#plus he's the only one who's actually sorry about owen

[sheisjoeschateau]

"Oh, so we DO love Steve..." | Part X

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ SERIES MASTERLIST ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

Steve Harrington x Bauman!fem!reader enemies to lovers, heavy angst, hurt/comfort, upside down mayhem, S2-S4, post S4 universe hot-take, end-of-the-world / dystopian setting, ugly fights turned smut (...but with hella plot). 18+

CHAPTER X WARNINGS/NOTES: t.w.'s - strong language, more angst, mention of dr*g abuse during childhood trauma, mentions of death and injuries, Max in a coma, fearful tears, shared sadness, major end-of-the-world terror talk. 18+

AUTHOR'S NOTE: As we dive deeper into just how in love Steve and Bauman continue to fall...we also dive deeper into darkness.

We get a glimpse into the childhood past of Bauman Squared.

Steve finally gets to laugh again with his kids -- and with the girl he wants to have his own kids with one day.

Dr. Owens comes back, but it's not why they expected. Erica is given the hardest burden of all. Robin & Eddie are the whacky aunt and uncle that everyone needed and basically get shit back on track while being thrown hard news. Argyle is actually just a kind dude. Nancy is pulling away, while Jonathan finally feels the gut-punching gravity of what he is losing. Jopper is still carrying the weight of both worlds.

And surprise, b*tches: DIMITRI IS BACK AND BOY IS HE SOOO BACK.

Lastly: chicken nuggets. That is all.

WHILE THIS IS A FANFICTION STORY: IT IS STILL MY WRITING. PLEASE RIGHTFULLY CREDIT ME WHEN REPOSTING OR SHARING. I DO NOT GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO POST MY WRITING AS YOUR OWN. - MISHA @sheisjoeschateau PROOFREAD UNTIL MY EYES BLED. IF THERE ARE STILL TYPOS, SORRY BOUT IT. 18+

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OH SO WE DO LOVE STEVE | Chapter X

“Why do I feel like this is some sort of twisted intervention?”

Erica Sinclair stood in the kitchen next to Murray as he cooked up something to share with a table of adults and teens — plus her.

“In a way, it is,” Murray responded to her as he stirred his ingredients. 

“...okayyyy,” Erica sassed, suspiciously.  “...then why do you want me here but not my brother or my other friends?”

Murray rolled his eyes.  Erica’s attitude was truly the one thing that could bring Murray’s entire mental empire crumbling down like a tower of cards being blown over by a gust of wind.  He pointed his spatula in her direction.

“Think of it this way, kiddo,” he said through a wry, condescending smirk.  “It’s like getting invited to sit at the adults’ table instead of the kids’ table for thanksgiving.  And you’re the only one we’re inviting before you get to go up there and hang out with your little friends.  Alright?”

Erica narrowed her eyes.  “What do I need to know that they don’t?”

Sauce dripped from the spatula as he stared at her.  Christ, she was relentless.  Then again…at least she seemed somewhat perturbed by the idea of knowing things before her brother and their friends.  That was pretty damn selfless for Erica Sinclair.  She cocked an eyebrow at Murray — who squinted back at her.

“Okay, why are you not as willing about this as I thought you’d be…”

“Look,” Erica said, crossing her arms.  “If I’m going to be made to keep a secret?  I need to know all the facts first.  Especially if I have to keep it from my brother.  And Steve.  And Bauman.”

Murray sighed through his nose.  She was right.  Mature, and right.

“I don’t want you to keep it a secret for good,” Murray clarified, speaking slowly.  “I just — we just need you to be made aware of some things before we bring it to everyone else’s attention.  And truth be told?  Harrington needs a break.  So does my niece.  And your friends?  They need some time with mom and dad.  You do, too.  But right now?  You’re the party member in charge of taking on some big information before we spread it to the rest of them.  And quite frankly?  I’m counting on you to help me — and the rest of us — help break it to them.  Got it?”

Erica let all of that land, her guarded expression softening into one of civil understanding.  She pursed her lips, considering this.  Finally, she nodded.

“Alright.  Deal.”

Murray shot her a thumbs up, resuming his cooking.

“That’s really lumpy,” Erica pointed to his saucepan with a soured expression.

“Ohforheaven'ssake —”

__________________________

Robin had taken on laundry duty on Steve’s behalf, knowing that Jonathan intended to talk with him.  Which is why she’d asked Nancy to help her with it, and it has turned out to be a good thing.

Nancy was clearly fraying at the seams.  There was a lot going through her mind, and it was all spiraling fast.  She needed someone to talk to, but none of her options seemed safe. 

She had no idea how or when to break everything she had been feeling to Steve. 

Her relationship with Jonathan was so tense and strained, any conversation shared with him had just blown up. 

And her mom would need to know everything about the upside down, in order to give her proper advice…and at this rate, that option seemed to have no place in this world. 

She couldn’t go to Joyce, because that’s Jonathan’s mom. 

Hopper and Murray were out of the question. 

She wasn’t close enough with Eddie to even consider it. 

And Argyle?  Well, he’d said about as much as he could say.  Far more than what she’d expected, if she was being honest.  

Nancy’s only other option was Robin Buckley.

“God, I swear — the air’s a disease at this point.”

Robin had sat next to Nancy on the porch, carrying the laundry basket.  Nancy quickly wiped a few stray tears, which Robin pretended not to notice – even when Nancy shot her a very forced, tight-lipped grin.

“Yeah,” Nancy chuckled wetly.  “It’s uhh, yeah.  Plagued at this point.  Thanks, Vecna.”

Robin nodded with a smirk.  “Yeah.  Thanks a lot, Vecna.  Fuck you, man.”

That made Nancy giggle, which Robin was grateful to see.  She decided to start off slow, not wanting to force anything.  After all, clearly Nancy was clearly going through it.  And the way she and Robin had started off?  Not great.  Buckley was definitely not trying to push her luck.  Sure, the two of them had gotten along super well as time passed, truly becoming friends while living in Steve’s house.  But they weren’t exactly best friends.  Friends for sure.  But not like Nancy and Barb had been.  Not even close.

“You know,” Robin mused.  “Sometimes, I think back to high school and how…I never really had a best friend while I was there.  Not like you did.”

That made Nancy turn to look at her, curiosity radiating for her bright blue eyes.

“You and Barb,” Robin explained.  “You two were thick as thieves.  She always made sure to take extra notes in Click’s class for you.”

Nancy’s eyes shone with melancholy fondness.  “She did…?”

“Yeah,” Robin smiled.  “Always.  Saved them on little flashcards and everything.  She was always like, ‘I gotta make sure I get this for Nance.’  Or whenever something crazy went down in the classroom, I could tell she was just itching to tell you about during lunch or after school.”

Nancy beamed at that.  She shook her head, grinning widely.  “God, I swear… Barb was like — like that little old lady who couldn’t help but wanna gossip.  Even though she hated drama, she loved it at the same time.  As long as it wasn’t hers or ours.”

“That totally tracks,” Robin snorted.  “What an icon, really.”

“Schyeah,” Nancy giggled wholeheartedly.  “Yeah, she…she was the best.”

Robin watched as Nancy gnawed at her lip, feeling the wave of sadness wash over her.  

“I just wish…” Nancy murmured, voice shaky.  “Just wish that I could…talk to her sometimes, you know?  Not just to tell her how sorry I am.  For everything that happened before she…”

Nancy’s voice trailed off.  Robin dared to reach over and touch her shoulder, relieved when Nancy didn’t push her away or tense underneath her touch.

“I just wanna ask her questions,” Nancy’s voice shook.  “So many questions, like…like the way we used to.  As best friends.  About — everything.  Life, family, love…friends…the end of the fucking world…”

Robin nodded.  “Yeah.  Yeah, I know.”

Because Robin did know.  Whenever she had become best friends with Steve, it had made her world significantly brighter.  Her heart was full, and her soul had been lifted out of its constant anxiety-ridden state.  Robin had been so closed off to bonding with anyone, especially the likes of Steve Harrington.  Little did she know, that guy would end up being her truest best friend and confidant.  The one she could lean on, tell anything to and count on for the rest of her life.  However short that might be, given the end of the world… But she had Steve by her side, trusting him with every secret she had and her literal life in his hands.  

Barb had been that for Nancy.  But she was gone.

“I don’t know what to do,” Nancy’s voice cracked.  She looked over at Robin with tear rimmed eyes, fighting them from falling as she bit down on her trembling lip.  “About…anything.”

Robin kept listening, wanting so badly to go on a rant but willing herself not to.  Because right now, it’s Nancy who needs to rant.  She needed to ramble until she couldn’t anymore.

“I’ve been so…God, I’ve been so in love with Jonathan since we met and…got through all of this together.  It just…just...worked.  Clicked, made sense.  Way more sense than Steve, but — but Steve and I, we…what we had was…it was real.  Really real.  Even Barb saw it, she just — just didn’t want me getting hurt, or…losing myself for a guy.  But I didn’t really.  Steve never pushed me to do anything that I didn’t wanna do, or…wasn’t ready for.  Ever.  Not once.  He was kind to me, and…and I feel like…like I just… I think I’m the one who did wrong by him.  Not the other way around.  All because I just felt so…lost, and conflicted, and scared, and unsure, and…and…”

Nancy curled in on herself, tears falling down her cheeks as she ducked her face out of sight.  But Robin scooched closer to her, enveloping her into a comforting embrace as she wept.  And Nancy let her, allowing herself to lean against her.

“I told him what we had was bullshit and it wasn’t,” Nancy cried bitterly.  “It wasn’t, he's not -- I was just…so fucking mad that Barb was gone.  And it was easier to blame Steve, all because he wasn’t hurting the way that I was.  The way that I still am.  But that’s — that’s n-not — b-because he d-doesn’t…c-care…”  

Nancy’s shoulders convulsed, and Robin’s heart broke for her as she held her tighter.

“B-but Jonathan had lost Will, so h-he…he got it.  H-he knew wh-what I was…going through… And I-I j-just felt...so r-right with him.  Because l-looking at him didn’t remind me of…of…”

Nancy choked on a sob.  

Robin knew she meant Barb.  She didn’t have to say it.

“I’m angry.  For me, for Barb, for Steve, for Jonathan…my mom, dad, Mike…everyone.  All the time.  And I just d-don’t know what to do, because…Jonathan shut me o-out, and w-wanted to b-break up with m-me all because he felt like…he was…holding me back, and wouldn’t just t-talk…to me…and then S-Steve… Steve, h-he wanted me back b-but now…h-he…he loves…he loves…”

Nancy ugly cried into her palms, muffling the noise so that it wouldn’t be heard from anyone inside.  Robin clung to her, rocking them back and forth with some gentle, soothing shushes.

“He loves her, Robin,” Nancy cried, heartbreak and anguish lacing her voice.  “He loves her, and s-she loves him back.  S-so much…b-better than I d-did…and I…I should be…so h-happy for him.  And h-her, but I just…I just…wonder if I…did I…did I m-mess up…?  Did I lose the p-person I was s-supposed to b-be with?  I just didn’t…think he’d…move on…and that’s so…fucking SELFISH of me…”

Robin squeezed her.  “It’s not selfish.  It’s human.  Steve is amazing.  But Nancy…it’s okay that you didn’t go back to him.”

“But you thought I should,” Nancy leaned back now.  She looked at Robin dead in the eye with bloodshot, red rimmed eyes.  They swam in regrets, sorrows and bitterness.

“You and Eddie both thought that we should,” she said, voice croaked and upset.  “Y-you both…thought that we…shouldn’t have…broken up, or…”

“You’re right,” Robin admitted, feeling bad but deciding it was best to just own up to it.  “You’re right, I did.  We did.  Me and Eddie.  But Nancy…sometimes we’re just so distracted by what seems right…that we can’t see what’s actually right in front of us.”

Nancy looked at her quizzically.  Robin sighed.

“Look, when you left Steve,” Robin explained, taking her hand into both of hers.  “Back in senior year, and you got with Jonathan…you two had your own journey.  You had each other.  Steve?  Steve had no one during his — except for the kids…and Bauman.  Because back then, he didn’t know yet.  He didn’t know about her and Murray intervening —”

“Yeah, I know,” Nancy said bitterly.  “We all know that now.”

“Just hear me out,” Robin pleaded with her softly.  “I promise, I’m with you, alright?”

Nancy stared at her for a moment, finally softening her tense jaw and nodding once.  Robin picked back up, on cue.

“Steve still had a lot of growing up to do.  On his own.  Dustin was the first to reach out to him.  Well, he basically forced himself on Steve.  And Steve needed that.  He’s an only child.  He needed a little brother to give him grief, and boss him around and pick on him.  You have Mike.  Steve didn’t have that until Dustin wormed his way into his life." Robin added with a smile, " ...and his heart.”

Nany thought about that, expression pensive with realization.

“Then Bauman came along,” Robin continued.  “She was Steve’s age… You and Jonathan were off with the adults.  He got left behind to watch the kids with her.  They went through…a lot of shit that night.  You did, too.  But so did they.  They fought off Billy Hargrove.  They protected the kids, fought off the demodogs in the tunnels.  They survived the night together.  You know what that feels like.  You and Jonathan bonded that way.  Right?”

Nancy hesitates but looks back at her, sniffing.  Eventually, she nods again.

“Right," Robin exhales deeply, proceeding. "So Steve… Steve had someone his age to be around, along with the kids.  And that was great.  Because she’s independent and badass, but also really chill and down to earth.  Like, some sort of femme tomboy.  Which Steve lowkey kind of needed, she really was exactly what --"

“Robin, I get it,” Nancy snapped, not wanting to hear about you in a complimentary way.  At least not at this moment.

“No, hear me out,” Robin insisted, giving her hands another squeeze.  “You need to hear this, Nancy, alright?  You know you’re beautiful.  You know Steve has been helplessly in love with you for years.  That’s not even a question.”  

Robin paused, shifting gears again as she refused to let Nancy look away from her.  

“...but Steve had to move on.  Or…find ways to convince himself that he could.  And Bauman?  She was there for that.  She was around, during all his growth.  And trust me – it was ugly.  You have nothing to envy there.  God, the way that they argued?  The way Steve talked to her, honestly?  Honestly.  You would’ve slapped him.  I sure as hell did a few times.  Mostly verbal slapping.  But I hit him a few times, not gonna lie.  You’ve seen the highlights of Steve’s growth.  You have seen the best parts of him, but…but Bauman was there for all of it.  She got to see it all happen in real time, from the second you and Jonathan met back up with them to right now.  And she owned up to her shit, too.  It wasn’t her fault, by no means was it her fault.  But hey, she took the hits.  Many times.  And she still ended up falling in love with Steve, who she swore was the last person who would ever win her over.  Those two knuckleheads were relentless whenever I came into the picture.  Fighting like lovers in a quarrel with absolutely zero history of affection to show for it.  But still, they got through shit together.  They put their differences aside for the kids, and when it came to fighting off the Russians?  She and Steve honestly kept me so sane.  And they kept us safe, too.  Me, Dustin and Erica.  They didn’t get along in the real world, but in the upside down world?  They did.  They didn’t even think twice.  Steve grew into a way better person because of her.  And she opened up a lot more because of him, and the kids.  She didn’t grow up with siblings either.  That’s another thing they have in common.”

Nancy took all of that in with a solemn expression.  Robin let that sink in before continuing.

“I know this is…a lot.  But really, Nancy…so much happened while you were gone.  Those two fell in love over time without even knowing it.  Shit, we didn’t know it either.  That was a plot twist for all of us — including Murray.  Despite what he says, that guy does not know everything.”

Nancy scoffed.  “I know that.”

“Of course you do.  We all do.  He does, too.  Especially now.  Now that his niece and Steve are clearly so head over heels in love with one another.”

Nancy’s heart sank at that.  She knew that it was true.

“I’m not…” Nancy mumbled, eyes downcast.  “I’m not mad at her for falling in love with him.  Or him.  I just…can’t help but wonder if I messed up.  Missed out on someone that I loved more than I allowed myself to when we were together.”

“You couldn’t have loved him more back then, Nancy,” Robin corrected her.  “Because who he was then, is not who he is now.  And who he is now is someone that Bauman has played a huge role in him becoming.”

Nancy sniffed a few times, bringing her knees to her chest and lost in thought.

“Do you still love Jonathan?”

Nancy looked at her, surprised.  “What?”

“Tell me what you’re feeling there,” Robin pressed gently.  “Why is that going wrong again?”

Nancy got defensive.  “Um, what’s wrong is that he clearly planned on leaving me while I was back here being loyal to him.”

“Right,” Robin mused.  “But…what about after he got back?  What happened then?”

Nancy opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t.  She thought about that for a while.

“We just…” she started.  “...we just…moved past it.  We let it go.”

Robin nodded slowly.  “After all you two have been through…knowing damn well that things need to be talked about…you both really thought that was best?”

“He doesn’t ever tell me how he actually feels,” Nancy snapped.  “I’m so sick of it.  I always have to push him to tell me things.  He just — shuts me out.  Clams up, retreats.  He won’t even tell me when he’s upset about something unless I make him.”

“Well then,” Robin nods.  “That’s definitely on him.  But what about you?”

Nancy scrunches her face in confusion.  

“Why didn’t you tell him how you felt either?” Robin asks, unblinking.

Nancy stares at her, not knowing how to answer that.

“I told him that I love him,” Nancy whispers.  “And that I…that we’re fine.”

Robin’s expression softens.  “Do you wanna be?”

Nancy’s face crumbles.  “I…I want…”

Robin waits, not knowing what to expect but knowing that it’s getting somewhere.  

“I want him to love me again,” Nancy cries in despair.  “I want him to fight for me, and — and love me the way that I thought that he did.  That he would.  That he always would —”

Robin holds Nancy again as she convulses with sobs in her arms.  They stay that way for a little while, allowing the dust to settle.  Nancy has said enough for now.  It would all unravel itself more over time. 

Meanwhile, Eddie had told Jonathan to make his way upstairs and talk with Steve.

“You’re on, buddy boy,” Eddie told him with a hard pat on the back.  

So while Jonathan made peace with Steve, Nancy had finally released some of her emotions and confided in Robin.

And now, all the adults were in the kitchen as Murray made some food for the older teens and Erica.  They’d asked Robin and Eddie to make sure that Argyle, Jonathan and Nancy were all going to be present for it, along with Erica before she could go upstairs and join the kids.

So here they all were now: sitting at the dinner table while Murray and Erica served them up plates and bowls of random foods.  

Jonathan had watched Nancy make her way into the kitchen with Robin, newly fresh faced and eyes puffy from crying.  She wore her pajamas now, having taken a quick shower and washing off the anguish from her meltdown earlier.  Jonathan’s heart cracked in two, and it did even more as Nancy went to sit next to Robin.  He stood up, unable to help himself.

“I got you a seat here,” he said, voice shaky.

Nancy had looked over at him, eyes cold and expression blank.

“That’s alright,” she said, voice level and cool.  “We share a room.”

Nancy sat next to Robin, demeanor cool and calm and collected.  She was stiff, but there was a chilling resilience to her that Jonathan had not seen in a while.  It terrified him, making his anxiety spike.  Had he lost her?  Was he too late?

He swallowed hard, accepting it — given everyone else at the table.  Hopper had awkwardly reached for some pepper as this was happening, working in slow motion as he felt really uncomfortable.  So Jonathan just nodded, and Joyce gave him a sympathetic look as she placed glasses of water and tea in front of everyone.

Eddie made concerned eye contact with Robin as he poured himself some water.  Yikes.

“I’ll sit next to you, my dude,” Argyle said warmly, knowing he needed to step in.  Jonathan was grateful for that, but still dying inside as he kept stealing glances at Nancy — who looked anywhere except his way.

Murray clicked his tongue loudly. “Alrighty then. Shall we?”

With a thud, he set down his plate. Joyce clenched her jaw but took a deep breath.

“Lay it on us,” Eddie said with a deep exhale, sitting down on the other side of Argyle. 

“Yeah, what’s this pow-wow and why is it just this group who's on it?” Erica questioned as she stationed herself on the other side of Robin. 

“Right,” Hopper sighed before shoveling a mouthful of mashed potatoes into his mouth and leaning back to chew, readying himself. Everyone waited patiently.

“Here’s the deal,” he began, leaning forward and eyeing everyone individually as he spoke. “No one here is being made to keep a secret. That’s not what’s going on.”

“So then why is it private?” Robin asked curiously. 

“Because right now…we need to set some things straight. Set in stone.  Before we dive into our group meeting tomorrow. Consider this…a board meeting of sorts.”

Jonathan furrowed his brow. “Don’t we want Bauman and Steve for that?”

Hopper sighed deeply, rubbing at his beard. “This affects them. And the kids.”

Eddie raised his eyebrows at that, feeling nervous. He looked over at Robin, who looked just as worried.

Erica scrunched her face up. “Then why am I here?…”

“Because I need one of you kids to be level headed and vouch for me,” Hopper explained. “And for Joyce and Murray. We’ve spent a lot of time figuring this out. Weighed out our options, talked to El about it.”

“Does she know?” Nancy asked.

“Some,” Hopper nodded. “Most… Not all.”

Erica leaned forward, truly listening and accepting that she was clearly going to need to stick with some sort of plan that her friends were not going to be keen on…

Hopper contemplated his next words carefully.

“Look. Tonight, I need those kids to rest. To laugh, play some card games. Eat too much candy, and just have a good night. Soak up all the fun they can get before this mandate goes into effect soon. And before we have to go forward with a plan.”

Hopper made sure that everyone was with him on that.  Off their nods, he continued.

“There’s two groups. One that’ll stay here, in hiding. Down in the basement, where we’ve already started making up basecamp. They’ll have to stay hidden.  Out of sight.  Quiet.  On high alert.  It’s a gamble.  Just because they’ll be home…it doesn’t guarantee them any safety.”

Hopper took a deep breath, eyes filled with dread.  He rubbed at the gap between his pinched brows.

“…the other group will have to risk getting back out there.  And we won’t be anywhere that’s not swarmed and completely surrounded by the government and — god-knows-who-else, before we can get ourselves back near the largest gate that’s torn itself open and is ready to swallow Hawkins.”

Everyone’s blood ran cold. 

No one was safe. They weren’t before, but now? Nothing was off the table. Everything was high risk, no matter where anyone was stationed.

“If you’re sitting here,” Hopper continued slowly, voice grave, “at this table, listening to this conversation…minus Erica and Murray...you’re in Group 2. ”

Nancy and Jonathan both felt their chests constrict, but they understood. It didn’t surprise them per se. And at this point, nothing should scare them. But it did.

Joyce looked at her eldest son, torn but knowing it had to be done.

Erica looked over at Murray, who gave her a soft nod.

Robin and Eddie looked at each other, along with Argyle, shuddering. 

“Dimitri is going with us,” Hopper added.

“Who’s he?” Jonathan asked.

“Russian soldier,” Joyce told him, holding up a hand to clarify. “He’s on our side.”

Jonathan hesitated but eventually gave her a small nod. He looked over at Nancy, who was staring down at the table with her teeth sunk into her bottom lip.

“He’s got insight,” Hopper continued. “Knows what we’re dealing with, and how to handle what we’re all up against.  We’ll need as many of us as we can get out there.  Those of us who know the risks, and know how to navigate this world.”

Robin processed that, thinking. “So that…where does that leave Steve and Bauman?”

Hopper was quiet. The way he gnawed his cheek made it clear that this was where it got messy.

“Steve is on the frontlines with us,” Hopper explained carefully. “…and Bauman is stationed back here with Murray and the kids, along with Dr. Owens.”

Robin’s heart sank, and so did Eddie’s. They both shared a sad, all-knowing look.  They knew this wasn’t going to go well.  At all. They knew that Steve was going to flip his shit at just the idea of leaving you out of his sight.

“Won’t Dr. Owens have a target on his back?” Eddie asked, concerned. “Won’t that — won’t that draw more danger here…?”

That made Robin look at Hopper, wide-eyed. The retired cop looked pale, eyes full of dread.

“He has to be here in case anything happens to Bauman or Max,” he explains solemnly. “Because if shit goes south here…they’ll need to run.”

Jonathan felt sick.  This also meant leaving Will behind.  “But…how? How can they run?”

“That’s where I come in,” Murray chimes in. “Between me and Erica and Dustin, we’ll be able to keep a close eye out for a signal — which Will can help us navigate.”

“Because he’s still connected to it all,” Joyce explains sadly.  “He still…feels it. He senses when it’s near.”

“Which is why he’ll be able to give us a warning,” Murray nods, adding to Joyce’s input. “Since El has to be out there with you guys, we’ll still have a connected source that's here with us.”

“The kids can’t do this,” Hopper adds, tone firm. “Not this time.  El doesn’t count, as much as I want her to stay back.  She can’t.  I know that.” He looks at Erica with parental eyes.  “But as far as the rest of you kids go?  No more.  It’s already bad enough having to risk you all staying here.  But if this is how it’s gotta go down?  You’re staying where there’s a controlled space, with 2-3 solid abort mission plans — which Murray knows from top to bottom.”

Erica hangs her head, but she nods. She knows this makes sense. 

“As for Bauman,” Hopper continues, eyes sad. “She’s not able to get back out there. Between her heart issues and her bad shoulder and ribs…she has to stay put.”

