#luke x maya

[lixzey]

SERENDIPITY

a/n: there are scenes here from the demigod diaries, specifically the diary of luke castellan. credits to uncle rick for those scenes 💯 the characters and the pjo verse belongs to rick riordan except Amaya Williams and her father.

beta'd by the amazing @lilmaymayy 💘

If you guys wanna be added to the luke castellan taglist, just ask! Anyway, onto the story!

word count: 5.5k

luke and maya masterlist

CHAPTER ONE: THE YOUNG HALF BLOODS

LUKE CASTELLAN didn’t want to be a half-blood.

        Who would want to be one? Luke had learned from a young age that he could not live a quiet and peaceful life. He was a demigod. If you think that sounds cool, think again. All those Greek monsters from the stories? They are real. Demigods are monster magnets. Monsters can sense them even from miles away. 

Luke was nine when he ran away from home. His home life wasn’t exactly ideal. For as long as he could remember, he knew his mother wasn’t normal. Sure, some mothers had addictions, were abusive, and such, but his mother was on a whole new level. At the young age of three, Luke was terrified of his mother’s fits. Her stormy eyes would turn green and she would start screaming Danger! Terrible fate! in a deep, far away voice. Every time it happened, Luke would hide in the furthest corner of his closet, covering his ears while his mother screamed again and again as tears streamed down his face. He felt helpless that he couldn’t do anything for his mother. Luke prayed and prayed for someone to come and save him and his mother, but no one came. Not even his father.

Luke had known who his father was since he was four. His mother always muttered his name, how could he not understand that? Luke was a son of Hermes, he wasn't clueless like how the gods expected him to be. There was a photo at the top of the mantle of the once cozy house that Luke never got a chance to see: a photo of a happy couple with a squirming little baby, them, his once so perfect family.

Luke wondered why his father abandoned him and his mother if they were this perfect family when he was a baby? He prayed day and night to his father but as the days passed, Luke learned to resent his father—blaming him for all of his misery and for what had happened to his mother—if it wasn’t for him leaving maybe his mother wouldn’t be unstable, if it wasn’t for him he could’ve had a proper childhood, if it wasn’t for him he could’ve had a nurturing mother.

Luke would get extremely jealous of children with loving parents—the life he was deprived of—he would watch as mothers tended to their children in his neighborhood, he would watch fathers play with their children, while all he had was a broken mother and a deadbeat father. 

Because of that, Luke packed up and ran away and didn’t look back. He’s come to understand that no one will ever rescue him; he has to take his fate into his own hands. 

Living alone on the streets at the age of nine is harder than it looked. At first, Luke thought it would all be a great adventure, just like in the stories he heard before, but he eventually realized that living in that house—if you could even call that a house—even with his possessed mother, is safer than fending for himself.

Luke hadn’t brought a weapon with him when he left, not even one of those knives from the kitchen that had never been used and was only rusting in the kitchen drawer, and his carelessness had nearly killed him more than once. He resorted to diving in dumpsters to try to disguise his scent and never stayed in one place for long, always on the move with hardly enough time to steal a few hours—even minutes—of sleep using his backpack as a pillow.

By the second month, Luke nearly admitted defeat. He’d sell his soul to some dark god for a good night’s sleep and a hot meal. He’s exhausted and filthy, penniless and constantly on the run from monsters and well-meaning mortals alike. His backpack felt far heavier than it should and he found himself running out of breath almost every time. His clothes, which had once been bordering on too small thanks to a recent growth spurt, now hang off his thin frame, the cuffs frayed and stained beyond recognition.

Luke imagined all the normal families living in those cozy houses he once passed. He wondered what it would be like to have a home—a proper home—to know where his next meal was coming from, and not have to worry about getting eaten by monsters every day. He barely remembered what it was like to sleep in a real bed. Luke was tired of fending for his life, but eventually he managed to get the hang of living day to day with a promise to himself that he will never be like his father. 

He traveled on foot, to state by state, lonely and miserable. Once, when he stopped by in a town for a while, Luke tried to befriend a mortal, but whenever he told them the truth about himself, they didn’t understand. He’d confess that he was the son of Hermes, the immortal messenger dude with the winged sandals. He’d explain that monsters and Greek gods were real and very much alive in the modern world. His mortal friends would say, “That is so cool! I wish I was a demigod!” Like it’s some sort of game and he’d always ended up leaving.

For five years Luke fought hard to survive. He shoplifted food from convenience stores and tried to fight off monsters with a pocket knife he had stolen from a family having a picnic at a park he once passed. Even though he’d never met his father and didn't really want to, he shared some of his talents. Along with being messenger of the gods, his father is also the god of merchants—which explains why he was good with money—and travelers, which explains why the so-called divine god left his mother without ever looking back at the family he supposedly built. Hermes is also the god of thieves, hence the shoplifting and stealing. It wasn’t an ideal life for a child. He was barely living, but eventually Luke just simply learned to live the life he was forced to. 

When Luke was fourteen, he had met Thalia—the daughter of Zeus. The meeting had been an accident (it wasn’t). They had literally run into each other in a dragon’s cave outside Charleston and teamed up to stay alive. At first Luke was skeptical of trusting Thalia. No one else in his life had ever understood him, but she did. Thalia fighting off monsters should’ve been Luke’s first clue, that Thalia was like him—a demigod. But unlike him, Thalia had it worse. She was a forbidden kid, born out of a pact sworn on the River Styx. Luke eventually trusted Thalia and the two chose to team up to stay alive, subsequently traveling across the country while fending for themselves.

Being with Thalia made Luke feel less lonely. He finally had a friend, a friend who understood the struggles he had gone through his whole life. With her, battling monsters didn’t feel that scary anymore.

At some point, they arrived at Richmond, Virginia where Thalia followed a goat—Amaltheia. Luke didn’t understand why they were following a goat. Why were they following a goat? He didn’t know. Thalia then told Luke that it was Amaltheia who led her to him, that their meeting wasn’t by accident and decided to follow her thinking that Amaltheia was sent by her father, Zeus. Thalia could flash her blue eyes, give him one kind word, and she can get him to do pretty much anything—even though it was against his better judgment.

Amaltheia led Thalia and Luke to an old mansion. Once inside—thanks to Luke’s skills (which he isn’t proud of)—they realized that the mansion was a trap, a deadly one at that. As they were trying everything to escape, they met Halcyon Green, a demigod son of Apollo who was cursed by the gods for saving a girl’s life with his ability to see into the future. He had been imprisoned and unable to speak. A part of Halcyon’s curse was to lure demigods into being eaten by the three leucrotae—a terrifying monster that cannot be defeated by man nor god. 

Luke already knew the gods could be cruel. His own father had ignored him for fourteen years. But Halcyon Green’s curse was just plain wrong. It was evil. Luke desperately wanted to find a way to rescue him and Thalia. But Hal told them that every demigod thought that at first, that they could escape, but soon realized it wasn't possible. Thalia was able to claim the Aegis—a bracelet that transforms into a replica of her father’s shield—a blessing from Zeus. After hours of searching, they discovered that the only way to defeat the leucrotae was making Greek fire.

In the end, Hal decided that he would sacrifice himself to give them time to escape. But before he did, Hal had predicted Luke's future but left him vague answers when asked about it. Hal later gave Luke his personal diary and a celestial bronze knife. Luke and Thalia successfully escaped, shaken, but nonetheless unscathed. Luke gripped his backpack close, the diary and the celestial bronze knife—the only remnants of Halcyon Green’s life—safe inside with the word Promise, that Hal had written.

I promise, Hal, Luke thought. I’ll learn from your mistakes. If the gods ever treat me that badly, I’ll fight back. Luke wouldn’t let him down like the gods damned them to be.

The two ran through the streets of Richmond until they found a small park where they cleaned themselves the best they could. Then they laid low until dark. The two didn’t bother to talk about what had happened while they wandered through neighborhoods and industrial areas. Luke and Thalia had no plan, no glowing goat to follow anymore. They were bone tired, but neither of them felt like sleeping or stopping. Luke wanted to get as far as possible from that burning mansion. It wasn’t the first time they’d barely escaped with our lives, but they had never succeeded at the expense of another demigod’s life. 

Thalia suggested heading to their old camp on the James River as they shivered in the cold of the night. It would take at least a day to get there, but it was as good as a plan. The two demigods sat and split a ham sandwich as they ate in silence. The food tasted like cardboard, but they really didn’t have a choice. After the last bite, Luke heard a faint metal ping from a nearby alley. Someone was nearby. 

Luke got up, pulling out the dagger Hal gave him as Thalia had her spear and shield at the ready. The two crept along the wall of the warehouse, turning into a dark alleyway that dead-ended at a loading dock piled with old scrap metal. Just then there was a loud clang, a sheet of corrugated tin quivered on the dock. Something—someone—was underneath. Luke crept toward the loading bay until we stood over the pile of metal, Thalia following closely behind. He gestured for her to hold back as he reached for the piece of corrugated metal and mouthed, One, two, three! As soon as he lifted the sheet of tin, something flew at him—a blur of flannel and dark hair. A hammer hurtled straight at his face.

Things could’ve gone very wrong. Fortunately his reflexes were good from years of fighting. Luke dodged the hammer, then grabbed the little girl’s wrist. The hammer went skidding across the pavement. The little girl struggled. She couldn’t have been more than seven years old.

“No more monsters!” she screamed, kicking Luke in the legs. “Go away!”

“It’s okay!” He tried his best to hold her, but it was like holding a wildcat. Thalia looked too stunned to move. She still had her spear and shield ready.

“Thalia,” Luke said. “put your shield away! You’re scaring her!” 

Thalia unfroze. She touched the shield and it shrank back into a bracelet. She dropped her spear. “Hey, little girl,” she said, sounding more gentle than he’d ever heard. “It’s all right. We’re not going to hurt you. I’m Thalia. This is Luke.”

“Monsters!” the little girl wailed, tears staining her face. 

“No,” Luke promised. The poor thing wasn’t fighting as hard, but she was shivering, terrified of them. “But we know about monsters,” Luke explained softly. “We fight them too.”

Luke held her, more to comfort than restrain now. Eventually she stopped kicking. She felt cold. Her ribs were bony under her flannel pajamas. He wondered how long this little girl had gone without eating. She was even younger than Luke had been when he ran away. Despite her fear, she looked at him with large eyes. They were startlingly gray, beautiful and intelligent. A demigod—no doubt about it. Luke got the feeling she was powerful—or she would be, if she survived.

“You’re like me?” she asked, still suspicious, but she sounded a little hopeful, too.

“Yeah,” Luke nodded. “We’re…” he hesitated, not sure if she understood what she was, or if she’d ever heard the word demigod. Luke didn’t want to scare her even worse. “Well, it’s hard to explain, but we’re monster fighters. Where’s your family?” 

The little girl’s expression turned hard and angry. Her chin trembled. “My family hates me. They don’t want me. I ran away.”

Luke’s heart felt like it was cracking into a million pieces. She had such pain in her voice—familiar pain. Luke looked at Thalia, and made a silent decision right there that they would take care of this kid.

Thalia knelt next to him. She put her hand on the little girl’s shoulder. “What’s your name, kiddo?”

“Annabeth.”

Luke smiled. He’d never heard that name before, but it was pretty, and it seemed to fit her. “Nice name,” he told her. “I tell you what, Annabeth. You’re pretty fierce. We could use a fighter like you.”

Her eyes widened. “You could?”

“Oh, yeah,” Luke said earnestly. Then a sudden thought struck him. He reached for Hal’s dagger. It will protect its owner, Hal had said. He had gotten it from the little girl he had saved. Now fate had given them the chance to save another little girl.

“How’d you like a real monster-slaying weapon?” Luke asked her. “This is Celestial bronze. Works a lot better than a hammer.”

Annabeth took the dagger and studied it in awe. She was seven years old at most. What was he thinking giving her a weapon? But she was a demigod. They have to defend themselves. Hercules was only a baby when he strangled two snakes in his cradle. By the time Luke was nine, he’d fought for his life more than a dozen times. Annabeth could use a weapon.

“Knives are only for the bravest and quickest fighters,” Luke told her. His voice caught as he remembered Hal Green, and how he’d died to save them. “They don’t have the reach or power of a sword, but they’re easy to conceal and they can find weak spots in your enemy’s armor. It takes a clever warrior to use a knife. I have a feeling you’re pretty clever.”

Annabeth beamed at him, and for that, all his problems seemed to melt. Luke felt as if he’d done one thing right. He swore to himself that he would never let this girl come to harm. “I am clever!” she said.

Thalia laughed and tousled Annabeth’s hair. Just like that—they had a new companion. “We’d better get going, Annabeth,” Thalia said. “We have a safe house on the James River. We’ll get you some clothes and food.”

Annabeth’s smile wavered. For a moment, she had that wild look in her eyes again. “You’re…you’re not going to take me back to my family? Promise?”

Luke swallowed the lump out of his throat. Annabeth was so young, but she’d learned a hard lesson, just like he and Thalia had. Their parents had failed them. The gods were harsh and cruel and aloof. Demigods had only each other.

Luke put his hand on Annabeth’s shoulder.“You’re part of our family now. And I promise I’m not going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?”

“Deal!” Annabeth said happily, clutching her new dagger.

Thalia picked up her spear. She smiled at Luke with approval. “Now, come on. We can’t stay put for long!”

The trio left Richmond, headed to their safe house on the James River. The three of them fought for survival and avoided monsters together. It wasn’t much, but it was home for them—the family they built.

At some point, Thalia got injured by a monster and Luke and Annabeth wanted to rest. Given the situation, Luke decided to take the girls to his mother's house to treat Thalia’s wounds and to gather up a few supplies as Annabeth rested. There, Luke finally meets his father, Hermes, for the first time in thirteen years. Luke was angry and resented his father. He demanded to know why he had never shown up when Luke had desperately prayed while he hid from his mother when she had fits, or when he was on his own, running away from monsters. During this conversation, Hermes inadvertently revealed that he knew of Luke's fate. Luke asked about it since Hal had only given him vague answers, but Hermes refused to tell him as he had already said too much. Luke then told his father that he couldn't possibly love him if he wouldn't tell him and angrily left with Thalia and Annabeth.

Eventually they met Grover Underwood, a satyr tasked to bring them back to Camp Half Blood. A safe haven for demigods. A place where monsters and mortals can’t come. Grover led the three of them to camp, but it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.

Monsters attacked them from left to right. All three Furies and a pack of Hellhounds attacked, Cyclopes followed, and one thing led to another. Thalia sacrificed herself so Luke and Annabeth could get to camp safely. Luke thought she was stupid to sacrifice herself, he yelled at Thalia to not do it but she was as stubborn as her father. Luke held a crying Annabeth while fighting tears of his own as they entered the barrier between Camp Half Blood and the mortal world, where Thalia breathed her last breath as Zeus turned his daughter into a pine tree.

“Don’t worry, Annabeth. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Luke soothed the young girl in his arms, who mourned the loss of their friend—their sister. Luke vowed to himself that he won’t let the gods treat them horribly ever again. 

MAYA WILLIAMS hated being a half-blood. 

      Why wouldn’t she? Maya grew up alone because she was one. Sure, she wasn’t chased by any monsters, but she lived with one. Her father—Oliver Williams—despised his daughter. Why? Her mother left when Maya was born, right after she was born. Oliver blamed his daughter for that. Maya had no clue on who her mother was, or why she left when she was born. When she would ask her father, he would get angry at her and hit her and yell at her to go to her room. There were times that Oliver would leave for days—weeks, even—leaving Maya with a nanny and the toys he had bought her just to leave him alone and the occasional visits from his secretary (who pitied the young girl). Maya didn’t understand why her father hated her when she only wanted to make her daddy happy. 

     When Maya was five, she started experiencing strange things. Like white doves flocking near her school that refused to leave how much the exterminators tried. Or that time when her grandparents brought her to the beach and dolphins started swimming towards her. Or that time when she was at the park and swans approached her as she fed the birds with her nanny. As a child, Maya didn’t pay it too much attention. She only thought that animals liked her so much that they couldn’t leave her alone. But when she turned eight, she knew she was different. Apart from having dyslexia and ADHD, she had this aura of beauty, causing everyone to like her, want her even. Aside from that, Maya could ask anyone for anything she wanted and she would get it. Like that time when her grandmother took her out to shop for clothes when she saw a pretty dollhouse that she wanted. It wasn’t because she was spoiled or anything, but when she would ask anyone out on the street for anything, they’d give it to her—no questions asked.

When Maya was six, she heard her father one night drunk in his room, crying over her mother. It was weird for Maya to see her father crying without any cameras because he was an actor, so as a curious little girl, Maya peeked into his room. She saw her father, a glass of amber liquid in his hand and a photo in the other, which Maya assumed was her mother.

“Oh, Aphrodite, why did you have to leave me?” Oliver sobbed, titling the glass to his lips. “You left me with nothing! You left me alone to raise—” 

Maya ran to her room before she even heard the rest of what her father said. She packed a bag of clothes, grabbed food from the pantry, medical supplies in the bathroom, and money from her dad’s office before running away from home and never looking back. Maya wasn’t stupid. For six long years her father made it clear that he never loved her, therefore she was doing him a favor by leaving. But she understood something. Her mother’s name was Aphrodite. Her mother was the goddess of love. How did a six year old understand that? She didn’t know. It just clicked in Maya’s head—the doves, the dolphins, the swans, were somehow enough to prove that the goddess was her mother.

Maya ran through the streets of New Hampshire as fast as her little legs could carry her, determined to be as far as possible from the place she once called home. She thought it would be easy, like what she’d seen once on tv, but it wasn't—it was far worse than anything she had ever seen. Maya didn’t know what else to do. She didn’t have anywhere else to go. She couldn’t go to her grandparents, they were in Europe. Maya never felt so alone, living by herself in a world not built for little kids, especially a kid like her. 

Eventually, Maya got the hang of being on the run. By the second month, she was living from state to state, asking for help—using her charm—to get by.  From time to time, the thought of her father would cross her mind. Was he looking for her? Was he worried for her? Did he miss her? Maya wanted nothing more than to have her father’s love, she wanted him to find her—to wrap her in his arms and tell her he missed her and he was sorry for making her feel unloved, but she knew better than to expect that. Maya watched fathers with their little girls, wondering what she did to deserve a father like the one she had—a father so careless enough to let his own child believe that she wasn’t loved and run away from home at seven years old. She couldn’t understand how he hurt a little kid, his own kid.

And then there was the thought of her mother. It was ironic, how Maya was a daughter of the goddess of love and a man who’s incapable of loving. Maya wondered if it was some sort of joke, that she’d been born to parents who didn’t care about her. Or maybe her mother just didn’t think she was pretty enough to be worthy of being her child. It didn’t matter, because she was all alone—her mother never answered her prayers and pleas, proving all of her points. Maya was all on her own, she always had been. The happy little girl was gone, replaced by a little girl terrified by everything the cruel world tossed at her.

At seven years old, Maya has told a million lies—that came from her mother, probably—just to survive. Her clothes were tattered, flaming locks of auburn hair were matted and dirty, and skin bruised like violets from tripping as she ran away from creepy older men who tried to follow her. Maya had been on the run for two years, she had everything under control. She shoplifted from convenience stores and whenever she was caught, Maya would tell them that she lost her parents (which was true, in a sense) and had nowhere else to go. It worked like a charm each and every time, well except for that one time she ran into the police. Maya dreamed of living in peace, a place where she could be just a kid and not having to think where she’d sleep for the night or where she’d get her next meal. Given the state of how she was living, Maya knew it was impossible and maybe she had to learn to live with the miserable life she had. It was then that she held a grudge at her parents. Maya was tired of believing her parents ever loved her, because someone who loves you wouldn’t do any of this. They’re just the ones who gave her life, nothing more.

Maya promised to herself that she wouldn’t let anyone hurt her again, that she’d never be naive enough to believe that anyone could ever love her.

At eight years old, Maya met Ferdinand—a satyr who had sensed that Maya was a half blood. At first, Maya was scared. Of course she’d be scared, she was still a little girl and Ferdinand looked a lot older than her—she didn’t have great experiences with people older than her—and he had goat horns and legs. 

“Don’t be scared, little one. I am a friend,” Ferdinand had explained to Maya, who hid behind a large trash can in an alley.

“Go away! I don’t wanna be friends!” Maya screamed, clutching her fraying backpack close to her chest.

“I can take you to a safer place, little one. A place where no one could hurt you.” Ferdinand explained, taking a step closer to the crying young girl. “I sense that you have been hurt before, am I right?”

Maya didn’t want to believe him. He was a stranger and strangers meant trouble. But something about the goat man felt safe. “I don’t wanna go to your stupid place! Leave me alone!”

“What’s your name?” Ferdinand asked, peering over the trash can.

Maya hesitated, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Not telling.”

“Alright, I’ll go first,” Ferdinand took the risk of walking to Maya’s side. “I’m Ferdinand. I am a satyr, protector of young demigods, or half bloods as they call children of the gods. And you are?”

