I am a self indulgent fanfiction writer. I don't generally take requests and I'm not really comfortable writing anything other than a female!reader perspective (I sometimes write with more gender neutral terms but if there's a slip, that's probably why).
I've written a fair bit for Attack on Titan (~300k word story) but I've recently fallen back into the Aphmau Fandom!
I mention this in my first 'introduction' post so I'll put it on record here too: I don't intend to post large series on Tumblr. If I have a large story (anything that's not drabbles, head cannons, one shots or a series of connected one shots) I'll probably only post it on Ao3. That being said, I have links to my Ao3 content on my Masterlist when it's applicable.
If you're okay with all that then please feel free to take a peek at what I've written!
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In Other Words:
Writes: Fem!Reader X Character
Posts on Tumblr: Drabbles, Head Cannons & One Shots
“I realized I need you here, as desperate as that sounds.”
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Description: What happens when flirting with your sister’s best friend goes a little too far? And what about when you wake up in her bed for the third weekend in a row? Laurance is about to learn the answer to both of those questions the hard way.
Included: MS!Laurance X Reader
WC: 5.3k
It's All a Little Cliché: Masterlist
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When Laurance wakes up this morning, his first instinct is to reach across the bed. Though he stretches out as far as he can, his hand reaches the edge before he finds what he’s looking for. Defeated, the boy lies face down against the mattress.
The sheets are soft and they linger with a faint sweetness. Emphasis on faint. When he takes another deep breath in, the only thing he registers is the smell of his own musty breath.
Better get out of bed before-
“Laurance Zvahl! You better make yourself decent!”
Laurance winces at the sound of his sister’s booming voice. She wasn’t supposed to be back until eleven! Unless- damn it!
The boy pulls on whatever of his clothes he can find before pulling the door wide open. He doesn’t have to go far to find Cadenza. She’s already at the top of the stairs.
“You!” Cadenza frowns as she approaches, her brows furrowed and her feet landing heavy against the hardwood floor. “You disgustingly horny excuse of a brother, you-” The girl, still rambling on, barely stops herself from barreling into Laurance. The boy doubts he could get knocked over by that sister of his, though. She’s too nice for that.
Then again, judging from the words flying out of her mouth, Laurance isn’t too sure of himself at the moment.
“Woah, Denny, don’t you think you’re-”
“No Laurance! I’ve had it up to here with you! If you wanna go sleep around then fine, that’s your prerogative, but don’t you dare take advantage of my friendship with-”
“Cadenza!” The sound of your laboured breaths are only second to the sound of your feet as they rapidly ascend the stairs. It isn’t long before you’ve reached the top and popped into view. With sweat along your brow and your cheeks flushed red, many would describe your current appearance as unsightly. Laurance, however, can’t help but compare your expression to the one he saw last night. Through the darkness, against the sheets, you-
No! Laurance can’t think about that right now! He’s currently facing a completely different issue at the moment and he can’t let himself get distracted. Well, not completely different, but it’s very clear that Laurance wasn’t thinking about his sister’s best friend last night. He was only thinking about you.
Your smile. Your laugh. Your warmth.
There’s hardly a hint of that as he looks over at you now.
“...why did you… jump out of the car…?!” You huff, exasperated. “You nearly gave that man of yours a heart attack!”
Cadenza snaps her head around to face you. As soon as she turns, Laurance can’t help but notice how his sister’s expression softens. Not by much, mind you, but enough. “He’ll be fine. This isn’t even the craziest thing he’s seen me do!”
“Okay, well, you nearly gave me a heart attack!”
Cadenza pouts ever so slightly. “I know, and I’m sorry, I just-” With her head on a swivel, the ginger haired girl turns to glare at Laurance once again. “I don’t like having uninvited guests. Especially not ones who go behind my back to sleep with my best friend.”
Right.
Laurance winces at his sister’s harsh words. Then again, what else was he expecting? If anything, this was all comeuppance for pushing his luck.
“I’m sorry, Denny.” Laurance apologises. He’s unsure of how it lands, however, as Cadenza’s anger hardly budges. So he continues, “I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just-”
“It was my idea.” You suddenly cut Laurance off. “I was having a rough night and, well, Laurance was just there.”
Just there?
“I don’t care about the specifics.” Cadenza sighs. “Just… how long has this been going on?”
A small smile tugs on your lips. “Doesn’t that count as specific?”
“Hey! Don’t get sassy with me, little miss-”
“It doesn’t matter.” Laurance suddenly blurts as he turns away, catching both you and Cadenza off guard with how loud the words leave his lips. In fact, he’s pretty surprised by how harshly he’s spoken. He’s also surprised by the gutting tightness swelling in his chest, and the words that threaten to slip from his lips.
He holds them back, but only just.
“Laurance? Where are you going?” You ask, your voice soft as always.
“Grabbing my stuff.” He almost turns around to face you, but resists. He doesn’t want you or Cadenza to see more than you have to. “Don’t wait for me.”
Laurance returns to your room, his fingernails digging into the soft flesh of his palms.
Why is he so worked up in the first place? It’s not like he meant to hurt Cadenza. I mean, he knew how she’d react and still did it anyway, so it’s not like Laurance is devoid of guilt, but the boy knows that the feelings brewing in his chest are far from just guilt.
There’s… something else.
Something he’s not sure he wants to admit.
Shaking his head, Laurance attempts to distract himself by searching for whatever clothes of his are still lying on your bedroom floor. Yet as the boy bends down to pick up his sweater, Laurance finds it impossible to ignore the growing ache in his chest. It becomes especially difficult when you slide into the room and close the door.
“Busy?” You ask.
“Yes.”
“Too busy to talk?”
Laurance falters as he reaches for one of his socks, barely resisting the urge to turn around. After a brief moment, he replies “make it quick.”
“Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but I feel like you’re upset. And not just because Cadenza found out that we were-”
“Hooking up?” Laurance listens to your shifting feet. He could almost imagine the look on your face, too. “Why would I be upset about anything else?”
“Come on, Ren…” You begin. “I know you better than that.”
Laurance can feel his body stiffen as that familiar little nickname falls from your lips. He wants to rebuke you but can’t find the words to do so. He really hates how comfortable he’s become with that name you’ve given him.
He also hates how quickly he leans into your touch when your hand lands on his shoulder. He didn’t even realise you had made your way across the room until you touched him.
“We both know better.” Despite how careful you are to mask any would-be hesitance, Laurance can feel how you’re gently grasping the fabric of his shirt. How you stare at his back, and how you hold your breath.
Laurance closes his eyes. “Do we?”
“Cadenza swears that she’s my best friend, but we both know that I’m your best friend, too. Tell me I’m wrong.”
“You-” Laurance snaps around to face you.
He immediately wishes he hadn’t.
Though you smile at the boy, Laurance can see a softness in your gaze. If he didn’t know any better, Laurance would say you’re actually trying to kill him… but a gentleness like yours is rarely a good thing. Not for boys like Laurance.
Especially not Laurance.
Gritting his teeth, Laurance utters a quiet “you’re wrong.”
Where Laurance desperately hopes you’ll laugh, you don’t. You’re surprised.
Hurt.
Betrayed.
“Sure. Whatever you say.” There’s an edge to your words that irritates the boy.
“Whatever?” Laurance scrambles for the right words but nothing feels right. “You just… you’re just so great, aren’t you?” He frowns. “Why would you be my best friend? I have Dante and Garroth! They’re ten times better than you could ever be!”
“Good! Go sleep around with them instead.”
“What?!” The boy snaps back. He’s so irritated. You’re so irritating! And yet, as Laurance watches the shift in your expression, he can’t help but feel hurt.
The boy watches as you step back, only realizing he reached for you after you slapped his hand away. He stares at you, bewildered, until you shove his missing sock into his hand and walk away.
Laurance’s gut reaction is to chase after you, to apologize, but his feet stay rooted in place. What comes out instead is a scoff. I mean, why should he feel bad? This little streak of his, waking up in your bed a couple of times, it’s all just a fling. Laurance is… he’s just here.
And now he’s not.
---
Laurance stares at the screen of his phone. This is, what, the third consecutive hour he’s been scrolling through TikTok? Considering how much time he’s been spending online, three hours is light work.
As a matter of fact, Laurance hasn’t been doing much of anything recently. Nothing he can remember, at least. All he recalls from the past two weeks is work, sleep and scrolling on his phone. It’s gotten so bad that the boy doesn’t remember what he made for dinner yesterday, let alone the post he saw two scrolls ago.
To put it lightly, Laurance has been drifting through life.
This isn’t the first time the boy has hit a rough patch. There was that one time he burned out during his second year of university, and there was another time where he dreaded his workplace more than the work itself.
It was rough, don’t get him wrong, but he eventually made it out. Despite knowing that this silly little ordeal of his will eventually blow over, Laurance can’t seem to kick himself back into high gear. As desperately as he wants to be clueless, the boy knows why he hasn’t been able to pick himself up yet.
His university burnout involved late night study sessions and his work anxiety was soothed by the saving grace of midnight movies. The common denominator? You.
You were always there. You’d stay up on call as he studied and you’d prepare the movies and popcorn for when he eventually returned from his afternoon shifts.
But now?
Let’s just say it’s growing impossibly difficult to avoid you since, whether he means to or not, the boy is constantly seeking you out.
Every so often, when Laurance grows tired but he refuses to sleep, his fingers will bring him to your contact. Then, before he realises it, Laurance has begun to read through the conversations all over again.
Your conversations over message look like what you’d normally expect from friends, but the boy does throw in a flirtatious remark every now and again. While the flow of messages makes it look like you hardly ever bat an eye, that isn’t the case.
Laurance knows the reality. He knows that between the blue and grey boxes exchanged are the precious minutes he spent staring at his phone. Between those boxes are a flurry of emotions as the boy fears he might’ve oversteeped the boundary of friendship and… whatever lies beyond it. And after you’re done doing whatever it is you do, you finally reply.
Sometimes Laurance imagines what you might be doing when you don’t immediately reply.
Do you ever throw your phone across your room? Or slam your face against your pillow in frustration and embarrassment? Or perhaps you look at the message, walk away for a moment, and then return when you remember that you didn’t reply.
And then he reaches them. The messages that changed everything.
I wish Cadenza was home
I don’t want to be alone
Why not let me come over?
I promise I give good cuddles
Cuddles huh?
Of course!
I’ll give you whatever you want and more
One minute passes.
A sneeze, perhaps?
Two minutes.
Maybe he shouldn’t have added that emoji at the end.
Three minutes.
Yup. He should’ve known better than to be so bold.
But then, when he was sure you’d go on complaining as you always do, he reads the message that always takes him by surprise.
What if I want more than just some cuddles?
The two of you didn’t send any more messages that night. Rather, Laurance called you the moment that message hit his screen. He didn’t want to read too deeply, but he knew something was different. You never flirt back with him. At least, not the way you did that night. The call he had with you confirmed that fact.
Your voice seemed softer when you picked up the phone that night. It was different. You were different. You asked him to come over, and Laurance’s inhibitions were nowhere to be found.
Everyone knows that one thing always leads to another. It’s just… it all happened so fast.
The promise of a kiss.
The sight of you in nothing but an oversized shirt.
Laying side by side in a bed made for two, but not for the comfort of two.
Laurance should’ve known things could end up this way. In fact, he knew that things would end up this way! Yet he did it anyway.
Why did he have to call you that night? Why did he have to drive to your place and lay in your bed with you? Why couldn’t he… no, why can’t he give up?
None of it mattered.
Everything was just… he was just-
With a sigh, Laurance tosses his phone onto the other side of the bed and flops back against his mattress. He stares up at the ceiling for a moment, his eyes beginning to burn and his chest starting to tighten, but stops when he feels his phone vibrate against the bed.
The boy glances over at his phone.
It’s just Cadenza. He’ll answer her later. All he wants to do right now is sleep.
His phone buzzes again.
A correction to whatever was sent before, probably.
Just as Laurance can feel himself on the brink of sleep, the sound of your voice cuts through the silence. Good Irene, the boy can’t even remember when you changed his ringtone! It’s been like that for so long that he’s gotten used to it. Though he wants to ignore it, the incessant buzzing quickly gets on his nerves.
Laurance can feel his jaw tighten as he reaches to silence his phone, but that’s when he notices he’s missed three calls from Cadenza already.
Oh no.
“Laurance, I know you’re in there!” The sound of his sister’s voice booms from the other side of the door. His bedroom door.
Oh god, no!
Laurance flings himself out of bed and reaches for the door but Cadenza has already let herself inside. She hardly spares him a passing glance as she wanders about the boy’s room. “Geeze Little Laur, your room is so messy.” She kicks a pile of dirty clothes to the side as she marches around for a place to sit.
Laurance can feel himself frowning at his sister’s untimely appearance. “What are you doing here?” The boy questions. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”
“What’s better than visiting my little brother?” The girl finally finds a place to sit, though the place she’s chosen is none other than the boy’s bed. “I guess it would be better if my little brother actually, I don’t know, read his messages or took his calls, but he’s too busy for that.”
“I’m not busy. I’ve just been… a little preoccupied.” Laurance insists, his face contorting when he sees the unimpressed look sprawled across Cadenza’s entire being. “Look, are you gonna tell me what you want or are you going to sit there and judge me for all I’m worth?”
“What are you worth?” Cadenza suddenly asks, crossing her legs and leaning her elbow on the elevated knee. As she continues to hold Laurance’s gaze, she gently lowers her chin into her propped up hand. “That’s the one thing I can’t seem to get my head around right now.”
Though Laurance groans, he still moves forward to stand a little closer to Cadenza. He doesn’t sit beside her, however. No, her current state is far too volatile to get that close. “Look, if you wanna be mad that I slept with your best friend then fine, be mad all you want, but don’t use that as a reason to berate me right now.”
Cadenza blinks, her brows furrowing for just a moment, before shaking her head. “I’m not mad… Well actually yes, I am mad that you slept with my best friend, but that’s not why I’m here. Why would that be a reason for me to barge into your room?”
“I don’t know.” Laurance shrugs. “You’re about as brash as I am. Honestly, it’s a miracle you managed to find someone willing to marry you.”
“Hey!” Cadenza playfully kicks at Laurance but her foot doesn’t reach far enough to hit the boy. “Zack is the sweetest guy I’ve ever met. He never ghosts me. Especially not after I’ve tried to apologize after upsetting him.”
“You’re acting like I’m the type of person who ghosts others.”
Cadenza blinks again, her head now tilted as she looks up at Laurance. “Are you serious right now?”
“What?”
“My Irene, Laurance, you’re such a hypocrite!”
“Why are you calling me a hypocrite all of a sudden?” Laurance takes a slight step back from Cadenza as he crosses his arms. “What, did it hurt your feelings when I wanted to take a nap instead of answering your calls?”
“Laurance, I-” The girl looks like she’s about to stand up, but at the last moment she doesn’t. Rather, she keeps her hands balled up at her side as she forces herself to stay seated. “Do you even know what you’ve done? How bad it’s gotten with-”
Laurance can feel the tension in his jaw disappear when he hears your name falling from Cadenza’s mouth. He’s used to hearing Cadenza call you her best friend; like she’s constantly reminding Laurance of the line he shouldn’t be crossing with her friend. Yet when he hears your name in full, even from Cadenza, it sounds so natural. So pretty.
Though a little hesitant, Laurance finds himself taking a seat beside his sister on his bed.
“What happened?” The boy asks.
“Says you.” Cadenza frowns at her brother. “You’re the one who made her so worried. You haven’t even replied to a single one of her messages!”
“Her what?”
“Oh my Irene, Laurance! If you think you’re being funny, you better cut it out right now.” Cadenza snatches Laurance’s phone from off his bed, mumbling to herself as she taps around on his phone, before shoving it into his face. “I know you feel really bad about going behind my back and whatever, but at this point I really don’t care. Just reply already!”
Laurance takes the phone from Cadenza and carefully skims over the messages. When he starts to scroll, however, Cadenza stops him and makes him scroll back down.
Hey…
Can we talk?
Hey
I’m heading for coffee
Wanna come with?
I’m sorry Laurance
I wasn’t thinking when I told Cadenza off the other day
Please call me
Or just text me
Anything
Laurance?
Shit.
Most of these messages came from last week. The latest one came from this Tuesday. Between all his doomscrolling and his pitiful backreading, Laurance failed to notice that you’d been trying to reach him. He just… he got so used to scrolling up to those old messages that he never even realised you’d sent him new ones…
Immediately Laurance begins to type out a reply, but as he stares at the words he’s started to type, they suddenly seem to fall short.
He deletes them and tries again.
Still not enough.
“What are you doing?” Cadenza suddenly asks.
Laurance’s attention snaps over to his sister. He’d nearly forgotten that she was sitting beside him, let alone how she’s literally staring at his screen reading every message he didn’t send.
His first instinct is to turn away from Cadenza, but somehow the boy resists it.
“Denny, I-” He hesitates, gnawing on the corner of his lip as he fidgets with his phone. “I messed up. I messed up big time. I need to fix this!” Laurance bolts upright but Cadenza quickly pulls him back down.
“Slow down, Laur.” Cadenza snatches the boy’s phone away from his hands. “I know you’re eager to come to her rescue, but first, you need to think about what you’re about to do very carefully. Don’t tell her it was me, but… well… shesinlovewithyou.”
Laurance shakes his head in a mixture of confusion and frustration. “I don’t understand what-”
“I said she’s in love with you!” Cadenza blurts. “She didn’t want me to tell you, but at this point I’m pretty sure the two of you will die before admitting how much you mean to one another.”
Laurance sits in silent shock as the weight of Cadenza’s words begin to sink in.
You’re in love with him…
You’re in love… with him?
“Hey!” The older girl snaps in front of Laurance’s face as she calls him back to the moment. “I know you’re probably about to do something crazy like buy her a bouquet of flowers and rush to apologize, but you need to sit down and ask yourself if you love her. Not the idea of her, and not the memory of her, but if you love her.”
Without missing a beat, Laurance replies “I do! I love her!”
Then his eyes drift down to his hands.
Laurance loves you.
It wasn’t always this way, but he knew it would become this way. From the moment he met you, Laurance knew that he would fall deeply and madly in love with you. It wasn’t because you were different from any other girl he’s met, but it was because he knew he wanted to fall in love with you.
Laurance has wanted to love you for as long as he can remember, but for as long as he can remember, you’ve always been Cadenza’s friend.
You’ve always been his sister’s best friend.
How could he ever jeopardize his sister’s relationship because of something he wants? He doesn’t deserve to indulge himself in your love. He hardly should’ve allowed himself to bask in your friendship! And yet, he did.
And look how things ended up.
Cadenza gently places a hand on Laurance’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Laurance.” She says. “I’m not thirteen anymore. I can handle the thought of my brother kissing my friend. I mean, you’ve already subjected me to the worst of it. How much worse could it get?”
Laurance opens his mouth to reply but Cadenza is faster.
“Don’t answer that.”
A small grin pulls on the boy’s lips. “I wasn’t going to!”
“Liar.”
“Okay, you’re right, but that’s not the point.”
“...you’re right...” To Laurance’s surprise, Cadenza agrees with him. “The point is that I want you two to be happy. Right now, on account of me, both of you are miserable. I know my reaction wasn’t the best, but the only person who matches your brashness is me. I knew you two would end up together one day. I just… I didn’t expect you two to go behind my back.”
Laurance watches as her sister begins to fight back tears so he immediately takes her hand off his shoulder and holds it. “Denny, hey, it’s not your fault.”
“I know that!” She insists, but the way she sniffles doesn’t convince Laurance. “I feel bad though, you know? I mean, it’s not like I outright encouraged you two to sleep together, but I’d be lying if I told you I never wanted you two to end up together. You and I are just… we’re so alike, and I thought that I’d lose the one person who tolerates me if she dated you.”
Cadenza tilts her head back in an attempt to hold back her tears but a rogue drop manages to slip out anyway. She wipes it away quickly, pulling her hand from Laurance as a quiet laugh bubbles up from inside her chest.
“It’s stupid, I know.”
“It’s not.” Laurance confirms. “I mean, it sounds a little absurd when you say it out loud but I don’t blame you for it. I’m… pretty great, you know?”
“Oh my Irene!” Cadenza’s laughter sounds a little lighter as she playfully punches the boy. “You’re so full of it.”
Laurance joins his sister in her laughter for a moment.
It’s nice.
Being able to laugh with his sister is really nice.
It isn’t long, however, before Laurance is forced to face what he’s always feared: he hurt you. Despite how desperately Laurance loves you, he messed up. He knows you’ll accept any apology he gives with open arms, but you deserve something more than just flashy.
You deserve honesty.
And maybe, after everything he’s done, Laurance can finally bare that side of himself to you.
---
Laurance stands off to the side of the living room as he checks everything he’s laid out.
Popcorn? Check.
Drinks? Double check.
Movie? Your favourite.
Okay, that should be everything. Even knowing he has everything prepared, Laurance can feel his anxiety rattling around in his stomach. That’s not going to deter him, obviously, but it’s not helping. He came all the way to your and Cadenza’s house just for you.
But what if you didn’t want to see him? What if you act politely and pretend to be happy when you’re not? What if-? No! Laurance needs to focus. He can’t let himself get distracted by questions he already knows the answer to. It’s just… he really wants this to be perfect for you.
Cadenza peeks her head through to the living room with a curious look. “Wow.” Her brows raise as she looks at all Laurance has done. “This is-”
“Too much?” Laurance asks.
“Cozy.” Cadenza finishes. “Gosh, you know her so well it’s sickening. Genuinely. In fact, your sweetness disgusts me.”
Through the nerves Laurance manages to crack a smile. “Thank you for everything, Denny.”
“It’s no problem.” Cadenza confirms. “Anything for my best friend.”
Laurance feigns a pout at his sister. “You mean this isn’t for me?”
Cadenza makes a show of rolling her eyes with a big ol’ sigh. “Fine. I suppose my kindness can be extended to you. Just this once, though. Don’t push your luck.” With that, Cadenza drops her facade and smiles brightly at the boy. “Enjoy your night! But not too much.”
Now it’s Laurance’s turn to roll his eyes at his sister, but he can’t hide the smile that’s spread across his face.
As soon as Cadenza disappears into the foyer, she grabs her keys and calls out to you. “I’m spending the night at Zack’s place! Can you come down and lock the door for me?”
There’s a beat of silence as Cadenza gathers herself, but she doesn’t seem too worried. In fact, Laurance is surprised that his sister leaves without waiting for you to reply! Isn’t she worried about leaving the door unlocked?
I mean, the amount of trust she has in you to lock the door is astounding! What if you didn’t hear her? What if you’re asleep already? What if-
And then he hears it.
Laurance hears the sound of your door swing open and your footsteps as you descend the stairs. The boy holds his breath as he stares in the direction he’ll know you appear.
And then you do.
You don’t see him at first, but when you turn around from locking the door, Laurance finally manages to catch your gaze. You blink at him for a moment, confused, before a smile begins to tug on your lips.
