which made you able to breathe again. “But I’m not putting that fuck in the vlog.”

You drove the other two couples home as your friends relived the fight in the back seat. David and you were fairly silent until you got to Scott’s house.

He climbed out and leaned in to the window on your side. “You sure you don’t want us to come over for a while?” He asked. You could tell he felt the need to offer, not wanting to leave you with an angry David if you felt you couldn’t handle it. Scott had always treated you like a little sister but he couldn’t protect your from everything and you definitely needed to deal with David one on one

“No. We’re good.” you smiled back assuringly, looking over to your still irritated boyfriend. “Thanks Scott.”

The drive to Davids was completely silent. You spent the drive glancing between the road and David, watching has his cut hands went from gripped his camera with unnecessary strength, to running shakily through his hair, to twisting at his rings.You should have been paying more attention to the road but your eyes could barely leave the sight of your boyfriend’s hands and arms, veins popping left and right. His bottom lip was tucked tightly between his teeth, his jaw was so tight you were sure he was biting down hard enough to draw more blood from his fresh cuts.

When you reached his gate the tension in the car was almost palpable. “David - I” you started, putting the car in park.

“Shut the fuck up y/n” he growled, climbing out of the car and slamming the door behind him. He waited for you to walk ahead of him and reach the door. You could hear his breath behind you as you unlocked it, his chest heaving.  

The door opened with a click and a push and in seconds your back was slammed against the wall, the front door slamming as David kicked it closed with his foot. You reached your arms to steady yourself as his body pressed against you. You looked up to see the mirror in front of you reflecting the shadows of David’s body on top of yours.

David’s shoulders were tense, you flicked your eyes back up to his. They were a deep brown, his brow was furrowed and his hair was a mess, hanging in his face. He inhaled a deep breath and slammed his lips to yours. One hand cupped your jaw tightly and one hand gripped your waist, his nails digging into you skin. Your back bones practically dug into the wall he pressed so hard against you.

He only pulled away when you let out a whimper, gasping for breath. “What?” he taunted you. “Not ready for a ‘real man’ to fuck the shit out of you?”

Before you could stop yourself you let out a huff of a laugh. David’s hands went stiff. “What was that?” he asked, peeling away to meet your eyes.

“Nothing.” you said softly.

“I thought so.” he growled, moving his lips to your neck. He sucked hard on your skin, moving right to the spot where your jaw and neck meet.

“Fuck.” you whimpered. You felt him smirk against your skin as he kept sucking bruises into your skin. “David”

“What?” he spat. Without warning and almost by accident his hand was around your neck. He pushed your jaw up, pointing your head to the ceiling. David had even begun to remove his grip and prepared to apologize, until you let out a low moan instinctively. Yo

David cocked his head in surprise. He tightened his grip on your throat, smirking when you moaned in response. “Fuck baby. Is that it?” he cooed. “Is that was you want?”

All you could do was nod. David kissed you roughly, one hand still around your throat. You both moaned into the kiss and David backed you away, leading you down the hall.

As he did you tugged at his shirt. He paused at the corner of the living room, letting you go and tugging his shirt off quickly. You always had to stop and stare at your boyfriends bare chest because of his broad shoulders and soft edges. He always managed to make you hotter by being exposed like this. Once the shirt was over his head he flung it onto his couch, leaning against the arm to remove his shoes and socks. You slowly slipped out of yours too, eyes still stuck on his exposed upper half.

When he was done he straightened up the tip of his tongue slipping out and licking the corner of his mouth as he approached you. You backed away from him playfully, knowing it wouldd piss him off. He stalked you all the way to his bedroom door and through his room.

Finally the back of your knees hit his bed. He had you caged in as he leaned down, arms beside you. The look in his eyes were similar to how they looked when he made sure you were okay at the bar. You began to lay back but he stopped you.

“I want you out of that dress, panties and bra by the time I get back from the kitchen,.” he directed as he grabbed your hips in his warm hands and pulled you up with him from the bed.

David turned and left the room as the air began to filter back into your lungs. You shimmied out of the dress quickly, trying to get the clinging fabric off of your body as fast as you possibly could. A few moments had passed and David walked in with a smirk that sent shivers down your spine but what truly caught your eye was the bowl he was holding in his one hand.

“Lay down on the bed first, Y/N” his demand had you all but jumping onto the bed and laying back instinctively opening your legs to him.

“You had me really worked up earlier, huh? Letting that daddy’s boy touch you? Letting him think he knows what you need? I think we both need to cool down don’t you think?” David’s hand reached for the bowl that had been rested on the bedside table. You were nervous about what he had brought with him but trusted him.

David reached into the bowl and grabbed an ice cube out that had begun to melt between his fingers as he brought it down onto your neck first tracing the marks he scattered there earlier. He followed the ice with his lips, and sometimes blowing cold air on the trails to cause goosebumps to raise on your skin.

Then he dragged it down to your collarbone, you chest, stopping to play with your nipples, watching them harden under the ice. He sucked them slowly too and traced the ice around them again until it was fully melted, leaving them cold and numb. You moaned as his hand reached for another ice cube.

Whimpers left your mouth as he moved further and further down with the ice, neglecting the one part of you that so desperately needed him. He knew what he was doing as he looked up at you through his lashes, eyes flashing with an animalistic hunger.

“Please David.” You weren’t above begging at this point. The goosbumps that ran down your body weren’t helping to calm your need.

“Be patient.” David growled. “You’ll cum when I say tonight. Understand?” You nod. “Understand?” he asks again.

“Yes. yes. Please.”

David works his way down to your cunt. Stopping to put the ice in his mouth. He drags it over the dip in your hips, fingers tracing your sides. Finally his mouth is where you want him. You gasp as the ice hits your clit, the cold sensation sending a chill over your body.

“Shit” you gasp, practically ready to scream as he uses his mouth to drag the ice around your lips and back up to your clit. He does this until you’re numb from the cold and only a small portion of the cube remains in his mouth.

Slowly he crawls up to your face. “Open,” he demands and you part your lips. He spits the rest of the icecube in your mouth and then crawls back down to your core. He looks up at you through your legs as you suck on it.

“Good girl.” he whispers, kissing your inner thigh. Then his warm tongue meets your ice cold core. You open your mouth to moan but nothing comes out. He holds you down as he eats you out, taking all of you in his mouth and getting into it, shaking his head back and forth as his tongue works inside you.

As he does his nose nudges your clit and you gasp, gripping the sheets. “David. I’m gonna cum.” you warn. He stops, nails digging into the skin of your thighs.

“You better not.” he growls, eyes serious. He goes back to your cunt, lapping at your clit. He licks there for a while until your eyes are squeezed tight and you’re cursing, begging yourself not to cum yet. You do anyway, the sensation of his warm tongue too much for you to handle.

You cum around his face, your thighs squeezing together. David practically has to pry them apart as he licks you through your orgasm. He only stops when your hips buck and your body shakes.

Finally he backs away from you. “I didn’t say you could cum Y/N.” His voice low and angry as he stands up from the bed, leaving you to catch your breath. When you open your eyes again David isn’t in front of you. You hear him digging around in his closet. “Fuck.” you whisper to yourself, both scared and excited to what he could be getting.

You watch the door to is closet and a minute later he comes out with what he was looking for, a long black leather belt. “I told you. You cum when I say.” All you can do is nod and sit up slowly on the bed.

He sits down on the edge of the bed and leans back to grab your ankle. He pulls you down the bed until your next to him. “You’re gonna punish me?”

“Are you gonna be good?”

“No.” you say softly, deciding to test him. He grabs your arm and bends you over his lap.

In a split second his palm strikes your bare ass. You groan in pleasure. “How about now?”

You shake your head. He spanks you again and again. You can feel your pleasure dripping from you as you lie over his lap. With one more spank it drips onto his leg.

He feels it and his fingers find your pussy. He shoves his fingers into you with warning, your ass still bent over his knees. You cry out as he fingers you roughly. It doesn’t take long before you feel your walls squeezing around him. He feels it too. His hands grip your jaw and turn your face to look into your eyes. “Don’t you dare fucking cum.”

“I’m gonna- David please!” He doesn’t stop and your second orgasm washes over you. Your body shakes and he watches as you cum lying on his lap. Before it even finishes you feel hard leather strike your ass.

“What did I say.” The leather hit your raw skin and even your pussy lips with the angle and you cry out.

“Harder.” You moan.

“Páči sa ti to” The slovakian rolls off his tongue without him realizing it. He strikes you again. “Who else can get you off like this. Huh y/n? Could that prick get you off so easy?”

You shake your head and he spanks you again with the belt. You bite your knuckle to keep from crying out. You’re sure your ass is bright red by now. Slowly you turn your head to look at David.

His hair is sweaty and his expression hard in concentration as he spanks you again, a vein stands out from his neck. Tears well up in your eyes as he brings the belt back down. All you want is him. You need to see him come undone. You grind your hips to cause friction against his boner.

David knows exactly what you’re doing but he’s so hard he can barely take it anymore. He grabs you by your hips and stands abruptly, standing you up and turning you to face the headboard. His fingers wrap around your throat as he stands close behind you, his boner pressing into your back.

His mouth nears your ear and you hold your breath. “Hands. And knees.” He demands. Your legs are shaking as you climb up onto the bed. Getting into the position you feel his hand run from your tailbone up to between your shoulder blades and around to grasp your neck lightly.