Maya looked at him, eyes still glazed over with fresh tears. “Maya.”

“Well, young Maya, are you hungry?”

Maya shook her head no, but the grumble of stomach betrayed her. “Hungry,” she mumbled. 

“If you’d like, you can come with me to that convenience store just ‘round the corner.” Ferdinand smiled at her, a kind genuine smile that Maya had never seen before in any other person she’s met. Reluctantly, she agreed, keeping her distance as Ferdinand led the way. Maya looked around, wondering how people are not looking at Ferdinand. He literally had goat legs and horns yet no one’s looking at him like an animal.

As soon as Maya was settled with a sandwich and juice box, she asked Ferdinand. “Why aren’t people scared of you, Mr. Ferdinand?”

Ferdinand chuckled. “It’s because of the Mist, young Maya.” 

Maya raised a brow. “The Mist? Like perfume?”

“The Mist is what separates the mortal world from our world.”

Maya looked at him as if he was crazy. “What do you mean? Don’t we have one world?” 

“Let me take you to Camp Half Blood, little one. Everything will make sense once you arrive.” 

“Why should I go with you?” Maya asked, gripping the straps of her backpack, ready to run at any second.

“Because,” Ferdinand chuckled, acknowledging Maya’s skepticism. “There are kids like you at Camp Half Blood. It is a safe haven for young half-bloods like you. It is where the gods claim their children, young Maya.”

“You’re not lying?” Maya asked, big green eyes searching for any malice in the satyr’s eyes. She has had enough from malicious men who wanted to do unspeakable things to her. There was once this man who tried to lure her in with a good meal. When Maya declined, he tried to grab her, luckily Maya escaped—with the help of a little foot stomping and biting. It only fueled her hatred of men.

“I’m not, young Maya.” Ferdinand smiled at her. “It is our duty to protect. I promise I will not let any harm come to you as we travel to camp.”

“You promise?” Promises were never good, Maya hated promises. Promises were always meant to be broken. But this one felt like a tug in her heart, like a way to find who she was. 

“On the River Styx, young one.” 

Maya didn’t understand what the River Styx meant. Was it a river full of sticks? Despite her worries, Maya trusted him. The two then traveled to Long Island on foot from Massachusetts. Maya learned to trust Ferdinand, who kept her safe no matter what.

“You know, I have a nephew that’s around your age. His name is Grover, a fine protector in the making. He could be your friend once you arrive at camp.” Ferdinand mused as he and Maya—aboard his shoulders—trudged up the highway nearing Half Blood Hill. 

“Really? You think he’s gonna play with me? An orphan-” 

“You are not an orphan, Maya. You have a mother. I’m sure she’d claim you as soon as you step through the barrier.” Ferdinand insisted. Maya doubted that, but decided against voicing out her thoughts. She had prayed and prayed for so long, but her mother never answered, so why would she? Now that Maya was finally at camp?

As soon as Maya arrived at Camp Half Blood, she was in awe—giddy, almost. It wasn’t what Maya expected it to be. Camp was beautiful, far from the dumpster Maya had thought it to be. Every camper had necklaces, with beads indicating the years they’ve been at camp—Maya wanted one so badly and tried asking Ferdinand to make her one. There was a strawberry patch—much to Maya’s excitement, she loves strawberries and wanted to go straight to the patches. And for the main attraction, the twelve cabins, which Maya assumed one was her mother’s since Ferdinand had explained it was for each of the Olympian gods. 

Maya was then welcomed by a crowd—campers of all ages, a grumbling man in a Hawaiian shirt, and half horse, half man.

“Welcome, young demigod,” Chiron greeted the young girl who was looking up at him with wide eyes. It’s not everyday that she sees another half human animal. 

“Uh, what are you?” Maya asked, her hand immediately went flying to her mouth. “Sorry, I-” 

Chiron laughed. “It’s alright, I apologize for not introducing myself properly. I’m Chiron, a centaur and the activities director of camp. And you are, young lady?”

“Maya,” she squeaked, eyes still wide. “Maya Williams.”

“Welcome to Camp, Maya. You’ll do great things, I know it.”

Suddenly, there was a collective gasp. Everyone stared at Maya like she’d just done something wrong. 

“What did I do?” Maya asked, her lower lip trembling. She had been at camp barely a day, and she had already done something wrong. Was everything in her life always going to go wrong? 

“Look down,” One of the campers said, pointing to Maya’s clothes. 

Maya looked down and her eyes widened once more, she looked different. Her clothes weren't tattered and filthy anymore. Now, she was wearing a beautiful white sleeveless gown that went down to her ankles. Delicate gold armbands circled her biceps. An intricate necklace of amber, coral, and gold flowers glittered on her chest, and her hair was perfect: lush and long and flaming locks of auburn hair, braided to the side with gold ribbons. The filthy child, gone—as if she never was. Her mother had claimed her, just like that. Maya had been expecting that her mother would personally come and claim her, but she didn’t. Maya should’ve known better than to expect a literal goddess to come down and meet her child.

Chiron folded his front legs and bowed to her, and all the campers followed his example. “Hail, Amaya Williams,” Chiron announced proudly, as if she did something honorable. “Daughter of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love!”

friendly reminder: this is how small maya was when she ran away 🤭

taglist:

@mischiefmoons (special mention to jo cuz i love love love trouble!verse 💯💘) @iliketopgun @pleasingregulus

#luke castellan x oc #luke castellan pjo #luke castellan fanfic #luke castellan fanfiction #luke castellan #luke castellan x amaya williams #luke castellan x fem!oc #luke castellan x oc!daughter of aphrodite #luke castellan x original character #luke x maya #luke castellan x maya williams #percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #luke x amaya #amaya williams #cabin ten #annabeth chase #cabin eleven #camp half blood #thalia grace #fanfiction #fanfic #charlie bushnell #charlie bushnell x original character #my oc 💗 #serendipity #luke castellan fic #luke castellan fluff #aphrodite #hermes

[userchappell]

two actors showing their love and appreciation of their characters as a ship whether it's canon or not, can be something very personal to me

#emily rudd #ryan simpkins #cindy x alice #dylan o'brien #shelley hennig #stalia #olivia scott welch #kiana madeira #sameena #joshua rush #luke mullen #tyrus #jjpope #rudy pankow #jonathan daviss #breyton #sophia bush #hilarie burton #ronance #maya hawke #natalia dyer #jackieshauna #ella purnell #sophie nélisse #jaiden rants

[sc0tters]

The Devil Dolls

Maya Hughes seen in baby Hughes

☆ born September 9th, 2003

☆ raised in Toronto, Canada

☆ the youngest Hughes sister

☆ never went to college to pursue dance

Isabel Hischier seen in captains sister

☆ born April 4th, 2004

☆ raised in Naters, Switzerland

☆ studies at Rutgers

☆ majors in journalism

Harper Wilde seen in don’t tell

☆ born December 8th, 1999

☆ raised in Houston, Texas

☆ works as an equipment manager for the devils

☆ she fosters kittens because that’s what her parents used to do

#ambers au ocs #John x Maya #Luke x Isabel #Nico x harper

[beezonia]

Yet again I’m really wanting another professor layton x ace attorney crossover

This time layton and Claire (who is alive) meets Mia (who is also alive) and Diego

The young couple are in London for a case or something which ends up being a bigger mystery

Along with miles and pheonix who are with trucy and maya

Franziska and Gumshoe show up at some point along with Kay!! I’m not sure yet this is a barely fleshed out idea

Basically a murder mystery party in a small town ends up turning into something much much bigger when the mayor is killed and the only thing the murderer left was a shoe (like Cinderella)

It’s up to the couples to investigate and fight it out in court to get to the bottom of the puzzles and mystery

This may or may not change idk yet (I’m not good with the murder mystery genre)

But yeah I really want the couples to kick ass and bond with each other :3

#professor layton #professor layton au #ace attorney #ace attorney au #professor layton x ace attorney #hershel layton #claire foley #mia fey #diego armando #miles edgeworth #pheonix wright #luke triton #maya fey

[letsgetrowdy43]

Touch Tank—

Quinn Hughes x Reader

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ynofficial Huggy doesn't like my affections 🌃

tagged: _quinnhughes

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Jackhughes anyone else thinking what I'm thinking??

ynofficial stopping thinking lil jizzy it’s never good for anyone

_quinnhughes The nickname 😒

ynofficial cute nickname for a cutie like yourself 😉

_quinnhughes I hated that

user1 she is living the life 😩

user82 more like living the dream

user72 dude why can’t my nights be this fun

Bohorvat Quinner hates everything

_quinnhughes I do not, I just hate when you two team up against me

ynofficial I know you love me Q

_quinnhughes no ❤️

ynofficial this is the first complaint I’ve heard since freshman year, suck it up

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ynofficial You're now looking at the official Media Manager for the @Canucks #promotion

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user3 welcome to the shitshow??

user38 congrats!!

Canucks Welcome to the team!! #slayed

ynofficial I def did not post that comment myself :)

user4 You accepted a position with the most dumpster fire team in the league atm? Why?

ynofficial a) money b) annoying my roommate it’s an all around win 😏

Umichhockey guess the public relations degree did come in use!!

_quinnhughes you just took the position so you could take pictures of me

ynofficial exactly, who wouldnt wanna take pictures of your pretty face Q?

lhughes_06 is that sexual tension I sense?

Ynofficial Is that a socially awkward giant I see?

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_quinnhughes celebrating the big win vs Toronto and my favourite person/media manager’s birthday 🎉

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ynofficial IM YOUR FAVOURITE PERSON

user92 she's like a hyper child

_quinnhughes only cause its your birthday

bboeser big softie

_Eliaspettersson happy y/n day!!!

user32 2 ASSISTS AND A GOAL 🐳

user28 big day for the sad man

elblue6 happy birthday honey 🥳

ynofficial thank you Ellen ❤️

_quinnhughes kiss ass

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ynofficial this charity event was a pain in the ass to plan but the outcome was so worth it <3

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user3 literally ethereal

user69 how have one of those hockey fucks not snatched you up yet?

ynsister THE SILHOUETTE ON THIS DRESS OMG

Amybethmcnulty OBSESSED WITH YOU

ynofficial thank you lovey

_quinnhughes you clean up nicely :)

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user28 that’s what you consider flirting??

trevorzegras w rizz

canucks Cheers 🥂

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jackhughes moosey’s draft weekend #4thoverall

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nicohischier Congrats!!

user72 Jack looks like he’s about to explode

trevorzegras wtf is that thing on the last slide

lhughes_06 love you man

user88 this is so wholesome

NJdevils @canucks give us Quinn and y/n and we will have a full set

canucks you will have to rip them from our bare hands 🙌

ynofficial jizzy you always get me at my worst 😔

_quinnhughes I thought you looked cute

joshnorris10 Ofc you’d say some dumb shit like that.

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ynofficial the gentle lover

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_quinnhughes the off season has been treating me well

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Jackhughes maybe he is smoother with the ladies

Eliaspettersson maybe he does have heart

user30 my dreams have been crushed

canucks 🤨

user74 if I can't have him at least she does 😪

graceabrams I don't keep up with sports, but I've kept up with whatever romance story this was

umichhockey been the #1 supporter for nearly six years!!

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#quinn hughes #quinn hughes fanfiction #quinn hughes x reader #jack hughes #new jersey devils #luke hughes #trevor zegras #bo horvat #elias pettersson #canucks (nhl) #vancouver #maya hawke #nhl #umich hockey #hockey au #ethan edwards #josh norris

[marauders-peace]

Unveiling Loyalties

Summary: As you spend more time with your new friends, you slowly realize how toxic your ex-best friend was. And now when you are fake-dating her ex the past years of 'friendship' begin to haunt you...

Pairing: Sirius black x hufflepuff!reader

Warnings: past toxic friendship, past toxic relationship (not with the reader), insecurities, self conscious, fake dating

Thanks for all the love &lt;333 Wc:+4800

Masterlist

Prologue Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

I rushed down the halls trying to ignore the stares, but failing miserably. I was getting overwhelmed by the attention. How did I shut it all down? How did I ignore seraphs deathstare?

Her words were clouding my mind. I felt guilty towards Sirius because I left him alone in the library, but I was just so scared. I was scared that this fake relationship will fuck me up. That it's all just a game. Because for me it's so much more.

"He's just passing the time with you."

Every minute I spend with Sirius I want to make it 2 more. But I don't know if he feels the same. The fear that I am pretending more into his actions is following me.

"You're so naive, whisky. You just think to much about it." the little girl felt embarrassed as her best friend told her the hurtful truth. "But don't worry. I will help you fit in."

And I did fit in. I went with her to the meetings with her slytherin friends and didn't stand out. I kept quiet and just did what she wanted. But I neber felt like an equal. I was just decoration to make them look better. But that wasn't important right now.

It was late afternoon, so there were still many people outside. However, I went to our dorm to avoid them. I ran up the stairs to our room and finally stood in front of the door. I sighed and wanted to go in, but then I heard it.

Crying.

Carefully, I pushed down the handle and entered. The crying stopped. "Who's there?" Lydia's voice trembled.

"It's me," I whispered and walked slowly towards her. She looked surprised and turned away. "Did something happen? Why aren't you with Sirius?"

"We finished earlier," I said and sat down next to her on the bed. "That's not important now. What's wrong?"

She still looked into the distance. "Nothing," she said. Her eyes were red and swollen. Yes, that definitely didn't look like nothing. We were silent for a while, and I didn't know what to say.

"Where is Maya?" I finally asked to lighten the mood. But it seemed to have the opposite effect as she hunched even more.

At first, she didn't say anything, but eventually, she answered, "She's on a date."

"Oh." I was confused. Why hadn't Maya said anything about it? "She didn't say anything about it."

Lydia snorted and looked at me with a sad smile. "No, she probably wanted to keep it a secret. I saw her with Luke today; he's from Ravenclaw, and we're good friends. But apparently, I didn't know how good of friends they were because I saw them together in Hogsmeade today."

Her voice was trembling again, and I slowly took her into my arms. "Maybe you misunderstood something?" I tried to help her.

"Yeah, maybe…" she mumbled into my shoulder and hugged me back slowly. She was shaking and i heard a small muffled sob.

"Do you like him?" I asked her. Somehow, she reminded me of myself when Seraph started dating Sirius. The devastation after you realize that you will never have a chance. I'll probably never forget that feeling.

She was quiet for a moment. Then she gently pulled away from my shoulder and looked into my eyes. Her red swollen eyes were trying hard to not let another tear escape, but that seemed impossible. She seemed to struggle to maintain her composure. Then she took a deep breath. "I like Maya."

"Oh, Lydia…" She looked into my eyes, and I could see new tears forming. Then she cried, not holding back. She buried her head in my shoulder again and sobbed while I stroked her back.

"For how long?" I asked her gently, and she sobbed again. "Since the third year." she whispered. "And she's been going on dates with other guys. It's just hopeless." Another sob escaped from her.

"Have you talked to her about it?" I asked her, and she laughed briefly without joy.

"About what? Hi, I'm actually completely in love with you, and I hope you like me too, even though I know you actually like boys!" she snorted, and I felt her cry even harder.

"I'm just so afraid that she doesn't love me as I love her. I don't even know why I am bothering you with it, we don't know each other that well... " she whispered to me, and I felt the words deep in my bones.

"I'm here for you, okay? I'll listen to you." I whispered to her. It felt wrong to give her advice when I couldn't really understand her situation. I wanted to show her that she could talk to me, that was the best thing I could do. "We are friends, right?"

"From today on, we're all friends, okay??"

I felt a little smile from her, but it quickly faltered from another sob.

"I know I should get over it, but I can't. I can't forget her; I can't even be mad at her. It's not even her fault!" another sob. "That's the curse of Hufflepuffs. We stay even when the other person is long gone."

~~

Eventually, she fell asleep from exhaustion. I had put her in bed, covered her up, and left some water beside her so that she had something to drink when she woke up since she had lost so much water.

I thought about her words for a long time. She couldn't let go of her feelings for Maya because she was trapped in a complex sense of loyalty to her. I felt guilty. How could I not have noticed her suffering all these years?

She must have cried alone here many times before. How did I never notice that?

Because I was with Seraph. I was always out with her or doing things for her in the library. Was it really always like that? Was I really so blind?

Lydia probably hadn't gotten used to the fact that I would be spending more time here now. Or she had expected me to spend more time with Sirius.

Slowly, the door opened, and a tired Maya looked at me. She was holding something, but as she saw me, she quickly hid her it behind her back. "Oh, hi (y/n)!" she said, almost nervously.

She looked behind me, and when she didn't see anyone, she looked at me with tension. "Is Lydia still awake?"

I shook my head and looked at her questioningly. "Why?"

She first looked at me assessingly. Then she sighed and stopped hiding what was in her hands. It was a small yellow teddy bear.

"I was looking for a birthday present for her and bought it today. I don't want her to find out, that's why I didn't tell you, sorry." She carefully passed by me and hid the bear in a box under her bed.

"That's why you were in Hogsmeade today with Luke?" I asked and immediately regretted it. Lydia had confided in me about the situation under distress, I shouldn't tell Maya anything about it.

Maya looked at me questioningly. "How do you know that?"

"I… saw you guys going." I finally said and hoped my lie would come off convincingly.

It didn't.

"Okay… But yes, that's why I went with Luke. We searched also for a present for his brother Luis. He got heartbroken and even though he is stubborn to say that he is happy for her, he is really suffering. But Luke also wanted to help me pick out the gift since Lydia had apparently told him what she wished for."

Maya tiptoed over to Lydia's bed and looked at her for a while. "Why didn't you just tell me?" she whispered so softly that I could hardly hear it. She looked at Lydia for a long time. She wiped a little hair strand out of Lydia's face. She seemed almost... Debilitated.

As she turned to me, she quickly hid that impression behind a mask and smiled. "Let's look together tomorrow at what you want to give her. Let's sleep now before we wake the dorm up even more."

And I went to bed feeling very confused.

~~

I woke up very early from loimpresud noise coming from outside. I looked out the window and saw brooms flying and balls swirling around. The training for the game must have already started. Today, classes were canceled to fully enjoy the match.

"Do you see him from here?"

Lydia was sitting awake on her bed. The cup I had placed here was empty. Maya was fast asleep.

"No?" I knew she was talking about Sirius, but I didn't understand why she was asking me.

She gave me a crooked smile. She would have giggled softly, but she still seemed exhausted. "Then you'll have to go out."

"What? Why?" I was confused.

"You like him. He likes you. So go out and cheer for him so he can play for you!" she said and stood up. She went to the mirror and combed her hair.

"I don't know if…"

She still looked at me with a smile. "What don't you know?"

"I don't know if he wants to see me now." I confessed finally, and she looked at me puzzled.

"Did you guys fight?" "No…" "Then why wouldn't he want to see you? You're together, aren't you?" Now she looked at me with concern.

I looked away and didn't know what to say. Somehow I was ashamed of worrying. I was ashamed of even ending up in this situation. I hadn't even wanted to make Seraph mad, but I couldn't resist Sirius's smile.

I was ashamed of my feelings.

"You're scared. What are you scared of?" Lydia's voice was soft.

I stayed silent and looked at the flowers on my table. Their shine was much fainter than yesterday morning. Was that just my imagination?

"You know… you don't have to tell me anything if you feel uncomfortable. I just want to say that you can talk to me as well as I talked to you yesterday."

She got up and sat down next to me on the bed. Maya was still sleeping. "I trust you. I would also hope that you trust me. Of course, I can't force that, it takes time. But I hope you know that I value you and would never exploit anything you say here. You're my friend, little mouse. I'm not Seraph."

She smiled encouragingly at me now.

"She wasn't on a date." I whispered back. I somehow felt guilty and wanted to help both of them. I didn't want to see miscommunication between them.

Lydia's shoulders relaxed, and it seemed like a huge weight had been lifted off them. But then she shook her head.

"That's not important right now. It's about you, not me. How do you feel?"

Inside me, a little girl cried as her best friend told her she had no chance with her crush. The little girl believed her. Still believes her.

"I'm unsure. I'm afraid of getting false hopes. That everything I'm doing right now is a mistake and she's right."

"He's just passing the time with you." The little girl burst into tears again because of the words of her former best friend.

Lydia looked at me with concern and put a hand on my shoulder. "What false hopes? He's with you." she whispered to me encouragingly, and tears welled up.

Her eyes widened as she saw the tears. "What's wrong?"

"It's not like that…" I tried to calm myself down, as it was pathetic how much of a fuss I was making.

But Lydia just gently stroked my back.

"We're not really together." I finally confessed, and then the tears flowed. All the emotions I kept with myself seemed to flow out of me.

"What? What do you mean?" Lydia was confused, looking at me as if I had said the Earth was square.

"He wanted to pretend to be with me to make Seraph angry. And to divert attention from my hair and the prank." I paused between the statements to catch my breath.

Lydia stayed silent for a moment. Then she hugged me.

We sat there for a while, and eventually she broke the silence. "Go to him. Because I believe he really likes you. He hasn't looked at Seraph or given her any attention in ages. I don't think it's about her anymore."

