//volleyball player!reader has to share space with the basketball team due to unexpected circumstances and number 01 on the team seems to not follow the rules and get on reader's nerves//
//college au, enemies to lovers, sports romance//
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We reached Daniela’s house a couple of hours after the party had already started, call it fashionably late.
Daniela greeted us by the front door, “Hey! The volley squad! Come on in, welcome, have some fun” she said and I could already sense she was a bit tipsy, “the dance floor is over there and the kitchen right here,” she showed us a bit around, “if you need anything just ask one of us, enjoy the night, we won!” I just laughed and let her go back to whatever she was doing.
My friends and I went to the kitchen and we spotted Manon, another girl part of the basketball winning team, “hey there volley girls, I wasn’t expecting you here tonight” she commented. “Your teammate Lara invited us over”, I responded.
“Oh did she? Well, what can I get for you, dears?” we just asked for some beers, she handed them to us and we thanked her. We reached the “dance floor” and started dancing to the hyped music, to our surprise we already knew some of the people there.
Some time went by, already some shots and beers in and a familiar face approached us.
“Hey there, pretty girl, glad you came” Lara said smiling, “we’re playing beer pong and I need one more on my team, you in?” she asked, I looked back at my friends having enough fun for me to leave them on their own, “sure thing” I nodded.
Lara took me to what I’d guess is another living room. I saw a group of people gathered around a pingpong table, already prepared for the game. Guess who was at the other side? – yep, Megan, #1, Skiendiel with Daniela. Sophia and Manon were the “referees”.
“Now you want to play against me, sweetheart?” she said in a teasing tone, but frowned her eyebrows when she realised I teamed with Lara. “Lara, you start!” Sophia announced. Lara bounced the ball and it landed right in the middle cup, everyone around cheered and I gave Lara a quick side hug, meanwhile, Megan grabbed the cup and drank whatever was inside, not breaking the eye contact between us.
We kept playing until one cup was left for us to win, I was already too drunk to see straight, but I still managed to bounce the ball and land it in the last cup. Daniela looked defeated and Megan reluctantly grabbed the cup and finished drinking.
Everyone around us started cheering us and Lara kissed my cheek before hugging me as we celebrated our win, “I knew you’d be a great partner!” She cheered drunkenly and I just laughed.
Megan and Daniela reached our side to shake hands cordially as a way to congratulate us, Dani was way more drunk than Megan as she offered to drink almost all of the drinks, she stumbled her way to the couch and Manon had to help her, she’s for sure not drinking anything more tonight.
As for Megan, she approached my side, “I didn’t know you were so good at this, I should’ve asked you to be on my team” she commented.
“Well, too bad your friend Lara was faster than you” I smiled giggling.
“That won’t happen again, that’s for sure,” she muttered.
I just stayed there with the rest of the basketball team, getting to know them better. Then, Megan offered to get some water for us, when she turned around I noticed a tattoo poking out of her top.
I was looking curious when Manon saw me staring, “Cool tat, right, volley girl?” She asked playfully, I nodded, “yeah, what is it?” I asked.
She just shrugged and told me to ask her when she came back. Moments later Megan brought us all water and I asked her about her tattoos, she grinned and turned her back and rolled her top for me to see her whole back. Not only did I notice her butterfly shaped tattoo, but also her toned muscles. I stared for a few seconds before she rolled her top down again and turned to look at me, “the best tattoo you’ve ever seen, huh?” I just nodded and she started showing me her other tattoos.
But the whole time I could only concentrate on her muscles, her sculpted arms and abs, her juicy lips moving but I wasn’t hearing anything. How tight her top fitted her, I could see the outline of her bra, her cleavage, has she always been this hot? How could someone be this annoying AND good-looking?
I’m sure she saw me staring when she snapped her fingers in front of me, “eyes up here, sweetheart”.
I just laughed it off and went back to listening to her explaining her tattoos.
What’s happening to me?
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a/n: next part will be juuuuicy for sure ;))) hope you’re enjoying it so far!!
⟢ 𝓼ummary: you've had a crush on yoonchae ever since she debuted. it was never public, you just admired her from afar. however, your silly little crush on yoonchae won't be a private one for long after jype and hybexgeffen decided that the two youngest members of their global girl groups should fake date in order to gain publicity.
⟢ 𝓹airing: jeung yoonchae x girlset 5th member!femalereader
⟢ 𝒻eaturing: katseye (ot6) , girlset (ot4) , and more !