“Ren!” You’ve made a beeline from the door to the boy before he can get a word out. Then again, Laurance wasn’t expecting you to run towards him.
There’s no hesitation as you open your arms and wrap them around Laurance’s neck. In turn, Laurance holds you as you tuck your face against his shoulder.
“I missed you.” Your voice is soft; like if you speak too loud, Laurance might disappear. He won’t, but he holds you tighter so you know it, too.
The boy can feel you pulling yourself closer as he locks his hands together.
For a moment, the world is still.
Despite how little he’s held you this way, it feels like he’s held you a thousand times before. It feels right, but not all is right at the moment.
“I’m sorry.” The words are soft as Laurance speaks them. “I’m sorry that I pushed you away, and I’m sorry that I overreacted. I just- I didn’t know how to cope with the fact that I might’ve been some… some fling to you. That I might’ve been convenient! That-”
“Laurance.” You cut the boy off and peel back slightly, allowing enough space for you to hold the side of his face with one of your hands. “I’m sorry too.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”
“That’s not true.” You insist, your gaze growing soft as you peer up at the boy. “You may act bold and flirt every way to Sunday, but I know you better than that.”
“I’d expect no less.” The boy holds your wrist as he turns his lips into the palm of your hand. “You’re my best friend, after all.” Your eyes widen as the boy presses a kiss against your palm, but he knows it’s not the kiss that elicits that reaction from you. The smile on your lips proves it.
“So you finally admit it?” You ask.
“I’ve always known.” He confirms. “I just… didn’t feel like admitting it at the time. But I’m ready now.”
“Really?” Your head tilts slightly as you look at the boy. “What changed?”
Laurance grins at you, teasing you by pulling you a little closer. “You know me better.”
“I do.” Your facade of curiosity cracks as your lips curve up into a smile. “I just wanted to hear you say it out loud.”
“What? That I’ve fallen hopelessly, desperately and madly in love with you?” The boy suddenly pulls you off your feet and spins you around. When he finally puts you down, the two of you practically fall into each other’s arms again. “Because if that’s the case, then yes. I, Laurance Zvahl, have fallen hopelessly, desperately and madly in love with you.”
“And as you may or may not know…” You lean your weight against Laurance and tuck your face into the crevice of his neck. “I have loved you for a long time.”
“Are you sure you’re not just saying that because it’s convenient? Because I’m just here?”
Without hesitation, you reply “Of course not. You’re my best friend, Laurance.”
Laurance smiles as he hears those words fall from your lips.
For as long as Laurance has known you, he’s always known that he would love you. Yes, you’re kind and you’re beautiful, but those aren’t the reasons why he knew he would love you. Rather, Laurance knew he would love you because you love so freely.
Up until the day he met you, Laurance was the kind of person who believed he needed to earn the love he was given. Even if someone told him otherwise, a part of Laurance could never fully accept that answer. After all, how could someone claim that love isn't earned while keeping the boy at arm's length?
But then there was you.
Laurance knew you before he ever met you, but it wasn’t of his own accord. Despite how little he wanted to know, Cadenza made sure he knew everything about her new best friend. How you and Cadenza both loved cookies. How you both hated the pale gray gym uniforms, and how you always stuck around no matter what.
From all the stories she told about you, it was like Laurance already knew you; and when he finally met you in person, it smashed every preconceived notion he had about the word ‘love.’
You used that word so freely. Expressed your love so openly. Proved that love is not something that’s earned, but something that’s given and received unconditionally.
And now, as he holds you in his arms, Laurance has no doubt that his love for you is unconditional, too.
What’s better than romance and cliché? Romance and two clichés! From fake dating your ex to soul-bound enemies, these ten oneshots mix and match common romance tropes to create a beautiful mishmash of passion, heartbreak and, of course, romance!
MS!Boys X Reader oneshots (occasional AUs)
Masterlist below the cut - Listen to the playlist here!
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Woke the Fuck Up | Laurance X Reader
Friends to Lovers X Forbidden Love → What happens when flirting with your sister’s best friend goes a little too far? And what about when you wake up in her bed for the third weekend in a row? Laurance is about to learn the answer to both of those questions the hard way.
“I realized I need you here, as desperate as that sounds.”
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
4am | Blaze X Reader
Friends to Lovers X Forced Proximity → Blaze has been your friend for as long as he can remember, but ever since the two of you became roommates, he feels like he sees you less than before. This all changes, however, when the boy takes a trip down to the kitchen at 4am.
“Keep me up ‘till 4am - I’ll stay up for you.”
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
Not Another Song About Love | Zenix X Reader
Enemies to Lovers X Soulmates → Moving to the big city for his co-op term was the best excuse Zenix has ever gotten to leave home. The only problem? He didn’t expect that you, the one person he can’t seem to put up with, would come back to haunt him.
“But you’re all that I’ve been dreaming of.”
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
Pls Cheat On Me | Zane X Reader
Enemies to Lovers X Fake Relationship → Breaking news! The CEOs of MyStreet’s biggest fashion competitors were caught having a romantic dinner together! Is this the start of the largest fashion collaboration to ‘date?’ Or will it become the biggest romance scandal this city has yet to see? Only time will tell.
“I need an easy release, baby, so please cheat on me.”
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Out of My League | Dante X Reader
Secret Identity X Forced Proximity → Dante only enrolled in ‘Fanfiction 101’ for the easy credits. He didn’t know that his credits were attached to pre-assigned partner work, let alone a different assignment every week! The first few sessions weren’t that bad, but things took a turn when you, his assigned partner, started scheduling peer review sessions when he’s supposed to be streaming.
“She’s so out of my league, I’m falling again.”
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1000 Years | Vylad X Reader
Secret Identity X Soulmates → When someone has lived as long as Vylad has, it’s only natural that their sense of time would warp. That being said, there are times in life where one chooses to slow down. There’s no better reason for Vylad to slow down than when he finally reunites with you.
“I’ll carry this love, my dear, for 1000 years.”
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The Bird Song | Travis X Reader
Secret Identity X Fake Relationship → No one wants to get married to a person they’ve never met, let alone someone they’ve never even seen. That’s why Travis elected to get into a relationship with you, instead! Sure, it was his spur of the moment decision, and yes, he only did it because he wanted to get out of his arranged marriage, but at least you’ll get a great story out of it, right?
“'Cause I never really wanna be the one to hurt somebody, but it just keeps happening.”
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I Wish You Cheated | Ein X Reader
Second Chance X Soulmates → Ein never wanted to see your sorry face since the day you broke his heart. There’s nothing he hates more than the thought of you - the smiles, the laughter, and most of all, the memories. So why, of all people, are you the one sitting across from him on this blind date?
“So how do I move on when you did nothing wrong?”
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Flare Guns | Gene X Reader
Second Chance X Fake Relationship → It’s been a few months since you and Gene went your separate ways… well, attempted to. Gene finds it pretty damn difficult to break things off when events pile up and you’re supposed to be his plus one. Though you’re patient with him, Gene knows your patience only lasts for so long… still, what’s one more weekend, right?
“Flare guns go off in my head saying not to call you this late.”
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All My Friends | Garroth X Reader
Soulmates X Fake Dating → Love will strike when you least expect it! At least, that’s what Garroth has been told over and over again. In reality, the boy has already experienced love. He’s just waiting for the right time to act on it. As a matter of fact, his mother’s fancy dinner party, plus one required, is the perfect opportunity to act.
“I can’t seem to settle down ‘cause I’m waiting on you to come around.”
Description: In which you’re caught staring at the boy's exposed torso. There’s no harm in looking. The two of you are friends, after all! || Fluffy Drabbles
Included: Dante, Travis, Jeffory, Garroth, Laurance, Blaze, Vylad, Gene (I got carried away with the number of boys for this one…)
WC: ~3k
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Dante - Embarrassed & Calls You Out
“It’s so hot out here!”
Your eyes snap over to Dante as the words leave his lips. You’re about to make a retort about the humidity and whatnot, but you’re blindsided by the sight before you.
In a rush to relieve himself from the heat, you watch as Dante grabs the neckline of his sweater and pulls it over his head. In his rush, however, the boy fails to realise he’s grabbed the edge of his shirt until it’s already been pulled from his body.
You silently stare at the boy as he awkwardly fumbles around with his partially-removed clothes. He’s just managed to separate the collar of his shirt from his sweater when his eyes suddenly dart around and- whoops!
He caught you.
“Hey!” With his arms still pulled through the sleeve of his sweater, Dante attempts to shield his bare torso from your gaze. It doesn’t hide the flushed expression though. “Stop staring at me!”
Nervous laughter bubbles up in your chest as you awkwardly avert your gaze.
“Don’t laugh at me!” The boy huffs.
“I’m not laughing at you!” You quip in retort.
“Then what are you laughing at, huh?”
You pause for a moment, the image of Dante’s torso still floating around in your mind. He takes good care of his body, that much is clear, but you don’t think he wants to hear that right now. Instead, you shake your head. “Nothing.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Travis - Embarrassed & Doesn’t Call You Out
You don’t usually find yourself sitting at Dante and Travis’ dining room table, but you’ve learned not to question Aphmau when she sends you to retrieve ‘super-secret-amazon-deliveries’ from Dante. In reality you know she just wants to surprise Aaron with a gift, but you don’t understand why she’s chosen Dante as her dealer.
Either way, you’re stuck waiting as Dante rummages around in the basement.
You bide your time by scrolling one of the several social media apps on your phone, but the sound of stomping feet suddenly catches your attention.
You’re not scared since you saw Travis’ car in the driveway, but you’re surprised by how quickly he descends the stairs. And, wait, is he running down the stairs with wet feet?
“Dante!” Travis calls as he descends down the stairs. “Dude, I found your-”
Travis stops at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes locked on your figure at the dining table. You, on the other hand, can only notice how the boy is half-soaked and practically naked.
Your eyes flit between the boy’s exposed torso and the towel that’s loosely draped around his waist. “Hey Travis…” You start. Trying, and failing, to look away from Travis, you awkwardly wave at the boy.
It seems like the sound of your voice is enough to make Travis snap out of his momentary trance as he retreats back upstairs.
His footsteps make it halfway up the stairs before approaching the bottom once again. As if hesitating to face you, Travis hesitates.
“Can you tell Dante I found his hair gel?” The boy asks, though he stays hidden from your gaze.
You hum to yourself, partially amused, before replying. “Sure thing.”
Once you give your reply, the boy retreats for good. It’s almost a shame how quickly he fled. You never would’ve been able to guess that Travis had a sleeper build.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Jeffory - Nonchalant & Calls You Out
You haven’t been going to the gym with Jeffory for a long time, but you’ve gone enough to be surprised by his commitment to sweaters. There’s nothing wrong with wearing a sweater while you work out, but at this point you’ve started to grow curious about what lies beneath.
Yes, you know that you could just ask Jeffory to take his sweater off but that would require a level of shamelessness you have yet to acquire. That being said, you’ve come up with a plan.
Just as your companion is finishing his final few sets, you stand off to the side by the mirror wall.
“All done?” You only glance over at Jeffory as you ask him the question.
You can hear your companion quietly grunt as he places his dumbbell back on the shelf. As soon as you know he’s looking, you flex in the mirror and take a photo of yourself.
Jeffory walks over and leaves a respectable amount of space between him and yourself; exactly what you’d expect from him. “Looking good!” Jeffory compliments you so earnestly.
“Thanks… I’m sure you look better, though…” As you meet the boy’s gaze in the mirror, you’re suddenly unsure of yourself. As a matter of fact, whose bright idea was this, anyway? Getting Jeffory to strip by comparing physiques? That’s never going to happen!
A nervous laugh bubbles up in your chest as you reach for your sweater.
As you start to pull your arms through the fabric of your sweater, you suddenly hear the sound of fabric hitting the floor. You’re pretty sure that can only mean one thing!
Your head snaps around to Jeffory but you’re taken by surprise. Not because of his physique, but because, as it turns out, Jeffory doesn’t wear a shirt under his sweater!
“Jeffory!” The boy’s name slips out unceremoniously.
The boy glances back at you with those green eyes of his before smiling. “I’ve recently started cutting.” He replies. “Juding from your reaction, I assume it’s going well?”
With no thought spared to pick your jaw up off the floor, you nod. “Respectfully, it’s going very well.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Garroth - Nonchalant & Doesn’t Call You Out
As the summer heat begins to wear you down, your only saving grace is the thought of cooling off in your neighbour’s pool. The boys have allowed you, as well as the majority of your friends, the liberty of using their pool. All they have to do is send a text first.
You, of course, sent a text as soon as you saw the heat warning pop up on your phone. You’re pretty mindful not to come too often. You may have the OK, but you’re not one to push your luck.
That being said, you didn’t expect to find a floating body face-down in the pool when you arrived.
“Garroth?” You nearly drop your phone as you run to the edge of the pool. “Garroth?! Are you okay?! What are you-”
You’re cut off as the blonde boy suddenly flips his head to look up at you. “Hey! You finally made it!”
“I finally made it?” The relief and irritation slip out at the same time. “Garroth, why were you floating in the pool face down? I thought you were dead!”
The boy gives you a strange look before shaking his head. “I was seeing how long I could hold my breath!” He explains. “I almost made it to a full minute.”
Finally feeling your adrenaline start to subside, you can’t help but laugh. “You’re such a dork.”
“Hey!” Garroth frowns as he swims to the edge of the pool. He stops right beside you. “Is that any way to talk to the person whose pool you’re about to swim in?”
“No, but I…”
The two of you lock eyes for a moment but it doesn’t last long. As Garroth pulls himself out of the pool, your eyes drift down to his exposed chest.
Gosh, you feel like such a pervert as you watch the water roll off of Garroth’s body, but you also can’t seem to pull your eyes away. Even as the boy follows your gaze down to his body, you can’t find the decency to at least pretend you’re not gawking at his body.
Garroth smiles at you, perhaps knowingly, as he walks by. You try to distract yourself by walking over to a lounge chair, but the real distraction comes when you glance back to see Garroth’s back on full display.
It probably wouldn’t hurt to swing by the pool more often.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Laurance - Plays It Up & Calls You Out
“Take that, soccer boy!” You stick your tongue out at the boy. “You owe me push-ups, loser.”
Though Laurance pouts, the coy tone he takes gives his true feelings away. “Hey! I only lost because you distracted me!” He argues on the brink of his own laughter. “How about double or nothing?”
You laugh and shake your head. “That was the double or nothing round. You don’t get two double or nothings.”
“Can’t you let me skip out on the punishment? It’s so hot out here!”
“Not a chance. Pay up.”
Laurance sighs dramatically as he gets down on his knees. Before he gets down on his hands, however, he looks up with that cheeky grin of his. “Not even if I beg?”
“Not even if you cried.”
The boy holds your gaze for a beat longer before uttering “fine.” As soon as he does, the boy gets down on the ground and begins doing his penalty push-ups. About half way though you can visibly see the boy beginning to struggle.
“You don’t have to do them all at once.” You comment, though it seems like he takes your comment as a challenge instead of a suggestion.
“No way…” Laurance utters breathlessly. “...I may have lost, but I’m no loser.”
Just as you’re about to make another retort, Laurance gets up just long enough to pull off his shirt before returning to his push-ups.
Damn, is it just you or is Laurance secretly built? Like, he has a really nicely defined body beneath that shirt of his.
In the middle of all your admiration, you catch the boy’s eyes as he reaches the peak of current rep. On impulse you nearly look away, but the boy, in all his glory, prevents you from turning away by calling your name.
“Don’t you want to make sure I do all my push-ups?” Laurance makes a show of every push-up now; giving a low grunt with every rep before peeking up to catch your gaze. Every time he looks up, you can see that grin of his growing wider.
Since that’s the way he wants to play, you’ll play too. But you’re not gonna go easy on him. Oh no, not a chance. You’re a winner, after all.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Blaze - Plays It Up & Doesn’t Call You Out
You look up at the address of the building and cross-reference the address to the one Blaze sent you. It’s the same alright. You’d think a construction worker would be working outside but the boy is nowhere in sight!
You already tried to call him and no one can tell you where he is. Didn’t he say he’d meet you at the front doors?
Just as you’re lamenting the loss of your thirty minute break, you catch sight of the boy approaching you. He’s a bit far away but Blaze is pretty hard to miss when he’s wearing his high-visibility vest.
You can tell he’s noticed you, too, since his ears begin to perk.
“You really came! Does that mean you bought me lunch?!” The boy practically runs over to you with his tail wagging.
You roll your eyes and attempt to feign annoyance - though perhaps a part of you isn’t feigning. “Yes, I did. You’re welcome.” You hold the bag out for Blaze to take and he takes it graciously.
“Heck yeah! My favourites!” The boy immediately grabs the Powerade you bought and slams back about half the bottle. In drinking so quickly, however, the drink begins to spill down the corner of his lips and down his neck.
“Your drink isn’t going anywhere.” You comment, your eyes unconsciously trailing after the liquid that’s trickled down beneath his vest. “I, on the other hand, am-”
Your train of thought is abruptly derailed when your eyes catch sight of the boy’s exposed torso beneath his vest. Surely it’s against health and safety to be shirtless while outside, right? I mean, being exposed to the sun is the leading cause of skin cancer! And it would be such a shame if his abs- no! I mean, if your friend got skin cancer!
You look up at Blaze only to see him staring at you. Yet despite being caught, the boy simply hands you his Powerade and opens up his vest.
“It’s so humid outside.” He yawns while stretching his arms above his head. “I’m getting too hot.”
Catching the slight grin tugging on the boy’s lips, you simply utter a quiet “you already are.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Vylad - Teases You & Calls You Out
“I told you not to jump across the stream.” Says Vylad as he gently presses his fingers against your already swollen ankle. “Does it hurt?”
Though you don’t immediately reply, you’re pretty sure the wince that slipped out was more than enough for Vylad to understand the current state of your ankle. At least, you’re pretty sure that’s the case. He dove into his bag pretty quickly after touching your ankle.
You watch curiously as Vylad rummages around for something or other. Of all the things he could’ve pulled, you’re surprised to see an instant-cold pack in his hand.
“Oh no…” You groan, not bothering to hide the embarrassment in your tone. “Don’t tell me you anticipated that something like this would happen.”
Vylad shakes his head. “No, I didn’t. I just like being ready for anything.” The boy looks up at you for a moment, his smile soft and warm, before gesturing for you to hold the cool pack against your ankle.
You comply with the boy’s silent request and watch him dig around in his bag. “What’re you looking for now?” You wonder.
“Something to keep the cold-pack against your ankle.” Vylad replies. “It’s only going to get hotter outside. If we’re out here for too long, we might get heat stroke. And considering the current state of your ankle, It’ll probably be better if I just carry you to the car.”
“Would you like me to help you look?” You offer but Vylad shakes his head.
“No, it’s fine.” Despite what he says, the boy searches his bag with nothing to show. You didn’t even know his bag had so many pockets! When the boy eventually gives up, he turns his gaze to you in a way you could only describe as nervous. “You know I would only resort to this because I can’t find the gauze roll, right?”
Before you have a chance to inquire further, Vylad takes his shirt off.
Not to say you assumed to know what Vylad looked like beneath his shirt, but you can’t say you’re surprised. He’s not what you’d call buff, but he’s fit. You didn’t think all his hiking and yoga would provide the boy with a figure that’s, well, easy on the eyes.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” Vylad’s voice suddenly cuts through your thoughts and causes your gaze to snap up from his chest. “Oh good. You’re done staring.”
“What?!” You gasp. “I wasn’t staring!”
“Are you sure about that? Or are you too embarrassed to admit it?” Vylad smiles at your ever growing embarrassment. Thankfully, knowing the kind of person he is, Vylad doesn’t force you to sit in your flustered state for too long. “Come on. Let’s go home.”
“Wait, what about my ankle? Aren’t you going to tie the cool-pack to it?”
“I already did. Though, I guess you’d only know that if you weren’t staring at my-”
“Vylad!”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Gene - Teases You & Doesn’t Call You Out… Directly…
You lean against the white picket fence of your neighbour and stare down the driveway. You stay there for a little while, staring at the motorcycle laying down in the middle of the pavement.
You’re 90% sure that’s Gene’s motorcycle, but why isn’t he around to claim it? Or at the very least, why isn’t anyone keeping an eye on it? If you were a lesser person, you would take it and hide it around the side of the house. Just a little scare, you know?
Seeing as no one’s around, you walk up to the vehicle to get a closer look. Just as you kneel down beside it, however, the front door to the house swings open.
On instinct you move to stand up but get distracted by the figure standing in the doorframe.
“Oh, hey.” Gene greets you as he draws near. “You checking out my ride?”
It takes a moment for the words to process in your head. You can’t say it’s your fault though. No, the fault would fall solely onto Gene and the fact that he’s emerged without a shirt on.
You try not to be indecent but you can’t help but notice the grease stains across the boy’s forearms, the towel that hangs across the boy’s shoulders and, oh, the fact that his entire torso is on display for everyone to see.
You blink and try to shake any indecent thoughts from your mind.
“It’s not like this is the first time I’m seeing your… motorcycle…” Your voice waivers as the boy kneels down right beside you. Though you only glance over for a moment, you catch the knowing grin that stretches across the boy’s face.
“You wanna take it for a ride?” Gene speaks a little quieter than before. “We can go right now if you’d like.”
“No thanks. I’m pretty sure neither of us are in proper motorcycle riding attire.” You attempt to play coy and roll your eyes, but that ends with you staring down at the boy’s exposed torso once again.
“Don’t worry.” Gene chuckles before shifting ever so slightly. “I promise I’ll be gentle.”
Feeling the boy’s gaze, you look up and suddenly realise Gene is staring right at you. “Perv.”
The grin on Gene’s face grows wider. “If I’m a pervert, what does that make you?”
“I’m just a girl. Can you blame me?” Knowing your face is already flushed, you give the boy a playful shove. “Besides, why go outside shirtless at all?”
Sex with another can tell you a lot about them, but so can the moments right after it. What will you be able to decipher from the Mystreet boys during your one night together?
Various MyStreet Boys X Reader
Sexual Content Ahead: If uncomfortable with this type of content, please DNI! - Minors & Ageless Blogs DNI!
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Vol. 0 - A Prologue
The Introduction
→ Ten Smutty Oneshots, Ten Deco*27 Songs and Ten Minecraft Mystreet Boys.
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Vol. 1 - Love Not Included
Song 1: Rabbit Hole || Dante
→ “If you get lonely, find anybody, just get lucky!”
Song 2: Animal || Blaze
→ “High expectations for love are not allowed!”
Song 3: Salamander || Laurance
→ “Make sure to cool it down so you don’t get burned.”
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
Vol. 2 - I ‘Love’ You
Song 4: Otome Dissection || Zenix
→ “It's good as long as it hurts.”
Song 5: Mozaik Role || Gene
→ “What’s wrong with me loving you, bound together, so nobody can touch you?”
Song 6: Psychogramm || Ein
→ “Hey, if not me, who would you choose?”
✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
Vol. 3 - Craving Your Love
Song 7: Sad Girl Sex || Garroth
→ “Sleepin’ with somebody makes nothing better, just ignites my loneliness.”