I looked at her skeptically, and she smiled at me. "Plus, you didn't see how he looked at you yesterday. That can't all be fake. Unless he is a proffer actor."

I let go of her and gave her an uncertain smile. "He's also nice and understanding towards me, I just don't think he likes me that way…"

"If you don't hurry up, the practice will be over! Come on, go to him. How would you know if you don't even try?" we stared at each other for a while.

Finally, I stood up and prepared to go out. Lydia looked at me questioningly before I left.

"Can I explain this to Maya? Otherwise, we won't tell anyone, I promise!" she said, and I smiled. I nodded, and as I walked out, a warmth spread within me. I wasn't alone. I could entrust my feelings to them.

I trusted them.

~~

I walked through the corridors of the castle and felt tons lighter. It felt good to be able to tell friends how I felt. Seraph had never cared about that.

The corridors were empty since it was still very early. The only ones awake were probably outside watching the players warm up.

Excitement slowly rose within me. Maybe Sirius would really be happy to see me. I looked forward to watching them and wishing them luck before they played this afternoon.

I went outside, and you could already see the large Quidditch field from a distance. I approached the spectator stands. There were a few people from Gryffindor in the stands as well. I approached the stands when suddenly someone behind me laughed.

I wanted to just keep going, but I stopped when I heard the voice behind me.

"Ahhh, Whisky! I haven't seen you with us in a long time." I turned around and saw Leander grinning at me. The Slytherin boy and his best friend Damien were on the Slytherin Quidditch team.

"Why did you bring her? I thought it would only be us..." the boy in green told her best friend. But the little girl was used to this words. She was used to not being wanted.

He was standing with his broom and uniform. The team was on the other side from the Gryffindor people and seemed to be waiting to start practicing themselves.

"You should be in Slytherin right now. Especially since you're acting like a snake!" Leander continued grinning at me, and Damien burst out laughing. "Yeah, I have no idea how you ended up in Hufflepuff! Loyalty isn't a word I associate with you."

I wanted to keep going, but Leander shook his head behind me. "You're a real slut, you know that? Seraph took you in, and how did you thank her? You betrayed her." His voice was venomous.

Damien grinned at me. "Yeah, I mean abandon your friends to be with a boy that is so obviously a self obsessed asshole is really a move. If you needed dick that hard you could have just asked me!"

I felt ashamed and disgusted, but anger was rising within me. "Last time I checked, Leander wanted her to get over Sirius so badly?"

Damien stopped laughing and became quiet. I turned to Leander. "I thought you wanted her to finally stop chasing after him? I thought you wanted her to turn to you, why are you so angry?" I didn't know where these words were coming from, but it felt good to defend myself.

Leander looked at me with narrowed eyes. He approached menacingly, and I wanted to step back, but I stayed in place. "Listen to me carefully…" he whispered as he stood right in front of me. "Just because you're with Mister Playboy doesn't mean you're better than before. You're still the same embarrassing Whisky who can't do anything for herself. Soon you'll come crawling to Seraph and beg her for forgiveness. And she'll have to clean up your mess like always."

He stood dangerously close, and I tried to back away, but he grabbed my arms and held me tightly. "You're just incapable of doing things yourself. Not one decision was made by yourself."

"What's going on down there?" a shout came from above.

"Hey, man, let her go, she's not worth it." Damien tried to convince Leander, but he continued to hold me tightly. His grip was so tight that my arms hurt. I wanted to scream and everything inside of me was alarming me, but my voice didn't spoke up.

"And I thought you would appreciate her. You know, I liked you. You were good to Seraph. I didn't expect such disgusting behavior from YOU." he continued talking.

I tried to free myself from his grasp, but he tightened his hold, and his fingernails broke the surface of my skin.

"Let me go!" I finally shouted. For the first time, my voice did what it was supposed to.

Then he pushed me hard against the wall of the stands. My head hit hard, and it throbbed.

"Here, I let you go."

I tried to get up and run away, but my head hurt terribly. I looked at Leander, who was giving me an disgusted look. Then he was lifted into the air. In an instant, Sirius rushed down on his broom and seemed ready to pounce on him, but was a moment to late.

"LEANDER!" Damien reached out to him but couldn't reach him in time.

Leander looked around frantically and screamed. I looked for the person responsible and saw someone on the stands with a raised wand.

"Marlene, you bitch!" Leander shouted at her, but Marlene just looked at him critically.

"Be glad I brought you to safety." she said.

Sirius in front of me looked like he could kill someone. But then he turned to me and looked at me with concern. "Are you okay?" he sat down in front of me and examined my face and arms.

He saw the blood streaks on my arms and looked furious. "It's all right, it doesn't hurt. My head is already feeling much better." I tried to reassure him, but he shook his head.

"Now Selwyn, you have really messed up!" he turned to his broom, but Marlene held him and looked at him critically. She had let Leander fall to the ground. He seemed to be in pain, but nothing serious.

"You won't start a fight before the game, Black. We need you for the game."

Sirius glared at her. "I'm glad you think that, but I couldn't care less about the game right now."

Instead of running away, Leander came in our direction. "Come on, Black!" he shouted from a distance. He had a look that could rival Sirius'. He was searching for a fight with Sirius like he wanted one for ages.

"Sirius, it doesn't matter. I provoked him too." I said, trying to calm him down, but he didn't calm down in the least.

"If you're too scared, then listen to your slut! I could always beat you up!" Leander spread his arms wide.

Sirius seemed to shake of anger. "He didn't call you that." he said through clenched teeth.

Leander smiled at him. "But isn't that what she is?"

Sirius wanted to rush at him, but James, who had been flying in the air until then, landed in front of him. "Don't let him provoke you, mate." he said to him, but Sirius didn't listen to him.

He tried to push past him, but James held him back.

"Let me through." Sirius hissed, but James shook his head. "Sirius, I'm not going to lose you right before the game. After the game, you can beat him up, and I'll be happy to help, but please be patient!"

"What? No!" I cried to them, but they didn't listen to me. I felt terribly helpless as I watched them. I was fine, so why was Sirius so angry? I had never seen that murderous look on him before.

Finally, Sirius turned around. "You're lucky, Selwyn. I'll finish you off in the game."

"I can't wait, Black." this one hissed back.

James clapped loudly afterward, signaling the other Gryffindor players to listen to him. "Guys, we're clearing the field now anyway so Slytherin can prepare to be demolished."

The Slytherin team glared at them until they finally got ready to start practicing.

The Gryffindor team went to the locker room, but Sirius approached me before that. As he was standing before me, he seemed to struggle to find the right words.

He was still looking in the direction of the slytherin team and his eyes were narrowed. He took my arms and gently pulled me with him. When they were out of sight he looked at me with this look that made me feel safe. He was still full of anger, I saw that in his eyes, but it soothed me that this anger wasn't directed at me.

"Will you wait for me?"

I just nodded, and he even managed to smile at me.

I didn't even get a chance to watch him play.

After Sirius went into locker room Marlene approached me and seemed delighted to see me. "When Selwyn bothers you again tell me, okay? I can deal with him." she said with a completely different attitude than the one on the field.

I remembered her words in the bathroom and managed to smile back. "Thank you."

She grinned at that. "That also applies for black. Just say if he gets annoying." She winked at me and went to the other Gryffindor girls that were going back to their dorms. The girls that were standing there smiled at me and I didn't feel judged for once.

I had to smile when they walked away, towards the castle.

~~

While I was alone I looked around and took in the nature. The wind blew through the grass and made it dance in waves. The trees rustled and seemed to sing a beautiful melody. The great lake, which wasn't so far away, was babbling. They all seemed excited for the game that was coming up.

Or was that just my interpretation?

"Can I come with you?" The little girl asked her new best friend. This one didn't seemed to be very happy about it. "Why do you want to watch it? It's not even your house?" The naive girl smiled. "I want to cheer with you!"

I tried to shake the memory away but it didn't really get out of my mind. My excitement for the game wavered and my mind rotated around seraph. Why were her words always on my mind?

"Are you coming or not? If you are so scared than perhaps you should find new friends you can be boring with!"

I heard voices that seemed to be from little girls. I looked around for them and eventually found them on the wide green field of grass. There were two girls, seemingly first graders. One was from Gryffindor the other from ravenclaw. The voice was coming from the girl with the red tie and her face was frowning.

"I'm just... Not sure if that would really be worth it. The forest isn't really inviting and when it comes out we would be in massive trouble!" the other girl was shaking and she had to take a couple of breaths between her words.

"You are just a coward!" the other girl glared at her. "I'm not being friends with a whiny coward!" then she turned around.

The others girls eyes widened and there was something glimmering in them. "No, don't leave, please!!"

Slowly I approached them. Something about them triggered something inside of me. I wanted to do something. I wanted to help the ravenclaw girl that was gripping her rope for dear help.

"Is something wrong here?" I asked to make myself noticed. Four big eyes looked at me. Two were glaring the other two were desperate.

"Come on do it! If you drink the whole bottle, you can finally be accepted as an equal in the group!" But the girl was scared to drink a whole bottle of whiskey. "But I don't know if I manage that much alcohol." Her friend rolled the eyes. "Well, if you are such a stuck up, then I guess I have to find a new best friend." The little girl was scared and did drink the whole bottle in front of the slytherin students.

And she vomited on her test the next day.

"No, there is nothing wrong." the Gryffindor girl said and smiled at me. The ravenclaw looked at the ground and was still shaking.

"Is everything okay with you?" I asked the little girl that tried to hide from my gaze.

"She is great!" the other girl said.

"Are you okay?" the boy with the black hair asked the little girl. He probably didn't know her but it meant so much to her. But like always her friend answered instead of ber. "She is great!"

One hour later she was carried to the hospital wing because of very high blood alcohol levels.

"I didn't ask you, I asked her." I said to the girl with the red tie. I looked at the little girl before me and smiled softly at her. "You are right the forest is dangerous. You shouldn't go."

The Gryffindor girl looked at me furious. "Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop?!" she yelled at me.

"Don't you know it's called the forbidden forest because it's forbidden to go in?"I asked back and her face went red. She looked at her friend and stomped her foot on the floor.

"This is all your fault! I hate you!" she screamed and ran away in direction castle.

The little girl before me looked after her and quivered. In her eyes was something glistening and water flowed down her cheeks.

"It's not your fault."

Big eyes catched mine and looked uncertain. A hiccup escaped her and she tried to muffle it with her hands. After a while she said something.

"But it feels like I am always ruining her fun."

I sat down on my knees in front of her to be on one level with her. I wiped her tears away and gave her a small knowing smile.

"You know what friendship is?" I asked and she looked at me questioning.

"When you can do anything with each other." she said after a while and her sobs became calmer.

"Not quite. Friendship is not that you have to do everything she wants. Friendship is when you can trust each other with everything and don't have to pretend. Friendship is when you understand and accept each other's feelings. If this understanding is not there, then you are not really friends."

She looked at me with wide eyey.

"Your feelings matter just as much as hers. And if she doesn't understand those then she isn't your real friend."

She began to cry again and hugged me. I was taken back a moment but then hugged her back.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"Nera." she softly said.

"Well nera, I am (y/n). If you need help with anything you can always come to me, okay? I am here for you."

She smiled at me and nodded. Her cheeks started to dry and her eyes didn't shine because of the tears anymore.

"Thank you, (y/n)." she shyly said and waved at me as she walked in direction castle. I looked after her and smiled to myself.

A whistle came from behind me. I turned to Sirius who smiled at me. "You should be a prefect, love. You handled that so well."

I laughed softly. "I wouldn't go that far. I just helped the little girl a bit."

He came closer to me and I could feel his warmth as he stood before me. I noticed his wet hair and the one earring he wore. He shaked his head. "You were amazing, love. Not just helping, you comforted her. You have taken care of her. That's one of the tasks of a prefect, love."

I softly smiled at him and for a second I let myself admire him. His eyes and their depth. His hair and their shine. His lips.

"We should go to lunch now, love. I am almost certain you haven't eaten enough today." he teased me and tapped on my nose.

"You have to eat enough too! You have a big game before you." I teased back and he softly laughed. He took my hand and we went to lunch.

The little girl was called whisky after that. At first she didn't mind, but after a while it became like a reminder of that evening. Now she hates the name.

Taglist: @theofficialmadman@fanboyluvr@fjdjsiskcjfj@starsval@olkathedestroyer@helloitsmeeeeeee@xamapolax@maripositanoctruna @ancientimes @cloudlst @marina468

#marauders era #marauders #the marauders #remus lupin #dead gay wizards #harry potter #sirius black #james potter #sirius x reader #sirius black angst #sirius black x reader #sirius black fic #marlene mckinnon

[bordysbae]

Being Luke’s twin but secretly dating eddy

“truth or dare”

ethan edwards x hughes!reader

warning: gets a little angsty but gets better at the end, cursing, underage drinking

also i’m so sorry i totally got carried away with this, and i feel like i wrote a lot more about luke than ethan?? so i apologize for that! i hate this if i’m being honest but i’m not rewriting all that sooo… sorry if you hate this

word count: 3.1k

you and luke have always been extremely close, so you were happy to be going to the college with him, until now. luke is seriously everywhere, and you have a love-hate relationship with that. you’re secretly dating not only his teammate, but one of his best friends. you guys have always had a ‘no dating teammates or friends’ rule, and you broke that. but what’s worst of all is that you’ve been dating ethan for 2 months, and still haven’t told luke.

—

your attention is drawn from your laptop to the sound of your phone ringing. you answer it, confused as to why luke was calling you at 5pm on a friday. “hello?” you say. “y/n! me and the boys are going out tonight. practice just ended so we’re all gonna go shower and pregame at our house around like 8. you wanna come with?” you groan, “luke no, i have homework. plus i don’t want to spend my friday night with my brother and his teammates”

you hear luke sigh through the phone, “cmon please! you’re friends with all of them anyways! it wouldn’t be weird i promise, you can even bring a friend too. just bring maya!” luke pleads. “luke.. fine. i’ll ask if maya can come. she isn’t home right now but i’ll text her. you said the guys are coming over at 8 right?” “yeah we’re gonna pregame, and then go out to the club around 9.”

you sigh, and look in the mirror on your wall. your hair is in a messy bun, sweats on, and one of luke’s old high school hoodies loosely hugging your body. “i’m only coming if maya can come” “yeah well you know she’ll be all in when she finds out adam is coming” luke snickers. “oh shut up luke. i’m going back to doing my homework” “bye you little nerd” he says before ending the call. you then text maya and ask if she would come with you, and of course your party animal of a roommate agrees. instantly you facetime ethan, and also text luke to tell him that you’re coming.

“hey babe!” ethan exclaims. “hey e, me and maya are coming over tonight. you gonna be on your best behavior?” you wink at him. “the hell does that mean?!” “you always try and flirt with me or make sly moves when luke is around! it’s so risky ethan, i’m begging you don’t do anything tonight. i’m not ready to tell him yet.” “fine fine fine, i won’t try anything tonight.” he groans in annoyance. “you better not try anything edwards! anyways, i need to start getting ready so i’ll see you later.” you smile, and he smiles back as you end the call.

eventually you and maya make your way to the boys’ shared house. you can hear all of the guys loudly shouting and laughing through the door. you were given a spare key by luke, so you unlock the door and just walk right in. the groups boys cheer as you walk in, nolan greeting you by shoving a bottle of titos in your face. “maya, y/n! take a shot with me!” nolan exclaims. you can already tell that the boys have had a few shots, which means tonight was going to be very chaotic.

and it in fact did get very chaotic.

you all made it to the club about thirty minutes ago, and everyone is on their first actual drink of the night. you’re all buzzed from the shots taken earlier, but now it’s time for the real stuff. you’re on the dance floor with maya, when suddenly ethan’s arms snake around your waist. maya takes this as her cue to leave, so she chases down adam fantilli, her so called “man.” aka the guy she’s been sleeping with on the down low, yet everyone sort of knows about it.

“ethan stop! luke is here!” you say attempting to wiggle out of his grasp, failing due to his strong arms. “oh relax, he’s over there at the bar ordering a drink with mark. you don’t think i’m that stupid to do these things when he’s looking, do you?” “i don’t know! you can be a little dumb sometimes babe” you laugh as you readjust yourself so that you’re standing facing him. he fakes being upset, and releases you from his arms. mark walks over with luke, handing you a refill of your drink.

“oh thanks mark! you didn’t need to do that!” you exclaim. “oh i didn’t, your brother paid.” mark smiles. “of course he did” you roll your eyes. luke always pays for your drinks at the bar since he doesn’t trust anyone else to handle them, he always thinks you’ll get roofied or something. “guys cmon, rutger found a table and were all gonna play a drinking game. nolan got a bunch of shots for us to use!” luke exclaims. you all follow him to the table where all of the guys and maya are sat. you sit in between maya and dylan, ethan sat cross the table from you next to luke.

“alright guys, it’s truth or dare but if you chicken out you take a shot. it’s really simple” dylan explains. “easy enough, who’s starting?” luca says. “i will, ethan truth or dare!” johnny says. “i’m not a wuss, dare” he smirks at johnny. “i dare you to go up to some random chick, and use the absolute worst pickup line ever” johnny chuckles. “johnny that’s so lame!” adam groans. “not so fast there bud, i get to pick the girl.” johnny says, as ethan’s eyes go wide.

you basically feel your heart stop. absolutely no one besides maya knows that you and ethan are dating, so there’s nothing you can do to stop him. before you even realize it, ethan is standing up from the table and walking over to some random blonde girl wearing the most revealing outfit you’ve ever seen. you feel tears brim at your eyes since there’s absolutely nothing you can do about the situation. you can’t go over there and pull your boyfriend away from her, you have to watch in silence. so you do the next best thing to stop yourself from crying,

“i’m uh— gonna go to the bathroom really quick.” you say, quickly standing up and pushing past people in the crowd. you pass by ethan and the unknown blonde girl, and see her arm resting on his forearm. you watch as ethan’s eyes look into hers, then accidentally glance over into yours. his eyes go wide at the sight, and this only makes your blood boil even more. you speed up your beeline to the bathroom as ethan abandons the blonde girl. ethan begins chasing after you, leaving the girl utterly confused.

“y/n!” he calls out, pushing past people in an attempt to catch up with you. unfortunately there’s a line for the bathroom, so there’s no more avoiding ethan. he grabs your arm to turn you around, and sees you holding back tears.

“i’m so sorry.” he says, his eyes soft. “don’t be ethan, no one knows we’re dating anyways so there’s nothing either of us could’ve done” you say softly, yet loud enough for him to hear over the music. “i should’ve just taken the shot, y/n. i’m so sorry. i promise i wasn’t even interested in her!” “ethan just stop apologizing, i’m sorry for overreacting like this. please just go back to the guys, okay?” you say as you enter the bathroom, leaving ethan alone with his thoughts.

suddenly ethan feels marks hand on his shoulder. he turns around to face him, and sees luke on his way over as well. “what happened?” mark asks. “where’s my sister, edwards” luke asks, very much concerned. “she’s in the bathroom, i saw her hurrying to the bathroom so i thought something was wrong. plus that girl was weird and i wanted to leave.” he shrugs trying to play it cool, and i mean technically he wasn’t lying.

meanwhile you’re stood at the mirror looking at yourself. you’re not upset at ethan, you’re just disappointed in yourself. tonight was the biggest reality check ever. luke has absolutely no idea you guys are dating, and it’s eating you alive. he’s going to be so heartbroken when you tell him, because if you and ethan break up things will be weird, and you know luke will end up taking your side, meaning losing his best friend. but you don’t want there to be sides, you just want luke to be happy.

maya then walks into the bathroom, and helps you recollect yourself before you both head back to the table. the guys are still playing the game, and ethan gives you a pitiful ‘i’m sorry’ look. you smile at him letting him know it’s okay as you sit down again. you notice a few empty shot glasses, wondering what would’ve happened if there was one more empty glass from when it was ethan’s turn. you’re snapped from your thoughts when luke calls on you to answer a question.

“y/n/n truth or dare?” he snickers, plotting his next sentence. “truth” you say, afraid of luke’s idiotic dares. “damn it! i was hoping you’d pick dare, i don’t have any truth questions!” he rolls his eyes playfully. “i have one, i was gonna ask one of the guys but it’s still a good question.” philippe shrugs. “alright, shoot it at me flip” you say, calling him the nickname you’d given him.

“who’d you lose your virginity to?” he asks, making your eyes almost bulge out of your head. all of the guys start laughing and oohing, making your cheeks flush red.

you definitely couldn’t answer that question since it was in fact, ethan edwards.

you grab a shot off of the table and down it, the familiar warm sting flowing down your chest. “woah woah woah, why did you answer that missy!” luke scolds you. “probably cause she’s a little virgin” dylan teases, making you hide your face in maya’s shoulder from embarrassment of the topic. suddenly, a drunken ethan blurts out something you’d never expected to ever be said.

“oh it’s not because of that.” he blurts. you then hear the boys around you go quiet, and your mouth falls agape. he instantly covers his mouth, in shock of what has just slipped out of his mouth. “ethan, what do you mean by that.” luke turns to face him, anger written all over his face.