“No, I agree with that,” Robin says, voice full of gravel before she clears it. “But, umm…I’m just…really worried that…well it’s just — Steve, he’s um, he’s —”

“He’s going to have to do this,” Hopper interjects, but not unkindly. In fact, it’s full of empathy and remorse. “He knows the ways. You’ll all need him. His stamina, his strength. He’s strong, good with a bat and can outrun shit.  He also knows what to keep an eye out for, whatever comes our way.”

Eddie gulps, partially because he’s terrified about facing the underworld again…but also because he knows that Steve will be a wreck the entire time he’s gone with them and not with you. And if Eddie’s being honest, the idea of leaving you and the kids behind is killing him too. He’s especially grown to love you and Dustin over the last year.

“This isn’t open for discussion,” Hopper says, voice firmer and tone low.  “Tomorrow, when we have our living room meeting, I’ll be conveying this to everyone…along with Murray and Joyce.  And I need to know I have each and every one of you on our side.  Those kids are going to raise hell.  All of them are.  And this plan is not changing.  It’s either this…or we all stay hunkered down until we rot.  Am I making myself clear?”

Nancy and Jonathan nodded first, quickly followed by Robin and Eddie.

“Yes sir,” Argyle spoke first, and for the first time he genuinely looked aware of just how heavy all of this stuff really is.  Jonathan gave his shoulder a quick squeeze.

“Erica,” Hopper was looking directly at the youngest person sitting across the table.  “I’m counting on you.  I know that’s not fair, but I am.  You’re tough as nails.  You’re gonna have to be that way with your brother, and his friends.  Your friends.  You'll have to be hard...but gentle enough to get it through to him.  I don’t care what you gotta do, you do it.  Whatever you have to say?  Say it.  And if anybody gives you shit for knowing this before they did…send them to me.  Understood?”

Erica looked back at Hopper with the most somber expression.  But she nodded.

“Understood,” she said, voice low.

Hopper gave her a curt nod before looking over at the older teens.

“As for you guys,” he said.  “We all know the shit that just went down yesterday at the fence.  Bauman’s always been at the frontlines with us.  She can’t be now.  And Steve cannot hang back.  He’s got too much strength that we can’t afford to not have on our side of this battle.  And I don’t care if Bauman insists she can do it.  She can’t, and she won’t.”

“And if she gets stubborn,” Murray interjects, voice fierce.  “Tell me.  If she tries pulling a fast one?  You tell me.  Capiche?”

Eddie and Robin quickly nod up and down.

“I’ll talk to him if it gets bad,” Jonathan says in a weak voice.

Nancy narrows her eyes at him.  Since when do he and Steve talk?

“Good,” Joyce says with a sad, tight-lipped grin and nod at her son.  “He’ll need it.”

"I'll be there for him, too," Robin nodded at Jonathan.

“Will we be able to stay in contact with them at least?” Eddie asks pathetically.  “Via the walkies?”

“When necessary...yes,” Hopper confirms.  “We’ll have to be scarce about it.  Selective.  Nowhere is safe.  It’ll have to be reserved for vital communication only.”

Eddie frowned, but nodded in understanding.  Robin was currently biting her palm, consumed with dread and sickening anxiety.  Leaving you behind?  The kids?  Even Murray, who everyone had come to appreciate in their own weird sort of way — mostly because of how much they all loved you.  He was an extension of you.  The whole situation just felt…fucked.

But wasn’t everything fucked?  Wasn’t this entire world so catostrophically fucked in every single which way, seemingly irreparable?  

Was there actually an end to this nightmare?  A world in which the upside down would cease to exist…monsters would go back to their storybooks and dark, twisted fairy tales…the moon would only ever symbolize light within forgotten darkness...and the sun would never hide behind the ashy debris that currently clung to the air, just outside their windows?

Despite how everything looked grim, with seemingly no end in sight…you all persisted in choosing to believe.  Yes.  Yes, this was going to end.

The end of the world was nearing.  It was inevitable.

But it wouldn’t be your world.

***

You never really put much thought into what having a family would feel like one day.

You’d wondered.  Every little girl does.  In young girlhood, there’s the beauty of innocence that protectively surrounds all grown-up dreams that fuel your wildest imagination.  The dreams of never having to go to school, and being in charge of everything you want.  The dreams of being able to eat whatever you want, whenever you want.  The dreams of meeting your future husband, and getting to wear a big white, sparkly ballgown as you walk down the aisle to your happily ever after.  The dreams of being a princess in a big castle, ruling the land and having cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and tea parties everyday with your friends.

Sure, you’d had those dreams as a little girl.  How could you not?  It was inevitable.

But as you grew older, you didn’t really have a chance to fantasize about much.  You’d been made to grow up from a very young age.  Your grandmother had been there for you enough.  She kept a roof over your head.  Food on the table.  A very generous allowance, even though you never asked for one and you’d gotten yourself a job by the age of 13 painting peoples’ houses and doing yard work.  You’d even gotten hired by your uncle to do data entry for him, along with a couple of his contacts who did intense investigative research and needed someone to work remotely.  You earned your own living, and you did upkeep on your grandmother’s house — despite her never asking you to do so.  She was gone a lot.  She wasn’t very old.  Just a smoker who liked casinos and taking trips with her “friend” from time to time.  A woman, who she only ever referred to as her "assistant."  You knew better than to believe that, but you never said anything about it.  She was a closeted lesbian — which is why Robin coming out of the closet for you had been the easiest news to take, let alone support.  Your grandmother was a tough, long-acrylic-nails-donning boss bitch who did whatever the hell she wanted.  You’d gone with her many times to some casino resorts, mostly staying in the hotel room or just walking around the city.  It felt like living with a Mafia Mobwife.  It was cool, for the most part.  But it definitely meant being able to hold your own.  She’d raised herself when she was a kid — and in most ways, you did too.

It’s why you’d spent so much time with your uncle, who didn’t live very far.  He was home a lot.  Given his line of work, he didn’t go out much.  He became even more of a hermit as the years went on, and you liked that.  It meant consistency.  His spare room basically became your room.  It couldn’t exactly be considered a “guest room” when he never had guests over.  You’re the only person he invited over for company, and he loved it.  The two of you got along effortlessly.  His dark humor rubbed off on you early on, which your grandmother shared in but she wasn’t nearly as quick-witted as Murray.  That’s where you got it from.  But your dry, snarky wit was much more selectively timed than his.  He was all over the place.  You had solid social cues, given that you went to school and were around people often.  Your uncle was definitely an oddball.  But you loved him to death, and you got him better than anyone else did.

You weren’t babied.  You weren’t coddled, or sheltered, or given false hope about the world.  It’s why you held your own, and it’s also why you never victimized yourself.  It was to a fault, but you believed it was for the best.

So when Clark broke your heart into a million pieces, you told yourself it had been a risk from the start.  A gamble, just like the poker tables at those casinos that your grandmother frequented all the time.  Love was a dangerous game, and it spared no one.  There were winners and losers — and you’d lost this one.

But right now, in this moment, you felt as though you had just won every single jackpot that there was to win.  

Because right now, you were sitting in Steve’s lap on the floor of Max’s room in his big house, holding cards closely to your chest as Lucas screeched GO FISH at Dustin.  Steve’s hand was in plain sight, and if you were a cheater you’d have him beat in seconds.  But you didn’t need to win a stupid card game…because you had won the greatest game of all: life.

El and Mike were cuddled up close to each other, giggling and being young teens in love.  In a normal world, you would assume it to be puppy love between them.  But this world wasn’t normal, and the shit that they’d been through together wasn’t any different than what you and Steve had been through together.  It was real love, and you let them be that way.

Lucas was seated next to Max in her bed, holding her hand and laughing like a kid again.  Dustin was hoarding all of the candy from his backpack (so much for sharing) and laughing like a buffoon.  He bickered with Steve and the kids as usual, but something about it was just so…bright.  Hearty laughter bounced off the walls, and there were so many times that Steve had belly laughed — along with you and the other kids — that you’d all lost count.

Sometimes, you swore that you saw Max’s lips twitch.  As if she could hear you all in her coma, wanting to laugh along with everybody.  Lucas would talk to her as if she could hear you all just fine, squeezing her hand and kissing her forehead while showing her his hand in cards.  Dustin even gave her a sleeve of her favorite candy — just for her.  He might not have basic manners with the rest of you, but Max?  Always.  

Will was keeping score, seated next to you and Steve with the biggest smile you had ever seen him wear.  He laughed hysterically the entire night, even going as far as verbally expressing adoration for you and Steve.  Dustin would pretend to gag, but Will would just tell him he knew better than to think that the curly-haired smart alec wasn’t completely in love with the two of you being together.  Dustin had grinned all dopey and wide, rolling his eyes but not arguing with him any further.  

At some point, Mike suggested all swapping ghost stories.  

Lucas had barked the loudest laugh.  “How about the one we’re currently living??”

“Hey, hey,” Steve interjected.  “I got a better idea.  Tell your most embarrassing story.  One you’re scared shitless to tell.”

You'd grinned in his arms, snickering.  “Oh I got plenty of those.”

“I mean hey,” Dustin shrugged with a mouthful of candy.  “If we’re gonna die, we might as well get real.”

“Okay chill, we’re not going to die,” Steve scoffed, hiding his internal worry.

“It’s possible,” Mike shrugged, grabbing another bag of M&M’s.

Steve huffed.  “Dammit, Wheeler —”

Mike’s devilish grin was infuriating yet endearing at the same time.

“I wish Max could hear all of this,” El said with a tinkering laugh.

You gave her the warmest of smiles and a wink.  “Trust me.  She does.”

“Hell yeah,” Lucas smiled wide, squeezing Max’s hand.  “I’ll even tell one of her stories, for her.”

“...dude, she’s gonna kill you,” Dustin warned him, but there was a smirk lifting at the corner of his lips.

“I’ll go first,” Will announced, laying on his stomach as he ate some popcorn.  “One time?  I was asleep in bed but I woke up because I heard Jonathan moaning so loudly — like, disturbingly loud —”

“Okay, maybe I needed to lay down some ground rules here —” Steve starts with a very tight voice as you snorted into your palm.

“Just hear me out,” Will laughs, holding a hand.  “I thought it was with a girl —”

“William,” Steve scolded.

“But he was in the bathroom,” Will talked over him.  “Shitting his brains out.”

Dustin cackled while Mike audibly expressed disgust while laughing at the same time.  El looked shocked, giggling hysterically into her hand.

“Damn, that bad?!” Lucas roared.

“He lit every candle in the house,” Will cackled.  “Mom went to use it shortly after him and came barreling into our rooms to ask us in a panic what had died up one of our butts!”

Steve collapsed into you laughing, and you couldn’t even breathe from laughing so hard.  It was that sort of deep laughter that’s so painful because it’s quiet before you’re able to finally erupt with loud laughs that help you come down from a high.  All the kids were a fit of cackles and giggles, too.  Erica made her way into the room finally, jumping right into things and bringing cookies with milk.  All of you exchanged stories, allowing yourselves to only cry tears of joy.  It was exactly what you all needed, long overdue.

And for the first time in ages — none of you thought about the upside down, or the impending doom that awaited you just outside of the Harrington house throughout all of Hawkins.

That night, you and Steve tucked every single of your kids into their assigned sleeping bags and cots.  Lucas stayed with Max in her bed, asking you sheepishly if that was alright.  You’d nodded, along with Steve — more than approving.  And given you both would be chaperoning that night in the same shared room, you also let Mike and El cuddle up together in a sleeping bag.

“Hands outside of the covers, Wheeler,” Steve warned him, but he gave him a wink — adding please at the end.  Even Mike gave him a smile and nod, like a little kid who felt called out but also didn’t have any intention of disobeying.

Dustin and Will joked in high pitched voices about being bunkmates with their sleeping bags next to each other, given they were the two singles of the group.  Technically, Erica was too.  But even if she wasn’t, she would still demand her own space.  She had situated herself on the floor beside Lucas’s side of the bed, not planning to give him a hard time for a good while given what was in store for everyone tomorrow.

As for you and Steve — the two of you had stationed yourselves in the center of the room, closest to the door.  That way, you could see all your kids at any point during the night and also be the first to fight off any harm coming your way, should danger lurk on the other side of the locked bedroom door.

Steve ruffled Dustin’s hair as he dozed off, earning a sleepy little “hmph” from him.  After he made sure all of them were comfortably settled in for the night, he crawled over to you.  His nail bat was propped somewhere nearby — ready to be swung into action if need be.  But the need for it that night never came.

You curled into Steve’s chest, breathing in his clean, masculine scent and allowing it to fill all of your senses.  Sighing contentedly, you felt a rush of warmth wash over you as his lips pressed into the top of your head.

“I love you so much,” he whispered.

“I love you more,” you murmured in the softest of whispers.

You felt him chuckle against you.  “Impossible,” he breathed into your hair, pulling you so close to him you might as well be the same body.

And had you not been so completely relaxed in his arms, you might have fought him on it.  The whole "I love you more" thing. In fact you definitely would have.  But you just hummed, dozing off in his strong arms and allowing sleep to find you.

***

Waking up had been beautiful. The sun was even more hidden than usual, plagued by the new world coming into fruition. But despite the lack of sunshine outdoors, you felt as though it shone through the entire room as all the kids woke up and whispered to each other. You pretended not to hear them when they talked about you and Steve. Because if you were being honest? You’d been dying to hear their uncensored thoughts. If they thought that you weren’t listening, they wouldn’t hold back from saying what was actually on their mind.

Turns out?  All of them wanted this. The two of you together.  They laughed about how some of them thought that Steve was going to end up with Robin at first. 

“No way,” Lucas shook his head in a confident whisper. “Those two? They’re like brother and sister.”

“Yeah, but Bauman’s so out of his league,” Mike whispered back.

“She is not,” Will added in a defensive whisper.

“She so is,” Mike whispered indignantly.

“No way, Steve’s awesome,” Dustin defended in a whisper.

“Yeah but like,” Mike whispered, pondering with a sigh. “I mean yeah. He is. I like him. He’s cool. Way cooler than I thought he was at first. But Bauman’s literally a badass. She doesn't care what people think.”

“Steve doesn’t care anymore,” Erica chimes in, speaking softly. She’s actually pleading Steve’s case and it’s adorable.  “He used to. But when we were down there with the Russians? And he had to wear that stupid sailor outfit for work?…”

“Oh my god,” Dustin snickered. “That shit was so funny.”

“He looked like Shirley Temple from the Good Ship Lollipop,” Lucas snickered back, and Will had to shush them so that they wouldn’t wake you up.

“My point is,” Erica continued with sass. “Steve doesn’t give a shit what anyone thinks of him now. I mean…he gave her hell the whole time I was around ‘em.”

“I still don’t get that,” Mike whispered.

“Me either,” El added quietly.

“What do you mean?” Dustin whispered in confusion. “I told you guys the whole story. That once upon a time ramble I had to sit through when Murray basically went on to give us an entire rundown on the two of them?”

“Well duh,” Mike whispered in annoyance. “I know that. But dude…she’s…like, she's...”

“Hot.”

Everyone went quiet, and you stiffened as you held back laughter. Because the person who had called you hot?  It was El.

“Bauman is hot,” El repeated.

Eventually someone snorted. Then, they all did. You bit back laughter, blushing into Steve’s chest with your face kept hidden.

“You’re hot,” Mike added to her in a coy whisper.

“No, you are,” she whispered back sweetly.

“Enough,” Erica whispered definitively. 

“Max thinks that Steve is hot,” Lucas scoffed.

“He is,” Erica and El said at the same time.

“Hey,” Mike whined, and they all shushed him.

“Face it, dude,” Dustin whispered flatly. “He is. I wish I looked like him.”

“You look great, man,” Will assured him. “You got a girl like Suzy. You gotta be a stud to catch someone like her.”

Dustin had blushed at that with a wide, dopey grin. “Think so?”

After listening to them chat some more, eventually Steve started to stir. He’d told them good morning, to which Dustin all too happily responded with a very loud good morning back —- making Steve audibly groan and bite back curse words. The kids all snickered. 

Will started handing out drawings out to everyone. You all had been sketching and drawing together in your assigned room earlier the day before, while Steve had been getting Max’s room ready.  Will had told you all to draw a picture of someone else in the party. He’d even chosen who was drawing who.  

Will and Lucas drew each other.

Mike and Erica drew each other.

El and Dustin drew each other.

And you drew Steve, before he joined you all and eventually drew his original art piece of you while you all played a round of the Game of Life.

Here you were now: holding your drawing close to your chest, and wiggling your eyebrows at Steve. He gave you the most adorable smirk, his cocoa brown eyes still a bit sleepy and his perfect hair the sexiest case of bed head. He stretched, toned arms flexing and his white t-shirt clinging to his muscles in all the right places while being loose enough to wanna rip it off of him…

Not the time, Bauman, you mentally scolded yourself.

Steve had reached underneath his pillow to fetch his drawing of you, holding it to his chest and sitting across from you — crossed-legged and shooting you a wink. All the kids mirrored you both, sitting opposite their assigned art piece subject with throaty giggles and snorts. 

Will looked at everyone excitedly, like a proud art professor, ready for his classroom to partake in show-and-tell.

“Alright,” he smiled. “Everyone ready?”

“Yeah, you go first, Byers,” Steve nodded at him with an encouraging grin.

Will blushed. “Oh…well…I mean…I should go last. You guys first. On the count of 3, everyone turn your photos around to your partner.”

Mike snorted as he stared down Erica. “Howdy, partner,” he drawled in a fake accent. El giggled, and so did Lucas. 

Erica shot Mike a wry smirk. “Easy now, cowboy.”

“Bet you made me look like a total loser,” Mike snickered. 

“I don’t have to draw you to make you look like that,” Eric’s said in the most sugary sweet, sarcastic voice.

“Okay snarkbutts, settle down,” Steve scolded lightly in a groggy voice, no heat behind it. “Will has the floor. William: proceed.”

Will saluted him. “Alright. Count of 3.”

“Please tell me you gave me teeth,” Dustin mumbled lowly to El.

“One…”

El shrugged. “I dunno.”

Dustin narrowed his eyes. 

“Two…”

Steve gave you a coy look, asking in the lowest of mumbles, “How big’s my hair?” 

You grinned like a devil, your voice lower. “Not as big as your other best trait.”

Steve lifted a very cocky eyebrow with a deepening grin.

“Three!”

Everyone turned their papers around, and a soft silence fell over you all minus a few little reactive intakes of breath.

Dustin had drawn El with a million eggo waffles in the sky around her. She looked like the most adorable cartoon character, with anime eyes and full cheeks. Her hair was shorter, the way she’d looked back in ‘83 whenever she’d returned. But it wasn’t slicked back. It was free, curly and a little wild. Her smile was innocent and childlike, and there was a policeman in the back waving. Hopper. 

El had drawn Dustin with his signature cap and his big toothy grin — which made him beam, because she did give him teeth in the drawing after all. And in this drawing, there were bubble boxes above him that read all the quotes she associated with him, like Steve! and She’s our friend and she’s crazy! and Shit shit shit shit shit!

Mike had drawn Erica into a comic strip. He showed her as just a wee tike, then at Scoops Ahoy with an ice cream cone, then playing DND. The last image of the strip showed her with her arms crossed and a triumphant smile, with a banner behind her that read Welcome to the Party.  (…as Erica looked at it, she felt the most unfamiliar warmth seep into her bones and the joyful sting behind her eyes sent her into pure shock.)

Erica had drawn Mike on his bike, riding through the neighbor with his backpack and a flashlight. His dark hair blew in the wind, and there was a thought bubble above him with little heads that resembled all of his best friends.  Above him and the thought was a quote: “Mike Wheeler: nerd, snark machine and superhero to all.”  (…Mike felt so emo, he didn’t know what to do with it.)

You had drawn Steve in a very chic sort of hot anime-like way.  It honestly looked like an actual character that existed in an anime universe.  In the drawing, Steve held his nail bat in one hand and a McDonald’s happy meal in the other.  He didn’t quite understand that part at first — until he spotted behind him, there was a Winnebago.  Six familiar faces, very stick-figure-esque, stood there waving.  You also stood there, with a quote above your head: “six-piece nuggets, coming right up.”  Steve breathed the fondest of chuckles as he took it all in, wanting to laugh and smile and cry and tackle you with his kids all at the same time.

Steve’s drawing of you was more adorable than you ever thought him capable of drawing.  You were the cutest little cartoon, backpack over your shoulder with combat boots — but you were wearing the most beautiful dress.  It was yellow, which complimented the happy blue sky behind you.  Yours and Steve's favorite colors combined.  There was a big house behind you, with seven other stick figures that looked an awful lot like Steve and your six nuggets.  And right next to you, there was a dictionary-esque definition of you:

BAUMAN (Pronounced bow•men)

A professional love-life ruiner; cute but psycho; hardcore but soft; too smart for her own good; humor darker than the dark espresso she drinks straight, because she’s a sociopath; also hotter than said cup of coffee; terrifyingly beautiful from the inside out; my mortal enemy turned favorite person; the girl who makes everything make sense; someone I can’t fathom living without, and can’t believe I ever thought I could; the love of my life, in this one and the next and so on, so long as she’ll have me.

You had never felt so full in your entire life, and neither had Steve. The two of you just stared at each other’s drawings. Grinning, glassy-eyed, chuckling, aching, filled with every ounce of joy and every ounce dread — all at once.  Neither of you could speak, but neither of you had to. Your eyes, along with his, spoke volumes. They said everything there was to say, just as much as your sketches did.

Lucas had drawn Will in a wizard’s outfit.  He held a tall, majestic scepter — with a large hat on top of his head.  Surrounding him was a large swirl of colors, whimsical and light, painting a galaxy of sorts.  And in this galaxy, there were little floating stick figures with all his friends’ names above them.  Will was smiling in the drawing, with his hands in the air and on top of the world.  Literally, because in the picture he was standing on top of a globe.

As for Will...he had drawn Lucas at a basketball game. He was scoring the winning basket, and an entire crowd cheered behind him.  All of you were there.  Will was there, next to all his friends.  You and Steve were next to each other, along with his mom, Jonathan, Nancy, Argyle, Eddie, Robin and Hopper.  Even your Uncle Murray.  

And Max…that’s where Will’s drawing got unique. 

She was piggybacking Lucas, as he jumped and shot the winning score of the game, her laugh radiating through all the pens and crayons and markers that Will had used to sketch her.  She was alive, as were the rest of you.  Very much alive.

Just as you all were right now, inside one of Steve Harrington’s many bedrooms in his big house with no parents.  

No matter what doom was swiftly approaching — no matter what monsters were looming underneath the surface, and already roaming the real world — you all were together.  You had each other.

You always will.

***

Late morning upstairs has been kind to you.  It's been light.  Hopeful. 

There’s something about walking downstairs that makes the energy shift.  It sends an odd sort of chill up your spine, despite Steve’s arm draped securely over your shoulders as you wear one of his large gray hoodies with your bad arm in a sling.  You feel a certain pang in your chest as the kids follow you all down into the kitchen…but this time, it’s not because of your heart arrhythmia.

As Hopper and Joyce smile at you all in the kitchen, greeting you warmly and having prepared a table full of pancakes that had smiley faces decorated with whipped cream and chocolate chips and strawberries on top — something about the scene frowns at you.  A deep frown that you’ve seen on everyone’s faces whenever there is bad news waiting to be shared.

Your uncle is coming over to hand you a hot cup of decaf coffee, winking at you and Steve as he gives him a tight shoulder squeeze.  He’s moving past you both towards the man named Dimitri, who is walking in from the living room.  Murray brings him over to introduce you.

“Dimitri, this is my niece,” Murray grins.

You shake his hand firmly with your good arm, smiling gratefully.  “Heard a lot about you.”

“You as well,” the man says with a genuine smile, kind vibrant eyes and a thick Russian accent.  He’s definitely seen some shit.

“And this is Steve,” Murray gestures, a bit of a coy glint in his eye.  “Her boyfriend.”

Steve blushes, a soft smile gracing his features and shining through his eyes.  He wholeheartedly adores being called that out loud for the very first time: your boyfriend.

Your uneven heart skips several more beats, which typically would raise a lot of concern — but at the moment, you’re too fucking happy to care or pay it any mind.  You watch Steve flash his signature charming smile and reach out to firmly shake hands with Dimitri, who is looking back at your handsome boy with the widest grin.  The masculine exchange of lighthearted friendly words between the two men makes your stomach dance for some reason, especially as your uncle chuckles along with them.  

This is completely uncharted territory for you. Nothing about this moment is familiar.  But you could really get used to it.  It’s new.  And you adore it.

Dimitri meets the kids, who all take to him very well.  Especially El, who seems to already be familiar with him.  Likely because of Hopper.  Jonathan and Argyle are being introduced to him by Joyce, while Eddie is rounding the corner with a big stretch and yawn.  Steve shoots him a smirk as the metalhead makes his way over for a big ole bro hug, whispering something to him that makes Steve snort while Eddie grins like a devil.  Steve swats at him playfully, successfully smacking him as Robin walks in with Nancy close behind.  Steve’s quirky platonic soulmate makes her way over to you with a warm smile, swinging an arm over your shoulders so that she’s nearly headlocking you in a hug.  She’s a bit taller than you, by just a couple inches, so it gives her some upper hand.  You’re chuckling lightly, nose scrunched and tightly winding your good arm around Robin’s waist as you smile back at Nancy.  Her eyes are still sad, a bit lost.  But there’s no animosity there, at least not that you see.  She looks at you shyly, timidly…but with utter kindness.