⟢ 𝓼tatus: planning + ongoing
⟢ 𝓽ags: yoonchae x f!reader , girlset 5th member!r , queerbaiting for a hot minute , yoonchae thought she was straight... until she wasn't , jealousy , bunch of losers into one , smau , kms/kys jokes
⟢ 𝒶uthor 𝓃ote: this is just a bunch of crap + a work of fiction so don't take this seriously. and i struggle with committing to posting regularly so don't expect updates very often 😹..
— angels sent from heaven 👼 — kats girls — playlist !
prologue. did we see her?? i. oh. ii. just the beginning iii. hard launch iv. doing too much v. feels rushed vi. it's you my heart beats for (written) vii. crazy crossover viii. oh okay ix. miss possessive (half written) x. mixed feelings
Summary: Where with each video on TikTok and Weverse, it became more and more obvious that Daniela was hopelessly in love with you.
Note: English is not my first language.
Warning: Flirting, Daniela is in love, Suggestive Content, A Little Anguish, Jealousy, and Comfort!
Katseye Masterlist
Video One: Try to Follow — 3.2 Million Views.
The studio smelled of cold coffee and floor disinfectant, that characteristic scent of a place that had seen too many rehearsals and too few overtime hours. You were leaning against the wall of mirrors, scrolling through your phone without paying much attention, when Lara showed up with that sparkle in her eyes of someone who was about to stir up trouble.
"Go on, go on, you two. Do the try to follow trend."
Daniela raised an eyebrow from across the room. She was wearing a black hoodie half-fallen off her shoulder, her brown hair tied up in a loose bun that was already losing the battle against gravity. She looked tired. She looked beautiful.
"If you mess up, I won't let you forget it." She said, and her voice came out lower than usual, almost a purr.
You laughed, already positioning yourself in front of her.
"And what if you're the one who messes up?"
"I won't."
Said like that, with that absolute certainty, it was almost arrogant. But coming from Daniela, it was just the truth.
The music started. You moved first, simple steps, a shoulder roll, your right hand rising and falling in a fluid gesture. You felt her presence behind you like a magnetic field, that silent thing Daniela had of occupying spaces without needing to make noise.
What you didn't see, but the video would later show, to 3.2 million people, was her face.
Daniela wasn't looking at your movements. She wasn't following your arms or your legs with that technical focus she had during the group's choreographies. She was looking at you. At the curve of your neck when you laughed at something Sophia shouted from off-frame. At the way your hair swayed. At the reflection of the two of you in the mirror ahead.
When the video ended, Lara lowered her phone with a strange expression.
"You two…" She started, but didn't finish.
Daniela was already reaching for her water bottle, the back of her neck slightly flushed.
"Did it turn out good?" You asked, innocent.
"It turned out…" Lara exchanged a glance with Megan, who had just walked in. "It turned out really good."
You didn't understand at the time. You would understand later, when the comments started popping up on TikTok.
"guys she didn't blink ONCE"
"Daniela looking at Y/N like she hung the moon"
"this is no longer friendship, I regret to inform you"
"the look on her face at 0:07 seconds MY GOD"
—
Video Two: We Listen and We Don't Judge — 3.1 Million Views.
The hotel room in Dallas had horrible lighting and an air conditioner that rattled like a boat engine. You and Daniela were sitting on the bed, shoulder against shoulder, bare feet touching in the middle of the mattress.
"Should we do the trend?" You suggested, showing your phone. "We listen and we don't judge."
Daniela rolled her eyes, but it was an affectionate eye roll, the kind she only did with you.
"Fine. But you start."
You adjusted the phone propped up on the nightstand, pressed record, and took a deep breath.
"I sleep with socks on even in the summer."
Daniela blinked. Then let out a short laugh, the kind that shook her shoulders in an adorable way.
"That's horrible."
"We listen and we don't judge!" You protested, lightly slapping her arm.
"Okay, okay. My turn." She made a dramatic pause, looking at the camera. "I've been listening to the same three songs for months."
"Three?"
"Three."
"Daniela."
"We listen and we don't judge." She repeated, imitating your voice, and you laughed.
That's when it happened.
While you laughed, throwing your head back, the phone still recording, Daniela simply… stopped. Her smile didn't disappear, but it softened. Her brown eyes, which fans called siren eyes, got caught on you as if the rest of the world had gone into slow motion.
It took you three seconds to realize she was no longer participating in the game.