“i uh— um—“ he stutters on his words. “ethan. fucking speak.” luke says, nothing but seriousness in his tone. “yo uhh i think we need more shots! who wants to come with me!” mackie nervously chuckles. the entire rest of the group says “me” in unison, before quickly rising from the table. you look at maya hoping she’ll stay, but he gives you a pitiful look and scurries off.

“fucking speak edwards! did you have sex with my twin sister?” he yells, startling both you and ethan. “luke stop!” you cry out. luke then realizes what’s going on due to your guys’ silence, and chuckles out of anger. “i cant believe either of you. especially you y/n. fuck both you!” he shouts, before storming away from the table and you assume out of the club.

—

the rest of the night is a blur, but all you can remember is taking another six shots and getting shit face drunk. somehow maya got you both home, and now you’re sat in bed on a saturday morning with the worst hangover of your life. you haven’t spoke to both ethan nor luke since last night, and you’re dreading checking your phone.

you drink the water and pills maya left you on your nightstand, and face your fear of powering your phone back on. you see a few texts from ethan, a couple from mark, one from dylan, and none from luke. you and ethan text back and forth for bit, and you learn that he’s staying at nolan’s place for right now. he continues to apologize and you reassure him that it’s okay, luke had to find out eventually anyways.

you decide to be brave and write out a text to luke. you know you’re in the wrong, but you also know that luke isn’t the guy to hold a grudge, especially when it comes to family. you’re just hoping he’ll hear you out.

to: lukey

hey lu, can we talk? i’m really sorry, honestly words can’t even describe how sorry i am. i promise i was gonna tell you, you weren’t supposed to find out like this. can we catch lunch today and talk? i love you.

to: you

cant. i have practice sorry

your heart falls to your stomach when you see this. you try your best to hold back tears, but you can’t help it when you realize just exactly what you’ve done. you and luke bicker often, but never have you ever been in a fight this bad since middle school, when luke kissed your best friend in a game of truth or dare.

seems like truth or dare games aren’t the best for you and luke’s relationship.

quiet sobs escape your mouth, and you curl up into a ball still laying in your bed. you grab your phone and do the best thing you can think of, calling quinn. he surprisingly answers quickly despite the time difference.

“hello? y/n are you okay? you never call me” he says. “quinn.” you choke out. “are you crying?! what’s wrong?” he quickly speaks up. “me and l-luke. we got in the worst fight ever. i don’t think he- he’ll ever forgive me” you sob, just wishing you could take everything back. “don’t say that, luke will forgive you. he’s your twin, there’s no way he won’t. what happened?” he asks.

you take a deep breath and wipe the snot and tears from your face before you explain everything. “oh y/n/n. me and you both know that you’re in the wrong, i’m not gonna lie to you and try to sugarcoat that. but i’ll try to talk to him, i won’t tell him i know anything. you guys need to talk, just give him time. this is a lot for him. but i promise you aren’t a bad person. he just needs time, y/n.” “you’re the best quinn.” you smile, even though he can’t see you.

“love you y/n. i’ll talk to him, but don’t be afraid to call me if you need anything. maybe don’t tell jack yet since he has a temper, but i’ll tell my coach to let me check my phone at practice incase you called, mkay?” “mkay. love you quinny” you say before he ends the call. you decide to leave your room, and you see maya on the couch watching love island.

“hey, how are you?” she asks you. “a mess” you chuckle, gesturing to your puffy face and tear stained cheeks. “oh lovey c’mere” she says as she gets up and pulls you into a hug. she gently rubs your back, the same way ethan does.

—

you invited ethan over for a bit, and as you’re cuddling in your bed, reality hits again. you sigh loudly, grabbing ethan’s attention. “it’ll be okay, i promise you baby.” he says as he traces shapes on your back. “i just feel like a shitty person, eth.” “you aren’t a shitty person, you can’t control who you’re attracted too” he says pressing a gentle kiss into your hair. “ethan maybe this is too early and bad timing, but i love you.” “i love you more, y/n. this whole situation really showed me that.” he smiles down at you, making you forget about the whole thing for the slightest moment.

eventually ethan leaves, and you cry some more, and then you decide to call luke. of course he doesn’t pick up, so you leave a voicemail since you have absolutely nothing better to do. “luke call me back, please? im sorry. i love you, it wasn’t supposed to happen like this.” you pause to let out a chuckle, “god i’m a mess i’m sending you a voicemail? this is embarrassing, anyways please call me back? or text me, just please talk to me.” you say before ending your ramble and pressing the end button.

after practice he listens to your voicemail, and can hear the genuine pain in your voice. he decides to text you back, since he hates this just as much as you do.

to: you

still down to meet up for a late lunch?

to: lukey

absolutely, meet me at our spot at 2:30?

to: you

okay see you there

read: 2:05 pm

you arrive at the hole in the wall cafe you and luke discovered as soon as you arrived in ann arbor last year. you see luke sitting at a table near the corner, and you slowly make your way over there. you sit down and you both look at each other in silence. you decide to break it, since technically this is your fault.

“i’m so sorry luke. i was going to tell you i promise.” “are you guys dating? or just hooking up?” “dating..” you say quietly. “well that’s better than i thought, i was worried that you guys were just gonna end up ghosting each other after a booty call or something, and then be all salty or whatever. i’m just glad that the girls who i hear in the guys’ rooms aren’t you” he chuckles, lightening the mood. “ew, gross luke” you groan, not needing to know how many girls get brought over to the house.

“how long have you guys been dating?” he asks, bringing back the serious topic. “two months.” you say awkwardly. “oh wow, okay” he says, shocked that it’s already been a bit of time. “so he took your uh- vir-“ “i’m not talking about this with you luke!” you groan hiding your face in your hands from embarrassment. “sorry sorry! but i think you guys are cute, i just don’t appreciate secrets being kept from me.” “it won’t happen again i promise luke, im really sorry.” “but you better tell him that if he ever hurts you i’ll beat his ass, like seriously.”

you chuckle, and text ethan telling him everything that just happened, showing luke your screen from across the table as you do so.

to: e <3

luke forgives us!! but he said if you hurt me he’ll genuinely beat you up 😅😅

to: you

tell him i have no intentions of hurting my favorite girl ;) ❤️

“you guys are so cringe! i’m gonna be sick, you guys can’t show any pda in front of me or else i’m gonna vomit” he exclaims, pretending to fake gag. “no promises lu” you chuckle, making him groan and put his head on the table.

#ethan edwards #ethan edwards x reader #ethan edwards imagine #hockey blurb #hockey imagine #umich hockey #michigan hockey #luke hughes

[equallyshaw]

star crossed lovers, pt 2 | connor bedard

↳ oc hughes sister x connor bedard x brendan brisson + blurb + tiny insta post

↳ au masterlist!

takes place in 2026 with a connor sighting!

warnings: swearing

word count: 4.7K

Two households, both alike in dignity...

oh that love story that was too good to be true, so beautiful and soft and wholesome; was never meant to last. romeo and juliet had truly run their course it seemed. though originally, weren't they destined to be together forever, and never see the fate that the original story predicted?

maybe her brothers were right, kailey thought as soon as it happened. he dug the sword deep into her heart, twisted, and then pulled away. it was if they'd never been together. as if they hadn't spent the last three years together.

but was it the end for miss hughes? was it the end of her journey in finding love with a powerful and notable name within the world of hockey?

◦

These violent delights have violent ends

And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, Which as they kiss consume.

kailey pushed jack a bit as soon as entered the kitchen in the townhouse her two brothers shared in jersey. she quickly made her way over to the coffee machine and put a nespresso pod in, smiling once the humming of the machine began. she pulled out her phone and opened connor's message that popped up, and she wished she hadn't. she stared at the screen, allowing it to fade to black. "kails!" jack said hurrying over and putting a towel down, as the expresso spilled over the too small cup. she didn't move. he looked down at her, not understanding why she wasn't moving. he sighed, wiping the counter in front of her, before he heard her whisper. "he broke up with me." jack thought his mind was playing tricks on him, "funny kails." he said turning around to finish making his breakfast. "he br-broke up with me." she said again, louder and more clear. he looked back at her before taking two steps to catch her as she fell backwards, out of shock. he quickly brought her to the ground, holding her closely as she sobbed.

24 hours ago, the two were planning on what they wanted to do for their almost 1 year anniversary.

how could things change in 24 hours?

luke rushed in as soon as he heard sobs, and the look that jack gave him was more than he needed, he knew exactly what happened. the three brothers couldn't have seen this coming from a mile away, they didn't see this happening. ever. they thought that connor was the one, that one that made it past their hard exteriors. the one that had made his way into all of the hughes hearts.

oh how the universe and shakespeare could be so cruel.

◦

thankfully, kailey was finished with school and had graduated a few weeks before the breakup. so she thought long and hard on where she wanted to be, and who she wanted to be. dawning a new hair color and a will to pull herself out of heartbreak, she settled on sunny california. she moved to redondo beach in los angeles county, moving in with her cousin maya - a longtime family friend of the hughes that dated back to her mom's hockey days at college. the three brothers were crushed to see her leaving so early in the summer, and forgoing the lake house in michigan but she knew she needed to go. or else she'd never leave.

it was around 3 months later, late july when kailey reunited with a very old family friend. brendan brisson, out of the blue showed up at her and maya's apartment for a sunday brunch they were throwing. he came with his brother, and at first they did not recognize her because of her new hair color. since she'd been in california, she hadn't had the inkling or draw to post anything on social media. hence, people were relatively concerned as to what she was up to. sure, her family knew through text messages and private snapchats, but other than that- she'd ghosted the world. she also got off Instagram and twitter, not relishing in the fact that connor was off seeing other people. mere carbon copies of the girl, pre brunette. she hated seeing people tag her in things, hated seeing it come up naturally because of how much she used to look up his name; for shits and giggles she used to say.

that sunday morning though, after grabbing a cup of coffee from redondo beach pier, and a walk up and down it- she retweeted something. which let me tell you, alerted the hockey world and hockey twitter. i mean, the sheer power they held when they were together was out of this world. two great hockey names - connected in a magical way, how could they not? people adored seeing them together and that retweet cemented the breakup, which people had been suspecting for some time. she redownloaded Instagram, archiving her pictures with connor, not able to part with them just yet. she then opened up her groupchat with the boys, ripping the canadian boy to shreds. she'd simply put him into an early grave, by her word choice. she woke up with a vengeance this morning, her brothers thought as 6 messages - paragraphs - came in. her brothers agreed with every last word she sent, they were absolutely dumbfounded and out of this world angry when connor broke up with her via text. and without cause. their original thoughts about guys came back in an instant. they would do everything in their power to steer away boys, if luck would have it. nobody would ever be good enough. though she was a california gal now, they couldn't protect her. though - as much as quinn hated to ask for a favor - the boys had asked trevor and alex keep tabs on her on that side of the coast. the two without hesitation agreed, with trevor making a joke at quinns expense.

they were hoping they could sleep a little easier at night.

but as soon as brendan saw her, he quickly pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. "oh my god - blondie! wait no." and kailey giggled, "you're good! i haven't really updated social media so you wouldn't have known." she smiled widely, before hugging jordan. "how do you know maya?" she asked, "new hampshire, remember?" jordan said and kailey grinned. "should have known. those were...uh the good days." she hummed, drinking her iced expresso. "let me show you to the kitchen." she said motioning for them to follow. they walked into the kitchen, the two looking at the buffet of food. "any coffee? i can make it right now." she smiled, and the two smiled. "im good, im gonna go find maya real quickly." he said walking away so now it was just jordan and the girl.

"how's school?" he asked, pulling her out of her trance. "great! i just graduated" she smiled, and he mirrored it. "congratulations, kails! what did you major in again?" he asked and she smiled, "child psychology." she hummed. his smile never faltered, "that would be you. i remember as kids how much you cared for kids on the lake, and they just flocked to you." he said and it was as if they were both brought back to that time when the days never seemed to end, and sunburns were a regular occurrence. "yeah..im very fortunate things worked out the way they did. gave me this wonderful opportunity to start fresh out here." she said sipping some more of her drink. "oh..yeah. totally understandable." he said picking up her drift, "you knew?" she asked and he nodded. "yeah...jack said something in the group chat when it happened. im sorry about everything, that was real shitty of him. you didnt deserve that." he said sweetly. she shrugged chugging down the rest of the coffee, "good thing I've got nobody watching my every move, anymore." she smirked, leaning closely towards brendan before sliding over the his cup of coffee.

◦

“Then I defy you, stars!” 

jordan ended up leaving at some point in the afternoon, while brendan and kailey spent the day together catching up. the two had always been easy to get on with and used to be thick as thieves during the lake days. she'd never told any of her brothers - because god forbid if she did so - but she had had a crush on him for a few summers. it absolutely crushed her, when he got his first girlfriend in 8th grade and then they never came back to the lake house, so her crush disappeared. she'd never known this nor her brothers, but brendan too had had a crush on the girl.

the two sat on the white plush couch in the living room, as the sun was setting. maya had left some time ago to hang out with a friend and do some errands while kailey opted to stay in for the day. kailey and brendan were in the process of laughing, as kailey got a text message. she pulled up her phone from where it was laying on her thigh, and her demeanor visibly changed. it was a text from connor, asking why she retweeted the tweet this morning. brendan saw her eyebrows crease in confusion, before she shook her head and locked her phone. "let me guess..connor?" he questioned and she nodded. "the fucking nerve.." she sighed, pinching her nose. she stood up grabbing the two empty glasses from the coffee table, and made her way over to the kitchen. brendan followed, "the nerve he has! we've been broken up for three months already and he's upset i tweeted something about being respected by a significant other? whats so wrong about that? he's just upset because im calling him out for it, publicly at that." she said setting the cups in the sink. "don't i deserve respect?" she asked turning around to face the boy. he nodded, walking over to her and leaned against the counter. "you deserve that and so much more. he's got a stick up his ass, that's for sure." he began, "don't ever lower your standards because of him. he's an idiot. he's the one who did that, the one who double crossed you for no reason." he finished as kailey met his eye. "wish i heard that sooner." she hummed, crossing her arms over her chest. she looked down at the ground, "well...im saying it now. and i mean it." he said softly taking a step closer and lifted up her chin just a bit with his hand. she looked into his brown eyes. one's she adored as a kid, and now looking into his- something sparked within. a spark she hadn't felt for some time, long before connor. he took this as an invitation to close the gap between them.

oh, how the universe laughs. or hockey gods.

◦

it was now two weeks later, and brendan had kailey in his arms this early morning. the two had stayed up talking about anything and everything that came to their minds. they talked about their childhood, laughing over the fact that they both had crushes on one another but never suspected it. they smiled as the other one brought up conversations and significant memories, both happy that the other hadn't forgotten. this morning, she was savoring the warmth and comfort his body oozed, because he'd be starting back up early morning training again. he'd taken two weeks off due to a stress sprain, and now that it was fixed he would be resuming his schedule. "wanna see my parents today?" he softly asked, as he felt her beginning to hum from tiredness. she nodded her head, against his chest and he smiled. "they've been asking about you since i told them i was going to brunch." he hummed, and she slowly pulled her head up from his chest to look at him, "still the favorite hughes, eh?" she grinned before he leaned down to kiss her. his hand found the base of her neck, and the other found the base of her back. she wrapped her hands around his neck, getting as close as possible. they broke the kiss, resting their foreheads against one another.

kailey had a wave of deja vu, pass over her. making her nauseous.

she pulled away from brendan, pulling her phone to her chest, and saw a missed facetime from each of her brothers, and she sighed pressing quinns contact. she sat up, and inched away from brendan so he wouldn't be in the shot. "hey q, whats up?" she questioned, pulling him from whatever jack was saying. "hey uh, i take it you didn't see yet.." he said and that's when he heard jack yelling on the other end. "what do you mean q? why is jack yelling?" she said rubbing her eye, and quinn sighed sending her a screenshot of the instagram post. she clicked on his text and swallowed, anger seething from her. how could she betray her? her friend lisa from college in chicago was in connor's instagram post, somewhere in toronto. she quickly opened up instagram to lisa's page and she was even more angrier. she had been soft launching for almost 3 months already...that traitor. lisa was the one all along, the one that had been seen in pictures but kailey had never paid too much attention to the fact it was the same girl! she hung up on quinn, quickly locked her phone and turning on dnd. "whats wrong?" brendan asked, setting his phone down and pulling her into his chest as he sat up. "he-he's been seeing my friend from school." she said but she didn't cry. she was just angry, and disappointed. how naive she'd been. "im sorry kails." brendan said softly. he felt terrible for kailey, somebody he cared deeply about. and he knew she cared about him just as deeply. but maybe not in the way that he believed.

"lets just uh, lets get going. we should head over so were not late." she said pulling away and getting up to shower. she quickly took a body shower, hopping out to brush her teeth and moisturize before heading into her closet to find an outfit. brendan came up and wrapped his arms around her, as she inspected her outfit. they looked at one another in the mirror, as she finished inspecting, and she smiled once they found each other's gaze. "you ok?" he whispered, and she nodded giving him a small smile. "yes. thankyou for uh, being here with me these past two weeks. it means more than you'll ever know." she hummed, turning around in his arms. he grinned, leaning down and kissing her. deeply. she melted into his arms just a bit before pulling away. "lets get going b." she said pulling him out of her small walk in closet.

-

"kailey!" kim cheered, as the two walked through the doors of the brisson's manhattan beach mansion. "kim!" she smiled, disconnecting the twos hand as kim pulled her into a hug. kim swayed her just a bit, "oh my goodness! we've missed you so much sweetie, congratulations on graduating! i saw the pictures, they were just perfect." she said pulling back a bit and kailey smiled. "thankyou! had the best photographer." she hummed and kim smiled. "your mom has always been a fucking gem when it comes to pictures. they were just to die for and chicago being the backdrop? timeless." she fawned and kailey giggled. "thankyou!" she smiled, seeing mr brisson walk from the kitchen. "kiwi!" he yelled with a huge grin on his face, and kim let go of the girl. "pat! so good to see you." she smiled as he pulled her in for a hug. "you too! congrats on graduating, heard you finished with honors." he said pulling away, and kailey nodded. "yep! perfect 4.0. to which jack sent 4 dollars exactly, as his gift." she joked, causing the family to laugh. pat shook his head as he could just picture jack doing it, and so could kim. "your hair! oh my god! i love it, it looks so good." kim smiled, looking over the girl. kailey smiled, "thankyou! thought a little change could be good." she hummed and the brissons nodded. "well, breakfast just finished lets go eat!" pat offered and the three nodded. "good, im starvin!" kailey said rubbing her hands together, "good, we made your favorite!" kim said wrapping an arm around the girls shoulders, making her feel right at home. again.

Kailey and brendan ended up staying the full day at the brissons, catching up and reminiscing over the lake days. it was around 7 when jordan and brisson begged kailey to go get froyo and walk the pier at santa monica. "go! have fun, we'll get together soon." kim smiled, and kailey nodded hugging the two goodbye and then they were off. kailey got in the passenger side, and jordan got in the back. kailey quickly leaned into brendans shoulder, and there hands found each others as well. she looked back at jordan, and he quickly snapped a picture. she rolled her eyes with a small grin on her face. the three sat through traffic, singing loudly to whatever music she put on shuffle. a little bit of everything, which the boys loved. they finally made their way to santa monica and parked right in front of the frozen yogurt place. after that, they walked down to the pier and she stopped at one of the shops that was selling books and other knickknacks, getting a book to read at some point. they walked down the pier for the next hour, with brendan taking a sunset pic of the girl with her book who had the biggest smile of her face, at whatever dumb joke jordan had just said. on their way back to her apartment in redondo beach, she posted that sunset picture on her instagram story.

it broke hockey twitter.

"im gonna walk her in and then ill be out." brendan said to jordan who nodded, and the two got out. he walked her up to the townhouse, two blocks over from the pier. "thanks for today brendan, i had a lot of fun." she smiled, turning towards him at the door. "me too, thanks for being a trooper. i thought my parents would never stop talking." he joked, and she grinned. "no i loved it, it felt like home. like old times. it was comforting. with my parents being far, it's nice knowing that they are out here." she hummed and he nodded. "im glad." he smiled. she could tell he wanted to say more to her, but was fighting himself on how to begin. "just say whatever it is you want to say." she said grinning, pulling her free hand in his. he blushed, looking at the ground. "these past two weeks have been...everything i'd wanted since we were little younglings. and i don't want to go back to vegas in a few weeks, not knowing what we are or if we might have missed an opportunity....to see where things might go." he said looking up at her with hopeful eyes. she bit her lip, thinking hard. she liked brendan, and always had secretly; but was she ready to date again? she didn't want to become the laughingstock of the NHL family sphere. going from one player to the next, but shouldn't she at least attempt to move on? even if it was with another player?

brendan saw the hesitation in her features, and accepted defeat. he was about to say something but kailey spoke up. "i want nothing more than to say yes but what will my brothers say? what will the hockey world say? going from one guy to the next? i don't want to become the laughingstock, besides- my brothers don't deserve that. they don't deserve to take any heat from or about me. besides..i don't want to ruin our years-long friendship b." she said hoping he understood, and he did. "give me a few days, let me go take some time in chicago and ill let you know. ok?" she said with a pleading look. he nodded softly, "thankyou." she said pulling him in for a hug. her arms found his neck, his arms found her back; drawing her in as close as possible. incase, he'd never have her in his arms again.