Unbeknownst to you — Robin had suggested to Nancy that she stay with her last night in Steve’s room.  For Nancy, that had been…hard.  Necessary, but hard.  For multiple reasons.  For one thing — the last time she’d slept in Steve’s room, she had been his girlfriend. Being asleep in there 2 years later without him, now as his ex, brought back a flood of memories — bittersweet and haunting.  Being in his bed, twisted up in his sheets, felt wrong.  But she just couldn’t bring herself to sleep next to Jonathan that night.  Not yet.  Not after everything that had unfolded.  So Robin had stayed up talking with her, having a heavy heart to heart.  But it turned out to be exactly what Nancy needed.  Just what the doctor ordered.  Robin Buckley had unintentionally become a nurse of sorts over the last several months, and maybe even somewhat of a therapist.  Although — Argyle sort of had her beat in that department earlier that afternoon.  But he was the much simpler kind.  Whereas Robin got deep, given her innate gift at rambling until you were given no choice but to cut her off because your most honest thoughts were yanked out of you as you were made to listen to her ranting.  Nancy had cried some more, but she’d also laughed.  A comforting mixture of both smiles and frowns were shared between the two unlikely friends.  Robin wasn’t Barb, nor would any other girl be that kind of friend to Nancy.  Robin was very different from Barb.  However, her heart was just as loving.  She loved hard, and it showed.  She let Nancy pour her heart out, pouring some of her own out in return.  And somehow…somehow…it brought Nancy some newfound peace and understanding.

So as she looked at you now, having seen you come downstairs with Steve and the kids — now introducing yourselves to the new Russian house guest, and sharing a special connection with Eddie and Robin in a way that only settled couples so effortlessly did — Nancy could see something in the two of you that she’d not known Steve capable of being while she in a relationship with him.  And while she selfishly ached for her younger self who’d missed out on having that with him (and sometimes still found herself pining after), she selflessly began to feel happy for Steve.  And she even began to feel some happiness for you.  Not completely.  Not yet.  She couldn’t quite commit to making full peace with it all, given that healing takes time.  A very long time.  But as time continued to pass, which Nancy hoped you all would still be granted given the circumstances of the crumbling world, she knew that she would eventually get there.  

Murray and Dimitri were saying something funny, making Hopper and Joyce share a hearty laugh with the two of them while the kids were asking the new gentleman a million questions.  Steve made his way over to you and Robin, hugging you both — and Eddie threw his arms around all of you, resulting in fond groans and grunts from you all along with big smiles.

Nancy and Jonathan made unintentional eye contact as this happened, but Dustin shouting GROUP HUG! snapped their focus away again. The boys all bear hugged you guys while El and Erica were already pouring syrup onto their pancakes.

Eventually, you all sat down to enjoy a feast.  And while it tasted so deliciously sweet…the bitter aftertaste stemmed from looming doom that creeped just beneath the surface of your feet.  The energy shift was still felt, and despite the warmth of homemade pancakes and Steve’s hand on your thigh…your blood ran cold.

***

It was the early afternoon that finally unveiled the darker energy shift you had all been sensing since that morning, after you left the comforting quarters of your little family sleepover.

Everyone was now seated in the living room now — the way you always were, when it was time for you all to have a group meeting and listen to Hopper go over a plan of sorts or give a rundown to the household.  Except this time, Dimitri was here along with Dr. Owens.  It wasn’t like all the other times.  This was different.  Very different.

This one scared you.

Maybe they all should’ve. All these talks that centered around the end of the world. All these household meetings about the impending doom that came with said end-of-the-world. But somehow, you’d grown accustomed to them.  Comfortable.  It meant you were all still alive and that you all had something worth fighting for. And it had always meant there would be another meeting.

But there was an unsettling sort of feeling of finality to this meeting that set it apart from all the others.  And as Hopper stood with both Joyce and your uncle Murray…you felt goosebumps scatter up and down your arms and legs, regardless of Steve’s warm oversized hoodie and your leggings and socks.  Their faces were somber, a bit grim.  Murray kept his arms tightly crossed while Joyce fiddled nervously with her hands.  Even Hopper, ever the strong and firm type, looked nervous.  Maybe even afraid. 

They spoke all slowly, taking their time with why everyone was there — why Dimitri was now in the picture along with Dr. Owens — and what all needed to be discussed.  And the longer they spoke, the thicker the air got.  Tension spread around the room.  It was especially evident as none of the kids were making a sound.  They hadn’t uttered a single word.  Not one of them.  The adults had the floor, and when they asked Dimitri to stand with them, you all knew this was going to go in a bad direction.

So when they all told you the plan, looping Dr. Owens into the picture and why he not only was here for this talk — but here to stay — the gravity of the current situation landed.

You all felt your souls plummet to the deepest depths of your stomachs with a hard thud, as Hopper revealed two large whiteboards.  They both had entirely different detailed layouts…and beside each one, there were two separate lists of names.

One list of names would be at the frontlines.  The people who would be diving head first into the upside down and all of its perils. 

One list of names would be hiding out here.  The people who would maintain home base, helping operate things from the other side in the real world, while risking the chance of being found, caught and killed.

Both sides were at risk.  Both teams could die.  Both groups might not ever live to see another day, or each other, ever again.

As Steve stares at your name, along with the names of all of his kids aside from El, on the opposite whiteboard from his own name…he feels bile rising in his throat.  His stomach twists into knots, deeply tangled with unbearable anxiety and anguish.  His mind races, but his lips don’t move.  Fear paralyzes him, rendering him speechless as the adults keep talking and gesturing to the boards.  The castle on a cloud that his dreams have just began to build for the two of you, walls high and protecting you both along with his kids — his family — was drifting away from him.  And all he could do was watch it drifting further and further away, into the void, as he stared into space.

You felt his grasp on you instinctively tighten as his muscles stiffened.  Steve was rigid against your back, and you were grateful that he couldn’t see your face right now.  You were sitting between his legs on the longest part of his couch, facing the same direction as you took in the whiteboards while absorbing all the information that was being relayed to the group.  With a harsh swallow, you risked peeking at everyone else’s reactions — quickly scanning the room with your eyes.

Mike’s usually sour expression looked far more sad than it usually did.  He only ever looked like that when El was in danger, or things were spiraling out of control.  He sat on top of the coffee table with his elbows in his lap, crouched forward and staring a hole into one of the whiteboards.  Dustin’s mouth was agape, and his unusual silence was loud.  He hadn’t said a word from where he sat on the couch next to Erica.  Will sat on the other side of Jonathan, brow furrowed and heart blue.  He knew the risks being taken, and it hurt his soul seeing that he would be apart from his mom and brother.  He felt as though he always had been, ever since this all began, and it seemed to be a never ending circumstance.  Lucas was taking it all in from his seat on the leg of the couch, hands wrung and expression reserved — but defeated.  He’d really grown into a young man this past year, and he’d been taking so much in stride.  But even so, he looked conflicted.  Really conflicted.  

After taking in the kids’ reactions, your eyes swept over to Robin and Eddie.  She was seated in the giant loveseat, per usual, with Eddie perched on the arm of it.  You narrowed your eyes as you caught sight of Robin fiddling her thumbs, eyes darting up and down from her fingers to the adults with the whiteboards.  Eddie was bouncing his knee anxiously, nibbling at his fingernails — which were already bitten to stubs.  While the two of them looked to be taking this hard, the way that the rest of you were…they also seemed to be absorbing it a bit differently.  As if maybe they had a hunch about it already…

It wasn’t until Erica stood up to sit by Lucas with zero prompt that you felt slightly suspicious.  Because as she did, Robin shot a very quick tight-lipped smile in Erica’s direction with eyes that radiated sympathy.  Did they know this was coming?  Is that why Erica had come upstairs with the cookies and milk later than the rest of the kids?

You sighed through your nose, focusing back on Hopper as he gestured for Dr. Owens to stand up with them.  The older man made his way to the center of the tense room, hands dug deeply into his pockets and wearing a very sympathetic smile.

“I’m really grateful you all have put a lot of faith in me, despite everything,” he said humbly.  “Truthfully, it’s not owed.  I know that.  Still…I promise you’re in good hands with me.  Not those guys out there.  Hence why I’m here.  And I know you’d have already figured out by now if I was still working for that side of things.  Between El and Will, and all of you crazy smart folks, I’m outnumbered.”

He added a light chuckle at the end that nobody returned.  Dr. Owens sighed, taking no offense.  He knew this was not going to be taken well.

“I’m in this fight with you,” he said, stronger than how he spoke before.  There was conviction in his tone that he never really used, and it only heightened just how severe things currently were.  “If it were up to me?  None of you would be out there.  I’d be out there on the frontlines.  But…given Max’s comatose state, and Bauman’s heart condition, I know I’m needed here.  Which is just as big a risk that’s being taken out on the battlefield, because we’re staying in Hawkins as the evacuation notice and mandate goes into effect.  The city will be swarmed with government officials who are all behind this.  We’ll be surrounded from all angles.  No one is safe.”

You’re pretty sure that Steve had stopped breathing at this point, and the veins that prominently stuck out from his arms tightly wound around you made your throat close up.  

“I’ll be here to monitor Max, along with Bauman.  I’ve got plenty of medication to help steady the heart arrhythmia, and anything vital needed for a medical emergency — on anyone’s behalf, not just Bauman’s and Mayfield’s.”

“But…what happens if…”

A tight voice made everyone’s heads whip in its direction.  It was Dustin speaking, eyes wide with fear.  He wasn't being his usual cocky, overly confident self.  He looked and sounded genuinely fearful.

“…what happens if we’re caught?  What do we do?  Where do we go?”

Murray sighs, stepping forward.  “We’ve thought about that.  Right now, there’s only 2 options.  But they’re solid.  The best we’ve got right now.  One more than the other.  See, look —”

Murray went into detail about an abort-mission plan, but it sounded distorted in your ears as the gravity of the situation weighed down on top of your shoulders: you were all splitting up.  And this time might be the last time.

At some point, Mike had started to finally come to life.  His snark was returning, but even he wavered and the fear in his voice wasn’t concealed.  Hopper and El had to level with him, which only flustered Mike and caused him to stutter.  They had him beat, and he knew it.  He wanted to storm off, but Erica had told him to sit his ass down and listen.  It was so unexpected that he did as she said.  But your own brain was playing it all in slow motion.  As Will began asking questions with Dustin, you could see how Lucas had looked like he wanted to ask Erica if she might have already known something — but he didn’t.  Dr. Owens was saying something about Will being tied to the other side of things and being the assigned “El” of their group opposite of her, which fired up Mike as he demanded to know why the hell that required him to be out of the group heading to the frontlines alongside his girlfriend.  Before Hopper could even respond, Eddie was jumping into action along with Jonathan — coming to the retired cop’s defense.  That only bewildered Mike more, which fueled Dustin’s confusion into high gear as he made arguments alongside Mike.  Lucas had thrown his voice into the mix, but when Erica’s was louder — telling them all to listen, for the love of god listen, and Lucas stared at her in silent bemusement.  Will was weakly pleading with them all to please calm down, along with Joyce, who shot Argyle (of all people) a desperate look, and he made his way over to sit down next to Will and tell him it was going to be alright.

“NOTHING ABOUT THIS IS ALRIGHT,” Mike cried, angry and sad and scared in the way a child made to grow up too soon has every right to be.

“Mike, please,” Nancy’s voice trembled, her blue eyes glassy.

“Nancy, this isn’t okay!!!” Mike wailed.

“M-Mike,” Nancy stammered, her own emotions giving her a shake she couldn’t stop.  “Just l-listen to me…”

“No, you never listen to me!!!” Mike bawled.  “Never!!!”

“Hey hey, Wheeler, hey.”  

Steve finally found his voice as he reluctantly made his way to stand up away from you and approach his kid that was having an absolute breakdown.  Mike was still wailing, but as Steve approached with an unwavering look in his eye — baby Wheeler allowed for the group's assigned babysitter to actually place his hands on his shoulders and try to level with him.  Mike’s face crumbled, his words not making any sense the more he stumbled over them.  All that could be made out was something he was trying to say towards El — something about why and how could you and tell them I’m coming — which made Steve get a firm grip on his shoulders as he told him not to blame her for this.  After all, Steve had all the experience in the world as far as wrongfully placing blame on someone else was concerned…and it made your entire body ache as you watched him soothe Mike, who just bawled and mumbled nonsense in his hold.

El began to cry, too, leaning into Hopper — whose bottom lip trembled.  He bit down on it hard and willed it to stop, his eyes overwhelmed with everything that was unraveling before his eyes. 

Dustin was going back and forth with Erica, but he sounded so pitiful it made your uneven heart crack.  He kept looking over at Steve, begging him to understand.  Please Steve, please, let me go with you.  Eddie moved to immediately hold him, crushing him in more of a death grip than a hug.  The metalhead mumbled into his curly hair — not this time, kiddo, not this time.  Robin had a hand clamped over her mouth, emotions taking over as she barely managed to bite them back.

You stood up instantly, moving to hold Buckley.  She didn’t hesitate to make room for you on the seat, letting you take her in your arms as she shook like a leaf.  You gently swayed her side to side with you, murmuring quiet little words that were meant to be comforting — knowing they weren’t, but offering them anyway.

Your eyes met Jonathan’s across the room as he swayed with Will as well.  His pupils were blown, consumed with dread and drowning in pure misery, and you knew that yours weren’t much different.

Mike had buried his face into Steve’s chest at this point, and it made Nancy cry into her own palms as she curled in on herself.  

“I can’t do this,” she whispered, voice cracking at the end.  She looked at Hopper and your uncle, eyes guilty and full of shame.  “I - I’m sorry.”

Before you could even process what just happened, Nancy was barreling up the stairs.  Jonathan watched her go, panicking.  He looked at Will, then at you — eyes pleading.  You didn’t even let a second pass before you’d squeezed Robin to signal her, standing up to bring her over to where Will was seated.  You took Jonathan’s place as he went after Nancy, holding him tight as Robin leaned against you on your opposite side.  Argyle kept a kind hand on Will’s shoulder, still sitting to the other of him.  

“Steve, please, you die I die, remember?”

Dustin’s whimpered words had to have been the saddest plea you’d ever heard in your life.  Steve almost broke but before he could he flung an arm to sweep Dustin into his hold, as baby Wheeler kept bawling into his chest.  He held them both steady, letting them fall apart in his protective arms and doing everything in his power not to break down with them.  He couldn’t.  If he did, he’d failed them.  But to Steve’s dismay…he did anyway.  He ducked his head down, shaking against the two of his kids, letting himself silently weep with them.  For them. 

Lucas looked utterly heartbroken, which Erica noticed.  The youngest Sinclair cast aside all her pride, looking at her older brother with the most sympathy and love she could have towards anyone in this world, and she threw her arms around him.  He only let it shock him for a second before he held her back, a grateful silence falling over them both.  

You felt tears of your own begin to brim your eyes, but before letting them fall you looked up towards the adults…seeing your uncle first.  Murray looked back at you with every ounce of empathy and solace that could be found inside his dark soul. 

You gave him a soft nod, silently communicating with him.  I understand.  I’m sorry you had to deliver this news, but I’m here and I understand. 

And he returned the soft nod, lips pressed into a thin line but communicating back through eye contact and body language.  I love you and I hate this.  But I’ve got you.

Dimitri stood next to him, eyes somber and downcast.  He was new to the picture, but having seen the other side of things and just how bad a toll this has clearly taken on you all — he mourned for everyone’s pain. 

Dr. Owens had to sit down, unable to speak and wringing his hands.  

Hopper and Joyce held each other, along with El.  They looked at each other, devastated but steadfast.  

This plan was not open for discussion.  

This plan was not open for debate.  

This plan was final.

And so you let the tears crawl over the edges of your eyes, feeling them skate down your cheeks as you clung to Will and Robin and felt the world sit on top of your shoulders.

***

-- so as you can see, shit's getting intense. the gut-wrenching angst approaching has me overwhelmed but I'm so sickeningly happy about it. suffice it to say, Steve & Bauman are my Roman Empire and they are endgame. so if that gives you any sort of hope, given the inevitable doom that is in store for them and everyone else involved...then yay.

<3 this story forever lives on. forever and ever amen. - misha

TAGLIST (ILYSM) If I forgot you or you wanna be added, lmk :)

@aloneinthehellfire @xprloki @erastourvip @get0ut0fmyr00m @Eddiemuns0nl0ver @marrowfrog00 @poppet05 @wiltedflowersundertowers Originalthingparadise Pleuviors pumpkinonice Ihaveproblemsihaveproblems Brinleighsstuff Definitelynotherr sucker-4-angst bookkeeperlove notlilyyyy @goosy-goose nevillescomslut

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington angst #mishas masterlists #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x you #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington stranger things #steve harrington smut #joe keery #oh so we do love steve #steve and bauman #murray bauman #jopper #jim hopper #jonathan byers #stancy #sorry stancy

[starryluminary]

hi, sorry, love your au! its really. really good, and i admire the fact that you have drawn a whole comic, especially one so good, thats incredible!

don't know if this has been asked before or if you have answered this already, but how does the afterparty (I don't remember the name exactly, but the eliminated contestants plus the contestants that didn't get in) feel about this whole situation between cody, noah and sierra, are they being being stupid like duncan or mean and malicious like alejandro, are they on noahs and codys side or sierras? how do the rest of team e-scope feel about it (eva and izzy), are they ready to fight sierra for hurting noah and cody?

also, how do their families? specifically noahs, since codys mother and father are implied to be neglectful and likely wouldn't care to watch a show their son was on and I don't know if its the same in your au, sierras we don't know (I can't remember if we ever met her family members), and noah we know to have 8 sisters and a mom and since noahs like. the baby - I think their reactions are going to be very interesting if they are even established at all

sorry, that's a lot. thank you for making your comic. it's kind of fascinating seeing how things progress over time in this new narrative and how different things are from canon. you're doing a great job. - 🍓 anon

Oooooo this is a long one! Uuuhhh let's go one block of text at a time

Thank you so much!! I'm really glad you like my au!! It always wows me that this impulsive decision I made turned into something people really like and even anticipate. That's so cool

This ask actually made me pause and seriously think about the Peanut Gallery. So I made a bullet list of all the contestants in the Peanut Gallery and their (mostly) individual opinions on the situation. I'll let you decide if they're stupid or not

Katie and Sadie: Sympathize with Sierra. All she is is a girl in love, who's Noah to ruin that?! Like, soooo not cool!

DJ: Doesn't sympathize with Sierra, but doesn't agree with how noco kissed without setting her straight. Isn't really on anyone's side.

Leshawna: Does not like Sierra's persistence. Completely understands Noah and Cody doing what they do behind her back.

Harold: Compelled to agree with Leshawna. Also likes Cody, therefore feels bad he has to deal with Sierra. He's happy Noah makes him happy.

Beth: Thinks Noco's "forbidden love" situation is super sweet and sappy. She's on their side.

Justin: Cannot fathom why Cody would want to be with Noah when Sierra is so much prettier and treats him like a God. Also doesn't like Noah in general.

Trent: Is happy Cody's happy with Noah, but feels bad Sierra's heartbroken, regardless of what she's done. Mostly neutral.

Izzy: Noticed Noah had a crush during her time on the game, but only found out it was on Cody when she watched the London episode. She's proud he went after who he wanted. Got a pit in her stomach when Sierra attacked Noah in Greece.

Eva: Finds the whole situation incredibly stupid. Cannot understand how love makes Sierra so obsessed. Would maim her if she had the chance. Someone put them in the ring, actually.

Lindsay: Is not paying attention. Sees Tyler is friends with Noah (more on that later) so she likes Noah too!

Gwen: Made friends with Cody in the first half of the season and helped him out with his feelings for Noah where she could. Understands Sierra's insane and feels bad for Cody.

Owen: Feels awful about ever doubting Noah after watching Alejandro try to manipulate Cody by flirting with Noah. Plans to apologize to Noah as soon as he sees him again.

Now about their families (which I also had not thought too much about before this ask). They're on a scale to me. Cody's parents are on the "Not watching the show at all" extreme of the scale, Sierra's mom (cause I don't think she has a dad?) is on the "Obsessively watching the show" extreme of the scale, and Noah's family is somewhere in the middle, tuning in and out. Cody will come home, have his parents ask "How was the trip?", he'll answer an empty "fine" and they'll move on. Sierra's mom is loudly cheering her daughter on, cause she knows if she was there instead of her daughter, she'd be doing the same thing to Chris. She's proud of her for going after Cody and has an unhealthy hatred for Noah for getting in the way. For the first half of the season, Noah's family would watch the episodes as they aired if they could catch them. Most of them were there for London though. After that they started putting in more effort to catch the episodes. His parents are mostly worried for his well being, but his siblings are mostly cheering for him and Cody with every episode. They're gonna jump him (with affection) when he gets home.

You don't have to apologize Strawberry. (Can I call you Strawberry?) I'm always happy to receive asks about this au! And I'm glad you're having your fun with it. It's what I strive for. The fun

#added a read more cause it got long #Thank yooouuuu!! #total drama #world tour but noco are the only ones kissing #Starry has a question

[boliv-jenta]

Nico x f!reader x OMC

Part of the Kitten series.

Warnings: swearing. Smut. P iv V sex. Male maturbation. Dirty thoughts. A little angst. Idiots in love.

WC:3.5k

Summary: Nico and Angelo find a new way of supporting you. Angelo introduces you to his boyfriend.

The Dinner Date

The sun had been up for hours. Your day would have usually started ages ago, yet you were still in bed. Head firmly beneath the covers, hoping whoever just knocked at your door would leave. A shadow passed your window before it started to slide open. 

"What the…?!" The baseball bat you kept under your bed was aimed at the intruder as they poked their head in through the window. 

"Lo siento. I didn't mean to scare you." Angelo smiled sweetly and fluttered his thick eyelashes before scrambling through your now open window like an uncoordinated cat.

"Angelo, why are you here?" You huffed climbing back into bed.

"I could ask you the same thing." He climbed on the bed spooning your cocooned form from behind.

"I'm done. I just…it's been a lot. I just need to be done with everything for a while." 

"Oh, Cariño. Do you want some company?"

"Please."

Angelo's heart clenched at how small your voice sounded. He immediately kicked off his shoes and lifted the covers to cuddle you properly. When a little sob left you, he pulled you closer, as if he could hold back the tide of sorrow threatening to wash over you.

"I'm sorry." Shame rose on your cheeks. You were a grown woman, you should be able to deal with your own problems. Problems that you created for yourself. This was never part of your arrangement, yet you weren't strong enough to pull yourself from Angelo's arms. 

The last three months had been one hit after another. Your husband had announced that he was leaving you for the overly flirty widow down the street. It turns out all those days he was on the road working, he was actually at her beach house. That would have been fine, it would have been a relief to be able to get out of your marriage. It was the way he went about it that was the problem. When he applied for divorce he blamed your cheating. He told your family you'd been spending your time with 'a couple of gays doing God knows what'. That got you cut off financially, despite the massive contribution your skills made to the family business. The house was only yours until the end of the month then your soon to be ex-husband was going to sell it for his half of the money. 

Angelo had moved in with his boyfriend, Owen, so he was around less. Nico's walls slide back into place and some walls of your own went up. You didn't want him to see you broken, pathetic and lost. You'd only been over there a few times, during which you completely disassociated. Your body went through the motions while your mind was somewhere else.

"Hey. You don't have to be sorry. This is what friends are for." Angelo soothed.

Another layer of hurt. It was Robert's idea to move out here to the suburbs, in a city you had never lived in before. Your friends were on another coast. You had no one here. No one close anyway. Just Angelo and Nico. Two people that you didn't want to see you as your family saw you, weak. 

Tears fell freely from your eyes now, the pillow below you was growing damper by the second. 

Another knock on your door sounded.

"I'll see who it is." Angelo left before you could think of the consequences. It wasn't very likely that it was Robert at the door, plus he still had a key. 

Angelo was on his way back as you made your way to the door. Nico was right behind him. Instinctively, you tried to wipe the tears from your face on your sleeve. For some reason, Nico seeing you in this state bothered you even more. As Angelo stepped closer he moved out of Nico's eyeline. Nico's face visibly fell when he saw you. An air of discomfort built. Being tender still wasn't his strong suit, and there you were in need of so much tenderness. Luckily, he had Angelo to step in.

"You can go take a long bath. Nico and I will cook lunch and take care of the house." He looked past you to the dishes piled in the sink.

"It's okay, I can do them." Embarrassment laced your tone. 

"I didn't say you couldn't." Angelo ushered you off towards your ensuite. 

After a bath, they sat you down at the table. Angelo had laid it, he'd even brought a few flowers in from the garden and set them in water in the middle of the table. Nico had cooked one of your favourites, his vegetable quesadillas with pico de gallo. After a bath and some food you felt more human.