"Dani?"
"Hm?" She blinked, coming back. Her cheeks tinged pink. "Sorry. I got lost."
The video ended there. But fans would take screenshots of that exact frame, Daniela looking at you with an expression that left no room for interpretation.
"she literally forgot she was recording"
"Y/N laughing and Dani looking at her like she's the most precious thing in the world I CAN'T HANDLE THIS"
"look at second 0:03 and tell me this isn't love"
"Daniela Avanzini completely IN LOVE and thinking no one notices"
—
Video Three: Beautiful Chaos Tour Chicago — 4.5 Million.
The show in Chicago was electric.
The United Center pulsed with eighteen thousand people screaming, the lights sweeping the stage in neon waves, the sound of the drums vibrating in your chest like a second heart. You were at the center of the stage, the mini vlog camera in your hand, trying to capture the crowd's energy for the tour videos.
"Chicago!" You shouted at the lens, laughing. "You guys are—"
The arm wrapped around your waist before you could finish.
It was a gesture you knew. You knew the weight, the temperature, the way the fingers spread across your hip as if they belonged there. Daniela fit herself behind you, her chin on your shoulder, her body warm against your back.
"Hi." She murmured, quietly, just for you.
You turned your face, surprised, and found her smile. That rare smile, the one that came slowly and lit up everything, the one fans called the sunshine smile.
The big screen captured everything.
Eighteen thousand people went wild.
You couldn't explain what you felt in that moment. The world stopped for a second, suspended between the deafening noise and the silence of Daniela's gaze. On the giant screen, the image of the two of you looked like a painting, Daniela with flushed cheeks, you with a mischievous smile, your bodies so close that you couldn't tell where one ended and the other began.
She ran her tongue between her lips, that gesture that made the audience scream, and you captured the image on the vlog camera.
Later, backstage, Sophia nudged you.
"Did you see the big screen?"
"I did." Your voice came out weaker than you would have liked.
"She doesn't do that with anyone else."
You knew. Of course you knew.
—
The moments piled up.
There was the time backstage in Los Angeles, when you were talking to Jun, one of the dancers on the crew, handsome, funny, and Daniela simply appeared. She didn't say anything, didn't ask permission, didn't give an explanation. She just leaned against your side and stayed there, her shoulder glued to yours, her dark eyes fixed on Jun's face as if saying she's not available without needing to move a single muscle in her mouth.
Jun understood before you did. He gave a weak smile, murmured something about going to check the wardrobe, and disappeared.
"What was that?" You asked, turning to Daniela.
"Nothing." She averted her gaze. "I just wanted to be here."
There was the time in the van, coming back from the show in Houston, when you fell asleep on her shoulder. You woke up forty minutes later with Daniela's fingers tracing distracted circles on your arm, the touch so light it felt more like breath than skin. She was looking out the window, the streetlights passing in flashes across her face, and you closed your eyes again just to feel it a little longer.
There was the time on Weverse, when a fan asked "which member makes you laugh the most?" and Daniela answered your name before you even opened your mouth. Too fast. Too sure.
"Y/N. Always."
There was the live with Manon and Megan, which you only saw later, because someone sent you the clip.
"Have you guys noticed how Dani sticks to Y/N?" Manon was saying, excited, her eyes shining with the look of someone who knew exactly what she was doing. "It's all the time. We get to the hotel, Dani already looks for where Y/N is. We go eat, she sits next to her. We're backstage, she stays behind Y/N like a… Ugh, how do you say it? A puppy?"
"Clingy," Megan completed, laughing.
"That! She turns into a clingy little puppy when Y/N is around. It's really cute, but it's also kind of funny, because Dani acts all tough and then Y/N shows up and she just melts."
The video went viral within hours. Daniela never mentioned the subject.
But you noticed that, in the following days, she became quieter. More restrained. As if she had been discovered and didn't know what to do with the exposure.
—
And then that night came.
It was late, truly late, one of those dead hours when not even the birds were awake yet. The hotel room in New York was identical to all the other hotel rooms on the tour, but it felt different. Maybe because of the yellowish light from the lamp. Maybe because of the silence. Maybe because Daniela was lying on your chest, her body tucked between your arms, her brown curls spreading like paint on your t-shirt.
You were scrolling through your TikTok feed without paying attention, the videos passing in a colorful blur. Your other hand was in her hair, your fingers gently scratching, feeling the soft texture of the strands. Daniela was playing with the bracelets on your wrist, the black leather one you never took off, the beaded one a fan had thrown onto the stage in Chicago, the silver one your grandmother gave you.
