#like i literally think if ethan was a month late he would have stumbled on a house of dried out mold where the most dangerous thing is luca | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

adolanables · 4 years

Text

Bleed (G.D.) Part 2

Masterlist

Based off the song CHAMPION by ELINA

“Do you get high when I hit my lows? I hope you feel like you’re a champion when you break my heart once and for all.”

“Hey Roxie!” Madison pulled her friend into a hug with a big smile on her face, the bright lights of the set nearly blinding Roxie.

“Hey babe, how are you?” Roxie smiled at the girl who was currently sitting in a makeup chair getting her hair done for her newest music video. Madison Beer and Roxie Castro had been friends for nearly as long as Roxie and Grayson. Every photoshoot, video shoot, you name it, Roxie had done Madison’s make up. Today was no different. She had almost cancelled considering everything that had happened yesterday, but she needed the money and she owed Madison. She had ran out of the house before Grayson had even woken up, ensuring she wouldn’t accidentally run into him.

“Exhausted, but ready to shoot.” Smiling and taking a sip of her coffee, Madison watched as Roxie started taking out her supplies. “How’s life at the Dolan residence?” Madison knew how close Grayson and Roxie were, but no one truly knew the extent of their relationship besides Ethan. Everyone always speculated that there was no way two insanely hot people could be that close and never do anything. They always denied the accusations, not wanting the rumors to spread and weasel their way into their private friendship.

“Same old, same old.” Shrugging and dipping a brush into a clear primer, Roxie began to go to work on Madison’s look. “Ethan’s got a girlfriend - Maria - she’s just great.”

“And Grayson?” Raising an eyebrow, Madison peered up through her lashes at her friend. “Word around town is he’s finally becoming that fuck boy everyone thought he already was.”

“Oh?” As she began the foundation, Roxie cleared her throat. “Yeah - um - he does seem to be taking advantage of that a lot more lately.”

“Weird shift.” Madison shrugged her shoulders and let out a sigh, deciding to drop the subject. “Anyways, a big group of us are going out tonight - a lot of people with fakes so you’d be fine if you wanted. Pleaaase come.” She stuck her lower lip out in a pout that made Roxie chuckle and just nod her head; what could it hurt?

When Roxie got home, she was relieved to see Grayson’s car missing from the driveway. As she walked through the silent house, she realized she was here completely alone. Taking advantage of the silence, she made herself a salad and ate it quietly out on the back patio with her feet in the pool. As much as she loved living here - well, before all the shit with Grayson - it was usually pretty loud. The twins were always yelling about something and if they weren’t, the music was blaring - a moment of peace and quiet was rare.

As the twins walked into the house with acai bowls in hand, Ethan smacked a stiff arm across Grayson’s chest. He could tell he was about to walk outside and try to talk to Roxie as if nothing had happened. “Give her one day… please?” Ethan felt like he was the literal physical barrier between the two and he sometimes wondered what would happen if he just stopped trying to intervene. He thought they’d surely have killed each other by now.

“Fine.” Grayson huffed, rolling his eyes and wandering off to his bedroom - not hesitating to slam the door shut. Ethan rolled his eyes as Roxie’s head whipped around at the loud sound, a small smile appearing on her lips as he waved at her. Ethan couldn’t read Roxie the way Grayson could, but knowing someone for five years gives you some pretty good insight.

“What’s up, E?” Her smile was wide as her friend sat down next to her and shoved a big bite of food into his mouth.

“Fucking starving.” Mumbling, but nudging her in the side with his elbow, he continued. “What’re you up to today?”

“Think I’m gonna go out with Madison tonight.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and set the empty salad bowl down next to her. “What about you?”

“Maria invited me over for some surprise.” Letting out an awkward laugh at how that sounded he clarified. “Think she’s making me dinner… are you gonna be okay alone here tonight?”

“Yeah, for sure.” Pushing herself up off the ground and shooting Ethan that signature smile she turned on her heel to head back inside. “Worst case scenario I’ll just stay at Madison’s.”

As the door shut softly, Ethan blew out a puff of air. He always felt like he had to be the middle-man between Roxie and Grayson. Their fights were so bad sometimes he had to barge into whoever’s room they were in and pull them apart. It was so unhealthy, but if you ever tried to tell either of them that, they’d look at you like you had three heads. He really wondered if all of their fighting and confusion would just be solved if they both gave in and actually dated each other. They were both so hard-headed he wasn’t sure it would ever happen, but he knew things were getting worse. The way Grayson was acting made him worry for Roxie.

Roxie didn’t go out all that often and she got drunk even less. She wasn’t as weary of alcohol as the twins were, but she didn’t like to do much of anything that meant Grayson couldn’t come with her. When she did drink, it was usually when she was emotional and it always ended badly. Always. Ethan couldn’t remember a time when she had gone out for drinks and just peacefully gone home to sleep. He was kind of grateful he’d be gone tonight, but he hoped the night wouldn’t be too eventful that he wished he would have been there.

With one last swipe of her lip gloss, Roxie grabbed her red clutch - glanced at herself one last time in the mirror and headed off. It was nearing 9PM and Madison was outside the Dolan house in an Uber waiting for Roxie. They were going to a pregame before they headed to the bars. As Roxie’s heels clicked through the hardwood of the house, Grayson’s attention was drawn from the protein shake he was about to make.

“Where ya headed?” He popped his head out of the kitchen just in time to catch the back of his best friend’s head that had been straightened to perfection. She had on a pair of ripped light jeans that showed her fishnet tights and see-through black bodysuit. The way she whipped her head around to shoot daggers into him made his dick tingle - god, she looked good. Something about the anger turned him on to no end.

“Out.” One word was all she gave him, quickly ripping the door open and slamming it behind her. Grayson rolled his eyes and just sighed; she was mad at him and absolutely smoking - great.

“Oh man.” Madison’s smile got wider as Roxie slid into the leather seat next to her. “You look good, babe.”

Grayson couldn’t get Roxie out of his head that night. She looked so fucking good and it wasn’t for him and he was pissed. The girl he had invited over had bailed for the night and he didn’t feel like trying to set up new plans. Ethan was gone so Grayson wasn’t sure what to do with the rest of his evening. Roxie rarely went out without him and he knew the only reason she did tonight was because she was pissed at him.

“Hey, E-” Grayson spoke quickly into his phone, the uncertainty of where Roxie was overwhelming him. Before Ethan could respond, Grayson was sputtering again. “Any chance you know where Rox was going out?”

“Nope, sorry bro.” He had only answered the phone in fear something bad had already happened with Roxie and Grayson; the last thing he was going to do was tell Grayson where she could be.

The phone call ended quickly after that, Grayson letting out a frustrated sigh as he tossed his phone onto the couch. Surely Roxie would come home sometime around 1AM absolutely hammered and start some sort of argument with Grayson. They’d yell at each other for a bit and maybe Grayson would get laid. That’s how it always played out at least - he figured he would just watch Netflix until she stumbled through the door in a few hours.

Meanwhile, across town at a vlog squad pregame, Roxie was six shots and two hits deep. Her eyes were slightly hooded making her already lusty face look even more seductive. It was no secret that Roxie was a hot commodity in Los Angeles. She was beautiful, friendly, and oh so funny. On top of that, she was essentially completely unattainable. Everyone knew how close she was with the Dolan twins and even though they denied being more than friends, no one ever wanted to step on Grayson’s toes.

The news of Grayson’s shenanigans over the past month had spread like wildfire and all of a sudden, any unspoken restriction on Roxie was null and void. If Grayson was sleeping around, there was no reason she couldn’t make decisions like that for herself too. Jeff Wittek’s left arm was slung around Roxie’s waist as she took another gulp of her vodka lemonade. She’d always thought Jeff was hot - probably because he and Grayson shared similar features. To add the cherry on top, he was the definition of bad news - Roxie’s ideal choice for a man to give attention to.

“You want another hit?” Jeff nudged her, taking a puff of the joint between his fingers. She nodded softly, taking it from him and taking a slow drag - her eyes fluttering shut as she let the high continue to wash over her. She didn’t even notice the bright flash of a camera on the side of her face as she handed the blunt back to Jeff and gave him a small smile.

Back on the couch, Grayson was thumbing through snapchat stories mindlessly - his heart dropped when that familiar face popped up on his screen. It was always interesting to see what influencer’s posted on their private accounts, but Grayson really did not expect to see Roxie taking a hit with Jeff from the vlog squad practically feeling her up. He let out a loud yell, throwing his phone across the room in anger as he ran a hand through the hair that had fallen down onto his forehead. The only thought running through his head at the moment: what an absolute bitch.

Grayson felt absolutely betrayed. He had done so much for Roxie - even going as far to offer her part of his home. He’d left girls for her - never admitting that was the real reason but they both knew the truth. He wanted to explore his options and see how good it felt to succumb to the countless women throwing themselves at him. Shit, it felt good - endless women each night practically crying about how hot he was. Some days it felt like he could never get enough of it, every dream he had of marrying young and having kids had flown out of his head in the last few weeks. He wanted this type of praise for the rest of his life. If Roxie couldn’t handle that and stay by his side like she had for years, he wasn’t sure if there was a place for her in his life anymore.

“Hey, are you okay?” Madison’s hand gripping Roxie’s wrist was the only thing she could focus on - the rest of the building spinning around her rapidly. She wasn’t sure how much she’d had to drink since they’d gotten to the bar. They were in a VIP booth with bottle service and she was taking full advantage of all of the attention she was getting. Jeff was fully on track to bed Roxie that night, until a guy slid a hand over her ass and Jeff threw a punch. It didn’t take long for him to get tossed out and for Roxie to throw back even more drinks.

“Mhm!” She threw a smile up at her friend; definitely a fake one, but it was enough to convince a drunk Madison she was genuinely fine.

As Roxie twirled around in a circle, looking at all these people she really didn’t know, she felt her heart tighten - she just wanted Grayson. Gripping her clutch tightly, she stumbled out of the section and shoved through crowds of people, slapping hands away that tugged on her body. When the cool air of the night hit her face, she realized she had no idea where she was going. Without much thought, she dug her phone out of her bag and pressed the first person in her phone.

“If you’re asking me to pick you up, you can hang up now.” His voice was gruff and irritated, on the other side, he was gripping his phone tightly- surprised it wasn’t about to break. It felt like he was punching himself in the stomach as he heard her shakily sigh on the other end - he was pissed at her. Grayson went through so many phases of anger with Roxie. One second he was ready to never speak to her again, the next he was wanting to wrap her up in a ball and hold her tightly to him. The rollercoaster of emotions between them was never ending.

“Gray, please…” She whined, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers as she swayed back and forth on the sidewalk.

“Fuck - fine.” He yelled, hanging up abruptly and making Roxie jump. Grayson was always so loud and explosive, sometimes he scared her - if she was being honest. No, he’d never hit her and he’d never honestly hurt her, but he could very badly if he wanted to. She always wondered how far they could push each other before he snapped.

Grayson drove like a mad-man to the pin Roxie had sent him with her location. He was absolutely fuming, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel. The audacity of this girl to call him for a ride after she’d been all over fucking Jeff. He couldn’t believe it. As he pulled up to the club, his stomach dropped seeing Roxie leaning up against the side of the building with her arms folded, her head staring down at the ground. God, sometimes she was so oblivious - anyone could drive by and snatch her right now and she’d have no warning.

“Roxie.” He rolled the window down, his face softening as she whipped her head up to smile widely at him, running over to the car and quickly getting inside. It’s not like she had forgotten that they were pissed at each other, but it was hard to feel two things at once when she was this drunk. Right now she was just excited he was giving her a ride home. She smelled like alcohol and weed, but the vanilla of her perfume was still out shadowing the rest. “Why didn’t you get a ride from Jeff?”

“What?” She snapped at him as she buckled her seatbelt. How the hell did he even know she was with Jeff?

“Madison posted him all up on you on her snap.” He seethed, shoving his phone into her face to watch the video for herself. Roxie scoffed as she watched the overall harmless video that of course Grayson would get mad about. It was like she was his to control and he could do whatever the hell he wanted.

“So you can literally fuck a different girl each night, but I can’t side hug someone?” Her words were slurred as she yelled, arms folded across her lap as she tossed his phone into the console. “Bullshit.”

“Do you want to fuck someone new every night?” Clenching his jaw and pressing down the gas pedal slightly, his voice was low and raspy. He knew she was going to say no, but part of him wanted her to say yes so he could yell at her - so he could justify what he was doing. He knew she would never do that to him, but if she did, maybe he wouldn’t feel so wrong for doing it to her.

“No.” Roxie shook her head and rested it against the cool glass window, her lower lip sticking out just slightly.

Grayson didn’t speak the rest of the drive home, stealing quick glances over at Roxie who was mindlessly scrolling through her phone. Somehow, she looked even better than she did before she left that evening - her makeup was worn off slightly and her rosy cheeks and nose made him smile to himself. When they finally got home, she was having a hard time getting into the house without falling - Grayson jogged over to her and gripped her by the elbow, tugging her inside.

“Don’t touch me.” She snapped, huffing as he finally got her to her room and pushed her down onto the bed. Grayson was about to respond, but he didn’t - turning on his heel to leave her alone for the night. Roxie wasn’t having it, she just couldn’t. Something about alcohol and Grayson made her blood boil and she wasn’t capable of just dropping it. “When did you become such a piece of shit, hm?”

“Roxie.” Grayson warned, turning around slowly with his arms folded across his chest. He watched with a raised eyebrow as she kicked her stilettos off and started shimmying her tight pants down her legs.

“No - fuck you.” Huffing in frustration as she finally got the pants off, sitting on the edge of her bed in a pair of fishnet stockings and a thong bodysuit. “This -” She pointed up and down at her gorgeous body with raised eyebrows. “Is laid out in the room next to yours every fucking night and you’re choosing to stick your dick in something else - seriously?”

“Don’t start.” He warned her again, eyes raking over her as she stood up, her hands on her hips with dark hair cascading down her side. There wasn’t an ounce of a lie in what she said. Grayson had never seen someone hotter than Roxie in his entire life and he knew he never would.

“I know no one is fucking you like me.” Her voice was soft as she traced a finger down the white t-shirt on his chest. “I know none of these boring bitches dig into you like I do.” Cocking her head to the side as Grayson’s eyes darkened and he gulped. “What the fuck is your problem, hm? Confidence shot? Worried your dick isn’t good? What is it?”

“Don’t speak to me like that.” He seethed, his eyes squeezing shut as he felt her fingers scratch up under his shirt across his tight abs. God - she was infuriating.

“Little Dolan scared his little dick can’t do the job anymo-”

Her words were cut short as Grayson gripped her smaller body and threw her back against the bed, a loud yelp leaving her lips as her body slammed onto the mattress. Grayson had shoved her against walls, maybe even choked her a little too hard at times, but he’d never thrown her like this - so hard her neck whipped back so fast she was sure she had whiplash. Grayson felt his stomach drop as he watched her body smack onto the bed like a rag doll. He hadn’t meant to throw her so hard - truly he hadn’t. He wanted to toss her onto the bed so he could crawl onto her, maybe intimidate her a bit so he could have the upper hand. As her hand came up to clutch her neck, she let out a soft whimper.

