#this thing haunts my dreams | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ghosttotheparty · 1 year

Text

if you'd let me want you

also on ao3 thank u @lunaraindrop for the help <3 cw: angst <3 arguing, brief panic attacks

“I’m just saying, man,” Eddie says lightly, leaning against the counter, watching Steve lift a box and set it on a cart. He lets himself watch. Steve isn’t looking at him. He can practically feel the ground shake as Steve rolls his eyes to the ceiling. “You guys make sense together.”

“Just because something makes sense doesn’t mean it…” Steve rips the box open. Eddie wills his face not to flush with heat. “Make sense.”

“That didn’t make sense.”

Steve shoots him a look.

“I don’t like Nancy like that anymore,” he says, almost grumbling. His mood shifted as soon as Eddie brought her up a few minutes ago. He smiled when Eddie showed up at Family Video, greeting him with a bright, “Hey!” but the second Eddie asked if he’s seen Nancy recently, the perpetual soft smile that lingered on his face faded and he looked away. His cheeks flushed pink. So Eddie doesn’t really believe him.

“You know I don’t believe you, right?”

Steve sends a look over at him. But it’s not really a look. He glares at him.

Eddie’s eyebrows raise as Steve looks away again, his stomach twisting.

“You don’t have to believe me, Eddie,” Steve says, his voice twinged with annoyance. “It doesn’t make it… not true.”

“Well, you get all uptight and stiff every time I bring her up,” Eddie says, crossing his arms over his chest like he’s defending himself.

“Yeah, maybe I just don’t wanna talk about my ex with you,” Steve says, his voice firmer, annoyed and slightly louder. Eddie’s chest tightens, and he furrows his brows, his breath caught in his chest.

“This is the kind of thing friends talk about,” he says defensively.

“Maybe I just wanna hang out with you without talking about my fucking love life,” Steve snaps, putting a tape up on a shelf a little too hard. Eddie blinks.

“Why are you pissed?”

“I’m not pissed.”

“You sound pissed. You look pissed.”

“I’m fine, Eddie,” Steve says, sounding even more pissed. “I just don’t wanna talk about it.”

Eddie has a problem. He’s had this problem his whole life.

“Why don’t you wanna talk about it?”

It’s gotten him in trouble before. Many times. At home, at school, with his friends, the assholes that shoved him around in the hallways, against lockers.

“You talk about it with Robin,” he says. “Why is it such a big deal to talk about it with me? What’s your problem?”

He pushes. And prods. And pokes. And annoys the fuck out of whoever he’s talking to, until—

“Jesus, Eddie, I don’t fucking know, just fuck off.”

Eddie stares at him as he looks up at him. His eyes are gleaming, his brows are furrowed, and his cheeks are red, and he looks angry, and for some fucking reason it just pisses Eddie off.

“I wanna help you,” he snaps. “I know you like her, and you guys would be perfect for each other, fuckin’ mister and missus America—”

“I don’t fucking like her,” Steve almost shouts, and Eddie almost flinches back, the volume making its way under his skin, pulling at him and making him ache.

“What’s your fucking deal, Harrington?” He matches his volume.

Steve recoils like Eddie’s slapped him across the face, his eyes wide, and he blinks, his shoulders falling.

“Don’t call me Harrington,” he says weakly. Eddie exhales, staring at him. “You never call me Harrington.”

The door opens across the store, the bell shoving it dinging brightly, and Robin greets them with a cheerful, “Hey, dinguses.”

Neither of them look away, their eyes locked, and Eddie barely even heard Robin’s tentative, “What’s going on?” Steve looks like he might cry, his cheeks still flushed, his eyes shining, and Eddie scoffs, shaking his head and tearing his eyes away from Steve, ignoring Robin and heading to the door. It slams shut behind him.

His hands are shaking as he fumbles with his keys, biting his trembling lip as he slides into the driver's seat, and he looks up into the store as he starts the van. Robin is looking at Steve, confused, still holding her bag in her hands, and Steve is covering his face, holding a tape before he shouts something Eddie can’t hear and throws the tape across the store.

Eddie’s vision swims and he pulls out of the parking lot without buckling his seat belt.

———————

He doesn’t see Steve for another four days.

He doesn’t really have to. It’s not like they tend to hang out every day. (Every other day, maybe. Sometimes more. But they don’t have a strict schedule, and Steve doesn’t come inside when he drops the kids off at Eddie’s for Hellfire on Thursday.)

Four whole days.

Is it pathetic that he misses him? Probably. It’s only four days, but Eddie feels hollow, like something is missing just because he hasn’t heard Steve’s voice.

Steve seems to feel the same way, which doesn’t really make Eddie feel better, even though his heart fucking soars when he opens the door to his apartment to find Steve standing there, his hair damp from the rain. He’s somehow looking up at Eddie despite being almost the exact same height as him.

“Hi,” Eddie says quietly, holding the door open. Steve rocks up onto his toes, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket, and he glances past Eddie into the apartment.

“Is Wayne here?”

Eddie blinks, his heart falling, and Steve seems to notice it, because he hurriedly says, “I’m not— I just wanna talk to you, like, alone. I just… wanna make sure.”

“Oh.” Eddie blinks again. “No, he’s— he’s at work.”

“Okay.” Steve pauses, swallowing, swaying. “Can I… Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” Eddie says after staring at him for a moment. “Yeah, come in.”

Steve exhales as he enters, pushing his hair back. His jacket is spotted with rain. Eddie forgot it was raining at all. He can’t hear rain much in this apartment. Unless it’s pouring.

“Talk,” Eddie says, heading into the kitchen. The kettle isn’t boiling yet, and he feels underdressed next to Steve, who’s wearing jeans and a tucked-in button-down, his jacket neatly pressed except for the rain. Eddie’s just in sweatpants and a grey sweater that’s two sizes too big.

“I, uhm.” Steve hesitates, taking a breath.

Eddie leans against the counter next to the stove, crossing his arms, looking up at him.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Steve says, leaning against the wall across from Eddie. It’s a small kitchen. Their feet are almost touching.

Eddie doesn’t say anything.

“I was…” Steve pauses, swallowing anxiously, his hands shifting in his pockets. “I was upset, and I lashed out at you, and I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.”

Eddie looks into his eyes. They’re shining again. They always are.

“I don’t get why you were upset,” Eddie says quietly, feeling like he’s confessing something. He often doesn’t get why people feel certain things. Why people get annoyed at him for the things he does when he isn’t hurting anyone. Why people laugh when there’s nothing to laugh about. Why people get upset when he tries to help them.

Especially with something like all this with Steve. He and Nancy would be perfect together. Nancy Wheeler and Steve Harrington. White picket fence and a soccer team of children and yearly vacations and everything someone like Eddie Munson could never have.

He hasn’t told anyone that he doesn’t understand what they’re feeling in a long time. The last few times he told them they’ve scoffed and rolled their eyes and accused him of lying to get away with being an asshole, even when he was so adamant he worked himself to tears.

But Steve doesn’t do any of those things. He looks at Eddie and believes him.

“I don’t like Nancy anymore,” Steve says. He sounds close to tears. “And it just… pissed me off that you just didn’t believe me.”

He must see the doubt on Eddie’s face.

“I don't like her anymore,” Steve says. “I swear.”

Eddie looks back and forth between his eyes.

“I see how you look at her, Steve,” he says softly, and he wants to go throw himself out the living room window. Because he sounds so desperate, so fucking honest, and Steve can probably see right into him.

“How do I look at her?” Steve asks desperately, his head tilting forward.

“Like she’s perfect,” Eddie says, his arms uncrossing. The kettle is starting to boil, the whistle low and quiet. “Like she’s fucking flawless, like she’s… the fucking sunset or something.”

“Eddie,” Steve says weakly, his shoulders slumping.

“I don’t get it,” Eddie says adamantly. The whistle is growing in pitch. “I don’t get why you don’t like her, she’s— she is perfect, she’s the one for you—”

“No, she’s not,” Steve says angrily.

He doesn’t even seem to notice the kettle whistling loudly, screeching at them, and Eddie huffs, turning away.

“Jesus,” he mutters, turning off the burner. “What do you want from me, Steve?” he asks, pulling the kettle off the burner, feeling it vibrate as it whistles.

“I don’t want anything from you, I want you.”

The kettle falls quiet.

The kitchen is silent.

Eddie blinks at the kettle, the words washing over him like cold water, and he almost drops the kettle as he sets it down heavily. It lands loudly on the stove, clattering on the burner, and he turns around to look at Steve.

Steve’s eyes are wide as he realises what he’s just said, and Eddie isn’t breathing, and he’s trembling, and Steve takes a sharp breath before he turns away.

Eddie reaches out and grabs his shirt, pulling him back.

Except he doesn’t do that.

He yells, at the top of his lungs, as loud as he can, I want you too. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything.

Except he doesn’t do that either.

Steve leaves, slamming the door shut behind himself.

Eddie lets him.

———————

Six days.

Six fucking empty days.

Wayne notices that something is off, but he doesn’t ask, because he knows Eddie won’t tell. If he were to ask, Eddie would probably just burst into tears, and Wayne had never known what to do when Eddie cries. It’s not like Grandpa Munson was a touchy-feely guy. Wayne’s always just brought him tea and tissues and given him a hug if he wanted one.

Eddie covers it up when the kids come over to the apartment to hang out. Lucas tells him he asked Steve if he wanted to come up to say hi, but that Steve has errands to run. Eddie just quips that Steve is a big boy, all old and mature. The kids laugh, living in their sweet, sweet ignorance.

When the kids aren’t over, and Corroded guys aren’t over, he’s holed up in his room, staring at the ceiling with his headphones on. (He can’t use his speakers anymore because of complaints from the neighbours.) Trying to let the music drown out the words that are bouncing around his skull like a pinball.

I want you. I want you. I want you.

On the seventh day, Robin calls him.

He doesn’t want to answer the phone, but he trudges up out of bed, pushing his hair out of his face. He’s still wearing the same sweater.

She tells him the Party’s having a movie night at Steve’s.

Eddie’s chest aches at the sound of Steve’s name.

You’re gonna be there, she says, because she seems to know how his brain works better than anyone else he’s met. You’re gonna be there gets him to change his sweater.

His eyes meet Steve’s when he goes inside, but they both look away, and Eddie immediately swerves to the other side of the living room, scooping El into his arms and cackling evilly when she screams his name.

Steve sits with Robin on the sofa. Eddie can tell Robin knows something is up, but he can also tell that Steve hasn’t told her anything because she glances at Eddie, then at Steve, and Steve ignores her, his eyes trained on Dustin as he argues with Will about something.

The lights shut off when the movie starts.

Steve leans against the armrest of the sofa, Robin leans against him, and Nancy leans against her. Jonathan and Argyle are on the floor, Jonathan’s head on Argyle’s shoulder. The kids are all on the floor, tangled and piled on top of each other like a litter of puppies.

Eddie doesn’t even know which movie is playing. He keeps looking at Steve.

He feels like his veins are filled with wax, his body tense and stiff and so anxious he’s shaking a little bit.

I want you.