Angelo kept the conversation going,  dragging both you and Nico along. "I love your colour scheme. What do you think Nico?"

It was strange to think that neither one of them had set foot in your house before. You knew both these men, intimately, in ways you'd never know anyone before yet the didn't know what your home looked like.

"It's very..er..chic. Calming. I like the colour pallet" Nico replied. Some more pained, polite conversation followed until Angelo's phone rang. 

"Hi, Bebé." Angelo positively glowed as he spoke to his boyfriend. It took all you had to to reach over, cradle his beautiful face and press kisses all over it. 

The relationship you had with Angelo was kind of funny. If you took away the sex, he was like a best friend. The two of you spent time gossiping and joking. When you let him in, he was an amazing listener. He knew just the right thing to say. He'd often ask "Do you want answers or just someone to listen?" That single thoughtful phrase set him apart from the rest of the men in your life. Sometimes you just needed to rant about something to get it out of your system. You didn't need someone pointing out that you were over reacting. Or suggesting ways to deal with the problem that under your immediate flash of emotion you knew. It was just something you had to go through to make peace with the situation. He understood that. 

It was one of the many reasons you adored him. The fact that he had a tongue like a whirlwind was also a bonus. His longer than average cock, that sparked electricity as it struck your cervix, was also a bonus. It was funny how you adored him, loved him even and he was near perfect, yet you weren't in love with him. Watching him happily finish his call, you wondered what it said about you that you hadn't fallen for him.

"Owen is here to pick me up. Are you ready to meet him?" It took you a moment to realise he was talking to you. 

"Meet him? Now?" You self consciously touched your hair, that had been swept up into a bun hurriedly. 

"Yes. You look beautiful as always." Gently, he pushed your arm back down. His hand ran down your arm to take your hand as the doorbell rang. 

"We can't stop so you just can just say 'hi' for now. Hey, Babe." Angelo flung the door open to greet Owen.

"Hello, my love." Owen leaned down to kiss Angelo on the cheek. Turning to you he said your name before adding "I'm so glad to finally meet you. I heard so many things. All of them good." 

"Really? Oh." A blush bloomed on your cheeks. "It's so nice to meet you too. I've heard lovely things about you too."

"I'm sure it was all very flattering. My Angelo has such a lovely outlook on life." Owen smiled, tucking Angelo into his side. 

"Hi, Nico." Owen held up a well manicured hand adored with a couple of elegant rings, in a wave.

"Hi, Owen." Nico's arm settled around your waist as he joined you at the door. There was an odd energy in his actions. At first the move seemed like a protective gesture. As his fingers squeezed your hip, it seemed more like he was the one seeking protection in the comfort of your touch. 

Nico's arm lingered until Angelo and Owen said their goodbyes. Owen left with a promise of you all having dinner soon.

"That's Owen?!" You gasped at the door shut.

Nico simply quirked an eyebrow at you in response. 

"I mean, I know it's Owen. I just wasn't expecting….he's a little…not that there's anything wrong with… I just wasn't expecting...sorry. I sound super judgy." You rushed out breathlessly.

"You sound super confused, Sweetheart. What were you expecting?" They way his brow furrowed and his lips made a perfect little O made you want to kiss him. It'd been over two weeks since you had touched him. The thought broke free before you could cage it.

You crave him.

Turning from him to break the spell of your gaze, you muttered. "Someone more our age." 

"Our age? We're all different ages." The amusement was apparent in his voice.

"You're trying to make me say it aren't you?" A grin of your own was audible.

"Maybe."

"Okay. I was expecting someone younger. He's like, what, twenty years older?" 

"Twenty five." 

"That's like a whole person older."

"Even if he was only a day older that could could count as a whole person older. Just a baby person older."

"What?"

"What?"

The two of you burst out laughing. It was nice to be so happy in his company again. As the laughter subsided, you sunk into the sofa next to where he had taken a seat.

"How are you?" He eventually asked. 

"I…I don't want to talk about it."

"What do you want to do?"

The answer was on your tongue as it slid against his. The two of you touched each other with a sense of urgency that had been missing for a long while. Unlike the usual urgency, born out of needing to satisfy an urge, this was something else. This was to fill a different need. You both needed each other. You needed to feel anything other than pressing sadness. He would never admit it but he needed you. He needed to be the man you brought out in him. The one that let himself feel. The one that wasn't terrified and only living half a life. He'd been that version of him, that night in the hotel. He'd held you in his arms. He'd entertained the thought of never letting you leave them. 

Now, buried between your legs, he was convinced that's where he belonged. While he put all his energy into pleasing you, he didn't have enough to keep his walls up. The thoughts crept up on him. Thoughts of how he loved you. How he might even be in love with you, if he still thought himself capable. Maybe he could try, maybe he could learn by doing. He could fake it until he made it. Until he could love without any reservations again. The risk of losing you was too great for him to try. He could have you like this, and that was that. 

"Oh, Nico!" Your nails scrapped against the silken cushions behind you as you clawed for purchase, trying to anchor yourself as your orgasm threatened to send you somewhere else completely. There was no where in the world you'd rather be than with Nico.

The phone on the end table rang. No one ever calls the landline. 

"Shit. Sorry." You paused Nico in his motions as he chased his own end. "That might be important."

He lifted off of you as you reached back for the handset. 

"Hello? Yes, speaking. Oh. That's a shame. Thank you anyway. Yes. Of course. Goodbye." Nico felt his erection wither as your face dropped. Before you, it would take a freight train hitting him to calm him down. Now he connected sex with more than just the physical again. His physical needs bowed to your emotion needs.

"Sorry. That was the apartment I was hoping to rent. They chose someone else. Who knew 'unemployed divorcee' wasn't a big selling point." You offered him a smile. 

"What about the other apartments?"

"That was the last one."

"What will you do now?"

"I'll have to move back home. A friend of mine said I can stay with her until I find a job. Which might be longer than she realised because I'll have to drop out of college…."

"You can stay with me. I have room."

That was a stupid suggestion. Angelo was the only thing keeping you two on an even keel. With him around less, things were already weird. He was already shutting down. You weren't going to stay around just to fuck him. You were caring, funny, smart, beautiful. Now that you were single, someone who could give you what he couldn't would snap you up. His thoughts spiralled again. Thankfully, after years of having to remain detached with his patients, he could keep his thoughts from showing on his face.

"Are you sure? I mean it would help. I could finish college, get a job, I'd have enough from my half of the house for a deposit. It would help a lot."

If your smile got any bigger, Nico's heart would burst. He loved being the one to bring that smile to your face. Your brightest smiles were usually drawn out by Angelo, will all his sweetness.

"Sure. We'll get you moved over at the weekend." He sounded so nonchalant, he almost convinced himself it was no big deal. 

The weight of how big a deal it was settled on his shoulders along with your arms as you squeezed him tight. "Thank you, Nico. Thank you so much." In your excitemen, you peppered kisses all over his face until you got to his lips. Without thinking, you captured them in a soft kiss. Neither of you made a move to deepen it. The two of you settled into each other's arms. The voice in your head told you to stop being stupid. Even if it warmed your heart, it was stupid to indulge your feelings. It would only lead to heartbreak for both of you. It wasn't fair for you to act on feelings that you weren't even sure about. Before the divorce, you felt like you were in flux. Living between who you were and who you wanted to be. You had no idea who you were now. Could you be someone Nico could fall for? Were you compatible beyond the odd dynamic you'd formed? He was teaching you how to take what you wanted in the bedroom. About the power you held. Skills that you were taking out of the bedroom. Could his support and care be extended beyond it, too?

There was an awkward silence when your lips parted. A silence that Nico broke just as awkwardly. "I better go."

"Oh, okay." Suddenly, you were painfully aware of the panties dangling from your ankle and the damp between your legs.

Nico was busy fastening doing up his fly. "I better get moving on getting your room ready, right? I have a whole chest of sex toys to find a home for. I'll see you later."

Nico felt how much of a brush off that sounded like. He was brushing you off but for his own broken reasons. It had nothing to do with you. To try and get that across he pressed a kiss to the top of your head that just seemed to make everything more awkward.

As always you provided a saving grace for him. "Maybe don't find new homes for all the sex toys? I really like the purple one."

As the kindness you threw him warmed his heart, the sun warmed his face when he stepped out of your house.

Angelo called around an hour later with an invitation for dinner. With Owen. A man that you knew little about. That apparently knew about you. Possibly that you cheated on your husband. Definitely that you were still having sex with his boyfriend. You did not want any part of that, but then Angelo peppered in some Spanish terms of endearment and pleas. The next thing you knew, you were picking out a dress.

After Nico settled on just dragging the chest into his room, his phone rang. After a brief, one sided discussion with Angelo he ended the call resisting the urge to throw his cellphone. Apparantly, you were all having dinner tonight.

Luckily, the chest was in here now. He needed to finish what he had started earlier, and there was no way he could face Owen frustrated. Stripping down, he rooted through the wooden box. He settled on a long, thin, curved toy. Laying spread out on the bed, he thought of you as he inserted the tip. The way you'd taken to pegging him with ease. The new found confidence you had in your ability to please him. His cock jumped in his hand as he hit that spot inside of him. Twisting the base the toy came to life, vibrating against his prostate. Between that and him steadily pumping his cock he was close in no time. He thought about what you might wear tonight. He also thought about fucking ruining it. Ripping it down so he could get his mouth on your fabulous tits. Ragging it up over your hips to devour your sweet cunt or bury his throbbing cock in it. Or just jerking his load all over your outfit, marking you for everyone to see. Claiming you as his. That thought had his balls tightening. He worked his hand as he thought of you beneath him, getting covered in his release rather than him splattering his own chest with it. The clarity that came with his orgasm was unwelcome. How was he going to live with you? He'd fucked this whole thing up even while not doing the things he thought would fuck it all up. Fuck.

The drive to the restaurant was quiet but not uncomfortable. Nico had offered to take you as he wouldn't be drinking tonight. That struck you as odd. Nico enjoyed a drink with his meals.  You wonder if he had plans for tomorrow that he needs to keep a clear head for. You thought about asking but it seemed like prying. Wow, soon you'd know more about him without asking. You'd just be there to witness his day to day life. The thought thrilled you a little.

The restaurant had a classic feel with a modern twist. The decor was plush with clean, crisp lines. The smells from the kitchen were to die for. They twisted your stomach in a different way from the fear currently rooted there. Seeing Angelo so happy eased the fear a little. He was always so happy and relaxed in your company. This was different. This was love. It poured from him. It was reflected in his eyes when he looked at Owen. Owen clearly saw what you saw in Angelo yet he fell in love. You were happy for the two of them.

Greetings exchanged, you sat down for dinner. Owen was strikingly handsome. His soft grey beard complimented his sharp features. His hair was also grey. It was thick and brushed back from his face. He was tall and broad shouldered. He carried himself with such poise. His English accent was melodious to you. He was effortlessly charming. Smart. Articulate. Kind with his words. You could see how Angelo had fallen head over heels. For a moment, you thought about the arrangement between you, Nico, and Angelo. Nico and Owen both shared admiring glances. There was a palpable tension between them. It didn't seem hostile. It didn't feel like jealousy or envy. If anything, it felt like the moment before Nico switched in bed. When he snapped from obedient sub to a dom. The calm before the storm when the air crackled with the potential of raw, unbridled energy. If the tension was sexual, and Owen was open to arrangements like yours, you wondered why they hadn't come to one of their own. 

As the night progressed, Nico's hands found their way to your body more and more. Not in a sexual way more like the comforting away he had reached for you earlier, when you first met Owen.

"....so that's why you should always observe trainee doctors from afar!" Owen had the whole table laughing with his story. Even Nico, who hadn't been steadily growing more tense as the night wore on, relaxed and laughed along. 

"Is that how you met Angelo? You're a doctor too?" You asked, taking a sip of your wine.

Nico's shoulders tensed in your peripheral.

Owen took a sip of his own wine. Swallowing, he answered. "Sort of, we met at a talk. Again, sort of, I'm a psychiatrist."

Suddenly, you shared Nico's tension. "Oh."

Tags @kirsteng42 @prolix-yuy @thegreenkid2 @hquinzelle @fangirl-316 @gracie7209 @jedifarmerr @doommommy @scorpio-marionette @sturkillerbase @harriedandharassed @aynsleywalker @mswarriorbabe80 @quica-quica-quica @rise-my-angel @adancedivasmom @graciexmarvel @kinda-nobody @movievillainess721 @munsonownsmyass @mandoloriancookie

#pedro pascal character fanfiction #nico house comes with a bird #nico x f!reader x omc #nico x f!reader

[angelhummel]

your glee/degrassi posts made me curious: which degrassi characters do you think are similar to the glee characters? i'd compare spinner and puck for example.

Oof not sure now I feel about that lmao. I have sooo many wildly fluctuating thoughts on Spinner that they all kind of average out into "he was ok" lmao. God honestly Spinner vibes for Finn more than Puck like aww I was a big dumb loser with no direction in high school, guess I'll become a cop/join the army (: I mean Puck too lowkey but that was just doubly dumb bc he was basically doing it for Finn like ?? calm down alksjfsdklgs

Plus there's so many more Degrassi characters than Glee characters so I feel like one Gleek is worth six Degrassians lmao

First of all Finn and Rachel want what Jay and Manny have, let's just say that. Super talented destined for stardom singer actor girl and her bf who works on cars and plays drums?? Janny outsold

Also with Jay and Alex I get Pucktana vibes. The ultimate lesbro lmao

Also Brittana are Palex and i dont ship either of them like the seemingly dark and brooding Latina lesbian with the soft spot for the preppy blonde bi cheerleader... Those dynamics look familiar

Quinn, I hate to do it to her, but a little Becky a little Darcy... Churchy good girl with the shitty parents who are oblivious to her struggles. Maybe also a little Jenna just for the teen mom thing but Puck could never and would never stoop so low to be a KC. Maybe also a little Fiona for Quinn??

Umm Karofsky and Riley are the same character. I think the only reason I like one and hate the other is bc Max could act :| Sorry bout it

I already went on record saying that Miles Hollingsworth is just fanon Sebastian Smythe alksjfslkfjs

Mercedes and Liberty a very little bit?? Mainly when it comes to Rachel/Emma & Manny acting like they were always such close besties when it's like ?? 75% of the time yall were hating on her!! Umm Terry for superficial body image issues lol. And ugh I don't know how I feel about this but maybe a little Clare?? Like in regards to keeping her faith and her relationship to sex etc etc

Actually I can very clearly see Kurt and Finn as Marco and Spinner bc I imagine s1 Finn would rather choke to death on a piece of food than let a gay guy give him the heimlich <3

Oh duh Kurt and Tristan. bc Finn and Owen (: But also bc they both have very theatrical personalities and similar arcs with body image issues and also they're both iconic

Artie is like JT and Toby's son idk

Kitty gives me early Holly J mixed with early Becky vibes

Tina maybe. Ellie and Ashley vibes :x I'm sorry alskfjslkfhs. And also superficially Leia in that they are both Asian and the show didn't care about them (:

Brittany is Lola (derogatory)

Whew that feels like a lot lmao but that's all the ones I can think of right now!! Lmk what you think!

#this was long so i hid it under a cut #glee #degrassi #my thoughts #berryslopez #some of these are more superficial than others #but sorry i cant help the two shows treat their black and asian girls in similar shitty ways #and boys really #like what did zane and danny do #and literally who even is damian does anyone remember

[augustinescruelsummer]

KISS AND MAKE UP | Q.HUGHES

You and Quinn get into an argument when he’s on the road, and him and Owen devise a plan to make it up to you.

genre: angst then to fluff. angst is small and nothing to serious.

i feel like I’ve gone awol. i missed everyone who interacts with my writing and I’ve definitely missed writing as a whole. thank you for your support on my pieces and im going to be writing a lot more now that my concussions gone. Thank you for understanding ❤️

“You know how much I miss you,” his voice played through your phone speakers as you sat at the kitchen counter, swiveling around in the stool. You were cutting up your midnight snack, an orange, when Quinn called you. Of course you answered, because you didn’t get to talk to him a lot while he was on road. You nodded your head at what he had said, absentmindedly placing another orange slice on the paper plate.

“Do you know when you’ll be home?” You asked him softly, almost afraid of what the answer could be. Quinn sighed over the phone and ran a hand through his messy hair.

“I don’t know yet, babe, but I’ll let you know as soon as I know.” 

You tried not to look despondent so you didn’t break Q’s heart, but he could tell his absence was affecting you more than you wanted him to know. You took in his state as he began talking about the morning skate from today. He was holding his phone in his hands while laying on his back. The phone was propped up to where you could see the duvet covering most of his shirtless torso.

The news that Q couldn’t attend your work gala hit harder than you thought it would. The gala was only an hour away from your apartment, and it was one of your biggest work events.

“I’m really sorry baby,” Quinn had said as he took in your face when he broke the news. His heart ached for you, and he set his phone down as you began to explain to him how upset you were.

“Quinn, you can’t just tell me you can go and then bail out! You’ve given me two days notice to plan around your gap. All of my coworkers don’t even think you’re real, and this just makes my situation worse!”

“If I could go, you know I would be there in an instant. It's out of my hands,” he said in an eerily calm tone, making you even more pissed off.

“God, you still could have told me farther out than two days!” You raised your voice over the phone call, and you could almost see Quinn’s jaw tensing. You were working from home, typing away furiously on your keyboard, trying to figure out how to fill the gaping hole Quinn had left in the gala. “I’m going to have to find a new date now,” You sighed, exasperated.

“No the fuck you are not,” he seethed at you. “What the hell is wrong with you? I’m your boyfriend, you can’t just find a new date because I have to work!”

His tone had escalated to a new degree. You knew Quinn was a jealous guy, but not to this extent. The gala required a plus one, because all of the high end employees were granted a dance with said person. 

“Do you want me to just sit out on the one chance I get to flaunt my title?” You fired back, not tolerating the attitude Q was having.

“I’m sure you just need a date because it boosts your status with your boss, huh?”

Quinn knew the second the words came out he needed to take them back. The words were floating away from him, and he was desperately trying to take them back to his brain somehow.

“Call me when you lose the attitude, Quinton.”

-----

“She hit you with the full name?” Owen Power asked in the locker room as he strapped on his skates. He was the first one to notice Quinn’s aloof state, and knew it had something to do with you. He was always focused on hockey unless something had happened between you guys, which was rare.

“I cannot believe you actually said that to her,” he added on, which earned him an eye roll from Quinn. “Honestly, good for her for not taking crap from you.”

“Thanks, Owen!” Quinn said sarcastically, huffing as he tugged his own skates on. Owen grabbed his stick and gave Quinn a harsh pat on the back, “My pleasure!”

Owen knew from morning skate that Quinn and you were going to have to figure it out. ‘Y/N is mad at me’ Quinn was his least favorite version, because he played awful.

“That was a shit shot, Hughes!” Owen yelled as Quinn’s shot went to the completely wrong place, and Quinn didn’t even respond at his stab. He knew he was playing like crap, but his mind was also possessed with the thought that you were mad at him. 

The guys took a lunch break and Quinn checked his phone to one message from you. 

Call me when you’re ready to talk like an adult.

Owen had decided that the call should take place when he was in the room, that way he could give Quinn advice on how to not go berserk on his girlfriend.

-----

“Hi, baby,” Quinn said, putting the phone on speaker at Owen’s hand signaling request. The line was quiet for a moment before you mumbled back a soft greeting, and Quinn could tell that you were off. Some part of him was a little glad that this fight was effecting you as well, and that he wasn’t just overreacting.

“I’m sorry,” he began, “I overreacted. I know the gala was a big deal to you and I should have checked the schedule sooner. Of course I could have given you a four day notice, which is reasonable for hockey schedules, but I was stupid and didn’t check. Which ended up just hurting both of us, so I’m working on being more responsible. I just forget that my schedule also affects yours.”

Owen’s mouth was agape at this. He had never even seen Quinn talk this much at once, nonetheless apologize. Q’s toxic trait was hoping everything would simply blow over, and it had started many arguments between Michigan’s golden pair.

“Thank you for apologizing,” You responded warmly, “It means a lot.”

He could see you now in his head, wearing one of his UMich hockey crewnecks, curled up on their couch. A steaming cup of hot chocolate on the coffee table, and a book folded over your lap. Not to mention the fuzzy socks and deer patterned blanket he had gotten you when you fell sick.

“I did some adjusting with the manager, and if all works out I might be able to make it to the gala. No promises though.”

Your squeal hit his ears, and Owen’s face scrunched up at the sound. Quinn simply smiled at it, because he realized you were happy again.

“That would mean the world to me, Quinny!” You beamed, and the nickname made his cheeks heat up in the presence of Owen. He shot an eyebrow up at the nickname, but Quinn pretended like he didn’t see it. “Then consider it done, baby.”

-----

Quinn had gotten home early the morning of the gala, deciding to surprise you while you were asleep. He unlocked the apartment and set his suitcase by the door. He didn’t need to worry about changing out of his suit because he had come back earlier than the team. He begged management to let him skip press day so he could be with you for the gala, and it worked. 

He thinks management just got tired of his constant nagging whenever they were near him. But hey, what gives?

He kicked his shoes off and opened the door to the bedroom, smiling at your asleep face. Half your head was smushed into the pillow, and your mouth was wide open. You had fallen asleep with your phone on your lap, and he gently removed it.

He smiled when the lock screen lit up from the contact, and the picture was a selfie of both you kissing his cheek in black and white. Quinn placed it in the charger port, put your bookmark in the correct place before also moving your book to the night stand.

You woke up at all the movement, and you were so tired you hardly realized this was the first time you had seen Quinn in two weeks.

“I’ll give you the big reaction in the morning,” you told him, “we’re both to exhausted for all of that right now.”

Quinn smiled in agreement before slipping under the covers with you, wrapping an arm around your middle and pulling you into him. He had stripped his shirt off, and was just in grey sweats. His warmth instantly hit your body, and you curled up. 

“Thank you,” you whispered softly.

“Anything for you, babe.” 

#nhl western conference #nhl hockey #quinn hughes #quinn hughes imagine #quinn hughes x reader #umich boys <3 #hockey imagine #hockey one shot #jack hughes imagine #vancouver canucks #nhl players #nhl imagine #nhl fanfiction

[asteriismos]

flashing lights — bill denbrough

pairing: bill denbrough x fem! reader

warning(s): smut, eighteen! bill denbrough, is it choking if he doesn’t squeeze?, fingering, piv sex, cursing, ig kinda degrading idk tho judge for yourself, unedited

summary: bill, the star baseball player of derry, and you, from another high school, meet in the locker room and get to know each other. 

words: 3.1k

note: don’t say i never gave you anything i am a woman of my word

sitting here in the bleachers adjacent to the baseball field, with the setting sun in your gaze and the feeling of newly spring wind on your skin, you had high hopes that your schools baseball team would win. out of all the schools in lieu with your own, bangor high school, derry’s team was the most anticipated of in the season. where most high schools in the nation favored the fall sport of football, the central part of maine where you lived actually liked baseball more, so when the first sprouts of spring showed, everyone was excited for the next season. 

you were a senior, almost finished with school and personally tasked yourself and your group of friends with trying to go to every single baseball game that you all could make it to - whether they were at home or away. 

“look, he’s up to bat,” your friend marcella said, catching your attention by lightly tapping your shoulder and motioning to the field. there you saw your close friend owen, who was the star player of your school’s team and one of your friends since you were a little kid. he was the person who introduced you to the group that you were here with now, here specifically to cheer him on. 

you saw him walk to home plate, bat in hand and getting into position to swing. your eyes took you across from him to the pitcher of the other team, who you didn’t know but could see the name displayed on the back of his shirt. denbrough. you raised your eyebrow at the last name, it didn’t ring a bell. 

the crowd started to cheer for your friend, waiting for denbrough to throw the first pitch. everything became silent, and the ball was thrown with stellar accuracy. whoever this denbrough boy was, he was seemingly a really good pitcher. when the second ball was thrown and owen missed yet again, your hand ran through your hair nervously. you could hear people whispering all around you, wondering if he was going to strike out. 

just as if someone of the heavens was listening to the anxious worries of your fellow classmates, denbrough went to throw the ball and owen swung and the ball went flying, going straight for the outfield as owen ran with all his might to first base. you cheered with your friends, yelling words of encouragement and praise towards your team. 

the game, from that point, was in your high schools favor. it was seemingly decided almost halfway through that bangor high school had it in the bag, which did nothing for any person in your crowds ego. just as the last inning was finished, your school came out victorious. 

“hopefully this means that we’re going to the championships this year,” you heard people say. “and maybe we can host it at our school so we don’t have to drive all the way out here again.” 

you were anxious to see your friend, running down the stairs of the bleachers and shouting his name, but owen didn’t hear you. sighing, you turned to your group to say, “should we get back home?” the team would have to come back by bus anyways, which sucked, because you wanted to congratulate your friend on such a good win. 