You feel his body line up with yours and with one swift movement he’s pushing his hips into yours. The feeling is like nothing you’ve ever experienced. Your eyes rolling back and mouth falling open to let out long moans as he finds his pace that continues to be hard and fast. He continues to let out strings of curse words or little phrases in slovak that are too quick for you to translate. He’s pounding into you and you can barely catch your breath as he tightens his hand a bit more around your neck. He’s letting out deep moans as he feels your walls constrict around him.

Suddenly he’s pulling you up to him, your back pressed against his chest. With the new angle, you let out a deep moan. You head falls back onto his shoulder. His arm snakes around your head, squeezing your neck. He chokes you like this, his hot breath in your ear as he continues to pound into you.

“Fuck.” You let out, your words soft as your throat is half closed. “David.”

“Shh.” He whispers in your ear, bringing his other hand around your body, his fingers finding you clit. “I know babygirl. It’s okay. You’ve been so good. You can cum.”

He rubs soft circles on your clit and you cum for a third time. He has to hold you up as you do, deep moans escaping from your mouth. “Oh please. Please please please.” you cry as he helps you ride out your orgasm, slowly circling your clit. Finally you go completely silent, unable to speak or move. David lies you two down. Your face presses against the matress and he continues to fuck you quickly, chasing his own orgasm.

You lift your hips up with the strength you have left and turn your head more to look back at him. His hand presses against your lower back for leverage and you can tell he’s close.

“You’re so fucking big. Holy shit” you moan, getting him closer to the edge.

Finally he’s cuming. “Fuck fuck fuckfuckfck” his words slur together and his thrusts get lazier as you feel his warm cum spill inside of you. Your breath hitches as you feel it. You expected him to pull out and cum on your back like normal. Instead he pulls out, a trail of his cum dripping from you as he does.

“Fuck y/n.” He sighs. Carefully lowering himself down to the spot on the bed beside you. “Holy shit.” he mutters. His eyes meet yours as he catches your breath.

“Did you just?” He nods. A faint smirk curling into his tired face.

“That was so hot.” His hand brushes your sweaty hair from your face. “I fucking love you.”

“I love you too.” you sigh, rolling over onto your back. “You’re cleaning me up.”

“Of course.” he laughs, “As soon as I can move I’ll run the bath.”

You sit up and scoot over to the edge of the bed and laugh. “I’ll run it.” You stand up and try to walk to his bathroom, stumbling over your shaky knees. You practically wobble to the ground as they give out from under you. Suddenly your bare ass is sitting on his carpet. You look up to see David in a fit of laughter.

“That’ll teach you to cum when I say.”

You throw a dirty sweatshirt at him. “Shut the fuck up.” you laugh.

“Fine.” He sighs, standing from the bed he walks by you, patting your head and giving it a scratch as he walks into the bathroom. “But you’re mine.” He yells, his voice bouncing off the walls. You hear the faucet running and look up to see him standing in the doorway looking down at you. “The thought of any other guy having you is unbearable.”

You smile and he walks over to scoop you up into his arms and carries you to the bath.

#david dobrik smut #david dobrik imagine #david dobrik blurb #david dobrik #submission #collaboration

[5sos-kingsandqueens]

In This City~chapter15~Luke Hemmings

IN THIS CITY

CHAPTER 15

MCKINLEY P.O.V

Ashton had been an amazing friend recently and I really appreciated him. I had been working from home but my place was a mess. So he came over everyday to make help me clean and to make sure I was eating.

It was rough. I wanted to believe everyone when they said that they weren't going to get married and that something would probably go wrong. But it didn't seem that way for Michael. He was happily married and trying for a baby.

"He promised me." I whispered to Ashton at dinner. "He promised we would get married."

"I know he did." Ashton commented. We were cuddled on the couch. He was practically living here. He had an entire rack of clothes hung up in my closet. He has slept over every single night since I found out the news.

The tears never seemed to run out.

"He told me he wasn't happy." I whispered. And I was stupid enough to believe him. "It's so stupid that I'm hung up on him but I can't help it."

"You love him." It wasn't a question. Even if it was, he already knew the answer. "Did you ever stop?"

"Not really. I mean when he was gone and I didn't see him it was sort of like out of sight out of mind? Sometimes. It was worse at night because I had no one to talk to. Now it's just like an ache. I've never felt like this in entire life." I sighed. "Will it ever stop?" My questioned went unanswered.

"I guess that's why they say falling into love."

"Because you fall, and hit the ground. Because no one catches you."

"That's cheesy."

"And true." We sat in silence. "I'm so hungry." I broke the silence.

"Want me to order something?"

"Sure. I could really go for a chicken caesar salad." I commented. "And 40 shots of vodka."

"No. We're not drinking." He said making me groan as he pulled out of his phone. "Do you remember what happened last time?" The night after I found out that Luke was getting married, I got trashed and needed to be rushed to the hospital to have my stomach pumped. Ashton stayed with me the entire time but he wasn't happy with me at all.

"It won't be like last time." I promised him. Ashton deserved more than that and we both knew it. I didn't want to put Ashton through anything else. He had already been an amazing friend. I couldn't thank him enough. "You should have some sympathy sex with me."

"This is for sure not happening." He said without missing a beat. "You're just hurting right now. You don't really want to have sex with me."

"Well if Luke can move on, why can't I?"

"Bro code. I'm not fucking his ex girl." Ashton commented silencing me so he could call in our food. I stayed quiet as he finished the order and grabbed his keys. "Do you want to come with me or are you gonna stay here?"

"I'll come." I commented standing up and putting a pair of vans on. I walked out after him and locked the door. We both headed downstairs and out into the street. "We could probably just eat there." I commented.

"If you want."

"I don't see the point in carrying it back." I commented putting my arm through his as we walked. We walked in silence before getting to the little pizza shop that Ashton loved. I went to sit at a table while he went to pay and get our food. "So, any women in your life?"

"Just you." He confirmed as he poured dressing over his salad and shook it up.

"I'm by the far the prettiest." I joked.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." He smiled at me. "Calum would like to come over for a movie night."

"Sounds good to me."

"He just got Disney Plus so he's freaking out."

"He's adorable." Once we finished eating we headed back to the apartment. Ashton texted Calum that we were back. I laid on the couch while he hooked up the Disney Plus on the t.v.

"What do you want to watch?" Calum asked sitting next to me by my head and throwing his arm across me.

"Whatever." I answered. "I don't really care." I took the blanket off the end of the couch and wrapped myself in it. Ashton sat down by my feet.

"Star Wars it is." Calum smiled putting on the movie. I had never seen any of the Star Wars so I had no idea what was going on. I wanted to ask questions but I knew that always got them mad so I held off. Somewhere in the middle of the movie I got up to get myself a bowl of ice cream. They both watched me closely as I walked to the kitchen.

"You okay?" Ashton asked.

"Just getting ice cream." I answered. Then I looked at Calum. "Wanna know something?"

"Sure."

"Ashton won't fuck me." His eyes widened at my words. "He won't even give me a little bit of sex just to make me feel better."

"I don't think it would make you feel better. I think you would regret not only doing that to yourself, but to Luke."

"I don't give a fuck about Luke."

"That's a lie and you know it." Ashton fought. "You love him."

"But he doesn't love me!" I shouted. "He didn't love me enough to stay." I slammed the bowl on the coffee table. Ashton took a deep breath before standing up and holding me. He held my head to his chest while I cried.

"I can't do it. I'm sorry." I wrapped my arms around him. He slowly sat back down on the couch with me in his lap. I have no idea how I would get through this if it wasn't for Ashton.

*LUKE P.O.V*

Wedding plans were in full swing. Kristen was like a tornado running around making calls. We had picked a date for next year. Now it was a big rush to get everything planned. I let her make most of the plans.

The apartment had been quiet lately. Michael was off being married and I had no clue where Ashton had been. He hasn't been home in weeks. Calum was rarely here but he slept here every night so at least I knew he was alive.

"Where's Ashton?" I asked him one day when I finally convinced Kristen to let me take a break from wedding plans.

"He's been staying with McKinley."

"Why?" I'm sure the confusion was written all over my face. "Is he sleeping with her?" Calum rolled his eyes.

"If they were, would you be mad?" I sat back in my chair and thought about it.

"Are they sleeping together?"

"No." He confirmed. "Ashton wouldn't hurt you like that. Since you love McKinley." He added. "Don't you think you're making a huge mistake marrying Kristen?" I ran my hands through my hair. I had no idea what I was doing anymore. I had no idea just how much pain this could cause McKinley.

"I don't know." I answered. "I'm so confused."

"Well I'm not. It's a mistake. You don't love her. Not the way you love McKinley. Don't do this Luke." I sighed.

"I don't want to hurt either of them."

"McKinley has already been hurt, Luke. She's a shell of a person. She isn't the same without you." He said taking a sip of his beer. I stood without saying anything to him. "Where are you going?"

"To McKinley." I answered walking out. I walked as fast as I could down the sidewalk. He met up with me five minutes later.

"It's too late, Luke. You've done enough damage to her."

"I can try to change it." He sighed while trying to keep up with me. "I have to try."

"What if it's not enough?" He asked. "What if she can't forgive you?" He asked as I plugged in the number to the building before the door buzzed and I pulled the door open.

I quickly pressed the button for the elevator and hit her floor. I was nearly bouncing as we rode up to her floor.

"I'm not sticking around to watch this." Calum commented hitting the button to our floor. I stepped out and didn't bother watching the doors close behind me before knocking on McKinley's door.

"What do you want?"

"Where is she?" Ashton was blocking my entry to her apartment.

"I finally got her calmed down. She's taking a bath. What do you want?" He asked again.

"I want to talk to her."

"You've done enough."