Song 8: Vampire || Vylad
→ “I might act tough, but I can’t go against my feelings”
Song 9: MKDR (DSCF) || Zane
→ “We’re perfectly in sync and yet off the beat.”
Song 10: Parasite || Travis
→ “Hey, if you love me, please notice, let me dream.”
The mini-series is complete! If you're looking for a little something to read, take a look and see if you like it. Be warned, it's all smut (unless smut is what you're looking for - no judgement here).
→ “Hey, if you love me, please notice, let me dream.”
╭──────────.★..─╮
Description: Travis, to his core, is a people-pleaser. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that he wants to please you, too. || SMUT, ONESHOT (Whiney!MSub)
Included: MS!Travis X Reader
WC: 2.8k
CW: Strong Sexual Themes | NSFW
One Night Masterlist
╰─..★.──────────╯
Sexual Content Ahead: If uncomfortable with this type of content, please DNI! - Minors & Ageless Blogs DNI!
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
“H-hey… why’d you stop? I-it felt really good, you know?” Travis pouts at the loss of your touch. He really enjoyed the way you were grinding against him, so to have it torn away was like torture! But what came next, the sight of you carefully peeling your clothes off of your body right in front of him, it more than made up for that loss. “Oh fuck… you’re gorgeous.”
The boy’s reaction elicits a quiet chuckle from your lips. You didn’t think this nervous mess of a flirt would be so open to admitting his attraction in such a straightforward manner, but you suppose you can’t blame him either. After all, you’d be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy that hungry look in his eyes.
Pulling off your shirt becomes much more difficult when you’re straddling the boy. It also doesn’t help that his hands are running along the skin of your back as he pulls himself as close to you as he can possibly get.
“You smell so nice.” The boy utters against the partially exposed skin of your stomach. “It makes me wanna kiss you all over. Every part I can get. Will you let me do that? I really wanna.”
You release one corner of your shirt and place it on the underside of your companion’s chin. “You’re gonna have to give me a little space, sweetie.” You gently caress the boy’s jaw with your thumb.
To your surprise, the boy’s brows begin to furrow as he shakes his head. “I can’t.” He says while leaning into your caress. “You feel too good. You look too good.”
Though you open your mouth to speak, the words are quickly lost when you feel the boy unclip your bra. He trails his fingers against the newly exposed skin until he reaches the very edge of your chest.
Travis barely manages to stop his hands from wandering across your chest. As desperately as he wants to see what lies beneath, the boy forces himself to meet your gaze instead.
“Can I take a look? Pretty please?” Though he asks the question, Travis still can’t stop his thumb from trailing across your breast. He watches your expression carefully as his thumb brushes over your nipple. He does it once, then twice, then rolls the nub beneath the pad of his thumb.
When he’s met with no resistance from you, Travis pushes your bra and your half-removed shirt higher up your torso to expose your chest.
“You’re so fucking pretty.” Travis doesn’t allow his eyes to wander away from your chest. The boy is completely and utterly mesmerized by the sight of your body. Could anyone really blame him though? I mean, his eyes are practically level with your breast! What else is he supposed to do but admire you?
Well, to be honest, there’s more Travis could be doing right now.
Travis tests the waters by gently rolling your nipple between his finger and thumb. When that manages to pull a positive reaction from you, the boy pinches the sensitive bud a little bit harder. The way you arch against his touch instantly makes Travis want more. More of your body. More of your moans. More of you.
A jolt of pleasure courses through your body when the boy suddenly latches onto your chest with his lips. At first he teases your nipple with his tongue but he quickly begins sucking at, and around, the sensitive bud.
With your shirt still wrapped around your shoulders, you try to pull away from the boy, but your companion isn’t keen on letting you get away just yet.
As if in retaliation, the boy lets out a quiet hum as he snakes an arm around your waist to pull you back against him. As soon as the distance is closed he goes back to kissing and sucking dark marks onto your chest. This time, when you caress the side of his face with your hand, he doesn’t look up at you.
“You like my chest that much, pretty boy?” You tease.
Your companion blinks up at you, confused. “You think I’m pretty?” He wonders out loud.
You laugh. “Not the reaction I thought I was going to get, but that’s alright.” Using the hand you have on his face, you trail your hand to the back of his head and comb your fingers through his hair.
Just as the boy is beginning to lean into your touch, you take a handful of the boy’s hair and force him against the back of the couch.
“That’s enough hickeys for now, darling.” You huff in a mix of amusement and frustration when the boy pouts. “Aww, what’s with that look?”
“Nothing, I just-”
“You just…?”
Though the boy attempts to avert his gaze, a firm tug to his hair has him looking up at you with his full attention. Finally, he relents. “...I kind of liked it more when you called me… your pretty boy…”
You bite down on your bottom lip to hide the smile that creeps into your expression. “Okay then, my pretty boy…” You keep a firm grip on the boy’s hair as you lean forward - your lips just out of reach from his. “I need you to sit still for a minute. Can you do that for me?”
“Do I have to?” The boy’s voice comes out strained. “Can’t I at least hold you?”
“No can do. I let you hold me earlier, but when I did that I couldn’t get undressed.” You trail kisses down the boy’s jaw and neck until you reach his Adam's apple. You stop just long enough to watch him swallow before leaning forward and pressing your lips against the vulnerable spot.
“Then let me do it for you.” The boy’s tone of voice is quickly growing more impatient the longer you press him against the back of the couch. “Please. I promise I’ll be quick! Just please- I want you so badly.”
“You sure you won’t get distracted?” You can feel the boy shudder beneath your lips as you utter the words against his neck.
He nods. “I’ll be good. I promise.”
“Okay then…” You hear the faintest whine slip from the boy as you pull away from and release your grip from the back of his head. You’re about to make a comment on the little noise but your companion is determined to make good on his word.
As quick as he is desperate, Travis slips his hands up your torso and manages to remove your shirt and your bra at the same time.
Your body is so hot against his fingers. Would it be this hot against his tongue, too?
No! He can’t let himself get distracted… but if it’s just for a moment then surely it’ll be okay, right?
Unable to resist his urges, Travis leans forward and drags his tongue from the middle of your stomach to the crevice of your breasts. He only pauses long enough to hold one of your breasts in his hand before his lips are sucking another hickey onto your soft body.
How is it possible for someone to be so beautiful? You have the perfect curves. The perfect smell. And gosh, Travis just can’t get enough of you. If this were to be his final moments, Travis is pretty sure he’d be dying happy. Not that he wants to die, but your body feels like heaven in his hands. Every kiss drives the boy further into bliss. And your voice! Gosh, Travis can feel himself melting every time you-
“Hey-” The boy is suddenly ripped from his thoughts as both your hands grasp his face and turn it upwards. “What happened to being good?” You ask the boy.
Travis bites down on his lip as an involuntary whimper jumps out of his chest. “I can’t help it. You’re so beautiful!” He protests. “Can you blame me for wanting to admire your body?”
Your soft laughter fills the room as you gently pinch Travis’ cheeks. “If you’re going to spend the whole night admiring me, why don’t you at least spend a little time between my legs?”
Travis can feel his cock twitch in his pants at the thought of your pussy. He nearly forgot that was the reason for this whole excursion in the first place!
The boy nods eagerly and lets you climb off his lap. He gets a little confused when you motion for him to get off the couch but complies with your request regardless. Now, if he thought it was difficult to hold back when you were simply taking off your shirt, then holding himself back while you stripped away the rest of your clothes was a feat in and of itself.
Travis nearly pounces on you the moment your clothes are off. The only reason he doesn’t is because you’re one step ahead of him.
After kicking away your remaining article of clothing, you tentatively place your hands against your companion’s shoulders. His eyes rake over the sight of your naked body, practically begging you to allow him access. It’s a tempting plea, but you won’t give him what he wants. Not yet, anyway.
“Wanna get down on your knees, pretty boy?” It’s less of a question and more like a command for the boy to follow - which he does immediately. You smile. “So you can listen to me.”
Though the boy pouts as he looks up at you, his fingers are trailing up the backside of your thigh. “Of course I listen. I just… I also tend to get carried away. Is that so bad?”
You play coy and lift your gaze in mock contemplation. “I guess that depends on why you get carried away.”
“For you, of course!” The boy answers so earnestly that you can’t help but comply when he gently guides you backwards into the seat of the couch. Once you’re seated, your companion pulls you closer to the edge of the couch.
You watch with bated breath as the white haired boy pushes your legs apart and plants kisses along the inside of your thigh. As each kiss draws nearer to your ever-growing arousal, the sounds of your own anticipation begin to leak out.
“Your legs are so beautiful.” The boy sighs against the soft flesh of your thigh before sucking against the sensitive skin. “So soft and warm. I bet I’d have the best sleep of my life if you let me use your legs like a pillow. I might even get addicted to it.”
“I think you already are.”
The boy hums in response to your retort but it doesn’t seem like he’s paying very much attention to you. Rather, the boy has set his sights on the prized possession you keep between your legs.
Using his fingers to spread the lips of your pussy, your companion runs his tongue from bottom to top. He does it a few times. Every stroke of his tongue causes more arousal to gather in the pit of your stomach. It very nearly comes to a breaking point when the boy suddenly presses his tongue flat against your clit.
At first he rubs small circles against your clit, each one pulling a hum of pleasure from your lips, but he eventually allows the movement of your hips to guide his tongue. With that, you can feel yourself steadily marching toward your pinnacle.
Travis works his tongue tirelessly against your pussy. Though he’s very careful to keep the pace, motion, and pressure exactly the same, bringing you to your climax is proving a bit difficult. Not because you’re hard to pleasure, but because the boy feels like he might cum at any moment.
With the taste of you on his tongue and the sound of your pretty little moans filling his ears, Travis can’t deny how devastatingly close he is to cumming in his pants. He considers it a miracle that he’s held back for this long!
A part of the boy is glad that his lower half is obscured by the couch. With one arm wrapped around your thigh (keeping your leg propped up on the couch) and the other palming the erection straining against his jeans, Travis can only imagine how pathetic he must look right now.
You, on the other hand…
Head tilted back in pleasure, leg up on the couch to expose your dripping pussy, and tits out on full display, Travis can’t imagine a more accurate depiction of perfection.
The longer he looks up to admire you, the closer he gets to his own climax. He knows he shouldn’t stare if he wants to preserve some of his dignity, but he’ll be damned if he wastes a single moment with you. Even if it means cumming in his pants, Travis is determined to see you come undone by his doing.
He’s so close.
You’re so close.
“Shit, I think I’m gonna-”
“Wait-!”
The boy hesitates as he stares up at you from between your legs. It looks like a thousand words are racing through his mind, though it doesn’t seem like he’s going to say any of them. Instead, he utters a quiet “why’d you tell me to wait?”
You smile at the boy softly. “I heard you.”
You watch as the boy bites down on his lower lip, his brows furrow as he attempts to play it off. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Don’t lie.” You lean forward and comb your fingers through the boy’s hair. “If you think you’re going to cum, you might as well finish properly.”
“Wha- properly?” The boy peers up at you confused, though you’re certain that confusion is only a result of his overwhelming arousal. “Are you sure?”
You nod. “I’m on the pill.”
It takes a moment for the weight of your words to sink in, but once they do the boy is yours.
Completely yours.
You don’t bother to make your companion strip down completely. Rather, the moment he can be inside of you, he is.
His cock fills you completely and provides you with the satisfaction you’ve been searching for this entire time. You don’t bother trying to hide your pleasure anymore. Rather, you let yourself drown in the feeling of pleasure derived from the boy’s impatient hips.
As the boy continues to thrust into you at a relentless pace, the room becomes filled with the sounds of your companion’s moaning. He keeps his body as close to yours as possible as he draws ever nearer to his climax.
“You feel so good. I’m gonna cum. I really don’t think I can hold on anymore-” He’s practically whimpering at this point. “Can I cum now? Pretty please? I want to… I want to cum so badly.”
You nod your head between your own breathless moans. “Go ahead, pretty boy.”
The moment those words fall from your lips, the boy’s movements become irregular and his hips begin to stall. Before long, the boy pulls out and rests his head against your lower stomach as he takes deep, slow breaths.
The two of you stay like that for a while - the warmth of his body impossible to ignore - until you eventually shift beneath his grasp.
“How do you feel?” You ask while brushing aside some of the boy’s hair.
His eyes meet yours immediately. “So good…” He utters breathlessly. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this before.”
“Is that a good thing?” You wonder.
“I’m not sure.” The boy admits. “Did you, um…”
You hesitate beneath the weight of your companion’s gaze, unsure of how he’ll feel if you tell him the truth, but you eventually reply honestly. “I almost did.”
“Almost.” The boy repeats that word as his eyes slowly fall down your body. “Damn… I’m so sorry. I should’ve just-”
“No! It’s okay.” You use your hand to direct his gaze back to you. “It felt really good.”
The boy pulls himself closer to you as he ponders something silently in his head. As his fingers begin to trail up and down the side of your hips, you can feel the boy gently nuzzling his head against your lower stomach.
Finally, the boy looks up at you once again.
“You know who has two thumbs and would love the chance to redeem himself?”
You feign ignorance. “Who?”
In a similar fashion to what you would’ve expected him to do earlier in the night, the white haired boy uses his thumbs to point to himself with a grin. “This guy.” Though he holds that goofy grin for a decent amount of time, it doesn’t take long for the joke to melt away into something more sincere. “What do you say?”
You gently push the boy off of your stomach and grasp his face between your hands. Before he has a chance to speak, you place a soft, delicate kiss against his lips. “How does your bedroom sound?”
I just read your Pick me fix, And omg I absolutely loved it your like so underrated I love the writing omg like I'm having a hard time on thinking of ways to say something good about you XDDD
holy MOLY i just finished reading Pick Me like twelve seconds ago
im OBSESSED!!! fantastic work, genuinely cannot wait for more! i will admit i was mildly confused as everything was all going on but as it all tied together in the end???? GAGGED. the way you write is riveting
will be reading everything else you have to offer in the meantime, thank you for your great service to this fandom 🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️
Thank you for reading! It’s been a while since I got to write for the MS cast properly, so I went a little overboard (the one shot/prologue was only supposed to be around 10k lmao).
Description: Halloween has finally rolled around. It comes as no surprise to you that Lucinda, your roommate, is putting together a Halloween-themed block party! You’d be remiss if you didn’t lend her a hand. She is probably, by your own admission, your only friend. | (VariousXReader)
Included: Dante, Garroth, Gene, Laurance, Zenix
WC: 23k
Notes: Reads more like a one-shot than a Prologue | Use of (Y/n) | Link to Ao3 if you’d prefer to read it there.
╰─..★.──────────╯
No one enjoys Halloween quite as much as Lucinda does. Not even you, her roommate. That’s not to say you dislike Halloween, but honestly, how could you possibly compare your enjoyment for the holiday to the woman who stayed up all night brewing potions to decorate the entire street? She even woke up early to use them!
A busy afternoon of setting up gazebos, jack-o-lanterns and snacks finally pays off when the clock hits 7pm. You can’t help but want to buy Lucinda a new brewing stand for all the work she did, but when you told her that she took it as an invitation to dress you for the night.
October isn’t the coldest month in the year but it sure feels like it is when you’re dressed in an outfit fit for a renaissance fair. Though you wanted to protest, you did promise Lucinda that you’d wear whatever she got for you. It was, in her words, ‘the least you could do after promising her a new brewing stand.’ You both know that’s not what you meant but you digress. Cold as you may be, you’d be lying if you said you didn’t feel fancier than usual.
“Lucinda!” You shout, attracting a little too much attention for the number of names you called. You’d use your phone but the dress you’re wearing doesn’t have pockets. You’ve already walked up and down the street two times but still you’ve yet to find the woman who dressed you. “Lucinda, where did you go?!”
“Boo!” A pair of hands clasp onto your shoulders and you’re forced to swallow your fear. “Did I scare you?”
“Laurance!” Your face unconsciously scrunches as you turn and recognize the boy who took it upon himself to startle you. “Why did you think that was a good idea?”
An apologetic smile pulls across the boy’s lips. You can’t help but notice a slight shift in his gaze after his eyes have scanned over your Halloween costume. Before you can question the change, Laurance suddenly takes a knee and wraps his hands around one of your own. “My sincerest apologies, fair maiden, but I assure you it’s for the greater good.” The boy is bending down and pressing a kiss against your knuckles before you even have a chance to get embarrassed.
You stand there speechlessly as Laurance continues to kneel before you. As you stare down at the boy a chill runs down your body. You’re not sure if it’s because of the cold or if it’s because Laurance is down on one knee in front of you. Maybe a little bit of both? You want to say something, you really do, but words continue to evade you.
“What do you say, m’lady?” The boy peers up at you with that ever-cheeky grin of his. “Am I forgiven?”
You finally tear your gaze away from the boy, embarrassed. “Why are you doing that?”
“Doing what?”
“Taking a knee.” Still avoiding eye contact, you bend down and attempt to pull Laurance to his feet. You’re surprised to be met with resistance. He doesn’t usually take the bit this far. Is it because it’s Halloween?
Even when you try a little harder ,Laurance hardly budges. If anything your seemingly futile attempts to pull Laurance to his feet only serve to amuse him further.
“I didn’t realise it pained you so much to see me beneath you.” You can practically feel the grin on Laurance’s face as he coos at you. “You’re so cute.”
“What?”
The force of Laurance’s resistance disappears and you’re thrown wildly off balance. If losing your balance wasn’t enough to disorient you then getting tugged forward into Laurance’s chest was more than enough to do it. If you weren’t so surprised then you might’ve been impressed by how quickly Laurance stood up for his little maneuver.
Your first instinct is to step out of Laurance’s grasp, hopefully out of his reach, but in doing so your shoe catches the edge of your dress and you start to fall backwards… again… You suppose you’re rather lucky that Laurance has a firm grip on you, but you’re not about to admit something like that.
“Is this better, m’lady?” The boy places his finger on the underside of your chin and lifts your gaze to his. Gosh, have his eyes always been this blue?
A lump begins to form in your throat as you stare up at Laurance. Always a smooth talker, this one. “Y-you… you flirt.”
“You say that, but you know I only flirt like this with you.” His lips begin to curl upward and you just know he’s ready to double down. As much as you swoon, you know his words are harmless. He is, as you’ve already said, a massive flirt.
“You’re lucky we don’t work together anymore.” You blurt out, staring up at Laurance with a gaze you hope will convey your true feelings. “This would get you written up in a heartbeat.”
Laurance holds you a beat longer before releasing you from his grasp. As much as you enjoy your freedom, you can’t deny how much you enjoyed his warmth.
“So what are you supposed to be?” You ask the boy. “Some sort of ninja?”
“A power ninja.”
“A power ninja…?” You repeat. “You do know that real ninjas don’t typically dress in black, right? It’s a common misconception that stems from 18th century Japan. When it comes to stageplays, stagehands dress in all black and are expected to be ignored by the audience. That was until a certain play where one of the so-called stagehands jumped out and killed one of the actors in the play, revealing that they weren’t a stagehand, but an assassin! It was so shocking that-” You suddenly stop mid-explaination in the fear that you’ve begun boring the boy. You trail away from your previous thought with a quiet laugh. “Anyway, the costume looks good on you.”
It seems like the boy hesitates to reply for a moment but he eventually follows your lead, puffing out his chest as if he were a superhero. “Thanks! I think so too.” As he does, the tight fabric of his cheap costume pulls tight against his chest. You and everyone in a five meter radius can blatantly see the definition of his muscles. It’s certainly a sight for sore eyes, but you’re not one to stare.
Then again, you’re pretty sure you’re staring right now.
“Laurance! There you are!”
Both you and Laurance turn to see the newcomer. To your surprise, another power ninja has joined the frey. “Are you a power ninja too, Dante?” You ask as the blue haired boy approaches.
“So you’re familiar with The Power Ninjas?” Dante grins as he reaches you and Laurance.
“Not really.” You admit. “I only assumed that you and Laruance were wearing matching couple’s costumes.”
“What?!” Both boys blurt at the same time. After looking between each other in bewilderment, Dante confronts you.
“How could you say that?!” The boy gasps. “The Power Ninjas are iconic!”
“Yeah! They’re, like, the cornerstone of any boy’s adolescent years!” Laurance adds.
You give the boys a nod, a smile slowly creeping up onto your lips. “And you’re dressed up as power ninjas because you’re adolescent boys, right?”
“Wha- no!” Dante’s mouth falls agape for a moment but he quickly composes himself again. “You wouldn’t recognize them because you’re so caught up in liking anime and… and idols!”
“You’re right, I do like my anime idols. That’s something I thank KC for every day. You’re not insulting her tastes, are you?” You can’t help but enjoy how Dante starts to squirm beneath the weight of your implication.
“No, I- that’s not what-” Dante huffs and crosses his arms. “I’m just surprised you didn’t dress up in one of those idol costumes tonight.”
“Right! I saw you post about it on Instagram the other day.” Laurance adds. “How come you’re not wearing that tonight?”
“KC and I couldn’t find enough girls to cosplay the entire group.” You shrug in an attempt to mask any lingering disappointment. “We probably should’ve chosen a girl group that was a little smaller than six but I… I got carried away…”
“Just a group of six? Who doesn’t have five friends willing to dress up together?” Dante blurts, taking you by surprise. Judging from the way he starts biting the corner of his mouth, you think the boy might’ve surprised himself with what he said, too - much less the fact that it came out so unceremoniously.
“Yeah, I know. I’m pretty lame…” Your attempts at a laugh are painfully forced.
“No, I-” Dante clears his throat but the words he wants to say get caught in his chest. You know what he meant but you can’t bring yourself to clear the air. After all, you’re pretty sure he’s right.
What kind of person doesn’t have five other people who are willing to do a group costume together? No, what kind of person plans a group cosplay without a group? Why do you always get your hopes up like this? Why can’t you just-!
Nevermind.
It’s just another reason you’re so-
“I think what Dante meant to say was that coordinating a group of six is basically a full-time job.” Laurance finally interjects - perhaps a bit louder than he intended but he’s quick to adjust his tone. “It’s difficult enough to get three people to agree on pizza toppings! Let alone a whole group cosplay.”
Dante nods eagerly, “Y-yes! Exactly! I could barely get Laurance to be a Power Ninja with me, let alone the others. It’s basically a miracle we managed to coordinate tonight!”
You smile at the boys and this time it feels a little less forced. “Right,” you concede, “besides, the costume Lucinda chose for me is a way better fit for a night like this.”
“Lucinda chose that for you?” Dante wonders.
“Yeah…” A soft laugh bubbles up in your chest as you glance down at your outfit. “No wonder it’s not my style, right?”
Dante hums for a moment, his eyes raking over your costume honestly before meeting your gaze. “I think you make the dress look really pretty.”
You stare at Dante expectantly, as if waiting for the ball to drop, but his smile is an honest one. You might’ve even called him a flirt if not for the way his expression slowly began to shift beneath the weight of your gaze.
Before either of you can really address the compliment, two more boys enter the fray.