“Rox - hey…” He muttered, rushing to the side of the bed to crouch down so he could see her face without her having to sit up. Her eyes were glossy and she looked at him like he was a complete stranger. “I didn’t mea-”

“Get the fuck away from me you sick fuck!” Her voice was loud and cracking as she screamed at him. Face crumpling up in pain as she held her neck tightly.

Grayson’s eyes widened as he watched tears run down her face. Roxie didn’t cry very much - it was pretty limited to dying dog scenes in movies and the occasional sob story. When it came to Grayson, Roxie held her tears back to release in private - even when she was completely intoxicated. As he watched her sob in front of him, he felt completely helpless. His only defense was to pretend she was crying just to make him feel bad - he knew she wasn’t, but he wasn’t going to acknowledge his mistakes at this point. He was in too deep.

“Fucking bitch.” He scoffed, pushing himself up off the floor and glancing down at her one more time. She was staring up at him with squinted eyes and black streaks down her face. “I hope you realize how bad you fucked up when you’re not sloppy in the morning.”

Roxie let out a choked sob as Grayson slammed her door shut, the mug full of pencils on her desk slamming to the ground and shattering into pieces. She knew she was drunk, but she wasn’t going to forget what he just did to her.

#ethan dolan #grayson dolan #the dolan twims #the dolan twins #dolan twins #fanfic #dolan twins fanfic #dolantwins #dolan twinimagine #dolan twin smut #dolan twin angst #grayson dolan fanfic #grayson dolan imagine #grayson dolan smut #grayson dolanangst

81 notes · View notes

vinylhazza · 4 years

Note

please continue the one about ethan. what’s it like when he gets home? or when he starts getting hate for cheating? like did the fans get mad that he cheated on y/n, or were they mad at y/n for not “pleasing him”? does he try to get y/n back? what about the girl, what does she do? how does grayson feel about it? is he mad at ethan? i actually love this concept and all its angst

part 1 here

you had successfully removed all of your things from the house before the twins got home from Australia. you didn’t want to see ethans face or you’re afraid you might actually break into a million pieces.

you tried your hardest to think about moving on because you got played by someone you fell in love you. and love was never a word you used. it was a word reserved for family and someone that would one day treat you like a queen. but now all of the sudden when you think of that word...all you can see is ethans smile, and the way he fluffs his hair, or his puffy cheeks in the morning, or the way he chases you around the house when you steal his favorite hoodie - even if he ends up letting you keep it.

love is ethan.

you had sobbed for two days after you left, knowing they would be home soon and knowing that ethan was going to read the letter and know that he’d lost you. you didn’t even know if he would care. you just knew that your apartment felt cold and lonely. you knew that you hadn’t even really settled into the apartment because you had spent most of your time at the twins house. you knew that sleep was scarce without his arms to keep you warm and his steady breathing to lull you back to sleep.

you knew that breakfast was different without grayson singing off key and ethan stumbling in just as he smelt the bacon. you knew that seeing the twitter comments on your most recent tweet was so mixed that it hurt you more. some people were supporting you, saying things like:

“don’t worry baby he will realize how bad he fucked up!”

“honestly what did you expect?”

“australia does that to people don’t take it too personal”

“keep your head up, we are here for you”

“cheaters are honestly so disgusting i’m so sorry y/n”

“okay making up fake shit to try and frame him really isn’t cool”

“didn’t think it was that serious it’s literally a kiss on the cheek?”

“he’s not worth the tears babe!”

and it hurt. you knew how the fans were. you knew that they thought the twins could do no wrong and the majority would get angry for you even suggesting such a thing - even if you haven’t tweeted anything since you saw the pictures. it wasn’t in your nature to take your problems to the internet. let them think what you want, you were too heartbroken to care anyway. you had honestly thought about deleting social media all together until it dies down, but you wanted to torture yourself just a bit longer. it still felt like a dream you hoped you’d wake up from soon.

your days dragged on like a loop. get up, eat, go to work, come home, eat, scroll through your phone, get sad, cry in the shower, lay awake with bloodshot eyes, do it all over again.

you’d never felt true heartbreak. sure you’d had boyfriends before, but it was never like this. no one had ever made you feel this way in your entire life. you had never fallen in love, had never had your heart race from a single look. you had never been this head over heels. but you’d also never felt this low and hurt.

you had always thought he was too good for you anyway, but seeing it flash before your eyes in a series of four pictures was absolutely horrendous and had been playing in your head repeatedly since that day.

the girl in the pictures was apparently a friend of a friend of there’s, no one you had seen before. but she was nice enough to send you a short message in your inbox, trying to tell you that she you knew you were in a committed relationship and she knew she was being a bit too touchy - but nothing had happened between them and ethan never even thought about making a move on her. it was hard to believe, especially with seeing the pictures thousands of times and making up different scenarios of how he might have betrayed her.

when ethan walked through the door, he knew something was wrong. something was very very wrong.

it was cold. that was the first sign. it was freezing in the house and there was no scent of strawberries to be found.

he had seen all of the pictures and the drama, noticed all of the tweets and mixed opinions. he knew he fucked up. but it really wasn’t what everyone thought it was. yes the pictures were real, but they also weren’t pictures of him cheating on you. they were pictures of a girl he’d met in australia that had gotten a bit too comfortable and he was a bit too tipsy. no excuse for how touchy she was being, but it was the truth.

he wouldn’t play victim. he knew you had seen all of the pictures and tweets flying around the internet...but he’d thought you’d stick around to let him explain. he thought you would come at him in a blind rage when he walked in the door - pissed at him and yelling like he deserved. you were never the one to stay quiet when something upset you. that honestly would have been better than the feeling of this dark house looming in front of him.

he’d tried to text you the past couple of days, knowing it was hard because of the time zones, but also knowing you answered whenever you could. but there was nothing. not one message. you had blocked his number, sobbing while you pressed the button but knowing the best way to get over him was to block him out completely. easier said than done. there was always traces of him everywhere you looked -

he had also never seen his brother this mad at him in his entire life. no he didn’t condone the hateful messages being left to his brother online, but he did think that he deserved them on some level. grayson had yelled at ethan the entire way out of terminal at the airport.

“how fucking stupid are you e? this girl is completely fucking in love with you and you don’t even have the decency to call her and explain? you’ve been treating her like down right shit as it is and i’m honeslty surprised she hasn’t left your stupid ass,” grayson seethed at his older twin brother, yanking his bag off of the baggage claim and rolling it away with a huff, shaking it head.

he knew grayson was right. but he also knew that he was being this distant and giving you the cold shoulder for one reason and one reason alone. he had never been so in love. and he was scared out of his mind that it would all go away. he had already lost his dad this year and when he realizes that he would rather hear your laugh than his favorite song, he ran away. literally ran away from you to a different fucking country and acting foolish out of fear and self doubt.

grayson had every reason to be treating him like the stupidest man on earth. because he was. he was ruining the best thing he’d ever had out of a hunch that wasn't even true. the one thing that seemed to stick out to him in graysons little speech was “completely fucking in love with you”...there was no way you loved him back. you were everything he dreamed he would one day deserve. you were kind and caring, breathtakingly beautiful, supportive...everything he’s ever wanted in a woman. he had a thought cross his mind once that his dad made you two bump into each other in isle 3 at that grocery store - knowing you would be the one to help him through his hurt...but also giving his son the woman he was meant to love. the thought that his dad sent you to him had him crying in his car after the first date, feeling this weight in his heart, like his dad was with him that moment.

yeah you had been having fun and they had gotten unbelievably close over the past couple of months, but once he started ghosting you, he really was trying to make you hate him. he thought it was better for you to be mad and him to ghost her than fall for you and have you leave when he was already so invested. he couldn't lose anything else. it was scary and he didn’t want to be scared anymore. he wanted you to leave so you wouldn't have to realize he really wasn't shit.

little did he know you already did leave. walking through his empty, cold, sad house was a day that he would look back on and hate for the rest of his life. he and grayson had such a good time traveling around the world and getting away for a while that he didn’t even think about how he was making you feel. he couldn't have you coming along and being that pretty and taking his heart more and more than you already had - he needed to get away from you before it was too late.

but seeing that letter laying on the bed, folding neatly into a little square, he knew he had fucked up. looking around the room, his heart shattered, seeing no trace that you were ever even there. the closet was cleared of your clothes, toothbrush not resting in his usual place on the counter, book gone from its normal place on the nightstand. the only thing left to convince him it wasn't all a dream was that little folded piece of paper sat neatly against his pillow.

this was the moment you had been dreading, thinking about for the last three days. the moment ethan would finally realize just how much he hurt you, and just how in love you were with him. you didn't know if he was too far gone to care, or if he would try and contact you, but you needed to be strong. you owed yourself more than to be walked over by someone who showed you such a great deal of disrespect.

reading that letter was the hardest thing he ever had to do. tears were running down his face while he scanned over your words. he could feel your pain and read the cursive in your voice, your sweet voice that could get his heart racing faster than anything could. knowing how bad he had hurt you was the most painful feeling.

“p.s. I fell in love with you...” reading those words out loud hit him like a ton of bricks...he’d lost the best thing that had ever happened to him. you loved him? this was his goal, to have you angry, to have you leave before he could get too attached...but somehow this didn't feel like an accomplishment. it felt like huge mistake. it felt like he was a fucking idiot that wanted to hop in his car and chase after you right this very moment. it felt like he wanted to bang on your door until you opened it just so he could kiss you with all the force he had in his body - apologize for making you feel worthless. because you were anything but that. you were his everything. how could he fucking do this to you?

he was trying not the crumple the paper in his hands while he cried, imagining what you must have felt seeing those pictures that were so out of context. he tried to imagine what you felt when he didn't invite you on their adventures...all because he couldn't man up and admit that he wanted you forever. all because he was scared to have something good slip through the cracks again.

“I told you so,” grayson gloated from the door, disappointed in his brother, but hoping he would get his shit together and get in the fucking jeep to go after you like a real man.

ethan was silent, staring down at the letter like he forgot how to breathe, forgot how to think, forgot how to be the man you needed. he had been so broken for so long, how could he possibly fix this when you were the one that fixed him the first time?

“so what are you gonna do? break? or be the kind of man that dad always wanted us to be?” grayson said from behind him, laying a hand on his shoulder, saying what needed to be said. he needed those words of wisdom, and if their dad wasn't here to say it, then he would.

he made a mistake and you needed to know the truth. if he had to spend the rest of his life making this up to you and proving that he is the man worthy of your love, then that's what he would do. but what he isn't going to do, is disappoint his hero in the sky, the one man that told him to always be brave. to always choose love first. he refused to go against everything his dad believed in. he refused to let you get away without a fight - without knowing how much he adored you. he refused to have grayson look at him like a wounded puppy any longer. the answer was quite simple really.

“i’m going to get her back.”

tags: @dolandolll @dolanshellyes @justanothergirl-80 @ebbach-03 @ardordolan @justordinaryjen @aquadolan @graysavant @graydolan12

#asks #e!concepts #ethan!concepts #broken!ethan

394 notes · View notes

dolanswhore · 6 years

Text

Never Just Friends.

Summary: Mob!Gray is head over heels for his niece’s teacher even though he won’t admit it but when he finally realizes it it might be too late.

part 2.

warning: smut ahead ;)

Grayson tried to pay attention to the four year old dressed in a pink fluffy outfit that resembled a princess dangling from the tower but it was hard due to the vibrating phone that had his brother Ethan glaring over his shoulder. ‘Sorry bub.’ Gray mouths quietly standing from his seat angrily shoving his hand into his pocket as he reached the hallway.

“What?” The small yell that ripped his throat practically had the man on the other side of the phone trembling. “We have a problem boss.”

“I told you not to bother me or Ethan. It’s Ella’s recital.” Grayson asked for one thing today to not be bothered to watch her dance recital and especially Ethan since he’s been looking forward to watching his daughter for months. "G is making his moves he knew the two of you were going to be gone. They’re outside with crow bars and guns.”

"Fuck." Grayson mumbled, hand rubbing down his face stress fully. “I’ll be there soon. Don’t let anyone in and no one leaves.”

The moment Grayson walked back into the auditorium the echoing of claps filled the room loudly as he rushed back to his seat picking up the pink flower bouquet he ordered weeks before. Ella came rushing down the stairs to her father and mother squeezing their legs before finally jumping into her Uncle Gray’s arms. “You did so good pumpkin!”

She giggled wrapping her tiny arms around his neck, “Did you watch me Uncle Gray?”

“I did pretty girl.” The sudden sound of a clearing of a throat caught him off guard as he turned around. Never had Gray been stunned in his life by a female. Woman weren’t an everyday part of his life, even though they usually fall to his feet, Grayson didn’t have time for a relationship let alone for more then one night.

“Umm hi..” She mumbles sweetly, smiling at Gray and waving at Ethan. “Hi miss Ella you forgot your book bag.”

Before Ethan could reach over Grayson leaned forward finger’s skimming hers as he held Ella with one arm, and hooked his fingers around the strap. “Thank you Ms. L/N.”

She smiles, “No problem sweetheart, did you have fun today?”

“I did look at the pretty flowers Uncle Gray got me!” Her mouth hangs open in surprise, stepping for she could smell the beautiful arrangement of pinks and purples. Grayson’s grew nervous at the heat that radiated from her small frame and now his cheeks. Eyes watching her every move as she leaned closer until the fresh floral scent hit her nose. Ella giggles as Gray gulps. “They smell beautiful darling.”

Ethan seemed to notice his brother’s lingering stare rasing his eye brows at him. Gray rolls his eyes smiling at the little girl that rest he head against his chest. “You said you needed to pick her up early tomorrow right?”

Ethan nods, that’s why he told him he needed to leave before. “I’ll do it.” Grayson just wanted to see her again and due to how much his heart was still pounding just looking at her.

The next day Gray found himself dressed in one of his best custom Gucci suits leaving the office early with Ethan yelling, “Don’t forget to get her McDonald’s after her appointment!”

“I know E.” He rolls his eyes as the warm weather of LA hit him. Gray didn’t know why he had a pit of nervousness in his stomach that would pinch every block he got closer to the school. The school was only the best for Ethan’s daughter, when it came to family Grayson would do anything for them and that is exactly why he pays her private tuition despite how much Ethan would try argue it.

“Grayson Dolan.” He answers the security guard, handing over his ID, the older man’s eyebrows raising at the well known name in the area. “Here for Ella Dolan I assume?”

He nods as the security guard hands back his card opening the locked door with a loud click as Gray’s legs move his muscular thighs flex against the tight material of his pants, the secretary in the office giving a small squeak at the power radiating from him, and with the guard mumbling the name that everyone knew. Grayson was the main reason for all of the violence and drug trade in the whole state, no one would over power him, and the cops wouldn’t dare arrest him, having no proof and also a large majority on his pay roll. “Here’s your visiting pass Mr. Dolan.”

Grayson didn’t waste any time and before he knew it he was knocking on the door of the classroom. When the door was opened his swore his breath stopped he couldn’t understand why seeing her took his breath away. “Hi Mr. Dolan. Ethan told me you were coming for Ella today.”