“yeah, probably before it gets too late, you know how bad those backroads are,” jake stated. “do you want to catch a ride with me? im sure marcella can take your car back.” 

half of you wanted to go with them and just see owen later, but to you, it felt like poor taste to make him wait that long. plus, maybe you could catch him before he left. you shook your head, “no, i’ll stay. i want to see the team. go without me, I'll see you tomorrow.” 

jake laughed. “okay, just don’t get lost.” he wiggled his eyebrows in a teasing manner and walked away, taking your friends with him and leaving you alone in the front of derry high school. 

you had been here once before, just for a short while and after a baseball game like right now. but that was all the way back during freshman year when you were trying to find the bathroom, you really had no idea where the locker rooms were. 

opening the large door, you started along the main hallway, looking at the posters that aligned the wall that reminded you of your own school. derry was really similar in layout, so perhaps it wouldn’t be that hard. turning the corner, you saw a sign that pointed to the gym and the locker rooms. in no time you were there, but there was no one coming out of the doors. had they already left and you missed them? it was silent. 

you put your ear to the door and listened, hearing some rustling. you knocked, but there was no answer, making you raise your eyebrow. and you don’t exactly know what prompted you to open the wooden door and make your way inside, but you did, and along the array of closed lockers, your eyes took you to the one person who was in there. 

it was the denbrough pitcher. 

you got a good look of him now, with his honeyed locks that fell messy on his forehead, standing taller than you. his back was slightly turned to you and through his jersey you could see his toned back muscles, making you lose yourself for a moment and send you almost stumbling over your feet. you knew that he was attractive from the moment you set your eyes on him but you didn’t know that he was this attractive. 

he turned around now and immediately those dazzling cerulean blue eyes landed on you, making your face heat up in realizing that this was not the visitors locker room like you had intended on trying to find. 

“sorry,” you fumbled out after a moment of shameless staring. “I was looking for my friend.” denbrough tilted his head to the side and you watched him take out a bag and push his locker door closed. instead of walking out like you should’ve, you just stood there watching him. it was in poor taste, since the longer you looked at him, you could see clearly that he was angry. 

a tiny grin came to his face. “it’s fine, no one’s in here except me anyways.” a silent moment passed and then a quizzical look came to his face, eyes falling back on you. “wait . . . weren’t you cheering on the other team?” he had noticed you, just as you were now noticing him. the room seemed a lot smaller than it had earlier and you ignored the fluttering feeling in your stomach the longer he stared at you. you didn’t even know his name. 

“yeah, it was a good game,” you shrugged your shoulders. 

“we should’ve won that game.” 

a cocky grin splayed on your features. “well, im sure you’ll get another shot next time.” you would have to play them again to secure a spot in the championships, it was still rather early in the season anyways. 

“will you be at the next game?” denbrough asked, he walked closer to you now, and there was a look in his eyes that was not easy to mistake. he was looking at you like you were a full course meal and he was the hungriest man on earth. and you liked the way that he looked at you, this gorgeous boy that you had barely met, and you wanted him to keep looking at you like that. well, you would rather him be doing other things. “maybe we could go do something together afterwards.” now you were certain of his likeness for you. 

you gave him a smirk. “well, i don’t know about that, i wouldn’t want to get involved with the opposing team.” when he noticed you were directly giving back the same energy he was giving, his feet stopped so he was just inches away from you. it took everything in you to keep yourself from grabbing him by those large muscles and - 

in a moment of weakness or just pure idiocy, you did exactly as you thought, lunging yourself forward, hands reaching for his face and pulling him into a searing kiss. when he reciprocated your movements, you had to stop another smirk from rising to your face, pushing it down and focusing on your hands that made it’s way to his soft hair. 

your kiss was unexpected by denbrough, though seemingly not unwelcome since his hands found their place exploring your sides, not being exactly gentle with his touches which you didn’t mind. this was so unlike you, doing something like this with someone you didn’t know. and to be honest, it was unlike him, too. 

but both of you were giving each other the ‘fuck me’ eyes and well, you only live once, right? 

as the kiss became more sloppy and he broke it to press kisses to your jawline and trailing down your neck, you breathed out and closed your eyes. “I don’t even know your name.” you sighed into his touches though, not really caring what his name was but knowing that it would probably be useful sometime soon. 

denbrough came back up to meet your gaze. “it’s bill,” he gave you a grin. “pleasure to meet you.” there was a sense of teasing in his tone, which you would’ve laughed at if his hands weren't reaching for where your shirt met your pants. 

“y/n,” you said weakly, already feeling your legs start to give out by the way that he was looking at you. you reached out to bill, wanting to feel his body pressed against yours again. he chuckled at your eagerness, giving you what you wanted by slowly pushing you against the lockers behind you. you felt the cool metal through your shirt and instantly realized how hot it was getting in this locker room, your skin was already on fire. 

bill reattached his lips to your skin and you spent the time trying to undo the belt that was around his pants that nicely accentuated everything that you wanted from him. thank god for baseball pants. 

tentatively, you pressed your hips against his and you heard a groan leave his throat, his lips stalling for a moment and then going back to his earlier movements. you were well aware of how excited he was, taking a moment to note that you could feel that he was absolutely fucking enormous. 

of course he was. 

as if he had enough of this teasing, his hand reached down and went straight under the band of your pants, being met with the wetness that was gathering in your panties. you bucked your hips forward into his hand and he smirked at how compliant you seemed to be with him. his other hand was gripping your side, keeping you close to him while the other pushed your panties to the side and the pad of his pointer finger came into contact with your slit. 

you moaned out and bill covered your mouth with his own, not kissing you but keeping it there. “so tell me,” he said, breath hot against you, finger tracing a line from your slick folds to your clit, making you almost keel over if it hadn’t been for his hand keeping you up and body pressing you farther into the locker. “this friend of yours, he was on your team wasn’t he?” 

you nodded, not trusting your voice. but he didn’t seem to like that, his hand stalling and not moving no matter how much you tried to gain friction. 

“answer me with words,” the hand on your side coming up to the bottom of your throat so you were forced to look at him in the face, those blue eyes on him seemingly had become darker. 

you took in a sharp breath. “yes,” you answered. his movements started again, but this time he took one finger and pushed it inside you till he was knuckle deep in, a large moan falling off of your tongue, eyes rolling to the back of your skull. 

“and how do you think he would feel seeing you like this for me? the star player of the other team?” bill’s tone was condescending and you wondered if he was normally like this, or he was just angry about the outcome of the game. his finger sped up, soon being joined with another one that slipped in with ease. you were so wet for him already. “but you wouldn’t care, would you?” 

it was seemingly rhetorical, because he didn’t wait for you to answer and instead attached his lips to your throat, teeth grazing a point that had you gasping, hand coming and tugging on those locks of his, the other falling to his neck. 

“bill,” you muttered. “please just-” you were cut off by a moan, gripping him close as his thumb came into contact with your clit and rubbed tight circles against it. 

he looked up at you from the mess he was creating on your neck. “please what?” 

“just fuck me.” 

you were really in no position to be making such requests since bill seemed to be in control (which really, you didn’t mind if it meant that he was making you feel good in the process), but at this point you were too strung out to care what he thought of the rather forward request. you knew that you needed him and you needed him now. 

bill pulled away from you and you took in his now ragged features, noticing the tint of red in his cheeks and the freckles that dotted them, and the goldenness that he seems to radiate. in some ways you hoped that this wouldn’t be your only encounter with the denbrough boy, but that was something to worry about later, since his hands were undoing the rest of his belt and you knew that was your cue to do the same with your own pants. 

soon enough you were back in the same position, one of his hands next to your head on the locker behind you as he moved to position his cock at your entrance, eyes meeting with yours as he pushed in to look at your reaction. and it was everything that he hoped to see, your mouth opening into an ‘o’ shape, lips parted and eyes never leaving his own. 

once he bottomed out, he already started a fast rhythm, giving you little to no time to adjust. but you were so needy you didn’t care, not one bit because he was making you feel so good that you wished for this moment to last forever. and you were already so wet and willing, bill couldn’t wait a second longer. 

your hands gripped onto his forearms, steadying yourself, but it was hard to keep your legs from giving out. bill must've noticed your struggle and leaned down, grabbing you by the back of your thighs and hoisting you up in his arms, using the leverage of the locker to fuck into you. 

the change in position made you quiver in his arms like putty, arms wrapping around his neck and caging him close to you. incoherent words fell from your mouth that wouldn’t close no matter how hard you tried, while his pace became fast, rough, and unrelenting. you didn’t know bill well but you could tell that he was adamant about making you feel good, which fueled the fire inside of you even more. 

if he was tired from playing the game, he didn’t even show it. bill fucked into you with such a frenzy that it was almost animalistic, which made you wonder how much energy this boy possibly had. what you didn’t know was it was your moans what were spurring him on, your moans that kept him going. bill had already been to point of exhaustion from the game but you were able to give him a second wind and he was not fucking up this one like he had fucked up in the game. his determination both of the field and in this moment caught up with him and well, he was bringing all of his emotion out. 

and you loved it so much that you couldn’t think straight. all you could do was try and keep yourself still, words stringing together into barely put together sentences of oh fuck yes and that feels so good. 

it was a moment of pure bliss that you didn’t even feel yourself start to clench around him, noticing it finally when you felt every inch of him scrape against your willing walls, bringing you closer to that cliff into a sea of pleasure that only he could give you. what finally made you break was the groans that he was making, which were hot and heavy and like heaven to your ears that you knew you would be playing on repeat before you went to sleep tonight. 

and then his hand slipped between your legs, pressing up against your swollen clit and that was it. you were sent into a state of pure, fucked out bliss as you came around him, your moans everything but silent. luckily there seemed to be no one around to hear, and if they did they didn’t bother with stopping it.

a few thrusts afterwards and with an insistent command from you to cum inside you because you were on the pill, bill came undone and it was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen in his life. as if this boy couldn’t get more perfect, haven been basically sent to you on a gift from god himself. he pulled out and you could feel the evidence slightly dripping out of you and onto your thighs. 

there was a moment of cleaning up, where he actually grabbed a towel from his locker and helped you wipe away everything and eventually sit down onto the bench between the sides of lockers. where you thought would be awkwardness, there wasn’t, a few words passed between the two of you and then you told him that you should go, you had to drive home. 

surprisingly, he asked if you needed help and then you remembered you barely knew him and shook your head. it was late anyways, he probably had things to do. 

and when you got control of your limbs again (which bill cheekily smirked at), you walked out of the high school, him trailing behind you. you gave him one last look before parting ways, and in the heat of the moment, you told him your number and to call him if he ever wanted to get together again. 

#bill denbrough #bill denbrough imagine #bill denbrough x reader #bill denbrough smut #it #IT movie #it movie 2017 #it movie imagine #it movie x reader #it movie 2019 #it smut #bill denbrough x you #stanley uris #eddie kaspbrak #richie tozier #beverly marsh #ben hanscom #mike hanlon

[dongofthewolf]

Hiii! Can I request no.9 from the cliché prompts and fake dating au?

Making Amends

Abby Anderson x Reader

Prompts: 9. “There’s only one bed and we sleep as far away as possible from each other but wake up cuddling” 18. Fake dating au

Warnings: swearing, fluff, hint of angst, Owen and Mel slander (sry I had to)

No pronouns are mentioned for the reader

Link to the prompt list here

A/N: Both tropes are literally my favourite things ever and it was so fun to write so ty for requesting it. It ended up way longer than I intended so uhhh yeah hope you enjoy LOL (esp if you requested it)!!

“What the hell Abby?! Have you been telling people that we’re dating?” You had cornered Abby into a secluded hallway, trapping her against the wall with your finger on her chest accusingly.

There was a flicker of fear in Abby’s eyes as she chewed on her lip nervously. Abby was considerably stronger than you and you probably looked like a mouse trying to intimidate a lion, but you didn’t care.

Abby couldn’t meet your burning gaze, all she replied with was a prolonged “Uhhhhhh”.

“Abigail Anderson, answer me right now or I swear to God-” It was rare for you to whip out her full name. And maybe it was kind of a cheap move, but it was a cheap move that almost always worked.

“Fine!” Abby interrupted, letting out a short sigh and preparing herself for the worst. “I kind of told Owen we were dating and I'm pretty sure he’s been telling other people.”

She said the words as quickly as possible, closing her eyes like a bomb was about to go off. Your reaction wasn't far off to say the least.

“You what? Why the fuck would you tell him we’re dating?” There was venom in your words and Abby flinched just slightly.

You were angry, incredibly so. You and Abby have always been close friends, or more so you had been until she started dating Owen. At first it was small things; cancelling plans or leaving early because she was busy and you completely understood. It’s not like you didn’t want her to hang out with him, and obviously you wanted her to be happy, but eventually it got to a point where she hardly ever spoke to you. Aside from the occasional greetings in the busy stadium, it was like you guys had never even been friends.

Now, after completely ignoring you for the past months, she decided it was a good idea to tell people that you guys were dating? It only seemed right for you to be pissed off.

“I just... Everyone kept looking at me like some sad puppy dog because I broke up with Owen, which normally I can handle. But every single day I kept getting the same sad fucking looks and I couldn’t take it anymore, so I told them I was seeing someone. I never mentioned your name but they kept prying, and prying and you were the first person that popped into my mind. I’m really sorry Y/N.”

You didn’t say anything at first, instead you looked at Abby without a hint of emotion on your face, and even less in your tone when you did finally speak. “Why didn’t you tell me you guys broke up?”

Abby paused, she didn’t know what response she was expecting but it definitely wasn’t that. “I um, I figured you knew. Pretty much everyone in the stadium knows.”

“Yeah well… I didn’t.” You were quiet. A part of you was angry and annoyed, but another part of you pitied Abby. She had never been one to lie, especially about something as petty as this.

Before you could think of something to say, Abby broke the silence. “Listen, I know you probably hate me right now, but I need to ask you a small favour.”

“Seriously?” You nudged Abby’s chest, pushing her into the wall again. The pity quickly dissipated to nothing, leaving you once again with a seething rage.

“Look, I know things between us haven’t been ideal but-“

“Haven’t been ideal?!” You interrupted, the absolute ignorance in her words tipping you off the edge. “Abby, you threw me away like I was trash! We were friends and you left me to hang out with Owen. I didn’t even know you guys broke up because you don’t tell me shit anymore!”

“I’ll do anything Y/N, okay? I’ll do your laundry, clean your room, I’ll even take your shifts for patrols.” Abby’s hands were on your forearms as she spoke. “Please just do this one thing for me and I’ll spend the rest of my life paying you back.” There was sincerity in Abby’s face, a hint of desperation too.

You paused. What could Abby possibly want so badly that she’d be willing to do all this for you? Even though you were angry at her, you’d be lying if you said you weren’t just a little bit intrigued.

“I’ll do anything Y/N, please. There must be something that you want.” Abby pleaded, absolute seriousness in her eyes.

“What I want is to never see you again.” Your finger was pointed at her chest again, poking her lightly.

Immediately you could see the hurt on Abby’s face. Okay, maybe that was a little bit harsh (and kind of petty) but you weren’t just gonna let Abby off that easily. Not after everything she’s done.

“Fine…” Abby paused to contemplate her next words, wiping the sadness from her face. “Fine, after tonight if you do this thing for me, we’ll never have to see each other again, I promise. I just need you to come to this party with me. We don’t have to talk or hold hands or anything and you can spend the whole night hating me, but I just need you there.”

“I-“ You couldn't do that. You couldn’t just pretend and lie to all of Abby’s friends for a whole night… Could you?

“Please Y/N. It’s embarrassing, okay? When we broke up, Mel immediately jumped in to fill my space. Everyone knew it and I had to pretend like I didn’t care so people would stop treating me like a wounded animal. If they find out I lied about you? I don’t think they’ll ever stop seeing me that way.”

You looked at Abby and felt a tinge of sympathy, she looked so sad and desperate, and for a second you even considered it. One night couldn’t hurt, right? Wait, no.

You mentally slapped yourself, trying to snap yourself out of it. You were not going to give in that easily. Nope. This was Abby, the same girl who threw away your friendship like it was nothing, and you were not going to let her use you like this. Not even while she’s looking at you with those sad, blue eyes. Nope, you’re mad, you’re angry, you’re-

“Fine.” Fuck.

“Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Abby’s eyes lit up as she wrapped her arms around you, lifting you into the air while she let out a breath of relief.

What did you just get yourself into?

—

“I can sleep on the floor, it's really no problem.” Abby offered, there was a slight nervousness in her tone as she stood in front of you shifting her weight on the balls of her feet.

“Abby, that’s stupid. It’s not like I’m infected or something.” You huffed, reaching for the box of matches to light the candle next to you.

Sometime after the party there had been a power outage and the entire WLF base went lights out. Meaning there was no heat and most annoyingly, no lights.

After a night of uncomfortable looks and even more uncomfortable conversations in which you spent most of the party trying to avoid Abby’s friends, she was walking you back to your room when everything suddenly went dark.

The both of you practically crawled to your room before you could locate a light source of some kind. It had been an hour since the power went out and you insisted that Abby sleep in your room, for… safety purposes.

You shook the match till it was out, suddenly you were thankful for impulse buying those candles last week.

“It’s fine, I’ll just crawl halfway across the stadium until I find my room. No biggie.” You couldn’t tell if she was joking, but something in you felt like she would actually do it if you didn’t insist she stay here.

You sighed. “Just sleep here Abs, it’s easier and I’m offering. Plus, I don’t need you army crawling across the entire WLF base. It’s hard on the arms, even for someone as strong as you.”

“You think I’m strong?” Abby smiled teasingly and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes, looking away as you tried to hide the small grin on your face. God, it was hard to stay mad at Abby.

“Shut up and take the bed.” You could tell Abby was reluctant but she still plopped herself onto your bed. She sat awkwardly on the edge, unsure of how this was going to work.

You tried to ignore Abby’s weird energy as you buried yourself beneath the covers. It took a minute for her to actually lay down in the bed but when she did, she was careful to keep her distance. It was pretty funny (and pretty cute) how unsure she was.

After a few minutes of silence you heard Abby whisper your name softly, almost like she wasn’t sure if you could hear her.

Nuzzling your nose into your pillow you whispered back a small “Yeah?”.

“Thank you.” You could hear the genuity in Abby’s voice, how grateful she was for such a simple act and suddenly it hit you, you didn’t want her to leave you alone. You missed this—missed Abby.

Instead of responding you nudged her foot lightly with yours. It was something you guys had done as kids, like a silent way of saying “I’m here.”. Under the dinner table with the Fireflies or during training when you first joined the WLF; it was an unspoken thing between the both of you. An action that spoke much louder than words possibly could.

The both of you laid on opposite ends of the bed, your backs turned to each other. You shifted under the sheets before finally finding a comfortable position, you fell asleep that night to the steady sound of Abby’s breathing.

—

You were first to wake up, confusion washing over you when you felt your head rising and falling. Why the hell was your pillow moving? Then it hit you; it wasn’t the bed moving, it was Abby. Your head lay resting on Abby’s chest, her arm over your back while your limbs were wrapped around her like a giant stuffed animal. The sound of her beating heart was soft in your ears and you could feel her breath coming out in steady increments, blowing lightly against your head.

You weren’t sure what to do about your compromising position. It was already too late for you to leap out of her arms and a large part of you didn’t want to move anyways. So you decided to pretend to sleep until she woke up. That way you wouldn’t have to decide what to do, she would.

Abby woke up shortly after you, you could tell she was awake by the way her breath hitched in her throat upon noticing how you guys were situated. However, instead of jumping out of the bed in a panic, Abby didn’t move either, and it took everything in you to not open your eyes.

After a few moments of stillness, you almost thought she had fallen back asleep. It wasn’t until you felt a light touch on your temple that you realized she was awake. The touch so light you nearly missed it when Abby brushed a small strand of hair away from your face.

Then slowly, Abby pried you off of her and you nearly let a small groan slip from your lips when you felt the absence of her warmth. She gently rolled you over, covering you with the blanket before walking into the bathroom.

That’s when it happened: the ache. A sharp, jarring ache in your heart that you only felt with her— that you haven’t felt since the two of you were best friends. It had left you when you and Abby stopped talking, but it returned just the same when you witnessed the tenderness of her actions. You never thought to put a name to this feeling (and maybe a part of you didn’t want to), but it was near impossible to ignore it.

You couldn’t possibly be harbouring secret feelings for Abby, right? You tried to distract yourself from these thoughts, it was way too early to be worrying about these things.

Feigning tiredness you rolled off the bed and headed towards the bathroom. You knocked on the door and when Abby opened it you noticed she was in the process of redoing her braid.

You leaned against the doorway as you watched her skilled fingers work. “Abs?”

“Hm?” She replied as she tied off the end of her braid.

“I didn’t really mean what I said to you last night… about never wanting to see you again. I’m sorry.” You picked at your thumb anxiously, eyes wandering around the room, looking anywhere but at Abby.

Abby turned to face you, letting the braid fall to her side. “You don’t have to apologize Y/N, I deserve it. I didn’t even hesitate to leave you when Owen and I started dating, and I was-“

“Stupid?” You finished for her, looking up from the floor to meet Abby’s gaze.

“Stupid. And for what it's worth, I’ve really missed hanging out with you Y/N, even if it is under these circumstances.”

“You know… I think I know a way you can make it up to me, if you’re still up for it?” Abby looked at you with a raised eyebrow and you noticed the corner of her mouth curling into a small smile.

“Oh yeah? What would that be?”

“You see, there’s this guy that’s been trying to ask me out for weeks even though I keep rejecting him.” You gave Abby a tiny grin as you continued. “Well, maybe if he found out I was dating a certain soldier who could pound his ass into the ground, then he’d leave me alone.”

Abby nodded her head nonchalantly as she took a small step towards you, crossing her arms across her chest. “You know what’s crazy? I think I have just the person for you.”

#abby anderson x reader #abby anderson imagine #the last of us imagine #the last of us 2 #tlou2 #abby anderson #abby tlou #requests #fluff #a little bit angsty #I’m big gay

[paper-cuts-and-fresh-bruises]

They’re holding onto each other so tightly!! oh and personal space? we don’t know her!

I’m already desperate to see 3x03, I feel like every episode is going to make me feel this way, getting great content and then just when I think I’ll be able to handle the week ahead they give us the want for more. But also they really doing this to us with these two huh? and sorry Park but as lovely as you are I know which team I’m on, always have. The moment I saw this promo? gave me immeasurable joy, Park is one I can respect in that he seems to appreciate what Nancy does more than most in her passion for investigating and I think that’s something that intrigues Nancy because of what she’s used to in response to the way she does things, but I personally don’t see it deeper than him being someone who does his job well and is understanding. (plus Nancy avoiding Ace feelings by trying to turn her attention to someone else, which it doesn’t like she’ll be able to keep that up for long from the above pic and the 3x04 description)

Don’t get me wrong not every relationship has to have the same foundation in order to work well, but with Ace I like the particular way he’s invested beyond the job like Nancy is, and that they aren’t just the same two people except ones a guy and the other’s a girl, they have things that connect them but they remain distinct. Plus when Ace said he found purpose in what he was doing with Nancy and the others that hit me, because at the start of the show he’s introduced as a free spirit type with no grounding and in the time with Nancy and co, he’s found something that grounds him and that he actually likes. Additionally I like how technically unlikely and somewhat polarising he is to Nancy yet they compliment each other brilliantly, essentially a yin and yang dynamic. 

Plus in reference to above about relationship foundations, Ace has been her friend and someone she knows and trusts a lot longer than he has necessarily a straight up out there love interest, by which I mean most other men Nancy has been directed towards that she comes to meet end up being set out clearly with what they function as and don’t have much connection, Nick wasn’t someone she really got into knowing until after they already hooked up and it was a rocky relationship that didn't bond well or end well (no judgement on the hooking up part and admittedly she was dealing with stuff and she’s had character development since but yeah), Owen was definitely just a distraction as nice as he was (so sad what happened to him), and Gil was not only an avoidance tactic but an unfortunate result of the wraith. And with Ace he’s someone who she realises, probably for the first time in her life, is someone who isn’t a distraction, or someone who’s there so she can avoid things, or is someone she doesn’t need to worry about; she values his presence, what he thinks greater than anyone else (in a non-toxic way), she feels able to open up more with him and likes that he’s not pushy with her but encouraging, she appreciates that he can give her the space to process things and get to him in her own time, tell him what she can when she’s prepared. She likes how different he is yet how invested he is, he’s simply unexpected. The show has done well to take more care with this one, to slow burn it very deliberately and expertly.

Park’s appeal is that he does what Nancy does, plus she doesn’t have to concern herself with what would happen if something more happened between them, and that’s what I think Nancy’s going to have to confront by the finale, that she needs to put aside the fear of what her and Ace could be and take that chance, just as much as Ace needs to realise that he’s enough for Nancy and that she feels the same. For now Park also functions as a catalyst for Ace’s underlying feelings to emerge amongst other things that’ll push him, plus next week's episode looks like they’ll both be getting close in not only a literal but deeper level as well (at least I hope, but we’re certainly getting fed I know that from what’s been released for the episode). Also just gonna say I can’t get over how Nancy’s first thought was to text Ace about DetectiveCon, but I’m also concerned about Ace and the whole Bobbsey situation. Anyways, this got kinda deep, so if you stuck around congratulations you managed to stand my babbling, that’s all till next time Drewds.