◦

she arrived in chicago two days later, her best friend becca from college and lukas reichels' fiance, as well as alex vlasics wife tessa were waiting for her at the pickup area. she strolled her suitcase and carry on towards the arrivals area, and smiled widely when she saw the two holding a small bouquet of peonies and a dunkin coffee. they jumped up and down, as they saw her. she began to jog over towards them before they wrapped their arms around one another. "oh my god!!" kailey shrieked when they held out her iced americano and flowers towards her, while tessa took her bag and suitcase. "guyssss im gonna cry." she said with tears in her eyes. "we couldn't come empty handed." tessa cooed, as she wrapped an arm around the girl, with kailey taking the gifts from becca. the three girls walked out to the car that was waiting at the curb, that sat alex and lukas. "oh my god!" she said smiling widely when she saw the two leaning against the audi. "kails!" lukas said smiling and quickly hugging her, and then alex joined creating a group hug. tessa snapped a quick picture as kailey just laughed. "thankyou guys for coming to get me, i appreciate it very much." she smiled widely, as lukas opened the door for her and tessa. "you are very welcome hughesy." alex grinned as he opened the other door for becca. "where to first?" she quipped.

-

the three girls headed towards becca's and lukas' guest bedroom in their chicago townhouse, ready to bombard the girls with questions over her california life. kailey had been awfully quiet the past month and they were curious what had been going on. "girl! what have you been up to?? we wanna know everything!" tessa squeled as she shut the door behind them. kailey blushed while throwing a small smile towards her best friends. "did you meet a guy??" becca smirked, and kailey shrugged. "did he take the one sunset pic?" tessa joined in, sitting across from kailey on the bed. kailey grinned, "I've known him for sometime now....I've known him since we were kids." she began and the girls looked at one another. "who is it?" becca asked. "brendan brisson." she stated, and the two girls thought about who that could be. "wait! was he at usntp?" tessa questioned, and kailey nodded. "oh my god i remember him! isnt his dad like THE agent in hockey? doesn't he work with your dad?" tessa rambled and kailey giggled. "yes...we arent like officially together but somethings there. i just don't know if i want to pursue it. like, i don't want people to create narratives that were never true to begin with." she said putting her face in her hands, feeling defeated. "to hell with what everybody says. if you're happy and you see something with him, go for it." becca said and kailey shrugged. "but my brothers....what are they gonna think? they're gonna kill me." she said tessa forehead creased, "do they not know that you two have been spending time together?" tessa questioned and kailey shook her head. tessa and becca looked at one another, sharing silent words.

-

she spent the next week in chicago, reminiscing and growing fond of the memories she'd made the past four years. they caught up, spent quality time together and thankful that nothing from her past had shown up or crossed paths with the three girls. kailey did not need that, at all. she face timed nightly with brendan, him curious at to what shenanigans that three were getting up to. she'd been to 2 concerts, numerous museum trips, countless trips up and down the lakefront, and shopping galore. kailey woke up around 8 am, getting herself put together before heading down stairs. she jogged down the steps, and headed to the kitchen. it was too late, before she realized who was in the kitchen. lukas and connor were laughing at something, that happened at a gym session that morning.

connor caught the footsteps on the stairs first, and then the brunette hair second. he did a double-take, before realizing it was kailey. kailey was on the phone with brendan, before she spotted connor and froze. "ill uh, ill call you back." she said hanging up before brendan could respond. "morning kails." lukas said sipping some coffee, curious to see what was going to happen. "morning lukas." she hummed, heading to the fridge to grab a bottle of water, and her breakfast from the day before. she quietly worked as the two hockey players looked at each other, "ill be right back. im gonna take penny outside." lukas said calling for the small dog, and now it was just the two.

"how have you been?" connor asked as she put the food in the microwave. kailey took a few seconds to respond before turning around. oh, how good he looked. curse the hockey gods. his hair was still wet from the shower, his blue eyes meeting hers and what felt like a sense of deja vu washed over the girl. "I've been good. you?" she questioned, heading over to the expresso machine and began to mess around with the machine. she banged the expresso on the counter, before sliding it into the spot to pour over. "yeah real good. just got back to the city a week ago." he responded, and she nodded. "that's real nice." she hummed, as the microwave beeped. "hows california?" he asked and she sighed, pulling the container out. "its been nice. beautiful as always." she hummed, pulling a few pieces of hair behind her ear. she looked back up at him, "been doing everything i haven't been able to do for a few years." she said, a dig at the boy. he nodded feeling dread wash over him, as her phone began to ring again. she looked over at where it was on the counter, and she let it go to voice mail. she'd text brendan at some point. "hows lisa?" she quipped, biting into her burrito. connor swallowed tensely, "shes good. just started at lurie children's hospital." he said and hailey nodded. "that's nice." she hummed, walking over to the finished expresso and brought it back over to her food.

connor and kailey's tension could be cut through with a knife. even then, it might not even work. "when did you change your hair?" he asked, a few minutes later. "right after you texted me, I thought id try on a different personality." she said sarcastically, "apparently the last one wasn't good enough." she hummed, picking up her container, coffee and phone. connor sighed, "kails-" she cut him off, by turning back to him with a glare. "don't you ever call me that again, so help me god connor." she spat. he was defeated, he knew that much. she turned back and headed back upstairs.

oh how she loathed that boy, who threw away almost 2 years of pure bliss. pure romance. something out of this world. kailey did find out what changed, in those 24 hours and swore she'd place a dagger in their hearts at some point. his last words mere hours before, echoed his love, pure and committed adoration for the blonde. but like life, it can change in a mere moment.

“Do not swear by the moon, for she changes constantly. then your love would also change.”

◦

kailey sat down on the airplane, about to depart chicago and bring her to sunny los angeles. oh how she'd missed her home, and somebody that was waiting ever so patiently for her to return. she smiled, posting her photo dump from the summer. her first post since march. she deleted her instagram after responding to a few comments, allowing for the chaos to consume the hockey fandom. she turned her phone on airplane, drowning herself with music for the next 4 hours, not daring to look at the messages waiting for her when she landed.

“Don't waste your love on somebody, who doesn't value it.” 

◦

oh, what the universe and all of its stars had instore for the young hughes and the bright superstar.

-

@kaileyclara: little bit of this, little bit of that.

tags: tessavlasic, beccamuprhy, jordanbrisson and laurenorlando

-

@trevorzegras: wait a min @jackhughes: wait a damn minute @kaileyclara: can yall leave @trevorzegras: no im too busy inspecting every single detail of this post

@_quinnhughes: hughes sighting! @kaileyclara: hehe

@lhughes_6: who gave u flowers @kaileyclara: idk @jackhughes: to the gc! @_quinnhughes: already there @kaileyclara: i hate yall

@tessavlasic: I loved having you here bestie, i need to come out soon! @kaileyclara: i second this!

@beccamurphy: loml returned ! @kaileyclara: i thought that was lukas? @beccamurphy: he's my second love @lukasreichel: alright.

@brendanbrisson: im here for the hair @jordanbrisson: so am i @jackhughes: im not @kaileyclara: fuck off

@mayaaa: maybe u r a slut @kaileyclara: and that would be a fucking lie ! @mayaaa: 😚😚

@adamfantilli: orlando sighting? @kaileyclara: yes! toronto days hit hard @laurenorlando: still salty you guys moved @kaileyclara: me too @johnnyorlando: absolutely rude

hope you all enjoyed it, please like and reblog if you did-- id appreciate it very very much🥺 oh, and ofc i will have one more part to finish up this little series (:

mutuals from previous part : @privatemythss @boldysswld @trevorzegrizz @jayda12 @simp4hughes @skatesnstuff @slafgoalskybaby @cuttergauthier

#connor bedard #connor bedrd imagine #connor bedard blurb #nhl #hockey #nhl blurb #nhl imagine #hockey blurb #hockey imagine #chicago blackhawks #brendan brisson #umich hockey #umich wolverines #jack hughes #quinn hughes #luke hughes

[the-mighty-jellybean]

The Hound of Hell's Kitchen

Series Summary: "We are only as blind as we want to be." Maya Angelou

Y/N Y/L/N was not prepared to be hindered by how the world viewed her position in society, not even the law was going to define, who she was as a person. Strong, brave and true of heart. The very qualities that make her so attractive to the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.

Pairings: Matt Murdock x Reader

Series Warning: Fluff, Eventual Smut, Angst and a little childhood trauma, just to really spice some things up. Strong Language

(18+ Only)

Chapter Five: Family Ties

Chapter Warnings: Fluff

Word Count: 2.8k

Claire came back later in the evening, dropping off a measly, singular trash bag of what was left of Y/N's belongings that had indeed been thrown out onto the street.

Y/N looked through it finding, only a few shirts, and trousers, clearly anything of value had either been taken by Mr. Fitzgerald for the overdue rent, or by a passerby on the street.

"Sorry, Y/L/N." Claire squeezed Y/N's shoulder, comfortingly, as Y/N rested her head on the back of the chair, looking to the ceiling as she tries not to cry.

"It's okay, thanks for bringing me this at least." Y/N gives her a sad, yet genuine smile.

Claire bends down to examine Y/N's bandages, before wishing the two of them goodnight, and leaving with a still grumpy looking Luke.

"Why does he not like me?" Y/N pouts, brows furrowing as Luke slams the door a little hard, on his and Claire's way out.

"I don't think its you," Matt shakes his head, finishing another spring roll, "I think he's just a little annoyed that Claire didn't tell anyone you existed."

"That's not her fault, I asked her to keep me a secret, from everyone." Y/N shrugged, “I’m a rare breed, I’ve got no choice but to keep my existence a secret.”

“I understand, we all do,” Matt assured, “your secret will be safe with us.”

Y/N nods slowly, continuing to finish her plate of food, struggling to her feet again, she hobbles towards the kitchen sink.

Matt's eyes widen, and he jumps to his feet to catch up with her, "How many times do I have to tell you; Sit. Down."

Matt's chest rumbles, and it makes Y/N freeze, she doesn't even feel the sensation of the plate slipping out of her hand, but she does here the crash and the smash, as the stained white china, shatters across the stone floor.

The tears spring quickly, and Y/N crumples to her knees as she tries to clear away the broken porcelain.

"I'm sorry-sorry, I'm so sorry." Y/N rambles, she can barely see where she is putting her hands, as the salty tears cloud her vision.

"Stop, stop, it's okay, sweetheart, stop." Matt takes Y/N's shaking hands into his, she fights him for a moment trying to clear up her mess, "Stop."

The command in Matt's tone makes Y/N stop once again, she doesn't look up from the floor and the massive mess she had caused.

"This was my fault, I shouldn't have used that tone, it wasn't necessary." Matt utters, his voice is low and soothing, his scent is strongly of regret and empathy.

Y/N sniffles, using her shoulder to wipe her cheek as her hands were still occupied by Matt's. Matt slowly takes the shattered pieces out of Y/N's hands, gathering up what he can, and throwing it into the trash. Y/N stays frozen to the spot, on her knees, eyes fixed, tears still trickling down her face.

Matt bites his lip for a bit before gathering up all the plates and cutlery and place them next to the sink. He turns the tap on, filling the sink, with water and washing detergent.

Matt then heads back to Y/N and helps her to her feet, "you wanna help me wash up?"

Y/N doesn't really get a chance to answer, before Matt shuffles her to the sink, he lifts her lightly onto his feet, boxing her in with his arms, so she's steady on her feet. He reaches into the sink, Y/N following his hands, she starts to wash up along with the Alpha.

Towards the end of washing up, Y/N felt herself feel a little better, the washing up, relieving some of her earlier anxieties. The tears are almost dry by the time Y/N places the last plate on the drying rack.

"I think we should get you to bed." Matt again is speaking, but he's not asking a question, he's telling Y/N that she's going to bed. However, Y/N didn't mind Matt telling her what to do, she happily let him take her towards his bedroom, and sitting her on the bed.

Y/N frowned and pouted when he turned his back and headed towards the living room.

"Where are you going?" Matt stopped walking glancing over his shoulder, frowning himself when he saw Y/N's unhappy face.

"Going to my cosy couch." Matt jested, gesturing to the sofa, Y/N and himself had just used as a dining room.

"Why?"

"Because you're in my bed."

'Well, then I'll sleep on the couch-ah." Y/N falls back onto the bed, regretting her decision to stand immediately.

"I think not." Matt smirked, heading towards the sofa again.

"I don't want to sleep alone." Y/N finally blurts, making Matt fix to the spot, before slowly spinning to face Y/N again, "Please, don't make me sleep alone."

"If you're sure, sweetheart?' Matt is tentative with his words, but he is already moving back towards Y/N.

"Please."

Matt nods, "Lay down, honey."

Y/N manages to swing her legs onto the bed, whilst tracking Matt as he walks around the other side of the bed, getting under the covers. Shuffling onto her side, Y/N pulls her legs up to her chest as best she can, twitching her lips, as she admires Matt.

He turns the lamp off next to him, turning to face Y/N, letting out a long breath; "usually people close their eyes now."

Y/N tries to bite back the smile, clearing her throat to hide her laugh.

"Sorry." Y/N mumbles, closing her eyes, but peaking one of them open, noticing the way Matt's lips twitch, "How do you even know?"

Matt chuckles loudly, "I can hear your eyelids click every time you blink.

"Okay, ew gross, forget I asked."

---------

"Pwease don't o." Faolan begged, standing in Y/N's way, as she tries to hastily pack her bag.

"I've got no choice, Fe." nudging him to the side softly, he brings his blanket up to his face, rubbing it harshly on his cheek, in hopes to self-soothe.

"ake me wif wu." the little wolf tries the alternative, his big round eyes, glassy with tears, as he watched his big sister pack her small life away.

"I can't take you with me, Faolan . I'm going to have to figure out how I'm going to survive myself, let alone take a 4 year old with me." Y/N shakes her head, she was breaking her own heart with her words, so Gods know how this little man was feeling.

"Pwease." Faolan's voice broke, as he let the tears roll, he tried to wipe some of them with the rag in his small fist, but they were coming too quick for him to catch all of them.

"I'm sorry, Fe," Y/N held him in her arms, squeezing him tight, she stroked his damp cheek with her calloused thumb, taking in every little detail.

She never wanted to forget this little face.

"What if I'm un Omegga?" Felan hiccuped, Y/N stroked his hair, kissing the top of his head.

"That won't happen, Faolan. I promise."

"Ut, what if it does." Y/N could see the panic in the whites of his eyes, the little boy had seen everything that night, he saw an entire pack, turn on a singular member in the space of an hour. His family, becoming torn apart in a singular second.

"I will come for you," Y/N utters determined, "I will come for you, I swear."

-------

Y/N shot awake with a light gasp and a shriek, her body covered in a thin layer of sweat, the sheets beneath her felt wet, and clung to her body, cold.

Matt felt Y/N shift beside him, and the sleep shattering shriek, and soon he too was wide awake, scrambling to get near Y/N.

"Shh, shhh, you're okay, sweetheart." Matt tries to cradle Y/N to his chest, but she fights him, still in some sleepy distress. "Shh, shh."

"Get away." Y/N tries to struggle, not fully aware of her surroundings, "Get off me."

"It's me, honey, it's me." Matt manages to cup the back of Y/N's neck, placing a small amount of pressure on Y/N's scruff. It makes Y/N go a little rigid, but it gives Matt enough time to push her into his neck, letting her take in his comforting scent.

"That's it, deep breaths," Matt coaches, "Good girl."

Matt's hand slips from Y/N scruff, running down her back, rubbing in soft circles, "That's it, good girl, nice and calm."

Y/N manages to get her breathing back under control, taking in Matt's scent glands with each shaking breath. She clutches at his arm desperate to keep him close, and Matt does nothing but hold her a little tighter, she knew he was there, and that's all she needed.

“Thank you.” Y/N rasps, pressing her forehead into Matt’s neck, she can feel Matt’s chest rumbling gently, the vibrations an Alpha Method to soothe. Y/N had never experienced an Alpha’s comfort rumble, she’d only been on the receiving end of a bark or aggression rumble.

This was nice. To experience comfort from an Alpha, for an Omega, it was like all her Christmas’ had come at once. She’d never felt more secure than in this quiet moment right now.

“It’s okay.” Matt reassured, keeping his hold on Y/N tight and firm, “you wanna talk about what you were dreaming about?”

“Not right now.” Y/N shook her head.

She was about to turn away, to lay back into her side of the bed, happily wrapped up in Matt’s arms, when her ears flickered.

“What’s wrong?” Matt felt Y/N go rigid in his arms, he tries to hold her tighter, but she’s pushing him away, as she struggles to the end of the bed. “What is it?”

Y/N tilts her head from side to side, trying to narrow in on the peculiar yet so familiar sound she can hear outside.

“Do your windows open?” Y/N was already moving towards them whilst she was asking the question. Matt is quick to jump from the bed, wrapping his arm around Y/N waist helping her to the window.

“Yeah hang on.” Matt safely lays Y/N’s hands on the window sill making sure she is secure before he starts to push the windows open. The cool city air makes Y/N shiver slightly, but she grins and bears it as she pushes her face out the window.

Moving her ear closer to the city, they twitch as she tries to hone in on the noise.

Finally she hears it, the sound spiking in her sensitive eardrum.

“What the…” Y/N breathes out in surprise, “there’s no way.”

“What?” Matt asks, concern radiating off his scent fiercely.

“Can’t you hear that?” Y/N is practically hanging out the window as she strains to listen to the noise, Matt has hold of her hips, stopping her from toppling out the penthouse apartment.

“Hear what?”

“Listen, listen hard, hold your breath if you need to.” Y/N instructs, she feels Matt’s chest against her back, she feels it still, as he does as Y/N says holding his breath, he leans into the city air trying to understand what Y/N was hearing.

It takes a second but soon Matt can hear it too.

The noise is faint against the bustle of the city, but Matt can’t deny that it’s there.

“What is that?” Matt asks Y/N quietly, not wanting to startle the Omega who was focused so intently.

“It’s a howl.”

“A howl? Like a wolf howl?” Matt can hear the noise clearer, now that he knew vaguely what he was listening too. It was a high pitch cry, it bounced off building to building before landing in his eardrum.

“That’s…not…possible.” Y/N whispers to herself, her eyes wide, shaking her head from side to side. She places her hands firmly on the window ledge, before Matt realises what Y/N is doing she had slipped out from his grasp, vaulting herself out of the window.

“Y/N!” Matt shouts after her, rushing to the edge.

Y/N isn’t listening to him, she’s already scaling her way down the building side, ignoring the burning pain in her side. Her bandages felt invisible, as she clambered her way in the direction of the howling.

Y/N barely notices the sound of Matt calling and following after her, until he lands next to her on the sidewalk outside his apartment.

“What are you doing?” Matt pants, reaching for Y/N wrist, but he’s not able to catch it, as she takes off running, barefoot down the street.

Chasing after her, he too forgets he is shoeless, but he’s unbothered, desperate to keep up with the distressed Omega.

Y/N's chest burns, as she gasps for breath, but she doesn't stop, spurred on by the howling, which grows louder and louder.

Taking a sharp turn into an industrial estate, her feet slap against the wet concrete, as she slows her pace down, head darting from corner to corner, as she tries to access the area she's found herself in.

Jumping slightly, when Matt places his hand on her shoulder, when he finally catches up with her.

"You can't do that, Y/N." Matt pants, Y/N shrugs his hand off, his scent was mixing with the ones in the area, and it was clouding her senses.

"It's stopped." Y/N's panic is spiking strongly in her scent, "The howling has stopped."

Matt listens too, holding his breath again, so he doesn't distract himself from tracking the noise. Y/N was right the howling had stopped, but there was still unfamiliar sound.

"Sounds like...nails?" Matt questions himself, but Y/N appears to know what he is saying.

"I don't understand...I thought I was the only one in New York." Y/N utters in disbelief, taking slow steps towards the tapping sound.

The noise leads her to an abandoned warehouse, the doors have been torn from their hinges. Y/N gently runs her fingers over the huge gashes, carved in the steel doors.

"What can do something like this?" Matt asks, his hands to examining the gaping wounds in the doors.

"Something like me." Y/N's voice trails off, Matt walks so he's shoulder to shoulder with Y/N, he can sense the change of direction in the air, that flutters over his face.

Furrowing his brow, he sniffs the air, the smell of wet dog and saliva tickles his nose. Concentrating harder, his mind is soon able to build a profile in his head, of what he was now face to face with.

"Y/N? Do you know what this is?" Matt speaks quietly, not wanting to frighten what sits in front of the Alpha and the Omega.