“Call me Grayson.” He was so nervous, so so nervous. He killed men with his bare hands but somehow seemed completely intimidated by his niece’s pretty teacher. “Ella should be out in a second, it’s nap time.”

Gray gives her a nod with his handsome dimpled smile. “People always seem to know who you are Grayson. You’re a very wide known name around here.”

“You’re not from here?” He tucks his clammy hand into his pockets muscles bulging as the tight material stretches around his big muscles. “No i actually just moved here”

Gray didn’t know why the words came out, usually he didn’t care about the girls he slept with, he barely knew their names, he could care less. She was different, gave him a feeling he never felt before. Never had he been nervous over a girl he barely knew, “It’s okay if you’re not interested but i would love to take you out.”

The first time Gray took her out he was so nervous to the point he needed helping picking out his attire. Gray lived a lonely life with only his brother and his family back in NJ. He didn’t trust anyone, he was constantly paranoid which left him very lonely. Gray saw every human as a potential enemy trying to dethrone the king of LA. The only person who he truly appreciated an opinion from was his beloved house keeper Maria. She was a small Spanish older woman who he wouldn’t be able to survive without, she cleaned his clothes, and house, made him meals and most important was one of the only friends he had.

“Gray, you can’t be serious? Oh Dios mio!” She exclaims as Gray rolls his eyes. “It’s not that bad Maria.”

“You can’t wear blue with pink.” She scolds him rolling her eyes. “I will literally die if you walk out of the house like this.”

“They’re just pink socks, stop being dramatic.”

Grayson never thought he would be here right now. His porshce parked in front of her house, her grinding against his lap, pants wrapped around his thighs . Lips pressing against skin, tongues tasting every inch of skin that was possible, heavy breaths fogging the tinted windows. Her skinful hips lowering onto him, his cock filling her to the brim, a hiss falling from his lips as he stretches her gently. “I was so fucking nervous today I definitely wasn’t expecting a the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen to be on my cock.”

Grayson radiated power, and despite him being so cocky, she couldn’t believe how sweet he was the entire date. He was constantly complimenting her, showing his best manors, even to the point that they messed up her meal at the very expensive restaurant they went to and Gray was fuming and demanding a new meal.

She blushes softly lifting her lips and back into his as he let out a small whine, “Fuck sweetheart.”

After that day Grayson couldn’t imagine his life without his angel angel, waking up to her naked and sprawled across the bed taking all the covers once again, or seeing that smile when waking her up with coffee. They became inseparable, joint at the hip but despite how much he couldn’t live life without her would never admit he was in a relationship.

She thought it was because he wasn’t use to the relationship scene and was afraid of labels but despite how right she was the truth is he was afraid she would get hurt. Being apart of Grayson’s life came with danger, and anyone he loved was always in it. It made more sense if something happened to her when they weren’t together it wouldn’t hurt as much as if they were dating in Gray’s mind at least.

Y/N was never nosy of Gray’s life, she understood he was a busy man but sometimes she would think he’d work himself to death. She really never questioned the future events of ‘being a couple’ until one day she stumbled into his office to see a woman perched on Grays. It hurt, it hurt so fucking much, and at that point she thought she wanted nothing to do with him until he came running after her, heart beat in his ears, no matter how much he would say he didn’t love her, he didn’t want to live life without her.

“Peach.. sweetheart please stop.” Gray grabs her wrist stopping her from going any further, tuggling softly so she turned around to face him.. but he wish he didn’t. Nothing would prepare him for the tears rushing down her cheeks, and heart broken arms.

“Leave me alone Grayson. I know we aren’t together but i thought we had a mutual understanding!” She sighs, wiping the tears from under her eyes she was stronger then this.

“Listen to me please. i feel nothing for her. she is someone i do business with and if i don’t make her happy i don’t get her business.”

“So you fucking sleep with her to keep her happy?!” She pulls her arm away from his grip, but this only makes his reach for her cheeks, soft hands against the warm skin.

“No never.” Gray shakes his head. “I swear there is no one else i want in my life. My life is difficult, but you’re the one sure thing I want.”

She forgave him that time, but the second time she walked in on it, she was done. There were no tears this time, Grayson noticed as well, his heart pounding against his chest as if it was going to fall out as she said, “Don’t contact me ever again.”

The next few days were filled with heart break on both sides. Days were dull and meaningless again, no more fun, no more waking up with a smile and he couldn’t shake the aching in his empty chest, his heart hurt without her. He was too stubborn though to admit he was wrong. Despite telling the complete truth that he wanted nothing to do with that woman, she would literally just like to sit on his lap and was one of the biggest competitors around, she needed to make her happy for there was no war between the two for LA was a safe place for Ella to live, for Y/N to live.

“Where is Y/N?” Maria clicks her tongue at the fact she had definitely prepared too many eggs expecting his angel to be here.

“I don’t know. It’s not like she doesn’t come over everyday.” He mumbles, hand falling to bridge of his nose trying to ease the head ache he’s obtained from the restless hours of no sleep. “Having trouble in your relationship?”

“It’s not a relationship I don’t have time for a girlfriend.” He answers taking a sip of his black coffee trying to warm the numbing pain felt through out his body.

“But don’t you already do every thing a boyfriend does? You buy her things, she sleeps over, you two are always together.”

Those words replayed in his head all day at the office, his men staying clear because of how moody he’s been for the last few days. All day he would stare at his desk, eyes running over the small note from moths ago in her hand writing, ‘ have a good day xx’

After sitting there for hours and hour finally came to realization that he wouldn’t live his life another minute without her in it. His life would never be the same, and it didn’t want it to be. He didn’t want to go back to an empty house way too big and elegant, he didn’t want lonely dinners, he didn’t want to wake up without Y/N practically being on top of him.

In seconds Grayson was up, it was late but at the moment he didn’t care. The ride to her house seemed as if it was hours with anticipation, he just wanted to see her again, wanted to feel the heat of her eyes on him. Gray wanted to run away when he faced his door, he was afraid to declare his love out of pure rejection but couldn’t take another day without her. His heart stopped at the sight of her. Hair was thrown into a messy bun, eyes red and baggy, she was just dressed in a shirt that stopped mid thigh giving the illusion of having nothing underneath. Grayson swore his heart stopped for real this time, seeing her beauty so raw, and the emotion that ran through her eyes said it all; much like him she was a mess.

The moment their eyes met everything else in the room disappeared the only thing that was truly there was the thick tension of sadness and sexual attention. His eyes roam her face, jaw clenching at the erect pink nipple hard through her, actually his short. She had worn it all day today because she missed him so much and the smell, the smell of his expensive Gucci spray helped.

No words were said as he slowly stepped closer to her, cautious not to scare her away but slowly lifing his hands to meet with her cheeks, forehead soft against eyes meeting each others for a moment before lips slowly meet. The kiss started out slow as lips mold one another, but as his hand slipped to her lower back pressing her breast against against his hard chest, Gray felt a fire in his stomach expand. He needed to feel her. Gray was the worst with words, and this one the only way he knew how to show her how he really feels.

The shuffle through out the apartment as Gray tries his best to navigate through out the furniture until they finally meet the couch and moment they did his greedy lips molding into hers, she could feet the heat rushing through her body as his hands slip under her shirt to squeeze her soft breast. Her hands running along his clothed chest before one tries to undo his belt despite the heavy kiss. Gray let out a soft groan as her hands wrapped around his clothed cock, the sweet feeling of her hands again had him dizzy in desire, braking the kiss.

Gray was in awe of the sight of her, legs spread as he could feel the heat of her bare pussy radiating against pubic area, her cheeks flushed with desire, lips swollen form his own. He felt his cock throb at the soft, “Gray please touch me.”

Gray didn’t waste anytime lifting the shirt over her head exposing her completely to his greedy eyes. His lips pressing hot kisses against her collar bone, tongue trailing down her chest, lips closing around her nipple tongue swirling and licking. His lips had meaning this time though, even though he couldn’t find the right words to say, he was trying his best to show them. Y/N was already a panting mess. As he switched to the next nipple, he dragged his hand down the front of her body, hand dangerously close to where she wanted him most.

Her eyes flutter shut as his lips press against her jaw line, finger’s touching the sensitive bundle of nerves swollen in desire, Gray smirks at her moan. “Tell me what you want sweetheart, tell daddy how much you missed him.”

He genially wanted to hear the words, his heart fluttering his his chest because of how much it would mean to know he wasn’t the only one who had gone through days of heart break. She felt her core throbbing for him, begging for his fingers to fill her deliciously. The tone of his rapsiness sending her thighs squeezing around his lips. “Tell me what you want and you will get it. Anything.”

“I want you to touch me, i missed your touch so much...” With her confession he wasted no time as he pushed his tongue further into her mouth, rolling his softly against hers. In minutes Gray was on his knees in front of her, as he presses her lips back against the sofa. Her teeth sinking into her lower lip as he licked a stride down her throbbing heat. “So wet for me? Did this tiny pussy miss me?”

Grayson’s didn’t need an answer as he flicked his tongue against her. Grayson didn’t waste no time thrusting his tongue inside of her, tasting every drop of her with a moan that sends shivers throughout his whole body. His tongue running between her folds watching as her body shook with pleasure, the sinful sounds of slurping and the sound of his tongue lapping over her again filled the room. His finger relished in the warmth of her bare opening, tracing the hole slowly, collecting the wetness around it.

“Do you want my fingers babygirl?” He mumbles against her heat, she nods fast moans slipping from her lips. With no verbal answer his hand slips to her thigh squeezing it roughly. “Use your words.”

His jaw is clenches as he feels her hips pushing against his face, an annoyed expression with her choice of using no words, but the squeal that fell from those lips had his cock throat, the spot of his pre-cum seen through his boxers as his pants where around his ankles on the floor. “I want your fingers so fucking bad daddy, i was so lonely without you. Touching myself to the thought of you..”

Grayson’s heart as well as his hard dick swelling at the thought of her touching herself to him despite the break up.. if you wanted to even call it that. A rush of heat engulfs her as he presses his body against her. Legs spread for him, as he gently presses a finger against her opening, stretching her completely.

“Taste yourself pretty girl..” His finger pushing past her plump lips leaving a salty taste against of herself. Grayson’s lips wrap around his fingers at well the sight sending a shock of pleasure to her pussy.

“I’m going to fucking destroy you, fuck you until the only name you know is mine.”

part 2 tmr!!! I’m sorry guys i wanted this to be a full fic but most of it was deleted and i have so much school work to finish ! Thank you for understand ily<3

#grayson dolan imagine #grayson dolan #grayson dolan x reader #smut #the dolan twins imagine

287 notes · View notes

rachelkaser · 5 years

Text

Catch-Up Critic: Assassin’s Creed Origins

This review was originally set to come out shortly after the game was released. But life happened, and things generally conspired that I couldn’t publish it for ages. Originally the nuts-and-bolts part of the review was more extensive, but I basically decided to keep that part short because my deeply critical inner fangirl demanded I spend the most time on the story part.

This will come in handy when I publish my series critique of Assassin’s Creed next week. Stay tuned!

When I first heard the whispers about the Egyptian Assassin’s Creed back in what feels like the late Cretaceous, I had my doubts as to how it would make the story work. This would be the first time the series set a game in the period before the historical Hashashin and Knights Templar existed, so I was skeptical of how it could tie it to the existing narrative without feeling contrived.

For the most part, that worry was assuaged. The game’s narrative is probably better for not being tied so closely to the tangled mess that is Anno Domini-era Assassin’s Creed. That said, it suffers from a few pitfalls that keep me from really loving the story, for all I do like the main characters.

First, the Basics

It’s the age of Cleopatra, and Bayek of Siwa, a member of a now-defunct order of warriors, is on the warpath. The death of his son Khemu has sent him on a murderous rampage, looking for those responsible. Assisting him in the quest is his wife Aya, and the two eventually realize they may have stumbled on something bigger and more sinister than either of them ever realized. By the end of the game they realize they must expand their purpose beyond avenging one crime if they’re truly to help the people of Egypt -- effectively becoming the first Assassins.

The (somewhat literal) sandbox in Origins is the biggest I've ever seen in an AC game [this was written before I played AC Odyssey], encompassing what feels like the entire Egyptian empire. The terrain is varied, from rocky and swampy to sandy to forested. The scenery is by far the best thing about the game, at once arrestingly beautiful and rather forlorn.

Bayek is generally a likable protagonist, far more world-weary and intelligent than the last couple of AC leads have been. His and Aya’s relationship is a refreshing new spin on the series’ usual take on romantic relationships, being an established, loving marriage that strains under weight of grief and anger. That said, there are some points where their characterization strains credibility...but we’ll get to that.

The open-world traversal is serviceable, if a little boring. The combat is also much more fun than the vast majority of the games in the series. If there’s one good thing I can say about Ubisoft’s efforts, it’s that they have managed to finally evolve away from 1 & 2′s atrocious “one opponent at a time” combat, even if the evolution came in painfully slow fashion over about five games.

The animation quality is generally of a much higher quality than in the last couple of games, and everyone in the game. That said, I question the need to hunt and kill the Egyptian wildlife. It’s not really in-character for Bayek -- in fact, it hasn’t really been in character for any of the Assassins except for Connor and Edward.

Also, speaking as someone who’s actually ridden similar animals in the real world -- what the fuck is with the horses in the game? I’m not just talking about how they behave (though it’s nice to see the ancestors of Geralt’s Roach teleporting all over the sands), but more about how they look and move. I realize the horses of Roman Egypt would be quite different animals to the Quarter Horses of my time, but still ... who is responsible for these swan-necked beasts and their incredible uncomfortable-looking gallops? How is it, when horses have been in the games and reasonably well-animated for ten fucking years, they’ve suddenly become something out of one of those girly Barbie PC games from the nineties?

Quest-ion for you

Now we’ve got to get to the problems I have with this game’s story, and what it means for the series in general.

It feels like, as the Assassin’s Creed series goes on, the story structure loses more and more of its load-bearing beats. To be clear, AC has had basically the same story since the beginning: Personal misfortune forces the main character to claw up to Master Assassin status and find personal fulfillment in the Creed. I challenge you to give me a game in the series where that’s not the basic structure, other than Rogue and the sequels to AC2, of course. And as we get into ever-higher franchise numbers, every game seems to be in a bit more of a hurry to get that pesky initial development out of the way so it can get to work handing the player tasks to complete.

Let me break it down even further: Altair, in AC1, starts the game as a cocky little shit who thinks he can get away with everything, and it takes a long, drawn-out sequence of having his hooded head smacked around to bring him down to earth. When you start the meat of the game, he’s been stripped of his rank and has to work his way back up. Along the way, he must grow his mind and devote himself to the spirit of the Creed in order to match himself against a conspiracy that’s miles over his head. That’s the character arc.

In AC2, Ezio has an extended sequence roaming Florence, making friends, and getting into trouble. He’s established as a sweet, if reckless boy who really loves his family. When that family is torn apart for reasons young Ezio doesn’t really understand, he goes on the attack. Over the course of about twenty years, he takes the Creed to heart and sets about dismantling the entire operation that led to his father’s and brothers’ deaths in the first place, for the good of society more than for his own personal gratification. That’s the arc.