Eddie looks over at him again, the words echoing in his head, in the exact cadence and emphasis that Steve spoke in, adamant and angry and desperate.

Steve’s eyes meet his across the room. They’re shining. Reflecting the flashing lights of the movie.

Eddie tilts his head, gesturing silently, weakly, toward the kitchen.

Steve inhales, his jaw working, and he sighs quietly, squeezing Robin’s arm and moving to get up. She looks up at him, then at Eddie, then at Nancy, moving so Steve can get up, pulling Nancy closer.

Eddie gets up quietly, stepping behind the sofa so he doesn’t get in anyone’s view of the movie before he follows Steve down the hall to the kitchen, shutting the door behind them.

Steve crosses his arms when he enters the kitchen like he’s protecting himself, looking sulky and upset and so small it makes Eddie want to cry. He leans against the island, looking at the floor, biting his lip, and Eddie steps to be in front of him, leaning against the wall.

They're both quiet. Eddie can almost hear the movie, muffled and quiet through the door and down the endless hallway. Eddie can almost hear his own heartbeat. He listens to Steve’s breath.

“Did you mean it?” he asks softly, almost whispering.

Steve looks up at him, his eyes flicking back and forth between Eddie’s before he looks away, at the floor, his eyes moving like he’s looking for something.

“Steve,” Eddie says weakly when Steve doesn’t say anything. “Did you mean it?”

Steve takes a sharp breath, his lip trembling.

“Yes.”

Eddie exhales.

The floor is solid beneath his feet.

Holy shit.

He steps forward, looking at Steve’s face. His eyes are squeezed shut.

Eddie reaches up to his cheek, wiping away a tear, and Steve startles, his eyes flying open to look at Eddie, his eyes filled with tears, scared and desperate. He’s breathing hard, blinking.

“I want you too,” Eddie whispers.

“Don’t fuck with me right now, Eddie, please.” Steve’s voice squeaks, breaks and chokes, and Eddie reaches up to hold his face between his hands, wiping away the tears that fall from his eyes. Steve is gasping for breath, and Eddie presses a hand firmly against his chest as it rises and falls quickly.

“I’m not fucking with you, Stevie,” he murmurs. Steve’s hands grab at Eddie’s waist, gripping the fabric of his sweater. (This one is black.) He’s holding him too tightly, but Eddie doesn’t mind. “I want you, I’ve wanted you for so long.”

Steve closes his eyes hard, his brows furrowing as he pants, and Eddie leans close, pressing their foreheads together, murmuring to him. Breathe, Steve, slowly. You got it.

It takes a while for his breathing to slow, and Eddie slides his hand up his chest when it does, moving it up over the collar of his sweatshirt, over his neck, to his cheek.

“Why’d you push me to go with Nancy?” Steve chokes, blinking tears out of his eyes, and Eddie’s eyes burn, aching because he can’t explain it.

“I don’t…” He hesitates, shrugging weakly, holding Steve’s cheeks carefully, tenderly. He sighs, letting his head fall forward so their foreheads meet as he thinks. “Because boys like me don’t get things like this,” he says softly, quietly.

“Yes, they do,” Steve whispers.

Eddie’s eyes squeeze shut.

They’re quiet for a moment, sharing breaths, until Eddie slowly slides his hands across Steve’s neck, hugging him tightly, and Steve’s arms wrap around his waist, pulling him against himself harshly, strongly. A soft sound escapes Eddie’s throat, and his eyes burn more, and he buries his face in Steve’s neck as Steve’s shoulders shake.

Their friends are down the hall. Anyone could come in for chips or soda or water, and find them here, crying in each other’s arms, and the thought of the absurdity of it makes Eddie laugh. Steve’s hand slides over his back, holding him so tightly Eddie can barely breathe.

“Holy shit,” he breathes, burying a hand in Steve’s hair. “Holy shit, holy shit.”

“Eddie,” Steve says softly, pulling away and looking at him, and he lifts his hands to Eddie’s face, wiping his tears away so tenderly it just makes Eddie cry more.

Eddie’s eyes flutter shut when Steve pulls at his face, pressing a hard, lingering kiss to his mouth, and when they part, Eddie gasps, opening his mouth for him and pulling him closer until Steve kisses him again.

Steve’s hands reach down and pull at Eddie’s legs, picking him up with unfair ease, and Eddie clutches at him desperately as Steve turns to set him on the counter. Eddie’s legs wrap around him tightly, whimpering when Steve’s hands press to his back and waist and his hips.

“‘M sorry,” Steve breathes between frenzied kisses. “‘M so sorry.”

“Me too,” Eddie says, panting. “I’m sorry, Stevie, just… I need…”

“Breathe,” Steve says weakly. Eddie closes his eyes. He didn’t even realise it, but he’s gasping for breath, each one getting caught in his throat, hiccupping and choking, and he grips Steve’s shoulders tightly, so hard it probably hurts, but he can’t let go, and Steve doesn’t say anything except, “Breathe.”

Eddie hugs him tightly, desperately, and Steve hugs him back just the same, pressing a hand to the small of his back. Eddie is swaying back and forth, which he doesn't realise until after a few seconds, and he stops himself. It makes people seasick, distracts them, he's heard it all, and he's just gotten Steve's arms around him. He doesn't want to mess this up.

But Steve tugs at his back, stepping closer to the island so his chest is pressed to Eddie, and he starts to sway. Eddie buries his face in Steve's neck, his eyes stinging, and he lets Steve move him, weight dropping off his shoulders, his breaths coming out easier and easier until he's breathing normally. They don't stop swaying together, rocking back and forth slowly, carefully, until Eddie lifts his head and touches his face. His skin is tacky with drying tears, the streaks shining in the dim light of the kitchen. Eddie wipes them away before he leans in and kisses him softly.

"Do you wanna go finish the movie?" Steve asks when they part, his lips still brushing Eddie's as he speaks.

"I don't even know what movie it is."

"Me either. Do you wanna go be confused together?"

"Yeah. That sounds nice."

They pause to sip at a glass of water together before they head back to the living room, their fingers laced. No one pays them any mind except Robin, whose eyes catch their hands, and she raises an eyebrow, smiling up at Steve as he sits next to her again. Robin moves, nudging Nancy so she shifts to lean against the opposite armrest, and Eddie squeezes in between Steve and Robin. Steves's arm makes its way around Eddie's shoulders as they look at the television. (Eddie can't even guess what's happening in the movie.)

Eddie closes his eyes, leaning against Steve, pressing his face into his chest, and he pulls one of his legs up, setting it across Steve's. Steve pulls him in closer, tighter, his cheek resting on Eddie's head.

Eddie shifts to face him, nuzzling into his chest and wrapping an arm around his waist, cuddling as closely and as tightly as he can as he takes a long, deep breath and exhales slowly. Steve smells like his cologne. Eddie wants to keep the smell. Maybe find it on his pillows.

He falls asleep to the sound of Steve's heartbeat.

849 notes · View notes

everye · 1 year

Text

tw blood, gore

NIGHTMARE

that day has finally come.

the time is neigh.

everyone will be realised, from pain and suffering.

our salvation is at hand.

this is the day of reckoning.

when all our sorrows will be washed away.

when we return to the TRUE PARADISE !!

my daughter will be ..

the mother of GOD !!

alessa has been trapped in an endless NIGHTMARE from which she never wakens.

however ..

#silent hill #alessa gillespie #dahlia gillespie #some unnamed guys of the Order #michael kaufmann #lisa garland #incubus #*exhales* WOE HE/THEY TIDDIES BE UPON YE #+ couple of little secret things as a bonus #silent hill origins #travis grady #alessa grady au #YEEEEEEET #commonly i don't draw more than 2 pages at once SO ?? my first ever whole-ass comic BOOYAAAAH #this idea has been haunting me in daylight and fever dreams living in my head rent free since it originated innit year and half ago....pain #so happy to finally release THAT BEAST–#IT'S VERY IMPORTANT PERSONAL PROJECT it's like .. my own tribute to sh1 Actual Lore since im fascinated by it that much #plss i've worked on each of the pages so carefully ..#you see here every phrase of dahlia's dreadful monologue before boss fight is dedicated to various aspects of the game #and the tension is growing with every sentence #but if you get another lore references i'll kiss you #and all that effort i put in the post was ABSOLUTELY worth it ..#couldn't imagine a better development for my BELOVED PRECIOUS ALESSA GRADY AU HIII- LONG TIME NO SEE #TEARED UP from returning to my babes again 🥺🥺🥺#ah also homecoming easter egg bc i can:))))#silent hill fanart #tw blood #tw gore #my art

580 notes · View notes

witchothewest · 7 months

Text

#twh🌑#BUT ALSO #my dreams have been so goddamned vivid lately #and honestly super interesting #I had a whole missing person mystery + haunted magic house thing going on the other night #which I will absolutely be making into a story some day #and then a bloody violent nightmare last night with like a shooting and a cult and I defeated the villain by setting him on fire #in a very creative way I might add #😵‍💫#dreams #twin peaks

95 notes · View notes

jungkook97 · 1 year

Text

fling;; jjk

pairing: canon idol!jungkook x reporter!reader

word count: 4.6k

rating: ma

genre/warnings: romance, angst

summary: you were interviewing bangtan and couldn't help but felt a level of closeness to the youngest member. soon after, jungkook ended up taking a liking to you, proposing that you two should meet up throughout the week while he was in town for a little fun.

notes: this has been a fantasy of mine. it's angst as usual, but it's more so of lost connections that the boys may have upon going on these promo cycles overseas.

this also exists within the decision to leave jungkook fictional universe from the perspective of the reader.

You were nervous. Very nervous.

Your hands were shaking a bit, clammy as you wiped the sweat off on your dress as you checked your Apple Watch for the fifteenth time. It wouldn’t really change anything but more so of a tick that you had whenever you were nervous.

It was the first time you were assigned to interview with an A-list celebrity, or rather, an A-list group. You followed their careers from nearly the beginning, slowly becoming a major fan (minus the unhinged nature of being a stan, of course). It was as if you were living your dreams out in reality, something that you never thought in a hundred years or even this lifetime that you could do.

And so, you held your breath as the time ticked closer and closer to their arrival. The staff had arrived to go over some topics that you couldn’t talk about, the usual: dating, anything super personal, and anything that would be anti-capitalistic (although you had a feeling that some of the members wouldn’t have minded having such conversations). You knew the drill at that point as you zoned off, thinking about how you would be interviewing the biggest band in the world, talking to them and them actually responding back to you in real time.

It was hard to grasp for you. Like everyone else, you always saw BTS as a group that meets a lot of people every single day, not really being able to distinguish faces or fully pay attention like operating on autopilot. The idea that they would be perceiving you drove you insane as your heart thumped ever so loudly in your eardrums, wondering who you saved in a past life to deserve interviewing a group you admired for so long.

Eventually, the time came to usher them in, and you held your breath in anticipation, continuing to self-soothe yourself by rubbing your hands on your thighs as they walked in one by one, looking exactly the same. You had seen them in concert in the press boxes, maybe a few times up close as a fan, but having them bow to you in greeting…it was a lot.