"It's not what, Matt." Y/N scolds, a smile dances across her lisp, "I know who this is."

"Who is it?"

"Hello, baby brother." Y/N speaks strongly, not a trace of worry or anxiety lay in her scent, mainly the smell of concern, yet happiness sprinkled in between her words.

"Baby brother?" Matt tilts his head confused.

"Matt," Y/N gestures her arms in front of her, "Meet Faolan."

The grey wolf jostled its fur to Y/N's words, but it didn't appear to soften its twisted up muzzle, bearing its pearl white teeth, drool rolling off the corners, of it's mouth.

"Faolan?' Y/N spoke softly, tilting her head from side to side, "Faolan it's me, it's okay."

The wolf lowers it's head closer to the ground, Y/N noticed that it's eyes lay on Matt, the wolf's back zig zagged, as it's hackles stood on end.

Stepping in front of Matt, Y/N pushed him gently behind her, making sure to fully block him from the wolf's view.

"It's okay, Faolan, he's a friend." The wolf didn't back down at Y/N's words, thinking on her feet quickly, Y/N remembers a move she'd seen performed by her brothers' when they wanted something from their father. A little like a puppy begging.

Y/N holds her hands out in front of her, her palms facing the floor; locking eyes with Faolan, she begins to slowly sink to her knees. The ground is wet beneath her as her knee lands on the gravel ground. She blinks slowly, her eyes changing from their usual colour to a glowing yellow.

Letting out a shallow whine, Faolan's features soften from the hard glare, to a lighter looks, his teeth are hidden by the skin of his muzzle, which has also flattened out.

The wolf pants a few times before slowly his face begins to change. It begins as a small twitch before morphing into a ripple, which takes over his face. Soon the ripple spreads to small waves across his whole body, his size beginning to reduce.

Eventually the fur turned to skin, the muzzle to a mouth, the paws to hands and feet, nothing was left of the wolf that stood before them, instead a young boy, who darted behind a stack of crates, nothing but a flash of flesh disappearing from view.

It wasn't long, and then the boy was back, this time with a pair of scabby jeans on, a tattered grey t-shirt, pulling on a dirty red hoodie.

"Wow, you've grown." Y/N huffed, standing from her knees, keeping her arms outstretched this time to take her frail looking brother into her arms.

Faolan wrapped her arms around her waist. Y/N didn't care for the pain, which stabbed her in the side, when Faolan squeezed her tight, she was just glad to have this boy in her arms once again.

"Why are you here, Fe?' Y/N asked softly into his hair.

"You said you would come back for me." Faolan voice is small, and weak as he looked, "Why didn't you come back?'

Y/N draws Faolan away from her, but keeps her hands on his shoulders, squeezing gently.

"I did Faolan," Y/N admits, "I went back to the den, a few years ago, but you weren't there, I figured you'd moved on for hunting purposes."

"Why didn't you look for us?" Faolan shrugs Y/N's hands off his shoulders, his brows furrowed in a concoction of confusion and anger.

"I tried, but I lost your scent about 30 miles away from the den, it just went cold." Y/N explained, scenting as strongly as she could, of sincerity.

"I needed you." Faolan whispers, his voice growing shaky, his scent changes strongly to sadness, and heartache. "It's been 11 years."

Y/N places her hand on his cheek, stroking softly with her thumb.

"I'm here now, Fe." Y/N steps forward to embrace her brother in another tight hug, before pulling away once again, "But why are you here now?"

Y/N felt Faolan's body go stiff beneath her, chewing his lip, his scent immediately changing to anxious and fear.

"He came for us Y/N." Faolan managed to choke out.

"Who came for you, who's he?" Y/N's brow furrows scent changing quickly to confusion.

"The hunter, he came for us, Father offered him me because..."

Faolan trialed off but Y/N already knew what he was going to say.

"Because you're an Omega too."

#marvel fanfiction #reader insert #a/b/o dynamics #avengers a/b/o #omega!reader #a/b/o lifestyle #matt murdock x reader #alpha!mattmurdock #daredevil

[lands-of-fantasy]

Modern Marvel TV

(Nearly all) Live-action series from 2000-present (2024)

ABC SERIES

MCU-Complementary: These series expand the MCU narrative.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-20)

Agent Carter (2015-16)

Other

Inhumans (2017)

NETFLIX/THE DEFENDERS*: These series share continuity.

Daredevil (2015-18)

Jessica Jones (2015-19)

Luke Cage (2016–18)

Iron Fist (2017–18)

The Defenders (2017) | The series is important for both Daredevil and Iron Fist storylines, and also deals with a Luke Cage plotpoint.

The Punisher (2017–19) | While he is a regular character in Daredevil Season 2, he is not featured in The Defenders.

MUTANTS: Independent X-Men-related series.

Legion (2017–19)

The Gifted (2017–19)

YOUNG ADULT SERIES*: Mostly separate but Cloak and Dagger make an apparition on Runaways' Season 3.

Runaways (2017–19)

Cloak & Dagger (2018–19) | The series makes direct references to Netflix's Luke Cage.

MARVEL STUDIOS SERIES: Take place in the MCU.

Starring characters previously introduced in the movies:

Wandavision (2021)

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (2021)

Loki (2021-23?)

Hawkeye (2021)

Secret Invasion (2023)

Starring new characters:

Moon Knight (2022-)

Ms. Marvel (2022-)

She Hulk (2022-)

Echo (2024-) | Protagonist Maya Lopez made her debut in the MCU in the Hawkeye show, but it's possible to watch one without the other.

_____

*P.S.: The YA series technically take place in the MCU but are as good as independent from it. The same goes for Netflix's shows, though they might still become an effective part of it. This will likely be defined in the upcoming MCU series Daredevil: Born Again.

See also: DCTV

#marvel television #mcu #agents of shield #the defenders #netflix daredevil #agent carter #netflix marvel #wandavision #ms marvel #loki series #marvel #falcon and the winter soldier #netflix jessica jones #netflix luke cage #netflix iron fist #the punisher #cloak and dagger #marvel runaways #legion #the gifted #moon knight #hawkeye series #ms marvel series #moon knight series #echo 2024 #she hulk series #echo series #secret invasion #tfatws #inhumans

[lixzey]

SERENDIPITY

a/n: so sorry for the wait, but anyway, here it is! we are now at the official start of luke and maya's relationship! 💘 to everyone that helped me with this chapter, thank you! wouldn't have done this without you guys!

If you guys wanna be added to the SERENDIPITY taglist, just ask!

luke and maya masterlist

Anyway, onto the story!

word count: 8,719  

CHAPTER TWO: NEWBIE

June 15th, 2016

In the depths of the night, Luke Castellan lay beside his little sister, staring outside into the darkened velvet sky. Hours had passed since he and Annabeth stepped inside the camp’s borders, but the memory of what had just happened was still fresh, flashing in his mind again and again, haunting him. 

June 14th

“Luke, I’m tired,” Annabeth whined, tugging on the hem of his shirt. They had been walking for hours, unable to find a place to stay for the night without monsters finding them.

Luke sighed. Despite being tired as well, he knew stopping wouldn’t do them any good. “We’ll stop soon, I promise,” he managed to say, giving the girl a small smile. “Just hold on, okay?”

“But I’m so tired,” Annabeth whined once more. “My feet hurt from all the walking!”

Thalia stopped in her tracks, hearing the younger girl. “I’m sorry, Annie, but we have to get going or those bad monsters will catch up on us.”

Annabeth looked up at the older girl, electric blue, meeting hers. “But, I’m so tired….”

“I know we all are, kid. But stopping won’t do us any good, the monsters we faced just hours ago? They’ll find us, and we’ll be too weak to fight. Grover said we’re almost there, so we need to get going,” Thalia explained, hoping to convince the little girl to tread just a little further.

“Thalia’s right, Annabeth,” Luke said, backing up the raven-haired girl. “Come on, you can ride on my shoulders for a few hours.”

Annabeth stared at the ground, and eventually, after a few seconds, she nodded. “Okay.”

Thalia patted her on the shoulder before ruffling in the back pack she had in her arms. “Here you go,” she said, passing Annabeth their last granola bar. “Eat up; you’ll need it, kid.”

Luke smiled at the sight of Annabeth taking the granola bar from Thalia, relieved that she wouldn’t be whining again anytime soon and they could resume their journey. “Come on, let’s get going.” Luke chuckled. Despite being so drained and worn out, he picked up Annabeth and placed her up on his shoulders.

If Luke had anything he was thankful for, it was the fact that he found family regardless of the circumstances.

“No, no, no!” Annabeth screamed, snapping Luke out of his trance. “Monsters!”

Luke whips his head around almost immediately, reaching for the little girl and wrapping his arm around her, pulling the screaming child close to his chest. “Shh, Annie, it’s okay,” Luke whispered, hoping to soothe the younger girl. “I’m,” he said, taking a deep breath. “...here.”

Annabeth buried her face in her older brother’s chest, sobbing. “Thalia…” she murmured, tears absorbing into Luke’s tattered shirt.

“It’s okay, shh,” Luke whispered, rubbing circles on her back in an attempt to calm her down. “There aren’t any monsters anymore; we’re safe, you’re safe….”

Luke choked back his tears as he comforted his sister back to sleep. He was hurting too; he had lost Thalia too.

“Don’t, don’t be stupid, Thalia!”

“No time! Run!” Thalia screamed, hoping to buy Luke and Annabeth some time to get to camp unharmed. “Don’t stop until you’re inside the border!” 

“But-”

“Luke, think of Annabeth! Go!”

Luke placed Annabeth on his hip, turning to run despite wanting to stay with Thalia and help fight off the monsters attacking them.

“Run!” Thalia screamed once more, her voice cracking. “Run!”

The monsters roared, ringing in Luke’s ears, not daring to look back as he knew what was going to happen.

Annabeth cried, clinging to Luke tighter. “No more, no more!”

“I-It’s okay..it’s okay, don’t worry, we’ll be safe soon,” Luke whispered, fighting back his tears as they approached the borders with Grover running closely behind.

As soon as Luke crossed the barrier, he finally looked back. He saw Thalia fighting off as much as she could when one of the cyclopes grabbed her, throwing her hard against the ground with a loud thud.  

Thalia lay on the ground, gasping for air, slowly dying. Before Luke could react, there was a loud boom of thunder, scattering the monsters away from Thalia’s body.

And right before Luke’s eyes, Thalia’s body turned into a large pine tree. 

“We’ll be alright,” Luke whispered to Annabeth’s now-sleeping form. “I won’t let anyone or anything hurt you ever again.”

June 16th, 2016

Maya Williams has lived a relatively normal life as a demigod.

Maya was eight when she arrived at Camp Half Blood. She had run away when she was six years old, a scared little girl who didn’t have a clue why her mother abandoned her as a baby or why her father hated her so badly. Maya had been on her own for almost two years, fighting her hardest to survive in a world not fit for a child, let alone a child of the goddess of love and beauty.

Unlike other demigods, Maya was technically safe from monsters. Her scent was significantly sweeter than that of the average child of the gods, making her—or any other child of Aphrodite, really—safe from monsters. Still, Maya wasn’t safe from the monsters of the mortal world.

Children of Aphrodite radiate beauty, some more than others. Some would think it’s a blessing, but for the children of the goddess of beauty—at least for Maya—it’s a curse more than it is a blessing. While on the run, Maya had not-so-good encounters with older men—or, as she called them, monsters.

Maya tried to avoid men as much as she could, mostly hiding behind large garbage cans or running as fast as her little legs could carry her. One time, she resorted to biting and kicking, which ended up leaving her with a large scar down her arm because the man used a pocket knife on her arm an effort to pry her teeth off of his arm.

And then Ferdinand came into the picture. 

At first, Maya was skeptical. Ferdinand had the legs and horns of a goat, and that isn’t something she’s seen in her life before. And then he told her there was a safe haven for children like her. A place where she’d never get hurt again. She’d have someone—her half siblings—to guide her in the world she had no clue how to live in. 

It was a splash of color in Maya’s young life, solace in a world full of terrors. She finally had a place where she belonged.

Now, Maya is four months away from being fourteen years old. The eldest out of fifteen kids residing in cabin ten, which she was made head of when the former head went off to college when she was twelve years old.

Throughout the years, Maya has learned to be the perfect child of Aphrodite. The scared little girl who arrived at camp six years ago was long gone and replaced by a beautiful, smart, strong, and independent young woman who is the epitome of perfection by camp half blood’s standards.

At nine years old, Maya understood that beauty is a weapon—for children of Aphrodite, at least. Children of the goddess of love are most known in camp for breaking hearts, as a rite of passage for a child of the goddess to prove themselves to their mother, like how her sisters and brothers had done before Maya had even arrived in the camp built for the children of the gods.

“Yeah, sorry, this isn’t working out,” Maya sighed dramatically, her French-tipped manicured hand against another one of her conquests’ cheeks.

The son of Apollo smiled, the look in his eyes saying otherwise. He’d been in a relationship with Maya for less than a week, and she’s already breaking up with him. He should’ve expected it. After all, Maya had a reputation for the last two years—breaking hearts like it’s nobody’s business. It didn’t help that she had charm speak, easily luring boys into her game.

“Can…can we still be friends, Maya?” He looked up, meeting her kaleidoscope eyes. 

“Hun, I think it’s better if we don’t.” Maya looked at him with a faux apologetic look in her eyes. “It’s for the better.”

The boy sighed, giving Maya one last smile before turning away—another heart broken by the vixen of cabin ten. 

“Maya, that’s the sixth one this month.” Nine-year-old Silena sighed, watching another Apollo kid walk away, devastated after trying his luck with her sister and failing. “Poor guy.”

“Not my fault he wanted me,” Maya rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as she started to walk in the direction of the Big House. “I really don’t know why it’s such a big deal.”

“He’s what? Guy number fifty? Sixty? I lost count,” Silena muttered, counting on her fingers.

There were the sons of Ares—who claimed that Maya should be theirs as her mother was their father’s partner—who would woo her with their fighting skills. There were a few sons of Demeter who’d give her an assortment of flowers—from roses to sunflowers, to tulips. A lot of sons of Apollo—just like the one Maya recently dumped—tried wooing her with haikus, poems, and musical numbers—a trick their father Apollo did to win over people he liked, which never worked on her because, in her opinion, they were annoying. A few of Hephaestus’ sons would give her contraptions, like that magical hair dryer that could dry her hair in five seconds or that vanity table she had in the Aphrodite cabin, which had a lot of drawers and lights easily changed by a click of a button. And finally, some of Athena’s sons—which was funny considering they were supposed to be the logical ones yet they fell for Maya’s charm. It was terrifying how her sister could smile and boys would just fall at her feet, like idiots, despite knowing what their fate would be. 

“Sixty-five, Silena, keep up.” Maya chuckled, turning to face her sister and reaching to flick her long hair back.

“You’re hopeless,” Silena said, shaking her head. “You’ve proved yourself to Mom two years ago, and you’re still at the game.” 

“You have to understand that it isn’t my fault, little sister,” Maya said, eyeing a son of Ares who was sparring with his siblings. “It’s mom’s blessing’s fault.” 

Silena rolled her eyes at her older sister. “You keep on blaming Mom’s blessing.”

“You’re too young to understand, darlin’,” Maya cooed, patting Silena on the cheek. “I’m going to go and ask Chiron about that fashion show,” she said, turning her heel and colliding with someone else—a boy. 

“What the-!” Maya almost shrieked, trying to regain her balance. Maya looked up, emerald green meeting chocolate brown.

“Sorry.” The boy apologized, his hand on Maya’s arm.

“Let go of me!” Maya snarled, yanking her arm away. “Next time, watch where you’re going, dummy!” 

The boy scowled. “No need to be rude, princess.”

Maya scowled, looking him up and down. He had dark, curly hair and a mischievous look in his chocolate brown eyes that held pain and misery at the same time, paired with a cocky smile. Maya had to admit that the boy in front of her was handsome.

“Are you done staring?” The boy teased, a smirk etched on his lips. “I’m Luke, by the way; we’re new.” 

“Do I look like I care?” Maya snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“I’m Silena!” Silena piped up from behind Maya, a wide smile on her pink lips. The boy—Luke—smiled at Silena, and Maya was sure she’d be hearing about him for the rest of the day. She didn’t need her sister babbling about this person.

“Luke?” A little voice asked. Maya’s eyes darted down to a little girl with striking gray eyes—a clear sign that she was an Athena kid (Maya dated a few Athena kids, so she’d know). She couldn’t be older than seven—a little younger than Maya when she first arrived.

Luke smiled at the little girl, patting her on the shoulder. “Go on, Annie, introduce yourself to our new friends.”

“I’m Annabeth, daughter of Athena,” she mumbled, shuffling her feet, not daring to make eye contact with the older girls in front of her.

Maya had a soft spot for little kids, especially those who were the same age as her when she arrived at camp. She had a feeling that little Annabeth had the same childhood as her; the same pain she had was evident in her eyes. 

Maya kneeled down to Annabeth’s height. “Hi Annabeth, I’m Maya. It’s an honor meeting you, little one,” she smiled, her whole attitude just minutes ago fading—much to Luke’s surprise.

“Hi,” Annabeth said, giving Maya a tight smile.

“Wow, one minute she was rude, and the next she’s a saint,” Luke muttered, earning a glare from Maya. Gods, he’s annoying.

Maya stood up, the smile still on her lips—although this time, it’s fake. A talent she’s mastered for the past five years. “Welcome to camp! Like I said, I’m Maya, and I’m one of the camp counselors-” 

“You’re a counselor?” Luke asked, cutting her off, his lips curled into a teasing smirk. “You’re the same age as me, aren’t you, princess?”

Maya glared at him, like it was the most natural thing that she was born to do. Who does he think he is? To talk to me like that. “As I was saying, I’m one of the camp counselors, being the head of cabin ten—the Aphrodite cabin. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to come to me.” 

Luke flashed her a boyish grin. “Oh, I won’t.”

This guy was really pushing Maya’s buttons. Normally, someone would never speak to her unless they were from cabin ten, or she’d be the first one to initiate—which was flirting, most of the time. “All right,” Maya said through gritted teeth before turning to her sister. “I’m going to go find Chiron. My sister here would be glad to tour you guys around camp. How does that sound?”

Annabeth’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, can we, Luke? Can we?” She pleaded, tugging on Luke’s shirt, her big gray eyes pleading with him. 

Luke chuckled, patting Annabeth on the head lightly. “Alright, alright, we’ll take that tour.”

“That settles it!” Maya clapped her hands, pushing Silena forward slightly, eager to get away as soon as possible. “I’ll leave you to it, sis.”

Silena rolled her eyes at her sister. At nine years old, she already has an attitude—much like Maya’s, although tamer than hers. “Alright. But you better get Chiron on the idea, Maya! Everyone’s counting on you!”

Maya grinned, tucking a strand of her auburn hair behind her ear. “I know, I know, I’m on it.”

“On what?” Luke asked, genuinely curious about what the Aphrodite kids were planning.

“None of your business, newbie,” Maya said, a little harsher than she intended in the presence of a kid. Maya sighed. He’s getting on my nerves. “It’s for our cabin, a little event for us.”

“Can we join?” Little Annabeth asked, big gray eyes looking up at Maya. Gods. Who was Maya to deny a little girl who’s reminding her of her when she was a little girl—alone and scared, just wanting to be loved and to belong.

“Tell you what, kid,” Maya chuckled. “I’ll try to get the idea approved. And when Chiron does, you’ll be the first one to know. How does that sound?”

Annabeth smiled up at Maya. “Thank you,”

Maya clapped her hands. “Alright, I’ll leave you guys with the tour.” She cast a look at Luke, rolling her eyes at him, before turning to leave—finally, getting away from him.

“What’s got her panties in a twist?” Luke asked as Maya’s flaming locks faded into view.

Silena groaned, shaking her head at the thought of explaining her sister. “She’s, well, you know…”

Luke looked at her, his brow raised. “What?”

“She’s a good person, alright?” Silena sighed, starting to walk opposite of the direction her sister went.

“Doesn’t seem like it. She’s snappy,” Luke muttered, the scene of her snapping at him replaying in his head. “Is she always like that?”

“Actually, she’s the opposite,” Silena muttered. “She’s the best sister anyone could ever ask for. She always makes sure we have everything we need. But yeah, Maya has an attitude sometimes. Anyways, this is the dining area.” Silena pointed to a pavilion framed by large Greek columns overlooking the sea.

Luke scanned the pavilion in awe. He’d never seen a place so sophisticated, just as a place to eat. Luke’s eyes darted to Annabeth, whose eyes were as big as saucers as she looked around. Silena led the two inside, pausing abruptly in the middle.

“There are twelve tables corresponding to each cabin, meaning each cabin is supposed to sit at their designated tables. Athena kids with Athena kids,” Silena looked at Annabeth apologetically, who was gripping Luke’s arm, not wanting to be separated.