AC3: Connor grows from being a kid with a narrow sense of justice, to a man who takes the teachings of the Creed to understand moral grey areas, gaining a more nuanced reason why he opposes the Templars, and also how he can steer the course of the society around him in a better direction.

AC Liberation: Aveline hunts Templars initially because her Assassin Mentor tells her to, and only after she rescues her mother does she come to a greater understanding of what the Assassin/Templar conflict is actually like and decides for herself why she wants to be an Assassin.

AC Unity: Arno is accused of a crime he didn’t commit, and has to grow from a silly kid to a serious, politically-savvy adult in the space of a few months, finding the internal strength to oppose the people he loves like family (in theory, anyway; I don’t think it quite managed to sell that story, but the thought was evidently there).

But recently, the games have seemed to steamroll past these essential bits of early character development, as if they are incidental to the arc. They aren’t, and it’s starting to look more and more like the devs don’t realize that.

In Syndicate, for example, the Frye twins’ personal misfortune that prompts them to act out is the death of their father Ethan. While the central conflict of the story that prompts most of their character growth comes from their differing viewpoints, the death of the Frye pater familias is still intermittently treated as serious business for them. Since we never see or know much about Ethan or what he felt for his kids, it doesn’t mean much and ends up stunting the likeability of the characters.

Similarly, in AC: Chronicles, we’re dropped headlong into the stories of the three protagonists and never really given insight into what they feel about the conflict with the Templars and why they’ve come down on the side they have. In that case, it’s mostly because all three are novel/comic characters who have already undergone their essential growth in other media, but their stories still feel as though they’re missing crucial elements.

So it goes with Bayek of Siwa. We’re supposed to be attached to him (and to a lesser extent, his wife Aya) and invested in his quest to avenge the death of his son. However, literally the only time we spend with him pre-revenge quest is a five-second lingering close-up intercut with acid trip memories of the incident that prompted the quest. Then we smash cut to him killing the first of his targets, screaming about how he wants his revenge, when we haven’t even been gifted with his name yet. It’s as abrupt as it sounds.

Why Are We Here Again?

Speaking of said revenge quest: For something that’s so important to Bayek, and crucial to the plot of the game, it’s treated with almost startling flippancy by everyone else. Aside from one kind comment from Cleopatra, almost no one seems the least bit sensitive to the issue. Keep in mind, we’re talking about the on-screen murder of a child.

For example, Bayek’s relationship with his wife Aya slowly sours over the course of the game. If this had happened because their relationship simply couldn’t bear the strain of their mutual tragedy, I’d understand, and call that a mature depiction of a relationship, even. After all, you’d think, if anyone would be on Bayek’s side when he’s working through his grief, it’d be the mother of his murdered child.

Instead, Aya seems far more concerned with ingratiating herself with Cleopatra then she does with avenging the death of her son -- and it’s hard for me to see a good reason for that. Cleopatra is telegraphed as someone with good intentions who might fold under power, and any series devotee already knows she’ll be killed by an Assassin later in life, so it’s pretty clear she’s not above becoming a tyrant. There’s a good reason, gameplay-wise for Aya to be so besotted -- it’s to make sure an increasingly-cynical Bayek has to associate with the most known figure from the time period, someone he otherwise wouldn’t approach with a ten-foot pole. But story-wise, it’s just a little baffling.

For example, when she’s telling Bayek she has no intention of returning to their hometown towards the end of the game, she asks him what higher calling he answers to. When he responds their calling is that they’re parents, she responds, almost casually, “We were parents.” Her child was murdered in cold blood a short time ago, I’ll remind you. No mother would say that. Nobody would say that.

Bayek, for his part, is single-minded in his focus to bring his son’s killer to justice, and it effects every aspect of his character. He’s portrayed as being incredibly kind and friendly to children, relating to them and bringing his parenting skills to bear during investigations, and distraught when his actions indirectly harm them.

That said, even he’s not immune to rocky inconsistencies in tone and character. Late in the game, he approaches Cleopatra, having murdered several members of the Order on her command. When she commends him and offers him a new set of targets, he complains that he feels like a glorified hitman and none of the people he killed were involved with his son’s death. She brushes him off and tells him about the enemy she wants him to kill. Less than five minutes after complaining that Cleopatra’s using his quest for vengeance to further her own political agenda ... Bayek seemingly forgets this and, with no further reassurances from Cleo, excitedly wonders if this latest Order target is the one who killed his son.

Now What?

As much as I want to adore this game, there are certain problems with the story and the need to fit Bayek in to the role of Assassin as other characters have played it in the past undercut its meaning and emotion.

I’m going to be looking at the series’ overall story as it currently stands, and Origins marks a watershed moment for the current generation of AC games. Where it delivers on crunchy combat and open-world gameplay, it fails in character growth and consistency.

#assassins creed #game review #catchup critic #bayek of siwa #assassin's creed #assassins creed origins

6 notes · View notes

butwelivehappilyeverafter-blog · 6 years

Text

Romeo and Juliet with Grunge ~ Part 2

This goes from 0 to 100 at the end but that's what you get with a longer chapter! I wrote this while watching Harry Potter, like the true brit I am, and listening to Zella Day (for anyone who gives a shit.) Another update should be done really soon x