“H-hi,” you mustered all the courage to start the greeting, meeting eyes with every single member slowly, taking it all in. They responded, leaving your heart leaping for joy and also with an uncomfortable, but not uneasy feeling in your throat. You felt like it caught a mass while you were waiting for them, but you knew it was just simply nerves. “S-sorry if I’m too nervous around y’all–”

All of them started chuckling, with Namjoon putting his hands up in attempt to comfort you (it did a bit).

“It is totally okay,” Namjoon spoke in his usual deep voice, perhaps an octave lower than you anticipated. “We get this pretty often, actually.”

You flushed in embarrassment, shifting in your seat trying to feel a bit more comfortable. You could feel the heat of all seven of them having their undivided attention to you, and the studio lights being as hot too. You weren’t sure if you were sweating everywhere else, if you smelled, if you shaved enough to get rid of any peach fuzz, or if you put enough makeup to look just as gorgeous as they were.

It didn’t matter anymore. You were in the moment. Too late to go back now.

You took a quick deep breath, exhaling slowly as you heard your cameraperson stating that they were ready to roll.

“Let’s begin.”

It was easier than expected. Your nerves got the best of you at first as you stuttered the first few questions out before taking a five minute break. It was embarrassing, but the boys understood, trying to coax you and comfort you by stating that they get it often.

“Yeah, but I didn’t want to be another young fan acting like a high school girl around their crush!” you laughed, wiping your tears away from the welling of tears as you were overstimulated (you had disclosed to them awkwardly about your neurodivergence, something that Yoongi immediately nodded and expressed his understanding much to your surprise).

“You’d be surprised,” Namjoon reassured, smiling. “There was a male reporter earlier that kept freaking out about Jin-hyung.”

“Really?” you chuckled as the members nodded in agreement, talking to their oldest in Korean, probably teasing him. You weren’t fluent in Korean, but you could tell from Jin’s red ears that they were making fun of the situation.

“Yeah, it was funny,” Hoseok said, his light and bouncy voice filling up the room. He had become as fluent as Namjoon was over the past year after having spent a year in the U.S. after his enlistment. “Like, I think he got a…crush?”

“Ey, no~” Seokjin protested, you understand for him to disagree. He spoke some more, in which the interpreter from the earpiece all of you had translated, “He was a fan of all of us.”

“No, I’m pretty sure it was just you,” Hoseok pressed via interpreter. “I can tell he was one of us,” he pointed to him and Jimin (the both of them had come out to the public two weeks ago together as a part of the LGBTQ+ community).

“A crush, huh? Worldwide Handsome getting everyone!” you laughed as the interpreter did as well, translating for the rest of the team. Everyone agreed, giggling as well.

“Can we continue?” Namjoon piped in, his index finger imitating an old film camera rolling. You nodded, gesturing to the cameraman to continue.

You and BTS talked about a lot of things at length, questions that you never thought you would ever say to them. Surprisingly, a lot of the more “controversial” opinions got past the company, perhaps from all the work the boys had done to be as transparent to the fans as possible. Most of what you speculated the boys had felt during their hiatus were validated, and some were debunked to your surprise. You were shocked to learn that most of them had a lot of control over their solo activities, if not complete control despite what the conversation was at the time on Twitter.

Eventually, the boys turned the mic back to you, asking something that caught you off guard.

“We heard you’re a huge fan of Jungkook’s,” Jimin beamed in mischief, nudging the youngest to pay attention. Jungkook had barely spoken at that point, but you had felt his eyes on you the entire time, getting you a bit flustered sometimes.

Jimin wasn’t wrong. You were the biggest fan of Jungkook’s, mostly ever since his sudden glow-up with his tattoo sleeve. You had a soft spot for the kid (you were a few years older than him), and seeing him grow into this confident and sexy late-20 something was satisfying for you to see.

“Y-yeah,” you stuttered out, your hands covering your mouth in shock. “How did you guys know?”

“Ah…” Jimin trailed off, looking towards his other members. “I think Namjoon-hyung found your Twitter fan account yesterday?”

Fuck.

“What?!” you exclaimed, standing up. The members cracked up as Namjoon began to protest, putting his hands up. “You stalked me?!” you asked teasingly.

“No! It’s just…” Namjoon started stuttering as well, caught in the act. “I heard from our translator that you were a big fan and so, I did some digging…”

“Well, you did a lot of digging!” you argued back, laughing and flushing madly. You didn’t want to look at Jungkook at this point, although you felt he was embarrassed based on how much he was shifting in his seat from the corner of your eye.

You felt like you wanted to die. Die in a sense, you now knew that Namjoon saw your unhinged tweets about the group’s maknae. You wondered how far he scrolled down, if he saw your tweets crying about Jungkook’s sparkly ensemble at the last concert stop a few days ago that amassed to tens of thousands of tweets. You wondered how he even found it, considering that you didn’t even follow your fan account on your public one. Maybe you forgot to unlink it on your YouTube account, or maybe you had accidentally shared the numbers on your Instagram. It didn’t matter: Namjoon found it.

It grew awkwardly quiet, and you could still feel the gaze from the youngest. You were too scared to even look at him. What if he thought you were insane or unhinged? Did Namjoon even show the tweets to him? You were mortified at the thought of him staring in disbelief.

What was even worse is that he knew before you guys officially met, meaning he had been staring at you the entire time in silence, probably mortified that an obsessed, crazed fan of his was conducting the interview. In fact, it made sense as to why he was so quiet: he probably was judging you for being batshit nuts on your stan account about him.

“Ah, I shouldn’t have said that,” Jimin sighed loudly, his words being translated. “Now it’s all awkward…”

“N-no, it’s okay,” you lied, shuffling your interview cards. “I had a feeling you guys have your burner Twitter accounts just watching us,” you squinted your eyes at Namjoon. His cheeks turned red as you did the same, your heart fluttering.

“It’s just Namjoon,” Hoseok emphasized, even though you knew that to be a lie. “He has too much time in his hands.”

“Ey, shut up,” Namjoon said in Korean, chuckling. “Well…don’t you want to say something to Jungkook, maybe?”

You blinked.

“Say what?”

He shrugged, smiling.

“I don’t know, I thought you guys would be the type to want to say something to someone you really admire. I’m sure Jungkook would like to hear from his biggest fan,” he teased.

You blushed madly, laughing nervously.

“I didn’t prepare or anything,” you began making excuses, your eyes slowly moving toward Jungkook’s direction to gauge his reaction. It took a few seconds, probably from the interpreter for him to understand what was going on before he sat up straight immediately, clearing his throat.

“Yeah!” Jungkook exclaimed a bit too loudly, clearing his throat again. “I wanna…hear.”

The rest of the members echoed the same sentiments.

“Ah fuck,” you muttered. Not BTS putting you on the spot to confess your feelings. It wasn’t something you really wanted to do in front of the entire group and the crew, but the crew kept pressuring you to do it. After all, it would make great TikTok content. It was then you turned away from the group, just dying from embarrassment.

“Come on, it would be so cute,” your PD encouraged you.

“But it’s so embarrassing,” you whined as you flushed wildly, your back toward the group. “I have so much to say.”

“I’m sure Jungkook wants to hear all of it. He seems to really like you!”

Your heart skipped a beat from hearing that. That was true, the group and you kept having great laughs and teases throughout the entire interview.

“Fine, fine.”

You took a deep breath, nodding towards Nicole, their interpreter. You could see Jungkook leaning in closer as you began.

“You’ve always been my favorite,” you began. “And uh, I always admired that you always did what you wanted no matter how many people said you shouldn’t. You’re strong and rebellious, something that I admire because I wish I had half of that strength…”

You closed your eyes at this point, your eyes swirling in its eye sockets. You couldn’t believe you were saying this to Jungkook who was right in front of you. For a moment, you forgot that you were interviewing him, that it was a professional setting. You felt like you needed to say all of this, knowing full well how much Jungkook had felt insecure about his image change and how he was being perceived. He was pretty explicit about that in the recent lives you were able to catch, and you wanted to comfort him.

“And I know that a lot of people have a lot to say about you, and as an older fan, I just want to say…not all of us are like that. I’m not, at least. I want you to be happy, to be loved, to be able to not be restricted by society’s standards. I want you to know that I will always love you no matter what, that you will always be my favorite person. I hope one day, you will find someone or something that will make you feel like home, Jungkook. I want…”

You swallowed.

“I want you to be comforted. And unconditionally loved.”

You sighed deeply, shaking your head as you opened your eyes, looking right at Jungkook. You felt a bit confident after all of that as Nicole continued translating for him. He was listening intently, crossing his arms trying to digest all that you said.

“Ah…” he vocalized a few times, nodding his head. His eyes grew glassy as he closed his eyes a bit.

There was silence, this time more comfortable than before. You held your breath in anticipation, wondering how he reacted to that. Was it too much? Were you being a little too extra?

Fuck, that was too much was it.

“I’m sorry if that’s a lot,” you blubbered out, putting your hands up in defense. “I…kind of lost myself there.”

A moment of silence for the translations.

Jungkook laughed.

“Ah, it’s okay,” he said in Korean. “Uh…”

He smacked his lips together, his eyes looking at the floor sheepishly. He then looked up at you, his eyes sparkling with genuine happiness and joy.

“Thank you,” his voice echoed in your skull as he thanked you in English.

You looked away abruptly, your cheeks burning with embarrassment. It was a lot, and you felt like you could die at any moment.

“Uh, let’s take a break, yeah?” Namjoon piped in. You agreed, taking your lavalier mic off and running straight to the bathroom.

Or rather, let’s end this so I can die in a corner, probably.

It wasn’t long until the interview was over, much to your dismay. While it felt like you were floating on clouds, it felt too short, too professional for your liking.

Ever since your confession though, you felt a pair of eyes intently following your every movement, or so you thought anyways. You never once coded Jungkook’s stare to be intense, but he was quite attentive after your little spiel, nodding and laughing at your jokes (even though it was off by a few seconds for translations). You wished that you were native in your own tongue, but as the interview went on, you surprisingly knew more than you thought, laughing at the supposed inside jokes they had. You guys went briefly over the infamous dumpling incident, which, at this point, had its own lore.

The boys felt approachable for once, although you knew for quite some time that they would be. You were similar in age with them after all, the same age as Namjoon give or take a few months. It felt like you were talking as friends rather than an actual interview that you were being paid to do.

Nonetheless, the interview was a success, and you were packing your things up to go home.

That was, until Namjoon approached you.

“Hey,” he began, startling you. Your eyes widened at him coming up, being his normal self.

“Hey,” you managed to say back, trying not to freak out. Is he about to do what I think he’s about to do? “What’s up?”

“Uh…” Namjoon put his hands in his pockets, smiling sheepishly. “I was wondering if you wanna get dinner with Jungkook and I. He told me he really liked your energy today, and was wondering if we could talk more over some food.”

Holy shit. Is this real?

“Uh….” was all your stupid self could say, gawking at him as if he said something completely unintelligible. “Um…”

Say yes, you asshole.

“It’s fine if you have to like, uh, edit and shit,” he continued, his eyes averting away from you, his voice trailing off.

Fuck, dude. Say something back. Say YES.