Luke kneeled down to Annabeth’s level, his hands holding hers. “Don’t worry, you’ll be alright with your brothers and sisters there. They’ll take care of you. And besides, I think they love architecture, like you! It won’t be so bad, I promise.”

“But you’re my brother,” Annabeth murmured. Luke sighed, his heart aching for his adoptive little sister. They were family, but Annabeth had siblings of her own that she had to at least try to get along with.

“I know, but you can have lots of brothers and sisters too, you know? Just like me and Thalia,” Luke explained gently. “And it’s not like I’m going to forget you while you’re with them. You’re my little sister; I’ll always be by your side, no matter what.”

Annabeth’s lower lip trembled, still wary of being with others and the possibility of Luke leaving her. “You promise?”

Luke chuckled, ruffling her hair. “I promise. It’s me and you against the world.”

Annabeth seemed to relax a bit, her eyes darting to the sixth table with twelve other kids already sitting at it.

Silena smiled at Annabeth. “You want me to lead you to your table?”

Annabeth shook her head, making Luke laugh at her stubbornness. “I got it, thank you.”

Luke watched as Annabeth trudged forward to the Athena table, where her siblings were waiting for her with big smiles. Annabeth so far was the youngest; judging from the smiles the older Athena kids gave her, Luke knew she was in good hands.

“Don’t worry ‘bout her; she’s going to be okay. You see that girl with blonde hair?” Silena pointed to the girl at the Athena table, welcoming Annabeth. “She’s the head of the Athena cabin; she’s going to take care of little Annabeth.”

Luke smiled, his eyes still glued to Annabeth, who was already smiling and talking to her older siblings. “She’s gonna be alright; I know she will—she’s a fighter, you know?”

“I bet she is.” Silena chuckled. “So, who’s your parent?”

Luke turned to face her, his face turning sour for a split seconf at the question. “Hermes.”

“There,” Silena pointed to a table with kids with the same mischievous look as him. “Just ‘cross ours,” Luke said, turning to table ten, across cabin eleven’s. There were very beautiful girls and very good-looking, handsome boys laughing together.

“Wow,” Luke muttered, his eyes still on the Aphrodite table.

Silena waved at her siblings. “Hey guys!” 

The group of good-looking kids waved back, one of them beckoning Silena to come over. 

“Did Maya get it approved?” One of the girls asked as Silena walked forward, Luke following behind.

“Not yet,” Silena answered, sitting beside a blonde boy around her age. “She’s getting it approved right now, I think. She just went to the Big House.”

“I hope it gets approved; I’ve been dying to show off my new Chanel dress!” A brunette girl squealed. 

Silena laughed, absentmindedly forgetting Luke was standing behind her. “Oh, I almost forgot! Guys, this is Luke.”

Silena’s siblings turned to face Luke, and suddenly he felt his cheeks grow hot. Who wouldn’t when attractive girls were staring at you? Luke awkwardly waved at them. “Hi,”

The girls smiled at him, batting their eyelashes at him. “Hi, Luke!” They squealed, earning the looks of everyone else in the pavilion.

“Easy, guys, he’s new.” Silena laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Don’t overwhelm him.”

“I’m okay,” Luke smiled, causing the girls—minus Silena—to squeal. Luke was sure he had popped an eardrum at how loud a girl’s squeal could be. He was glad Thalia and Annabeth never did, or he would've gone deaf earlier in his life.

Luke turned to face the eleventh table, where he was supposed to be. Cabin eleven, the cabin of his father. Luke took a deep breath before making his way to the table.

“Hi, I’m Luke.” The son of Hermes introduced himself to the oldest kid at the table, who looked around seventeen or eighteen. “Your brother, apparently.”

The older boy smiled, rising to his feet. “Welcome, newbie,” he greeted Luke, reaching out a hand for a handshake, which Luke took. “I’m Matt, head of eleven. Come on in, take a seat.”

Luke gave the older boy a nod, taking a seat beside a dark-haired boy around Silena’s age at the other end of the table.

“Hi, I’m Chris, Chris Rodriguez!” The younger boy introduced himself. “I just got here too!”

Matt chuckled, reaching for the goblet in front of him. “Chris, he got here two weeks ago.”

“I’m nine!” Chris raised up nine fingers, wiggling them in the air, making Luke laugh slightly. Chris was very different from Annabeth; he seemed like a normal kid, unlike Annabeth, who had been forced to grow up so early in her life, fighting for her life at only seven years old.

Judging from how cheery Chris was, Luke thinks he had a good childhood, perhaps a stable mother.

“Have you gotten a tour yet?” Matt asks, taking a sip from the goblet with orange fizzy liquid.

Luke shook his head. “Silena’s only brought me here, so far.”

“I’ll continue that tour for you,” Matt offered. “That is, if you’d like?”

Luke shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve got nothing to do anyway.”

“Oh, there’s a lot to do around here,” Matt smiles, his eyes shining with a familiar mischief. “But of course, we have to get you settled at eleven. It’s a little bit crowded, but it’s home.”

Luke raised a brow. “Crowded?”

Matt gave him an apologetic smile. “Undetermined kids stay at our cabin. That’s why it's often crowded. But don’t worry, I think we have a sleeping bag to spare.”

Before Luke could utter a reply, a loud squeal—which Luke was starting to hate—echoed throughout the pavilion. 

Luke whips his head around, only to see the girl who he was sure had called him stupid just earlier.

The girl—Luke thinks her name was Maya—ran forward to table ten, her hair dancing like fire in the wind. She had a huge grin plastered on her pretty face, her green eyes sparkling with excitement, making them shine like emeralds in the sun.

As soon as the girl was in earshot of her siblings, she started squealing again.

“Typical,” Matt says, rolling his eyes at the table next to them.

Luke keeps his attention on the fiery girl, absentmindedly smiling in her direction.

“Chiron approved the fashion show!” Maya happily announced, smiling from ear to ear. “He says we can start planning!”

Cheers erupted from the table, earning groans from some of the other campers. “I knew you could do it!” Silena beamed, mirroring her sister’s excitement. 

Maya sat down beside Silena, pushing strands of her out of her face. “I always get what I want,” she chuckled, reaching for a strawberry from the plate in front of her and popping it in her mouth.

“Don’t get fooled by that pretty face,” Matt warned. 

Luke turned his attention back to Matt, brow raised. “Why’s that?”

“That girl is heartless,” Matt simply answered.

Luke furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean? She looks sweet.”

“Sweet?” Matt snorts, rolling his eyes at table ten. “That girl is the devil.”

“Care to explain?” Luke asks, his gaze momentarily moving to the said devil.

“Aphrodite is known for breaking hearts,” Matt explained, glancing at the children of the goddess. “And it’s said that to prove themselves to their mother, they have to make someone fall in love with them and break that someone’s heart.”

“Break their heart?”

Matt nodded. “And that girl, Maya,” He jerked his head in her direction. “She has held the record for the most heartbreaks since she was twelve.”

“T-Twelve?” Luke choked on his own saliva. “Twelve years old?”

Everyone around the table nodded.

Luke turned to look at Maya again. She was talking to her sister when the son of Hermes noticed some boys looking at her like she was the only girl in the world.

Luke had to admit it; Maya was pretty—stunning, even. Beautiful like a rose forever in bloom, gorgeous like a summer sunset.

“I think I can handle her.”

Matt choked on his drink. “What?”

“Two can play the heartbreak game,” Luke smirked, turning to look at Maya, who coincidentally turned his way and rolled her eyes at him.

“Are you crazy?”

“Are you stupid?”

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?”

Luke turned his attention back to the table, a lopsided grin on his lips. “I can do this; don’t worry.”

Matt shook his head. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, brother.”

“How hard can it be?” Luke mused, shrugging his shoulders. “I’ve got nothing to do anyway.”

Matt groaned, shaking his head. “It’s your funeral, man.”

"C'mon, let me prove myself,” Luke smirks at his older brother, adjusting his shirt and moving a bit too confidently to the girl with an attitude as ablaze as her hair.

“She’s gonna kill him, I know it,” Chris mutters, watching as Luke makes his way to the girl in question. “Never thought we would lose someone this early like this.”

“No, no, it's okay, Chris,” Matt replies, eyes narrowing and arms now crossed. “Guess he had to see it for himself. Maybe he’ll learn his lesson.”

As Luke reached the table, he directed his eyes to the girl with flaming hair, earning all of the members of cabin ten’s attention on him, a few girls smiling at his return, others snickering anticipating his next move.

“Hey,” Luke says coolly, only now earning a side glance from the head of their cabin, a quirk in her features suggesting he continue. Oh shit, Luke thought, mildly intimidated by the girl. “Uh, why don't you show me around?” He asked, softly smiling, trying his best to feign confidence.

Maya, now annoyed, sensing his intentions. “Didn’t Silena show you around?”

Silena shook her head beside her sister. “Only got to bring him and Annabeth here, sorry. ”

Maya sighed, tilting her head to the side. “I’ll be busy,” she said, then turned her attention to another one of her sisters—the ones who have been smiling from ear to ear at the sight of Luke. “Maybe Lou can show you around?”

“Oh, but princess,” Luke drawls, a cocky smile forming on his lips. “I want you to show me what this place is all about.” 

That shows her.

“Wrong move,” Matt mutters from table eleven, shaking his head, knowing what will happen next.

Maya stood up, smiling sweetly at Luke, which was never a good sign to anyone else. He was sure her eyes changed colors in a split second. “You want me to show you around?” She asked, her voice as sickeningly sweet as honey.

Luke nodded, looking a little arrogant as he leaned forward. “What do you say, princess? Are you up for the challenge?”

Maya’s expression turned sour, and before Luke could comprehend what was happening, the daughter of Aphrodite’s fist collided with his nose, causing him to stumble back as gasps filled the pavilion.

“Never ever call me princess again, yeah?” Maya smiled sweetly at Luke, her green eyes shining mischief like dazzling emeralds. "Because, baby, I can hit so much harder than that. Got me?”

Luke groaned as he clutched his nose. Maya knew how to punch; he was sure that she had broken his nose at how hard her fist collided with his nose. But she didn’t seem bothered by the impact, as she didn’t even check her knuckles to see if they were bleeding like Luke’s nose was. The way she threatened him? It was enticing, as if her voice had power over him.

“Aren’t you just a little vixen?” Luke spluttered, blood still dripping from his nose.

Everyone around them started whispering. It was like Luke was in one of those movies he once watched as a child. He glanced at table eleven; Matt was groaning, Chris had his eyes closed shut, and the others were shaking their heads as they suppressed their laughter.

Luke faced Maya again, although he moved two steps back just in case. “Princess,” he bent his head down, slowly looking up at her, still as arrogant as ever.

“You’ve got three seconds to run before I-” Before Luke could finish hearing Maya speak, someone pulled him from behind, dragging him away.

“Are you insane?” Matt hissed, pushing Luke to sit down. “We told you not to mess with her! Look what it got you!”

“What? I made progress,” Luke grinned, wiping off the blood oozing out of his currently broken nose and making a mental note to go back to the infirmary for maybe some ambrosia or nectar.

“P-Progress?” Matt says incredulously, shaking his head in disbelief at the new member of his cabin, who was just as annoying as their father. “You call that bloody nose fucking progress!?”

“I mean, I think she likes me,”

Chris snorts from beside Matt. “I think she knocked his head hard,”

Everyone around table eleven started laughing at poor Luke’s misery, making him scowl. “What’s so funny?”He grumbles, wiping his nose once more.

“You,” one of the younger kids chuckled. “Maya did rock your world.”

Fits of laughter broke out, as if they had just played off the greatest prank of all time. Luke sighed, taking another glance at table ten.

Maya was smiling and talking to her siblings as if she hadn’t punched him just a minute ago. The audacity of this girl, Luke thought. Being pretty and all that, who does she think she is?

Matt, as if sensing his thoughts, gave Luke a pat on the shoulder. “Come on, brother, let’s get that nose of yours fixed.”

Luke gave him a small nod before rising to his feet, feeling a little light-headed but managing to walk nonetheless. The son of Hermes took one final glance at table ten before Matt pulled him out, Chris following closely behind.

As soon as the trio were out of earshot of the pavilion, Matt stopped in his tracks, causing Luke to almost trip on a rock. “Hey! What was that for?”

“First thing’s first,” Matt started, taking a look around to see if there was anyone else nearby. “Amaya Williams is never a good idea.”

“Yeah, you told me the first time.” Luke rolled his eyes, mildly getting annoyed at his older brother. “Anything else?” He asked with a sarcastic tone.

“As I was saying,” Matt continued, grabbing Luke by the shoulders. “She is the devil reincarnate. I swear to the gods, Luke, that girl is more terrifying than Zeus.”

“You’re terrified by a girl four years younger than you?” Luke snorts, raising a brow teasingly.

Matt glared at him, letting go of his shoulders. “Yes, I am; as a matter of fact, I’ve been one of her victims.”

“Wait, isn’t that illegal?”

“Yeah, well, nothing’s stopping that girl when she’s set her eye on something,” Matt sighs. “She was thirteen; I was seventeen. I know, I know, it sounds wrong, but she managed to break my heart in a week.”

“A week?” Luke chuckles, impressed by how quickly Matt got his heart broken. “Wow, that might just be a world record.”

Matt smirked, turning to walk forward. “Her record is three days.”

“Three days!?”

“Come on, lover boy, keep up,” Matt called over his shoulder, laughing slightly. “We gotta get that nose fixed!”

“Yeah, keep up, Luke!” Chris grinned, walking backwards along Matt.

Luke watches his brother’s figure slowly fade from view as he stands there, dumbfounded.

Three days. Maya Williams’ record is three goddamn days.

This is going to be harder than I thought. Luke wasn’t one to be like her, breaking hearts and all that. He was rethinking his decision; he wasn’t sure if he could handle the girl—she was a hurricane of sugar and spice, and it was enough to lure Luke into her blazing winds like an idiot. Who on earth would get into a hurricane for fun.

Sure, Matt and the others have warned him about her, but when has Luke ever listened? He’s lost count of the number of times Thalia has called him a stubborn little shit.

Luke thought back to Maya, her pretty emerald eyes, and how they sparkled with the same mischief he’s seen in his own eyes. He was sure her irises changed into blue, brown, green, and even pink, like a beautiful kaleidoscope of colors. If Luke had stared at her eyes longer, he was sure that he’d be a. hypnotized, and b. attacked for staring at her for a long period of time.

"Luke, are you coming?” Chris’ voice snaps him out of his thoughts, remembering his broken nose.

Instinctively, his fingers touch his nose. It was crooked from Maya’s punch; the blood that spilled a few minutes ago was already dry from the summer afternoon breeze. “Yeah, coming!” Luke calls back, running towards his younger brother. “Where’s Matt?” 

“Matt went to the cabin, he says he’s gonna go fix a place for you so it’s ready after your nose gets fixed,” Chris explains, wiping sweat off his forehead. “Let’s go, I think Sofia’s still at the Infirmary.”

“Who?”

“Sofia, camp’s head healer. Don’t worry, she’s good! She’s healed me too, twice, I think?” Chris raised his arm up, revealing a long scar. “I got this yesterday when we were training with swords with Marco Leon.”

“You good with a sword now, Chris?” Luke asks, smiling at him as the Big House comes into view.

“I think,” Chris says, unsure. “I’m still getting the hang of it.”

“I can help you, if you’d like?”

Chris’ eyes light up at the offer. “Really?”

Luke nods, remembering the times he fought monsters with the sword he and Thalia came upon months ago. “I’ve gotten good with a sword, I guess.”

“Teach me, teach me, teach me!” Chris begs, causing Luke to chuckle.

“Of course,” Luke agrees, still chuckling. “Tomorrow, then?”

Chris smiles at his older brother, wrapping his arms around Luke, causing him to stumble back. “Thank you!”

Luke smiles back, patting the boy awkwardly on the back. He’s never had anyone else hug him like this other than Annabeth. For a moment, Luke thought about his little sister. Would she be jealous that he has another sibling? It was nice to have someone rely on him as an older figure. He felt that for the first time, when he and Thalia first found Annabeth, Luke felt responsible for the first time in his life—he had a family, one he didn’t have growing up.

“You’re welcome, kid,” Luke chuckles as Chris pulls away. “Now come on, let’s get my nose fixed.”

The two stepped inside the Big House, Chris leading Luke to the infirmary.

As soon as the duo entered, Luke was engulfed with the smell of freshly baked cookies. It must be the ambrosia. There were cabinets—a lot of them—lining the walls; they were filled with jars of nectar and cubes of ambrosia wrapped individually and sitting in baskets. There were also tables with medical equipment—like bandages, gauze, antiseptics, and more. Luke wondered why he and Annabeth hadn’t noticed the contents of the room earlier; maybe they were just too tired to even notice.

“I see you have a broken nose.” A voice spoke, startling Luke. The girl looked around Matt’s age; she had short blonde hair with pink ends and was wearing scrubs. She reminded Luke of the nurse in the show Thalia showed him once. “Hi, I’m Sofia.” she smiled, reaching out a hand for him to shake. 

“Luke,” Luke smiles back, taking her hand. Sofia seemed kind; that was good. Luke had a fear of nurses before; when he was in kindergarten, he needed a flu shot, and the nurse who gave him the vaccine was not very nice.

“Let me guess, a certain Aphrodite kid?” Sofia asked, pulling her hand away with a knowing smile.

“How’d you know?”

“Well, with the number of kids I had to fix up in the past two years, I’d say I know who the culprit is. A pretty little devil, she is.”

Chris sat down on one of the beds, his feet swaying back and forth. “Maya punched him super hard, and it’s his first day,”

“And on your first day?” Sofia chuckles, making her way towards one of the cabinets, grabbing a basket full of ambrosia and a few jars of nectar. She placed them on one of the tables; maybe it was a refill of stocks, but Luke wasn’t sure. “You’ve got guts, huh?”

“You could say that,” Luke laughed sheepishly. “I just tried to be friends with her.”

“Yeah, right,” Sofia laughs, not believing Luke in the slightest. “Sit beside Chris, I’ll clean that blood off,” she says, jerking her head in Chris’ direction.

Luke nods, making his way to sit beside his brother as he watches Sofia get some cotton balls and alcohol from the tables around the room.

“Here, eat this,” Sofia gave him half a square of ambrosia. It smelled like the cookies his mother used to bake—the good ones that weren’t burned to a crisp. Luke muttered a quick thank you before taking a bite.

Sofia poured alcohol onto the cotton ball. "Okay, so what did you do to earn a broken nose?”

“He tried flirting with Maya,” Chris answers with a grin. “We tried to warn him, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“You should’ve listened,” Sofia hummed, cleaning the blood off Luke's skin. “That girl? She’s a feisty one.”

“Yeah, a real spitfire.” Luke snorts, shaking his head slightly. His thoughts went back to the girl in question, her voice as sweet as honey replaying in his head. Luke wondered if every child of Aphrodite was like her, with a voice so enticing.

“There,” Sofia says, putting the used cotton ball to the side. “All clean! Just finish up the ambrosia, and you’ll be good, unless you get acquainted with Maya’s fist again.”

Probably will. “I won’t, thanks.” Luke hopped off the table, Chris following suit.

“Thanks, Sofia!” Chris waves before getting out the door with Luke.

“Don’t get into trouble!” Luke hears Sofia call out, making him chuckle. Trouble, what a strange concept for a runaway son of Hermes.

“Come on, let’s go to our cabin. I bet Matt’s already got you somewhere to sleep.”

“Why is everything so far apart?” Luke mutters as the two walk out of the Big House.

“Dunno,” Chris shrugs. “I think everyone’s just gotten used to it.”

“You’re used to it?”

Chris shakes his head. “No, but I try to. I mean, I’m not gonna get anywhere if I don’t walk.”

“Fair point,”

The two continued to walk, passing by the volleyball pit with high school age kids playing a heated match and then the canoe lake, where a few kids were chatting and others were paddling on boats. 

Finally, they arrived at the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. Each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), and they looked absolutely nothing like Luke expected. 

Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory. Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass. Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight that it was almost impossible to look at. They all faced a common area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops. In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined fire pit. 

Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most like a regular old camp cabin, with an emphasis on Old. The threshold was worn down, and the brown paint was peeling. Over the doorway was a caduceus. Inside, it was packed with people, both boys and girls—way more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over the floor. Luke thought Hermes was the god of money, and he can’t even afford a bigger cabin?

“Luke, over here!  ” Luke heard Matt’s voice calling him over. He made his way towards Matt while Chris sped off to some of the other campers who were all hunched over something Luke thought to be interesting to a nine-year-old.

“I got you a sleeping bag.” Matt jerked his head towards the sleeping bag on the floor. “And some toiletries from the camp store. Grover brought over your things too.”

“Thanks, Matt,”

“No problem.” Matt smiles, giving him a pat on the arm. 

Luke took a look around the worn-out cabin. All the campers were younger than him, even the ones during lunch were significantly younger too. He wonders how on earth Matt managed to look after a cabin full of kids. Since with Thalia and Annabeth, Luke was on the verge of pulling his own hair out.

“Hey, Luke?”