Part 1

~~~

Part 2

Betty tried to keep her head down as she walked into Vixen practise late as Cheryl was doing her pep rant, but the HBIC, unsurprisingly, was a stone-cold bitch who seemed to have eyes in the back of her head.

“Betty, nice of you to grace us with your presence”

Fuck

“Meet me in the gym in 5 minutes ladies. If Betty feels like she can hold up practice, then I will too” Then, with a sickly-sweet smile, she was gone.

Betty skulked over to where Veronica was standing by their lockers, her good mood dampened significantly, and began to change.

“She may be a bit harsh, but I can’t help but find that attitude endearing.” Veronica gushed.

Betty made some non-committal noise as she tugged her jumper over her head. She did not want to listen to Veronica’s Cheryl-based fantasies right now. She just wanted to get this over with before she ends up punching a wall. Or Cheryl. Preferably the latter.

“Jesus, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” Veronica teased as Betty just looked at her, unamused and went back to digging in her bag for her uniform. “Look B, I’m sorry about what we said at lunch, it was uncalled for, but you’ve got to admit you’re a goody two shoes. Its part of your irresistible charm.”

Betty felt slightly guilty Veronica thought her bad mood was her fault. Truthfully, she’d completely forgotten about lunch. She finally turned to look at Veronica, “Don’t worry V, it’s fine, I’m just stretched a bit thin at the mom-“

“Oh my GOD Betty! What is that?” Veronica whisper shouted, jabbing her finger towards Bettys revealed chest. Bettys eyes darted down at the large mark just above her bra.

A hickey.

Fuck.

She was going to kill Jughead Jones.

Panic set in as one of Betty’s hands shot up to cover the mark while the other dug desperately through her bag, grasping her uniform. “Keep your voice down V!”

“I’ll keep my voice down when you explain why you’ve got a hickey! What aren’t you telling me?”

Betty pulled on her Vixen uniform and desperately thought of an answer to Veronicas question that was better than ‘I’ve been sleeping with a Southside Serpent for 10 months.’

“It’s nothing Veronica. Just a… I don’t know, fling I guess. Wanted to let lose for once, away from the claws of Alice Cooper.” Betty said, lying through her teeth, blessing her lucky stars that thinking off the top of her head is a Cooper trait.

Veronica stood back slightly, watching her put on her uniform for a moment before accepting her answer. “Believe me girl I get it, there’s been many a night where I’ve been thinking about Cheryl and-“

“I’m going to stop you there in your fantasy about a girl who will quite literally claw me if I’m not in that gym in 30 seconds.” Betty said as she internally thanked every god that Veronica believed her cover story.

“Fine but I want details on mystery man at some point. You know you can tell me anything right?”

“Sure, but give me some time Ronnie”

Betty didn’t like lying to her. But she’s noticed recently, as much as she’d like to tell Veronica all the bullshit going on in her life right now, she finds herself telling Jughead instead. He was her go to confidant now and she’s happier than she’s ever been. Maybe it’s the class divide but Jughead understands her in a way Veronica, with her Upper-class clouded vision can’t. They had, be known to her, been drifting apart recently. Less one on one time at Pop’s or sleepovers at the Pembrooke. In fact, they hadn’t done something together without the usual entourage in weeks, and the longer they were apart, the deeper the cracks in their friendship showed.

Betty was broken, and Veronica didn’t see it.

At least, not the way he did, and he still loved her.

As much as she hated to admit it, her friends didn’t understand her anymore. With every step she takes further into darkness, the more faded her ties to the Northside became and the more she felt like herself.

***

Fangs stood behind the bar at the Whyte Wyrm. The afternoon shift was always a slow one so apart from the usual’s it was just him and Sweetpea playing a no holds back game of Go Fish. It wasn’t very macho, but it gets to the point where you know each other plays and poker just becomes boring. It was peaceful in the afternoon, unlike the normal turbulences that go along with their kind of lifestyle. That was until Jughead burst in, pulling his arms through his jacket sleeves and stumbling hurriedly up the stairs.

It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for Jughead Jones to barge in unannounced. His dad had been living in the upstairs flat of the Wyrm for 18 months, ever since his Mum had run off and left her two kids and their struggling alcoholic father to fend for themselves. FP hadn’t been able to cope after Gladys had gone. It had been too much for him to take, turning to drink more and becoming a burden for his kids to handle. In all honesty, they were all better off apart, everyone knew it. Jellybean was doing better in school, Jughead was visibly happier and FP was, for the most part, sober. But you knew something bad had happened when Jughead comes to see his father without his younger sister.

“Reckon it’s business or dis-pleasure?” Sweetpea asked, evidently concerned.

“Whatever it is, we’ll hear it soon enough” Fangs replied warily. A Jones family reunion was normally a loud one.

***

Jughead pegged it up the stairs, two at a time. He was pissed. Not just your usual angsty gang boy pissed. This was different.

Tuesday’s were good days, he’s had a routine going for the last few weeks with the school merger. All he had to do was go to school, keep up grades, keep any socialising to a minimum, try hard not to stare at his girlfriend, write at the blue and gold while girlfriend is at Vixen practise, ‘write’ with said girlfriend at the Blue and Gold after Vixen practise and finally return home with a blonde under his arm to go live out all his domestic fantasies of baking cookies while listening to shitty indie pop. Tuesday’s were great.

Apart from thus particular Tuesday, when he gets a drunken call from his dad while waiting for Betty and must speed to the Wyrm to make sure he doesn’t drink himself to death. Yep, this Tuesday was turning out to be quite shitty.

Arriving at the door to his dad’s small apartment he knocked loudly before opening the door. His dad sat, passed out in the chair, TV still blaring some sport match, it could be baseball but Jughead wasn’t focused on the details.

He leaned down beside his father and prised the whisky bottle from his grip, collecting any bottles from around the living room and taking them through to the kitchen, pouring them down the sink one by one, chucking the empty bottles in the bin.

He hated that he was still having to do this. All the promises of sobriety his dad had ever made were always bullshit. But why now, what triggered him to be so distraught as to look for answers at the bottom of a bottle.

He found his answer as he went to dispose of the last bottle and noticed a letter, torn into quarters and deposited in the bin. He fished it out and put the pieces together and began to read. It was from his mother. That made a lot of sense.

Fuming he pulled out his phone and called Jellybean.

“Heyyy Jug, are you gonna be home soon or what. I kind of rely on Betty’s cooking on weekdays. Jug? You there?”

“Did you know Mom was getting remarried?”

“Wait what are you on about? Moms doing what?”

“She’s sent Dad a letter saying she ‘regrets to inform him that, as the divorce is finalised, she will be remarrying some guy called Ethan’” He read in a sickly-sweet voice. “But don’t worry, if you’re feeling left out or, I don’t know, neglected by your own mother not bothering to inform you about this, she says we’re welcome to come!”

“That bitch I swear to god… Wait Jug, why are you even over there?” JB asked concerned

“Dad called me off his face earlier, so I came to check and found the letter in the trash. What do I do Jelly?”

She sighed and Jughead could hear sounds like she was standing up, “I hate to be that girl, but there’s nothing we can do apart from wait for him to sober up. So, pick yourself up, come home and enjoy some delicious home cooked food provided by the everlasting radiant beam of sunshine that is Betty Cooper. Betty is coming over tonight right?”

He smiled at the panic in her voice at the question “If I manage to get back to Riverdale high in 15 minutes and pick her up, no one should be around, so it’ll be fine. See you in a bit sis” and with that he hung up.

***

He wasn’t there. He hadn’t been waiting in the Blue and Gold when she finished practise like he normally was. He hadn’t arrived when she decided to start working and he still wasn’t here as she was locking the door and turning out the lights. She was used to this when he was at Southside High. Sometimes it was hard for him to get to the Northside without becoming conspicuous, so she would just meet him at him and JB’s apartment. However, now that he was at Riverdale High, things should be easier.

She was about to lose hope and call Kevin for a ride when two arms snaked around her waist from behind, causing her heart to leap out of her chest before she settled into the familiar comfort.

“Sorry I wasn’t here Bets, something came up that I had to deal with” Jughead mumbled into her hair.

She turned in his arms and looked up to face him, he looked upset. “What happened Jug?”

“I’ll explain on the way, but we should really get out of this corridor before someone spots us.”

“Don’t worry, we’re the only people insane enough to be at school this late” Betty smirked, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the open doors.

***

Jellybean sat on the couch, the record player in the corner playing ‘The Wall’ for the umpteenth time, as she waited for Jughead and Betty to get home. Her stomach rumbled, and she groaned at the prospect of having to get up and make herself something from what measly food they had in the kitchen. That was one of the things she loved about Betty, along with having another girl in the house, she was able to make a meal from virtually nothing. Something the Jones siblings appreciated more than anything.

Just as she was about to admit defeat and chuck some leftover pasta bake in the microwave, she heard the key in the lock and the door swing open.

She stood up and began to walk around the corner towards the noise, turning the record off as she went. “Hey guys, any plans on food, I thought you’d be back earlier than this, so I didn’t bother- Eww guys!” JB’s hands shot up to cover her eyes “Kid sister is present, get your PDA out of my face”

Jughead and Betty jumped apart at the sound, Jughead rolling his eyes as Betty laughed. “It’s not PDA if we’re inside, this isn’t public, this is our home Jelly”

“Still, I want to be able to walk through the living room without finding you working your girlfriend against a wall” JB teased as Jughead blushed and Betty laughed again

“Okay, I’m going to go make something to eat, if you guys want any you need to help” Betty said winking and walking through to the small kitchen.

Jughead gave a lovesick sigh and began to pick up his and Betty’s coats from the floor. “Sorry to interrupt you guys, but I have been waiting for ages” JB smirked, “Did you tell Betty about Mom?”

“Yeah, she was angrier than I was” Jughead laughed “Come on, let’s go help out before she comes out here and drags us in there herself”

“Fine” She said, walking through with him “but any of that lovey dovey shit and I’m out”

“Fine” He chuckled, opening the kitchen door “What do you need help with babe”

“A way to control my anger at your mother.” Betty fumed, vigorously chopping up carrots. “I’ve never even met her, but she seems vile, no offence guys

“None taken Betty, she’s a bitch” Jellybean exhaled.

“We’re better off without her” Jughead stated “as for dad, he’s pretty beat up about the whole thing, so we should keep an eye on him.”

“Agreed, I’ll pop round after school tomorrow” JB said

“I wish I could help you guys out, but, for obvious reasons…”

“Its okay Bets, you do enough for us as it is” Jughead said, grabbing her hand and rubbing over her palm with his thumb.

Betty smiled up at him her heart beating double a second. The moment was broken when JB made a retching sound from behind them “That’s it I’m out. Have fun guys” And left the room.

They continued preparing vegetables for a while after she had gone in comfortable silence. As Jughead wrestled with the cheese grater, Betty spoke from beside him “Hey, um jug. Something happened… at school today that you should know about.”

“What sort of thing?” He asked, furrowing his brow

“Well, do you remember last week when we went up to Greendale for that poetry slam?” She asked, struggling to find a way to approach the subject “And we ended up back here…”

A smile spread over his face as he recalled “Of course I do. Why? Do you want a replay because I’d be all too happy to” He said as his hand ran up her arm.

She chuckled and swotted him off “Not that I don’t want that right now, but I was more referring to the massive hickey you gave me”

“Oh yeah, sorry about that” He looked sheepish but couldn’t help grinning “But what does this have to do with anything that happened at school today?”

“Well surprisingly, when you have a hickey and your best friends sees it, they do ask questions. Especially when that best friend is Veronica Lodge”

Realisation dawned on him and panic began to set in “Wait so you told Veronica about us?”

“No No I managed to lie my way out of it,” She said clasping both of his hands in hers “but it got me thinking, with you being at Riverdale High, its going to get a lot harder hiding this from people, especially our friends”

“What are you saying Bets?” He asked, confused. “You don’t think we should start telling people do you?”

“Why not Jug? I’m sick of hiding what we have like it’s something to be ashamed of!” She shouted “What we have, it’s what most people wish for their entire lives. I love you so much, and I want to show people that.”

“I love you too Bets, and I understand what you’re saying, but that’s exactly why we can’t tell the world we’re together. If we do it will put both of us in danger. Tensions between the North and Southside are worse than ever and if people knew, all they’d think was that I was corrupting you or that you were manipulating me. I’m sorry, but it’s too dangerous.”

“Okay, I get it, but please. I need to get all these feelings off my chest or I might explode. I need someone else to talk to about us that your little sister. Please” Betty grabbed his face in her hands and felt him melt into her touch.

“Who do you want to tell, because, no offence, but you friends are really judgmental. We need to be careful about who we trust with this.”

“I have an idea, but you won’t like it” She said, raising an eyebrow

“No, no way! Anybody but him please Bets”

“But Archie knows you, or at least used to. Me, Kevin, him and you were inseparable before your Dad took you to live on the Southside. As much as Archie would like to forget it, you two were the closest of all. It may have been a long time ago, but I think he’s our best shot at being exceptive.” She pleaded “He’s one of my best friends Jug, and he used to be yours. I want that again.”

“You drive a hard bargain Cooper,” He smirked “But what about dear Archibald’s schoolboy crush on you. Don’t you think he’ll get a bit jealous?”

“Well he has to get over it sooner or later” She winked “He’ll understand Juggie. Please, will you do this for me?”

Jughead could never say no to those puppy dog eyes “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but tomorrow, we’ll tell Archie”

“Thank you for understanding Juggie” she smiled widely up at him after pulling him into a hug.

“But, no guarantee I won’t punch him if he’s a dick about it”

Betty laughed and shoved him away, “Shut up and go peel some potatoes”

***

“Betty, you are a magician I swear” JB moaned as she had another bite of apple pie. “Where did you find pecan nuts?”

“I have my sources” Betty quipped from her position lead in Jughead’s lap on the couch “I’m glad my habit of stress baking is appreciated somewhere”

“Hey, what time do you need to get to Pops?” Jughead asked, playing with her hair

“Shit, I should probably go now if I want to get there anywhere near on time” Betty stood up and kissed Jughead's forehead “I’ll see you tomorrow at mine then?”

“Course, love you” Jughead yawned

“I love you too, Jug. See you soon JB” Betty said, walking to the door

“Bye Betty, bring cherries next time” JB shouted after her

Jughead rolled his eyes and Betty laughed before shutting the door behind herself, beginning to walk to pops.

***

“Betty Cooper! Where have you been, we said to meet at 8:30.” Kevin looked exasperated as he pulled her into a tight hug “I thought you’d been kidnapped or something!”

“Calm down Kev, it’s Riverdale, who would be kidnapping anyone round here”

“Wait, you haven’t heard? It just happened earlier so no reason you should I guess.”

Betty started to panic “What is it Kev, what happened?”

“It’s Reggie, he got jumped by a bunch of Southsider’s earlier. They think it was a serpent”

Betty scoffed at that, “That’s ridiculous. The Serpents don’t just randomly jump people”

“How would you know Bets? I dated a serpent for a regretful 2 months and I still have no idea how they work or how they make their money. How would you know after just a few weeks of them being at Southside?”

“I just-“

“Come on and sit Betty” Kevin interrupted “Everyone’s been worried sick”

“Fine” Betty said through gritted teeth. Taking her usual seat next to Archie “What else have I missed in the past half hour?”

“Well, I wrote a new song. Anyone want to hear it-“

“No!” Betty, Kevin and Veronica all said together

“Fine, it was worth a shot.” Archie said dejectedly as Veronica continued her story about Cheryl being a lovable bitch

“Anyway, so then I came back with a great insult about her knee highs when-“

“Hey, who let in the serpents!” Archie interjected “They’re lucky the Bulldogs aren’t here, or they’d be flat on their asses!”

Betty turned to see Toni, Sweetpea and Fangs walk in followed by Jughead, putting his beanie back on his head after having to take it off to ride his bike. She just started along with the rest of them as Archie fumed next to her. What were they doing here on this side of town?

“They’re fucking lowlifes, why do they have to invade everywhere they’re not wanted!”

“Calm down Arch. If you want to know why they’re here, let’s go ask them” Betty said, standing up and making her way over to where they stood in the doorway.

“Wait! Betty I’ll come with you” Archie said, scrambling out of the booth after her as Veronica and Kevin stared at the scene in front of them, transfixed.

Archie caught up with her and put his hand on her shoulder just as she came to a standstill in front of the baby serpents. Jughead’s eyes widened as she stood there, not knowing what to say. She stared back at him and they had a wordless conversation for a few seconds before Archie cleared his throat and Betty snapped out of it.

“Hey, umm we were just wondering what your doing on this side of town?” She asked, plastering a fake smile on her face and removing Archie’s arm from her shoulders.

“Why do you care, Princess.” Toni stepped forward before an arm shot out to hold her back

“Toni” Jughead said warningly, before having his arm punched away by Toni

“You’re not your dad Jughead. You have no authority over me” She said, nostrils flared “I can talk to whoever I want, especially when they’re the enemy” She turned back to face Betty.

“Hey! We’re not the enemy, you’re the enemy” Archie said, pointing at them

“That’s generally how enemy’s work Archibald, nice to see you again too. Its been too long” Jughead piped up. “Now, can you and your girlfriend get out of our way, we’re just looking for someone, then well be out of your hair.”

“Girlfriend?” Betty snorted without thinking, “In his dreams”

“Ouch Bets” Archie said from beside her as Jughead couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. “What are you smirking at snake?”

“Hey” Betty said to Archie as the serpents began to come towards them, fists clenched, “Hey!” She shouted a second time until all eyes were on her “Can we not fight here, please. Jughead Jones, right? Can I talk to you outside” She said, eyes fixed on his.

“Why do you want to talk to him Northside?” Sweetpea stepped forward

“Hey! She’s fine, let’s talk outside Cooper” Jughead raised his eyebrows at her and she followed him out to the parking lot, leaving Archie and the Serpents extremely confused.

***

“Are we out of earshot do you reckon?” Jughead asked once they were outside “Betty, baby, look at me?”