“Um…”

Then, you saw Jungkook at a distance, overwatching the whole conversation. His lips were pursed into a pout, his neck extending toward the direction of you two, perhaps trying to hear what was going on. There was no way you could be making this up. Jungkook seemed… interested in wanting to spend more time with you.

Romantic? Unsure. But definitely interested.

This wasn’t the first time a celebrity has asked you to dinner (in fact, you were a looker yourself, whether you liked it or not), but with BTS? They were more definitely out of your league. However, you felt like you had been friendly at this point, so why not?

“Yeah, why not?”

Dinner was a blast. In fact, it was the most fun you ever had.

While you and Namjoon exchanged even more funnier quips, teases and passionate arguments about life, you and Jungkook sat next to each other, just feeling rather comfortable. It wasn’t to say that you two were feeling each other up, but Jungkook, an avid fan of Namjoon’s, was taking your side the entire time, initiating contact here and there to definitely show more than just platonic interest. You were taken aback at first, recoiling your hand when he “accidentally” brushed his hands against yours, but after a while, you leaned into him, showing your desire to get closer too.

Jungkook wasn’t as shy as you thought he was, and by the time dinner was over, he was playing footsies with you, his shoulder leaning against your own but disguised as him getting a bit too drunk for everyone’s liking (well, Namjoon’s anyways). Namjoon showed signs of feeling like the major third wheel, but he was, after all, the wingman in all of this, awkwardly smiling his infamous smile when he felt out of place.

“Ah, you guys look really comfortable, huh?” Namjoon pointed the obvious out in his native tongue as you laughed. Jungkook leaned into you as you cupped his face with the biggest grin ever seen.

“He’s adorable,” you replied back. “Cuter off-camera, if you ask me.”

“Gag,” Namjoon teased. “You guys need a room?”

You were staring into Jungkook’s doe eyes at this point, the chocolate pools of wonder. He was deeply in love, or at least, enamored by your presence. It turned out he was feeling you as well throughout the interview, and something in the air felt right to him. Not per se, bells ringing in his ear (he was past the romanticism), but he wanted more. So much more than what you two could do in front of Namjoon.

“Can we use yours, hyung?”

It didn’t take long before you two fucked after Namjoon and the two of you parted ways. In fact, both of you leaped onto each other madly the moment the door closed behind you. Of course, it was met with the typical NDA the morning after, something that you were quite used to at this point. It was a given that your night with him would be done in secrecy and with a contract to never speak of it, but to be honest, you weren’t planning to do that anyways. Jungkook was yours, even if it was for a split second.

“You’re incredibly beautiful, you know,” Jungkook breathlessly said after some time had passed, your bodies entangled with each other under the pillowy white sheets. “I never felt like I could just connect with someone I just barely knew.”

You grinned back, kissing his lips and the rest of his face.

“Call it karmic,” you replied back.

Jungkook, not knowing what the word was, leaned back in confusion.

“Kar…mic?”

“Uh…” you struggled to find the Korean word equivalent, trying to run through your shoddy vocabulary. “Um…it’s like…fate…?”

You weren’t sure what the word was, although it seemed to be received well with Jungkook. His pupils grew dilated as his mouth relaxed into a comfortable smile. He closed his eyes, leaning against you.

“Ah…fate, right?”

You blushed wildly.

“Yeah…fate.”

For the next week, you two met up every night in between your guys’ respective craziest schedules. Thankfully, it was easy because you were able to attend their next show (at the request from the artist, of course). While the others were in the press box though, you were in the family and friends’ box in which Jungkook may or may not have secretly passed by to steal a kiss or a hug. The two of you had agreed that this would be a short thing, nothing too serious. After all, the language barrier was a bit rough, and you two were working professionals.

However, you couldn’t help but to feel more of a connection besides a little fling because well, both of you were totally into each other. He eventually gave his personal cell (or at least, the U.S. one he used in the States) to text, something that Jungkook admitted he didn’t do often. Adoringly, he had his read receipts on, and it looked like he always checked to see what you wrote, even if it took a good hour or two to respond.

“I’m getting better at it, okay? Heh,” he would write, sending butterflies in your stomach. He was making an effort, although you can never be sure if he was like this with other people. Not that it mattered, you knew what it was, and you weren’t going to be caught up in it.

As the days went on, you and Jungkook started sharing intimate details about each other, something that you only had when it was a real relationship. This confused you, but maybe it was because you used to be the only one who did it as a part of the neurodivergence part of your personality. You found out more about his flings, how much he craved for more than just fucking around.

“I don’t know,” he said one night as you brushed your fingers through his hair, his face buried deep into your chest. “I feel like…you know, I want something more with all of these people. Like…I’m wasting my time whenever I do these things, but…I can’t help it. How can I find someone when I’m Jungkook of BTS?”

It was a lot to take in, but you took it on like a champ. There were thoughts that you wondered what Jungkook would think about, and it felt unreal that he could say all of these things to you in the comfort of his hotel room, away from all the lights and the glitz and the glamour. In this moment, in this scene in your guys’ story together, he was yours.

“Do you want more?” you asked quietly. You weren’t sure as to what you were saying, but it felt right to ask.

He shifted his head and moved it up to see yours, closing the gap between you two.

“Always. I always want to be loved unconditionally.”

It was getting complicated, fast.

You weren’t sure how to end it. In fact, time was ending it for you. It was Jungkook’s last day in the States, and it seemed like Jungkook suggested you go on tour with him for the next stop, Central America. While you weren’t entirely opposed to it, you knew where this was going. Last time, a celebrity had suggested that you to do a documentary film on them, and while you were flattered, it was just another way to keep you around at their convenience.

It wasn’t to say that Jungkook was being selfish. Rather, it was the circumstances that made him think this way. With how restrictive the industry was, and how incredibly famous Jungkook was as well, it was hard for him to see people besides those closest to him, which at this point, had began to warn you during your time in the family and friends’ box at the shows about Jungkook’s quick attachment to people.

“I know he always says he doesn’t get attached, but he really does,” an ex-fling told you in confidence in between VCRs. “He told me he was going to keep it professional, but the guy lies.”

You were dreading it. Although you felt great that you slept with your favorite, it wasn’t your intention to get anything more out of it because well, what is there left? You signed an NDA, the company regularly asked if you two used a condom…it was getting invasive, weird, and it was starting to turn you off.

And so, the last night came through and you two met up again. This time, you knew it was the last time, and to Jungkook, maybe the start of something new.

As you began to pack up your things, Jungkook laid on the bed sprawled out underneath the sheets.

“So…Mexico…” he began. You sighed, knowing it was coming.

“No, Jungkook,” you replied, turning toward him. “As much as I liked this, I can’t travel with you.”

“I’m not asking for you to travel with me,” he rebutted, sitting up and grabbing his shirt to put it back on in one hand. “I’m just saying, come with me to the next show! It would be great coverage for the magazine.”

“Jungkook-ah, that’s not how it works,” you doubled down, zipping up your weekend bag before putting your jacket on. “I have to get approval from my editor. Plus, people are starting to talk, and frankly, I started getting texts from your fans about us.”

There it was, what you had been hiding. Honestly, you were used to it from the last celebrity you hooked up with, but this time, his fans, or his stalkers to be exact, knew everything about you, threatening to ruin your life if you didn’t stop fucking him. It was getting emotionally taxing, but you wanted to hide that from him. After all, you were confident that wasn’t his first time hearing this.

“They’re not my fans and you know this,” he argued, now getting up and putting on his Adidas track pants. “The real ones will know it’s a little fling.”

“Do they though? Do you though?”

There it was, the hard truth.

Silence enveloped between you two, and Jungkook stood there in the dark with his hands in his pockets. He was staring at you, his eyes clearly pleading for you to not leave.

“Don’t leave,” Jungkook’s words came after. “I know this seems a lot, but I really like you. We can make it work.”

Make it work…as if that could ever be a thing.

You walked toward Jungkook with your weekender bag slung over your shoulders. Slipping your shoes on as well, you came closer to him, his breath hitched as you leaned in to kiss him on the cheek.

“I’m sorry, Jungkook,” you began. “We can’t keep doing this. This is our last night together.”

He exhaled sharply, his eyes closing slowly.

“I know.”

It didn’t take long before you two blocked each other on everything, pretending that you two didn’t exist to each other. It took a few more weeks before the fans stopped bothering you, probably focusing on the next fling Jungkook had.

And so there it was, you had a fling with one of the biggest stars in the world.

If only you knew what would happen next.

END.

#jungkook #jungkook angst #jungkook x reader #writing #mine #this jungkook has been haunting my dreams for ever tbh bc you know. i'm in media and i can't imagine being in this position kdlahglshg #he totally would be so in luv but knows it can't go any further than that you know #but yeah i figured i can make a bit of a wong kar wai universe thing for decision to leave jungkook to flesh him out better #and someone did request to make stories in the pov of the reader so here u go!#yes i left it like that on purpose haha #dtl

172 notes · View notes

skitskatdacat63 · 7 months

Text

Hey do you remember all those videos of Fernando smelling flowers? Haha yeah....

#posting this both while im asleep and after whatever bee event ends up happening #so who knows what will happen! will we get nothing? will we get eye contact? will we possibly get an interaction? its a surprise!!#anyways this is basically me hearing about seb's bee event and he said the drivers will be there #me deep in my vettonso brainrot: OH MY GOD THEY'RE GONNA BE IN THE SAME VICINITY #will be so funny for me if when i wake up i find out fernando didnt even go 😭#but we remain hopeful 🙏#also this is just very funny to me bcs like both seb and fernando have very specifc quirks #and what are two of their specific quirks? seb and his bee thing. fernando and his flower thing from this season #so this fanart is perfect y'know 🥰🥰🥰#also screeching over how this is the first canon au drawing ive ever drawn. ive literally never drawn non-au until now 💀💀💀#okay and now some horrible jokes thay happened during the process of this:#thesis of this drawing: whats Fernando gonna do? Pollinate him? 😏#C. why did you have to make me think of bees that produce sex pollen 😭😭 this is gonna haunt me forever. but also vettonso post-japan fic-#and then also the barry benson thing. im like what do humanized bees look like and then realized 'oh no....oh no.'#fernando to seb at the bee event: 'ya like samurais...?' SORRY 😭#also having to pick the colors from one of my historical au drawings was haunting. just the sheer difference btwn them yknow......#anyways please take my old men yaoi. took a break from historical yaoi to draw this 😭😭😭😭#this is my peak vettonso fanart cannot improve from here. also a fever dream #vettonso #f1 #formula 1 #sebastian vettel #fernando alonso #catie.art.#*not gonna edit the tags bcs i like the time capsule of it all but like. yeah. we were fed.#*catie from 2 hours prior(atm its 3 am) would be so pleased right now i think

119 notes · View notes

cupinho · 1 month

Note

Post

The Berry

You coward

Ballberry

27 notes · View notes

thesaltwateremu · 26 days

Text

the way I listened to the Easter special for a full 3 minutes and read the description before finally accepting it’s an april fools

#this song is going to haunt my dreams #jonnny and alex how could you do this to me #yes im going to listen to the whole thing thanks for asking #pray for my sanity #tmagp #the magnus protocol #tmagp easter special #tmagp spoilers #i guess??