"Who is it?" She asked from behind him. Her voice was soft. Almost like velvet. Ashton turned to look at her but as he stepped back he opened the door so I could see her. She was clutching a towel and her eyes widened. "Wow." She nodded looking at Ashton. "That's super."

"I just want to talk." I said tucking my hands into my pockets. "I think I have some explaining to do."

"You explained yourself enough by proposing to someone else." She said. I could see the hurt in her eyes.

"What do you want from me?" I asked getting angry.

"You know exactly what I want."

"What do you want?" I asked again.

"You!" She shouted.

"You can't have me." She glanced at Ashton before looking back at me.

"Why are you here?" She shook her head as tears filled her eyes. "Was it just to hammer that one last nail in my coffin, Luke? To take that final piece of my heart that wasn't broken?"

"I made a mistake."

"Yeah. I did too. Loving you was the biggest mistake I ever made." As I stepped towards her, she turned and went into her bedroom. My heart was beating fast and my breathing was uneven.

"That wasn't the mistake I made." I commented to no one in particular but Ashton heard it.

"Why are you such a dumbass?" Ashton asked. I wasn't sure if I was suppose to answer that. "She's amazing, Luke. She is everything you have ever wanted and you're letting her slip away." He shook his head. "She loves you." I wasn't sure how to respond to him.

"What do I do?"

"That's not for me decide." I needed some guidance. I knew I was going to fuck this up and if I wasn't careful I was going to hurt two people. I would ruin two people. But I didn't care if I ruined Kristen. I didn't care if I caused her any type of pain. I cared if I hurt McKinley. She deserved the world. She deserves to be happy and I never wanted to be the guy who hurt her.

"I have to get married." The look on Ashton's face confirmed that I was a dumbass.

"If that's what you think is best."

"You're not fucking helping."

"Stop acting like you don't love that woman in there! She's the greatest thing that ever happened to you and you're throwing her away for some slut you barely know!" He shouted throwing his hands in the air. "You're making a big fucking mistake." He was fuming.

"Are you fucking McKinley or something?" I asked.

"What?"

"Are you having sex with her?"

"No. Even if I was, it's none of your business who she has sex with. Since you ruined her relationship last time because of sex. You've hurt her so deeply and you don't even care."

"I will always care about her."

"Prove it."

#luke hemmings #luke imagine #luke edit #luke au #luke 5sos #luke fanfic #luke fanfiction #5sos #5sos fam #5sos blog #5sos edit #5sos au #5sos fanfic #5sos fanfiction #exboyfriend!luke #chapter 15 #in this city

[buckyspetpsychopath]

Guys My Age

David Dobrik x reader Vlogsquad

Masterlist

I had just gotten out of a relationship, well - I wasn’t out. We were on the rocks. His name is James and we’ve been dating since we were 16. We are 19 now. Our relationship is on the rocks mainly on my behalf. He was amazing in the beginning but as time went on he started neglecting our relationship. I think we got way too comfortable with each other and we hardly saw each other, he'd go out with his friends all the time and not return for hours. We barely ever spoke and when we did he was moaning at me or yelling at me when half the things weren’t my fault. We had moved to California for college together so he attended a lot of frat parties, but if I wanted to go out without him he got super territorial and possessive. It got kind of scary sometimes but he's never hurt me, it is not like that. I think he just gets way too jealous. Don't get me wrong we've been through so much together maybe that's why I stay with him... 

A couple of months ago I met David Dobrik at a party. It was completely innocent when we started talking, but after a couple of drinks, we were ramming our tongues down each other's throats in the bathroom. We had ended up sneaking out the party, well by sneak I mean I joined him and his friends in his Tesla and we had gone back to his house. In the morning I felt awful, but I oddly didn't regret it.

I wake up with arms around me and raise my eyebrow. I open my eyes slightly and they widen when I see David freaking Dobrik. He grumbles a little and pulls me closer. A warmth spreads through me and instead of panicking I accept his arm and tuck myself into his neck. "Morning gorgeous" his thick sleep filled voice sounds. "Morning" I reply. "Last night was... nice" I blush though he can't see and he chuckles a little. "What I remember of it, it was" he grins and tilts my head up to his. He pushes my hair from my face whilst I rest my hand on his bare chest and lay my chin on it. I ponder whether to admit to him so after some thought I sigh. "I'm such a slut" I groan and he frowns. "What do you mean?" "I mean, I never do this." I start and he nods along. "Me either. But I enjoyed it" "But, don't freak out because it is not what you think. But I have a boyfriend" I mumble and he pushes me off him slightly, sitting up on his elbows. "What?! No, what why would you do this? I'm so sorry, I've just ruined your relationship" he freaks out and I sigh. "No my boyfriend did." I breathe out and start explaining how we barely communicate. "At his point, I think we're just together so we don't have to tell everyone we're single. I mean, just to save the hassle if you know what I mean? I don't think I love him anymore if I ever even did anyway" I shrug. David thinks for a moment. "I'm not judging you, and I hope you don't judge me when I say I don't want this to be a one night stand. I wanna keep seeing you" he says biting his lip after. I think for a moment before leaning up to him, who is now sitting up, and climb into his lap connecting our lips. "I'd really like that" I grin so he smirks and flips me onto my back again.

We spent the entire morning in bed rolling around the sheets. Its been about 3 months since then and I was quickly falling in love with him. I had been introduced to all of his friends and I'd been in the vlogs regularly- as a new friend of course. James wasn't too happy with our 'friendship' but I always shrug it off as nothing, to hide the reality that every spare moment we get were naked and panting together. I had tried to end things with James immediately after David and I started whatever we are, but he had sobbed and told me how much he loved me and needed me so I couldn't go through with it. Even though I'm almost one hundred per cent sure I had zero feelings for him anymore, he's still my friend and I hated seeing him in pain.

What I'd failed to notice are the looks David would give me when I eventually had to introduce James to everyone so nobody suspected David and I. The pain in his eyes every time I walk in with his arm around my waist. It hurt me too because I only want David.

It had come to a point one day when I go over to Davids. I greet Natalie and she hugs me before leaving the house, going to see her boyfriend. Nobody else seemed to be about so I head to David's room to see him napping, after uploading early this morning he must have been exhausted. It's a Tuesday morning and I had no classes. I quietly slip my shoes off and my jacket, sliding in the bed next to him. He immediately wraps his arms around me and we lay in silence. I assume he's asleep but after a while he speaks, startling me.

"We need to talk" he says so I shift out of his arms so we can face each other. "Okay" I shrug with a little giggle. "I wanna end what we're doing" he exclaims and my eyes widen, I sit up quickly and he sighs following me. "What why?" I frown. "I can't keep doing this while you're in a relationship." "We've talked about this David" I huff. "You talked. I never said anything but now I am. I'm not doing this anymore" "No, please don't do this. I'll break up with him, right now I'll head over there now" I panic and he frowns. "I shouldn't have had to force you into it. If you wanted me so bad you would've done it a long time ago. To be honest, I think you deserve each other, I mean you're the same age and you have history" he speaks and I start getting angry. "What do you mean 'were the same age'" "I didn't mean it like that" he sighs shoving his hand through his hair. "I'm not a child David. We're all adults here and you're only 3 years older. You never seemed to mind it before. Why now?" I spit. "I've been getting a lot of comments online about it and it got me thinking. I just can't keep doing this with you." he huffs getting out of bed and throwing a clickbait hoodie on before walking out of his room. I angrily follow him. "Don't walk away from me David," I call after him and when he doesn't stop or respond I call out again. "David!" I hiss and he whips around to me. "What did you expect? I was just gonna wait around forever until you grew some balls and broke up with your boyfriend." He yells and I flinch so his face softens. "I don't know what to say, David, I love you" I whimper."You what?" he whispers."I love you" I repeat and he gulps. I take his silence as his response so I pick my stuff up and leave his house. He tries to run after me but I shrug him off.

I get in my car and head straight for the class I know James will be getting out of soon. When I see him I storm over to him. "Hey babe?" he says confused, looking up from talking to his friends. "We need to break up" I blurt out and his eyes widen looking around at his friends. "Babe, do you wanna talk about this somewhere more private?" he begs and the anger, frustration and desperation are practically seeping out of me so I shake my head. "Its not a discussion. You never make time for me anymore, we barely talk. When we do you just tell. We haven't kissed in like a week, you never buy me flowers. You never take me on dates and you never listen to what I say when we are together. You clearly don't care so there's no point being together. You guilted me into staying with you and you try to control everything I do. You don't treat me right, not like David does." I rant and the group around starts getting larger. "Wait, hold up. David? this is why you're doing this?" he suddenly gets angry. "Yes ok. I've been sleeping with David and I'm in love with him" I let out and feel much better when I do. "I knew it! I fucking knew it. The first time you tried to break up with me, I knew it was because of him. I'm gonna kill him" he sighs angrily. "Just accept that we were over a long time before David and I met." I huff. "I'm not letting you go to that prick. We can work through this after I beat the shit out of him. I can't believe you'd do this" he rages and I bite my lip to stop me from continuing to argue with him in front of his friends. "I don't want you anymore" I admit quietly and he furrows his eyebrows. "We're gonna get through this" he reassures me but I shrug him off. "Are you even listening? you never seem to so I don't know why you would now" I laugh sarcastically and turn away from him, walking back to my car. He follows me and tries to talk to me. When we reach my car he pins me against it and presses his lips to mine. I can tell he's desperate but I shove him off me. "Please don't do this to me. I forgive you, babe, I need you to please" he cries and I shake my head climbing into my car and heading home. 