"You like this one." She murmured, touching the beaded one.
"I do."
"Why?"
"Because a fan made it. It has every tiny bead… It must have taken hours."
Daniela was silent for a moment. Her fingers still played with the bracelet, but you felt a subtle shift in her body. A tension. A hesitation.
"Can I ask you something?" Her voice came out lower.
"Of course."
Another pause. Longer.
"Have you noticed?" She asked, and there was something fragile in the way the words came out, as if she were walking on thin ice.
Your thumb stopped in her hair.
"Noticed what?"
Daniela didn't lift her face. She kept her head on your chest, her fingers now still on your wrist.
"That I…" She took a deep breath. "That I like you."
Her heart was racing. You could feel the beats echoing in your own body, at the point where her chest touched yours.
"Dani…"
"No." She cut in, but her voice wasn't harsh. It was almost a plea. "Let me talk. If I don't say it now, I'll never say it."
You stayed silent. Your hand started moving in her hair again, slowly, a silent encouragement.
"I like you." She repeated, and now her voice trembled a little. "It's not a friendship thing. It's not a 'oh, we're really close' thing. I like you. The way that makes my chest hurt when you laugh at something I said. The way I forget there's an audience when you're near. The way I have to hold myself back from doing this…"
She touched your wrist.
"…all the time."
The confession hung in the air like smoke. Daniela took another deep breath, and you felt her fingers lightly squeeze the leather bracelet.
"But I'm scared." She continued, and now her voice cracked. "Because if this ruins everything, if you don't feel the same way and things get weird between us, if I lose what we already have… I don't want that. I'd rather stay quiet. I'd rather just be your friend that people think is clingy. Because at least then I still have you."
Your heart ached. It ached in a good way, it ached in a way you couldn't name.
"But I can't pretend anymore." Daniela whispered. "Every time someone comments, every time people notice before you do, every time I see myself in a video and realize I'm looking at you like you're…" She stopped. "Like you're everything. Because you are. And I don't know what to do with that."
She finally lifted her face.
Daniela's eyes were shining, not from tears, but from something close. Raw vulnerability. Fear and hope mixed in a combination that made her face more beautiful than any illuminated stage.
"You don't have to say anything." She spoke quickly. "I just needed you to know. And if you don't feel the same, we can forget this conversation. I can forget. Or try to. I—"
You kissed her.
It was in the middle of the sentence, in the middle of the monologue, in the middle of the fear she was spilling out in hurried words. Your hand slid from her hair to the nape of her neck, pulling her close, and your mouth found hers in a kiss that interrupted everything, the words, the thoughts, time.
Daniela was paralyzed for a second. A whole second where the world stopped spinning.
And then she melted.
Her lips moved against yours as if they had waited for this their entire lives. The hand that was on your wrist rose to your face, her fingers spreading across your jaw, the touch so delicate it seemed like she was still afraid of breaking something.
When you pulled apart, just enough to breathe, Daniela's eyes were wide. Her lips, slightly parted. Her cheeks, completely red.
"You…" She started.
"Me too." You said, and your voice came out hoarse. "For a long time. A very long time."
"But you never…"
"I didn't know how." You laughed, a trembling laugh. "You're Daniela Avanzini. You're… you."
"I'm just a girl who looks at you too much in videos."
"You're the girl who looks at me like I'm the most precious thing in the world." Your thumb caressed her cheek. "And I'm the girl who finally had the courage to do something about it."
Daniela let out a laugh, a wet laugh, emotional, the most beautiful laugh you had ever heard. She let her forehead fall against yours, her eyes closed, her eyelashes brushing your skin.
"I thought you didn't feel the same." She whispered. "I thought I was going to ruin everything."
"You didn't ruin anything." You kissed the tip of her nose. "You just made me wait."
"Was it worth it?"
Instead of answering, you kissed her again. Slower this time. Deeper. Daniela's hands tangled in your hair, her body adjusting to yours as if it had finally found the right place.
Outside, New York shone with its thousands of lights. But inside that room, the only thing that mattered was the way Daniela smiled against your lips.
—
You woke up with the familiar weight on your chest.
Daniela was still there, exactly as she had fallen asleep, her head tucked between your neck and your shoulder, her curls tickling your chin, one of her hands splayed over your heart as if she wanted to feel every beat.