“Hey-hey! Garroth, I found them!” A certain white-haired boy latches himself onto Laurance and Dante; one arm across each of the boys’ shoulders. Travis hardly wastes any time on them, however, as his attention is immediately drawn to you. “Woah, I didn’t realise my fellow power ninjas were hanging out with such a beautiful maiden!” Similar to what Laurance had done earlier, Travis dips down onto one knee before you. “Milady.”
You indulge the boy with a small courtesy. “Sir Travis.”
“Hey! Why does he get to be ‘Sir Travis’ but I’m not ‘Sir Laurance?’ I was way more charming than him!” Laurance pouts.
“I’ve clearly found favour with the young lady.” Travis teases Laurance. “Better luck next time, lover-boy.” As Travis goes to wrap his arm around your shoulder you quickly duck under his arm and take a step back - this time you’re much more careful not to trip over your long dress.
“Okay, that’s more than enough bachelors for one moment.” You announce. “If I stay here any longer then I’ll never find Lucinda.”
“Oh, Lucinda? I saw her a few minutes ago!” Garroth suddenly chimes in and causes your head to snap in his direction. Considering how much of a presence the boy holds, you hadn’t realised was standing beside you.
“You did? Where is she?”
“She was two houses down from here… somewhere near the apple bobbing buckets. Oh, but that was around the time we were all-”
“-Garroth!”
You and Garroth both turn toward Laurance in a heartbeat, confused. “Yeah?”
More than anything, you’re surprised that all three of the boys are glaring daggers at the blonde standing at your side. Has something unsavoury happened to your roommate? Judging by the looks on their faces, none of the boys will spill the beans. At this point your best option becomes clear.
“Can you take me to Lucinda, Garroth?” You don’t wait for Garroth to reply - you already know he’ll say yes. You also know that the other boys will say no. “You will? Thanks!”
Without a single moment wasted you grab onto Garroth’s arm and start pulling him in the direction of the apple bobbers. The other three boys say something or other in protest but you pay little mind to them. All you’re focused on is getting away without losing your footing (and without losing Garroth).
Dragging Garroth along while the others try to stop you feels like something akin to nostalgia, though you can’t say why. As far as you can remember, Garroth has always been the one leading you, not the other way around. Yet as you run along with Garroth behind you, you can’t help but smile.
“Hey, I think we passed the apple bobbing station-!” Garroth’s voice cuts through your thoughts. “Shouldn’t we stop running?”
“What?” Your head whips around instinctively and nearly causes you to stumble. Lucky for you, Garroth is quick to notice and catches you before you fall. You steady yourself against him, offering a quick smile in thanks, but your mind is still caught between the boys, Lucinda and, well… Garroth.
Though you’re still catching your breath you turn to look at Garroth. If the grin on his face is any indication of how he’s feeling then you’re certain he’s entertained by your antics, if not a bit confused. You didn’t mean to drag him into your little get-away plan, but… well, you meant to grab him but you’re not sure why you grabbed him. You just did.
It’s not like you can’t find Lucinda on your own. It’s just… you suppose some part of you wanted Garroth to go with you.
“Is there something on my face?” Asks Garroth, making you aware of your own staring.
You shake your head and swallow the quiet laughter bubbling up in your chest from your own embarrassment. “No, you’re good. I was just getting caught up in my own head.” You explain. “You said you saw Lucinda around the apple bobbing buckets, right?”
Garroth nods. “Yup, that’s the place! But I’m pretty sure she’s long gone by now.”
“What? Why?”
“Because Ivan was hanging out around there, too.”
“Ivan… Ivan…” You mumble the foreign name trying to spark some sort of realization. “Ivan?” Your jaw falls slack for a moment. “As in Lucinda’s cheating ex?!”
“Yeah, he was out and about with a few of his friends.” Garroth explains. “Lucinda didn’t want anything to do with him but he seemed pretty insistent on sticking around. That’s when-”
“He’s still here?! What an asshole!” Your voice comes out a little louder than you’d intended it to and causes a few glares to be thrown your way. Even Garroth seems caught off guard by your sudden outburst. “Oh, I mean… I guess he…” You start to stumble over your words but Garroth quickly cuts you off with a gentle hand on your shoulder.
“I get it.” He assures you. “Guys who cheat on their girlfriends are scum. Actually, anyone who cheats on their partner is scum.”
You breathe a quick sigh and nod your head. Thank Irene Garroth isn’t the kind of person to take that the wrong way. The last thing you needed was to isolate yourself before you had a chance to settle in. Speaking of settling in, you think you catch a glimpse of the woman who brought you to the neighbourhood in the first place. Before you can confirm if it’s really Lucinda, she disappears into the crowd that’s gathered behind Garroth.
“I think I saw Lucinda!” You announce, grabbing Garroth and dragging him along to where you think your witch of the hour has gone.
It’s a bit difficult to push through the crowd that’s gathered but you eventually make it to the edge. Much to your dismay, Lucinda is nowhere to be seen. Not all hope is lost, however, as you catch sight of another familiar face at the tin can alley.
You nudge Garroth slightly, getting the blonde's attention before approaching the black haired boy at the edge of the driveway. You approach slowly to avoid taking him by surprise but you’re pretty sure he saw you before you saw him.
“A ninja and a pirate?” The boy hums without sparing a glance. “You don’t see that every day.”
“That’s because it’s not Halloween every day.” A short, amused huff pushes past your lips as you give your reply. “Though considering your own attire, I guess you wouldn’t know that.”
The boy glances over at you and Garroth long enough to utter an amused “touché” before launching a ball at the cans sitting on the other side of the table.
“Only five of six?” You tease. “I thought you were better than that, Gene.”
You can tell he’s holding back his laugh from the way his mouth curls up in the corner. “Hey, go easy on me. I just got here.” Gene crosses to the other side of the makeshift carnival game and begins picking the cans up off the ground. “Are you two here to play, too?”
“Not really. We’re actually looking for Lucinda.” You admit.
“Lucinda, huh?” Gene repeats. “What for?”
The urge to laugh climbs up into your throat but you swallow it down quickly. “She uh…” You clear your throat but the nerves just keep coming. “It’s silly but the two of us are supposed to go into the haunted house together.”
“That sounds fun.”
“Y-yeah, it can be…” You shift in place beneath the gaze of your companions. “I’m just-”
“Scared?” Gene takes the words right out of your mouth. Though you want to deny it, you can’t. You know better.
He knows you better.
“Of course you’re a little scared.” Garroth suddenly chimes in with a hand on your shoulder. “Haunted houses are supposed to be scary. That’s the whole point!”
“I mean…” You bite back the words before they can leave your mouth, turning to Garroth with your best smile. “Yeah. I’m just getting inside my own head. Nothing to worry about!”
It looks like Gene has more to say but you’re pretty sure the look on your face is what causes him to falter. He eventually looks down at the ball in his hands before tossing it over to you.
“Here,” he says, “if you can knock down all six cans then you can go into the haunted house with Lucinda. If you can’t, you go with me instead. I’ll even let you throw as many times as you want.”
“Wait, what?” Your brows furrow in confusion at the boy’s sudden suggestion. “Why would I agree to that? Isn’t Lucinda the one you’re competing with?”
“Not really.” Gene shrugs as he walks over to you, only stopping when he’s wedged himself between you and Garroth. “If you really want to go into the haunted house with Lucinda then you’ll throw the ball. Unless you don’t want to go, that is.”
“I- of course I want to go with Lucinda!” You insist. “I’m just… my arms have been a bit sore recently. Probably because of all the gazebos I put up today! Yeah. I won’t be able to make a good throw at this rate.”
“I can do it for you.” Offers Garroth as he steps out from behind Gene.
Gene’s brows raise slightly as he hears Garroth volunteer for you. Then he smiles. “Yeah,” Gene says, “If you don’t think you can do it then you can let Garroth throw instead.”
You feel that laugh from before starting to creep up your throat once again. “But that’s not fair, is it? Garroth was literally a-”
“I’ll allow it.” Gene cuts you off with nothing more than a sly grin. “Go on then. Give the ball to Garroth.”
Though you hesitate to comply, you eventually hand the ball over to Garroth. You should’ve known that Gene would back you into a corner like this. You can’t say you’re happy about it, but at least Lucinda isn’t here to bear witness to it all. If she was here then that feisty roommate of yours would’ve torn Gene limb from limb.
You try not to focus on Gene’s lingering gaze as you and Garroth walk over to the throwing line. Instead, you decide to focus on Garroth. It’s been a while since you last saw him throw, let alone pitch. At least you can enjoy watching him work.
Garroth, of course, does not fail to disappoint you. He does a few quick warm-ups and brief stretches before taking aim.
Left foot goes up.
Elbow stays above the shoulder.
He shifts his weight across his body and then-
Oh… that must be why you’ve been feeling so nostalgic.
Garroth, perhaps a little harder than he needs to, launches the ball with a surprising amount of speed. The baseball soars straight through to the intended targets and sends the poor cans flying every which way.
“Booyah! First try!” Garroth cheers, turning to you with that big grin of his. “Did you see that?”
“Wow Garroth, that was awesome!” You hide your true feelings behind a smile, meeting Garroth’s excitement with some of your own. “I’ve gotta be honest though, you’re so… rusty.”
The moment Garroth hears your words his face begins to flush. “Hey!” He argues, “it’s been at least six years since the last time I threw a fast ball! I thought I did pretty well.”
“You did really well! It’s just-” In an instant you burst out laughing and draw closer to the boy to nudge his arm. “Okay okay! I’m sorry, Garroth. Your fastball is still impeccably good. It’s way better than when you were thirteen, anyway.”
Garroth’s pout lessens and he gently nudges you back. “Oh yeah I am.” He beamed. “I wasn’t named Falcon Claw’s rookie pitcher of the year for nothing. I was good!”
“Good enough to knock over a bunch of cans.” You chuckle.
“Yeah,” Gene suddenly interjects and motions in the direction the ball was thrown, “good enough to lose the ball, too.”
“Oh…” Garroth rubs the back of his neck a little awkwardly. “I guess I went a little overboard.”
“Ya think?” Gene uses one hand to rub the temples of his head, effectively shielding his eyes from your view.
Before Gene has a chance to say anything more you grab Garroth by the hand and pull him in the direction of the now-missing baseball. “Come on then,” you chirped, “let’s go find that baseball.”
As you and Garroth begin sweeping the darkened yard in hopes of finding the lost baseball, you can’t help but notice your companion’s grim mood. He almost seems like a kicked puppy. You’d be remiss not to cheer him up at a time like this. After all, you’re more or less the reason why the ball got lost in the first place.
“Your pitching form has gotten a lot more refined since you were thirteen.” Your comment causes the boy to glance in your direction. “But your form seems more or less the same.”
“What do you mean?”
“You still look over your shoulder before throwing the ball.”
Garroth’s searching slows for a moment as he tilts his head back. He stays like that for a moment, as if replaying every pitch he’s ever thrown, before a short laugh erupts from him. “Yeah,” he admits, “I guess I never broke the habit. I tried to, though.”
You pause your searching long enough to glance over at your companion. You’re surprised to find, however, that he’s already looking at you. “You tried to?”
Garroth holds your gaze a little longer before turning away and chuckling to himself. “Yeah… My coach in high school tried his hardest to make me break the habit. He’d stand over my shoulder during practice and glare at me while I pitched! Isn’t that crazy?”
“He seriously did that?”
“He even tried wearing scary masks to make me focus on the pitch! Then there was that one time I had to do 10 pushups every time I looked over my shoulder. Not fun.”
You shake your head as quiet laughter erupts from your mouth. “He did all that just to get you to break a habit?”
“Yeah!” Garroth echoes your laughter with a chuckle of his own. “Kind of crazy, right?”
“Very crazy.” You hum in agreement. “Clearly none of it worked though. Why’s that?”
“Oh- that’s…” Garroth trails away for a moment. His silence peaks your interest and causes you to look over at the boy. In contrast, Garroth has his face turned away from you - a deliberate attempt to hide his expression from you. You won’t pry.
“It’s okay,” you start, but the boy shakes his head.
“N-no! It’s nothing bad or embarrassing! It’s just that-” Garroth clears his throat before turning to meet your gaze. It’s hard to tell in the dark but you think his face is rather flushed. “You were always sitting in the dugout… so I guess I got used to seeing you sitting on the bench.”
“Oh…” You pause for a moment, unsure what to say next. You didn’t think Halloween to be the kind of event where people get sentimental but the feeling was starting to creep up on you. “That makes sense. I mean, I was the daughter of your coach. Even if it was only for a year.”
Garroth chuckles to himself with a nod. “Time flies.”
“It really does…” Trying not to let yourself get too distracted from the task at hand, you kneel down near a few shrubs and start feeling around for the baseball. It isn’t long before your fingers brush across the smooth surface of a baseball. “Hey Garroth! I think I-”
“I found it!” Garroth suddenly exclaims, holding the baseball for you to see. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to cut you off there. What were you saying?”
“Wha- nothing!” You immediately pull your hand out from under the bush when Garroth reveals the baseball. “I just thought that I’d found the baseball.”
“Maybe it’s a second baseball?” Garroth suggests. “Here, I’ll see if I can reach it.”
You’re about to give a reply but a shifting in the bushes causes the words to get caught in your throat. Is there something, no, someone hiding in the bush?
Surely not… right?
You can’t stop the dreadful feeling of fear as it swells in your chest, but the fact that Garroth is walking towards you makes you feel a little less anxious. As soon as he kneels down beside you, however, a figure jumps out of the shrubs with a loud “boo!”
A shrill scream pierces your ears, but it’s not you who’s screaming. Rather, it’s your companion who’s been struck by fear. As soon as he realises there’s no real threat, Garroth quickly recomposes himself.
“Oh my Irene…” Garroth breathes in relief, “I thought I was a goner.”
“I don’t know about being a goner, but…” You release your hold around Garroth’s arm - something you didn’t even realise had happened until now - and look up at the person who’d jumped out of the bush.
You thought you would recognize your would-be scarer when you laid eyes upon him but no… he’s just… some guy.
“Who the heck are you?” You don’t mean to let the irritation slip out but it does.
The guy laughs as he steps out of the bush. “Oh, don’t you worry your pretty little head about that.” He sneers. “I’m just a guy who enjoys a little scare on Halloween.”
You can feel your brows furrowing at this guy’s statement. I mean, yeah, it’s Halloween but what kind of person goes around scaring strangers? Jumping out random bushes, especially??
“Why don’t you find some other way to entertain yourself, Ivan? We’re already doing you a favour by letting you stick around the neighbourhood.” Garroth suddenly stands up, his tall figure looming over the guy- wait, Ivan??
“This is Ivan?” You shoot up from the ground and unconsciously allow yourself to slip behind Garroth ever so slightly. Though you make an effort to bite back any unnecessary animosity, you don’t feel as bad about the irritation in your tone anymore. “He even looks like scum.”
“He is scum.” Garroth affirms.
“Hey, words hurt ya’know?” Ivan, quite obviously, feigns hurt. He even places a hand on his chest like your words had pierced his heart. You doubt they did. “Didn’t your mommy ever tell you to be nice to strangers?”
“I’m pretty sure most parents teach their kids that strangers are dangerous.” Garroth glances down at you for a brief moment before facing Ivan once again.
“What’s going on over here?” The familiar voice of Gene cuts through the tension in the air - though you’re rather inclined to say that his presence only causes more tension to arise. He walks across the yard and stands on the other side of you, effectively using himself and Garroth as a wall between you and Ivan.
Ivan looks Gene up and down before quirking a brow. “What’s it to ya, Count von Count?”
A huff involuntarily escapes Gene’s lips at his newly given nickname. “Look, I’ll be generous with you since it’s Halloween. Get out of here before I count to three and you get to keep all your teeth. Sound good?”
“Oh~ looks like Count von Count is gonna teach us how to count to three!” Ivan jeers. “Think you can do that on your own, or do you need me to help you?”
“This motherfucker-”
“You know what-?” You grab onto the sleeves of both Garroth and Gene before anything untoward can happen, causing both of the boys to look at you. “I think the three of us are going to leave. Have fun with your bush, Ivan. It’s probably the only one you’ll be in since cheating on Lucinda, anyway.”
You drag yourself and the boys away before Garroth or Gene have a chance to protest. By the time you manage to get back to the light of the street, your heart has just started to settle down again.
After a moment of silence, Gene finally speaks up. “I didn’t know you had that in you.” An amused look spreads across the boy’s face.
“Yeah,” Garroth adds. “You really put him in his place.”
“Oh, right…” You can’t help but avert your gaze from the two boys. You’re glad they seem amused. You, on the other hand, can slowly feel your own embarrassment creeping up on you as your adrenaline begins to fall. “I wasn’t really thinking about it. I just… I think I should find Lucinda.”
Gene raises a brow as a smile tugs on the corner of his lips; it’s the kind of shift that perfectly reminds you how you got here in the first place. “So you can go into the haunted house with her, yeah?”
Your jaw tightens for a moment before you manage to nod your head in reply. “Yup.” You quip. “Something I was going to do whether Garroth knocked those cans down or not.”
“Right.” Gene drags out his response in a way you could only describe as very… him. “You know what? Maybe Garroth and I will take a stroll through the house after you and Lucinda.”
Garroth, upon hearing his name, suddenly perks up. “Really?”
“Really.” Gene nods at the boy.
As Garroth opens his mouth to reply to Gene’s offer, another familiar voice calls for the blonde from down the street. As a matter of fact, they don’t sound that far away at all. Garroth looks between you and Gene before shaking his head. “Sorry Gene, I don’t think I’ll be able to go with you right now.” Garroth laments. The boy throws a cautious glance over his shoulder before his gaze settles back onto you. “It sounds like the boys are looking for me.”
“Is it important?” The words come out a little faster than you meant them to. You’re pretty sure Garroth notices this, too.
The blonde boy spares you a quiet but warm smile. “Should I come back if it’s not?”
You shake your head. “No, it’s okay. Laurance and the other boys need their fellow power ninja. Don’t let me hold you back.”
It looks like Garroth is about to say something more but he never does. Instead he offers you and Gene a quick goodbye before splitting away from the two of you. You have to stop yourself from reaching for Garroth as he disappears into the crowd. Granted the street isn’t that crowded so you could’ve gone after him if you really wanted to, but you don’t. That doesn’t mean you don’t miss him as soon as he’s gone, though.
“Where did Garroth run off to?”
Your head turns at the sound of the familiar voice, though it notably isn’t Gene. Rather, you’re met with the appearance of both Sasha and Zenix - the latter of which had made the inquiry.
While Sasha is dressed up in a simple black gown, her long silver hair giving her the appearance of a wraith, Zenix is done up in a much more elaborate zombie costume. You particularly note that his makeup is done up impeccably.
Gene shrugs in regards to Zenix’s question. “I don’t know… and frankly, I don’t really care.”
“Whatever. His costume wasn’t even that cool anyway.” Zenix mutters, seemingly disinterested but still looking in the direction Garroth disappeared. “What was he even dressed as? Was he, like, some sort of power ninja or something?”
“He is, actually.” You point out, causing Zenix’s gaze to redirect over to you. “I’m surprised you recognized it. Dante told me that its target demographic is teenage boys so I-”
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure your target demographic is also teenage boys, so- ow! The hell was that for?!” Zenix is cut off when Sasha graciously smacks him on the back of the head.
“Too far, Zenix.” Though she’s scolding her companion, it comes off less like scolding and more like a matter-of-fact statement due to her monotone delivery. “At least let her finish her sentence before you start trying to protect your ego.”
“What?! I’m not-” Zenix averts his gaze from you with a quiet huff. “...whatever.”
As silence begins to settle your eyes dart from person to person. Rather than allowing the conversation to fall back into Gene’s hands - only Irene knows what he’d end up roping you into - you start to lead the conversation in a more desirable direction.
“So what have you guys been up to?” You ask.
“Oh, you know… we’ve just been going around…” Sasha replies to you first. You can’t decipher her true feelings beneath her monotone delivery so you assume she’s being sincere. “We’ve been looking at all the different decorations and whatnot.”
“Did anything catch your eye?”
“There’s a handful of skeletons a few houses down.” Sasha nods her head in the general direction from which she and Zenix had just arrived; presumably the direction where the skeletons are. “Those were pretty cool.”
“That does sound cool.” Your eyes naturally follow the direction Sasha pointed out but you doubt you can catch a glimpse of the skeletons from over here. “I should check that out later.”
“Are you sure you’re gonna have time for that?” Gene nudges you with his elbow, making you acutely aware of how close he’s gotten between now and a few moments ago. “I mean, you’re still on the lookout for Lucinda, right?”
“R-right! Lucinda…” You cross your arms and pull away from Gene ever so slightly. “Have you two seen her around?”
Though Sasha shakes her head, Zenix finally redirects his gaze back over to you. “Yeah, I saw her.” He answers. “She was using her potions to grow a patch of pumpkins or something. Probably for the pumpkin carving contest.”
“The four of us should go compete together.” Gene suddenly suggests, peaking the interest of the entire group. “After that we can all go hit up some of the other activities in the area.”
“I don’t think we’re allowed to enter the contest as a group of four.” You comment, your eyes flitting between your three companions quickly but methodically. “Seems a little unfair, you know?”
“It doesn’t matter how many people team up together. There’s no way they’re gonna beat my pump-zee.” Zenix suddenly declares.
You pause for a moment as you focus your attention on the zealous brunette. “Pump-zee?”
“Yeah.”
“As in… a pumpkin zombie?”
“Yeah. Wasn’t that obvious the first time?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to call it a zompkin?” You ask but the boy gives you a strange look.
“Why would you call it a zompkin?” Zenix asks as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “It’s not a zombie pumpkin, it’s a pumpkin zombie. Pumpkins would never come back to life as zombies. They’re not even alive!”
An initial response forms in your chest but it gets caught in your throat before you can vocalize it. I mean, the name is pretty straightforward and Zenix does make a good point about a pumpkin zombie… “But pumpkins are alive?”
“No they’re not!”
“Yes they are.”
“No they’re-” Zenix begins to stumble over his words as the realisation of what he said starts to dawn on him. “I mean yeah, they’re alive, but that’s not what I meant when I said alive! I mean, like, the breathing-eating-growing kind of alive!”
“Zenix, that’s- all living things breathe, eat and grow when they’re alive.”
“Nope! Not all living things breathe!” Zenix grins at you in his own self-satisfaction.
You, on the other hand, are left to bite back your initial reaction by pressing your lips into a thin line. “This is so ridiculous.” You grumble out.
“Hah!” The boy cheers. “You agree with me!”
“No I don’t!”
“Yes you do!”
“Whatever.” You finally relent. If you were to logic your way to victory it would be at the cost of bickering with Zenix like a pair of children. Again. “Can you take me to Lucinda, Zenix?”
Zenix, still in the middle of silently celebrating his victory over you, quirks his brow. “Why me?”
“Because you’re the one who saw her last.”
“Yeah, but that was, like, twenty minutes ago.” Zenix grumbles. “Why do I have to go with you? Why don’t you go look for her with-?”