*Also just as a fangirl note, Nancy and Ace have gorgeous hair, even though we’re all very aware, the interviewer from TV Line is right their babies would have beautiful hair, strictly their characters though*

#Nancy Drew #cw nancy drew #nace #nancy x ace #ace x nancy #kennedy mcmann #alex saxon

[slashingdisneypasta]

Disney Villains who deserve their own movie? Disney Villain who had best plan and should have won against the hero? Your first Disney Villain crush? Is there a Disney Villain everyone seems to like, but you don't? (Can't think of more questions, sorry)

YAYYyyyyy questions. I woulda answered this one quicker but I wanted to try and do them in order but today I said screw it ha ha XD Thank you for these! ^^

Disney Villains who deserve their own movie?

I would LOVE to see one about Chick Hicks (I swear to god, he and Strip had some kinda friendship at some point. I mean, Chick has come in second behind him MANY MANY times, but while he feels totally comfortable crashing other cars- he only does it to Strip when he's at the very end of his tether. He even seems to talk himself into it. "I am not coming in behind you again old man'. Its like he's convincing himself, a bit)

Oogie (That could be a cool, I dunno XD Why is he imprisoned?)

Or Silver (He DESERVES one, like you asked. And? Its pirates? What's cooler then that. Plus Silver is just an awesome character; Plenty to explore) XD

Or even Sykes or Prince John (It can even be a sympathetic one, for him. As long as you give Sheriff of Nottingham a cameo, showing he's always been a dick). OR MOTHER GOTHEL? She for damn sure has had an interesting life.

Oooooh, or McLeach!

These are all villains who, aside from Oogie, could have a sympathetic streak if Disney really wants that. They are also all mostly WHOLLY underrated.

Disney Villains who had the best plan and should have won against the hero? Facilier comes to mind. I mean, if Lawrence hadn't loosened the lid on Naveen's jar, he never woulda gotten out, they would have had a constant source of Naveen's blood+Have him out of the way permanently, Tiana never would have known the Shadow man was part of this, and the plan would've ran without a hitch! Dr Facilier just maybe should have put Naveen on a higher shelf XDD 😅😅

Your first Disney Villain crush? OFFICIALLY, Hades. Cuz I remember watching Disney's Once Upon a Halloween when I was, like, 5-7 and that was my first ever sighting of Hades- I had no idea what movie he was from and he was only even there for like 5 seconds but I was twitterpated. It wasn't til I was like 13 that I actually discovered Hades and he became my official first Disney Villain crush, and not for 5 more years after that until I realised that the blue flaming guy I liked for a hot second when I was a kid was HADES, but yeah. Hades.

UNOFFICALLY THOUGH, it was Jafar. He is the reason I ended up obsessed with Offender (+ Also cuz of Hades), and definitely now Freddy (The puns and the gross pervy-ness? I just grew up and picked a grown up version). It can all be traced back to him, he and his creators are at fault for my terrible taste in men, and this definitely happened before I ever saw me even a lick of Hades, haha XD 😅 But he's unofficial because little me refused to admit her crush to herself until much later and we decided we don't care XD

(Captain Hook was 3rd- then Clayton. Then my brain just exploded and I just loved them all.)

Is there a Disney Villains everyone seems to like, but you don't? Used to be Maleficent, cuz I feel like people only started to love her when Angelina Jolie took the roll and she was traditionally beautiful, and not green anymore, and sympathetic. It annoyed me.

I have an appreciation for Mal now (All versions, including the Descendants one. She's good!! Love her!!).

Nowadays for me, its Loki. I just don't see the hype. He's so predictable and boring. I cant. I would watch the show though, cuz Owen Wilson.

[undeniablycandycane]

Hey! I don't know if you'll ever see this, but I just read your take on the Jedtavius situation, and I'm 100% with you. The only thing that bugged me is the fact that I didn't know that Shawn levy had to correct owen just because he said that jed and Oct loved each other??? Like??? When did that happen? Is it any possibility for you to send the link to that interview?

It's so weird to me that shawn had to correct him, because in the natm livestream, Steve coogan was so open about this topic, he was sincere when he said "their friendship is slightly homoerotic"... I mean, we can deduce that Owen, Steve and also Shawn were absolutely aware that jedediah and octavius were written as a (sort of) "romantic" love story. So why did he correct owen for saying that?!?! Mmm...

Honestly, I hope that in the next natm animated movie they dare to do something about this. I hope they don't erase jed and oct dynamic. Or even worse, I hope they don't force them into straight couples........

Yes, I'm sorry about the wait! I'm slow about answering asks and messages and the like lately due to my brain no longer receiving dopamine from tumblr (it should come back; I usually have periods like this that last a little while) and I apologize.

I can link the video with Shawn and Owen you mentioned, here. I wish I could remember all the interviews that talk about the Jedtavius relationship in that way, but the only sources I can name offhand are that, the TV tropes website (here Steve talks about Octavius's attraction to Jedediah), and the NATM cast reunion stream. I do believe there is at least one more from Steve, but I can't for the life of me remember it, sorry.

I really hope they don't force them into straight couples either. On the onehand I respect people who don't see Jed and Oct as a couple, but also considering literally everything I know about the films, I would definitely consider it erasure. They could just make them really good friends without hooking them up with women to appease both the shipping and non-shipping crowds, and it wouldn't be bad, but if they actually gave them girlfriends it would just be insulting to me, knowing how much went into these characters and their relationship, plus my obvious bias towards them.

(Not to say that it makes them automatically Straight to date an opposite gender character; I'm just saying it's super common for movie studios and the like to try to erase the chances of two same-gender characters getting together [for homophobic reasons] by giving them both opposite-gender love interests.)

#jedtavius #natm #discourse tw #links

[undyingskies]

How About No

request: yes;

“Okay so I had a dream last night and i thought that it could make a cute fanfic, so basically the reader is dating Owen (reader is also an actress in JATP) and she has a scene with Charlie where they have to kiss and Owen just gets like super protective and kinda self conscious (which obviously he shouldn’t hes a king) and it’s just like super fluff hehe”

a/n: This was longer than I expected to be and it took me a while to figure out how I wanted it to end, but I think I like it! Hope you enjoy!

Also, my requests are closed for the time being! I have my inbox open so I can still talk to everyone but as of right now please don’t send in requests!

warnings: none

tagged:  @mah-gah-lee

———————————-

Today was the day.

The day finally came for your big scene, one that you were nervous and excited about all at the same time. You even tried to avoid it. It was a weird mix of emotions that you couldn’t quite explain.

You sat in the hair and makeup chair, trying to calm your nervous thoughts down. Julie and The Phantoms was your first real show that you booked, and this was your biggest scene of the season.

A warm hands placing itself on top of your smaller, shaking ones pulls you from your thoughts. It also causes you to jump at the contact as you were so far from reality at that moment.

A chuckle leaves the lips from the same person who owns the hand that was on top of yours.

You turn to look at the blue eyes that were staring back at you. You were met  with the kind smile of your boyfriend; he was well aware of the nerves that were plaguing you.

“It’s going to be okay Y/N, you’ve got this!” He smiles at you, “Besides if you fail, I will only love you a little less.”

Your mouth drops at your boyfriend’s words. You’re quick to pull your hands from his and lean over to deliver a slap to his chest.

“Owen!” You yell shocked at his words.

The two of you laugh together.

“Seriously though Y/N, you’re going to be great!” You smile at your boyfriend’s kind words, nodding your head along with him.

As much as you wanted to believe his words, the nervous thoughts were still prominent in your mind.

Owen sits with you in silence, your hand in his, as the team finishes putting you together to look like your character.

Season two of Julie and The Phantoms came and they decided that they wanted to add a female ghost into the mix.

And that is how you got here; your character was Tatum Lanning. Your character was supposed to be the antagonist for Charlie’s character Luke.

Tatum had died when she turned 17 as well, but she didn’t know why. Her goal was to try to figure out what happened and in searching she somehow became entangled with Julie and the boys.

Tatum was rough around the edges; she was a tough girl due to trauma that she endured in her life. She had a nose piercing and was covered in a few tattoo’s. She had died around the same time the boys did so her style was similar to theirs.

The only problem with Tatum was the fact that her and Luke did not get along, for the fact that they both are very similar and are dealing with the fact of having issues with their parents when they were alive.

“Y/N, you’re ready to go!” Soyon pulls you from your thoughts.

You can feel your nerves kick up again. This was just your first real scene with such raw emotion that you feared you wouldn’t be able to pull it off.

“I’m nervous O.” You grab his hand letting him lead you to Julie’s garage where your scene takes place for today.

“It’s gonna be okay Y/N! We’ve gone over this scene so many times, plus you and Charlie have practiced it a lot! You crushed it every time and today won’t be any different.”

Owen finishes his pep talk as you reach the set. He turns to face you at the end of it so that you’re facing one another, the look in his eyes instantly calming you down.

You may be nervous but you trust the words coming out of Owen’s mouth. You’ve got this, you’ve been practicing this scene for months; you could do it in your sleep by this point.

“You’re right, I’ve got this.” You smile and lean up to press a kiss to Owen’s lips.

You pull away when you hear Kenny’s voice and his footsteps coming towards you.

“Y/N! Quick change!” Kenny pauses as he stops in front of you and Owen and looks at the two of you with an awkward smile, “So we decided that we want Tatum and Luke to kiss scene.”

“How about no?” Owen’s words shocking both you and Kenny. Neither of you expected Owen to talk back, yet alone with an outburst like that.

Your eyes fling back in forth between Owen and Kenny. You can see the discomfort in Owen’s eyes but can tell he is trying to hide it. He didn’t mean to say that out loud.

“I am sorry, that was not on purpose.” Kenny gives him a side eye but laughs knowing Owen didn’t mean any harm and that it was just as much as surprise for him that he said it as it was for everyone else. “Anyways there will be a kissing scene today!” Kenny says.

“Oh okay.” You practically choke out.

“I know it’s a surprise but,” again he trails off looking at you and Owen, “ we think it’s best for the dynamic of the character’s relationship!  We want you to do the scene just how we practiced but at the end we want the kiss to occur, but we’re gonna let you and Charlie take the lead on it! Do what you feel is best!”

“Got it Kenny!” You smile at him trying to hide your own discomfort. First of all you have never kissed anyone for a scene, let alone your boyfriend’s best friend.

You turn to face back to Owen, an awkward smile graced upon both of your lips. The two of you just stand there in an awkward silence.

“So,” Owen is the first to break the silence, “that’s a curve ball.”

“Ya it is.” You can tell Owen is uncomfortable but you don’t know how to fix the situation. It’s not like you could stop the scene from occurring. “You trust me right O?”

“Of course I do, you know that.”

“Then we’ve got nothing to worry! This scene maybe a little awkward now for us but it’s just a scene.” You tell him, trying to convince the both of you that it would be fine and not as weird as you know it is.

“I know, it’s just a scene, you’re right.” He leans down to give you another kiss. “Go crush it killer, you’ve got this!”

You then turn on your heel, to go walk into the middle the garage where your scene will be starting. Charlie is already there talking to a few of the crew mates, they disperse when you walk up to them.

Charlie turns to look at you with a smile on his face. “So? They told you about the change for the scene.” He asks you.

“That they did.” You smile back awkwardly.

“Does Owen know?”

“That he does!” The two of you just stand there silently. “It’s gonna be fine, it’s just a scene and we’re both professionals so is Owen!” You say trying to convince the both of you that it’s fine.

“You’re right Y/N, we’ve got this!” Charlie is cut off before he can continue by Kenny yelling at everyone to get in places to start the scene.

The two of you step back from each other, getting ready to act your hearts out.

“And action!”

“I just don’t understand why you always have to be here Tatum!” Charlie yells as Luke, his brows furrowed and a pout on his face.

“Just because you don’t like having me around Luke doesn’t mean I can’t be around. Besides Julie asked me to come over, she said she had something for me.” You say nonchalantly as you throw your body onto the couch.

Leaving Luke standing by himself next to the piano. The pout on his face still evident.

“I just don’t get why they think you’re so great.” Luke turns to face you, a smirk now replacing the pout, “you’re actually quite annoying.”

You roll your eyes at his words, knowing that he wanted to rile you up.

“Whatever Patterson, you’re just upset they like me and want me around despite you thinking otherwise! You just don’t like that they don’t listen to your every word now.”

Tatum knows how to get under Luke’s skin, the same way he knows how to get under hers.

You could see the anger fuming from his face. Everyone knew Luke liked to take the lead on things, but he didn’t like having it pointed out. For whatever reason.

“Just shut it Lanning, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Again you roll your eyes at his words.

“I know exactly what I’m talking about,” you’re shoving yourself up from the couch and walking closer to Luke, “You’re just upset that King Luke isn’t being listened too. Well news flash you’re not in charge of everything and everyone!”

It seems like a silly argument but it gets under both of your skin. Luke and Julie had gotten in an argument a few weeks ago, Julie had pointed that Luke had a power issue that he needed to work on. So since then, Luke has been hyper cautious of sharing the power between everyone.

“You’re wrong Lanning,” now Luke has closed the gap between you two and is getting in your face, “I don’t like you here because I find you annoying. I think you’re overbearing and overstep your boundaries!”

“Funny, I think the same thing about you! You just don’t like that your friends like me and come to me with their issues before they go to you or the fact that they don’t listen to you about me!”

“That’s not true! They just feel bad for you and all your issues!”

“I could say the same thing about you Patterson with your mommy issues.”

Now the two of you are chest to chest, both of you heaving as the fight has taken the breath out of both of you. You can see the anger evident on Luke’s and can only assume it was evident on your face as well.

The silence laying over the two of you like a dark cloud. Then the next thing you know, Luke has his hand on the back of your neck and is crashing his lips into yours.

Your lips interlocked for a few seconds, as they move together and the two of you pour your emotions into the kiss.

Then you’re pulling away from him and taking a step back. Both of you looking at each other bewildered. Your hand moves up to trace your lips, the feeling of his still lingering on them. Then you poof out before either of you could say another word.

“And cut!” Kenny is clapping his hands at the scene that just unfolded in front of him, “That was amazing you two, great job!”

You smile at his words, grateful that you finally got this scene over and that you were able to make your way through it.

You look around trying to find Owen but you can’t seem to find his blonde hair anywhere in the crowd.

“Do you see Owen?” You whisper at Charlie, hoping that he had eyes on your boyfriend.

“No, I don’t.”

You can feel your heart tug at his words. Owen said he would be there for you and this scene, so not having him there upsets you.

“Go find him.”

That’s all it takes for you to speed walk off the set and go looking for Owen. You didn’t know where to look for him, but if he wasn’t around the common area you assumed, he was in his trailer.

You were right.

You slowly open the door and peek your head around it, hoping to see your boyfriend.

You see the top of his blonde hair hanging off the couch.

“Owen?” You make your way into the trailer; you were just greeted by a grunt coming for your boyfriend who had his face buried into the couch.

“O?” Again you ask, sitting on the end of the couch, rubbing your hand up and down his back. “Why did you leave back there?”

Owen stays lying face down for a few more seconds, letting your rub your hand on his back longer before he rolls over to face you.

He doesn’t say anything, he just stares at you.

“Why so you think I left?” The tone of his voice shocking you especially at how short he was about it.

You just look back at him, confused.

“It’s actually just my favorite thing getting to watch my best friend make out with my girlfriend! Sorry I didn’t want to see it last any longer.” Owen cuts you off before you can even say anything else. He also has himself up and, on his feet, so he in front of you, yelling now.

You’re shocked, you two talked before it happened, granted it wasn’t a long talk but you thought it was enough.

“I’m sorry O, I know that couldn’t have been fun but I thought our conversation before helped.” Owen’s eyes soften at your words, he wasn’t mad at you and he didn’t mean to take it out on you.

He moves to sit next to you on the couch, a little calmer now that he has you in front of him instead of him left alone with his intrusive thoughts.

With a huff and a hand moving through his hair, Owen goes to speak, ‘I know, I know. I’m sorry love, it’s not your fault and you’re right we did talk about it before. I trust you and Charlie completely and know it was nothing but professional.”

You move closer to him, taking his hand in yours. This gets him to look up at you, finally looking you in the eyes. “Then what is it?” You still don’t understand his outburst.

“It’s just…” He trails off, embarrassed of the words that were about to leave him, “the fans already ship Luke and Tatum from the teasers, so they’re starting to make comments about how you guys would look good together so it’s just hard to see.”

Your eyes widen at his words not expecting his confession. “Plus everyone already talks about how attractive Charlie is, it just makes me insecure.”

Your heart breaks slightly as his words, you lean in closer to Owen and put your hand behind his neck not letting him look anywhere but you. “Owen Patrick Joyner, you are without a doubt the most handsome man I have ever laid my eyes on! Every day I look at you and just wonder how lucky I am that I somehow got you!”

Owen doesn’t say a word, he just presses his lips against yours. You enjoy the feeling of his lips on yours.

You’re the one to pull apart, “Besides O, they don’t know we’re dating, I bet if they did things would be different.” You wiggle your eyebrows at your words,  causing Owen to laugh.

“That is a fair point.”  He says.

“I’m glad you agree because  I think so too!” You laugh and press your lips against his again. The feeling of his lips was one you would never get tired of.

“Does that mean we’re going public?” He asks while placing kisses all across your face, making you laugh.

“I think it does Joyner, I think it does.”

The two of you spend the next few minutes looking through your photos trying to figure out which one to post. You finally land on a picture Charlie had taken of the two of you one day, Owen was sitting on their counter and has his arms wrapped around you while you were between his two legs. You were leaning up for a kiss and Owen was laughing, it was one of your favorite photos.

You posted it on your story, tagging him and with the caption surprise. Owen then shared it to his own story with hearts added onto it.

Both of your dm’s were quickly flooded by fans with their congratulations and excitement. One particularly stood out to Owen, it read “I told everyone, you guys were end game it was never Y/N and Charlie.” A smile makes its way onto his face.

“See I told you that they would like us together.” You look over his shoulder and up at him smiling.

“I guess you’re right.”

The two of you lean in and meet in the middle for a passionate kiss, the both of you were happy to finally be able to be public with your relationship. All of Owen’s insecurities fading away too, happy that he had his girl who loved him so much.

#owen patrick joyner #owen joyner #owen x reader #owen joyner imagine #owenjoynerimagines #owen joyner x y/n #owen joyner x reader #owen joyner fluff #owen joyner fanfiction #owen joyner fic #owen joyner one shot #julie and the phantoms #jatp #julieandthephantomsimagine

[evermoreholland]

Secret Santa | Charlie Gillespie

Pairing: Charlie Gillespie x Fem!Reader

Summary: It’s secret Santa week on set of Julie and the Phantoms and you have to pick out gifts for your best friend and crush.

Warnings: Mentions of food and Christmas (no strong descriptions of religion), FLUFF

Word Count: 2,007

A/n: This is not proofread so please bare with me, I just wanted to get this out for y’all. I’m obsessed with this concept. Feedback is appreciated!

Due to everyone working at some point near the holidays, the cast of Julie and the Phantoms decided that it would be fun to do a Secret Santa gift exchange. Each cast member would be assigned another cast member to purchase gifts for. This would last a week and by the end of the week, there would be a big reveal of who has who.

Drawing names

“Okay, I put everyone’s name into this box. Pick and then get shopping!” Jadah exclaimed as she set the bedazzled shoebox on the table in front of the eight of you. Jadah took the initiative to plan out Secret Santa week. She loved the holidays and thought it’d be fun to bring that holiday cheer to set. The eight of you also didn’t spend much time together since you all had different schedules. It would be Madison, Jadah, Savannah, Sacha, Jeremy, Owen, Charlie, and you all participating in the gift exchange. You each picked out the slips of papers from the box and you saw that you had your best friend and crush, Charlie.

Charlie and you had been best friends since you both were young. When the two of you went to Vancouver to film the show, you two were living together and you got to learn more about him than you ever did before. You had eventually developed a crush on him, so you were excited that you got to be his Secret Santa. It was the perfect opportunity to show him your true feelings towards him. Little did you know, Charlie, fortunately, picked out your name from the box.

“Remember, there is a theme for every day of Secret Santa. Now, get to work people!” Madison shouted and you all made your way to prepare for a week of Secret Santa.

Day One: Handmade Gifts Only

As a child, you always loved when you and your friends would make each other Christmas cards or other homemade gifts. It brought you so much happiness to open a homemade gift from your friend that you knew that they worked so hard to make. For day one of the Secret Santa gift exchange, you decided on making Charlie ‘Open When’ envelopes. You found a cute jar and put some envelopes in it and wrote some different moods on each of them. Inside each envelope, you wrote a letter to Charlie for when he was in that specific mood, like a comforting letter for when he was feeling sad or a joke for when he was feeling happy. You placed his gift outside his door that early morning. The cast decided on dropping off gifts outside their person’s front door whenever they were available to do so, so Charlie definitely wouldn’t expect anything suspicious.  

When you got back to your apartment from filming a scene you were met with a gift with your name on it. You picked it up and saw that it was a CD with a note taped on it. The note said, “a playlist special for you. Xoxo, your Secret Santa.” Your heart almost melted at the gesture. You made your way to your room and placed the CD into your boombox. The playlist consisted of pop, pop-rock, and classic rock: all of your favorites. You were so focused on the music that you didn’t hear someone knock on your door.

“Y/n! Open up!” You heard Charlie shouting. You paused the CD player and made your way to greet your friend.

“Sorry, I was just listening to some music. A playlist, actually. From my secret Santa,” you said.

“Oh, that’s so cool!” He exclaimed and then made his way into your room. Charlie and you pretty much hung out with each other every day after filming. It was basically a tradition.

“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome. What did you get?” You asked, trying not to appear obvious that it was you.

“I literally got the sweetest gift ever, but I know it was definitely not from one of the guys.” Charlie laughed and you did too. You should have thought of that. None of the guys had the time or patience to handwrite notes for their Secret Santa.

“I guess that narrows it down for you, then.”

“Yeah, it does. But it was still really sweet.” Charlie said in appreciation for the person (you) who got him his gift.

“Well, what did you get, Gillespie?”

“It was an ‘Open When’ jar. There are notes for different moods and I open them when I’m in those moods,” he explained, but you already knew all about his gift, obviously.

“That’s really sweet. Did you open any of them yet?”

“I opened the one called ‘Excited’ and then confetti popped out!” Charlie exclaimed excitingly. He seemed to be really liking his gift and you were relieved about it.

“Sounds like a party, Charlie.”

Day Two: Ornaments

On day two of Secret Santa, everyone had to give an ornament. It could be handmade or bought from the store. You decided to buy Charlie an ornament that was music-related. You decided on getting him a snowglobe ornament with lyrics to his favorite song on the inside of it. You placed it at his door once again and made your way to film a scene with Madison and Jadah.

“Y/n, I got the cutest Santa ornament!” Madison exclaimed as she skipped over to you, dangling the ornament in her hands. “My secret Santa is killing it!” You were definitely happy for Madison but you wanted to know what Charlie thought of your ornament. Plus, it was practically obvious that Sacha had Madison.

By the time you got back to your shared apartment, it was already late. You approached your room and saw a small box sitting by your door. You opened it and it was an ornament shaped like a Starbucks coffee and it had your name on the cup. You thought it was absolutely adorable. You were hoping that you’d get to see Charlie’s reaction, but you saw the light turned off in his room and you knew that he was already asleep.

Day Three: Food Gift

This gift seemed pretty self-explanatory. You decided on purchasing some donuts from Charlie’s favorite bakery in Vancouver. You both found the bakery when exploring on one of your days off, and you both fell in love with the place. You got Charlie half a dozen of donuts and placed them by his door once again in the early morning. You got peppermint ice cream that you were really excited about, but you were confused because you never told any of your castmates that you loved it so much.

“Y/n! Y/n!” Charlie called out for you once he came back from filming.

You walked over to the living room area to see Charlie munching on the donuts you bought for him. He looked so cute and happy. Score.

“I’m guessing your secret Santa got you donuts from our favorite place.” You looked at him in amusement.

“This person just knows me so well, you know? Ah, these are so good!”

“Well, I’m happy for you,” you said.

“Yesterday, I got a snowglobe ornament and I’m definitely hanging it up on my tree when I head home.” Charlie said with a smile.

“So you like it?” You asked hopefully. You almost regretted asking him that because you didn’t want to give yourself away. Then again, you also desperately wanted to know if he had liked your gift or not.

“Duh.” He looked at you as if it were obvious and as if he knew it was you all along. You just decided to scratch that last thought out of your brain for now.

Day Four: Something Blue

For the fourth day of Secret Santa, each person had to give out something blue. It was something random that Jadah had thought of and she decided to just go with it. You decided on getting Charlie a blue beanie just in time for the winter season.

You were definitely happy with all of the gifts you were getting, but you still couldn’t figure out who your Secret Santa was. You were usually better at guessing, but you were really stumped.

You had gotten a new blue guitar pick and you immediately fell in love with it. You may or may not have an obsession with guitar picks so you were definitely happy with your gift. Your secret Santa was definitely amazing, even if you didn’t know who it was.

Day 5: Your Choice (The Finale and Reveal)

Today was the day that everyone would reveal who they had for Secret Santa. You would all meet up and bring your final gifts to the reveal. You decided on making Charlie a scrapbook. You included pictures of the two of you and fun memories from your childhood together. You got his mother to send you things to put it all together.

“Now it’s time for the big reveal!” Jadah exclaimed.