“I think so, oh god what a mess!” Betty said, hands moving to touch his jacket, but stopping herself, aware of all the eyes watching them from inside the diner. “Why are you all here?”

“I’m sorry Bets, Tall Boy came over just after you left, saying how Reggie Mantle got jumped and to go out looking for the Ghoulies that did it.”

“So that was the Ghoulies?”

“Yeah, who else would it be?”

“Everyone’s saying that the Serpents were the ones that jumped him, Mayor McCoy too”

“Shit, we should get out of here. You’ll be ok without me if the Ghoulies turn up, right?”

Betty smirked “I think I’ll manage. I’ve got big strong Archie Andrews for a boyfriend, he’ll protect me, right?”

“You do know I only said that to be inconspicuous?” He asked

“I don’t know, maybe your feeling insecure. I’d be happy to fix that” She said with a wink and pulled him around the corner, out of eyeshot to the people in the diner.

***

“They’ve been gone for ages, somebody should check Betty’s okay” Kevin said after 5 minutes of waiting on edge for Betty to return,

“I can’t see them anymore, I’m going to see if she’s okay” Archie said in a panic

“Not so fast Bulldog” Toni said “For all we know that crazy blonde had pepper spayed him or some shit. I’m coming with you”

Archie and Toni barged each other to the door and darted down the steps, their respective friends staring on at them.

***

Jughead smiled against Bettys lips as she pinned him against the wall, pulling the elastic from her hair so he could run her blonde waves through his fingers. His hat was grasped in her hand while the other massaged his scalp. He let out a small moan when she bit his bottom lip and she giggled when he did it back. They were so caught up in each other they completely forgot about their friends waiting for them inside. That was until they heard the shocked gasps from Archie and Toni as they rounded the corner to see their two best friends in an intimate moment.

“What the fuck Betty!” Archie shouted as they leapt away from each other, Jughead’s beanie still in Betty’s hands. “Wait, I don’t understand?”

“Jones?” Toni asked, shocked “Why the fuck are you kissing a Northsider?”

Betty and Jughead just looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

“Well!”

“Arch, it’s not what it looks like, it’s-”

“Oh, so you weren’t just making out with Southside scum then?”

“You better watch yourself Archie” Jughead said, fist clenching before Betty stepped towards him and laced their fingers together.

“What the fuck are you doing Betty. Get away from him!” Archie was really losing it now, face turning bright red.

“You need to calm down Arch, you don’t know him like I do. Juggie isn’t scum”

Toni was still silent; casting disbelieving looks at Jughead. “How about we ask the others what they think about this” Archie said coldly.

Archie began to walk around the corner when Betty grabbed his wrist, tears in her eyes “Please Arch, you know what they’ll think about this! Come with me and I’ll explain everything to you I swear”

“I want answers too Jones.” Toni said angrily “But if we stay here any longer more people are just going to come out looking.”

“Fuck, okay, split up and all meet at the trailer. I promise we’ll explain everything there.” Jughead planned, fingers combing through his hair

“Please, Arch,” Betty said walking back towards Jughead and putting his beanie back on his head “Let us explain”

“Fine, let’s go” Archie said, expression unreadable

“Toni?” Jughead enquired

“Let’s get this over with, come on Jones.” Toni said, walking back around the corner with Jughead in tow.

Archie stood motionless, jaw clenched “Arch? Are you ok” Betty asked

He turned to look at her, brow furrowed “Why him Betty. Out of everyone, you chose him. A Southside Serpent”

“I’m sorry Archie, I really am but-“

“But nothing!” Archie exploded, “This is a war Elizabeth! Whose side are you on?”

Truthfully, she didn’t know anymore.

~ tbc ~

#bughead #bughead fanfiction #bughead secret relationship

28 notes · View notes

wegotpopedsir · 6 years

Text

Top of the Ninth- Chapter 2

chapter one

AN: FYI changed it so it takes place in January not October at the start of training for baseball HS season, also obviously this doesn't follow canon because Liv is still Chief of Staff at the WH. Let me know what you think!

And now Henry with the weather. Hey there folks, be careful on the roads tomorrow as we are coming into a lot of snow and ice. The temperatures are dropping tonight-

"Oh, I just adore your bracelet young lady! Where is it from? You made it? No way!" Mellie was charming the small crowd that had gathered in the diner she was sitting at, with the local news playing in the background.

"Huh, she's gotten better with them."

Olivia half-laughed, "Yeah, it's an election year. There's no press here but just this one stop will cause people to talk and we get the entire town in the bag come November."

Jake looked at her through the corner of his eye and lightly shook his head. "So… how have you been?"

"Busy with Mellie," she replies abruptly. She hears crowd laugh in the background as she turned towards him, trying to figure out his angle. She was waiting for an explanation on everything, his divorce, resignation, how he could walk out like he did, but didn't want to be the one to bring it up.

"Do you want to go somewhere quieter? Well, relatively quieter, there's only one bar in Blackstone."

Sam's Bar had a creaky front door and an old school jukebox playing old school music in the background. The bar had few customers on a weeknight, mingling among themselves in their own space. Jake got up to get drinks for the both of them and Olivia was left alone with her thoughts. She felt anxious, an emotion she didn't usually feel with Jake. There was a gap between them and Olivia didn't know what would and wouldn't cross the line. They had been making polite small talk about the weather on the walk over- the weather! This was a man who she thought she knew better than anyone else and believed that was a two- way street. He seen her, literally and metaphorically, in ways that she didn't show to most people and now it was like they were strangers.

As her eyes wandered, she heard a group of middle aged men laugh out loud. This was a bad idea; someone could snap a picture and with social media at its pinnacle, within minutes everyone would see the two of them together. Anything could blowback on the President and with her history with Jake, Jake's show stopping wedding (and divorce), then his disappearance, Olivia didn't know how this would play out it the media.

Jake walked back over to her and seemed to pick up on her nerves, trying to calm her with a hesitant smile, "Don't worry, I was worried about what the townspeople would do at first, but no one really cares, and besides Sam would probably kick out anyone who tries to take pictures." Olivia relaxed for a moment and took a swig of her drink to distract herself.

"Right, so-""How's-"Olivia and Jake started at the same time. For the love of God, this was getting cliché like the movies.

"Ok, I'll start," Jake said with a growing smile, "how's Mellie? QPA?"

And before long they were falling into the groove they were used to. Laughing, catching up on gossip and the dirty secrets of D.C., the drinks kept coming and the walls went down. "Two peas in a pod, sharing inside jokes," his ex-wife once said.

"Oh yeah the intern was so embarrassed. His face turned all red and Mellie was trying to make it less awkward and pretend like nothing happened," Olivia said, wincing as the strong alcohol burned as it went down her throat. Jake was laughing, rather intoxicated too, when Sam shouted out last call. Olivia realized how long she had been sitting with Jake, well into the night. She had completely ignored her phone, thus ignoring many calls and texts, but the one that caught her eye at the top- We're on our way back to WH, figured you're staying the night here. Have fun with Jake. –Mellie. That sobered her up very quickly and she started rushing to make calls. How could they just leave? Where is she supposed to stay? There was so much she had to do back in D.C. she couldn't just stay here. She couldn't even drive up there now.

Jake saw the cool, calm, collected Olivia leave and started to sense an upcoming freak out and offered to drive before Olivia reminded him that he had been drinking too and their blood alcohol concentration was well beyond the limit.

Wanting to help, wanting to fix things for her, he didn't even realize until the words were out of his mouth and the offer was up in the air- "You can stay with me."

There was a pause that seemed to last for an hour before Jake stumbled on, half- drunk, half- surprised at himself, "I mean, it's pretty late and you can stay in the guest bedroom and leave in the morning." At this point it was too late and she was too tired to consider any other options.

When they got to Jake's house, Olivia took in her surroundings; the house was spacious and modestly decorated. Everything was new, but she could see the bits and pieces of Jake in them.

Jake offered her a change of clothes and showed her where the guest bedroom was. Olivia stood in front of the mirror and reflected on the last 24 hours. She was happy that Jake was happy but it still felt like something was missing. They have gone through so much together and so many phases of relationship, dating, friends, dating (again), Quinn calling them an old married couple, Command/Chief of Staff/ National Security Director, then most recently strangers, but a couple of drinks can't rebuild a friendship or relationship. Tomorrow, she would go back to the dark pit of D.C. and Jake would return to his school and perhaps they would occasionally text to make plans to meet again.

She shook her head and quickly exited the bedroom before being hit with 6 feet and 1 inch of a man whose body she was very familiar with.

Olivia looked up and suddenly she was transported back 4 years; the two of them were getting ready for bed, 2 nights before Jake was supposed to get married, if only she had known then the triumphs and disappointments that were coming. It seemed like everything was the same as Jake still looked at Olivia with the love like he did before but everything was different-like a gust of cold air blasted in, killing the mood-

"Uh, sorry I was just going to get some water."

"Oh… glasses are in the first cabinet on the right when you walk in the kitchen."

Olivia woke to her phone ringing, not unlike other days, but other days she's comfortable in her apartment in D.C., only 10 minutes away from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, ready to fix another crisis. This time it took her a minute to get oriented to where she was before she picked up the phone.

"Olivia!" Olivia groaned, she really didn't need Mellie in her ear at 5 in the morning, especially as she was trying to fight the hangover from last night.

"Mellie, yes I'm about to get on the road, I can get to the White House by 8:30, before Ethan even brings the donuts," in a biting tone, partially because of the hangover pounding in her head and partially annoyed at the assistant not even in her vicinity. Some of Cyrus's Chief of Staff tendencies had rubbed off on her.

"Oh no, no, no, no"

"What?!" God, what has gotten into Mellie?

"The snow storm remember? It's about to hit D.C. and Virginia and you shouldn't be out on the road. Don't worry we'll be fine here, you stay in Blackstone and make your way up tomorrow or Thursday."

"Mel- Madam Pres-"

"No buts! I'd rather you didn't die on the road so just relax; you haven't taken a vacation in so long, maybe Blackstone is nice."

"No, there's nothing in Blackstone, I should be coming back to work."

"I'm sure there's something or someone there to entertain you. If it makes you feel better, I'll email you some things that you can take a look at if you have time." Olivia sighed in exasperation. How was this happening to her? Right when she needs to be in D.C. to work on this bill, she's stuck in the middle of a snowstorm.

She had the worst timing.

Olivia was pleasantly surprised at how many hidden gems Blackstone had to offer. She was lounging on the couch, with a takeout box in her hand waiting for Jake to grab the hot sauce before starting the movie, reflecting on her mini-vacation.

Earlier that morning she asked Jake if he was ok with her staying until the roads were clear and as always, a brief look of surprised crossed his face, but was quickly covered up and he was ready to accommodate. Jake still had to go to work as it was only lightly snowing but told her to check out the town square if she wanted to get out of the house. After breakfast, she went back to bed for the first time in months to get some more sleep.

Everything seemed to be within walking distance, so in the afternoon after she had checked her email (she couldn't resist), Olivia took his advice and went out, stopping at a cafe to pick up something small to take to Jake while he was at practice afterschool.

She walked into the gym, intrigued as she saw a group of teenage boys grouped around the former spy; she was reminded of another time Jake had been a leader, stepping up to the plate as Command and how as much as she had wanted Quinn home, she knew the young brunette was safe with Jake in charge. Soon one distracted high school kid noticed her and, like wildfire, the whispers spread before one of them shouted out "Coach, you have a visitor!" Jake turned around and his eyes lit up.

"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt. I just stopped by a cafe and bought some doughnuts and wanted to give them to you."

"Oh thanks," he saw the amused smirks out of the corner of his eye and turned to the teens, "Guys, why don't you start warming up?" Unfortunately they were reluctant to start, all of them thinking about the headlines from a few years ago with the woman standing in front of them and the former President, confirming their sordid affair. And now that woman was here and seemed to be awfully friendly with someone who had caused schoolwide gossip the moment he stepped foot on the school, but now was a normal sight. It wasn't until Jake blew his whistle and ordered, "I meant now!" that they got up, with a new set of gossip ready to be spilled during AP Bio.

"Nosy kids…" he muttered.

Olivia smirked, "Ok old man, how's your team doing?"

"We've only had a couple practices and this weather isn't helping, but they're alright."

"Yeah, the principal was telling us yesterday. With good coaching, I'm sure they'll be great," a smile crept up on her face as Olivia turned to him with an innocent expression, "Know any good coaches?"

Jake rolled his eyes as he elbowed her, "Haha, you're hilarious. You can stay, if you'd like."

"Oh, I can't, I have to go back hom- to your house- to finish reading over some things Mellie forwarded me."

"Yeah, of course, America never sleeps," there was a split second of unease that came with the reminder of his past, before "but hey I can pick up some Chinese food for dinner if you'd like."

So she went back to a place she'd only been for 2 days but surprisingly felt very homely-in a way that was different from the houses she had before, namely the Vermont one that had been built up and glorified before being met with harsh bouts of reality- and tried to get some work done but her mind was drifting off every so often. She recognized the familiarity, and felt the warmth even though it was the coldest time of the year, as they slowly reconnected like on island when it was just the two of them, but this time it seemed as though there was another layer that needed to be peeled back.

"One Extra Hot Hot sauce," Jake said, shaking Olivia out of her reverie "Did you choose a movie?"

"Yup, Miss Congeniality"

"Oh my god, nothing has changed, Liv," the nickname dancing off his lips, a sharp contrast from the "Boss" or "Ma'am" that he'd been addressing her as the last time he saw her, "we've watched this a million times." Jake said shaking his head, but reaching for the remote to press play.

2 hours of watching Sandra Bullock kick-ass, well Jake was watching her kick-ass while still critiquing her technique, Olivia was watching Jake as she thought about how things weren't awkward anymore but still felt like they were just starting to break down the walls that had been building up over the last few years.

She had shifted towards him as the movie went on and had managed to get up close against him, cuddling into Jake's body as the snow fell outside, and if anyone had asked then, she would've said it was because it was too cold. But the heater was on and it was just the two of them, with no one, Command, her father, or Fitz there to stop her as she leaned closer to him and stared at his lips before looking up into those deep green eyes, daring him to make the first move.

His lips brushed against hers and it was like it was in slow motion; the room got warm and it wasn't the heater protecting from the outside cold. And maybe it was them being a little wine drunk, or maybe it was the reminder that it didn't matter where in the world they were or what position they held but for Olivia and Jake, home was a person. Home was a person that had been gone for months now and now maybe it was the stars that aligned so that Olivia and Jake had the opportunity to go back to being, well, Olivia and Jake, and that night they were reminded that it wasn't just conversation and trust that they missed from one another. Their lips met again, more eager to fill what had been missing for so long, and that night they remembered.

Pretty soon, the storm calmed, the snow started to melt, and the two had to return to reality. Jake didn't wake up alone for the first time in a while, sometime that night they had made it to the bedroom, but as he looked over to the woman next to him, he didn't know what to think. He slowly shifted away, careful not to wake her as he grabbed his discarded clothes and made his way to his kitchen. Did this one night change anything between them? Nights like this hadn't before, but it wasn't a conversation he was ready to have and wasn't sure if she was ready either.

Olivia fell asleep cuddling, pressed against Jake's chest, but when she woke to an empty bed she wondered for a moment if it was all a dream. If she was being honest, she had woken up confused like this, after a passionate night only to wake up to find it all was just a dream, a few times after Jake left. But this time it was real; this time the space next to her was still warm. And yet there she was- alone. She stared up at the ceiling with a million thoughts flying through her mind before finally finding the courage to get up. She could hear the rustling in the kitchen and when she walked through the doorway, caught Jake's eye when he looked up from the stove and flashed her a polite smile. Ok we're going to talk about this right? Maybe he just doesn't know how to bring it up.

That morning was filled with casual, tranquil amity like they had been getting dressed and ready for the day together for years. Jake was driving her up to the nation's capital, making it a road trip, much more pleasant than the last one they went on before she stood up and admitted to being the President's mistress. No, this one was filled with pre-popped popcorn, a road trip playlist filled with surprisingly a lot more Niall Horan than Jake expected, and a lot of quiet laughter. Olivia knew something was on Jake's mind because she did know him as she had said before. They were both smiling but they were also the two best people at wearing masks.

Over the last few days a lot of walls had come down, and it was as if their friendship was stronger than ever, but during the comfortable silences Jake reminded himself that this isn't her life, and he has to protect himself.

Finally, they entered familiar territory; a place that they had each taken a turn controlling from the depths of Wonderland or the White House, but for Jake was now simply an old memory, a touristy city that held secrets around every corner. After a making a call to Quinn, the two of them pulled in to the QPA building so that Jake could visit all of them for the first time since leaving.

They spent the rest of the morning catching up with the Quinn, Huck, Charlie and Abby, with the redhead and brunette making knowing eye contact every time Olivia and Jake shared a smile from across the table.

"Oh, we better head out. I need to get to the White House and check on Mellie. I'm just going to run to the restroom real quick."

Olivia was washing her hands when Abby barged in. "Ok, what was all that about?"

"What?"

"That! You leave for D.C. and you're not talking to Jake at all and now you're back and you're- well, you're happy! And it's a good look on you!"

"I don't know what to tell you Abby, it was just a mini vacation. It was surprisingly nice being down there. "