“Zenix, just go!” With perhaps the most amount of emotion you’ve heard from her in a while, Sasha practically commands Zenix to comply with your request. It’s not much, mind you, but it’s more than what you usually expect from the girl - more than what Zenix usually expects too, apparently, as his head snaps over to Sasha immediately.
You recognize the look on Zenix’s face. It’s the same one he used to give his parents every time you showed up on his doorstep. Despite how much he’s grown, he’s still the same petulant child you knew all those years ago.
The boy glares at Sasha for a moment longer before turning away and marching off. You’re left to say some quick goodbyes to Sasha and Gene before chasing after the boy. Though Sasha seems rather indifferent to how things are going, you can’t help but notice the reluctance in Gene’s tone as he sees you off - not that you get to linger on that little factoid since Zenix is getting further and further away.
By the time you catch up with Zenix it’s because the boy has stopped to look at some Halloween decorations - though you also notice how he spares you a glance as you reach his side.
“Took you long enough.” Zenix huffs.
Your brows unconsciously furrow as you look over at Zenix. “If you didn’t stomp away then you wouldn’t have had to wait for me.”
“I didn’t stomp away! You’re just a slow poke. Like always.” A grin pulls on the corner of Zenix’s lips but he restrains it in your presence. “You know, if we move at your pace then we’ll never find Lucinda.”
“And if we move at yours then we’ll run right past her.” You retort, watching with satisfaction as Zenix fails to make up an immediate reply. “See. You know I’m right.”
“That’s-”
“Come on.” You walk past Zenix just as he’d done earlier, though you make an effort to walk a little faster than you had before. You only slow down when you look over your shoulder and call out to the boy, “If I get to the pumpkin carving area before you then you can say goodbye to your pump-zee.”
That little taunt of yours works wonders as Zenix practically sprints over to you. He doesn’t say anything when he sees the smug look on your face but boy, was he miffed. It almost makes you want to shower the boy with pity.
Almost.
As soon as the two of you reach the edge of the pumpkin carving station, Zenix taps you on the shoulder and directs your attention toward a familiar witch. You waste no time after that; eagerly pushing through the crowd to get to the woman you’ve been looking for all this time.
“Lucinda!” You shout your roommate’s name to get her attention.
The aforementioned woman turns in your direction and shoots you a smile. “The one and only.”
“You don’t know how long I’ve been looking for-”
“Sorry, just a minute.” The girl cuts you off, making you realise that Lucinda is in the middle of transporting some pumpkins. Once Lucinda has put the gourds down she looks over her shoulder at you. “What can I do for my sweet little maiden?”
“Lucinda, I’m not-”
“You’re a maid? I thought you were a pirate.” Zenix blurts and cuts you off from your train of thought. You’re not surprised that he’s still following you, but you are surprised by how closely he’s kept to you. His arm is practically pressed against yours as he analyzes your outfit. “No wonder you’re not wearing a pirate hat. Or an eyepatch for that matter.”
“I’m not a maid.” You correct the boy. “I”m dressed up like someone from the renaissance era.”
“Maids existed in the renaissance era.”
“Yes, I know that. I’m not saying they didn’t have maids, I’m just saying that I’m not a maid.”
“So you’re a pirate then?”
“Zenix, I-” Exasperation builds in your chest as your gaze snaps up to the boy, but the moment you see his face it starts to melt away. “I bet you think you’re so funny.”
“I am.” He hums, the grin on his face growing ever so slightly. He’s about to follow up his comment but Lucinda’s laughter catches him off guard. In fact, it catches both of you off guard.
“Oh my Irene, you two are so cute!” Lucinda giggles to herself in amusement. “It’s like watching two little kids bicker. How adorable.”
You groan to yourself and make a show of rolling your eyes at Lucinda. “Adorable to you, maybe. I bet you wouldn’t find it so amusing if you were in my shoes.”
“Oh sweetheart, the fact that I get to watch is what makes it amusing in the first place!” The ginger haired girl reaches forward and gently pinches your cheek. “While I’m assuming you’re not just here to entertain me, I wouldn’t hate it if you said you were.”
“We’re not.” You confirm, indulging your roommate for a mere moment longer before shaking yourself out of her grip. “Lucinda, I wanted to talk to you about the haunted house.”
“Right! It’s only being run until 10pm, right? What time is it right now?”
“It’s around 8:37, but I-”
“It’s already past eight thirty? Shoot! I was supposed to be over by the costume competition by now! I’ve gotta run.” Lucinda gasps and pulls out her phone. Her eyes land on the screen for less than a second before she’s weaving her way through the crowd. She’s already halfway down the driveway when she turns to say, “Oh! If you want to carve a pumpkin for the competition feel free to do so. I’ll talk to you later!”
Though you want to chase after that pesky roommate of yours, she slips right out from between your fingertips. It’s a little frustrating considering how long you spent looking for her, but at the same time you can’t help but feel a little bit… relieved.
Lucinda has been running around all night making sure things stay on track, and you can’t even blame her! This entire event is only happening because she planned it all. As busy as she is, it’s clear that she’s having fun. If anything, you shouldn’t be taking up so much of her time. She has places to be and things to do! She can’t just sit around while you drag your feet over going to one measly little haunted house. It’s literally the only thing she asked you to do with her.
“Sorry for dragging you all the way out here, Zenix.” You apologize to the boy, your eyes drifting down toward your shoes. “I should’ve known how busy Lucinda would be tonight. Now I’m just wasting her time and yours.”
You can see Zenix shifting in place beside you. There’s a moment where you think he might up and leave - something you wouldn’t blame him for - but he doesn’t. He kind of just… lingers beside you. Maybe he didn’t hear you?
“Zenix?” You look up to see what might be distracting the boy but he’s not distracted. Not by anything outside of you, anyway. You clear your throat before continuing. “...you don’t have to stay here. You already helped me find Lucinda. I don’t want you wasting your time with me-”
“Who said I was wasting my time?” Zenix suddenly pipes up. “Just cause Lucinda’s too busy for you doesn’t mean I am.”
“...sorry?”
“That’s not- I mean like, you know what I meant!” Zenix crosses his arms and turns his face slightly away from you - not that it does anything to hide his expression or the slight flush of his cheeks from you. Before you have a chance to reply, Zenix turns in place and starts heading to the other side of the driveway. As quickly as he started, Zenix stops and turns around. “You wanted to see my pump-zee, right?”
You stare at him, head tilted ever so slightly. “I… what?”
The boy groans quietly to himself, walks back over to you and takes your hand to drag you along with him. “Didn’t you hear me?” The boy mutters. “I’m taking you to see my pump-zee.”
“Ah, right.” You say, “the one and only pumpkin zombie. Not to be confused with a zombie pumpkin, of course.”
“Shut up. You think it’s great.”
A smile begins to tug on the corner of your lips. “It’s unique.”
“And accurate. See?” The boy steps aside when you reach a certain table, letting go of your hand to gesture toward what you assume is his so-called pump-zee. “Pretty great, huh?”
You lean over to inspect the carved pumpkin. Though you’ve never seen anything quite like it, you can’t deny that it’s a pumpkin zombie (and NOT a zombie pumpkin). “Wow.” You say, impressed. “This is good. This is really good, actually. How long did it take you to carve this?”
“Fifteen minutes.” Zenix grins and puffs out his chest slightly. “If Sasha hadn’t dragged me away then the pump-zee would look even better!”
You chuckle to yourself and reply with a quick “of course it would” before looking at the carved pumpkin once again.
There’s something so familiar about the pumpkin but you can’t quite put your finger on it. It’s a zombie, obviously, but the eyes are hollow - carved to have a distinct glow compared to the rest.
“Oh, wait!” You suddenly look over at Zenix once again. “Is your pump-zee based on COD Zombies?”
“Of course I would recognize it. I spent hours staring at the things.” Your eyes drift upward as you recall your time playing the aforementioned video game. “Gosh, that takes me way back. How old were we when you taught me how to play?”
“I don’t know. Like, six or seven?”
“No way! I was at least nine or ten. You were just about to go into middle school, remember?”
Zenix opens his mouth to refute you but seemingly realises you’re right. “Damn… no wonder it took us so long to reach the round limit. You were basically a baby.”
“How can you call a ten year old a baby? I could understand if I was actually six, but ten?” You playfully shove Zenix and he returns the favor.
“Are you kidding? I was basically teaching someone with the hand-eye coordination of a six year old. That’s probably why I thought you were six.”
“Dramatic much?”
“Not a chance.”
You laugh at the boy’s remark, smiling as you shake your head in refute. “Whatever you say, ‘ShadowKnightZ’.”
“Don’t bring my gamertag into this-!” Zenix scoffs at you, amused. “You’re just salty that you can’t carve a pumpkin better than mine.”
“To be honest… I really don’t think I can.” You can see Zenix watching you as if he’s waiting for you to reveal a joke with the punchline, but that’s it. In all honesty, you know you can’t outdo Zenix’s creation. Not even if you wanted to, and not even if you tried. It’s nothing shameful, of course. It’s just… the truth.
You shrug beneath Zenix’s gaze, turning to admire the carved pumpkin once more. It’s nothing professional but there’s clear signs of effort and care. Even if he spent a few more minutes on it, you’re sure the boy’s pumpkin would turn out even better. Hell, even this version might win the competition.
As Zenix slides up beside you, he nudges you to get your attention. You comply and turn to face him; confused to see a softer look on his face than usual.
“So like… if we’re just gonna chill over here for a while, do you wanna help me out?” He asks, his eyes flitting over to yours for just a moment. “I can teach you my techniques.”
You’re about to agree but something pulls you back. “I don’t want to get in your way.” You’re not sure why you said that, and it seems like Zenix is in the same boat.
“Get in my way?” The boy scoffs at your comment. “Please. I taught you how to play COD when you didn’t even know how to hold a controller. If that’s not enough proof of your own potential then I don’t know what is.”
“Yeah but I-”
“No buts.” Zenix is surprisingly firm with his decision. He’s always been stubborn, yes, but this stubbornness is a little different from before. Actually, no, it’s the same as it was back then. You suppose it’s now that you’re both adults that you can see it for what it is.
Finally relenting, you let Zenix fill your hands with various pumpkin carving tools as he shows you how he uses each one - rather creatively, you might add.
Many of the flimsy tools become multi-purposed in Zenix’s hands. He uses the different knives for certain angles, uses a bristle brush to texture and carve, heck, he even uses the spoon to make dents in the skin of the pumpkin for more texture. It’s unconventional, a little bizarre, but very him.
And now it’s very you, too.
Twenty minutes fly by in the blink of an eye. You only realise how much time has passed because you ended up carving a pumpkin of your own. Not a pump-zee like Zenix, but something cute and simple.
You’re no narcissist but seeing your hard work displayed in front of you is… nice. It’s not award-winning nice, but it’s something you think you can be proud of.
“Well, well, well! Look what we have here.” A familiar voice rings out and catches the attention of yourself and Zenix. “There are two extremely strong contenders for first place just across the driveway. How do you think they’ll fair, Travis?”
“I’m glad you asked, Dante.” A familiar white-haired boy chimes in. “While they’re both magnificent entries upon first glance, we’ll have to see how they hold up against our 5-category ranking system.”
The two boys stop in front of you and Zenix with clipboards in hands and… monocles?
“The hell kind of ninjas are you?” Zenix blurts. “A pair of nerdy ninjas or something?”
“Nerdy ninjas?!” Dante exclaims, “I’ll have you know that we’re dressed up as-”
“-Power Ninjas.” You, Dante and Zenix all say the name at the same time, though there’s a notable difference in cadence between Dante, Zenix and yourself.
Dantes’ brows raise for a brief moment before they become furrowed. “But not just Power Ninjas. Travis and I have been selected by the lovely and radiant Lucinda to be the judges of the pumpkin carving contest.”
You raise a brow. “And that explains the monocles?”
“Of course it explains the monocles! How would you know we’re the judges if we didn’t wear them?” Travis jumps in, adjusting his monocle and straightening his non-existent tie with a grin.
“I don’t know… the clipboards, maybe?” You motion toward the clipboards, clearly labeled ‘Judge’ with bold letters. “Though I suppose someone could mistake you for a pair of power ninjas doing a survey without the monocle.”
“Or a pair of morons walking around with clipboards.”
“Hey!” Dante puffs up slightly, glaring at Zenix with contempt. It looks like he’s biting back some pretty nasty words, but only just.
“What’s the five-category ranking system you were talking about earlier?” You inquire. From the corner of your eye you see Zenix open his mouth to add more to your remark. To stop him, you end up nudging the boy; a little harder than you meant to, but the action gets the point across.
Even if Travis notices the quick interaction, he doesn’t say anything about it. Instead, Travis quickly opts to take the lead and start answering your question.
Though you do your best to stay engaged with Travis as he explains the ranking system, you can’t help but find yourself continually glancing between Dante and Zenix. There’s a clear lingering tension between the two but neither one is willing to acknowledge it.
It’s almost funny, you think, how Dante and Zenix can’t seem to get along when Gene gets along with both of them just fine. The two boys share similar interests with one another and they both tend to act on impulse. I mean, yeah, Zenix tends to say things rather bluntly and Dante has a tendency to take things at face value, but you’d think with all their similarities they’d do more than simply tolerate one another.
If anything you think they’d be better friends with each other than they are with Gene, but you suppose Gene has something neither boys do - quick social and emotional awareness.
Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Gene is actually a rather well-meaning guy; even if the way he goes about his well-meaning intentions feels a little less than ‘well’ to the average joe. You know this fact better than most. After all, you’re probably on the tail end of his well-meaning intentions more often than not.
“Hah! 87 points!” The combination of Zenix’s voice and him playfully shoving you pulls you out of your thoughts. “I told you! My pump-zee is gonna take first place.”
“First place with a measly 87 points? Yeah right!” Goads Dante. “87 out of 100 is so easy to beat. I bet-”
And then you stop paying attention. Instead, you glance over at Travis who’s looking about as awkward as you feel. Curious, the boy silently mouths the word ‘pump-zee?’ at you. In reply, you shrug and mouth back that a pump-zee is ‘a pumpkin zombie, and not a zombie pumpkin.’
You and Travis share a quiet laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. This moment, however, only lasts so long before the bickering between the boys becomes a bit more than friendly.
“Says you, mister nerd ninja.”
“I already told you, I’m not a nerd ninja!”
“Dante! We still have another carved pumpkin to judge.” Travis intervenes, gesturing toward the pumpkin you carved.
At once you shake your head, your cheeks going warm. “O-oh! That’s okay-!” You step in front of where your pumpkin sits on the table, hiding it from any prying eyes. Even so, it’s clear that your attempts have come a little too late. They’re all looking at you now. “I uh, I don’t think I’m good enough to enter a competition just yet.”
Now it’s Travis’ turn to shake his head. “Nonesense. There’s no rules saying you have to be good enough to enter this competition. It’s a block party competition! I promise that the stakes are basically zero.”
“Yeah!” Dante adds. “Besides, what’s the worst thing that could happen? You enter the competition and then you get last place? Or- no! Someone knocks over your pumpkin and we tank your score because of it? Like that’s ever going to happen. You get me, right Travis?”
Travis blinks, surprised, and turns to Dante. “Huh? O-oh, yeah! I’m sure nothing that crazy will happen.” The boy ends his statement with a short laugh that trails away as quickly as it began.
You unconsciously begin biting the corner of your lip. Their eyes are still on you. They’re still waiting for you to move so they can see your pumpkin. You should probably just get out of the way and get it over with. It’s not like they’re going to say it’s bad. Not even if it-
“Okay!” You relent, your face growing warm from how loud your voice is in your own ears. Before any of the boys have a chance to say anything, you move from your spot in front of the table to stand off to the side. “Just… don’t tell me my final score, okay?”
Dante’s head tilts slightly. “Are you sure?” He asks. “Not even if it’s a high score?”
“Y-yeah, I’m sure.” You insist, slipping from the side of the table to the back of the group. You don’t want to see their faces in the fear that their expressions will give their true feelings away. In fact, you don’t even want to hear any debates they might have with each other. They’ll say nice things, you’re sure of it, but you don’t know if you’ll believe them.
You don’t know if you want to believe them.
While the boys are distracted by your pumpkin, you wordlessly slip away. It’ll only be for a minute or two. That should be more than enough time for them to get bored of your pumpkin, right?
The pumpkin station feels fuller than it did before. While that makes moving around a bit more difficult than before, it also makes it easier to blend in. Sure, you might be weary of tripping over your skirt at any given moment but at least that gives you something else to worry about. For now, anyway.
As you do your best to distract yourself from everything you don’t want to be thinking about, something particularly catches your eye. Something, no, someone has just rounded the corner into the backyard of the house. While you wouldn’t normally care about that sort of thing, this particular house belongs to two power ninjas wearing molecules and carrying clipboards -and as far as you could tell, the person who rounded the corner was not of that description.
You peer over your shoulder at the boys in question. They’re still discussing the status of your pumpkin. It looks like it’s fun, too. You shouldn’t interrupt them. Besides, checking whether or not the backyard is safe is as quick as checking if the side gate is closed. Simple!
The lights grow dimmer as you approach the side alley of the house. Though you attempt to ground yourself by listening to the sounds of chatter behind you, doing so becomes rather difficult with the sound of your own heartbeat slowly creeping up on you.
Why are you getting so scared anyway? There’s a bunch of people within dashing distance. If there really is someone poking around at the back of the house then you can go back for reinforcements. This is just a quick check-in! You doubt it’ll even take up more than a minute of your time.
But as you round the corner to check the side gate, you’re met with the devastating sight of darkness.
You should really tell Travis and Dante to install a light or something.
Still, the plan remains all the same. Just go forward and check if the gate is closed. If it’s closed, great! All is well and you can rest easy knowing you were just seeing things. And if it’s not closed, then… well, you can worry about that later.
A chill suddenly travels down your body. Has it always been this cold out? You suppose it’s gotten a lot colder since you first put on the dress. You probably didn’t notice because you were surrounded by so many people! Yeah, that’s why…
As you slowly reach the edge of what little light illuminates the alley, you stick out your hand to feel for the fence gate.
Just a little further now.
Just a tad bit further.
Just how far do you have to go to reach the damn- oh. There it is.
The wooden gate is cold against your fingertips. Just for good measure you give the door a slight shove. It shakes but it doesn’t give. That’s good. It’s still locked and… and you’re still here. In the dark on your own.
Well, you thought you were on your own.
A warm hand touches the exposed skin of your shoulder, causing you to reel back as an involuntary yelp pushes past your lips. You’re about to scream bloody murder when you stare into the face of a Zombie, only to realise who’s actually standing beside you.
“Zenix!” You shout in a mix of relief and frustration. “What the heck are you doing over here?!”
“What am I doing over here? What are you doing over here?!” You can’t really make out Zenix’s expression in the darkness but the boy’s tone is more than enough to convey his own confusion. “Why are you walking around in the dark by yourself??”
“I thought I saw someone go around the corner!”
“So your first instinct was to follow them? Why would you do that?” Though at first his voice begins to raise, Zenix’s tone of voice quickly begins to mellow out. Mellow for him, anyway. Even in the darkness you can see him raising his hand to your forehead. “That’s how people die in horror movies, dummy.”
“Ow-!” You exclaim half-heartedly. “Why did you flick me?”
“Because you were being stupid.”
“I-” You stop yourself, unable to form a real response. He’s right. You didn’t have to come over here by yourself. You just… did. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
Zenix is quiet for a moment. There’s almost no doubt in your mind that he’s holding back from beratement of some sort. You couldn’t even blame him if he were to berate you. Perhaps that’s why you were so shocked when Zenix asked a simple “are you okay?”
“Wha- me?” You echo in confusion. “I’m fine.”
“Then let’s go already.” Zenix reaches for your hand once again, but it’s different this time. It almost feels… gentle? You’re not really sure but you go along with it. After all, he came all this way for you. If he’s willing to do that then-
“Ow-!” You exclaim once again, though this time it’s because you’ve accidentally walked right into Zenix’s back. The moment he lets go of your hand you step out from behind him. “Zenix, why did you stop… walking…?”
“Yeah Zenix. Why’d you stop walking?” Dante asks, staring at the two of you with what you can only assume is a mix of suspicion and irritation. “Scared because you got caught?”
“Got caught doing what?” Zenix challenges the blue haired boy. “I wasn’t doing anything illegal.”
“Tresspassing is illegal.”
Before either boy can instigate further, you step between them. “I thought I saw someone rounding the corner earlier. Zenix came with me to make sure I stayed safe. That’s all.” Despite your explanation Dante still looks a bit concerned.
“Did you guys find anyone?” Interrogates Dante, though his tone is noticeably softer now that he’s addressing you.
“Thankfully no.” You say, though you’re not sure if you’re relieved by it or not. “Must be the spirit of Halloween getting to me.”
“Uh-huh…” The boy nods slowly, his eyes jumping between you and Zenix. “And that’s all that happened?”
You nod. “That’s all.”
“And you’re okay, right?”
“All good.” You confirm with your best attempt at a reassuring smile. “I do have a bone to pick with you, though! Why don’t you have lights on the side of your house?!”
The sudden shift in conversation throws Dante for a loop. He gives you a strange look before shaking his head. “We do have motion sensor lights. Look-” The blue haired boy walks around you and Zenix, raises his hands and shakes them around a bit. Sure as day, the lights flick on and illuminate the three of you in an instant. “See?”
“Wha- then how come they didn’t go off earlier?”
Zenix leans down and mutters “Maybe he doesn’t know how they work,” but you quickly put a stop to his antics with a slight nudge to the chest.
Dante, on the other hand, pulls his phone out of his pocket. “Oh!” He turns the phone around for you to see. “The sensors only turn on after 9pm.”
“Of course they do.” The words bubble up in a mix of contempt and bitter self-irony.
“Dante! There you are!” The sound of Travis’ voice causes all three of you to turn back toward the main driveway. For a moment the boy looked a bit taken aback, but he quickly regained his composure. “Oh, good! You found Zenix. We’re about to announce the winners of the pumpkin carving contest. Not to give the results away, but you’ll probably want to stand close to the font, Zenix.”
Zenix snickers to himself. “Of course I will. I already know my pump-zee is winner material.”
“Riiight.” Dante drags. You don’t even have to see the boy to know that he’s rolling his eyes. You, Zenix and Travis start to emerge from the side of the house when Dante pipes up. “Actually Travis, could you announce the winners on your own?”
Travis turns his head to face his friend. “No yeah, I can do that. You doing okay though?”
“Huh? O-oh, yeah. I’m good. I’m just… I’m kinda thirsty?” Dante explains. “You guys go ahead. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Though the other two boys continue forward, you hang back. “I think I’m going to go with Dante. I want to get a strawberry puff before they’re all gone.” You turn back to look at Dante. “That’s okay with you, right, Dante?”
Dante meets your gaze for a moment but quickly looks away. “Yeah, that’s fine. We’re both going the same way so we might as well keep each other company.”