32 notes · View notes

couchtaro · 5 months

Text

Do you get together with your friends once a week to imagine best friends you made up holding and getting held in desperation and terror as one of them rapidly turns to stone, the other flooding her with his literal life force, which manifests as a visceral compulsion to survive, in the hopes that it will somehow help her resist, offering “the closest thing to a prayer he has” as he begs his warlock patron to do anything at all, telling said patron “you don’t know her, but she’s everything” and pleading for her to live while watching her literal actual light gradually extinguish as the petrification overtakes her, all the while she is using what little mobility she still has to hurl lasers at the monsters attacking their friends who are defending them so he can focus his energy on saving her. Or are you normal

@justabitscrewy used every single one of her turns in a session-long combat to hold Phaela and RP her guts out and like. My word. I have to lay down. Let them hug. They’re goin thru it

ID and slightly more context below the cut

Image 1: a roughly sketched digital drawing of two D&D characters. Izen, a drider, is shown in his form of dread, a defensive state designed to frighten off attackers. In this form his face is bare skull, with four pairs of hollow eye sockets and purple mandibles on either side of his jaw. Tears run down the stark bone of his face. He is wearing the bracers that Phaela decorated for him by wrapping them in ribbon. With both hands, he holds Phaela’s face. She is a tiefling woman who looks up at him with wide eyes. Izen’s prized possession, a talisman secured by a ring of straps, is wrapped around her shoulders. Her chin is tilted up as if the stone spreading up her body is a rising tide she is trying to stay afloat in. She is petrified up to her neck with only her head and extended left arm free. Both are suffused by a starry blue glow, which is no longer present in the dull stone overtaking her. She holds starlight in her free hand that she has been trying to defend them with. Her expression is a mixture of desperation, determination, fear, and guilt.

Images 2 and 3: a roughly sketched comic. 1) Izen faces us. Phaela wraps her arms around him with her back to us, her head pressed into his chest and shoulders hunched. His hands rest on her back. 2) Izen bends down to hug Phaela properly, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on her shoulder. His pedipalps also wrap around her for extra huggage. 3) Izen straightens and lifts Phaela up off the ground, his pedipalps forming a sort of platform that she sits on. 4) Phaela curls into Izen like a child, tail hanging limply down. One of his hands securely circles her back, the other rests on the back of her neck. He rests his head on her shoulder and one of his spider legs comes forward to hold her as well. Maximizing points of contact here. 5) Phaela wildshapes into a cat just to get super extra held. She is nestled in his arms, tucked under his chin, being gently stroked. Her face is still not visible.

End image ID.

#planar Pringles #dnd sketch #dnd stories #Phaela #Izen #art: Phaela #my art #Phaela strats for showing love: be a little kitty. Phaela strats for receiving love: be a little kitty #she’s right #the way Izen talks about phaela is insane actually #she doesn’t even know. she doesn’t know the tragic friends dream sequence. but I do (haunted)#besties if you both have nightmares about how you’re afraid of the lengths one of you would go to to protect the other is that a sign of sm #*something #a sign that things are fine and chill #shout out to cloak of defense and aura of protection and 20 tons of psychic adrenaline for keeping my girl from petrifying and shattering #into a million pieces when the room got trebucheted into a cliff #and shout out to Red for being so effective at lighting snowmen on fire #bff

39 notes · View notes

dyaddu · 3 months

Text

I think about this a lot

#adam driver #can he be any more Daddy??#he is my only dilf #that body is to die for #the things I'd do to this man #that chest #and those biceps #they haunt my dreams

46 notes · View notes

talleslittlelion · 10 months

Text

BEHOLD

It's

Sorry.

#This damn thing haunted my dreams all night )o)#And that's the oldest fandom joke! COME ON!!#mp100 #mob psycho 100 #mp100 dimple #dimple #ekubo #mp100 fanart #memes #talleslittlelion

133 notes · View notes

candyredappledragon · 4 months

Note

Fun fact: if you get lost in the woods you may become a Phantump

....thank you anon for telling me something i already know and be reminded again of this info.

i am now shaking with excitement. cant you tell? you made my day, anon.

#rotomblr #pkmn irl #thanks for the ask!#trainer kieran #pokemon fanart #at least you distracted me with the worst thing ever.#thanks. this will surely help me sleep at night.#this will totally not haunt me in my dreams. nooo way.

24 notes · View notes

chaosduckies · 28 days

Text

Restoration (Chapter 5)

And in this instance, all chaos ensues. With a little bit of comfort, fearplay, and a backstory dump because why not.

Word Count: 8.9k

CW: Death, description of a dead body, fear, trigger warnings, anxiety, and panic attacks.

5-Nathan

It was cold. Too cold.

I looked down, seeing that my dad’s jacket was wrapped loosely around my skinny and frail frame. My breath shaky, the floor cold and hard. A dim, flickering light shone above me, offering no sense of relief. Body trembling, I wrapped around myself for any sort of warmth. Where was mom?

A quick look around, and there were thick, metal bars encasing me in whatever cage I was trapped in. Not again.

My breathing quickened, hyperventilating. I snuggled closer to my dad’s torn-up jacket, hoping for this nightmare to go away. Was I here again? Was nothing real? Was I just dreaming for so long? Is my mom… Nononono. Bloody tears started stinging my eyes. I can’t do this anymore.

My stomach growled from hunger. When was the last time I ate? Doesn’t matter. They wouldn’t give me anything anyways. At least unless they wanted to keep me in a condition where I could still be alive.

I sniffled, silently crying to myself. My body hurts so much. So many fresh cuts I felt on my back it stung every time the fabric from the jacket pressed on it. My arms were covered in dirt and mud. My head felt dizzy from the loss of blood. Or maybe I was in shock from the pain. I felt so weak that I could barely move my limbs to get comfortable. Not there was such a thing when you’re used as a stress toy for others. Some for entertainment.

The light above me suddenly went out. Leaving me in a dark room. Cold. Alone. With nothing but my own silent cries. Where were my parents? Did they do something to them? Why weren’t they here with me? That didn’t matter though. If they had them, there was nothing I could do.

There were agonizing whisperers all around me. Taunting me. I covered my ears, not feeding into their lies. Looking up just once, I saw my dad’s dead body. A cold, heartless, body laid before me. With whatever energy and strength I had left, I crawled over, tears falling faster and blurring my vision. I remembered how they threw him right in front of my mother and I after they mercilessly murdered him. The way I was too shocked for words. The way my mother crumbled in front of me, crying on his lifeless chest. I remember being so scared at how they easily killed him with not so much as a struggle. Just went lifeless with a pinch of their fingers.

I cried and I cried upon seeing his dead body again. Why did this happen? I hugged his limp body, hoping that would bring him back.

“Quit crying you annoying you little pest.”

Something dragged me away, my face being scraped along with concrete floor and still reaching for my dad, who was only getting further away. I screamed, still crying and blood falling down from my head.

——————————

I woke up in a cold sweat, sitting up and breathing heavily. Looking around, I found my room just the way I left it the night before. Laying in my bed, my backpack up against the wall, and seeing the stuffed teddy bear my dad had bought me all those years ago still right beside me. I quickly grabbed it and held it close, tears escaping my eyes. This was all mom and I had left of him, and mom let me have it.

“Honey? Everything okay in there? You sounded like you were crying.” My mom came in, her voice soft and sweet like always. She stopped at the doorway, seeing me holding the bear close and my eyes watery from tears. She smiled softly, sitting down next to me, “What’s wrong sweetie?”

I sniffled, wiping away loose tears and letting new ones escape, “Just… Just a bad dream.” I waited for her to give me a hug, but I knew she wouldn’t. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she was traumatized. Everything they did made her scared of anyone touching her. Including me. I hated what they did to us.

“It’ll be okay, Nate. Nothing bad will happen to you ever again, okay? Your father loved you so much,” She planted a soft kiss on my cheek, and stood up, “Now, come get some breakfast! I made your favorite.” And I couldn’t help but wonder how she never talks about dad.

——————————

It was Friday, which meant that today was the day I was actually going over to Ryker’s. I wasn’t too excited, but I’ve grown used to Ryker just like Lucky had said the other day. Not too much though. I’ve been expressing myself just a little bit more. Laughing whenever he would ramble on about things that he hated, liked. He would ask me questions to try and get to know me a little better. I’ve learned to be some-what comfortable around him. That doesn’t mean that I wasn’t scared though. I was still scared of his hands… scared every time they moves closer to me or when it seemed like they were closing in on me when they weren’t. Otherwise, it was getting just the slightest bit better.

Yesterday, Ryker told me that he had a lot of siblings. Not just two or three, but five. How he deals with that? I have zero idea. Especially when Lucky was a human. Upon hearing the news, I nearly had a panic attack, but he told me it wasn’t too much to worry about. He also mentioned that he had a little sister that was human, which meant that there were four giants. Who they were? I have zero idea, and I was scared to find out, but I was just glad he was telling me this so I could be prepared. I bought a little panda stuffed animal for his little sister yesterday just to make a good impression and since I couldn’t really get presents for giants… This was the only way I knew how to seem like I wasn’t just the weak human everyone knows I am.

As I made my way through the halls, people were staring at me. For what reason? I didn’t know. I didn’t know any of these people. Was I wearing something weird? I just had on a hoodie and some regular jeans. Was it the way my body trembled as I thought about everything that could go wrong during my time at Ryker’s? Or the way I tripped over my own two feet every five minutes. It was embarrassing but I couldn’t really help it. I was nervous about later today. What they would all think about me. I don’t even know who these people are.

I walked into the classroom, seeing the same chaos as the other days and stayed close to the walls. Everything was going to be okay. Just stick With Ryker and Lucky and I won’t have to do anything too crazy. Hopefully. Just meet three other giants without passing out or thinking of what they could do to me. Who was I kidding? Something was bound to go wrong. Horribly wrong. I mean, what if they just keep me there against my will? That they were just lying to trap me in another cage? There goes my overthinking again. And it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Ryker was sitting down at our usual desk on his phone. I climbed into the elevator, noticing that he looked a lot more tired than usual. Not just because he had bags under his eyes either. More like he was physically tired too. I felt bad, but what could I do? I was only human.

Today felt like a good day. Sort of. Besides the nightmare I had this morning, but that can just stay between my mom and I. My grip around my bag tightened as I took the first couple steps onto his desk. For some reason it felt like something heavy was on top of me, holding me down. More precisely my back. My gaze fell to the ground as I slowly turned to look up and saw a hand reaching for me. I blinked, scooting backwards and nearly falling on my butt. There was no hand. Just Ryker’s confused and sympathetic face. Just overthinking things, Nathan. I told myself as I stood back up.

“Everything alright?” Ryker had asked, shoving his phone back into his pocket. I nodded my head, biting the side of my cheek. That hand wasn’t real… What was going on with me? No, it’s just from that nightmare I had. Nothing was wrong. That heavy feeling on my back never went away though, and it made it hard for me to move any closer to Ryker’s hand.