“Finally,” Owen said. Owen had been struggling to figure out who had him, and it was basically eating him away.

You began to narrow down your guesses as the night went on. Sacha had Madison and got her a bright-colored lava lamp for her bedroom. Madison had Jadah and got her a beauty set she had been eyeing at every time you and the girls went to Ulta. Jadah had Savannah, Savannah had Owen, Owen had Jeremy, and Jeremy had Sacha. The six of them exchanged their thank yous and you realized that you and Charlie had each other as secret Santas.

“Oh my gosh! Charlie and Y/n, it looks like the two of you are each other’s secret Santas!” Savannah said.

“That’s actually kinda cool, not gonna lie.” Owen tried to say coolly but he knew all of this time. He did live with the both of you after all. You and Charlie were just oblivious to it.

“I made this for you.” You said as you handed him the scrapbook. You were honestly scared to see his reaction. You knew that he had loved all of the other gifts you got for him but this may have been too much. You saw Charlie look through the pages and with each turn, his smile got bigger.

“This is perfect, Y/n. Thank you.” Charlie said and then handed you your present. It was a journal. You opened it and read the first note on the first page. It said, “Read this when we get home. It gets kinda cheesy. Xoxo, Charlie.” You listened to his request and closed the journal. You mouthed, “Thank you.” You wondered what it could be.

The cast all said their goodbyes to one another and made their way back to their apartments. When you, Charlie, and Owen went back to your place, Owen went to take a shower while you and Charlie sat on the couch ready to read the journal.

“It’s a book of songs that I wrote about you,” Charlie confessed. You opened the journal and saw all of the songs, most of them being about how much he wanted to show you that he loved you. You were honestly moved by the gesture.

“Charlie, this is beautiful.” Tears fell down your cheeks as you continued to skim through the pages.

“I really love you, Y/n. More than a best friend loves their best friend.”

You looked at him and said, “I love you, too.”

“By the way, your gifts were amazing. And, I kinda had a feeling it was you,” Charlie said.

“I’m glad you liked everything. On the other hand, I had no idea it was you.” You laughed. Charlie looked at you with so much adoration. He grabbed your hand and placed a kiss on your knuckles.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” Charlie asked, hope clearly evident in his eyes, even though he already knew what your answer would be.

“I would love to, Charlie. I have one request, though.”

“What is it?”

“Kiss me.”

#charlie gillespie #charlie gillespie x reader #charlie gillespie imagine #jatp #jatp fanfic #this is cheesy i know

[bibbawrites]

What’s In A Name - Dad!Owen x Pregnant!Female Reader

Request: NONE

Word Count: 1028 words 

Summary: Part 3 of the Dad!Owen series, the gender reveal plus you and Owen spend some quality time discussing names for Baby Joyner 

Warnings: none? one use of the word dumbass lol i think that’s all?

A/N: part 3 here we go! i just thought this would be a cute little one to write (and yes it is little, sorry that its so short!), the gender reveal plus just chatting about baby names the name that you guys chose as the winner is in here but you won’t find out which one it actually is until she’s born hehe

if you have any ideas of what you’d like to see in the dad!owen series feel free to send them my way! 

Tag List (let me know if you want to be added, removed or if you change your url): @happinessinthedarkesttimes​ @littlemissaddict @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic @headheartbellarke @lovesanimals​ @bartok-the-bat @juliefromaustralia @multi-universe21 

Time had flown since you had found out you were pregnant. It seemed like only yesterday that you were staring at those two pink lines on the pregnancy test, not knowing what was going on, and now you were getting ready to find out gender of the little baby inside you. 

Owen had been convinced the entire pregnancy that you were having a girl, telling everyone you knew, and frankly, you were worried what would happen if the confetti that exploded out wasn’t baby pink. 

You sighed, resting your hand on your tiny bump. There was no changing it now, Owen would just have to deal with it. 

“Y/N, you almost ready?” Owen’s voice came from the other side of the door and you took a deep breath. 

“Yeah I’m ready.” You opened the door, smiling when you found your boyfriend in the pastel pink hoodie he wore as Alex. He scanned your own outfit, a white dress with both pink and blue flowers on it. 

“Didn’t want to pick a side?” He teased, pulling you into a soft kiss, his hand going straight to your stomach. You smiled against his lips. 

“You know me, the indecisive bitch.” You replied and he giggled slightly. 

“If you’re ready to go we should head out. Charlie and Sav said to be there by 11 and it’s 10:30 now.” He told you and you nodded. 

The little gender reveal was going to be happening on set. You all spent most of your time there and you both figured that it was the perfect place to find out what the baby was. 

You linked your hand with Owen’s and the two of you headed out of the apartment and down to Owen’s car. 

In less than an hour you would know the gender of the baby. 

Kenny had allowed Savannah and Charlie to deck out the garage with decorations, and the two of them had set up the perfect little gender reveal, with balloons and streamers and tiny cupcakes. 

You smiled as you took in the sight. Savannah grinned at you from across the room, rushing over quickly to pull you into a hug. 

“I can’t wait for you to find out, it’s been killing Charlie and I.” She said and you laughed. The decision had been made to let both Savannah and Charlie find out the gender so that they could plan the party and you knew that they could both be trusted with the secret. 

“Well its finally time.” You replied, glancing around at the cast members who had filled the room, all wearing various shades of pink, blue or both, and both your family and Owen’s family on facetime calls being held by Jeremy. 

“Everyone ready?” You asked loudly, and everyone cheered in response. You joined Owen in the middle of the room, taking one of the confetti poppers from his hand. 

“Speech!” Charlie called from the side of the room and you and Owen exchanged a look. 

“Okay, well, we just wanna say thank you to everyone for being here and celebrating Baby Joyner, and we love you all.” Owen said. You nodded. 

“Also thank you to Sav and Char for setting this up.” You added, smiling at your two best friends. 

“Okay, are we gonna do this?” Owen looked at you. You smiled. 

“Let’s do it.” You agreed. “You guys wanna give us a countdown?” 

“Three!” 

“Two!”

“One!” 

On one both you and Owen twisted the poppers, and instantly the room was filled with shiny pink confetti.

“I knew it!” Owen exclaimed, picking you up and spinning you around as you laughed loudly. He placed you down and you pulled him in for a kiss. 

“You were right.” You said, grinning as the rest of the cast rushed in to engulf you in big group hug. You couldn’t stop smiling, the overwhelming feeling of love was insane. 

You could feel Owen’s hands on your stomach and you shut your eyes for a second. 

You were having a baby girl. 

And you couldn’t wait to meet her. 

Later that evening you and Owen were curled up in your bed, Nickelodeon playing softly on the TV since Owen insisted his little girl be “educated on good kids TV”. 

Owen had his head resting in your lap and his arms were wrapped around your tiny baby bump. You ran a hand through his hair and smiled. 

“You know, now that we know for certain she’s a girl, we should probably start talking about names.” You spoke up. Owen glanced up at you. 

“This suddenly just feels really real.” He admitted softly. You lent down and kissed the top of his head. 

“Don’t stress, it’s okay.” You whispered. He smiled slightly. 

“I know it will be. Cause we’re doing this together, and everything is always okay when we’re together.” He said and you rolled your eyes. 

“Calm down Romeo.” You teased and he giggled. “So, names?”

He pulled a face as he thought. 

“I’ve always liked the name Theo.” He said after a second. “Theo Joyner.” 

“Cute.” You replied, still playing with his hair. “What about Carla or Ella?” 

“I like them. I also like Aurora, like the princess.” Owen smiled. You giggled. 

“Okay Prince Charming.” You said and Owen groaned. 

“That’s Cinderella’s prince, dumbass. Aurora’s prince was Prince Phillip.” He told you and you playfully rolled your eyes. 

“Oh I’m sorry Mr Disney Princess expert.” You retorted and Owen grinned. “Any other names?” 

Owen paused again. 

“What about Olivia? Ooh or Diana.” He suggested. 

“Ooh I like them. Diana’s a bit unusual nowadays though, where’d you get that from?” You questioned. Owen looked away guiltily. 

“The One Direction song.” He admitted and you laughed. 

“Of course. Olivia too, right?” You asked and he nodded. You shook your head slightly. 

“You’re such a dork Owen Patrick Joyner.” You said and he grinned up at you. 

“But I’m your dork, right?” He tried, and you nodded. 

“And baby girl’s dork.” You added, and he smiled, squeezing his arms around your bump gently. 

You lent down, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. 

“And we wouldn’t change you for the world.” 

#dad!owen #dad!owen series #owen joyner #owen patrick joyner #owen joyner x reader #reader insert

[melismaticmadness]

BROTHER

This was my first ever request! Thanks @niallhprincess​ :) I hope you like it!

Description: Fluff, FLUFF so much FLUFF 1009 words Warnings: kissing? might curse one time Owen Patrick Joyner x Reader **********************************

“Babe, what time are you working today?” Owen asked from the kitchen sink.

“2, why?” “I have to hop on Instagram and go live with Mads at like noon, so how about we order lunch from somewhere before I drop you off?” “Sounds good!”

Owen’s apartment was only about 15 minutes from work and since I spent the night here I just kept one work shirt in the bottom of his drawers so I don’t have to leave him early.

We both went about our morning, me trying to learn Tik Tok dances and songs from the new Tik Tok musical, and him working and actually being productive.

His phone alarm went off at 11:45am reminding him to call Madison before the live to make sure they were still good to go and knew what she wanted him to talk about.

After he was off the phone, I asked if he needed help setting up.

“I got it, y/n. Can you turn the speaker off? Mads can’t ‘save the live’ with music playing in the background.” He rolled his eyes as he said “save the live stream” because of everyone telling him to save a live stream a few months ago. Owen claimed he understood and was just being funny, but I know he had no clue.

“You got it, boss.” “Quick,” he said, tossing his phone to me, “order us something for lunch so it’s here when I’m done and we can eat together.” “What are you in the mood for?” “I could go for Mexican, but I’ll take anything really…”

I called up our favorite Mexican place and ordered what we always get, plus a side of chips and queso.

“I have to go pick it up, the delivery wait was 90 minutes.” “Driving or walking?” “I’ll just walk, O. I hate getting your truck out of the garage.” “Be careful. Text me if you need me. I’ll have my phone near me while I’m on.”

It’s a good thing Madi was always late starting her live streams, but not good for our lunch plans.

I logged onto the stream for a little bit from across the room and left comments innocently since no one knows who I am. It’s fun getting to see his expression when my name pops up on his screen and I’m leaving comments that blend in with all the fans. Then I got the text that our food was done and stole one of Owen’s hats on the way out the door.

I grabbed our food and while I was walking back to the apartment I got the text that I wasn’t needed at work today, our toilet exploded or something, so everyone got sent home. Not that I was complaining, it just meant I got to spend another night at Owen’s.

I snuck into the apartment quietly when I heard him still talking to Madi. The stream ran really long today, wow.

“Hi,” I whispered. I could hear that they were wrapping up so I thought about a Tik Tok I had seen earlier and thought it would be funny to do now.

I slowly sat on the couch next to Owen, as he shot me daggers with his eyes that he was still on the phone. Madi was saying goodbye and fans were starting to ask for Jere, so I knew he was almost done.

“I know, I know,” I mouthed, as I slid myself over and threw one leg over his lap. Carefully, I ducked my head under the view of the phone and grabbed on to his waist in a giant hug.

“So fun, Mads. See you next time. Don’t let Charlie beat me!” Owen said and then he leaned up, with me still in his lap, and left the live stream.

“Y/n, what the heck…” He was faking being upset with me, and I could tell because he buried his head in my hair, making the hug tighter. “I was sneaky, don’t worry. If they saw me, just say it was Bindi.” “You like driving me crazy,” he said with a laugh, “Sorry I was working for so long today. Tomorrow I am all yours. No work for either of us.” “About work… they don’t need me today. Everyone got sent home because a pipe burst in the bathroom lol.”

Owen sat up after that comment and was acting like an excited kid. “So what you’re telling me, I owe this hug to poop and a toilet.” “Yes, you could say that.” “God, I’ve never loved shit so much.” With that, we were hysterically laughing and making out on the couch before his stomach growled and he remembered I brought food home.

“Since we have the rest of the day, can we eat and then do whatever…” “Ugh, I guess,” I said fake rolling my eyes at him.

We sat at the table and showed each other funny Tik Toks back and forth, he showed me a recording for a cover he wants to post soon and told me about a collaboration he’s working on with Charlie for a charity fundraiser and giveaway, while we ate.  

“OPJ, you always surprise me.” “Why the ‘OPJ’? Who are you? Kenny?” “I don’t think Kenny would do what we just did on the couch…” “Yeah, what were we doing? Wanna remind me?” Owen said as I got up to throw our trash out. “I could… but you have to ask for it.” As I turned to walk past him and over to the couch, Owen lightly slapped my ass and now we were chasing each other around the apartment. “You’re going to pay for that Joyner!” I was laughing and yelling, and definitely more out of breath than he was from running around. “HUG ME, BROTHER!” Owen yelled as we both collapsed from our chase. “A Drake & Josh reference? Really? You expect a kiss after that?”

Owen picked me up and put me back on his lap facing him, exactly like before, and we were happy and content in each other’s arms.

“You love me, y/n.” “Yeah, you’re okay, I guess..” I said as I kissed him sweetly.

#owen joyner #owen x reader #owen joyner imagine #owen joyner x y/n #owen patrick joyner #jatp fanfic #jatp #julie and the phantoms #Alex Mercer #charles gillespie #luke patterson

[thiswasinevitableid]

If you are still taking meet ugly prompts, sternclay 22 nsfw???

Here you go!

22: you’re on a date with this awful, awful person who keeps getting under my skin because my friend and I have been eavesdropping all night and your date says something that makes me snap … I thought it was a first date, not a three year relationship.

Note: I interpreted "first date" loosely. Slight content warning for mentions of blackmail, including blackmailing someone into a relationship.

It’s hard to tell where the sting of gin on his tongue ends and the sharpness of the pines through the window begins. The combination would invigorate him were it not for the conversation playing out at the other end of the short bar.

“...Last time, I’m not leaving.” The bartender, a mountain of a man who Joseph would love to climb, has been dealing with a persistent suitor for the better part of an hour. They’re the only people in the place; ski season is far behind them and summer isn’t here yet.

“C’mon, you’ve got no reason to hang around.”

“Yeah, actually, I do.” The bartender finishes cleaning glasses, turns to put them up.

“Don’t you fucking turn your back on me! I’m not through with you, oughta drag you outta here by your hair you cheap, dull-”

The next word is an unkind name for men who, like Joseph, prefer men in their beds. The bartender doesn’t respond, though his hands tighten around the glasses. Damn it, the world did not go for a second war just for him to let everyday evil slide by.

“That’s enough.” Joseph stands, moving to where the other patron wobbles on his stool, “him being uninterested doesn’t give you the right to abuse him.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, pretty boy.”

“I know that if you don’t leave, I’ll escort you out.”

The man throws up his hands, spits at Joseph’s feet before stumbling and stomping for the door, “Three years, Barclay, you’re throwing away three years in one night, and you’re gonna regret it. I’ll make sure you do!”

“Don’t think you will.” Barclay mumbles as the door slams. He’s twisting his dishrag to the point it’s ripping.

“Three years? Good lord, I thought he was just a run-of-the-mill drunk.”

“Nope. If you can call him tracking me down every few months a relationship.”

“I’m sorry.” Joseph pulls out his handkerchief, kneeling to clean up the spit, “still, I apologize for getting in the middle of a, um, lovers quarrel.”

“Please don’t, I’m glad you stepped in. Don’t know what I woulda done if you hadn’t.” His brown eyes study Joseph more closely, “have I seen you here before?”

“Through there.” He indicates the pass-through to the kitchen, “I come here as often as I can since the food can’t be beat.”

“Thanks.” Barclay smiles, starts wiping the counter, “yeah, Dani usually tends bar after the kitchen closes but her wife is down with the flu. Only seemed fair to let her take time to look after her.”

A big heart to go with a big frame? Joseph’s in big trouble.

“You, uh, you up here for the lakes or…” He’s now directly across from Joseph, sliding a fresh gin and tonic in front of him.

“I’m a private detective, a one man operation as of 1949; Kepler’s the optimal spot for me, since it’s between the mountain towns and the eastern edge of the city. That’s a lot of people who might need help. Not to mention lots of the residents closer to the lakes are wealthy, the kind where they’re always looking for someone to trail a straying spouse or track down the pearls their no-good layabout son sold for dope.” He lets a little bit of scorn enter his voice in hopes of letting Barclay know he doesn’t always agree with his clients, but that a man has to make a living.

Barclay rolls his shoulders, then leans forward, “any fun cases so far?”

Joseph pulls off his jacket as he thinks; if Barclay’s really interested, they might be here awhile.

---------------------------------------------------

He’s an early riser, so the banging on the door to his house (and office) interrupts his breakfast and not his rest. Joseph opens it and then fights to keep it that way.

“Detective Hayes. This is a surprise.” He smiles.

“I’m not here to catch up, Stern. I’m here so you can answer one, simple question: where were you between eleven-thirty and midnight last night?”

“In the dining room at Amnesty Lodge, talking with the bartender. If you need to verify that, just go to the Lodge and ask for Barclay.”

Hayes glowers in a way he recognizes as, “this won’t be an easy case like I assumed” and turns without a word. Two officers follow him. The third, Dewey, hesitates. He’d always been a pal. Joseph shoots him a confused look.

“Guy got shot in the woods near the Lodge last night. His only known contact in town was the bartender, and everyone else we questioned said the two had been arguing for a few days. Hayes thought the cook was a shoo-in to book but, well, his alibi aligns with what you said. Plus, some ranger Owens talked to said he saw Barclay talking to someone in the dining room at the time of the murder. Guess he was walking by the window on his way to-”

“Dewey! Get the hell over here!”

As his informant scurries up the hill to join the others, Joseph steps back inside to finish his toast. He only gets through one piece before the phone rings, summoning him to the managers office at Amnesty Lodge.

Madeline “Mama” Cobb sits behind her desk, whittling with the kind of force that suggests she’s doing this in place of putting her knife to another use.

“Barclay tells me you’re a detective.”

“That’s right, Miss. Cobb.”

“Great. I’m hirin’ you to find out who the hell killed his useless ex and is tryin to frame him for it.”

He sits down, intrigued, “I thought the police were handling the investigation.”

“I ain’t inclined to trust ‘em. Barclay can’t think of someone who’d set him up, and the police don’t think he was. Yet. But I happen to know there were scraps of a shirt Barclay owns on the trees nearby and that the fella who died had this on him.”

She holds a crumpled paper out. He unfolds it, reads, “Come to the old mill at a quarter until midnight. B.” He looks up, “meant to stand for Barclay, one would assume?”

“Yep. Whoever wrote that did a decent job forgin it.”

“How can you be sure it’s fake?”

“Because I got plenty of documents where Barclay describes a time. He just uses numbers, not words like ‘quarter until.”

“Did you suspect a set-up before you lifted this from the body so the cops wouldn’t find it?” Joseph tucks the note into his inside pocket.

“Course I did. You’re new in town, but there ain’t a person here who’d say Barclay is anythin but gentle. He ain’t about to shoot someone in cold blood, even that fucker.” She sighs, takes off her hat and runs a hand through greying hair, “that boy is as good as a brother to me. I know he’s been through some rough shit. He don’t deserve to get caught up in some goddamn murder scheme. So name your price, Mr. Stern; so long as it keeps him outta trouble, I’ll pay it.”

---------------------------------------------

He’s elbow-deep in Barclay’s dresser when the cook returns from his shift; he gave Joseph permission to search his room for signs of whoever took his shirt, but still, the other man doesn’t seem pleased with his presence.

“I’m sorry, but I have to be thorough. I’ll be out of here as soon as I can.”

“S’fine.” Barclay slumps down on the bed. After a moment he murmurs, “I know Mama hired you, but is there anyway I can convince you to quit? She, the Lodge doesn’t have much cash to spare this time of year. I don’t want anyone going without on my account and, and maybe this will all blow over if I just lie low, y’know?”

“It might. But until I think that’s the outcome, I’m inclined to agree with Miss. Cobb that we should work to keep you clear of this. And” he watches Barclay stand, moving to the window so he won’t have to see Joseph rifling through his life, “I promise that if it comes down to getting paid or bankrupting the Lodge, I’ll stop taking my fee. This is a good place and, um, it clearly means a lot to you. That makes it worth some belt-tightening on my end.”

“Thanks.” Barclay stares into the woods, then looks over his shoulder, “Joseph, I-”

It’s only because the mirror is above the dresser that he sees the black barrel peek from the trees. With no time to yell, he dives forward, pulling Barclay to the floor as the first bullet makes shards of the window.

“What the fuck?!” Barclay covers his head as another shot flies over them

“I think we just confirmed Miss. Cobb’s theory!” He pops up, fires once, and drops back down. Whoever’s in the trees isn’t expecting someone armed, so in place of another bullet they get breaking branches.

Joseph gives chase, leaping out the window and sprinting into the trees. Were they in downtown L.A, hell, even if he was still in Chicago, he’d have a better chance of staying on his target. But there’s no paths, no short-cuts, and every tree looks the same at this speed, cloaking the shape in the distance. Worst of all, he discovers that instead of dead-ending at a brick wall, he dead ends at a rockface.

Oh, and his hand is bleeding. He must have cut himself jumping out the window.

It looks like his investigation just took on a bodyguard element, and his wish to spend more time with Barclay could end with them both looking like swiss cheese.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

“You could talk to Duck.” Barclay finishes bandaging the slash on the back of Joseph’s left hand, “he works in the state park near here and knows a ton about the layout of the woods. There, not too tight?” He sits back on his heels as Joseph tests the tightness of the bandage.

“It’s great, big guy. Um, I’m sorry, I don’t know where that came from.”

“I don’t mind it” he winks, “pretty boy.”

His visit with Duck the next day, while informative, doesn’t give him much insight into how their assailant disappeared, especially when Duck points out that the rock face he ran across is over a mile long and hard to climb without equipment or a death wish. At least the ranger outfits him with a map with written-in details; most are about trails that are likely to be muddy (and thus hold prints) or spots where a person might be able to hide. And some hike recommendations, just because.

He tries not to think about taking Barclay on the one to a secluded lake and fucking him under the stars.

His schedule alternates between sitting in his office taking and making calls, shadowing Barclay when he’s out on errands or otherwise vulnerable (he’s spent more than a few nights on the floor of his room, that velvety baritone talking to him until they both fall asleep), and scouring the woods for clues.

A jay heckles a squirrel, which surrenders it’s pinecone and scrambles along the rocks. He’s wishing he could be so nimble when it climbs up and then...disappears. Following it, he discovers what he dismissed as endless rock is an optical illusion; the rocks above and behind align with the ones in front and below to make it seem as if it’s a flat face. But when he climbs over the bottom rock, he finds a narrow slot canyon. One big enough for a human.

Fifteen minutes of granite scratching his back later, he’s at the other side of the rocks. Smoke curls up his nose, and he trails the scent to a cabin which, according to Duck, is on a strange pocket of private property, just up a frontage road. Stranger still is the sign out front.

I.C All

Tarot, Palm Reading, and Other Psychic Services.

He knocks as wind chimes sing lazily around him.

“Come in!”

The first room is divided by a curtain, the half he’s in a rather eclectic waiting room. The dining room and kitchen are probably on the other side of the pink and yellow cloth.

Waiting for him in the next room is a man with a distinctly beatnik air about him, from his red glasses down to his brightly colored shawl and shoulder length hair. Laid out before him is a tarot deck, crystal ball, and several black candles. But that’s not what concerns Joseph.

“Before I sit down, can you ask your friend hiding in the bureau to come out?”

“Fuck” the beaura hisses, “uh, I mean, uh, there ain’t, uh, fuck-”

“It’s alright dearest, I suspect we may all benefit from this.” He gestures for Joseph to sit, “Apologies, but my hope was you were either a client I could turn away or one in search of a brief reading that I could perform before returning to more...pleasurable activities.” He grins as none other than Duck Newton steps from the creaky wooden bureau, looking like he’s been wrestling a very amorous tiger.

“Afternoon, Joe.” Duck sits on the nearby couch, “didn’t take you for the fortune tellin’ type.”

“I’m more interested in whether Mr…”

“Cold, but my friends call me Indrid.”

“Whether Indrid has noticed anyone coming and going on his property without permission?”

“I can’t say that I have, though it’s hard to do so; the walkway is guarded by Beacon, our dog, and everything but the walk up to the cabin is fenced off or, well, a massive wall of rock.”

“...Come with me.”

Soon, Duck is studying the slot canyon while Indrid worries his lower lip.

“I had no idea this was here.”

“No one did. It ain’t on any of the maps, and I never heard of anyone findin it on accident.” Duck pulls back, popping his hat on as he turns to Joseph, “this got somethin to do with Barclay?”

“I think whoever shot at us used this to get away. For all we know, the person who killed Mr. Douglas did the same.”

“To think, I encouraged Barclay to come here even more often once he told me his predicament; I thought no one could approach us without me seeing them coming. No, no this will not do at all” he shakes his head, “he needs to go see her.”

“You know he won’t, sugar.”