“Cool!” You smile at the boy before facing Travis and Zenix once again. “See you guys later?”
While Travis immediately replies with a quick goodbye, Zenix isn’t as quick. You get the feeling that he has something on his mind but the words never make it past his lips. You’ll probably follow up with him later. If it’s important, he’ll tell you.
As soon as Zenix rounds the corner, you turn your attention back to Dante. “Shall we?” You ask, motioning toward the main street. “If we wait too long then they might run out of strawberry puffs.”
“Right…” Dante chuckles to himself, though not all of the tension leaves his body. “Let’s go.”
Silence fills the empty space between you and Dante. While you’re not particularly bothered by it, you can tell that the silence only adds to the weight of whatever’s on Dante’s mind. Would it have been better to stay at the pumpkin contest? You’ve always thought of Dante as an extrovert so you assumed your presence might comfort him, but perhaps you misjudged the situation.
“Do you-”
“Are you-”
You and the boy manage to start and interrupt each other at the same time. The awkwardness of it all causes you to laugh at yourself, and it appears that Dante follows suit. “You can go first.” You softly smile at the boy.
“Oh… alright then…” Dante clears his throat, his eyes darting between you and the path ahead. “I was gonna ask if you were cold. You know… cause it’s the middle of fall and your outfit is pretty light.”
“You mean my dress?” You comment, looking down at your outfit and its seeming lack of layers. “I thought I’d be a lot colder, but Lucinda really knows how to pick an outfit. She actually made me put on a few layers, see?”
You pull the neckline of your dress off your shoulders to reveal the compression shirt beneath. As you reveal what lies beneath, however, Dante’s immediate response is to look away. You think you might’ve heard him stifle a cough of surprise but teasing him about that might be going a bit too far.
“You can look.” You assure the boy, “It’s just a compression shirt.”
The boy glances over rather cautiously at first. Once he knows you’re not just teasing him, Dante finally turns his attention back to you. “Oh, wow.” Utters Dante. “I didn’t know they made low-cut compression shirts like this. Square neckline too, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty nice. Though when I think about it, this is probably closer to shapewear than a compression shirt. Not gonna be working out in something like this anytime soon. Or ever.” You can’t help but pull your undershirt a little further up your shoulder as Dante admires the fabric. “In any case, I can see why Lucinda told me to wear it. I barely notice it at all.”
“This is one of Lucindas’ shirts?”
“Yeah. As is the rest of this outfit.”
“Oh, so when you said she chose it for you, she really chose everything, huh?”
A quiet laugh escapes you as you pull the dress back to its original position. “Yeah, she really did. I don’t mind though. She has a great eye for fashion.”
“Lucinda has a very chic sense of style. It’s very fitting for her bold and brazen personality.” Dante explains, his gaze drifting slightly upwards as he does. “What she chose looks good on you, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think her clothes match you very well.”
You swallow your initial reaction and force a smile, tilting your head as you glance over at Dante. “No?”
“No.” Dante confirms. “When I think about you, I don’t usually picture you as someone who pushes the envelope. It’s more like… you’re warm. Yeah. Soft and comfortable. Someone easy to be around, and who allows others to let their guard down. That sort of thing.”
“Dante, I-” You pause for a moment, unsure of what to make of what the boy has said. Despite how he tries, you know he’s not much of a flirt. Rather, Dante is… being sincere? It’s not like he’s incapable of sincerity but, well, you suppose you didn’t expect something like this from him. Not just from him, but from anyone. “I didn’t realise you had such an eye for fashion.”
Dante’s head snaps over to you, though he downplays the action by shaking his head. “No, not really. I was just spouting random nonsense.”
“I’m not just talking about your observations. I was just talking about in general.” You lean into Dante for a moment, nudging the boy with your shoulder before standing upright again. “Everytime I see you, you’re always wearing something new and trendy. But it’s not just new or trendy, it’s always very… dapper.”
“Dapper?”
“Not that you’re old or anything! But like, you always wear clothes that elongate your form. The jackets you wear tend to define your broad shoulders pretty nicely, too. Oh! And the colours are always on point. Seasonally too, I might add.” You admit, silently aware that the boy is staring right at you. While your impulse is to throw in a comment about the boy’s monocle from earlier, you resist it. That’s the least you can do for him, right?
But as Dante remains speechless, you can’t help but look over at him.
“What?” You ask, a small laugh bubbling up inside your throat.
After a beat of silence, a smile begins to form at the corners of Dante’s lips. “Nothing.” He assures you, gently redirecting his gaze back to the path ahead.
“Oh come on, I know what you’re doing. That’s the classic ‘no-look-pass’ you always did in the arcade!” Despite how you feign distress, you can hear your own smile in your tone of voice. “There’s no point in trying to hide what you’re thinking.”
“I’m not hiding anything.” Dante raises his hands in mock surrender. “I’m just a guy walking over to the refreshments table.”
“A power ninja walking over to the refreshments table?”
Dante peers over at you for a brief moment, his smile fully revealed, before nodding his head. “Exactly. A power ninja walking over to the refreshments table.”
“Oh my gosh, Dante. You’re such a dork.”
“Says the girl who stood and watched me as I attempted to beat her high score.” Dante retorts as if he’s right on the brink of laughter. “And in case you forgot, I never did.”
You nod your head, smiling as you laugh. It’s been so long since you last thought about your summer in the arcade. Yes, it was your first job, but you never thought of it as very important. A customer service job like that was just a means to an end, yet somehow it managed to become more than a simple arcade. Not literally since that arcade has been shut down for more than a decade, but still. Despite everything that happened around that time, you’re glad you still remember it. It’s when you met Dante, after all.
As you and Dante arrive at the food stands, you can’t help but steal glances at the blue haired boy. You’re happy he turned out as well as he did. He was always so worried about messing up; always focused on one thing when his mind was stuck on another. To be fair, you know he still worries about anything and everything, but things like that never really go away. Not for him, and certainly not for you.
Thinking about it now, you suppose that’s the reason why you gravitated toward him in the first place. You and Dante were kind of similar back then; just two youths being thrust into the jaws of life without a clue as to why.
Uncertain as it all was, having him there was… different.
No, not just different. While life was hectic and uncertain, Dante was consistent. Not for you per say, you know he loved the arcade and its games, but he was always there.
Despite how his company only lasted the length of one summer, it was a summer that lived near and dear to your heart. You doubt he feels the same and you’d never tell him as much, but Dante is the reason why you… Dante inspired you.
“Strawberry puff?”
You blink a few times, your eyes settling on Dante’s grin-adorned face. It takes you a moment to realise that the boy is holding the aforementioned strawberry puff for you to take. “Thank you, Dante.” You take the small dessert with a smile. “You didn’t have to get it for me, you know.”
“I know. I just…” Dante’s grin softens at the corners before he turns away. “It’s not a big deal. I know you said you wanted one, so I grabbed it for you. The last one too, by the way.”
Despite the teasing retort that sits on the edge of your tongue, you instead smile at the boy with a quiet “thank you.”
If the look on his face is anything to go off of, Dante also expected a witty retort of sorts. “Not going to ask if it’s poisoned first?” The boy inquires. It appears as though he’s masking his true feelings with a quiet laugh, but something stops him. After what looks like a lot of internal contemplation, Dante finally says, “thanks for coming with me.”
While you smile at the boy on instinct, you can’t say you don’t feel a little caught off guard. “I’m sure anyone would’ve done the same.”
“I mean, maybe, but I just meant-” Dante cuts himself off for a moment, subtly biting down on the corner of his lips. “It’s different, you know? I don’t usually… we don’t usually… I mean, I’m not used to someone keeping me company. I know I live with Travis and all, not to mention how I live next door to Garroth and Laurance, but it’s like I said. It’s different.”
Your breaths are slowly getting heavier in your chest but you can’t quite seem to pull yourself away from the conversation. “Different how?”
Dante shakes his head as a nervous laugh bubbles up from his chest. “Come on, you’re not really gonna make me say it, are you?” The boy asks as he shifts his weight from side to side.
Of course you’re not going to make Dante spell it out. You already know what he’s going to say. After all, you’re not friends with Dante the same way he’s friends with everyone else. You’re just you - just a girl who happened to work at his favourite arcade.
Even so, the tightness in your chest makes it difficult to find the right words. Could it be you’re waiting for Dante to say something? No, there’s no way. What could he possibly say that you don’t already know? And even if he did say something unexpected, you’re not sure you want to hear it.
You shake the thoughts from your mind and finally meet Dante with a smile - the kind that falls short before they reach your eyes. “You’re not about to tell me that you and the boys are actual power ninjas, right?”
Dante stares at you for a moment, biting back the words he wanted to say, before laughing into his sleeve. “No, but I wish that were true. Could you imagine how much cooler I’d be?”
“Yeah.” You hum with a nod. “You’d be at least twenty percent cooler.”
“Only twenty percent?”
You make a show of thinking to yourself before finally giving the boy his answer. “Okay, since you did give me the last strawberry puff, I’ll say fifteen percent cooler.”
“What?!” Dante gasps, crossing his arms as he feigns disappointment. “Why did my coolness factor go down?”
“Because-! If you got any cooler then I doubt anyone would be able to complete. Other than me, of course.” You pop the last of the strawberry puff into your mouth and scrunch up the napkin that remains. In an attempt to prove your point, you throw the balled-up napkin at the trashcan sitting on the edge of the driveway.
You miss.
Dante laughs. “And you say you’re cooler than me.”
“I didn’t say I was cooler than you. I said that no one would be able to compete.” Though you protest the boy’s words, the smile on your face likely betrays you.
Before the boy can comment on this, you pivot and head toward your unintentional litter. It shouldn’t take you that long to pick up the napkin and throw it into the trash but there’s something odd in the air. It feels heavy - suffocatingly so.
As you reach down for the napkin, a bony hand juts out from behind the large trashcan and grips your wrist tightly.
Your internal panicking quickly becomes external when you realise the bony hand is attached to the body of a skeleton. In fact, that skeleton was one of the decorations Lucinda conjured for the halloween party a few hours ago. Why is it alive?!
The skeleton grips at your arm with a surprising amount of force - hard enough to leave bruises, you reckon. You’re about to look around to see if anyone might be controlling the skeleton, but that’s when it starts pulling. The first tug hardly does anything, but the second nearly drags you off your feet.
And then your eyes are shrouded by darkness.
Your eyes are open, you’re sure of it, yet you can’t see a thing.
“Dante!” You call out for the boy but you’re hardly even sure that the words have left your mouth. Any sounds are being drowned out by the thud of your heart and the ringing in your ears.
The skeleton keeps pulling on you, each tug causing you to stumble further away from the driveway. You try to force tear yourself free from the skeleton’s grasp but in doing so you drop your skirt.
The tugging combined with the long skirt causes you to trip over your own feet, allowing the damned decoration to start dragging you across the floor.
Just when you feel the skeleton’s grip loosen from your wrist, a second grip latches onto your free hand. As hard as you try to tear yourself away from its grasp, you can’t.
Your voice pours out in a stream of curses and cries for help.
Why is this happening?
Where are these skeletons dragging you?
Who’s doing this to you?!
For a moment the dragging stops, but two warm hands suddenly grasp your shoulders tightly. You try to pull away but the grip remains strong. You can’t get away. They won’t let you.
But then you hear it.
That familiar voice.
He’s calling you.
“G-gene? Is that you…?” Though your body still resists, you force yourself to stop squirming. “W-where’s Dante? What’s happening? Why is it so dark? Why can’t I-?”
“I don’t know what happened, but I’m here now, okay?” The boy, who you can only hope is Gene, utters. “Just- try to stay still, yeah?”
“Gene.” A second voice, a woman, calls the boy’s name in a flat tone. “Move over.”
When the boy’s grip on you loosens, you instinctively reach forward and latch onto the cheap fabric of a Halloween costume. “Please… don’t let go of me…” You can’t stop the tremble in your voice, nor the shaking of your hands.
The boy hesitates, his hands lingering on your shoulders with what you could only describe as concern. You doubt he’ll leave you but you… you don’t know if you want to take that chance.
Eventually the boy lets go of you and another person, presumably Sasha, sits in front of you. You try to listen for Gene’s presence but his heavy footsteps are drowned out by the sound of your thundering heartbeat.
Where is he going? Why is he leaving you?
You want to call him back but you refrain from doing so. He seemed a little… frustrated. Anyway, it’s not like you’re alone anymore. At the very least, you know that Sasha is sitting right in front of you. That should be enough.
It isn’t.
Sasha’s fingers are cold against your face as she gently lifts your chin. “Can you open your eyes?” The girl asks.
You comply, at least you think you comply, and allow the girl to look at your face. Not that you have any real idea of what’s going on. Even so, you can only imagine how pitiful you must look right now.
Eventually Sasha removes her hand from your chin and you instinctively hold yourself, wrapping your hands around your upper arms in self-comfort.
“The whites of your eyes are completely blacked out.” The girl utters. “You’re inflicted with blindness.”
“Can it be fixed?” You ask.
“It should fix itself in ten minutes or so.” The girl explains. “The effects of a potion are never permanent.”
“Right…” Your grip on your arms tightens for a moment, but then you feel the warmth of another press up against the side of your body. The fabric of a cheap halloween costume is unmistakable, but you can’t say it feels like it’s a vampire costume. Then again, what would you know about the feel of a vampire costume?
Cape or no cape, knowing someone is sitting beside you eases some of the tension in your chest. It's… probably Gene.
While you know it isn’t much, feeling Gene against your arm brings you comfort; but it isn’t long before that comfort becomes heavy on your mind.
“Gene…?” You whisper the boy’s name quietly in the hopes that only he will hear you.
After a beat of silence, the boy pulls himself slightly closer to you. “I’m here.” Gene replicates your soft tone, though in doing that it becomes difficult to hear him clearly. “I’m here, and I’ll be here until you’re okay.”
A thousand questions come to mind as you sit helpless and blind, yet the only one you can think to ask is “where’s Dante?”
You can feel the boy shift against you as he takes a deep breath. “He’s… around.” He answers, clearly withholding something or other from his reply. “I think he went with Travis to put the skeleton back where it belongs.”
“Back where it belongs?” You try to mask the fear in your voice but it slips through. Of course the boy catches on immediately, but you’re surprised he doesn’t tease you about it. Rather, he softly leans more of his weight against you. Not enough to knock you off balance, but enough that it’s almost… sweet.
“Don’t worry. I won’t let that thing get anywhere near you.” The boy utters, though he suddenly clears his throat despite how clearly he spoke. “It’s staying six feet underground where it belongs.”
“I don’t think Lucinda will like that very much.” You answer.
The boy replies, “I bet she’d like it if she knew how it was used.”
“To scare random passerbys?”
“To hurt you.”
The comment catches you off guard - enough to make you notice yourself leaning into the boy’s warmth. You suppose it’s not inherently a bad thing but… well, you’ve never been that close with Gene. Not physically, anyway.
Blind or not, you’ve never taken Gene as the touchy-feely type. He might get up in your personal space as a means to tease you, but as it is now, it’s easy. Simple, almost.
And yet, a part of you still wishes to pull away.
As though you’d spoken the thought out loud, the boy puts his hand on top of your own. He grasps you gently, his fingers barely withholding from interlocking with your own, before allowing you more space to breathe. He doesn’t pull away completely, but it’s as if he knows what you’re thinking. It’s as if he knows you.
This hand against yours… it feels familiar - which is odd considering you don’t go around holding everyone’s hands all of the time. There might only be one person you know who would be bold enough to pull something like this.
Though his name sits on the tip of your tongue, it doesn’t quite get past your lips. You don’t want to be wrong. Not again, anyway.
“Hey…” You start, noting the way the boy shifts. Judging from how his arm briefly brushes against your own, you imagine he’s looking right at you. “I um… I hate to say it but you were right.”
There’s hesitation from the boy but he covers his tracks swiftly with a quiet hum. “I know I am. I’m rarely wrong. Care to admit what we both already know?”
“I didn’t want to admit it before, but you were right.” You start, listening as your companion takes a sharp breath. “I didn’t wear this outfit because Lucinda told me to. I did it because I didn’t want to wear the costume I’d made.”
“The one from your idol anime?” He clarifies.
“Yeah…” You admit. “That one.”
“But you worked so hard on it. It looks so good, too!”
“I know, I just…”
“...oh. Right. The group thing…” A sigh escapes the boy and his grip on your hand relaxes. “Still, why didn’t you just admit that in the first place?”
“Because…” You pause for a moment, barely holding your breath as you search for the right words to say. “It never came up in conversation.”
“You mean you were too nervous to admit it?”
“I mean I never talked about it with Gene. Only with you, Laurance.”
The boy goes silent, his hand twitching against your own. You hear him take a sharp breath, multiple times, even, but he never commits to anything in particular. Were you wrong? Is this not Laurance? No, it has to be. He’s the only one who… the only person who likes to hold your hand this way.
You blink a few times but nothing about the darkness changes. Even so, you turn to face the boy with your eyes open.
“It’s okay. I know it’s you.” You finally confess. “You don’t have to pretend to be Gene.”
The boy exhales a quiet sigh as his body shifts away from yours. “I’m sorry, I just… I thought you’d feel safer if it was Gene who came to your aid. I mean, I’d feel safe with him around so I couldn’t blame you if you felt the same. Not to mention how he ran to help you when he heard you were in trouble while I just-”
“Laurance…” The boy’s name slips from your lips a little too easily so you try to play it off. “I feel safe with you, too. I’m really glad you came. I mean, could you even imagine what it would be like if Lucinda stumbled across me in this state by myself?”
“Gosh… I think we’d have to get Katelyn and Garroth to restrain her. That woman doesn’t play around when it comes to her friends.” Laurance chuckles at the thought, and you’d be remiss if you didn’t at least smile.
The cold air of the breeze pricks at your blinded eyes and you suddenly remember that you have them open. Though you blink a few times, the stinging doesn’t seem to go away. On instinct you begin to rub your eyes with the palm of your hands but that requires pulling away from Laurance. You don’t really notice it at first, but you certainly realise it when the boy gently cups your cheeks between his hands and slightly tilts your head back.
Despite how gentle he’s being, you’re taken aback.
Maybe it’s because you’re blind or maybe it’s because the adrenaline has finally started to subside, but the way Laurance holds you feels… different than before. You’re used to Laurance playing things up for the bit, but there’s no bit now.
Right now it’s just you and him, and right now he’s so-
“Oh!” You suddenly gasp, causing the boy to pull his hands from your face. “I can see again!”
“You can?” The boy asks, watching as your eyes pop open with less of the inky black that previously clouded your eyes.
You blink a few times in the hopes that might clear your vision completely, but you’re still finding it rather difficult to see. Anything farther than a foot away is practically lost to the darkness.
What isn’t very far, however, is Laurance.
You expected the mix of surprise and relief visible on his face, but there’s one more thing hidden beneath it all; something he manages to mask before you’re able to understand it. For a moment you think to question him but ultimately decide not to. It wouldn’t be fair of you to pry.
Instead you meet the boy with a smile, nodding your head as you give your reply. “Yes, I can see again. It’s not perfect, but it’s a whole lot better than what it was before.” You try blinking the darkness away but again, your field of vision remains limited.
“Are you going to be okay like this?” Laurance asks. “It doesn’t seem like the potion has worn off yet.”
“Maybe not fully, but Sasha said that I-”
“I know what Sasha said. I just-” The boy starts, surprising even himself by how he cut you off. He takes a moment to clear his throat before continuing. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. You’re important to me.”
“It’s Halloween! Nothing truly bad is going to happen to me. Sure, I might’ve experienced a few jumpscares in the past hour but it’s probably because I’m getting in my own head! I’m sure I’ll stop psyching myself out as soon as I get through that damned haunted house with Lucinda.” You try to play off Laurance’s concern as less than what it is but his expression shows more than you want to admit. Or perhaps it’s you who’s giving away more than you meant to.
As Laurance reaches his hand toward your shoulder, your own hands come in comfort instead. Though you try, you can’t ignore the way Laurances’ brows raise, nor can you pretend you don’t see his hand twitch away from your own.
“You know what?” You suddenly start, your eyes trailing around Laurance, but never lingering on him for too long. “I saw Ivan earlier in the night. He jumped out of a bush! Can you believe that? He looked really proud of himself for it, too.”
“I-”
“I guess it wasn’t enough that he cheated on Lucinda. I bet he’s going around doing who-knows-what just because she’s the one who organized everything.” Though you attempt to laugh, it doesn’t stop the words from spilling out. “Doesn’t he understand how hard she’s worked? How hard it was for her to get this far? What right does he have to impose his own feelings onto her? Why can’t he just leave?! Everything would be so much better if he just-!”
You stop yourself by biting down on your tongue, though any pain you might’ve felt is shallow compared to the grip you have on your own shoulders.
“Sorry.” You apologize and stand up. “I think I should go.”
Even when you hear Laurance calling your name as he chases after you, and even when you bump into several people getting away, you don’t turn around. You don’t want to see the look on his face. Especially when it would be confirming everything you already know.
But that’s just the thing, isn’t it? You don’t know. In fact, you’re not sure you’ve ever known a thing about anyone or anything. You hardly even know yourself.
Why get so upset over a boy whose name you only learned a few weeks ago? Because he cheated? Boys like that are a dime a dozen. Is it because he hurt Lucinda - the one person you’ve allowed yourself to call a friend since who-knows-when? Maybe that’s a part of it, yes, but you know that doesn’t explain it all.
Not the frustration, the outbursts, nor the resentment. It’s all just so-
No. You won’t say it.
You can’t.
You keep weaving your way through the crowd until someone grabs onto your arm. Though you try to shake yourself free, their grip remains steady.
“Let go of me, Laurance.” You demand, still attempting to free yourself.
The boy is quiet for a moment before erupting in a quiet but amused laugh. “Woah there, your highness. I’m not trying to hurt you.” The voice is unmistakably Gene’s. “Though judging from that reaction of yours, the same can’t be said about that lover-boy Laurance.”
“Gene…” You remain still as Gene releases his grasp on you. “It’s not like that.”
“Oh? Then what is it like?” Gene hums as he slowly trails around you. “Just out for a jog? I take it your eyes are all fixed up if you’re stomping around like this. Or maybe they’re not, considering how many people you’ve bumped into.”
You keep your gaze pointed toward the ground as the boy circles you. It isn’t long before you’re staring down at Gene’s shoes as they stand across from your own.
Though the boy calls your name, you don’t look up. He’s surprisingly patient with you, but you know his patience doesn’t last forever. Eventually the boy uses his finger to lift your chin so that you finally meet his gaze.
“Did he hurt you?” Gene suddenly asks, catching you by surprise.
“Laurance?” You clarify, but the twitch in Gene’s expression makes you wish you hadn’t. “Of course not! You know he’d never do something like that to me.”
“Not normally, but maybe under some less-than-extraneous circumstances he would.”
“Less-than-extreous-?” Your face scrunches in confusion at Gene’s specific wording. “Gene, what are you talking about?”