My body remembers how badly they tortured me. The scars on my back were burning, making me jolt up and take a few deep breaths. If I hadn’t had that stupid nightmare everything would have been okay. I would’ve had a normal day and maybe, just maybe, I would be able to survive being away from home for a couple hours. I wouldn’t have been overreacting like now.

I forced my body to take the few shaky steps forward, falling on my face as usual when I stepped onto Ryker’s hand. I really have to figure out how to get on without giving myself a bruise. Not just for my sake either. Ryker didn’t say anything today, but he wore a worried expression until he made it to his first class.

During lunch, Ryker had put a show on his phone. The same one we started watching yesterday. He always claims that if I don’t want to watch it I didn’t have to, but I always did. Not just because the show was actually really good, but mostly because I have fun listening to him complain about some of the characters. Even if I can’t say anything about them either. I mostly agree with everything he says anyways though.

The rest of the day went by fast. By the time I knew it, it was already the last period of the day and nothing super eventful had happened. Surprising since this was a high school and something always happens. But no. Not today. At least that’s what I thought before this period.

When we walked into the classroom, the projector was on. Not super abnormal, but what scared me more was what video she was playing for us today. The recent riot that happened just last night. I’ve always hated seeing these things. Someone always injured, and I hated seeing it. It keeps reminding me of my dad.

“So for today I was going to give you all a test,” The whole class groaned besides Ryker and I, who’s eyes were glued to the screen, “-but since there was a certain… mishap yesterday, I’ll just ask you questions throughout the video as your test grade this week. If you get uncomfortable, please exit the classroom.”

Mrs. Kay turned off the lights and played the video from a police officers view.The camera was shaky and people were yelling right outside of a building. Did I know which one? No. This wasn’t on the human side of the city. It kind of looked like a club or party place or something like that.

I gulped, unconsciously scooting backwards, bringing my knees close to my chest. I remember my mom telling me about this when she came home last night. That there were five people who were injured, and two of them had died from their injuries. Was I about to watch how they died? No, they couldn’t show that at school, right?

The officers tried to get the people out of the way and hold them off. The signs reading, “Humans have no place!” And, “Down with their hierarchy!”

The weird thing about it was that everyone there looked so angry. They were all grown men. None of them looked like mature adults. It looked like they just wanted to kill. Just like the people who captured us… I couldn’t watch anymore as I heard the insane screams and yells coming from the crowd in the video. I wrapped my arms around my knees and buried my head. This was the only way I knew how to ignore things around me. I guess it didn’t help that the room was dark just like in my nightmare.

The video ended with ten minutes until the bell. I took a few shaky breaths before turning around to face Ryker. He looked kind of shocked before asking me a question, “Are you okay? Seriously, I’m genuinely worried.” I nodded my head, lying. What was I supposed to do? Just admit that I really don’t think I can handle being around so many people? That I was terrified of just being around Ryker for too long? I get anxious and my mind gets fuzzy sometimes so it’s a good thing that he lets me have breaks during lunch and his seventh period. Otherwise I’d be all kinds of stressed.

“Well, tonight we were gonna watch a movie if you wanna stay for that. You don’t have to of course. I’ll take you home before then.” He had offered, an encouraging smile on his face. A movie did sound good… and my mom has been working all night lately. I’ll jus tell her I’ll be coming home late. What could another two hours do? We were just going to be sitting at a couch watching a movie. It’s not like anyone will be focused on me more than the movie either.

I nodded my head, agreeing to watch the movie with him, and I couldn’t help but notice how he silently cheered. Like it was an accomplishment that I wanted to stay there for longer than necessary. If I were being honest, I just didn’t want to be at home by myself anymore. It gets lonely. Really lonely. And quiet.

So far, everything was good. He was just walking along the concrete path that had accommodations for humans on the side that was furthest from the road. Mostly because humans also live on the giant side of town. Me? I’ve never been. How could I when I was still afraid? Somehow, Ryker made that a little easier today. Or maybe that was because I knew I wouldn’t get trampled on the instant I took a step as long as I was in his hand.

Thoughts clouded my mind. Like, what if his siblings don’t like me? What if his parents don’t? What if I’m just a pest like everyone thinks I am? What if his siblings don’t think I’m a nice person and do something to me? What if I’m just grabbed by one of them?

“Nathan? You’re trembling again.” Ryker stated worriedly. I muttered a sorry under my breath, for some reason expecting him to hear that. I just calmed myself down, sitting comfortably in the middle of Ryker’s palm. I was used to this. Lucky was right.

“Are you nervous?” He asked with a slight chuckle, taking a turn and waiting for the signal on the traffic light to say he could walk along with two other adults that look like they were just going to take the bus. I nodded my head to his question. Nervous, anxious, stressed, all the bad things and so much more.

“It’ll be fine. They’ll love you. Plus, you don’t have to deal with anyone but me for another hour before they come. Jasmine has a club meeting afterschool and has to watch Isabelle and Angela before she comes home with both of them, and Lucky goes practically no where without Dylan, so he waits for Dylan to finish whatever sport he has practice for.” Ryker explained, sighing like it was a lot to keep up with. It sounded like it honestly. I could never have to watch over that many siblings. How do his parents even handle it? It seemed so chaotic. With six kids? I’d honestly be crying nearly every night.

Ryker went silent for a while, thinking about what to bring up before he took another turn down a busy part of the street. There were people everywhere trying to catch a bus, or just waiting to be picked up by a car. It didn’t help that there was a popular coffee shop on the corner that had tons of people crowding all around. I nearly passed out from the amount of people. I looked to the human sidewalk, seeing that there were still so many of them walking like there wasn’t just an entire crowd directly above them. I shuddered thinking about how easily Ryker could drop me right about now. But he didn’t. Effortlessly dodging the crowds of people and getting to a calmer portion of the street.

“You’re fine with pizza for dinner, right?” Ryker brought up randomly, taking another turn and getting to a neighborhood with huge houses. That was such a random question, but I nodded my head. I was fine with pizza. If I was up to the task of putting any kind of food into my body.

He walked up to one of the houses one the very edge of the road. It had a huge backyard with a pool in the back, flowers and plants that look like they were about to wilt from the cold front that was coming next week. When Ryker opened the door, there was a huge living room with two L-shaped couches, photos of what seemed to be his family, which was a lot. But it looked like it was and old picture. There were picture frames of what looked to be Ryker’s parents on their wedding day sitting on the little cabinet by the hallway. It was dimly lit since the curtains were covering the windows, and the tv sat right in the middle of the living room sitting on a stand that had a couple movies laying around. I also noticed that there were little human-sized pathways that led to almost any counter and cabinet in the house. All coming from one human sized door that was in the hallway.

This place was really big. Not even counting the second floor where the carpeted stairs led up to. I guess you did need a big house if you had six kids. I’m surprised the place isn’t a mess. How do his parents manage all of this? I know I’ve brought it up a billion times but I’m genuinely confused. Honestly with how big this place is it made me feel unusually small and uncomfortable. Not that I don’t already feel that way at school, but still. It nearly made me dizzy.

“And welcome to my house. It may look big, but when you have five other people living with you it gets crowded.” Ryker introduced, taking us down the hallway and to the farthest door on the right. His room? Most likely.

He set his backpack down up against his bed. I looked around, not knowing that he was watching me. His walls were covered in what looked like hand-drawn posters and paintings. Including one picture frame of himself by the door. His desk was up against the wall by his bed, with a lamp, a laptop sitting in the middle, and a couple of pens and markers. A bookshelf lined right next to the window that would have peeked outside if he didn’t have the curtains closed. But wow did he have a lot of books.

“It’s not all that exciting, right?” He laughed. I jumped, not realizing that I was still looking around for anything else to focus on. Was it rude to look around? I wouldn’t think so as long as I wasn’t snooping through his things like some creep. Not that I could anyways.

“Sorry, you’re probably tired of me holding you.” He walked over to the human-sized door in the hallway, slightly tilting his hand to make it easier for me to get off. I admit, it was getting a little overwhelmed, but it’s nothing I couldn’t handle. Plus, he could’ve been holding me in a fist or just shoving me in a pocket so I wasn’t about to complain.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be in the kitchen when you want to come out.” He smiled, standing up to his terrifying height and gesturing towards the kitchen. So he wasn’t just going to keep me around him constantly? I feel like he would have to do that with Lucky and Angela. So he just doesn’t? How do they function in this house?

I walked in through the door, being met with a tiny human-sized house. Maybe just like a little house that has the necessities. Kitchen, two bedrooms that were down the hall with the door closed, bathroom, laundry. There wasn’t all that much space, so that made me wonder if Lucky and Angela slept in here.

Setting my bag by the door, I gave myself a quick tour, but never opened the bedroom doors. I didn’t want to be in someone else’s business. But overall, they kept this place pretty clean. But what I liked most about this little space is that it blocked off everything big. It gave me a sense of peace and comfort with being around so much. Maybe that’s what they use this for other than giving basic needs? I don’t know. I’m not the one living with giants.

I took around five minutes to compose myself to be willing to be around Ryker for another couple hours without having an anxiety attack. That was including his other siblings who probably don’t even know I exist. I didn’t know if they would want to talk or interact with me. Preferably not but I didn’t want to be rude.

Ryker was sitting down on one of the stools before I walked over, not really knowing how to get up there. So was this like the library where I didn’t know how to get his attention? Still, it was a little nerve-racking to see so big so close. I wasn’t used to craning my neck just to see barely to his shoulders. I frowned. How was I supposed to do this? If I can’t even get his attention how would I even be able to stay around for another… six hours?

My eyes landed on one of the little elevators that looked like the ones at school, except there was no gate blocking you from falling out. Just railing that you hold on tightly to. My eyes darted back and forth from the elevator and Ryker, who was now holding his head up with one arm. This was terrifying. I was still recovering from being played around with like some toy. But, if I was going to get better at this, I guess I could take baby steps.

———Ryker———

I stared at my phone, wondering what we would even do for the next hour and a half. I’m sure Nathan doesn’t even want to be here, and I think it’s a crazy idea that Mrs. Kay even forced him to come, but he was doing just fine as of right now. Watching him look around my room was surprising since I was so sure that he would have wanted to be away from all of that. Instead, he actually looked so interested. Much like when I annoy him by talking about the most random things. I would have thought he had ignored me half the time if he hadn’t ever reacted. I talk too much.

What do I do now though? Usually when I’m home alone I finish up whatever homework I have and take a shower before everyone uses up all of the hot water. The thing with that is I didn’t want to leave Nathan alone. Mom always said it was rude to leave guests all alone with nothing to do, and I didn’t really have a plan for the day. Just watch a movie later when everyone was here and try my best to keep Nathan from running off like that day in the cafeteria.

Next thing I know, there he was, stumbling out of the elevator dad had to install so Lucky could get around on his own. I shoved my phone in my pocket, still trying to figure out what he’d want to do. It’s going to be hard to guess when he doesn’t talk, but I’ll figure out a way. Hopefully. Why was I freaking out about having someone over again? I forgot.