"I'm not talking about Blackstone," Abby said recognizing the Olivia Pope style of spin and ignoring what's right in front of her.

"Oh, Jake. We talked a lot and maybe slept together last night," Olivia said, rushing through the last part of her sentence, walking back into the QPA foyer.

"Wow, are you going to get back together?"

"I mean, I don't know what this means for us." She was still waiting to get a moment for them to talk about what happened the night before and how they had gotten there. It was ironic, usually she never wanted to talk about their long and complicated history but this time she wanted to know, she was open to seeing where this could go.

Meanwhile-

Quinn turned to Jake, her eyes lighting up and a smirk creeping on her lips, "Did something happen? And don't even try to lie to me." He had trained her too well and all this time running QPA and dealings with stubborn clients made her internal lie detector pretty good.

Jake sighed, knowing he wasn't getting out of this, "We slept together."

"So now …"

Jake turned away from the interrogation, "So, nothing. "

Quinn scoffed, "Really, don't you still love her? You can make your move now. What's stopping you?"

"Of course I still love her," he shook his head and paused, "but she's here and probably thinks it was nothing, just a normal Tuesday, or a last hurrah maybe."

"What if she doesn't think so?"

Jake looked over at her with his eyes just begging for her not to push. It wasn't a road he wanted to go down again; falling in love with the formidable Olivia Pope only to be left out in the cold. "I doubt that; we've slept together before without any emotion being involved, nothing is gonna change between me and Olivia."

"Do you want to get back together?" Abby said, trying to catch up with Olivia.

"I- Maybe? You know me, I'm not saying we should jump into anything, but everything felt so real, you know? Like we actually have a shot this time. We don't have to worry about my father or-" Olivia quieted when she heard her name.

"I'm not getting back together with Olivia."

"Jake," Quinn said with a knowing tone.

"Really, nothing is going to change."

She really does have the worst timing.

AN: so cliffhanger sorta! this chapter was kinda fluffy so that in the next chapter they really dig in! Let me know what you think!

#scandal abc #olake #availed #olivia pope #jake ballard #olake fanfic #fic #mine #totn #olivia #jake

13 notes · View notes

sweetnestor · 6 years

Text

On Days Like This | Chapter 1

teamiplier + oc, romantic/angst/platonic

PREVIOUS FICS (if you’re new here then I suggest reading these first)

Leave it to me, Bella fucking Santiago to get sick the day we leave for tour. I mean, I saw it coming. I’ve had anxiety/travel sickness before. Unlike the rest of the group, this was my first time being on the road for an extended amount of time. Of course I was nervous. Of course I was panicking and even throwing up over the thought of sharing a confined space with a bunch of people, half of which were strangers.

Since I had missed the shows in June due to mental health issues, it was important that I went to this one. I had a big part in writing the script (AKA, the bits and pieces that weren’t improv) and I needed to be there. Not only that, I had been helping Mark with his singing and guitar playing since he started practicing earlier in the year, and he wanted me to sing with him onstage.

I wasn’t used to being so busy. I liked it, though. It distracted me from the oncoming anxiety attacks. Well, I usually had those at the end of the day, and it’s not like I had a choice over when I would get these attacks, but I preferred it that way. At least I wasn’t acting up in the middle of a meeting or rehearsal. Ethan was always there to calm me down too, so I wasn’t alone. I wasn’t suffering in silence anymore, and I was still getting used to that.

Anyway, I had been dreading the tour thing and sharing a bus overall, but the actual nausea didn’t start until we had flown to Kentucky. Literally, the moment we landed (oh yeah - I went on my fifth plane ride this year) my stomach got all grumbly and gross. I threw up in one of the airport bathrooms. Twice.

Mark and I practiced our singing nonetheless, just like we had been rehearsing at home. We were actually going to sing together on stage. Of course, each of us got our own solos, but for most of the set, we were going to duet. I was crippled with anxiety over that too, so I had to make a beeline to the nearest toilet or trash can every so often. Thankfully, it didn’t disturb my singing ability too badly, but it was still a bit concerning to the people around me.

“Think you’ll be okay before our first show?” Mark asked me when we were in my hotel room. We had been busy with other tour stuff, so we took whatever chance we had to rehearse our set.

“I’m drowning myself in chamomile and Pepto,” I replied, pointing to my cup of tea that was on the coffee table.

“Tour starts in two days, though. And you’re already…” he trailed off.

“A mess,” I finished for him. “I know. But I don’t think it’s a big deal if I end up having to miss the set. The audience is there for you, anyway.”

“Yeah, but I need you there,” he told me.

So I kept going. For the next two days, I was either singing or sleeping. Me being me, I also got a visit from the red dragon the night before the very first show. That was the same night we all had to get on the bus and sleep on the ride to the venue.

The bunks on the bus were practically coffins. Thank god I wasn’t claustrophobic. I couldn’t properly crawl into a ball the way I normally would when the time of the month hit me. All I could do was sleep facing the wall (Ethan claimed the only bunk with a window) and hope that the cramps would be gone in the morning.

Well…

I woke up to more overwhelming nausea. Maybe that was due to taking painkillers late at night on an empty stomach. I was lucky enough that I didn’t actually blow chunks until we were off the bus. The second I stepped off, I ran around near the fence and coughed up my insides. Ethan quickly followed my trail to help me, but he was noticed by fans. That kinda sucked.

Vomiting and bleeding didn’t indicate that something was horribly wrong. I blamed it on stress, anxiety, and menstruation. Sure, the cramps got a little more intense and even spread to my lower back after I puked in one of the venue’s bathrooms, but I was fine overall. It was nothing I couldn’t handle. I even managed to hold down some pieces of toast and two more painkillers by the time I had to rehearse with Mark.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked me as he tuned out his guitar. “You don’t have to do this.”

“You said you needed me,” I reminded him.

“I spew out a lot of bullshit,” he said, waving it off. “If you’re really not okay, you can sit this one out.”

“I agree,” said Ethan from the doorway. I didn’t even realize he had been listening. “You really don’t have to do this.”

Honestly, it would be an absolute miracle if I sang my heart out on stage without throwing up. But I didn’t want it to stop me. I had come all this way, mentally preparing for this plethora of events, only to be stopped by some tummy grumbles? No. Not in this lifetime.

“It’s just the nerves,” I justified with a shrug. “After I get the first performance done, the nausea will go away.” Of course, I could feel what little food I had consumed threaten to come back up just as I said that.

Ethan approached me and placed his hand on my shoulder. “Hey. I love you. But you don’t look well.”

I placed my hand over his. “I love you too. And I’m fine.”

“Can you do your warm ups without vomiting?”

He knew me too well.

“No, yeah, let’s do that,” Mark said. “If you can get through our warms ups, then you can perform tonight.”

What am I, fifteen? Incapable of making decisions for myself? Okay, yes, I threw up into the trash can after three scales, but at least I took the initiative to haul my sick ass back onto the bus for some peace and quiet. I decided to stay there for the rest of the morning, and it wasn’t just because the pain in my lower abdomen was getting more intense. So intense, in fact that I groaned in agony once I was alone on the bus. I wasn’t even sure the sleeping bus driver heard me.

I hunched over slightly as I stumbled through the vehicle. The nausea was now overpowered by the pain in my pelvis. At least I wasn’t throwing up anymore…

Being in my bunk didn’t help at all. It was too small and cramped, but I had nothing else. Plus, I was experiencing quite the heavy flow, and the sofas in the ‘lounge area’ didn’t deserve that. I just dealt with rolling around in the tight space, hoping to sleep off whatever this was.

Knowing me and my luck, I figured out what it could possibly be. The pain got worse the longer I stayed curled up in my bunk, and it only confirmed my thoughts even more. At one point, I was rapidly tossing and turning, hitting the back wall with my fist in order to cope with it. I was breathing so hard, I couldn’t tell if it was due to the pain or a panic attack. The room spun every time I opened my eyes, so I couldn’t grab my phone to text Ethan that I was getting worse. I had a scary idea of what was going on, I just had to tell someone.

“Help…” I croaked out, but then I felt another sharp, shooting pain in my lower abdomen. “Ahh!”

My fingers scraped against the wooden edge of my bunk. I kicked the bottom of my feet against the end of the small space. I cried out some more as it got more and more excruciating. When I finally heard footsteps, I stuck my hand outside the tiny cubicle, hoping to flag the person down. I was relieved to see that it was Kathryn.

She squatted down so she was peering into my bunk. “Are you okay?”

I shook my head. “I think…” I groaned. “Miscarriage…”

________

#crankgameplays x oc #ethan nestor x reader #markiplier x oc #sweetheart writes #odlt fic #too far? naah #i mean a year prior she tried to off herself ya feel #so i dont think its too intense #i mean the next chapter is a doozy but eh #anyway let me know what u think #yell at me if u wanna

22 notes · View notes

shadow-of-a-whisper · 7 years

Text

Sterek Ficlet

Sherriff Stilinski closed the front door as quietly as he could, almost trembling with how exhausted he was. Maybe he’d finally gotten too old to pull multiple double-shifts in a single week. Tomorrow, or rather, later today, he was going to have to thank Sheila for sending him home early. Hell, Parrish was going to have to pick him up later because he’d been too tired to risk driving himself home, so his cruiser was at the station. Deputy Camden had dropped him off. He might have to start listening to Stiles and reducing his hours a little. It was just difficult, what with them still being so understaffed. He slowly staggered into the lounge, just checking that everything was switched off and nobody had left food out on the coffee table again. The sight that met his eyes had him instantly feeling much more alert, like only an espresso or the sound of gunshots could usually achieve. Derek Hale was fast asleep on his sofa. That on its own would have been enough to make his hand subconsciously drift closer to his service weapon, but that wasn’t all. His one and only underage teen son was sprawled over the older former murder suspect, with one of Hale’s arms wrapped firmly about his waist. As he watched, jaw hanging open in disbelief, Hale’s relaxed expression started to crumple at the edges, lips pulling into a small frown, impressive eyebrows twitching into a murderous glare. That man had some unfortunate features, however much his cheekbones and jawline might disagree. One of his feet spasmed like he was dreaming of running. When he started growling almost low enough to be sub-vocal, it seemed to catch Stiles’ attention. Without waking up, he kissed Hale’s Henley-covered sternum before nuzzling up under his scruffy chin, mumbling nonsense in a soothing tone. It was surprisingly effective. Hale shifted onto his side, trapping Stiles between his chest and the back of the sofa, but not squashing him. He was literally shielding Stiles with his body, putting himself between the boy and any threat which might be present in the room. Stiles made a happy snuffling sound, and Hale softly kissed the top of his buzzed head. Holy hell. Whatever was going on between them, clearly there were mutual feelings involved. He couldn’t decide whether that was better or worse than if it was just fooling around. At least he might have been able to talk some sense into his son, if that was all it was. His adrenaline rush faded almost as quickly as it had arrived, leaving him shaking in its wake, his vision blurring and blacking out for a second as he almost fell asleep on his feet. He grabbed the blanket off the back of his armchair and draped it over the two of them, cancelled the alarm Stiles had set on his phone for five minutes before he’d been due home, then stumbled his way up to bed. Breakfast was going to be very interesting. Or possibly lunch. He checked his watch again, and the hands blurred into focus just long enough for him to make out the time. 4am. Yep, definitely lunch.

It was only twenty minutes shy of noon when he finally roused. He’d managed to remove his shoes, belt, gun and badge before he’d conked out last night, and made it under the covers, but otherwise he was still dressed in his uniform. Ugh. He took a shower, then dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, making a point of putting on his gun holster before going downstairs when he remembered their guest. He checked in on the lovebirds before he went into the kitchen, switching on the stove and getting lunch started. Omelettes sounded pretty good to him right now. Besides being one of the six decent meals he knew how to make from scratch, they were one of the few nice things Stiles still let him eat. He made one for Hale as well, using four eggs. Maybe if the man put on some weight Stiles would lose interest. Okay, so he knew his son wasn’t that shallow. It was still worth a try. When the food was ready he stuck it in the warming drawer and went to wake up the boys. He switched on the TV, intending to switch over to the channel which the game would be on in an hour, and the menu screen for a DVD came up. Monsters Inc.? Seriously? Well, at least it wasn’t The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy again. Derek really must like Stiles to be letting him pick the movie. He changed the channel to the one he wanted, turned the volume up, then went back into the kitchen to set the table. It wasn’t long before he heard the muffled sounds of his son waking up. He snickered at the cursing and panicked whispers, when they realized that he knew. They seemed to debate whether Hale should stay or go for a minute, but eventually they walked into the kitchen side by side, not quite touching anywhere except for the tips of their fingers. They weren’t quite holding hands, but it was close enough. Stiles gave a wry smile when he saw the extra plate set out. The Sherriff had set the places so he’d be on one side of the table, Stiles would be to his left, and Derek would be to his right. As far from each other as the two could get at the small table. Derek moved to take his seat, but Stiles stopped him with a touch to his wrist. His son moved the chairs and place settings so he and Derek would be sitting next to each other, both facing him. It was a bold move. He didn’t miss the look of fond exasperation Derek shot at his son. The three of them ate in silence. After a few minutes Stiles snorted for no apparent reason, got up, felt around behind the microwave, and handed Derek the salt and pepper he’d been hiding. “Dude, what have I told you about suffering in silence?” Derek bumped shoulders with him, ducking his head to hide a small smile. “Don’t call me dude.” After that it only took a few seconds for Derek to wolf down the rest of his meal. Jeez, when was the last time he’d had a decent home-cooked meal? For that matter, where was he living? He couldn’t be squatting in his burnt out ruins anymore, they’d been demolished a month ago by the city. Stiles cut his remaining omelette in half and forked it onto Derek’s plate. He ate that a little slower, so they finished almost at the same time. The Sherriff didn’t waste any time beating around the bush. “So, Stiles. Was there something you wanted to tell me?” Stiles winced. “Yeah, about that. So I’m not sure about the whole gay thing, but I’m definitely at least bi.” He shrugged. “Yeah, I sort of got that. Not really what I was asking about.” Stiles smiled at him, warm and genuine. He hadn’t really been worried about his dad being upset about him being into guys, but it was still a relief to hear him say it. “With Scott spending most of his time with Allison, Derek and I have been spending a lot of time together lately. We talk about things, or play video games, or watch movies, just hanging out mostly. Sometimes we just share space together, you know? It’s nice. We get each other. I know there’s been some misunderstandings in the past, and at least one of them was my fault. I shouldn’t have let Scott talk me into lying about the second time, either. A lot was going on back then, and it was all just a mess. But things are better now. And you don’t need to be arresting anyone.” The Sherriff stared at his son. Did Stiles seriously expect him to believe that he wasn’t having sex with Derek? Stiles rolled his eyes. “Look dad, you know me, so I’m not going to lie. Waiting until after I turn eighteen wasn’t my idea. But it’s important to Derek, so I’m respecting his wishes. Because he’s important to me. He has his reasons, which you aren’t going to ask about because he doesn’t like talking about them. It’s enough that he’s explained them to me.” The Sherriff watched Hale’s face. He was looking at Stiles with awe and gratitude and undeniable love. “Okay, let’s say I buy that. I still don’t get why you accused him of murder in the first place. It’s not like you to seriously suspect someone just for looking suspicious. There was something you weren’t telling me then, and if you really want me to be okay with this, then I’m going to need to know what it was, right now.” To his surprise, Stiles actually nodded. Hale shot him a look, his hand tightening over Stiles’. Stiles shook his head subtly and rubbed a soothing thumb over his knuckles. “Okay, so you’ve heard about the Warrior gene, right? How it predisposes some people to certain behavioural responses under stressful circumstances?” The Sherriff didn’t know where Stiles was going with this, but then again, he rarely did, so he just nodded in response. “Okay. Well, Derek has a similar gene. Most of his family had it too. Scott has it, and Isaac, Boyd, and Erica. Cora and the twins, Ethan and Aidan. Jackson. Derek’s been running something of a support group for them. The gene manifests in a few different ways. People who are affected tend to have high metabolisms, above average senses of hearing and smell, above average speed and strength, a faster healing rate than most people. They’re also more prone to certain toxins, like aconite and mistletoe. Sometimes it makes their eyes look like they’re glowing. They tend to be very tactile. The main thing is, it predisposes them to serious anger management issues. Derek has it under control now, but when I first met him Laura had just died. He was having a rough time coping. When I found out about him having the gene, I made some unfair assumptions about him. That’s why I thought he was the killer, and to be fair, the killer did turn out to have the gene. The point is, I know Derek a lot better now. I’m safe with him, Dad.” The Sherriff mulled this new information over. He wasn’t the Sherriff for nothing. “Does this gene have anything to do with why his family was targeted six years ago?” Stiles nodded sharply, lips thin. He could see the brittle edges surrounding him. “There’s a group of people who think that anyone with the gene is a threat which shouldn’t be tolerated. Even if the person affected has never hurt anyone, even if they’re just a kid, it doesn’t usually matter to them. One of their particularly psychotic members set the fire. Peter Hale killed her in self-defence, but not before she fatally wounded him. He was the one who figured out who her accomplices were and killed them all before she got to him.” The Sherriff nodded. “Just to be clear, we’re talking about Kate Argent?” He saw Hale flinch and shrink back. Stiles carded a hand into his hair and pulled his head down to rest on his shoulder. Hale hid his face against the side of Stiles’ neck. “Yeah, that’s the one. She was crazier than a opossum on crack. She thought that people with the gene were