The boy holds your gaze for a moment, his hand drifting away from your face as he pushes aside the loose strands of your hair. “Your eyes…” he mutters, his expression unreadable as he stares at you. “I knew I should’ve stayed with you. That good-for-nothing brother of mine couldn’t even do a goddamn thing.”
“Dante?” There’s a slight pang in your chest when you see Gene’s expression go slightly sour at his brother’s name. “Come on, Gene. Don’t be like that. I’m sure Dante is trying his hardest.”
“And that’s clearly not hard enough! If he’d just been there! No, if he and Laurance hadn’t been so stupid in the first place then-!” The boy uses his hands to massage his temples as he takes a deep breath. “Nevermind. It’s been a long night.”
Your chest tightens as you watch the boy in front of you. You need to say something, anything, to reassure him, but it’s hard. He knows the parts of yourself that you’ve tried to bury. If you’re not careful, you’ll know them, too.
You take a breath and steel your nerves.
“Gene.” His name comes out softer than you expect. “I’m okay.”
The boy glances up with that knowing look of his. “You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
“No it’s not.” The boy states. “You were crying. You were scared.”
“I know.” You reply. “But there’s nothing wrong with getting a little scared every once in a while. It is Halloween, right?”
“Maybe that’s how it seems to everyone else, but the fact that you were scared isn’t the real issue, is it?” The boy suddenly quips. “You were dragged. Hell, you went blind! After all that, you should know better than to tell yourself that you were just scared.”
“I-” Your attempts to justify yourself get caught in your chest. You can’t deny it, and you know you won’t. He knows you won’t. You just… you don’t want anybody to worry about you. “Okay. You’re right. Can we drop the subject now? Please?”
Gene holds your gaze. You can’t help but feel like he’s searching your eyes for something. Hesitance? Uncertainty? You’re not really sure.
What you are certain of is his intent. You can’t say it feels malicious or schemey, but it’s purposeful. Almost like he’s looking for a reason to justify whatever thoughts might be running through his mind.
The boy eventually gives way to his thoughts, turning his gaze and shoving his hands into his pockets. In that same instant, you can’t help but release the breath you’d been holding.
Though your instinct is to reach out and comfort the boy, you don’t. You know he only wants what’s best for you, but it’s hard to comply. And even if you did try, you’re certain your attempts would only preoccupy Gene further.
“Hey…” Gene suddenly addresses you, “you know that you can come to me with whatever you want, right? I won’t judge you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” You curve your lips into a smile in hopes that the action will reassure the boy. Eventually you take a deep breath and clasp your hands together, turning away from Gene and toward the rest of the street. “So! What to do now…”
You can hear the boy shuffling around before letting out an amused sigh. “No clue, princess.” He chimes. “Though perhaps her highness would like to take a stroll about the town?”
“Good Irene, not you too.”
Gene chuckles to himself. “Not a fan of costume-appropriate nicknames?”
“Depends on the name.” A new smile begins to tug on your lips as you glance over at the boy. “Wouldn’t you agree, Count Von Count?”
“Like I haven’t heard that one before.” Gene mutters to himself as he rolls his eyes. His attempt at seeming offended is dampened by the smile that stretches across his lips. “I bet you think you’re so funny.”
“I can be.” You don’t bother hiding your own amusement. “Now come on. I’ve been meaning to check out this one stall all night, but I-”
“There you are!”
You turn your head to see Dante approaching at a rapid rate. There’s an odd pang in your chest as the boy draws near. Nevertheless, you greet him with a smile. “Here I am. I’m assuming you were looking for me…?”
“I was.” Dante admits. He doesn’t quite walk all the way over to you and Gene. Dante’s eyes flit over to Gene, yes, but he hardly tries to close the distance. If anything, you think Dante might be avoiding Gene when he looks over at you. “Hey! Um, Lucinda said she was looking for you. Something about the haunted house. Do you think you could meet her at Garroths’ place?”
Your head tilts in curiosity. “Why is she at Laurance and Garroth’s house?”
“Yeah,” Gene chimes in. “What’s she doing over there?”
“Oh! You know…” Dante swallows thickly before shaking his head. “She’s over there because the boys needed help with something.”
Gene frowns. “And that something would be…?”
“Bro, how the heck am I supposed to know? I don’t live with them anymore. I’m just the messenger!”
“Okay! It’s okay, Dante.” You assure the boy by gently patting his shoulder. “I’m sure whatever Lucinda was helping them with is done now. I’ll just go over there and meet up with her.”
“Wait-” You’re surprised by how quickly Gene grabs onto the sleeve of your dress. “I’ll go with you.”
“N-no!” Dante suddenly pipes up. “You um… Zenix was looking for you. Right! Zenix and Sasha said they wanted to go through the corn maze together. The three of you.”
“The corn maze will be open all night.”
“But they said they wanted to go now. Like, right now.”
“Don’t worry, Gene. You don’t have to hold back for my sake. Go and enjoy your night!” You peel the boy’s hand from your dress and briefly hold it. “I’ll see you two around.”
The boy’s grip falters against your own as he tentatively bites on the corner of his lip. As different as they are at times, you can’t deny that Gene and Dante are brothers.
You wave to the boys as you make your exit. There’s a moment in which you falter, unsure of the state you’ve left the boys in, but assure yourself that it’ll be fine. They’re brothers after all. No two people get along all of the time. That must be especially true with siblings, and you have no place in their brotherly quarrels.
By now your vision has improved dramatically, though you note that it’s not quite back to normal. Still, it’s enough that getting to your desired destination can be achieved with minimal collisions.
The house looks abandoned by the time you arrive. There’s a few people lingering around, yes, but none of them are the people you’re looking for. If they’re not waiting outside, then perhaps they’re still doing something inside?
When you approach the front porch you notice that the hallway lights are on and the door is slightly ajar. There’s no harm in stepping inside, right?
“Hello?” You call into the house. “Lucinda! I’m here! Where are you?”
No verbal response is given to your query but you do hear a box being knocked over in the basement, followed by the sound of someone cursing to themselves. Maybe one of the boys stayed behind while the other two went to grab something?
You slip out of your shoes and start walking deeper into the house in search of the boy. You’re not stomping around, per say, but you’re making it very obvious that you’re inside. You don’t want to scare whoever’s downstairs, after all.
When you reach the top of the basement stairs, you call out for the boys once more.
And then the lights go out.
“Hey! This isn’t funny!” You flip the lightswitch against the wall but nothing changes. “Guys, I know the breaker is in the basement. Turn the lights back on!”
No reply.
Great. Everything is going so great tonight! First Ivan jumps out of a bush, you see someone round the corner at Dante’s, you get kidnapped by skeletons, and now the boys decide to play a prank like this?
You don’t know if they’re trying to be funny, but you’re not amused. As a matter of fact, you’re not going to play their game. You’re just going to leave!
In a beat you’ve turned away from the stairs and returned to the front door. As you reach for the handle, however, it doesn’t give. You try turning the deadbolt but that doesn’t work. You even turn it the other way just to be sure.
Nothing.
“Guys!” A deep, nauseous feeling begins bubbling up from your gut as you slam your hands against the door. “This isn’t funny! Let me out of-”
A sharp breath rushes through your teeth as you press your back against the front door.
Someone’s watching you.
Where are they?
Keeping your eyes up toward the darkness, you slowly lean down and begin slipping into your shoes. You don’t dare look down. Not while your heart pounds in your ears and your legs tremble from how stiffly you stand.
Something glistens in the darkness and you stop everything you’re doing.
A knife?
Is it a real one, or just a highly convincing fake?
Should you reach for your phone? No, wait, your dress doesn’t have any pockets. You don’t have it. Should you just put on your other shoe? Maybe try the door again?
No.
You just need to get out.
The door to the backyard should be unlocked. Or at the very least, it shouldn’t be jammed. If you run you could probably get outside without meeting whoever thinks this little game of theirs is so funny. But what if you trip and fall? Should you just follow the wall to the door? Or maybe you should just… no.
Screw it.
You jam your foot into your other shoe and take off for the back door. With your eyes trained on the light coming through the glass, you make a beeline for your escape.
In a heartbeat you’ve crossed the threshold of the living room but the back door is locked.
Of course the back door is locked!
You slam the lock down and pull the door open, nearly doing the same to the screen door when someone suddenly grabs hold of your wrist.
In that moment you can’t stop the guttural scream that claws its way out of your throat. You pull, twist, hell, you even try to kick whoever’s grabbing you without a care as to who’s doing it. You can feel bad about it when you’re safe.
One of your kicks makes solid contact with the aggressor, causing them to let go of you and their weapon as they erupt in a fit of coughs.
In an instant you pull open the screen door and flee through the back.
“(Y/n), wait!” The boy in question calls out to you as he chases you down.
It’s Laurance?!
While your mind is quick to process the voice, your body falters at the sound.
People like to say that what the mind can’t remember, the heart never forgets. While you’ve never really liked that saying, you understood it well. After all, there are plenty of things in your life that you wish you could forget. Not just the moments, but the feelings, too.
The fear you feel every time you sit in the back seat of a car.
The anxiety of being left behind as your father goes out to practice.
The dread of those blindingly white walls.
The monotony of ringing phones and clicking keyboards.
And the cold.
You wish you could forget it. You wish you could forget all of it! But you can’t - because even when your mind forgets, your heart will remember.
It keeps on remembering every single second of it.
Why?
Why did you hesitate like that?
It’s because you thought of him, isn’t it?
Your shoe slips off your foot as you step on the hem of your own damn dress. For just a moment you turn around, your eyes locking with a familiar blue pair before slamming shut.
The water hits you and you’re swallowed by the cold.
Your legs get tangled in the fabric of your dress as you try to swim up. The fabric is too heavy. It’s pulling you down. Your entire body is tensing up from the cold. You can’t escape. It’s too hard. You’re too tired.
You’re too tired.
As the cold holds you tight in its embrace, one memory stands out in your mind. It’s not something you often like to think about, but it’s something that has undeniably crossed your mind before.
You wonder if he still…
…thinks about it…
…too…
All of a sudden your eyes are flooded with light and the familiar compulsion to cough bubbles up inside your chest. It isn’t long before you’re coughing up water onto the grass and holding back the urge to throw up.
For a moment you think you hear your name being called. It’s so quiet...
Is it real?
It’s only when the sound of your own coughing subsides that you realise someone is kneeling down beside you. The feeling of their hand against your back grounds you to reality as your adrenaline slowly comes down.
“Hey,” Their voice is soft as they pull back some of your hair. “It’s okay. You’re okay. I’m here now.”
“Who- Laurance?” You manage between coughs.
“...yeah…” The boy finally breathes out a sigh. “It’s me. Are you-”
“Laurance!” The voice that booms from across the yard is unmistakably Gene, but you’re surprised. He’s so… loud. “You better not tell me you pushed (Y/n) into the pool or Irene help you, you’re-”
“Gene, don’t-” You start, though you’re abruptly interrupted by another fit of coughs. “Don’t take it out on him. It was just an accident.”
“An accident, huh? You call Garroth holding the front door closed an accident??” Gene stops as he reaches Laurance, pulling him off of you and holding him by the neckline of his costume. “You call lying and scheming to scare a friend, an accident?! Tell me, Laurance, what in the hell about this situation am I supposed to see as an accident!?”
“I didn’t have a choice, Gene!” Laurance finally argues back, tearing the wet fabric of his Power Ninja costume out of Gene’s hands. “You saw what Ivan did with those skeletons. If we didn’t do this then Lucinda-”
“Lucinda is a grown woman. She can handle being around her ex for a little while.”
“But she shouldn’t have to!” As quickly as Laurance raises his voice, he lowers it once again. “Neither of them should have to deal with discomfort on their own. Isn’t that why we have friends? To have reliable people to lean on when times are too tough for one person to bear?”
Gene shakes his head, his hands curling into fists before relaxing once again. “And what about when your friends are the reason for your pain? What do you do then?”
“Gene, that’s-”
“Stop defending him, (Y/n).” Gene shuts you down quickly. Almost too quickly. “The pool might’ve been an accident, but everything else?”
“Everything else?” You repeat the boy’s words before turning your gaze to Laurance.
The boy shies away from looking you in the eye. “We just, no, I-” Laurance stops himself as the back gate to the house swings open. Low and behold, it’s Ivan walking over giving Laurance a round of applause.
“Wow. Just, wow.” The boy practically cheers as he walks over to the boys. “The acting, the commitment, and that scream! Man! I don’t think I could top something like that. Not even if I tried.”
Gene mumbles something under his breath as he takes a step toward Ivan, but Laurance stops him by grabbing his arm. This action, however, only serves to amuse Ivan further.
“So hostile Genie-boy! I thought we were friends!” Ivan pulls a pout onto his lips but his expression is far from hurt. “Then again, I guess the same could be said about those four boys and this poor, poor girl. I didn’t think they’d get so mean with it! Who needs enemies when you have friends like this, am I right?”
This time it’s Gene who has to stop Laurance from lunging at Ivan. It doesn’t stop the brunette from glaring at the newcomer though. “A deal’s a deal, Ivan. Leave.”
A deal?
Ivan laughs. “Oh Laurance, you wound me! Not as badly as you wounded her, though, so I suppose I could hold up my end of the deal.”
They made a deal?
“You suppose?”
“I suppose.” Ivan repeats Laurance’s words back to him, grinning. “I still want to see how everything plays out! This neighbourhood has one hell of a soap-opera going on behind the scenes. The best one I’ve seen all year!”
This is all just… some game to them?
Ivan clasps his hands together before motioning toward you. “Which handsome boy will the helpless little damsel choose to be her knight in shining armour? Certainly not either of these guys, but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe guys like you are exactly her type-”
“Stop!” Despite how desperately you try to hold them down, the words you buried start clawing their way out of your mouth. “Every single one of you just needs to stop!”
Despite how desperately your muscles protest, you get up from the floor and stand before Ivan.
“Enough of the scares. Enough of the stress. Enough of you.” You can feel your voice beginning to waver but continue anyway. “You’re the one who messed up, Ivan. You’re the one who needs to take responsibility for his actions! Yet for some reason you keep insisting on your own importance. Lucinda doesn’t need anyone coming into her life to decide what’s best for her, nor is she some damsel who needs saving, so stop treating her like she is. All of you can just-... can just…”
As the words start to get caught in your throat, you turn away and head for the gate. You can hardly mask your tears as you pass the rest of the boys on your way out of the backyard, but at this point don’t have enough energy to try.
What starts as a jog quickly turns into you running from the backyard to the house you share with Lucinda. As soon as the door shuts behind you, everything hits you at once.
The fear.
The anger.
The helplessness.
It’s all there.
And then there’s a knock on the door.
You don’t want to open that door. You don’t even want to know who’s on the other side of that door! But as you fail to pull yourself away from it, the urge to open it persists.
So you do.
And who else is there but Gene?
“Hey.” He starts, his eyes taking in your current appearance all at once.
“Hey…” You wipe the tears off your cheeks as if that might hide the fact that you’d been crying - as if your soaked clothes and hair weren’t already enough to hide your tears.
Gene smiles at you in a way that’s almost sympathetically. “Can I come inside?”
Your fingers twitch against the doorknob as you look up at the boy. You want to say no, and you know if you deny him he’ll respect that, but a part of you wants to reach out.
You… you don’t think you want to be alone right now.
You wordlessly step aside and allow the boy entry to the house. “Don’t touch anything in the living room. Or in the kitchen. Or in the- actually, you should probably just wait in my room.” You call back to Gene as he closes the front door. “Try not to be too nosy, okay?”
“You know me better than that.”
You feel the faintest hint of a smile pull on your lips at his reply. You don’t bother trying to hide it. You’re sure that’s more than enough of a response for the likes of Gene.
You’re quick to gather a few things from your room before disappearing into the bathroom. By the time you’re closing the door Gene has just made it to the top of the stairs.
“In a rush?” He asks.
You shrug. “I’ve been terrorized and soaked in frigid pool water. I think a shower is well within my rights.”
“Fair enough.”
The last you see of Gene, he’s peering into your room from the doorway. You try not to think about it too hard. Instead you focus on getting out of your cold-soaked dress and getting under some warm water instead.
As soon as the warm water hits your skin, all your emotions come flooding back to you. It’s not as heavy as it was before, but it’s still potent. Still too volatile to get close to
Maybe focus on something else for now?
No… you’re not sure you want to fall victim to your own mind at the moment.
Then perhaps-
“(Y/n)?” Gene’s voice rings clear in your ears. “It’s been a little while. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” You reply to the boy and shut off the water on impulse. You’re not actually sure how long you’ve been in the bathroom. “I’ll be out in just a minute.” You don’t want to be the reason why he misses out on Halloween. It’s probably best that you get changed quickly so that he can finally-
“Maybe I wasn’t being clear enough before, so let me be clear now. I’m not asking if you’re okay in the bathroom.” Gene clarifies from the other side of the door. “I’m asking about you.”
“Right…” You swallow the lump that’s starting to form in your throat and pull your towel a little tighter around your body. For a moment you glance at yourself in the mirror, but you don’t let your gaze linger for too long. “Well, you know me. I’m doing the best I can.”
You hear shuffling outside the bathroom and it ultimately ends with Gene sliding down his side of the door as he takes a seat on the floor. “You defended Lucinda quite valiantly today. Multiple times, I might add.”
Your fingers twitch against the hem of your towel as you stare silently at the door.
Gene, on the other hand, clears his throat before continuing. “I could always just assume that you were doing your due diligence as a friend and roommate, but I get the feeling that’s not everything.”
“Not everything?” You repeat the boy curiously. “Gene, you don’t… that’s not-”
“True?” Gene’s dry chuckle echoes from the other side of the door. “I might not have known you as long as some of the other guys have, but trust me when I say that I get it. The frustration. The fear. All of that stuff is normal. It’s also pretty normal to worry about the people you care about. You agree, don’t you?”
“I do, but…”
“But what?”
“But it’s different-!” The volume of your own voice shocks you. You’re not yelling or anything, but you shouldn’t be getting so worked up over something like this. At least, a normal person wouldn’t get as worked up as you currently are.
Your gaze falls away from the door and lands on bathroom tiles beneath your feet.
“It’s just… it’s so frustrating to watch someone force their own perception of themself on everybody else. How can you just demand that someone care for you? How can you just presume you’re so important that everyone else is in the wrong? Despite all the wrong he’s done, how does Ivan believe himself to be the victim?! What if-”
Your hand suddenly touches the cold porcelain of the sink, finally making you notice how your eyes have traveled from the ground to the bathroom mirror.
Biting on your bottom lip, you hold your own gaze.
“What if I’m no better?”
“You aren’t. You’re worse.” Gene says it as if it’s but a matter of fact and it causes your gaze to snap over to the door. But just as you open your mouth to reply, Gene beats you to it. “You’re not a narcissist like him, though. You’re a hypocrite.”
Denial boils over in an instant yet the words don’t make it past your lips. You’re certain any anger or irritation toward Gene is justified, but the only feeling that follows your denial is… shame.
You know he’s right. You won’t deny it.
You can’t.
Your hand reaches for the door before you've fully thought it through, the click of the lock disturbing the silence around you.
For a moment you stare at the handle.
Then, with a frustrated exhale, you finally pull the door wide open.
Gene turns back to look at you, his expression a mix of surprise and curiosity as he gets off the floor. “Woah there. Don’t go doing anything you’ll regret in the morning.” Gene utters as if he’s torn between staring and looking away. He eventually manages to do the latter.
“Yeah right. You wish.” You’re surprised to hear a hint of your own amusement as you push past the boy to get to your room. As soon as the door is shut, you can hear Gene walking over to stand close by.
“I’m not saying you should shut yourself in for the rest of the night, but if you’re going to retreat into your room can you at least give me something to tell Lucinda?” The boy bargains.
“Don’t worry, Count Dracula, I’m not planning on staying inside.” You assure the boy as you rummage around your closet. “Halloween isn’t over yet. It’d be a shame if I didn’t use this opportunity to the fullest, right?”
“And the opportunity you plan on taking advantage of is…?”
“Dressing up.” You explain to the boy, though it’s a little difficult since you’re simultaneously trying to pull on your new costume as quickly as possible. “It’s arguably the best part of the holiday! Not that someone like you needs an excuse to dress all dark and dreary.”
“Ouch. Right where it hurts.” The boy muses from the other side of the door. “You’re really not pulling your punches anymore.”
You pause for a moment. “…sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Gene chuckles to himself from the other side of the door. “If anything, I’m looking forward to seeing more of it.”
More of it?
You scoff and shake your head. “Whatever you say.” After one last glance in the mirror, you pull your bedroom door open and stand before Gene once again. “Ready to head out?”
“Just a minute.” Gene observes your outfit with that familiar grin of his. “This is the outfit you posted on your story, right?”
“Yeah…” You confirm, compulsively looking down at your outfit as you adjust the small details. “It’s nothing fancy. Just an outfit from-”
“Nebula Forming, right?”
You look up from your outfit and meet Gene’s gaze. “Yeah, actually… it is. How’d you know?” Before the boy can reply, a coy smile tugs on your lips. “Hold on, are you telling me that you’ve watched it before?”
“Maybe I have. Maybe I haven’t.” Something between a scoff and a laugh erupts from Gene as he shoves his hands in his pockets. “What’s it to you?”
You ponder for a moment before giving a short reply. “Nothing.” Despite your answer, your smile grows wider as you head for the front door.
The moment you open the door, you come face to face with Lucinda.
“There you are!” Lucinda lets out a sigh as she pushes back some of her hair.. “What happened, girl? I was waiting for you at the haunted house but you never showed up! Did something happen to you?”
You shake your head. “No-! Okay, well, yes, but that’s-” You notice Lucinda’s eyes trailing past you for a brief moment, only for her to look at you with something of a smug look. “Lucinda, no! Whatever you think happened, I’m telling you, it didn’t happen. Gene and I were just-”
“She fell into the pool at Laurance’s place.” Gene states outright. He crosses his arms and leans his shoulder against the doorframe opposite to you. “I take it the boys haven’t told you what they put her through.”
Lucinda’s smug look suddenly shifts to something a bit concerning - a look akin to worry but clouded by something darker. “What happened?”
“Nothing! They just-” You stop as you feel Gene’s shoulder slightly brush up against your own. So, with a deep breath, you reply, “They played a bunch of pranks on me throughout the night, with the last one accidentally resulting in me falling in their pool. But-”
“And they used her as the ruler for their dick measuring contest.” Gene mutters, though with how loud he is you’re pretty sure he wanted to be heard. And he is.
Lucinda’s eyes widened. “They did what?”
“No! That’s not what they did!” You argue. “They made some stupid deal with Ivan. I don’t know the exact details but I’m pretty sure it had to do with scaring me to make him leave. Something like that.”
“That’s why Ivan enchanted my skeletons?! To terrorize you?!”
“It’s not that big of a deal though!” Though you try to argue, Lucinda is having none of it. You’re pretty sure she would’ve ran inside to grab a potion or two if not for Gene blocking the doorway beside you. All of it allows you enough time to grab onto Lucinda’s arm and get her to look at you. “Look, I’m not saying what they did was enjoyable, but their hearts were in the right place. Can you take it easy on them?”