Nathan sat down on the left side of me. Kind of like he was waiting for me to do something. What was I supposed to do? I hadn’t really thought this far. I pretty much expected him to stay in that room the entire time seeing as I knew he didn’t like being held or even being around me. Yeah. I noticed how he flinches anytime my fingers get a little too close, or how he moves away anytime I was too close to him. I never questioned it, but my guess was that he’s never been around giants. Or at least all too much. Maybe he was from the country, or maybe he just stayed away his entire life, but it was pretty noticeable. I wouldn’t be surprised if people there told stories either. Whatever his parents told him as well.

“Did you want to do something? We could just finish that episode from lunch. If you wanted.” I really hoped that he would give me a verbal answer because I didn’t want him to be bored here or do something he didn’t want to. Nathan just nodded, agreeing to everything I say. What was I supposed to tell the little guy though? It’s not like I knew why he just agreed to whatever.

“You sure?” He nodded his head again, fidgeting with his hands. Something was wrong, but I wasn’t about to make things even more awkward between us. Even though I really wanted to help with whatever was going on. It wasn’t my place to dive into his personal life. Not unless he trusted me enough.

I put on the episode we were watching during lunch and watched it with him. I feel like I should make us some popcorn but I think we only have enough for whatever movie they wanted to watch tonight. Maybe a snack then? I mean it’s only for a little while. It couldn’t hurt to grab something. Especially when I know he at least hasn’t eaten lunch. Nathan never complains or leaves though.

I grabbed a granola bar from the pantry, breaking off a tiny piece for him that was still really big but he can just tear off an even tinier piece. I can’t exactly grab any human-sized food and Lucky and Angela don’t seem to mind when I do this.

Nathan flinched, looking back from me to the piece I was holding out for him. What else was I supposed to do though? He just shook his head, offering a nervous smile practically saying, “No thank you.” But in a sweet voice. Why doesn’t he like me helping? I’ve wondered that for a while.

“I’m not entirely certain, but I’m pretty sure you haven’t eaten anything since breakfast today,” I started, still holding out the piece for him to grab, “Plus, I don’t know if you think I’m going to judge you or something, but I’m not like those sadistic jerks from the other day.” I laughed, trying to lighten the mood. I was guessing it worked when he genuinely smiled tore a small piece off. I’ve never seen him smile unless he was laughing at something I had said.

——————————

The day continued on with me complaining about most of the people from the show and seeing Nathan laugh when I would get mad or make a comment. It was nice knowing that he wasn’t as timid or afraid when we first met. Or that we could have fun even when it was only me talking. Most of the time we weren’t even paying attention to the show, just having a one-sided conversations.

I heard the door being unlocked, checking the time to see that it was already going to be six in the afternoon. An hour later than when they should have been home. Everyone should be here in a little bit. I grabbed my phone, ordered the pizza that had a wait time of about forty minutes, and watch all hell get unleashed.

———Nathan———

It was fun hanging out with Ryker. I mean sure there were times when I would get a little nervous about certain things, or when his hands moved a bit too close to me, but otherwise it was fun just listening to him complain about how “Dramatic” these characters were. Sure, they definitely were, but it’s not even a true story.

Everything was going great before I had head the front door open. I knew this would have happened eventually, but it felt so sudden. It seemed like everything in my body was trying its hardest to make me get up and run away, but I couldn’t do that. I’ve already done so good so far, so why not keep it going for another couple hours. I’m surprised my mom hasn’t called me either. Was everything okay? I’ll call her in a little bit.

“Sorry we’re late! We stopped by the fast staton to grab some more popcorn and snacks since someone didn’t go grocery shopping.” It was a loud, unfamiliar voice. Ryker’s younger brother? I had no idea.

“It’s not my fault they scheduled a practice yesterday! I’ll go tomorrow so you can stop being such a baby.” A feminine voice that did not under any circumstance sound all too happy at the moment.

A shiver ran down my spine as Ryker let out a sigh, muttering an apology to me before running over to where all the voices were. I couldn’t see sine there was a wall blocking my view. I was too scared to go down on the floor because they wouldn’t even know I would be there without looking down. Not the best option at the moment, but I didn’t want to stay on the counter. Not that I had a choice.

I tuned out whatever they were talking about in the other room, and soon enough Ryker came back holding two bags that were filled with drinks and snacks. I hadn’t even noticed Lucky was with him until he called my name and Ryker just laughed, letting him down. I really wish he hadn’t made it obvious that I was here. I was just hoping no one would really notice me in all honesty.

“So how were the two hours of torture with Ry? Grueling, exhausting?” He joked around with me, setting a bag of his own down to help me up. I chuckled a bit, shaking my head, “It was fun…” The quietest whisper I could manage.

Lucky rolled his eyes laughing, “Wanna help me put these away for later? You are staying for movie night, right?” I nodded my head, following him into the elevator and walking in through the same human-sized door from before. Except this time the lamps were automatically turned on and you could see light under both of the bedroom doors. One was a dark blue and the other a light pink. Now I could tell who’s was who’s

I opened the bag, seeing a mini box of popcorn packets plus some boxes of candy and gummy bears which I was guessing were Angela’s.

“Oh yeah, we didn’t know what kind you liked so we just grabbed whatever.” Lucky had said, putting away the box of popcorn and grabbing a couple drinks, stuffing them in the fridge.

“‘We’?”

“Hm? Oh yeah. Everyone knows you’re here. Dylan, Angela, and I picked out some snacks that you might like. Jasmine and Isabelle helped out with drinks. It was a team effort really.” Lucky shrugged his shoulders. Oh. Now that just made me feel so much more worse. They all picked out something for me and I only had a present for Angela? That seemed unfair, but how could I have even bought them anything if… never mind. It’ll be okay. Though, I don’t like this news that everyone knew I was here. It kind of made me even more anxious and scared at the same time.

I helped put some of the candy boxes in the cabinets, while also doing a secret task of locating all of the ingredients for brownies, which they surprisingly did have. So I could just make them while they were all getting ready for the movie and I could sneak these in. Who knows, maybe I could actually make a good first impression?

“You… d-don’t mind if I make something… right?” I asked Lucky cautiously. He shook his head with a smile, “Go for it.” He leaned against the counter as I grabbed a bowl and some other things. I would make cookies but they didn’t have chocolate chips.

I was about to pour the mix into a pan to bake before I heard voices outside that sounded like the one girl that didn’t sound too happy, and another one that sounded like she was a kid.

“Okay. Go tell Lucky to set your shower up, Angel.” Wow. She sounded nothing like she did before. But I guess that was a good thing. Now I didn’t have to worry as much. Nope. Still worried.

The human sized door opened, revealing a little girl who had curly, black hair that was to her shoulders and wearing a Dora The Explorer backpack. I was guessing this was Angela. So was she adopted too? I wouldn’t be surprised.

“Luckyyy. Jasmine told me to tell you to set my shower.” She ran up to Lucky, her arms out like she wanted a hug. Which Lucky happily gave to her. I quickly finished pouring the batter in and shoved it in the oven before Lucky caught onto what I was making. He was already asking questions.

“Alright, just give me a second.” Lucky left the room while Angela stumbled into her room and came back out without her back pack and ran up to me, “What’s your name?” Lucky in the background smiled and gave me a thumbs up while grabbing some clothes for her.

“Nathan. And you’re Angela?” I laughed, looking to my backpack. I still had that stuffed animal to give her. But would she even like it? Because I was afraid if she didn’t she might tell everyone else and then I’d all be on their bad side which would be the exact opposite of what I wanted. I was trying to make friends here because apparently everyone thinks they can help me.

“Cool!” She excitedly hugged me, and I couldn’t help but jump at the sudden embrace. It felt warm. And nice. Even if this was coming from some little kid who was only in, what, kindergarten? I hesitantly hugged her back, seeing as she just giggled and let go. I forgot how much I missed physical contact.

“Hey, your brother, Ryker, told me about you. Soooo I bought you a little gift.” I reached for my bag, pulling out the little panda stuffed animal. She gasped, grabbing the stuffed animal from my hands and hugging it tightly in her arms.

“I’m gonna name her… Livvy! Thank you!” She giggled, running over to her room as I noticed Lucky smiling by the doorway like I had just done some kind of surprising act. Was I not supposed to get her anything? She seemed to love it. Especially with the way she named it so fast. Livvy was a nice name though.

Angela was taking a bath, and Lucky hadn’t stopped teasing me about the panda. But otherwise everything was going great. What I had thought would be a big mistake was actually a great success.

“You bought her something and not me? Favoritism is apparently a thing.” Lucky teased as I waited for the brownies to be done. Just another five minutes but I doubt lucky wouldn’t let me hear the end of it.

“Not favoritism. Plus, I’m making something for both of you right now.” I laughed softly, taking out my phone and not seeing anything from my mom. It’s been almost four hours… Maybe now I should call her? Yeah. I quickly called her, hearing it ring a couple times before she finally picked up sounding tired and out of breath.

“Everything all right sweetie?” She asked, catching her breath.

“Oh um, y-yeah. I was just calling to see if you were okay.” Lucky left the room, mouthing to me that he’ll be right back while pointing to his room and I nodded.

“Oh yes! I’m sorry, Honey. I meant to call earlier but it’s just so busy right now. I’ve been running around the place like a lunatic,” She laughed, “How’s everything going? Are you coming home by nine?”

“It’s going good. Nothing too crazy. Also, they wanted me to stay a while longer for a movie. Is that okay? I should be home around ten.”

“That’s great! Of course you can stay a little while longer. Just make sure to eat something, okay? I’ve got to go, but I love you so much, be safe, love you.” There was a lot of confusion in the background on her side of the call before she hung up.

The timer for the brownies went off as soon as she did. I took them out, letting them cool down before cutting them into even slices. I just hoped they would like them. Or that they didn’t mind that I did this. Would they? That wold not be good if I wasn’t supposed to do that. We’ll find out when I get out of here. I had no idea what they were doing, but I heard Ryker talking to someone. Most likely the girl from before.

“Boo.” I physically jumped, nearly falling over. Lucky snuck behind me, snickering the entire time as he tried his hardest to catch his breath. That was a bit much. I may or may not have overreacted. Probably the latter seeing as I was still visibly trembling. It took me a couple breaths to get back to normal, but it was alright afterward.

Lucky snagged a brownie from the pan before they entirely cooled down, burning his mouth as he bit into it. We were both laughing as I grabbed a cold water to give to him. Just to keep the heat down. I wasn’t a medical expert like my mom on these things.

“So worth it,” Lucky had cheered before taking another bite, “These are amazing. Where’d you learn to bake like this?” He happily took another bite. Did I really have to answer that question? What was I even supposed to say? ‘Oh yeah I learned how to bake from a mental hospital.’ I can’t just say that! I can’t say school either, and my mom doesn’t like baking so if he ever met her…

“A secret.” I nervously laughed. Truth is, they used to teach me how to cook and bake in the mental hospital before I came here. I would just tweak the recipes a bit to make them tastier. Like more brown sugar in cookies to make them taste more sweet. Or add a little of coffee in brownies to make it taste like there’s more chocolate. Just a little things here and there. It keeps me calm instead of being scared like I was right now.