I end up crying all afternoon and have an early night. The next couple of days are miserable, I only leave my house to go to classes and besides that, I don't speak to anyone. I constantly have texts and calls from my friends, all the vlog squad and James. Not once though am I contacted by David, which breaks my heart. I mean, I know he shouldn't because I messed up, but I hoped he would. On the Friday night, after 3 days spent moping around, there's a knock on my studio door so I sigh and open it and I'm greeted with Kristen, Liza, Corinna, Carly, Erin and Mariah. "Come on, we're all heading out tonight," Corinna says as I return to my blanket fort on the couch. Kristen rolls her eyes and pulls the blanket away from me. I frown."David explained the entire situation to us all, so we're gonna fix it" Mariah explains and my eyes widen. "Everything?" I squeak and they laugh. "Everything" Erin confirms and I facepalm. "I ship" Carly teases and we all laugh. "Did he explain that he basically said we can't be together because I'm not old enough" I raise my eyebrows. "oh come on, he's just hurt. He doesn't mean it. Its only 3 years and I mean youre both adults." Liza shrugs. 

Eventually, they convince me to get ready and they had brought all their things to get ready and I assure them they can leave everything here and pick it up tomorrow. "David's seriously gonna regret even attempting to let you go" Mariah smirks when she sees the finished product and I smile, silently thanking her. "Before we go, guys, you need to know that I completely ended it with James. It is over" I tell them and they smile. "Good. Now lets go get your man" Carly giggles holding her hand out. We all strut out of my studio and uber over to a club we were meeting the boys at. I had a fake ID, I knew a guy and I've never failed to get in with it while I was at college. It always helped that the girls were a tiny bit older so the bouncers barely ever bat an eye.

David visibly tenses up when he sees me walk in but he can't help but rake my body with his eyes and I smirk. We end the night at a karaoke bar. We’re dancing around, drinking and hyping up the people singing when I’m tapped on the shoulder.

“Babe, I’ve been texting you and calling you for days,” James says going in for a hug and kiss and I sigh holding my hand against his chest to stop him. I look around at all mine and his friends to see them all secretly glancing over at us so I take his hand and pull him outside for privacy. “I told you, it’s over between us. It has been for ages anyway. I don’t love you anymore” I exclaim. “No you’re just confused. It’s his fault” he seethes and I sigh. “This has nothing to do with David, he just made me realise things were wrong between us. I can’t deny the fact that I’ve fallen out of love with you and in love with him. But before I even met David, we weren’t doing good” I explain and he shakes his head. “What does he have that I don’t?” He sighs defeatedly, sitting on the edge of a step. “He showed me love, when you didn’t. We’re just not clicking with each other anymore- romantically, emotionally, sexually...” I trail off. “How long were you sleeping with him” he whispers. “James” I sigh. “I just want to know...” he pleads. “A little over 3 months” I whisper which makes James shoot up, making me back up a little. “Look babe, I really wanna work through this. I’ll forgive you being a slut behind my back, it’s not like I haven’t thought about it before” he shrugs and my eyes widen. “But I love you, so I’m gonna forgive and forget and work on us.” He smiles. I shake my head and laugh sarcastically. “Are you even understanding me? I don’t want you” I spit. “And David doesn’t want YOU” He grits getting in my face.

"Woah man calm down" I hear Heath say getting in between us and pushing James away. Zane wraps his arm around me and leads me inside. He explains how they went for a smoke and saw our argument."Baby just ignore him" Heath says walking in after us as James storms past us and back over to his friends. Some of my college friends had filed in but I go over to sit with the vlogsquad girls. “Y/n you have to get up there” Corinna exclaims when I sit down making the large table of our friends erupt in conversation about it. "Do it for the vlog" Zane smirks and I shrug. I think of a song as I'm walking and happen to glance towards James. He's glaring at David and then turns to see me looking and smirks at me. I roll my eyes and know what song I want. I put it on and start singing.

"I haven't seen my ex since we broke up Probably 'cause he didn't wanna grow up” I smirk looking directly at James. “Now I'm out and wearing something low-cut' Bout to get attention from a grownup” I shrug turning my head towards David who bites his lip.  “'Cause you hold me like a woman In a way I've never felt before And it makes me wanna hold on And it makes me wanna be all yours” I belt out making everyone let out big ‘whoops’.  “Guys my age don't know how to treat me Don't know how to treat me, don't know how to treat me Guys my age don't know how to touch me Don't know how to love me good Guys my age don't know how to keep me Don't know how to keep me, don't know how to keep me Guys my age don't know how to touch me Don't know how to love me good” I finish off the song and jump down off the stage. 

“omg you were amazing” Kristen laughs. I go around talking to the girls for about 5 minutes before my feet are literally swept up from underneath me. I squeal and then a familiar scent washes over me making me calm down. David carries us outside and sets me down.  “You’re little stunt in there was interesting” he starts and I shrug. “And I get it ok. I’m sorry for being a dick, I just wanted you to be all mine” He pouts and I grin wrapping my arms around his neck.  “I am, I have been for months. I’m yours exclusively” I smile and his eyes widen.  “Its all over?” he questions and I raise my eyebrows.  “You didn’t know?” I ask and he shakes his head. “Nobody told you?” I question again and again he shakes his head. “I broke up with James the second I left your house that day. Not cause you forced be too but because I wanted to. Because all I want is you” I explain and he crashes his lips on mine. He pushes me against the wall and we start making out heavily. My leg is hitched on his hip and I can feel his boner growing on my thigh. “Does the age difference really bother you?” I breathe out as he kisses down my neck. He shakes his head and rests his head in my neck.  “Honestly, no. Its barely even a difference, I just needed somehing to be bad at you about. I love you too” he whispers and I grin connecting our lips briefly.  “take me home” I whisper and he smiles connecting our foreheads together.  “Only if you’ll be my girlfriend’ he whispers back.  “1000% yes” I smile. 

#david dobrik imagine #david dobrik x reader #david dobrik #david dobrik imagines #David's Vlogs #vlog squad #vlog squad imagines #david dobrik vlogs #vlogger #dobrik #x reader #imagine #imagines

[purplesurveys]

608

1. What did you do in 2019 that you’d never done before? Lots of different things! I had an Actual™ photoshoot :o, I celebrated my girlfriend’s dad’s birthday with their family, I touched an Adobe app and learned that I’m pretty decent at it, I had a tooth extraction, I did shisha and vape (and found out I liked them, giving me an identity crisis for a while HAHAHA), I had my internship, I was fined by a traffic officer, etc. I had lots of grownup stuff to face this year, and it was all fun.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don’t make New Year’s resolutions... if I wanted to do something I’d plan them any time of the year. Plus making them at New Year’s just gives me a whole chunk of pressure, and I’d rather not live with that pressure.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? I had a high school classmate give birth this year but I wasn’t close to her; Gabie was, though. Other than her, I don’t think there’s been anybody who had a kid in 2019.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Nacho. I still see him in everything, everyday.

5. What countries did you visit? Didn’t get to go out of the country this year. Hopefully that’ll change next year when I graduate!

6. What would you like to have in 2020 that you lacked in 2019? I dunno, this year was already suuuuper hectic enough. I’d ask for more time to rest, but I’m literally graduating in 2020 and it will only get busier from there. The two things I’d ask for is to get to go to a different country again, and to have a road trip that isn’t going to Nasugbu for once (I’ve only had two long drives ever since I was allowed to have em, and both trips were to the same beach in Nasugbu).

7. What date from 2019 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Evening of September 28; it was when everybody was notified of Nacho’s passing. Toughest pill to swallow in my entire fucking life. My social media had never seemed so angry, so scared, so chaotic, so bleak, all at the same time. 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? If we’re gonna be serious about ‘biggest,’ then probably not killing myself. Other than that, I was pretty proud of the way I handled and performed at my internship! I was never late to get to their ORTIGAS office (a tiny traffic hellhole in Metro Manila), I had a good relationship with everyone, and on my evaluations I saw that my supervisor wrote a lot of nice things :)

9. What was your biggest failure? I was a bad girlfriend on significant occasions. I also have two classes this sem in which my final grades are going to be held back because of supposed ‘deficiencies’ – but honestly I blame that on the prof because I think she held back final grades FROM EVERYONE ON ALL HER CLASSES this semester. Seriously, if you do that as a prof, don’t you think the problem is you and not us? I won’t call it a failure on my end, but I am pissed about it and needed a space to vent.

Another failure would be never getting to take out Gab’s mom out on a date. I already took her dad to an MMA pay-per-view and we had a lot of fun, but have never been able to do the same for her mom just yet. I really need to step up next year.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I had a bad slip in school early this year and I sprained my ankle. There was also one day I felt bad enough to have to skip class but it never became a full-blown fever, so I don’t know what that was.

11. What was the best thing you bought? I bought tooooooons of new tops this year and totally upgraded my wardrobe, so I was really happy about that. The other is a day pass to a beach resort in Nasugbu that I went to with Gab, Angela, and Sofie.

12. Where did most of your money go? Food to keep myself in school. That and gas.

13. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Lots of things...I mean 2019 was a long-ass year. There was turning into a senior, doing my internship, getting invited to Gabie’s dad’s birthday dinner, going to my first few events to get me accustomed to the PR world, seeing my senior friends graduate college, I also went back to the National Museum this year so that was great, the aforementioned Nasugbu trip, etc etc blahblah.

14. What song will always remind you of 2019? Wonderwall by Oasis or Buwan by Juan Karlos, both because of Nacho. 15. Compared to this time last year, are you: Happier or sadder? Older or wiser? Thinner or fatter? Richer or poorer? (I don’t earn money yet, lol)

16. What do you wish you’d done more of? Seeing Angela. I probably saw her a grand total of 10 times this year, which is pretty fucking tragic.