Lucinda holds your gaze for a while and you can feel her eyes examining every micro-expression present on your face. When she finally comes to a conclusion for herself, she lets out a deep sigh.
“Okay,” the girl starts, “but I’m still holding them accountable for the fact that we missed our opportunity to go into the haunted house.”
“Oh, right…” A mix of guilt and relief washes over you as Lucinda mentions the haunted house. Judging by her reaction, she sees your relief, too. Before she has a chance to comment on it, however, you say, “I’m feeling pretty parched. Do you wanna walk and talk on our way over to the refreshment stands?”
Though a bit unsure, Lucinda nods. “Sure. I could use a drink or two.”
You give a small wave to Gene as you and Lucinda make your exit. Though the walk is short, the conversation you have with her is long.
It takes a bit of prodding on Lucinda’s end but you eventually admit to everything. Your dread regarding the haunted house, the scares you’ve been subjected to all night, and most importantly, the conversation you shared with Gene.
Lucinda spends most of the walk alternating between sympathy and outrage, but you somehow manage to keep the conversation light hearted. Mostly. There was a point in which you feared your roommate might dart off in search of some power ninjas, but she ultimately decided not to.
Maybe after everything you went through, the girl didn’t want you to be alone, either.
About an hour goes by with Lucinda at your side. The two of you decide to spend the rest of the night browsing stalls and talking to fellow neighbours. Strangely enough, you don’t seem to run into any power ninjas along the way. At first you think that Lucinda might be purposely avoiding the boys but you quickly come to realise that isn’t the case.
You don’t know where the boys have gone but they’re nowhere to be seen. You try to assure yourself that it’s not a problem, the four of them are grown men, but a part of you worries. That worry finally comes to a head when you and Lucinda run into Zenix and Sasha.
“Hey!” Zenix says as he approaches. “You’re not a pirate anymore.”
“Keen observation, Zom-boy, but not keen enough.” You quip in reply. “I was never a pirate in the first place.”
“Are you sure? Because I could’ve sworn you went- ow!” Zenix jolts away from Sasha as she kicks his heel.
“Don’t mind him.” Sasha insists, her expression hardly shifting from her usual resting face. “We’re looking for Gene. Have you seen him around?”
“We were with him about an hour ago.” Your eyes scan the area before returning to Zenix and Sasha. “But we haven’t seen him since.”
“Really? That’s too bad.” You think you see Sasha flash you a smile but it’s too quick to be sure. “Anyway, I like your costume. Nebula forming, right?”
“Yeah, it is…” You admit. “How did you know?”
“Please.” Zenix rolls his eyes as he shoves his hands into his pockets. “Gene watched that damn idol show, like, a hundred times before subjecting us to its soundtrack. It was the only thing he listened to for a whole year! I swear the guy got possessed or something.”
“He listened to the soundtrack for one week, and he only watched the anime two times - once by himself and once with us. Though, you are right about one thing.” While her tone remains unchanged, Sasha’s expression shifts slightly towards amusement. “That kind of anime isn’t usually Gene’s cup of tea. I was surprised he watched past episode two.”
“Yeah. And then he forced the two of us to watch it with him.”
“Says the guy who cried throughout the entirety of episode eleven.”
“I told you! My allergies were acting up!”
“And what are you allergic to? The emotions of cute idol girls?” Lucinda adds, making both her and Sasha chuckle in amusement.
“It’s okay, Zenix.” You say as you gently nudge the boy. “I cried when I watched that episode, too.”
Zenix opens his mouth to refute you but he very quickly shuts his mouth again. While this causes the other two girls to become further amused, you smile. Not because you’re amused by the boy’s reaction, but because you’re happy.
While you’d be more than happy to call this the end of your evening, something down the street catches the attention of all four of you.
Something that sounds a whole lot like the opening theme to Nebula Forming…?
The four of you approach curiously, but what you see is far from what you expected.
First of all, you quickly realise that the music is coming from a speaker placed on Laurance and Garroth’s front lawn.
Secondly, the boys have placed a fog machine on the far end of the lawn. By now the small box has created a blanket of fog that spans the entire lawn, though it only reaches as high as your ankles.
Finally, and most obvious of all, is the tall blonde who stands in the center of the field - not as a power ninja, but dressed in a costume that’s three sizes too small. As far as you can tell, he’s one of the five other idols from Nebula Forming - and based on the pink accents of the outfit, you’re pretty sure you know which one.
“Garroth?!” You gasp in disbelief. “What are you… why are you-”
The blond boy turns around and meets your gaze immediately. “Garroth? Who’s that?” The boy talks in a high pitched voice - or rather, he attempts to. “I don’t know who this ‘Garroth’ fellow is, but I’m not him. You’re talking to none other than Lagoon.”
You stand at the end of the lawn, jaw agape in complete and utter disbelief. “What on earth are you doing?” You ask. “Garroth, what is this?”
“I told you before, I’m not Garroth.” The boy approaches you slowly and reaches his hand out towards you. “I am Lagoon, and together we are…”
The boy wiggles his eyebrows at you, waiting for you to finish the line.
As your eyes jump from Garroth’s face down to his hand, and back to his face once again, only one thought crosses your mind.
How could you refuse?
Taking the boy’s hand, you smile. “We are stars in the making.”
The moment the line leaves your lips, Garroth pulls you in and repeats what you’ve said to the crowd. What surprises you, though, is when he turns back to the house with a simple: “Hit it!”
At once the music changes, the front light of the house turns on and the door swings open. From inside that door, all dressed in the various outfits from the show, come Travis, Dante, Laurance and… Gene?!
"Gene?" You stare at the boy as he emerges. "What are you doing here?"
The boy shrugs. "Moral support."
"In a Nebula Forming costume?"
"The moral support required a uniform." The boy explains. “Besides, I can dress dark and dreary whenever I want, right?”
A shameless laugh erupts from your chest as the boys draw near to you. “So like… what is all of this?”
The boys all glance between each other before settling onto Laurance, who steps forward past Garroth to stand in front of you. “You might consider this our apology-”
“-Or just a bunch of friends dressing up togeth- ow!” Dante interrupts Laurance, though in doing so earns a sharp jab from Travis.
“But we want you to know that we’re sorry.” Laurance apologizes. “We shouldn’t have stuck our noses where they didn’t belong. Not only did we undermine Lucinda, but because of that, you-”
“Laurance…” You hold Laurance’s gaze for a moment, mulling over your thoughts before allowing yourself to speak. “I get it. I think a lot of people would do what you guys did tonight. Well, maybe not the ‘getting chased by a murderer’ thing specifically, but the ‘defending your friend’ thing. Even if that meant… a friend was the target of multiple pranks.”
“But that doesn’t make it right.”
“That’s true.” You admit. “Even so, I forgive you. I might not forget about it any time soon, but I forgive you. All of you.” You gaze hops from boy to boy, admiring their commitment to the outfits before breathing a sigh. “All’s well that ends well, right?”
You offer Laurance a smile of grace, and he smiles back to you. “Right.”
“By the way, the outfits are great and all, but where did you guys…” you pause for a moment before the realisation hits you. “Don’t tell me you begged KC to-”
“We did.” Dante admits, his face erupting in a deep pink. He quickly attempts to compose himself in your presence but ultimately fails to meet your gaze. “I know it might be a little over the top but I really-... no, we all know how much this means to you.”
“Is that so?” You can feel the corners of your lips turning upwards once again. “Since you all know how much this means to me, I’m expecting something to remember this by. Perhaps some pictures will suffice?”
“Oh, you’ll get your pictures alright.” Laurance assures you as he leads you a few paces down the front lawn. “But first and foremost, we’re here to be your stars.”
Oh my Irene.
You watch in disbelief as the boys line up across the lawn. Travis, who stands at the end of the lawn, taps around on his phone before tossing it out of the way.
For a moment it feels like the world is holding its breath in anticipation.
Then with that familiar rolling drum intro, the boys start their show.
Though the boys stumble and bicker, you recognize the choreography immediately. Your head snaps around to Lucinda as you give her a certain look.
“You gave them my choreography?” You gasp.
Lucinda flashes you a coy smile. “Gene texted me and asked if I could help them out. I thought you’d get a kick out of it.”
As your eyes snap back to the boys, you can’t help but agree with that roommate of yours. Though their moves are far from polished and occasionally fall off the beat, you can only describe the performance as perfect.
It’s funny - this night has gone off the rails in every way you never could’ve expected: From fear to anger, from anger to tears, and now… now you’re laughing so hard it’s getting difficult to breathe! It’s far from what you would’ve considered a perfect Halloween, but even so…
Guys, I promise I'm cooking something up. It's just... it's taking a lot longer than I thought it was going to (about halfway done @ 11k words)... probably because there's 5 different love interests - lol
Anyway, here's a teaser!
Also, it's Halloween themed. Why? I don't know. I started writing it 2 months ago. You'd have to ask past me to get the answer.
Teaser below the cut:
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No one enjoys Halloween quite as much as Lucinda does. Not even you, her roommate. That’s not to say you dislike Halloween, but honestly, how could you possibly compare your enjoyment for the holiday to the woman who stayed up all night brewing potions to decorate the entire street? She even woke up early to use them!
A busy afternoon of setting up gazebos, jack-o-lanterns and snacks finally pays off when the clock hits 6pm. You can’t help but want to buy Lucinda a new brewing stand for all the work she did, but when you told her that she took it as an invitation to dress you for the night.
October isn’t the coldest month in the year but it sure feels like it is when you’re dressed in an outfit fit for a renaissance fair. Though you wanted to protest, you did promise Lucinda that you’d wear whatever she got for you. It was, in her words, ‘the least you could do after promising her a new brewing stand.’ You both know that’s not what you meant but you digress. Cold as you may be, you’d be lying if you said you didn’t feel fancier than usual.
“Lucinda!” You shout, attracting a little too much attention for the number of names you called. You’ve already walked up and down the street two times but still you’ve yet to find the woman who dressed you. “Lucinda, where did you go?!”
“Boo!” A pair of hands clasp onto your shoulders and you’re forced to swallow your fear. “Aw man, I thought I got you for sure.”
“Laurance!” Your face unconsciously scrunches as you turn and recognize the boy who took it upon himself to startle you. “Why did you think that was a good idea?”
An apologetic smile pulls across the boy’s lips. You can’t help but notice a slight shift in his gaze after his eyes have scanned over your Halloween costume. Before you can question the change, Laurance suddenly takes a knee and wraps his hands around one of your own. “My sincerest apologies, fair maiden, but I assure you it’s for the greater good.” The boy is bending down and pressing a kiss against your knuckles before you even have a chance to get embarrassed.
You stand there speechlessly as Laurance continues to kneel before you. As you stare down at the boy a chill runs down your body. You’re not sure if it’s because of the cold or if it’s because Laurance is down on one knee in front of you. Maybe a little bit of both? You want to say something, you really do, but words continue to evade you.
“What do you say, m’lady?” The boy peers up at you with that ever-cheeky grin of his. “Am I forgiven?”
I absolutely love your Aphmau content! Especially whenever i see you’ve written Ein, i love evil dude who has 0 interest in me
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy the silly little stories - and the helpless little man who can't seem to come to terms with his feeling (when I write him). Here's to more Aphmau content :D
Description: “How long has it been? I don’t know, but it feels like an eternity.” X “I’m slowly forgetting your face.”
Included: MCD!Laurance X Reader X MCD!Garroth
WC: ~1.4k
Author’s Note: Use of (Y/n) - it just doesn’t work without it… I’m sorry lol.
╰─..★.──────────╯
…
“You love me?”
“I do. With everything that I am and everything I will be, I love you.”
“You’ll still love me even though I chose him over you?”
“I can’t blame you for that… I would’ve chosen him for you, too.”
…
The first thing Laurance sees when he opens his eyes is you. Though your hair is tousled and your face is turned away from him, Laurance can’t help but stare at you in awe. While he doesn’t want to wake you up, Laurance can’t help but snake one of his arms around your waist as he pulls himself flush against your back.
Laurance can’t help but become amused when you unconsciously shift back against him. Even in your sleep you search for his warmth.
“My Love…” The boy utters the words softly against your ear, his fingers dancing across the thin fabric of your nightgown in gentle circles. “The sun has moved well past the horizon. It’s time to bid farewell to this bed of ours.”
You give a quiet hum in reply, barely turning your head in the direction of Laurance’s face. “Just a short while longer. I do not yet yearn to entertain the living.”
“And what about your husband?” The boy begins to pull at your nightwear until his fingers make contact with the skin of your lower stomach. The moment he’s able to feel your skin beneath his, the boy trails his hand right to the curves of your chest. “Might you yearn to entertain him?”
“My husband yearns to entertain himself.” Though your voice is still soft, Laurance knows he’s slowly pulling you from your slumber. “Even after years of commitment, the man still cannot control his roaming hands.”
“Must I?” The boy teases you with a kiss against your cheek. When that doesn’t rouse a reaction from you, he gently pinches you in the way he knows will make you react.
“Laurance Zvahl!” You gasp and immediately grasp your husband’s roaming hand, though notably you do not remove it.
Laurance can’t help but grin to himself as you maneuver your way into turning around. He returns your attempt at a glare with a loving and knowing smile of his own. “Yes, My Love?” He asks ever so sweetly - as if his hand were not latched onto your chest this very moment.
“Does the day so desperately require my presence that I cannot be granted a mere moment of peace?”
“No, the day does not require you so. Your husband, however, does.”
“Good Irene… What did I ever do to become stuck with a man such as you?” You breathe a quiet sigh but the smile that tugs on your lips gives your true feelings away. “So be it. How does my husband require me?”
…
“I still miss him. I miss him all the time.”
“I know. I miss him too.”
“You don’t understand. You didn’t love him the way I did.”
“You’re right, I don’t love him the way you do, but you know he wouldn’t have wanted you to live your life like this.”
“I know that… it’s just-!”
“Hard?”
“...the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
“I know what you mean. It’s hard for me, too.”
…
Laurance allows himself to be dragged all over town catering to your every beck and call. From every stall in the marketplace to the bakery on the far side of town, Laurance allows you to pick and choose whichever items tickle your fancy. The two of you don’t normally get this much time together, after all. He’ll be damned if he doesn’t spoil you.
After two long hours of walking around town, the final stop of the afternoon is the flower field located just outside of town.
Laurance watches quietly as you sit amongst a patch of star-shaped blooms. He’s always liked the feeling of the flower’s woolly white petals against his fingertips, but the small buddle of yellow florets in the center leave behind far too much pollen for his taste. Even so, the boy must admit how beautiful you look amongst them.
“Your dress will become dusted with yellow if you sit amongst the flowers for too long, my love. Come. Lest we desire a trip home in the dark, let us return home.” Says Laurance. When you don’t immediately turn to face him, the boy sets his things on the ground and kneels in front of you. “My love?”
You blink up from the flowers to meet Laurance’s gaze. “Yes?”
“I was simply suggesting we take our leave. I wouldn’t want my dear wife to grow too tired to venture home. Then again, the opportunity to carry you home isn’t an undesirable one.”
“Oh… of course.” Your detached response is only emphasized by the way your eyes drift down to the flowers scattered across the field once more. “You don’t suppose you’ll ever grow tired of me, will you?”
“Never.”
“Are you certain?”
When met with your hesitation, Laurance wants nothing more than to scoop you up into his arms and lather you with copious amounts of affection and care. Yet as your gaze drifts further away and your hand begins to pull at his coat, he restrains himself.
“My love for you may very well be the only thing I am certain of!” The boy leans forward and presses a kiss against your forehead, followed by your temple, your nose, and finally your lips. Finally, the boy whispers to you, “even when this heart of mine ceases to beat, I will continue to love you. There’s nothing in the world that could ever change that.”
“...okay.” A soft smile pulls on your lips as you place a quick peck against Laurance’s cheek. Before he can pull you to your feet, however, you make one more request of him - one last place to visit before returning home.
…
“Please… please Irene, please-!”
“Stop!”
“I can’t! I-I musn’t! If I stop then he’ll surely- I can’t let him-”
“(Y/n), stop! You have to stop.”
“Why?!”
“He… he’s already…”
…
Laurance walks hand in hand with you through the forest. The trek isn’t silent, but he knows better than to fill the air with too much conversation in a place like this. He knows these paths by heart, though he can’t remember the last time he’s walked them with you. This forest holds too much history.
Before long, the path narrows and the foliage thickens. Lush trees twist together into a near-perfect circle - dense, unnatural, and impossible to pass through by ordinary means. Most travelers turn back or go around, but you don’t. Together, you and Laurance press deeper into the grove.
The closer you get to the center, the more hostile the forest becomes. Branches tangle, undergrowth chokes the ground, and any clear passage disappears entirely. It feels as though the forest itself is guarding something.
For anyone else it would be impenetrable, but not for you.
Hidden among the dense growth, a single flowering shrub stands weaker than the rest. With one clean swing Laurance cuts through it to reveal what lies beyond.
Your grip tightens against Laurance’s as you cross the threshold.
The air is thicker here. No, Laurance doesn’t think that’s quite right. Rather, it’s still. Waiting. Suspended in a moment of time much longer than anyone might think it to be. Even so, the ground is littered with the white flowers from before - a testament to how often the two of you have visited this place.
You and Laurance tread carefully as to not uproot any of the flowers currently in bloom. Once you’re both in the center of the cove, Laurance hands the flowers you’d picked from the field just a few hours earlier.
The boy watches as you place the flowers upon a once familiar face. “How long has it been?”
“I… I don’t know.” You admit. “I can’t remember anymore.”
“The number of years?”
“No, not the years…” Your voice slowly begins to waiver the longer you speak. “I can no longer recall the sound of his voice nor the joy of his laughter. I can’t even-!”
“I know.” Laurance grips your hand tighter in hopes that it might comfort you. In turn, you lean into Laurance. The boy wastes no time in wrapping you in his embrace before uttering a quiet, “I’m slowly forgetting his face, too.”
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Lose Inspiration for the Story: https://www.tumblr.com/otherwindow/616914443404804096/otherwindow-a-desperate-cleric-slamming-every?source=share
i'm so excited to see that you're back to posting!! i love your posts and kept coming back whilst you were IA to read some of your other ones!!!!
also omggg the hickey hcs are so peak....
I really enjoyed writing the headcannons! It made me realise how much I've missed writing (and posting) for the MS cast lol
To be honest, I never stopped writing - I just stopped posting. I have a few projects underway that I'm super excited to release (one of them much larger than the others) but they're not quite ready for reading. That being said, I hope I'll be able to post more MS & MCD content soon! ♡( ◡‿◡ )
CW: Biting - I use ‘bite’ and ‘giving hickeys’ pretty interchangeably.
Author’s Note: Sorry for going MIA - I finally finished my last year of post-secondary! As I’m getting back into posting, I’ve decided to start with a headcannon list for all my lovely readers.
╰─..★.──────────╯
Laurance, Travis, Dante
Enjoys giving you hickeys
Anytime you give him access to your chest there will be a new hickey (it’s his preferred place to bite)
Would love to leave bites where others can see them but he won’t do it unless you’re okay with it
Never bites you too hard - but always hard enough to make his bites dark and distinct
Always asks you to send him pictures of your chest with the express purpose of seeing the hickeys he’s left on your skin
If the bites are fading he’ll definitely give you new ones the next time he sees you
Also enjoys when you leave hickeys on him, too
Isn’t above asking (and begging) for a hickey or two
Lets you bite him in most places, so long as it isn’t an objectively weird place to leave a mark (forehead, knees, etc.)
If the two of you are together in private, he’ll let you bite him whenever you want to
Just know that unprompted hickeys will probably lead to him getting aroused
Blaze, Garroth
Loves to bite you and give you hickeys
When in a long term relationship with him, there’s hardly a time when he leaves you with less than 3 hickeys on your body
He can’t get enough of his lips on your body (respectfully, of course)
Tends to get carried away when giving you hickeys - especially when he’s leaving bites on your upper thighs
Cuteness aggression cranked up to the max = many, many bites and hickeys
Also loves it when you bite him
You never have to ask before you leave a hickey on him
In fact, he prefers when you bite him unprompted
Absolutely loves when you leave a surprise hickey on his neck
It’s always a good day when you give him hickeys
Gene, Zenix
Likes to, but doesn’t go out of his way to bite you
He doesn’t dislike the idea of giving you hickeys but doesn’t particularly care for it either (outside of the bedroom, that is)
If he knows you particularly like it, he might be more generous with how often he’ll indulge you
He gives in pretty quickly once you genuinely voice your desires for some hickeys
He’ll tease you about it though
Secretly likes when you give him hickeys
He never outright asks you to bite him - he’s far above that
However, that is far from saying he doesn’t like it when you give him hickeys
Occasionally rage baits you into biting him
Will usually let you bite him unprompted so long as you’re not out in public
Vylad, Zane
Doesn’t like to, but will leave you hickeys if you like it
It’s not that he finds it unappealing or childish, he’s just indifferent towards it
If you express clear enjoyment then he will make an effort to leave bites on you - it’s just not on the top of his priorities
He’d much rather cook you a nice dinner or buy you a nice outfit
Still, he’ll always want to give you what you want - even if what you want has him kissing and biting your sensitive skin
Prefers not to be bitten, but will let you if you ask
He doesn’t mind if you bite him gently over his clothes when you’re alone, but if you have intentions to leave a mark then he needs you to let him know
He mostly lets you bite his upper arms and chest, though he’ll occasionally let you bite his thighs if you ask nicely
Occasionally, if he’s in a particularly giving mood, he’ll let you leave as many marks as you want
Later, when he looks in the mirror at what you’ve left him, he’ll be amused - maybe he’ll let you do this to him more often
Ein (With a non-werewolf partner, specifically)
Absolutely loves giving love bites, just not to you
At least, not at first - you’re not a werewolf, after all
Why bother marking his partner if he’s not going to stay? You’re just a means to an end
But he can’t deny how much he loves seeing your skin littered with dark marks from his lips - even if he’d never admit it
If you point out the marks then he'll makes a mental effort to stop, but his efforts only last for so long. He can’t help himself when it comes to you
Does not want to be bitten by you at all
Once again, you’re not a werewolf - don’t go thinking you can leave any hickeys on him
But the one time you do leave a mark, he can’t stop looking at it
He stares, pokes and prods at the mark like a teenager who got their first hickey
It pains him to admit it, but he likes it. Viscerally.
He’ll never, ever, ask you to leave him any marks but he’ll never tell you he doesn’t want them either. It’s up to you to figure out if he actually likes it or not.
Hello, my diners. I would like to inform you about a scam that is currently active on Tumblr.
Someone had messaged me and told me that they had reported my account by accident, and if I didn't message the support Discord account, my account would be deleted. (They even sent a picture along with it.)
I had some suspicion, so I told my Tech friend, and he immediately found the scam on Reddit.
So please be careful out there!
Here's a link to someone else who had the same thing happen to them.
Don't Forget Me @chackyxyooj - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