“Angel will love these. So would Ryker if he could eat them. He has a sweet tooth.” Lucky grabbed another one from the pan shrugging his shoulders. Maybe I’ll just give Ryker the recipe then? It seemed like the best option honestly. I didn’t mind if he had it either. As long as I could pay him back for everything he’s done up to this point. I was actually having a great time here. Even if I haven’t been around anyone new besides Angela.

After Angela was done with her bath, Lucky rushed me out the door where it was actually kind of quiet. Maybe because no one besides Ryker and another younger girl were in the living room. Angela went back inside the room to quickly grab something, which was Livvy, before slowly running over to the girl who was sitting down in the middle of the carpet wearing a pair of purple sweatpants and an over-sized shirt. She looked a older than Angela, and of course taller since she was a giant. He hair was a just a little bit wet as we she was playing with little building blocks.

“Isabelleeee. Whatcha building?” Angela ran over, walking around what seemed to be the base of whatever Isabelle was building. I had no idea, but I was terrified. Giants were one thing when they were an adult, but kids had always scared me the most. I still remember being forced to be put in those over-sized clothes while also being thrown around like some rag doll. So yeah, I think I have a pretty valid reason to be terrified and currently hiding behind Lucky.

“What’s wrong?” Lucky had asked, turning around and taking me out of view as I everything in my body threatened to shut down this very moment. Was that what Isabelle would do to me? Make me some kind of doll to play with? A pet. I shuddered, remembering all those times I came back to my parents with black bruises all over my body. Bleeding sometimes.

“You’re… scared of Isabelle?” Lucky had asked, looking at what I was staring at. Isabelle was giggling with Angela as they finished building whatever it was they were making, but those images wouldn’t leave my mind. It won’t happen here, right? They won’t let anything happen?

“Wait. That’s why you ran away that day! You’re scared of giants!” Lucky whisper yelled, trying to get me back to reality. I really did try to calm myself down. Really, really hard. It did end up working, but at a cost. Lucky figured out why I ran. Why I was so terrified to be around giants. Why I couldn’t even talk around them. He wouldn’t tell though, right? He will.

“D-don’t tell th-them. I-I’m trying to get used to it.” I stuttered in as quiet a voice as I could manage. Lucky gave a smile, “I wasn’t planning on it. I kind of figured it out the first time you ran away.”

I wasn’t really expecting that. I thought he was going to go around screaming that I was some kind of scaredy cat. That would be embarrassing I might just drop out of school so I didn’t have to deal with him constantly teasing me. I’m glad it didn’t come to that.

Lucky told me to keep my eyes on the ground as he guided me to wherever we were going. I wasn’t really paying attention, but I’m pretty sure it was towards Ryker. Not that I minded. He was the one I was the most used to anyways. Stick to the plan. Stay with Ryker and Lucky. Nothing bad could go wrong.

“Ry!” Lucky yelled for his attention. Ryker yawned, letting a hand down as Lucky climbed on, helping me up seeing as I was much weaker and short than himself. I was grateful for the help, but also confused at the sudden change. Why was he helping me instead of making fun of me? It seemed so unreal.

“Did you need something?” Ryker asked, yawning again while offering his hand on the arm of the couch. He really looked like he needed some sleep. I stepped off his hand, but Lucky stayed on. Ryker raised an eyebrow while Lucky stuck his tongue out. Was this like some kind of sibling telepathy going on? I don’t know. But obviously Ryker was the one to give in first, letting Lucky onto his shoulder while holding his head up with one of his hands and closing his eyes. How could Lucky do that? I couldn’t be that close. I’d freak out.

“When are we gonna start the movie?” Lucky had asked, making himself comfortable. I was alright with just sitting here. Even if it was an insane height away from the ground. I just have to ignore that part.

“When I feel like it.” Ryker responded, a smirk on his face as Lucky playfully kicked him. Yup. I would not have the courage to do that. Even if I knew that Ryker wouldn’t care. Since he obviously doesn’t. But they were siblings. It’s different. Ryker and I were only friends. At least that’s what I’d like to think we are.

Another person walked into the living room. He was tall with light brown hair like mine, wearing a long-sleeve t-shirt with some grey sweatpants. I was guessing his name was Dylan? I’ve heard his name being thrown around once or twice. I was piecing together who was who. There were a lot of people to memorize. It was weird how he has so many siblings and I had none. No… weird wasn’t the word for it. More like it was… nice? Amazing? I’ll figure it out eventually.

“So we’re just waiting on Jasmine then?” Dylan groaned taking a seat on the other side of the couch, turning on the tv and putting on Bluey, to which the two girls happily grabbed a blanket and snuggled up with each other to watch it. Wow. That was oddly sweet.

“Yeah.” Ryker replied, holding his hand out for Lucky. He happily climbed on as Ryker passed him on to Dylan. They had teased each other for a good while before Dylan had glanced in my direction, flashing a smile. No doubt there that Lucky had told him something. I did a sad little wave before hearing them go back to the teasing. I looked back to Ryker, who just seemed out of it. I had no idea what had happened while I was in that other room, but obviously he’s been tired all day. The weird part is that no one here seemed to really question him. Was he okay? Was I making him do something he didn’t want to do? Was I the problem?

I really hate my overthinking.

A couple minutes later, a girl had walked in wearing a sweater and a tank top with her hair in a wet bun. I was guessing that one was Jasmine. The only name left on the board. Ryker pulled out his phone, checking whatever before standing up and walking over to his room. Leaving me alone with everyone. It’s just for a couple minutes. What could happen? Nothing. Hopefully.

What was only a couple minutes stretched on for what seemed like hours. Jasmine was now sitting on the floor next to Isabelle, watching Bluey with them. Dylan and Lucky were playing a game on their phones. I felt pretty naked at the moment and I couldn’t exactly get down from here without help.

I stood up, looking for a way down and sadly not finding any. I made my way back to where I was, seeing Ryker come back with some money in hand and, as if on cue, a knock on the door. Right. Pizza. I wasn’t all too hungry honestly, but I already know my mom would get really mad at me if she found out I didn’t eat.

Everyone had started moving all at once, making my anxiety grow. Ryker set the boxes on the coffee table in the middle, opening it up and handing out plates for everyone.

“So we’re all fine watching Up, right?” Ryker asked, putting the disc in and standing up. I had instinctively scooted all the way back into the back of the couch. A safe distance from everyone.

Everyone answered Ryker with a yes, while he left one more time. Probably for the popcorn. I was guessing he left with Lucky too since Dylan wasn’t talking or laughing at the moment. So I was really left alone now. I paid more attention to the movie playing, trying to ignore that I was just left alone with people I barely even knew. Please be back soon. I told myself. Just to prevent me from having a panic attack at the moment.

Ryker walked back in the room with a bowl of popcorn, and carrying Lucky in his other hand. He sat back down next to me, flashing a smile before offering a hand. I climbed on, never so happy to be in a giant’s hand before. What? I didn’t know anyone here besides Lucky and Ryker. What would I do if they just wanted to talk to me? I wouldn’t be able to. Then they’d really be questioning me. Then they’d be mad at me…

Ryker set me down on the coffee table where Angela and Lucky both were. I was guessing he wanted me to eat too. Weird. He’s the complete opposite of my captors.

I only ate one slice, but at least it was something. Lucky told me to grab another since I was already extremely skinny, but I didn’t. I was honestly having a pretty nice time. I mean, without having to interact with any of his other siblings was nice, but I’m pretty sure Dylan was going to ask or introduce himself to me soon. Jasmine I didn’t know, and Isabelle was a different story, but if I can manage it without talking, then that’d be great.

I checked my phone for the time, reading nine thirty. We were barely halfway through the movie. I did say ‘around’ though. Plus, my mom doesn’t get home till around midnight. I’d say I still had time. At least that’s what I thought before she had called me.

“Mom?” I whispered, standing up and walking away from Lucky.

“Honey, are you still at your friends house?” She had asked, sounding very, very serious. She’s never sounded like that unless something bad happened. This can’t be good.

“Y-yes. Why?” Ryker glance in my direction, looking from me to the tv and offering a hand and pointed to the hallway. I climbed on, wondering why he was going through all this work for me. But, at the moment, I was more focused on what my mom was freaking out about.

“Okay, honey, this is going to sound crazy, but can you ask your friend if you can stay the night?” The world stopped as she said the words. This was crazy. I wasn’t expecting that. What happened? Why didn’t she want me to go home? Seriously. Ryker open the door to his room, and turned on a dim lamp, setting me down on the desk.

“W-why?” My voice was a little shaky, but otherwise soft and clear. Ryker couldn’t hear what I was saying anyways.

“There’s another riot happening and I don’t want you anywhere near it. So could you please ask to stay the night? I don’t want to see you hurt.” There was a big commotion happening wherever she was at.

I glanced up to Ryker, who had a worried face on, “S-sure, Mom.”

“Thank you. I love you, please be safe.”

She hung up again. Oh. This was bad. Really, really bad. Now I had to stay here? Overnight? Does she realize what she’s going to make me do? This was crazy. Could I even do this? I didn’t know. What happens when they say no? What if they just kick me out? Leave me outside while there’s a crazy mob that wants to practically murder humans? What happens then? What if-

“Everything… okay?” Ryker softly asked me. Physically? Yes. Mentally? No. I couldn’t even talk to him. How would he even reply if I couldn’t even bring it up to him? I’d just have to force myself. Even if I didn’t want to stay here. Even if he says no.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself, “Th-there’s a-a-a riot… a-and my mom d-doesn’t want me t-to go home. Sh-she wants me t-t-t-…” I winced, seeing that his full attention was on me, “T-to stay h-here overnight. I-Is that… O-okay?” I flinched, waiting for some kind of laugh to come out, or some kind of punishment for asking him anything like that. But nothing came.

“Of course? You think I’d say no?” He nervously asked, “Is your mom okay though? You looked kind of worried.” He asked. I nodded, feeling drained from they day.

“That’s good. But, yeah, of course you can stay here. I’ll just tell Lucky to get you a blanket and some things. Sound good?” He smiled softly. I smiled back, my knees nearly giving out on me, “Thank you.”

His palm was laid out flat, but I still had a hard time climbing on without help. That went much better than expected. It’s just that my brain makes everything so much more worse than it needs to be. I’m really grateful that things never go according to my brain. So glad. So, I did the exact opposite of what my mind had been telling me the past two weeks.

I hugged Ryker’s thumb (Or what I could of his thumb), trying to hide the tears that escaped my eyes. Maybe it really was time to give life one more chance.

—————————

And here’s the long awaited chapter!

If you couldn’t already tell by reading, I absolutely love the trope where one partner has a ton of siblings and the other is an only child. Sooo that’s where all of the siblings come in!

We’re almost at the part I can’t wait to write, so trust me when I say there will be more interactions for Nathan and Ryker. Don’t be afraid to ask any questions either! I love answering!

Thanks you for reading! Love you guys ❤️

#G/t #g/t writing #g/t community #g/t angst #G/t fearplay #sfw g/t #G/t fluff #my writing #oc: ryker #oc: nathan #Restoration #I think I described things pretty well #This is gonna haunt my dreams #I regret nothing for some reason #I’m sorry guys #Oc: Lucky #Oc: Dylan

16 notes · View notes