werewolves. Seriously, she believed that wholeheartedly, she was totally delusional. It probably didn’t help that Peter made himself a crude set of metal claws which he then glued to his fingernails.” The Sherriff leaned back in his chair. “Huh. That would explain why they looked like animal attacks.” Stiles nodded. “Yep. He was pretty much as crazy as she was by that point. He made himself a false set of teeth with these huge fangs, and bit his victims with them.” The Sherriff narrowed his eyes at Stiles. “How exactly do you know all this?” Stiles shifted in his chair, his eyes darting to the doorway. He swallowed harshly before answering. “I may or may not have witnessed the big battle between him and the she-demon. Also, he may or may not have been the one stalking us through the school that time.” The Sherriff groaned and rubbed a hand down his face. His son, ladies and gentlemen. “How the hell are you not dead yet?” Derek finally lifted his head, just to scowl at him. Stiles smiled wryly. “Hell if I know.” The Sherriff turned to Hale. “Are you sure about this Hale? I don’t think you really know what you’re getting yourself into with this one.” Stiles gave an indignant ‘Hey!’, but Hale’s face looked like a storm cloud. “I know that Stiles is recklessly loyal, one of the most cunning people I’ve ever known, and overwhelmingly compassionate. He single-handedly kept Scott from hurting anyone when his gene started manifesting, even though he knew nothing about how it worked. I know that I helped everyone with their anger management, but he helped them with everything else. He made a random bunch of people into a genuine group of friends. I know he’s made my empty loft feel like a home, something I haven’t had for six years. I know that I am unbelievably lucky that he wants anything to do with me. I am grumpy, sarcastic, and rude. I snap and sneer at people. I honestly have no idea what he sees in me, but I thank my lucky stars every day that he does see it.” Stiles looked like he wanted to cry or kiss Derek senseless. Possibly both at the same time. “It’s you, Derek. I see you. You’re adorable when you’re grumpy, and your dry wit just shows how brilliant you really are. No matter what mistakes you make your heart is always in the right place. You only ever try to help, to protect everyone. I know you’ve had some seriously shitty luck, but you’re good Derek. That’s what I see.” Hale whimpered softly and touched his forehead to Stiles’. Stiles petted his hair and hushed him. They stayed that way for a minute, and the Sherriff decided to leave them to it. He felt like he’d accidently spied on something intimate, a moment he shouldn’t have been witness to. He put his plate in the sink and left to sit in the lounge. His timing was perfect, the game was just about to start. Halfway in, the lovebirds finally came out of the kitchen, lips bruised and necks chafed, but their clothes not looking too rumpled. The Sherriff politely ignored their sorry state. Stiles had never had any interest in football, it was pretty clear he just wanted to be wherever Derek was for the moment. Derek recognised the team at least, even if he preferred baseball. Apparently football had been his dad’s favourite. Baseball he’d gotten from his mother. Their team won, Hale shyly told them about the correspondence courses he was taking to finish his marketing degree, and Stiles didn’t stop smiling contentedly the whole day. All things considered, he was counting it as a win.

It wasn’t until several months later, a little after Stiles turned seventeen, that he found out the truth about ‘the gene’. He’d been responding to a noise disturbance call on the outskirts of town, near the apartments where the homeless tended to set up camp, when it happened. It would be two days before he’d realize that it was a full moon that night. Some thing had been a fraction of a second from sinking massive fangs into his throat, when a monstrous black wolf had tackled it away from him. The wolf was soon joined by several others, and together they tore the creature apart. Maybe he could have bought it if he’d been in the middle of the preserve, despite wolves having not been seen in the state for at least a few decades by all accounts, but he wasn’t in the preserve. He trained his gun on the black wolf, not sure whether or not the beast had saved him so it could have him for dinner itself, but the wolf froze and stared at him with intelligence in its eyes. “What are you?” One of the smaller wolves, with curly cream-coloured fur, whined pitifully. The black wolf nodded to the doorway, and its pack quickly filed out. The big dark grey one came back after a tense few seconds with a blanket draped over its back. The black wolf crouched behind the blanket, then changed. The Sherriff had to turn his head away, fighting back a powerful wave of nausea. There was no way in hell that could be painless. When he looked back, Derek Hale was wrapping the blanket tightly around himself, and the grey wolf was gone. Derek Hale, as in the man who’d been dating his son for almost half a year now. The Sherriff briefly considered putting a bullet in him just on principle, but the man had just saved his life. The next few days were tense as everything came out. He spent hours talking with Derek, Chris Argent, Melissa McCall, and Alan Deaton. He learnt all about werewolves, hunters, kanimas, banshees, the alpha pack, darachs, and even sparks. He re-examined all of his old cases, looking for clues that they might have been related to the supernatural in some way or other. He carried a clip of wolfsbane bullets on him at all times now, for protection against rogue omegas and as a way to heal the pack if any of them were shot by hunters. The first time Hale had smelled the wolfsbane on him, his eyes had turned to saucers and his pale skin had turned grey. It was a struggle not to burst into gales of mirth. Stiles was miserable and withdrawn, he’d forbidden his son to have any contact with Hale for a month as punishment for keeping so many giant secrets from him. His cellphone and the key to his jeep had been confiscated, and there was a new lock on the kid’s bedroom window which got checked for signs of tampering twice a day. Still, he’d been tempted to change his mind when he’d realized that Stiles was wearing one of Hale’s Henleys to bed each night. It was always a different one, too. It didn’t seem to be helping much though, dark rings were starting to form under his eyes, and they got darker by the day. He hadn’t realized how much time those lovebirds spent just napping together until he’d put a hold on it. His resolve caved in halfway through week three, by which point Stiles resembled a zombie more than a living human. The first thing they’d done once the ban was lifted was to hug each other so tightly that they had to alternate their breaths. Hale was scenting Stiles’ face, neck, collarbones and shoulders with butterfly kisses, all whilst making undeniably canine sounds of relief and joy and welcome back. His shaking hands and pitiful whines got the message across loud and clear. ‘I missed you so fucking much I thought I’d burst with it.’ The second thing they’d done was conk out on the couch for ten hours solid. Bedroom privileges had been revoked, whether the door was closed or open. It was another month before they earned that back.

Eventually everything went back to normal. Derek finished rebuilding the Hale house, the pack defended Beacon Hills from supernatural threats, Chris Argent and the Sherriff protected the pack from hunters. Stiles studied under Deaton, whilst Scott studied under Derek and ‘studied’ with Allison. By the time Stiles turned eighteen, Derek had finished his degree and the Sherriff got him deputized. Stiles got several boxes of condoms from his group of friends for his birthday, and the Sherriff got him a box too, but Stiles told him to save it for graduation. Apparently Hale wasn’t comfortable with doing some things with a high school student, and Stiles didn’t want Derek to be uncomfortable with anything they did together, so they were still waiting. “I mean, I’ve already waited a year and a half, what’s a few more months? I’d wait ten years if that was what he needed me to do. He’s worth it. I get the feeling sometimes that what he’s really waiting for is for me to come to my senses and realize that he’s not what I want. It’ll be okay though, because that’s never gonna happen. It’s actually pretty funny, I used to worry about the exact same thing, in the beginning. I used to think he would get tired of being with me, or finally see just how annoying I really am, something like that. When he told me he wanted to wait a bit longer, I thought maybe it had finally happened. But I asked him about it, and he made it pretty clear that he just wants to do this right, because I mean that much to him. And then he rubbed me off through my pyjama pants to show me how much he still wants me.” Scott scrunched up his nose in disgust. “Stiles! TMI dude, that was so not cool!” Stiles just snorted his amusement. “Don’t even Scott, I know way more about Allison than I could ever want to thanks to you. I didn’t even go in to detail.” Still, graduation night didn’t go quite how Stiles thought it would. Don’t get him wrong, Derek was a fantastically attentive lover. The wolf pulled three orgasms out of him before sunrise, and Stiles was pretty sure Derek had come too at some point. He just wasn’t sure, because Derek hadn’t let him see or feel him. When Stiles had asked about it, the only answer he’d gotten was “One step at a time.” Stiles huffed. “Derek, this isn’t alcoholics anonymous.” But then Derek had swallowed him down, and Stiles forgot how to use words. After that, Stiles’ imagination started running a bit wild. He’d felt enough to know that Derek wasn’t small or excessively large, even if he only ever wore Under Armour. He’d done some research, and grilled Scott, but there was no evidence so far that werewolves had knots. Maybe only born wolves got them. He’d tried asking Deaton, but the man had just looked at him like he was so utterly done, so he’d dropped it. That only left Derek, and how the hell did you bring that up in normal conversation with your boyfriend? By randomly blurting it out, apparently. Derek looked like he’d been shot, and Stiles would know. “How did you even…?” Stiles just shrugged. “The internet, Derek. It’s a magical place.”

#sterek #sterek fanfiction #my fic #stiles stilinski #sherriff stilinski #sheriff stilinski #derek hale #teen wolf #teen wolf fanfiction #Everybody lives #nobody dies #the cops Jackson attacked aren't dead just hospitalised

5 notes · View notes

sweetnestor · 6 years

Text

12 Days | Chapter 7.2

Two guys that lowkey hate each other are forced to walk in each other’s shoes in order to learn a lesson.

***in collaboration with @themarkiplierexperience

lmao soz its not actually x reader we’re just desperate for attention haaaa

bonus: the videos that “tom recorded/edited”: x x

Waking up to texts from the guy you switched lives with was like waking up to texts from a needy girlfriend. Except instead of affectionate “good morning”s, you get things like, “Oh god. Try not to ruin my channel thx 😅” and other things like, “Don’t worry about Sean. He’s a good guy and he’s helped Bella through a lot. They’re friends and nothing more.” Oh wait, that’s what Tom needed to know. It was vital information about this life. Well, Sean was already gone, so maybe it wasn’t as important to know now, but still.

There were two more. One made his heart ache. “You have the most beautiful dog and I love her.” Tom missed his little Tess more than anything. He was supposed to be one cuddling with her.

The next one read: “Also this time zone difference is insane, I’m never gonna sleep.”

Tom decided to leave him on read, since he had nothing new to report. Then, he thought about what he had to do today, and a bout of nerves formed in his stomach. Today, he had to successfully record a video as Ethan Nestor. Why was this more stressful than being on a movie set? Why did this make him want to shit his pants more than giving a speech at an awards show, or going to a movie premiere?

There was literally no one else in the room, and Tom was anxious about how he would sound and act. How far could binge watching a bunch of videos late at night get him? Would Ethan’s fans figure out what was really going on? Tom’s own fans were frighteningly incredible at playing detective, he could only guess what Ethan’s would be like. He hadn’t even checked how people reacted to the video that was posted today.

After looking through the files on the computer, Tom stumbled across a game titled “Dream Daddy.” What the fuck kind of games was this guy into? He looked into it a little more, and then discovered what exactly this game was and who made it. Wasn’t really helpful, but what choice did he have?

He also had to Google search how to record the computer screen, cursing Sonji under his breath as he did so. Why did she specifically choose Tom and Ethan to switch? Why couldn’t it have been two nobodies with boring office jobs?

A spark of curiosity hit him. Tom typed “swapping lives” in the search engine, only to receive links to a fiction book with that very title. Next, he tried “soul swapping,” and that was when the Internet connection decided to dramatically slow down.

“Sonji,” Tom whispered as he narrowed his eyes. Whatever, he had more important things to do anyway.

Once he turned on the camera and lights, Tom began right away. He opened the game, and was pleasantly surprised at the dreamlike, whimsical music that started playing. He did a little dance to the music, completely bullshitting what he was doing. It works, right?

He got the god awful intro out of the way. “What is up my cranky crew? It’s Ethan from CrankGameplays and today we are here in Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator!”

The game was actually really fun. Good story, good dialogue.Tom made sure to comment on all of it as he played. He almost made himself as a dad before remembering that he was pretending to be somebody else. This daddy had to have blue hair and glasses. Yes, he had discovered how blind Ethan was after driving in his car a couple of times.

Anyway, recording was the easy part. He just had to act extra dorky and say “oh boy!” every now and again. He also made up a story about having a “horse phase.” Editing was where things got tricky. Firstly, the facecam footage was corrupted, and took ages to get it all back. Then, it was out of sync with the gameplay, which was even more confusing because the last video didn’t have this problem. Cutting out footage was harder than it should have been. It was a nightmare, and Tom grew more and more irritated as he went through it. Lastly, timing the ridiculously long outro music with Ethan’s equally god awful outro phrase (“So thank you guys so much for watching! Hope you enjoyed it, if you did make sure to slap that like button right in the face and I will see you guys in the next video! Love you all, stay cranky, bye!”) was a fucking challenge. Tom just didn’t get it. Wasn’t this supposed to be easy?

Somehow, he got the video done by the noon. Even after that, he had to make a thumbnail on Photoshop after noticing all the ones on the other videos. So Tom had to learn how to use another program as well. He needed a nap after getting through all of it.

Just as he started to come down from the stress, his phone started to blow up. Tom snatched the device from the desk and unlocked it, hoping to hear from Ethan. Instead, it was three different texts from Bella, Mark, and Amy.

Bella: “Good video today!! Are you coming over?”

Mark: “Oh so you decided to keep your channel going. Feel up to coming back to work yet? No rush.”

Amy: “We still on for tomorrow?”

That last message would have been very concerning, had Tom not remembered that Amy was Mark’s girlfriend. The only person he responded to was Bella. After that, he got ready to go.

There are plenty of things you don’t really think about when you switch lives with another person. Well, you think of the main things like, general personality, the person’s friends and significant others, their job. You don’t really think about things like how this person responds and reacts to their fans. You don’t think about their attention span, the way they fidget, or which leg they put into their jeans first. You don’t think about how they act with their friends versus how they act with their significant other. You really don’t think about what kind of gift he would get for his girlfriend on their six month anniversary.

Tom was bloody lucky that Bella hadn’t heard him enter her apartment that afternoon. He overheard her making a video in her bedroom, where he heard the words “get ready with me,” “date night,” and “anniversary.” Panicked, Tom bolted out of the building, hopped back in the car, and drove off to the closest mall. Part of him wanted to call Ethan and yell at him for not telling him about this, he had the chance to when his phone dinged four times on the ride to the mall. Tom was just trying hard to think up a decent gift on his own. They couldn't help each other, correct?

Eventually, he found something. It wasn’t much, but he could only hope that she wouldn’t mind. Tom had already fucked up with her once, he couldn’t do it again. Apparently, not only was a Pop Funko Spider-Man keychain a decent gift, it was sentimental and perfect for Bella. She nearly teared up when Tom brought it to her later on.

This anxiety thing she had must have been really serious. Bella told him all about how she hadn’t been to the cinema in years because of her panic attacks, and that Homecoming was the first movie she had seen from start to finish without any anxious interruptions. She was very proud of that, and she was happy that she experienced it with Ethan.

If only Ethan were here to see this moment… Actually, he could.

Bella fell asleep later in the afternoon. She was squashed between Tom and the back of the sofa, sleeping somewhat soundly on his chest, or practically on top of him. The physical affection was nice, but Tom wished it was someone else. Thankfully, he had his phone in his hand, so he was able to open the new messages he got literally behind his girlfriend’s back.

He had five new messages, four were the ones from Ethan earlier today, and the last one was from someone called Parker.

“Signed a billion posters, pls work on your signature it’s so much longer than it has to be dude.” Oh please, at least Tom signs his actual name as opposed to Ethan, who apparently signs things with his YouTube name.

“You’ve got a great family dude. Really, they’re all great.” Tom missed his family too. His missed his mother's pancakes.

“On my way to Montreal now for Chaos Walking pre shooting stuff i don’t really know.” That's going to be an adventure.

“I swear if I have to work out I’ll die alright gn?”

Tom rolled his eyes and sent something back. “Thought I completely fucked up your relationship, but it’s all good now!” As a follow up, he added: “Now I’ll be spending my six month anniversary with the missus! Night mate x”

He attached a photo of his current position, giving a smug expression to the camera. Ethan will get a kick out of that, that’s for sure.

“Who ya texting?” asked the sleepy girl lying on him, who could hear the ticking of the keyboard.

Tom was busy reading the next message, it was a little confusing. First of all, who the hell is Parker? Second of all, what the hell did Tom have to do with him tomorrow? And why did it involve Amy? What was with all these “don’t forget tomorrow”s? Why couldn’t anyone be straight up anymore?

I’m looking at you, Sonji, Tom thought just as his phone dinged, indicating that an email had arrived.

From: [email protected]

I told you you gotta learn a lesson now leave me alone you asswipe!!

Tom, wide eyed, silently locked his phone and put it down for the rest of the day.

______

tag list: @marie-is-in-the-dark @beardedsteveslut @ohsnapitzmoony [idk why it wont let me tag you asdhlk]

______

#crankgameplays x oc #ethan nestor x reader #tom holland x oc #tom holland x reader #sweetheart writes #sweetheart collabs #twelve days #sorry for the tardiness haha #xmas got in the way lmao #and i wasnt sure what to do for this chapter which is why its super summarized and kinda short #i also added the videos from ethans channel just to show what were working with here #tbh his content was a little spotty and glitchy during this period lmao #and yeah sonji is a psychic lady u shouldnt fuck with hahaha #sorry sam i stole ur google search idea lmao #anyway thx for the attention and validation #ALSO ITS JULY 20TH HERRE #i may do a time skip for the next chapter so it all lines up IDK!!!!

11 notes · View notes