17. What do you wish you’d done less of? [trigger warning: self-harm] Hurting myself. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my skin clean for a full year.

18. How did you spend Christmas? We will be spending Christmas Eve with one of my grand-aunts’ family. My mom is very close with her cousins on that side plus family from Vietnam is also coming over, so a get-together is certainly happening. On Christmas Day, we’d be spending the day with my mom’s sister-in-law’s family. They have a giant house and host the best party games which is why we like hanging out there. We’d spend the day with ALL of these people, but my grand-aunt and my tita (mom’s sister-in-law) have some weird friction going on so they can’t ever be in the same gathering lmfao.

19. What was your favorite TV program? I resurrected my love for Breaking Bad mostly because El Camino came out this year, but I definitely watched Friends the most. I have it on autoplay on Netflix 12-14 hours at a time these days because Netflix is taking it out on the 31st.

22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Yes, the aforementioned professor who gave me two Incomplete marks this semester. Last year, she was just my enlistment adviser; now she’s a witch who is keeping me from having a decent Christmas.

I also stopped talking to my younger brother around February or March after he slapped me in the face, so there’s that. No plans to forgive him or talk to him any time soon whatsoever.

23. What was the best book you read? I didn’t read a lot this year :( 2019 was all about readings for my classes.

24. What was your greatest musical discovery? THE JAPANESE HOUSE. Without a shadow of a doubt.

25. What did you want and get? My dog living another year, my relationship still healthy and intact, good grades, my teeth finally treated hahaha, new members in my org!

26. What did you want and not get? Courage on my end to go to a therapist or psychiatrist. More travel.

27. What was your favorite film of this year? Portrait of a Lady on Fire will easily take the cake. That was just breathtaking.

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I spent it internally disappointed in Gab for not making it. Outwardly, my mom took us out for sushi (my request) for lunch, then we went home and in the evening, Angela and I went to Feliz so we can have Yabu for dinner then played at Timezone until the mall closed. Not a birthday I want to remember but Angela went above and beyond to give me a good time, and that I’ll always appreciate.

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? More opportunities and time to travel. I mean we did go out of town a lot, but I just can’t get enough of travelling to different places.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2019? Chic with a hint of haggard.

31. What kept you sane? My dog, my orgmates, my best friends, and good food.

32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Kristen Stewart.

33. What issue stirred you the most? Duterte as a person is just one big fucking issue that riles everybody up in this country. I’m just waiting for him to die.

34. Who did you miss? Nacho.

35. Who was the best new person you met? My social history professor, Ma’am Luisa. I had always wanted to take a class that she handled, and she went above and beyond my expectations. I’m taking another class of hers next sem – history of women in the Philippines – so that ought to be fun. :)

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2019: Call-out culture is bullshit. I haven’t done it much since Nacho passed, but I wish it did not take me this long to realize how bad of a strategy it is. 

People who mourned him went back to their old habits soon enough and are again publicly shaming people whenever they make a misstep on social media, and it’s embarrassing and infuriating.

#survey #surveys

[sunlitroom]

Gotham – s5e07 – Ace Chemicals

As I watched it, and some random observations here and there.

Previously on Gotham:

In some of the slashiest moments ever slashed until some of the stuff we’ll see later, Jeremiah helped to build a dark island for Bruce and then told him they would rise together. Jim had sex with Barbara. We then hear him tell Lee there’s so many things he’s done that he wishes he could change.  Oh, fuck you, Jim. Lee says they're here now and need to try to put the pieces back together again. Barbara's pregnant. Jim looks at her like he's only just learned that humans can reproduce. Selina reminds us all that Bruce’s parents were murdered.  Selina stabbed Jeremiah. Oswald is apparently leaving Gotham for reasons that are pretty wildly inconsistent with everything we know about him. Jeremiah loves a family reunion..

As always, long post will be long.  There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot might appear (although I welcome all shippers and non-shippers alike :)).  There will be naked favouritism and naked not-favouritism.  Broader comments at the end on plotlines and parallels and general direction.

A group of people run frantically down the street, their shirts open and chests bloody – a ‘z’ carved into them. Dramatic music plays.  Behind them, someone – framed in the doorway of a warehouse, someone lights rockets which promptly launch into the sky.  They release green gas, and we see the men start to foam at the mouth, clawing at their throats as they fall to the ground.

Jim is at his radio.  He has a brief conversation with a general – asking them how they let Walker operate right under their noses.  The general doesn’t really answer, but says that she’s evaded capture.  Jim replies that with Walker and Durrance out of the picture, they can step in now to help the city.  The general says that he’s beginning that process immediately.  Jim evinces scepticism – but the general says he has the authority to do it….unless something happens to destabilise the situation. The nightmare is about to end.

(An aside.  I usually give plot details a lot of leeway on Gotham because of the nature of the universe – but come on.  The authorities know that Gotham is basically full of frightened, angry starving people – and was riddled with corruption and crime even before the bridges came down. The idea that they’ll only step in if it’s stable is just stupid. )

Jim is walking downstairs with Harvey – who asks if he believes the general.  Jim is non-commital and asks if Alfred's been found. Harvey says no – adding that Bruce has been pulling double shifts on search parties – the kid is dead on his feet

Jim approaches Bruce. Bruce points at a map, and says they need to search this area next – which has a block of abandoned buildings. Jim makes Bruce promise that he’ll rest, saying he needs him sharp - not a liability.

A tired, tearful Bruce tells Jim he doesn’t know what could have happened. Jim points out that Alfred can take care of himself and promises that he will send a team to the area.

Bruce leaves.  Harvey wanders over and says the kid is tough. They’re interrupted by Harper, who says they’ve found something.

 A crime scene.  We see the corpses of the z guys, and Harper points out their false moustaches.  They look at the warehouse they seem to have escaped from – and Jim says it seems to be a film set.  Harper says the letters were carved into the men’s chests before death.

Harvey suggests Victor. Jim says he never figured Zsasz for a cinephile.  I don’t know, Jim.  Victor is actually pretty well-rounded.  I can imagine him having a lot of interests.

Anyway Jim wants whatever this is stopped before it threatens reunification.

He also notices a chess piece tattoo.  Harvey remarks that the Chessmen are a Narrows gang, and says that there's someone they can ask about that.  I'm entertained by seeing how many contrived ways they can think to bring Lee into the storyline in some way.  

Bruce is walking down a street.  Is this the street in the area he mentioned?  Did he go get some rest?  Not sure.

He steps on a newspaper, and it catches his eyes.  He picks it up – and sees that it’s carrying the story about his parents’ murder.  Looking round, he sees the copies of the page pasted to the walls.  Turning, he sees his parents walk past the alley, laughing.  He runs after them – following them to a subway.

He runs downstairs.  The station name is apparently Stockton.  David Stockton is the cinematographer for this episode.

Bruce loses his parents, but finds himself in the room where Jeremiah was building his tunnel.  A foreboding-looking passage is now in place. Bruce sees a pearl on the floor, and immediately hares off down the passage.

 At the hospital, where Lee is now working.  She heads into a ward to see a patient, and also finds Barbara waiting there.  Barbara comments that it’s interesting to see her there.  Lee says it’s what she does: help people.

(An aside.  But the show just spent a season trying to show us that as well as having an impulse to help others – Lee also enjoyed power, and danger.  She’s fully capable of violence, and is excited by darkness.  It was hinted at way back in season one – when she was thrilled by Jerome’s confession, carried through in her willingness to continue a relationship with a man she knew to be a double-murderer, and alluded to again when she seemed pretty pleased about her mob ties through marrying Mario.  It was actually honest-to-God consistent, and last season really brought all that to fruition.  It seems, though, we’re going to forget all that characterisation now. Sorry, Lee.  Back to being the ‘good’ love interest.)

Lee shrugs Barbara off – telling her she has patients.  Barbara says she surely wouldn't kick Jim's baby momma to the kerb.   Lee says whatever happened between them is none of her concern, so if she’s here to gloat….

Barbara says she’s here for medical assistance for her little nugget.  That’s a terrible pet name, Barbara.  All it does is make people think about chicken.  She wants Lee to be her obgyn.  Lee says she can’t be serious – she tried to kill her twice.  Barbara says that was years ago.  Lee tries to fob her off – but Barbara says that whatever she thinks of her, her child is innocent. She wants the best - and that means Lee.

Lee asks if Jim knows she’s here. Barbara says it’s none of his business – and at that precise moment Jim comes in looking for Lee.

Lee?

Barbara turns, and Jim gives a pinched and sour Barbara

Barbara tells him he's interrupting a dr/patient meeting.

I'm sorry - you're her doctor?

Lee frowns

Yes, no - maybe?

(Clunk. That line felt so written)

They all stand about staring at each other, needlessly eating up screen-time on a foregone conclusion – it’s like a live-action demonstration of a love triangle.

Jim says a body turned up – it’s Narrows connection or he wouldn't have come.  Lee says that you two need to talk - I'll be outside

Barbara says she'd rather not – but Lee says if she wants her as her doctor, then she’ll talk to the baby's father.  That seems wrong in all sorts of ways.  Lee tells her the first appointment is next week, and the nurse will give her vitamins when she leaves.

Lee leaves the room – Barbara walks to the window and stares out.

Jim chides her – she’s the only one you could find?  That…. sort of shows scant regard for Barbara and your child’s welfare, Jim, and equally scant regard for Lee’s skills as a doctor.