“He must. It’s the safest place for him. And the last anyone will look.”

Joseph looks between them, but before he can ask Indrid simply says, “You should ask Barclay about the Greenbank House. That story isn’t ours to tell.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------

“Home sweet home.” Barclay grumbles as he and Joseph step out of the car and into the shadow of a mansion in the most exclusive neighborhood in Lakeshore. It took all of his friends telling him he should go--and Joseph assuring him it’s location meant it wouldn’t look like he was trying to run away from the scene of the murder--for the cook to agree to a stay at his family home.

“What are you afraid of?” Joseph keeps his tone gentle as they climb the front steps. His friend had simply said he had unhappy memories of the house and would rather live in a mausoleum then stay there.

“It’s more dread. You’ll see when we get inside.” He knocks on the front door. It’s opened by the least congruous face imaginable; a man with greying hair and a groundskeepers clothes. When he sees Barclay, a smile bursts across his face.

“Barclay! How are you kiddo?”

“I’m...I’m okay. It’s good to see you Thacker.” He offers a genuine smile as he opens his arms and gathers the older man into a hug. When they separate, Joseph offers his hand and introduces himself. Having an extra guest delights Thacker, and he ushers them in with a promise that he’ll have rooms ready to go in a jiff.

“How’s Maddie doin’?”

“She’s good, and she’ll still slug your arm for that nickname.”

“Good old Maddie.” Thackers cheer falters, “do you wanna go see your ma? If I didn’t know you were comin, gonna guess she didn’t neither.”

“Yeah. Yeah I should go see her. Joseph, you don’t, uh, you don’t need to come with me if you don’t want to.”

“It’s only polite to meet my hostess.”

Barclay leads him up a flight of stairs, then down a hallway where dust substitutes for walllpaper. Waiting for them in a red and orange toned bedroom is a woman with greying, black hair and a face not unlike Barclay’s.

“Dear heart” she rises from her armchair, drawing her son to her, “you came back.”

“Just to visit, Ma. Uh, this, this is Joseph. He’s a friend of mine. He’ll be staying here too.”

She studies him with a critical eye; Joseph thought Hayes had a judgemental gaze, but she could beat him any day.

“Hmm. The more the merrier, as she always said. How long will you stay?”

“A few weeks.”

She nods, regards the photo of another woman above the mantelpiece as if seeking council, “You’re not here for pleasure.”

“No.” Barclay rubs his arm, “I...I got into some trouble. Andrew Douglas was shot the night I broke things off with him. The cops are leaving me alone for now but someone else wants me dead.”

The woman’s face suggests she both recognizes and despises that name, “We will keep you safe.”

With that, she sits once more and picks up her book. Barclay hesitates, then bends to kiss her forehead before pulling Joseph from the room.

--------------------------------------------------

“How long ago did your mother die?” Joseph kicks his legs up onto the ottoman. Barclay alluded to her passing previously, but never gave details.

“When I was eighteen. Car accident. She went off the Kepler bridge. They, uh, they never found her, and just found part of the wreck.”

He intends to leave it there; they’re on the back porch overlooking the garden (“Thackers pride and joy”), early summer dusk on their skin and their arms occasionally brushing from the edges of their chairs. No need to kill the mood further. He just wanted some kind of context for the house and the widow within it.

“Ma never recovered. She loved mom so much that losing her was like losing a lung; she can get through her days, even enjoy them, but it will always be hard. She tried to keep mom around however she could; the whole goddamn house is the same as it was the day she died, even my room. She wanted me to stay too, but Mama offered me the job and I just...I couldn’t live in a haunted house anymore.”

Joseph tips his hand to the right, extending his fingers into the space between them. Barclay takes it and holds tight.

“I’m so sorry, Barclay. You had every right to leave, to make your own life.”

“I know.” He runs his thumb across Joseph’s knuckles, “okay, pretty boy, my turn for a tough question; why’d you really leave the police force.”

It’s not that tough a question, not when he knows the man he’s confiding in won’t go running to Hayes, “I joined the force because I wanted to solve mysteries and help people. But it turned out there was a lot less seeking justice and a lot more chasing off drunks who just needed a place to sleep off benches and harassing certain neighborhoods. Then I worked out that the chief was taking bribes from all kinds of places and was naive enough to think someone might listen to me and help me when I told them. Instead they threw me off the force. In hindsight, it could have been worse; they could have killed me and covered it up.”

“Jesus.” Barclay polishes off his drink, contemplates the ice, “glad they didn’t. Both because, y’know, world is better with you alive, but, uh, also because if they had we’d never have met.”

Joseph meets his eyes, smiling in a way that makes the other man blush, “that would’ve been a damn shame.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is turning into one of the stranger cases he’s worked, in good ways and bad. The good is that his work days, when he’s not on the phone or digging through his notes, are spent with Barclay. His friend insists on cooking, has even brought him lunch at his desk, and usually the two of them have dinner with Thacker in the garden. They read or play chess in the study, take walks through the labyrinthine grounds, and even swim in the open air pool. Barclay in his swim trunks is a fine sight indeed. Joseph wonders if he ever brought boyfriends here, ever kissed them in the blue water or let them have their way with him in some hidden patch of lawn.

But it’s not all roses and revelry. The more he roots around in Andrew Douglas’s past, and in Barclay’s, the more questions he has. Why did Andrew come and go? What happened to large portions of Raquel and Sylvia (Barclay’s parents) fortune? And who wants to kill someone with no criminal record, no known enemies, and no heirs? If it’s the same person who murdered Andrew, killing Barclay would remove their fall-guy, so that makes no sense as a move.

His best lead comes when he learns Barclay’s family and Andrew Douglas lived in San Francisco at the same time. A friend in the city agrees to do some sniffing around there for any information that might point towards their killer. Two days later, he calls back and says he’s sending Joseph a “fucking brick” of evidence in the mail.

It’s been several days and he’s still waiting. He dozed off in his room after dinner, intending to cat nap, but it seems he’s overshot; it’s after ten. At least the mail must have come by now.

“Barclay? Did anything come--you have five goddamn seconds to explain yourself.”

His friend stammers from his seat on the bed, surrounded by papers, photo’s, newsprint, and a manila envelope with Joseph’s name on it.

“I, uh, I, it isn’t-”

“This is all evidence collected for the purpose of protecting you, so if you have something you’re afraid of me finding you’d better start talking now.” He snaps, looming over the other man from the edge of the bed.

Wordlessly, Barclay hands him a piece of newspaper. It details a kidnapping, one that ends--happily--with the victim being returned to their family. Four names are mentioned, but none of the perpetrators are the man in front of him.

“I was sixteen. A stupid kid. I had this perfect life and I got a little stir crazy, a little bored, and fell in with some other rich kids who felt the same. It started out harmless. Then James, the guy in charge, decided we should dream bigger. I was so, so fucking in love with him, I didn’t try to stop him. Not right away, anyway. I...I was their look-out for that kidnapping. But I couldn’t let them keep it up.”

“You struck a deal.”

Barclay nods, “Best part is, I managed to do it without either of my parents getting wise. We moved here soon after. I thought I could put it behind me.”

Joseph takes a closer look at the paper. The byline for the article is one A. Douglas.

“He blackmailed you.”

“Not at first. He, he” Barclay takes a shaky breath, “he went to mom first. Asked her how much she’d pay to keep my name out of the papers. James had told him about me and he was going to spread the story. That’s why she was on that fucking bridge in the middle of a fucking storm; she was meeting him.”

“Oh, Barclay.” Evidence crumples under his knees as he sits to comfort his friend.

“Then he came to me; now not only was I paying to keep the story quiet, I was paying to keep him from telling Ma why Mom died.”

“She died because of a blackmailer, wet cement, and a weak guard rail. Not because of you.”

Barclay looks at him, eyes coffee cups of sorrow, and simply shakes his head. Then he crumples forward and Joseph catches him, holds him tight while he finishes his story through his tears.

He paid off Andrew for three years. Ned Chicane, owner of the Kepler Museum of Curiosities, helped him with the family accounts so Raquel wouldn’t notice anything suspicious. Whenever Andrew came around, he demanded Barclay act as his “boyfriend” for the duration of the visit.

“Everyone must think I have terrible taste in men.”

Once they establish that, as far as Barclay is aware, only Ned knows about the blackmail, Joseph cups his face and says, as firmly as gentleness allows, “From now on, I need you to be truthful with me. You said you didn’t want me putting the pieces together because you were ashamed, but all I want is to help you. I can’t do that if there are big things you’re hiding from me. Understand?”

Barclay nods, and apologizes the entire time they’re gathering the strewn pieces back into the envelope.

“Barclay?” Joseph cuts him off and eases him down until he’s on his back, “I forgive you. Now please go to sleep before you pass out from stress.”

The cook smiles at him, eyes already fluttering closed, “You’re the boss, Joseph.”

He ignores all the urges that kickstarts in him and leaves his friend to sleep in peace.

-------------------------------------------------------

“Y’know, kind of wish we’d known each other back then.” Barclay looks up from where he’s helping Joseph sort the new evidence on the floor, “when I was in San Francisco, I mean.”

“It would have taken more than just a change of scene for me; my family does alright, but I’d have been way outside your circles.”

“So? Maybe then I coulda had a boyfriend who was ‘disreputable’ for bullshit reasons instead of real ones.”

“I’ve never once been disreputable.” He looks up from the photos in his hand, “and is that your way of telling me something, big guy.”

“Yes. I, uh, you can tell me to knock it off, but I, uh, I think you’re swell. It’s okay if you don’t feel that way but you said I should be…” he trails off as Joseph leans into his space,”honest.”

He kisses him once, so brief it barely counts but the larger man whimpers and tries to grab him before he pulls away.

“If we’re going to do this, I need you to promise me that you’ll tell me to hit the brakes if you need to; it won’t change my dedication to the case.”

“I promise.” There’s no dishonesty in his face, just boundless hope and affection.

“In that case, big guy” he lunges forward, pinning him to the rug, “you’re all mine.”

An unexpectedly high whine leaves his lover.

“You like when I’m rough?”

“Uh, uh huh, so much, people always want me to be and I don’t want to, wanna be, wanna beAHHHhhnnn” he arches his back as Joseph bites the patch of skin just below his beard.

“You’re so gentle, big guy, I thought you’d go straight to making love but” another bite, another gasp, “I think I’d better fuck you instead.”

“Please.” Barclays hands glide up to cup Joseph’s face and guide him down into another kiss.

Joseph rolls his hips forward and his sleeves up as speaks, “Now that you mention it, I can see how things would’ve gone if we met earlier. I was an obedient son but not beyond sneaking someone into my room when my parents were away” he undoes Barclay’s shirt, keeps grinding against him and licking his lips as he feels him getting hard, “or maybe we met down here, and you’d sneak me into the backyard.”

“Fuck, yes.” Barclays chest heaves as Joseph cards his fingers up through the dark hair to tease his nipples, “god, if how I, fuck, feel now is a clue, I’d have been so fucking mad for you.” He makes a charming groan as Joseph tongues his nippls and then nibbles his way up to his ear.

“It’s funny” Joseph kisses his cheek, “I knew so many guys like you on the force. Not you now, used to hard work and worry, but you then; spoiled and softer than a boiled egg.” He allows himself a moment of savoring their cocks teasing each other through their pants before continuing, “always wanted to discipline them, because it was clear no one ever did.”

“Please show me how.”

“Why?” He grins down at him, toying with his left nipple until it’s bright red.

“Because I wanna be good for you, Joseph. Wanna be every fantasy you ever had.”

“...Lord god almighty how am I supposed to say no to that?” Joseph undoes his suspenders, laughing at Barclay’s triumphant smile, “you’re a dream, big guy.”

He crawls so he’s straddling Barclays face, cock dripping pre-cum onto his lips. Barclays tongue keeps peeking out from between them, but doesn’t go further without permission.

“Since this is disciplinary, you don’t get a say in how it goes. You’ll take my cock as long and as deep as I want it, because I’m superior to you and you’re here to do what I say”

“Fuckyeah” Barclay paws Joseph’s thighs, opens his mouth so he can guide the head in.

“That, ohyes, that being said, if it’s really too much, tap my thigh twice.”

Barclay nods to show he understands, but is already pre-occupied sucking his cock like he’s starving for it.

“A good start, big guy, but if I just wanted my cock wet I’d have gone swimming.” He cups the back of Barclays head in both hands, “I want something to fuck, and your face is it.”

The man beneath him moans, fucks the air uselessly as Joseph pushes further in. He finds the resistance of his throat with a half-inch to go, and decides that’s good enough. He pulls halfway out, pushes back in, repeats the process a few times before finding his rhythm. Weeks of wanting mean it’s hurried and greedy, but the resulting moans suggest Barclay approves.

“You look so good like this, Barclay. God, if you’d been some fresh-faced officer, one look of those doe-eyes is all it, shit, would’ve taken for me to make this the only discipline you ever got. Any time I needed to put you in your place or just, fuck, just needed to let off some steam, I’d do this, get my, my cock in your mouth so often you’d run out of spit and be thankful for my cum in, in it’s place.”

Barclay is groping him again, eyes bright and lips managing some upward curve as his cock forces them apart.

“Then again” he tenderly massages Barclay’s scalp, “there’s no reason I can’t do that in this universe. Oh, ohshit, Barclay-” his words desert him as he cums, the other man swallowing eagerly and sucking him clean before he pulls out.

Joseph glances over his shoulder, “Can I take care of that for you?”

“Fuck, please?”

He rolls off of the cook, stays on his side and slips one arm under his shoulders. Then he sets his palm on the monstrous bulge in Barclay’s jeans and sets to work.

“I, I should unzip-”

“No” he kisses him, “we’re surrounded by evidence that I can’t have you cumming on. Don’t worry, I’ll clean up the mess you make cumming in your pants like a teenager.”

“Promise?” It’s an odd thing to say, but Joseph thinks he understands.

“I promise.” He quickens his pace, Barclay’s grunts growing louder when he does, “I’ll take care of you, big guy. I’ll look after you. You don’t have to lift a finger when I’m around.”

“Joseph.” Is all the reply he gets, Barclay already turning as cum spreads across his fly and clinging to the detective. His breath is hot, stays shaky even as his cock stops pulsing.

“Barclay? Baby, are you alright?”

“So fucking good, babe. I, I uh” he holds him tighter, “this is the first thing to make sense to me in years. Loving you, having you in my life, I get how we fit together so easily. Everything else, the murder, Ma, this person lurking around the last place that feels like home waiting to hurt me or hurt Mama or someone there, all of it, it’s so goddamn tangled I’m worried it’ll never get straight.”

Joseph rests their cheeks together, “We’ll figure it out, big guy. I promise.”

#sternclay #agent stern/ barclay #TAZ amnesty #noir au #detective au

[simp4reggie]

Can I request a imagine where Charlie Gillespie in Canada filming Julie and The Phantoms netflix show but with his girlfriend aka reader but He and Jeremy and Owen are dress as clowns for Madison Reys’s halloween party but the boys want to scare the reader and she was in the bedroom getting dress as Stitch from Lilo and Stitch disney movie.

Halloween

Charlie Gillespie x Reader

Word Count: 2,097

A/N: I know I haven’t written in a while but this might be my favorite one I’ve written so far. I changed it a bit since misread “bedroom” but I hope you like either way

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Halloween. The spookiest time of the year. However, for you this was the most wonderful time of the year. Your boyfriend was currently filming the first season of his new show, Julie and the Phantoms.

Halloween is your favorite day of the year and it sucks that you’re supposed to spend it far away from him. You decided to book a flight last minute to surprise him. The only person you told was his roommate and best friend, Owen.

“He’s going to be so excited to see you. He won’t shut about you and hopefully this will stop him for a little while,” Owen says over the phone.

“Haha iI can’t wait to see him and I especially can’t wait to finally meet you in person.” You and Owen have been talking a lot ever since he answered Charlie’s phone when FaceTiming and after Charlie found his phone, you and him exchanged numbers.

“I know FaceTime’s fun and all but now we can bully Charlie together in person” He replies.

“Hey remember he’s still my boyfriend. I can’t be mean to him all the time. I call you when my plane lands, okay?”

“Alright I’ll see you then. But (Y/N)!”

“Bye Owen!”

After what feels like ages you board the plane and a then after 8 hours and 1 stop you finally make it to Vancouver. You take a few moments to collect yourself and then call Owen to let him know you’re here. You grab your stuff from the baggage claim and grab a coffee from Tim Norton’s for a pick me up. Sitting on a plane for a full work shift can really drain the energy out of a person.

It doesn’t take long for you to hear someone call out your name.

“Y/N)!!! Over here!” You turn around and see Owen standing there and you run over and give him a hug.

“Owen! Oh my god!” After a minute you let go and he can’t help but grin at the big smile on your face, the face that Charlie won’t stop talking about. He never misses a moment to tell his co stars about how gorgeous you are and how much he loves your smile.

“Okay so I’m thinking we stop by the apartment and drop your stuff off and then head to set. We’re in the middle of filming but I may have asked Kenny if I could take a break to get something to eat.” You chuckle at that before answering.

“Actually I was wondering if we could just go right to set. I can’t spend another minute without Charlie.”

“Good. I can. So please take him from me.”

You laugh at that and spend the entire car ride counting the moments till you see your boyfriend again.

Owen parks the car and you don’t spare a moment jumping out of the car and running towards the closest door before realizing you have no idea where you're going. You stop and turn waiting for Owen.

“C'mon let’s head to the main stage. That's where they were when I left.” You follow Owen to a group of people.

“Hey guys have you seen Charlie anywhere?”

“No why?”

“This is his girlfriend, (Y/N)! She’s surprising him.”

“Oh my gosh! You’re (Y/N)? He’s going to be so excited. He never shuts up about you!” A girl with long blonde hair says.

“Yeah he might explode,” A guy wearing a leather jacket replies.

“Yeah I’m sorry about that. Hopefully it’s all good things.”

“Definitely. That boy is 100% in love with you. I’m Savannah.”

“And I’m Jeremy”

“The third phantom and Carrie right? He talks about you guys all the time too”

“Well this is fun but we need to go find Charlie before he sees you first.” Owen drags me in a different direction. You wave to Savannah and Jeremy hoping to talk to them more.

You see that you end up at Charlie’s trailer and Owen knocks on the door.

“Coming!” You hear on the other side and your heart leaps. It’s him. Owen pushes you behind him.

“Owen! Where’d you go running off to? That was a king lunch, dude.”

“Oh you know just out.”

“Well it must’ve been good enough for Kenny to stop production until you got back. All that was left was your stuff with BooBoo. Mads is getting here soon.” You start to feel bad for causing them to stop filming.

“Oh believe me it was. I have a surprise for you.”

“Please! No more dead birds!”

“No it’s good I swear! Close your eyes”

“I don’t wanna-!”

“CLOSE YOUR EYES!”

“Fine!” Charlie closes his eyes and Owen pushes you right in front him.

“Okay...Open!”

Charlie opens his eyes expecting something gross but is completely in awe of the view in front of him.

“Wait…(Y/N)? How are you even here right now? What? How? I don’t even know what to say!”

“Just kiss me you dork.” He doesn’t say anything just wraps you in his arms and gives you the biggest kiss possible. You kiss him back and just soak in the moment of you two. It feels like there’s no one else around and forget about where you are.

“Okay...I’m going to go leave and find Kenny.”

Charlie lets go and just stares at you in shock. “That son of a bitch went to the airport didn’t he?” You just nod chuckling to yourself. “I’m sorry but oh my god. I can’t believe your standing here right now.”

“Neither can I. Last week I was missing you so much and Owen convinced me to get a ticket.”

“Well you came just in time. We’re having a Halloween party tomorrow night and now you can come! Everyone’s going to be so excited. You’re all I can talk about.”

“So I’ve heard. I better live up to the expectations huh?”

“You already are just by being you...God I love you.” He kisses you again.

You spend the rest of the day watching him film scenes and meeting the rest of the cast. They were all so nice and welcoming. You kinda regret leaving your stuff in Owens truck but you had to Charlie to help you unpack so it didn’t take too long. After that the three of you went out for dinner and then cuddled with Charlie the rest of the night Because of the party everyone had a later call time. This meant more time with Charlie.

The next morning you woke up to an empty bed but a noisy apartment. You walk out of the room to see Charlie and Owen arguing over a pan of burnt eggs.”

“Good morning, old married couple. What’s going on? It’s too early for this shit.”

“I’m sorry, (Y/N), but SOMEBODY decided to let the breakfast I was making you burn.”

“How is this my fault?”

“I asked you to watch over it while I went to the bathroom and I came back out to you going live and not even paying attention.”

“Well sorry I got distracted but you were in there a long time.”

“It wasn’t that king oh my god!”

“Boys!! Stop arguing,” You walk up behind Charlie to give him a hug, “It’s okay. Thank you for the breakfast, baby.”

“I’m sorry for him over there. It would’ve been amazing.”

“Amazing or Charlie amazing. I saw the peanut butter out?” Owen says staring at Charlie.

“Oh...maybe it was a good thing they got ruined. You eat some weird food babe.”

“Hey! Who’s side are you on?” Charlie says low key offended but he can’t stay mad too long. “Whatever, we'll just get Starbucks or something. Are you coming to set babe?”

“I was actually thinking about going to the store to find a last minute costume. What are you going as?”

“It’s gonna be a surprise. We’re not telling anyone.”

“We?”

“Yeah. Jer, Charlie, and I are gonna match.” Owen replies.

“Oh god. I hope it wasn’t Charlie’s idea.”

“What is this? Pick on Charlie day?”

“No it’s Halloween! Best day of the year. Tomorrow is Pick on Charlie Day.” You laugh at Owen.

“Which reminds me I have to go to get a good costume.” You go back to Charlie’s room to get dressed before saying goodbye to the two idiots.

“I’ll see you later! Bye I love you!”

“I love you too!” Owen yells back.

“She was talking to me. Love you!”

“I don’t think so. She loves me more.” You hear them start to argue again and you leave quickly.

At the store you find a cute Lilo costume that there was one left of. You also buy a Scrump backpack and a little Stitch plush to carry with you (plus that fits in the bag so your hands don’t get tired. Spirit Halloween really has it all.

Charlie said to get to set around 6 and gives you the address of the school around 6 since that’s when they were supposed to done filming. You go through the door you and Owen walked through the day before. You start following the decorations until you get to the Cafeteria. You start to recognize people from yesterday. You see Sav is Kim Possible. Madison as the devil and Jadah as an angel. Sacha was also a devil. You look around but don’t see the three boys. You haven’t known Jeremy long but if he is willing to along with Charlie and Owens' plan he must be just as big as a doofus as them. After about 20 minutes you go to find a bathroom.

You look in the mirror fixing your dress and we’re fixing your eyeliner until the light turns off. You look around confused, feeling your way around. You got close to the light and feel a person.

“Hello?” You whisper.

You just hear footsteps walking slowly toward you.

“This is it. This is when I die.” You think to yourself. You walk backwards before feeling another body behind you.

You close your eyes to accept fate before seeing some light against your eyelids.

You open your eyes and see three scary ass looking clowns in front of you. You scream and run out the door. You take a moment against the hallway wall before realizing there were three people missing in the party. You wait hoping they would walk out soon. You see the door open and see one of the boys step out. Not caring which one it was you walk up against the door so they couldn’t see you. When you see his face you yell, “BOO!”

The clown screams and runs out pulling the rest of them behind him.

“Not so fun is it?” You let yourself be seen.

“I’m sorry (Y/N). I didn’t think that Owen was going to turn out the lights.” Charlie said walking slowly up to her.

“You wanted to scare her. It’s a small room and there's not many options.”

“Still I’m so sorry.”

“I actually thought I was going to die. I’ve never been more terrified in my life. Why would you do that?”

“I thought it would be funny.”

“Funny to watch your girlfriend terrified is it?”

“(Y/N)...I don’t know how to be anymore sorry.”

“Yeah we're really sorry.” Jer says hoping to calm the situation down.

“Yeah really sorry.” He was going to say something sarcastic but saw how traumatized you actually looked.

“It’s okay. I mean it is Halloween. I should have expected something like this from the three of you.”

Charlie walks the rest of the way to you and gives you a hug and kisses you on the head. He feels you calm down and says “You look really cute.”

“Thanks you don’t at all but it’s okay.”

“Hey you said Pick on Charlie day was tomorrow.” You smile before pulling away from Charlie and yell “Hey Owen!”

“Yeah?”

“Charlie just agreed to tomorrow being Pick on Charlie Day!”

“He did? Cmon lets tell everyone!” You run after him back to the cafeteria.

“Wait no I didn’t!!! (Y/N)! OWEN!!” Charlie just shakes his head knowing it wouldn’t do anything.

Later that night everyone got a text saying this:

This is your healthy reminder that 11/1 is now officially Pick on Charlie day! To celebrate, please spend the whole day picking on Charlie Gillespie. I hope you have a wonderful holiday.

Let’s just say when the next year came around, the fans had a field day and Charlie was not a happy camper.

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A/N: oh look another 2 am post! Anyway I hope you liked it!

- Maddie xx

#julie and the phantoms #charlie gillespie #jeremy shada #julie and the himbos #owen joyner #madison reyes #charlie gillespie x reader #savannah lee may