“Yeah?” Luke hums, his attention going back to Matt.

“I’m going off to college by the end of August,”

“Oh,” Luke murmured, wondering why he’s telling him that he’s going to college in two months. “Good for you.”

“You’re the oldest, after me,” Matt explains. “I think you’d be a great head counselor for eleven.”

“Me?” Luke asks, confused as to why Matt thinks he’d be a great counselor.

“Yeah, you’re the best candidate, since you’re fourteen and quite responsible.”

Luke sighs, shaking his head. “I’m honored, Matt, really, but I don’t think I can handle it.”

“Of course, you can! You’ve taken care of a kid before, right? Annabeth? It’ll be fine, trust me. And besides, you’ll get my bunk!”

Luke raises a brow at him. “That’s comforting, how?”

“Come on, it’s a good deal. I mean, you get a comfy bed.” Matt pushed, hoping Luke would agree.

“Again, how?”

“You’d have a few benefits, like staying out late, chaperoning trips to Olympus, and giving out orders and punishments.”

Luke thought about it. Staying out late did sound nice, especially when he wanted to get some time alone. Chaperoning seems a little overwhelming, but giving out orders and punishments is tempting. “Alright, I agree.”

Matt clapped his hands together. “Great! I’ll tell Chiron by the end of next month. But you’ve got to keep it a secret, alright? We don’t need people getting mad about the decision.”

“My lips are sealed,” Luke chuckles, running a finger over his lips, as if he were zipping them.

“Now, come on, let’s get you toured!”

Luke stumbles into the dining pavilion with Matt and Chris, laughing heartily. The boys, sweaty and hungry, made their way to their table for dinner—barbeque brisket and mac and cheese, which made Luke’s stomach grumble at the smell alone.

“I’m starving!” Chris says, plopping onto one of the seats of eleven. “I think I can eat a whole bowl of food!”

Luke sat beside him, grinning from ear to ear. “Me too; I think I could eat a whole pegasus,” he laughs, reaching for a grape from the bowl in the middle of their table as he takes a look around the pavilion in search of Annabeth.

He spots Annabeth, smiling happily at one of her sisters, as she explains something—about architecture, Luke assumed, since Annabeth babbles about it most of the time—to her. Luke waves at his little sister, who beams at him and waves back before turning back to face her sister.

Luke's gaze then fell on the table right across his, flaming red hair settling into his view. Maya had her hair done in some sort of braid, Luke didn’t know what it was called, but it was pretty. It made her look like a Greek princess—duh—as she talked to one of her brothers, a strawberry blush on her cheeks and lips matching her locks.

“You’re staring at her,” Matt whispers in his ear with a chuckle. “Careful, you don’t want another broken nose.”

“I wasn’t staring,” Luke scowls at his brother, rolling his eyes. “I was thinking of how to make her fall in love with me.” 

“Tough luck, kid!” Matt laughs, shaking his head. “She’s a hard one; as I’ve told you, she’s the–”

“I know, she’s the devil reincarnate, you’ve been telling me the whole day.”

Matt sighs, taking a sip of his drink. “So, stop trying your luck, it’s not worth any of the trouble.”

“Yeah, but you’ve got to admit that it’s fun.” Luke chuckles, reaching for the goblet in front of him. “What do I do again with this?”

“Ask it for whatever you want to drink, non-alcoholic, of course,” Matt answers before chugging his own drink. “Like so, raspberry lemonade.”

Luke watches as the cup fills on its own with pink liquid. “Woah,” he mumbles, before turning to his own. “Cherry coke.” The goblet in his hands filled as quickly as Matt’s did, fizzy dark liquid right in front of his eyes. “So cool!”

Luke wonders what Annabeth asked for in the goblet. His little sister never liked fizzy drinks; she says it makes her tummy feel funny. Maybe she went for a lemonade, like Matt, or an orange or pineapple juice because of its benefits, as she’s told him and Thalia so many times to even count. Thalia would prefer a crisp root beer. No more questions with that; Luke’s learned that the hard way.

Luke’s eyes landed again on Maya, making him wonder what her favorite drink is too. Maybe strawberry soda? Or maybe she doesn’t like soda? Maybe she prefers juice, like Annabeth does. Whatever she preferred, Luke was sure it was delicious, like his cherry coke.

“You coming to the bonfire later or are you heading straight to bed?” Chris asks through bites of food, sounding a little unintelligible, but Luke manages to understand.

“What do you guys even do at bonfires?”

"Well, for starters, we sing,” Matt chuckles. “But usually, the Aphrodite kids request songs that are, in my opinion, better than what we got used to singing. Down by the Aegean? Hell no, Uptown Girl is better.”

“I heard Chiron’s going to announce whether we have Capture the Flag next week.” One of the campers in table eleven piped up.

“Capture the flag?”

“It’s a camp tradition, kind of like War Games,” Matt answers, seeming a little excited. “It’s a weekly game, although it’s been canceled for the last two weeks because of a flu outbreak. It’s where two teams are given a flag each to protect. To win, one team must capture the opponent’s flag and bring it over the creek, which is the border.”

“Sounds fun,” Luke comments. “Which team are we on?”

“Blue,” Matt grumbles, turning to look at the Ares table. “With cabins six and seven.”

“Athena and Apollo, right?”

“Yeah,” Matt nods, sighing softly. “The losing team.”

“Red always wins,” Chris says, a frown making its way onto his lips. “Ares, Aphrodite, Demeter, Dionysus, and Hephaestus. Matt says it’s been years since Blue won a match.”

“Aphrodite plays in the games?” Luke snorts. “Aren’t they supposed to be prissy princes and princesses?”

“Wish they were,”

Luke turned to look back at table ten. Maya was sitting on the table, legs crossed over each other, as she laughed with a boy around their age. Luke was sure that the boy wasn’t her sibling—judging by the way he looked at her, that weasel of a boy had intentions. Luke wasn’t that worried, since Maya looked like she knew what she was doing. Another notch on her belt, perhaps, that boy.

All of a sudden, an idea came into Luke’s mind. The son of Hermes stood up from his seat, fixing his shirt (as if that would help) and messing his hair up slightly. 

“Where are you going?” Matt asks, eyes narrowed at Luke. “Don’t you think about it, Luke,” he warned, despite knowing that Luke would.

“Watch me get the girl,” Luke smirks at his brother, before sauntering over to the table right across eleven’s.

Matt groaned, shaking his head. “Why must you give me stubborn siblings, Dad?” He mutters, running a hand over his face in frustration.

As soon as Luke arrives at table ten, he smiles at the daughters of Aphrodite before slinging his arm over Maya’s shoulder—who didn’t seem to notice his presence until now.

The head counselor of cabin ten glares at him, but before she could utter a word, Luke turned his attention to the confused boy in front of them. “Hey man, what are you doing talking to my girl?” Luke asks, raising a brow at the boy standing just a few inches away.

Maya scoffs, pushing Luke’s arm off of her. “I am not-”

“You can go now,” Luke tells the boy, waving his hand and dismissing him like a servant he’s seen in shows before. The boy glares at Luke before making his way back to his own table, which was Hephaestus’.

“You son of a bitch!” Maya hisses, pushing him away from her. Her eyes turned an angry shade of black, and she glared at him intensely. “Do you have any fucking idea who you’re messing with!?”

“My, my, princess, such vulgar language,” Luke grins, leaning forward, leaving little over an inch of space between him and the devil.

“Let's not repeat lunch, shall we?” Maya says through gritted teeth, her eyes shifting back to emerald green as she takes three steps away  from Luke.

"Oh, but princess, I don't think you'd want to hit me with Chiron around, do you?” Luke smirks, leaning against the table slightly, looking a little arrogant for Maya’s liking.

“You think I won’t, newbie?”

“I think,” Luke starts, rubbing his chin dramatically, like he’s seen Thalia do before when they acted out shows for Annabeth. “You’re pretty hot when you’re mad.”

“You’ve got some nerve, don’t you?” Maya scowls at Luke, folding her arms over her chest.

“What? I’m just trying to be nice, princess.”

“I swear to the gods, if you call me that one more time, newbie,”

“You’ll what?” Luke taunts, taking a step forward, a smirk on his annoying face.

“You’re fucking asking for it.” Maya growls, grabbing his arm and twisting it over his back with a hard thrust. Everyone was looking at them, and it got Luke wondering why anyone hasn’t stopped her yet. 

“Ouch, woman! Violence is never the answer!” Luke struggled in her grasp; for a girl, the son of Hermes had to admit that she was strong—stronger than Thalia, perhaps? Maybe Luke could beat the daughter of Aphrodite in a sword fight, though. 

Maya let go of his arm, pushing him slightly away. “That should teach you,” she smiled, that sickeningly sweet smile of hers that was beginning to grow on him. The head of cabin ten turned around, making her way back to her seat, her long hair dancing like flames in the evening light.

“Damn, princess, you’re making this harder for me than it is for you,” Luke smirks, shaking his arm to make sure he can still move it after Maya’s attempt to break it. 

Maya stopped in her tracks, just barely an inch from her seat beside Silena, and before Luke Castellan could avoid it, Amaya Williams charged at him, her fist colliding with his face, again.

taglist: @lilmaymayy @mxtokko @ma1dita @jennapancake @sc4rl3ttdafoxx

#luke castellan story #luke castellan fanfiction #luke castellan fanfic #pjo luke #luke castellan x oc #luke castellan x aphrodite!oc #luke castellan x amaya williams #luke castellan x maya williams #luke castellan pjo #luke castellan series #luke castellan fic #pjo luke castellan #luke castellan #percy jackson #pjo #pjo fanfic #luke x amaya #luke x maya #maya williams #amaya williams #fanfiction #pjo series #luke pjo #luke castellan x oc!daughter of aphrodite #aphrodite cabin #hermes cabin #camp half blood #fanfic

[journalsouppe]

Ever since I accidentally picked up and played DGS, I knew I needed to play PLVSPW. I decided to alternate playing ace attorney games with professor layton games until I finished the main trilogies for both and could finally play plvspw, and it was so worth the wait. I love this game so much it is everything I could have hoped and more, so so so much more. Highly recommend to honestly anyone!!!

All of the Professor Layton stickers are from jordydrawsmerch which can be found here and here. All of the Phoenix stickers are by Peachcott!! Every other sticker is from Daiso!

Writing typed below!

Rating: 9.7 Played: Fa 2023 Port: 3DS Favorite? Y Replayable? Y Recommend? Y

Comments

AA stickers by Peachcott, PL stickers by Jordydraws

THE MUSIC???

WITHCES??? TALOS???

HIS NAME IS NOT FUCKING CAR ACCIDENT

I like the UI esp with how the stylus interacts with the screen

Omg the yiga

Omg traveling is easier AND they give you coin and puzzle hints

OH IM JUST NOW IN CORT AFTER THAT INSANE SEQ

WHAT IS GOING ON

LOVE maya’s model

THE REUSED ASPECTS IN DGS OMG

THE CUNTY POSE AAAA

THE PIPE WHACK LMAO

WHITE PAYNE

Love the design of labyrinthia

Im curious if nick and maya will be bombarded with puzzles

I LOVE how the 3D and tech of the 3DS are used to make more dynamic puzzles

A LIVE EXECUTION?

Lmao B&W LSOH moment (Kira ate flowers which is smth that happened in the original non-musical little shop of horrors movie)

SOME GUY

WHAT DO YOU MEAN MAYA AND NICK HAVE BEEN HERE FOR 5 YEARS

Cinderellia lol

Omg the book roof

Labyrinthia at night music is sooo pretty

Kira is the killer… right?

I am so stressed about Luke and maya

Hershel to see the storyteller??

THE PRINCESS TUTU AND DROSSELMEYER VIBSE ARE OFF THE CHARTS

Luke is too small for the defense table T_T

THE STORYTELLERS DAUGHTER??

THE BELL TOWER??

Curse…

LUKE NOOO

WHAT IS GOING ON?? T-T

LMAO NOT ANOTHER PARROT WITNESS

BARNHAM NOO

Top of town so pretty

Major shrek 2 vibes

Is that a bust of cabanela

Layton said lets go somewhere more private LMFAO

I love the nick and Luke dynamic… but at what cost T_T

LAYTON’S ??? AND HIS THEME AHHH

HERSHEL NOOOO

Obsessed with rouge’s design and tattoo

THE WAY I SCREAMED WHEN I SAW HERSHEL AHHH

Love the assistant/mentor switch

MAYA EATING RAMEN AND HERSHEL DRINKING TEA IN THEIR PIXEL ART

^ Maya copies other idles! luke writes in his journal and nick reads his paper!

LOVE darklaws claws!

the vigilante witnesses....

is it really a layton game if there's no tower

GOD DAMN HERSHEL love his sword fighting

omg who is bezella

will layton act as the prosecutor??

the battle against the professor is so nerve wracking

just learned why its called pl VS pw

GO OFF KIRA

ESPELLA AND DARKLAW AS KIDS AWW T^T <333

ooo darklaw's laws have the eyes on them

the "magic" is so complicated

i feel like eve the cat is v important but overlooked

WHERE IS LUKE I MISS HIM T^T

love the belfry search

ooo this is like princess tutu x tunic

this took a sharp turn omg

THESE LADIES T~T

FORK LIFT CERTIFIED LUKE LMAO

BARNHAM!

love eve's black outfit

YURI LETS GO

PROF??

EDGEWORTH??

Summary

This game is everything I hoped it would be. yes it's a Professor Layton crossover, but it also has the charm of DGS x Princess tutu x tunic. The ending was very layton-esque, along with all the reveals. I truly had such an amazing time playing this game. I was initially introduced to this because I heard that DGS was inspired by it, so it was my mission to play both aa and pl's original trilogies before playing. And I am so glad I did bc the wait was so worth it. You can absolutely see the influence this game and professor layton had on Shu Takumi. There's so much passion and creativity between plvspw an dgs that makes playing them all the more enjoyable. I loved how all the main characters interacted with each other, I especially loved how hershel and phoenix swapped assistants. The new characters were also so fun. Espella, Barnham, Darklaw, the story-teller, they were all so unique and enjoyable to interact with. The animation was stellar. This 3D style really works for both PL and AA and im so glad both series took inspiration from it. The music and art was phenomenal, this game honestly should win awards if it hasn't already done so. I also love how any character pulled into an aa game will have their gay moments: phoenix x hershel and espella x eve especially. I can't wait to make art or even write for this game, I will definitely add scenes from this to my ballet au ^^! What a phenomenal game, what a fun premise with the most convoluted layton-esque ending. It was so perfectly I highly recommend!!

#journalsouppe #bullet journal #journal #video game journal #ace attorney #professor layton #plvspw #professor layton vs phoenix wright #plvspwaa #plvspw spoilers

[sc0tters]

its devs au day people!

#luke x isabel #luke x blake #nico x harper #john x maya #jack x riley #nico x photographer

[siblingshowdown]

Sibling Showdown!!!

This showdown consists of 64 sibling sets facing off against each other, as well as a few one-off polls of sets who didn’t make the actual bracket but who I wanted to include in some capacity.  Polls will last a week.  Round One of section A will go live on April 16, with section B going live the day after, section C the day after that, and section D the day after that.

Propaganda is allowed!  I just ask that it be kept positive.  Argue for your faves instead of against someone else’s.  Every sibling set who made it in the showdown is there because someone wanted them to be, so keep it kind.

Will the winners be the siblings that love each other the most?  That are most capable of killing other sibling groups with their bare hands?  That have the most sibling swag?  It’s up to you to decide!  You get to choose the manner and parameters you judge each sibling set for.

Section A:

Edward and Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) vs. Seiko and Ryuunosuke Tanaka (Haikyuu!!)

Wirt and Greg (Over the Garden Wall) vs.  Han Yoojin and Han Yoohyun (The S-Classes That I Raised)

Shigeo and Ritsu Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100) vs.  Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long (RWBY)

Sans and Papyrus (Undertale) vs. Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado (Demon Slayer)

Jiang Yanli, Wei Wuxian, and Jiang Cheng (Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Untamed) vs. Hikaru and Kaoru (Ouran High School Host Club)

Vi and Jinx (Arcane) vs. Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara (Naruto)

Sokka and Katara (Avatar: the Last Airbender) vs. Maya and Mia Fey (Ace Attorney)

Vash the Stampede and Millions Knives (Trigun) vs.  Lucas and Claus (Mother 3)

Section B:

Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo Hamato (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) vs. Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack Parr (The Incredibles)

Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner (The Animaniacs) vs. Jazz and Danny Fenton (Danny Phantom)

Huey, Dewey, and Louie (Ducktales) vs. Sitka, Denahi, and Kenai (Brother Bear)

Dion, Frazie, Razputin, Mirtala, and Queepie Aquato (Psychonauts) vs. Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, and Private (Madagascar)

Eda and Lilith Clawthorne (The Owl House) vs. Snap, Crackle, and Pop (Rice Krispies)

Bonnie and Clemont (Pokemon X and Y) vs. Annika and Brietta (Barbie: Magic of Pegasus)

Candace, Phineas, and Ferb (Phineas and Ferb) vs. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup (Powerpuff Girls)

Nani and Lilo Pelekai (Lilo and Stitch) vs. Kai and Nya (Lego Ninjago)

Section C:

Maddie and Buck Buckley (911) vs. Steven, Shirley, Theo, Luke, and Nell Crain (The Haunting of HIll House)

David and Alexis Rose (Schitt’s Creek) vs. Dennis and Dee Reynolds (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)

Jonathan Byers, Will Byers, and El Hopper (Stranger Things) vs.  Prue, Piper, and Phoebe (Charmed)

Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Five, Ben, Viktor Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy tv) vs. Mary, Billy, Freddy, Pedro, Eugene, and Darla (Shazam! movies)

Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain-Wayne, and Duke Thomas (DC comics) vs. Simon and River Tam (Firefly)

Elliot and Darlene Alderson (Mr. Robot) vs. Kara and Alex Danvers (Supergirl TV)

Connor, Kendall, Siobhan, and Roman Roy (Succession) vs. Sharpay and Ryan Evans (High School Musical)

Thor and Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe) vs. Sarah and Felix (Orphan Black)

Section D:

Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, Amrod, and Amras (The Silmarillion) vs. Antigone, Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene (Greek Mythology/Sophocles’s Theban plays)

Coronabeth and Ianthe Tridentarius (The Locked Tomb) vs. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia)

Nico and Bianca Di Angelo (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) vs. Declan, Ronan, and Matthew Lynch (The Raven Cycle/The Dreamer Trilogy)

Alec, Isabelle, Max Lightwood, and Jace Herondale-Lightwood (Shadowhunters) vs. Lark and Sparrow Oak (Dungeons and Daddies)

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire (A Series of Unfortunate Events) vs. Linus and Lucy Van Pelt (Peanuts)

Boromir and Faramir (The Lord of the Rings) vs. Bellamy and Octavia Blake (The 100)

Katniss and Primrose Everdeen (The Hunger Games) vs. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March (Little Women)

Kiryu Kazuma and Nishikiyama Akira (Yakuza) vs. Cain and Abel (the Torah/the Bible)

#mod note #tumblr poll #tumblr tournament #tumblr bracket #sibling showdown #sibling tournament #if someone knows where i can make a better visual of the bracket that you can actually read please let me know #i'm struggling here #but here we are! #a few of these first rounds are going to greatly disappoint me when my faves lose #but figuring this out was tedious without also trying to rig it to my favor

[tastymarbar]

so it occurred to me that technically. technically the crossover takes place before AJ based on Phoenix and Maya's designs so erm uh luke is in his 20s and my silly little autism brain went "....so apollo x luke" so UM I DID A SHIP MEME FOR IT HEEHEE

also shout out to @naturelover294 for coming with the banger ship name (apolluke)

#mar does a ship meme #(I guess????) #apolluke #this just in can mar get a thing going #professor layton #ace attorney #apollo justice #luke triton #(I like to think they meet post DD so luke is 21 here) #(also changed the bug on bc gentleman do not squish bugs and luke is a gentleman) #(did I make a whole new-ish outfit for luke? yes)

[caughtupinheaven]

posting again bc i feel my muse slowly rebounding from my writers block. i'm on the hunt for some specific pairings. bold is who i would want to use/be writing as. i'm mostly into slice of life plots but love fluff, angst and/or smut (happy to explore all of the above.) hmu if you are interested (please specify which pairing[s]) or like this and i’ll come to you!

shelley hennig x dylan o'brien

crystal reed x daniel sharman

renee rapp x lola tung

margot robbie/any other female x nicholas galitzine (nick is one of my wanted opps rn, so i would play other f’s against him. just love how he looks w margot)

chase sui wonders x luke hemmings

annasophia robb x josh hutcherson

maia reficco x kit connor

taylor swift x harry styles

maya hawke x any female fc

natalia dyer x any male fc

cody christian x any female fc (my cody oc has a complicated history, i can give you a backstory as part of an interest check)

jennifer morrison x any older (35/40+) male fc

shailene woodley x any male fc/female fc (platonic for female.)

#1x1 #1x1 rp #discord rp #discord 1x1