Barbara retorts that she's the best, and that not everything is about Jim Gordon

Jim says this is.  Barbara says she told him because he deserved to know, but his involvement ended the moment he put his pants back on.  It’s entirely possible, to be honest, that Barbara was initially open to more involvement – but then Jim treated her like a bad smell last episode, so it’s maybe understandable that she’s pulled away.

Jim shakes his head. Barbara frowns, confused for a moment – then it dawns on her.

You don't think I'm fit to be a mother

Jim looks at her with an expression which is equal parts snide and judgemental.

What do you think?  

Barbara stares at him for a moment, stung, and then walks swiftly away.

He seems to realise that this was not the thing to have said – and calls after her, but she’s gone.

(An aside – OK.  This is a clusterfuck and I feel like whining about it.

We all know where they want to go with this.  Barbara will be morally redeemed just enough to be shown as caring about her baby. However, something will likely happen to her, and Jim and Lee – by that point back together – will end up raising her child – the good and moral parents the baby should have.

Aside from how squicky that all is, the problem with this is that Jim’s determination to look at Barbara as if she’s the lowest of the low makes no sense whatsoever given

1. His own moral dubiousness. Jim has a double murder he’s never faced justice for.  He went to Carmine Falcone for help because he couldn’t bear losing a pissing contest to Oswald.  He was personally and professionally allied with Sofia Falcone.  In the context of parenthood – this is a woman who was using an orphanage as a front for criminal activities.  In essence, using children as a human shield.

2. We know that he’s likely comparing Lee and Barbara and thinking that Lee would make a wonderful mother, while Barbara is unfit.  The problem with this is that while the writers might be having some selective amnesia - season 4 happened.  We saw Lee go on a bank robbery spree.  We saw her shoot Sofia Falcone in the head in cold blood.  We saw her have an affair with the man who was not only responsible for the death of her ‘friend’ Kristen, but whom she also knew to be vulnerable and mentally unstable.  Whatever criteria Jim is using to make his unfit judgement – if Barbara fails, then so does Lee.

The final problem with this is that (on top of their history) for Jim to recently have formed a tenuous relationship with Barbara – going to her for help, talking to her, trusting her… and then turn and tell her he thinks she would be an unfit mother is just low.  Sorry – but it just is.  It’s incredibly shitty behaviour no matter how you look at it.  

Given how invested Barbara was in their relationship – she even had a healthy eating plan for him once they were married – it’s highly likely she daydreamed about them having a baby.  Telling him she was pregnant, all of it.  What she’s got instead is having to go through this nightmarish version what she once dreamt about – with Jim looking at her like he’s repulsed by what he’s done and wishes she would just disappear.  A mockery of the life she thought she’d have. They’re never really going to revisit her mental health issues in any serious way, but if anything would push her to breaking point – it’s this.

In terms of knock-on effects on characterisation – it just makes it hard to root for Jim in any way when he’s being such a self-righteous hypocrite.  One of the main reasons I never really enjoyed the Jim/Lee ship before is that – of all the shared characteristics the writers could have fixed on to define them – the one that always came across most strongly when they were together was a shared sense of moral superiority.  It’s really hard not to dislike that – and I don’t want to dislike either of them.

Bruce emerges from the passage into the fireplace at Wayne Manor – to see his parents sitting in the drawing room.  He asks who they are.  Bruce’s father smiles at him

Hello champ

Bruce's dad looks sleazy. Why does he look so sleazy?  

Alfred walks in, chiding Bruce for looking so dishevelled.  Bruce asks him desperately what’s happening.  Alfred tells him to spruce up – since they have a guest.

He turns – and there’s Jeremiah, watching from the wings.

Welcome home, Bruce

Jeremiah - you're alive

Jeremiah asks if Bruce really thought Selina could kill him.  He needs to finalise his project.

Bruce lunges at him.  Jeremiah visibly startles.  Alfred holds him back.  Jeremiah’s brought a gift – which turns out to be a bomb.  Bruce tries any funny business, and Jeremiah will blow up Wayne Manor with them all inside.

Jeremiah then explains that the couple are just an unlucky couple he kidnapped and surgically altered. Alfred was nabbed in the Green Zone. Jervis hypnotised them all.

He goes on to say it’s a very important day.  Look at the way they're dressed: it’s the night they were killed.  You’re going to experience it all over again

Why?

Isn't it obvious?  Bruce – this… was the most important day of your life, and I didn't get to be part of it

(Whoa. What can you really add to that?)

Jeremiah recovers himself and tells Alfred it’s time for dinner, while Bruce stares at him.

 A pier, where Oswald watches with binoculars as a boat is blown up.  A bored Selina says three for three.

The government was apparently very thorough when it mined the river.  The government mined the river?  This plot is honestly demented.

Selina asks why he didn’t make an escape plan before he stole everyone's crap.  I honestly have no idea, Selina.  It’s pretty inconsistent with what we know of Oswald

He claims that he was working on it, remarking that anything flown out is also blown from the sky.  

An idea strikes Selina – Jeremiah’s tunnel.  She tells Oswald about it.  He scoffs, but has no better idea.  Selina tells him to meet her in the Dark Zone at night.  

He agrees, and then looks back out at the water.

Oh look – he’s swimming to shore

There’s an explosion, and Oswald winces as Selina rolls her eyes.

In the Narrows with Lee and Jim.  He’s not taken backup because he wants to keep a low profile: the Narrows is now chaos. Lee sighs that all her work was for nothing.  Well, there was that sense of self-importance.

They hear noises.  We see some random guys – who Lee says are the Chessmen’s main rivals.  They watch warily from a distance until Jim – bafflingly – decides this is the best time for a personal chat.

About the thing with Barbara

Lee raises a hand to stop him – don’t – but Jim says it’s important to him that she understands.  See, it’s like this  – it was really useful to rely on Barbara when he didn’t have any other support, and super-handy when she rolled in and saved his life, and sex in his office was a nice moment of release and comfort and affection when he was really low…..but now Lee’s back he’s realised again that Barbara is ew, and he wants to make sure she knows that.

Lee asks him what he’s going to do.  Jim says he doesn’t know – it’s his child too.

Lee purses her mouth and says that Barbara has a different opinion, before frowning and commenting that people change.

Jim says that she doesn’t know her like he does.  

Lee rolls her eyes and says he can say that again.  Because they had sex recently?  I mean, that was the case before Jim met Lee, too – they were engaged.  That line was just stupid.  

(An aside - Honestly, the writing around this whole story is dreadful.  I know that the truncated season has meant they’ve had to compress storylines, but – equally – you work with what you’ve got and adjust. There was no need to give us Baby Gordon this season.  We could still have imagined it as an event that happened in the future – or Jim could have adopted an orphan.  Equally, if they’re so intent on Jim and Lee, they could have taken things more slowly and left us with the clear indication that they were mending their relationship – but instead they’re going to hurl us towards a wedding.)  

They hear a noise and turn to see a chalked rook on a wall.  This honestly made me snort out loud.  What a scary gang.  Apparently a rook at a funny angle means they’re headed northeast.  Jim and Lee set off in pursuit.

 At Wayne Manor, Alfred lights candles on the kitchen table.

Jeremiah sighs, and tells Bruce that Alfred has been sharing stories about his childhood.  How – if it was just the family, they’d eat at the kitchen table

How… homey, and intimate

The line could be taken as a sneer, but it’s not delivered that way.  Jeremiah is leaning forward, eyes shining, gazing at Bruce.  He waits for a moment before choosing the word homey – and it’s delivered with sincerity and approval – praising Bruce’s childhood days. Intimate – by dint of the word – points rather more towards what Jeremiah wants to create now, which is only reinforced by him leaning towards Bruce – eyes wide and shiny.

Alfred interrupts the moment rather by putting a cheese and pickle toastie on the table. It’s Bruce’s favourite, apparently, due to Alfred’s influence.

I fucking love a cheese and pickle sandwich, and I don’t have either in the kitchen.

Alfred says that Thomas added aioli for flair.  What? That would be terrible.  Are we sure Thomas was a good guy?  He looks really slimy – and putting aioli in a cheese and pickle toastie is frankly upsetting.

Jeremiah laughs delightedly, and when Bruce looks at him comments

Come on, Bruce.  That’s a weird favourite food for a 12 year old.  I mean – it would have been near the #1 spot for me.  Maybe even occupying it.

Bruce says he’s playing his game, but he can let the others go – they’re innocent.  Jeremiah refuses – saying he needs the details right. Just one final touch.  He nods towards Bruce’s mother- who is smiling as Bruce’s father fastens her pearls around her neck.

Bruce tears up

Jeremiah’s tone is serious

What was it like?  Losing your parents that night?  I lost my family too, Bruce.

Bruce’s eyes close – not able to bear the weight of all this right now.

(An aside. I know all the Batman/Joker stuff is all sort of ready and prepared for Gotham – but they have done this well.  This little moment here was excellent. Before the big shift in Jeremiah’s personality, Bruce and he had started to forge a relationship.  Bruce was visiting him – was concerned about his fixation on Jerome.  Jeremiah seemed very taken with Bruce.  They were bonding and had some key similarities in their personalities: preternaturally intelligent, solemn, quiet, traumatic family pasts. It’s possible that Bruce had maybe considered Jeremiah someone he could confide in one day about the loss of his parents. Jeremiah mentioning this similarity now must feel like pressing on a bruise.)

Jeremiah looks sad as he comments that the wound still hasn't healed – he thinks about it often.

Bruce says none of this is real – and Jeremiah is trying to manipulate him.  Jeremiah’s expression is that of a child who has just been told off – resentful, and watery-eyed.

Bruce adds that it will never be real.  Jeremiah smiles and tells him that he only needs him to be thinking about that night – but his control cracks, and he leans towards Bruce abruptly, grasping his collar.

I just want to be connected to you!  I offered to you to be my best friend.

He collects himself and leans back

If we can't be friends – we can be connected in other ways

A million new fics were just started on Ao3 with that opening line.  

Bruce frowns

How?

Jeremiah smiles

You’ll see - in time

(An aside – half seriously, half in jest.  I know the Batman/Joker relationship is often played for nudge/wink giggles - but honestly, they’ve been so blatant here: wouldn’t the simplest way to derail this very elaborate plot be leaning forward and just planting a kiss on Jeremiah?  Because they can dance round it with talk of brothers and friends, but it seems clear that Jeremiah had fallen head over heels with Bruce virtually on first meeting, and then the gas twisted that into something obsessive and dark. He’s spent a long time on this plan – but he’s desperate for some kind of connection with Bruce.  It would have, at the very least, knocked him off his stride.)

Jeremiah takes a quick bite and makes an impressed face.  See.  Not entirely lost his humanity if he can acknowledge the greatness of cheese and pickle.

He puts it back down, though, and says he has to cut tonight short – we have a very important date with destiny

Making quickly for the door, he suggests Bruce find his butler and leave immediately before arming the bomb and running off.

Bruce’s eyes widen and he yells for Alfred.

Lee and Jim get to Ace Chemicals.  Inside, we see lots of guys making green stuff. Jim grabs one to question him – but all he’ll say is

Tick tock, chemical stock

Will give our Gotham an aftershock

Jim audibly deduces Jervis’ influence.  We hear applause

My my, what a thrill

Jim Gordon and the woman

He told me to kill

Jervis reminisces a little, then orders them captured.  Lee is grabbed and restrained.  A roller-skated Ecco beats Jim around the head.  Lee calls his name worriedly.

At Sirens Selina tells Barbara about Oswald’s plan.  Barbara asks why she’s helping – but Selina says it’s a ruse.  Tabitha was her friend too - she wants to gut the twerp

(Yes - Tabitha was really there for Selina.  We didn’t even get a line from her mentioning a visit, or wondering how she felt during her recovery.)

and take his loot

Barbara says they don’t have a way out – but Selina says they’ll find one

Barbara’s eyes light up – she likes this idea.

Get out together…. away from Jim, with our riches - Oswald dead in a ditch….just two single ladies and a baby who’ve killed their sworn enemy.

Selina pulls a face.  Barbara asks what?

It’s just that…. you’re pregnant

Don’t start!

Bruce convinces a hypnotised Alfred to leave by telling them there’s a gas leak. They run down the passage not a moment too soon as the bombs all detonate. There goes stately Wayne Manor.

(Out of curiosity, how old is Wayne Manor meant to be?  I know it can’t be that old)

In the passage, Bruce and Alfred are knocked to the ground by the force of the explosion  Alfred comes round, having regained his memory – and states his intention to shove Jervis’s watch up his ass next time they meet. Alfred asks if he’s alright. Bruce falters for a moment as he says the manor….

Alfred replies

Don’t worry about that now, son

Bruce points out that his leg is hurt – but Alfred reassures him again.

Bruce hugs him impulsively.

I thought I lost you

Alfred smiles at him

Me? Never

He then urges Bruce to find Jeremiah

You know where he's going to be at

That’s a weird construction for Alfred to use.  I don’t think Brits would ever add the ‘at’ unless they were consciously copying the American phrase.

Back at Ace Chemicals, Jim and Lee are tied to a pole, yet still failing to generate any tension.

Jervis wonders aloud if he should hypnotise them and  have them slit each other's necks.  Ecco laughs, but tells him to check with the Boss, who might have other ideas.

Jim tells Lee he’s sorry he got her involved.  She tells him not to be.  He says he has something to tell her.  She tells him to save it for when they make it out of here.

Jim tries to goad Jervis – calling him an errand boy.  Jervis shakes his head. He’s no errand boy.  This is simply a way to have fun.

Lee chips in, to signal to us that Jim and Lee are so close that they both think the same way without needing to communicate.

You can tell yourself that – but without your games and rhymes – you’re just a second-rater in a silly hat

Jervis tells her to shut up. For some reason – I find his sulky snappishness hot. Generally, though, I find Jervis hits the button that bypasses rational thought and just sends hormones flying.  Stupid sexy casting decisions.

Ecco whispers something to him. Jervis laughs.

He turns to Lee, and tells her she does intrigue him.  First a doctor, then the Queen of the Narrows.  Is she running from her past when she becomes someone new?  I mean – I think Lee had an identity crisis after the Tetch virus revealed her taste for darkness – but I would  argue that attempting to atone for her sins by setting up home in the Narrows and exploring this new facet of herself was more development than it was running away?  Running away would have been taking up a medical post in some other city.

He holds up his watch and begins to hypnotise them.

Selina and Oswald break into the building where Selina found Jeremiah.  They spot the tunnel, but hesitate when they hear someone coming towards them.

Alfred?

A dishevelled Alfred asks what she’s doing here, and with that?  Seems unnecessarily rude, Alfred.

Alfred tells an aghast Selina what’s happened – and adds that Bruce could use her help.  As she leaves – Oswald reaches out to hold her arm wait

Selina put her knife to his throat

You think because I didn’t kill Jeremiah – I won’t kill you?

(This line made little sense)

Alfred tries to calm her, but she goes on

You killed my friend Tabitha – you deserve to die

(Honest to God – this has been the most irritating plot point ever.  Look – if we hadn’t seen Oswald do it, and been left with a murder mystery, then everyone in town would have been a suspect, because Tabitha was so utterly obnoxious to anyone who crossed her path.  No.  One. Cares)

Alfred entreats her to put the knife down

Bruce needs you

Oswald stares at her as she leaves, and turns to Alfred

I suppose I should thank you

Alfred asks him to help him to the Green Zone

Oswald presumably hasn’t forgotten being described as that – and gestures exaggeratedly

It's that way

He leaves

Bruce enters a cinema where his parents are watching the show.  It’s Douglas Fairbanks in the Mask of Zorro – apparently one of Bruce’s favourites.  Jeremiah has reenacted the whole film.

He struts towards the camera – asking Bruce what intrigued him about the character?  His ability to strike fear in the heart of his enemies. It was maybe too effective – because this is when Bruce got too frightened and asked to leave.  What if he had conquered his fear?  Maybe his parents would still be alive.  

His parents leave, and Bruce follows.

 Bruce and Jeremiah come to a halt in the alley

That’s far enough, Bruce

You don’t have to do this!

But I - I do.  I came to a realisation.  I realised no matter what I did to bond us - some random gunman in an alley would be the man you were tied to the most, the man you saw when you closed your eyes.  I want to be the star of the show!

(*Blinks*  I mean.  I don’t think you can really get more intense than telling someone that you’re jealous that they see another man when they close their eyes.)

So, if I can't have you as a brother - bonded by love

(Hahahahahaha.  What?  No. That’s no fraternal relationship ever)

Then we'll just have to be bonded by hatred

Bruce asks if he thinks killing two people who look like his parents will really do that.  Jeremiah retorts that he put a bullet in their fraudulent skulls.  He smiles widely – so then….

Who's this lovely couple?

Bruce stares as they turn. It’s….

Jim and Lee.  They're meant to look hypnotised and dead-eyed, but – honestly - the chemistry levels are around the same as usual.

Jeremiah says it was a happy coincidence that he ran into them.  If Harvey had been with Jim, as would have been the norm, would we be seeing him in a camel coat and pearls right now?  Hair in a chignon?

Jeremiah says he’ll kill the man who’s Bruce’s second father – as well as his dear friend, Lee Thompkins. Jeremiah’s obviously not thinking clearly due to all the drama and raging hormones – since Alfred is Bruce’s second father, and he doesn’t really know Lee very well, but the writers are pretty desperate to re-establish Jim and Lee as a couple in the audience’s eyes, so Jeremiah can get a pass here.  Also – he’s about to take a very unpleasant bath, so we’ll cut him some slack.  

Jeremiah tells Bruce they’ll finally be bound.  We hear a horn nearby and see Ecco.  Jeremiah tells him Gotham will soon be cut off forever when he contaminates it with toxic chemicals.

We Selina lurking on stairs at the side of the building.  Bruce pleads with him

Jeremiah – don’t

Jeremiah adds that the piece de resistance is that he asked Jervis to make sure the hypnosis wore off the moment the pearls hit the ground – so he could see them realise what had happened as the life drained from them.  He smiles at him

Never forget – this is all for you, Bruce

Bruce tackles him – but it’s Selina who saves the day, trapping his wrist with her whip

Jeremiah and Bruce fight.  As the pearls hit the ground, Jim and Lee come out of their trance.  Ecco hits the switch, and Jeremiah runs.  The countdown starts. Jim runs for the truck – telling Bruce to go after Jeremiah while Jim will take the truck.  He tells Lee to get to Harvey and warn the people.  Lee is left behind, plaintively yelling Jim!  Oh dear. Back to Lee 1.0.

Bruce yells at Jeremiah to face him.  Jeremiah turns for a split second

Here, Bruce

Before continuing into the warehouse, chased by Bruce.

The countdown reaches zero as Jim drives for the end of the pier.  Jim jumps out of the truck and lets it continue into the water.  He stares out as it sinks.

 Ace Chemicals

Jeremiah - this ends tonight

No - now it begins

Bruce and Jeremiah fight. Bruce gets the best of Jeremiah, who lies on the ground.  For a man who just got a beating, Jeremiah is making some distinctly unpained noises, and repeatedly asking Bruce

Do you feel it?  The connection between us?  You do - don't you?  Bruce  - you feel it, tell me you feel it

There’s lots of panting and straddling and… yes.  It’s not exactly subtle.

Bruce leans into his face

You mean nothing to me

Jeremiah rises up and head butts him

Why don't you understand?

He presses Bruce against the railing, which we see is broken on one side.

You need me.  I’m the answer to your life's question.  Without me, you’re just…. a, a joke

He looks anguished

Without a punchline

He swings punch.  Bruce dodges it, which means Jeremiah pitches towards the broken railing.  It can’t take his weight, and he topples through – into the vat of chemicals below.

Bruce looks over – staring into the vat as we hear horrible sizzling noises.

(An aside – it’s an interesting choice.  Bruce didn’t intentionally push him over, nor was he given the chance to save him.)

Back at the pier, Jim stares at the now toxic water.  I’m not sure that was better, Jim.

The library, where we see Ed. He has a visitor.

After all this time, you come to me for help.  After allowing Strange to put a chip in my head. After selling me out to Gordon - and after naming a dog after me

Oswald purses his mouth.

First of all – I’m fond of that dog – I had Hugo save your life, and did you really think I didn’t have plan to save from Jim Gordon?

His face and expressions are over-exaggerated for that last one.  He’s lying, and Ed knows it.

You always have an answer for everything

Oswald says they have been through all of this before.  Fate has different plans for them.

Ed asks what the plans are. Oswald answers.

Haven't you realised yet that Gotham is a prison?  It’s time we escaped

GCPD – where Jim stares out. Lee approaches.  She heard the news about reunification being delayed for months, now.  She tells Jim it could have been worse – but he stopped it.  Jim comments that they’re right back where they started.

Lee asks what he was about to say to her when Tetch had them.  Jim says he doesn’t know.  He then adds that he would say what he said the last time they saw each other: he wishes he could go back and do things better.

Lee says that feels like a long time ago.  Jim insists nothing has changed.  Lee disagrees

But it has, Jim

Jim says it was a mistake. Ugh, Jim.  Just ugh.

Lee asks him to put himself in her shoes.  After all you said – a baby with Barbara, of all people

I mean, Lee just had a pretty serious affair with the man who had Jim unjustly sent to prison?  Am I supposed to have forgotten that?  Does it not count if there’s no pregnancy?

Jim looks down, and half-refers to what might have happened if they hadn’t lost their child.  They should really steer clear of this. Gotham hasn’t got the chops to deal with a miscarriage storyline.

Jim asks Lee what she’s doing here.  She says she doesn't know.  He’s taken on so much, and she wants to be understanding – but he let her down. When?  The whole Mario thing?  Sofia? A one night stand with Barbara when he thought that she was dead?

Jim apologises again. He then asks what that means for them. She says she guesses they have to live with it.  As she makes to leave, he reaches out to her arm to stop her.  In a really weird moment, she turns and slaps him.  What was that about?  Was that scene supposed to have been played with simmering sexual tension, or something, so her reaction is based in adrenaline?  If so – it hasn’t worked – because the scene was flat as a pancake, and the slap just seemed bizarre.

In generic romance plot fashion, the slap leads to a kiss.  Who’d have thought it? I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Bruce and Selina stand at the beside of a scarred and bandaged Jeremiah.  He apparently has no brain activity, and is no longer a threat. Bruce thanks her for coming to help him.

Selina looks down, and tells him that the night parents were killed – she should have done something.

Bruce looks tenderly at her and tells her she’s done enough.  Selina looks down and smiles.

 Oswald and Ed stride into City Hall

It’s not much, but it’s home

Barbara is sitting at his desk

I’ve been looking through your treasure trove – you’ve been a naughty boy

She tells him that she and Selina are going murder halfsies  

She points her gun at Oswald – but can’t immediately pull the trigger.

Ed’s jaw drops

Oh my God.  You're pregnant!

Oswald gapes.  Barbara stares

How could possibly know that?

Ed gestures like it’s the most obvious thing ever

You’re glowing!  He turns quickly to Oswald to reiterate it, she’s glowing.

Oswald hilariously squints at her.

Barbara re-aims

Adieu Owald.

Oswald tries to negotiate

Come with us!

I like how Oswald’s initial escape plan was very clearly just for him and his dog – and as people have found out about it, and as he’s realised he has no idea how to go about it, he’s gradually wound up having to let more people in on it.  The submarine’s going to have to get bigger than planned.  Ed’s going to want to bring Lucius. Selina will want to bring Bruce, who’ll want to bring Alfred.....

He acknowledges that he killed Tabitha – and that Barbara wants revenge, but she also doesn’t want to raise her child in a toxic warzone.  And just like that, Oswald afforded more consideration for Barbara’s maternal instinct than Jim.

Barbara asks if they’ve found a way out.  Ed brandishes the blueprints for a submarine that can track mines using sonar

Barbara asks where it is. Oswald eyes flit off round the room as he realises that this next part won’t sound good.

Ed pipes up

We have to build it

Barbara is not impressed.

Yeah  - I’m gonna shoot you

Oswald squeezes his eyes closed – but Barbara still can’t pull the trigger.  She stares in consternation at her hand

What is happening…?

Oswald opens his eyes, and gestures towards her bump

Perhaps…..?

Barbara snaps that it was a rhetorical question.  She says she won’t shoot him for the sake of her child – but she’ll never forgive him

Oswald’s fine with this, and nods his head

I understand

Barbara’s exasperated with everything and leaves.

Oswald calls after her in an attempt to cement these new friendlier relations

So who's the lucky father?

Ed leans a little to the side to watch her go and presumably to hear her reply – but all they get is a

Shut up

 General Observations

I want to be star of the show!

Kudos to CM – who is amazing here.  It would be too easy to play Jeremiah as just flat-out villainous.  But he’s not.  Gotham dances around by using ‘best friend’ and ‘brother’, but – let’s be honest – neither of those remotely cover the jealousy he feels over Bruce seeing another man when he closes his eyes at night.  Jeremiah is in love with Bruce.  Desperately. He longs for connection. The way in which he expresses that is monstrous, twisted by the gas, but the need itself is human and recognisable.  As such, he stays – on some level, at least – sympathetic.

Oswald

The idea that Oswald is desperate to leave the city because he suddenly feels it is a prison is way more believable than him feeling he’s conquered everything.  Oswald’s stints in Arkham were hideously traumatising. Anything that feels like a prison is something he’ll want to escape immediately.

Barbara (and Jim, and Lee)

And then you have the nerve to tell me, you think that as a mother – I’m unfit.  Well this is just a little Peyton Place, and you’re all Harper Valley Hypocrites

What a mess

Jim’s insinuation that Barbara is an unfit mother is low, lousy and rotten.  No-one would say she’s squeaky clean, but barring Harper and Lucius – no-one is.  Jim and Lee have three murders between them.  He’s being a self-righteous hypocrite and is horribly lacking in any compassion or decency.

The show is longing to fall into its usual Madonna/Whore thing with Barbara and Lee – but in order to do this, it’s having to conveniently forget about what Lee got up to last season. Now – given that we remember this, having her fling lines around like Barbara, of all people when she spent last season having a pretty serious affair with Ed, who framed Jim and murder her friend, makes her seem like the worst kind of moral hypocrite.

Jim and Lee

I am what would be termed ‘old fandom’.  I am used to my preferred pairings living exclusively in fanfic.  I have no expectation of seeing them become canon. I don’t harass creators online for them to become canon.  I don’t claim they should become a ship because they’re somehow more morally worthy than other ships.  I’m happy to watch canon, and then toddle off to read and write fic about them, as well as indulging in meta.

As such, while I ship Gobblepot – I’ve said, for a couple of seasons now, that Jim and Lee are likely endgame.  I was surprised they weren’t back together at the end of season three.  The show is insistent that Barbara’s not morally retrievable as a romantic interest at this point.  At the same time – they’re big on designated romance: Jim has to be in a relationship.  This is par for the course, and not something that especially bothers me.  Like I said – this is why we have fanfic.

But wow – the execution is just so bad.  We’re given thin reasons to mesh their plotlines, which also have the knock-on effect of temporarily dumping Harvey and Lucius out of the story.  The past is retconned to create a partnership: Alfred is Bruce’s second father figure, not Jim – and he barely knows Lee.  A chunk of Lee’s characterisation – her fascination with darkness – has been cut out and binned.  A whole mess of unresolved issues have been swept under the carpet.  

The scene wrapping it up was pretty execrable, to be honest.  Aside from being flat as a pancake, it consisted almost entirely of some very generic questions answered with a variety of ‘don’t knows’.  Why are you here?  What were you going to say to me?  What does this mean for us? Neither seemed entirely sure – then we wrapped up with a confusing slap and a compulsory kiss lifted from any generic romance you care to name.

If you put to the side the fact that it’s cute because the actors are married in rl – the in-universe foundation for this is non-existent at this point.  They could write it as two traumatised people in a harsh situation finding some comfort in familiarity, trying to recreate a simpler time in the past when they were happier with themselves - which would be interesting and emotionally-engaging, but they’re determined to sell it as a grand passionate romance that’s written in the stars, and that’s where it falls down.  It just feels so perfunctory.  And it’s particularly glaring when it’s juxtaposed here with the tight-knit and complicated and tender relationship Bruce has with Selina, or Jeremiah’s frighteningly intense passion for Bruce.

More interesting than wherever they take that next week will be how Bruce deals with the aftermath of all that’s happened, and the building of a rapidly-expanding submarine.

Thoughts?

#gotham commentary #gotham s5e07 #ace chemicals