The morning light came in through the gaps in the curtain, painting golden stripes on her face.
You watched her for a while. At the dark eyelashes. At the lips still slightly swollen. At the expression of absolute peace she wore while she slept.
Your phone vibrated on the nightstand.
It was a Twitter notification. You opened it on instinct, the brightness of the screen making you squint.
It was an edit. Of course it was an edit. The fans never slept.
The video showed the two of you, the try to follow, the we listen and we don't judge, the stage moment in Chicago, the Weverse live. Scenes stitched together with a soft song in the background, each frame chosen with the precision of someone who knew exactly what they were looking for.
The caption read: "Daniela Avanzini completely in love with Y/N for 3 minutes and 47 seconds."
You smiled.
"So early?" Daniela's voice came sleepy, muffled against your neck.
"The eyekons made another edit."
"Hmm." She tightened her arm around your waist. "I bet it's obvious."
"It is."
Daniela lifted her head slowly, her eyes still half-closed, her hair completely messy. She looked at your phone screen, then at you.
"You know what I was thinking?"
"What?"
"That I don't need to hide anymore." She smiled, that rare smile, the one that lit up everything. "I can look at you as much as I want now."
You laughed, pulling her back into the embrace.
"You always could."
"But now you know."
"Now I know."
And when the phone vibrated again with more notifications, comments, likes, fans going crazy with the possibility that maybe, maybe, all of this was real, you set it aside.
Because Daniela was in your arms, her heart beating against yours, and the rest of the world could wait.
when shiloh unexpectedly quit the up-and-coming rock band katseye after they exploded on the scene with a critically acclaimed first album that was followed by a highly successful world tour, it left both fans and critics shocked as to why she would leave at the height of the band's success and popularity. unbeknownst to all, shiloh's contract wasn't renewed after being voted out and replaced by daniela's best friend, manon bannerman, by her band members. for the past two years shiloh has been dark on her public socials until she out of nowhere drops a teaser of her new single along with rumors of her releasing a solo album soon —right around the same time her former band will be dropping their third album. things are going to get interesting, especially when she has to start being around her ex, sophia, and the girl she left her for and was replaced in the band with, manon. fun, huh?
written chapter
WORD COUNT: 6.4k
trigger warnings: heavy subjects ahead. mentions of suicide, child death, parental neglect, hints of child abuse, child abandonment.
mama i'm chasing a ghost.
there are several different meanings to the name shiloh, it means 'peaceful' or 'tranquil' or 'his gift,' but there's another meaning the name can be translated to, like 'the one whom it belongs to,' depending on how the name is used. the name can be used for girls just as it could be used for a boy— for shiloh, the name means something else entirely.
shiloh's name came with a history that she never knew about until she had gotten older— and even now she questions herself on why she had not changed both first and last names the moment she legally could. the name was first used by her father, josiah, younger brother, and then his and mama's firstborn son, whom they had affectionately called 'jj' before it was given to her.
shiloh carries the name that belongs to the dead.
her uncle had the name first, and for 21 years he carried the name— until his life was taken away. by his own hand. shiloh's mother, shai, was pregnant with their first child and, in their shared grief, decided that their newborn son would carry his uncle's name to honor him.
for six years, jj carried the name shiloh. it was his. jj was a hyper, playful child who became excited to learn he was going to be an older brother and would constantly run up to his mother so he could place his hand on her stomach because he wanted to feel where the baby was or kiss her stomach before he ran off to go outside and play.
everything was fine— good. safe. the darkest period of josiah and shai's life gave way to a blessing in the form of a 6 year old boy full of life.
until it was taken.
jj was outside playing when everything went wrong. shai only took her eyes off of him for a brief moment, and when she turned back, she saw his small body trembling violently on the ground, and by the time shai ran to him and picked him up, he had completely stopped moving, nor was he breathing. at just 8 months pregnant, a month shy of the due date, the shock of it all caused shai to go into early labor. shiloh was born in the aftermath of the death of her brother— and then given his name.
sudep. sudden unexpected death in epilepsy was the cause of little jj's death, which is what was told to josiah by the doctors. they didn't understand how it could happen, believing they had it all under control as their sons' seizures were slowing down to the point they had stopped giving him his medicine.
what josiah didn't disclose to the doctors, or to his wife, was that jj had several back-to-back seizures in the span of minutes that day that lasted longer than the ones before it. shai was in her room asleep after being told by her doctor that she needed to rest more now that she's in the later stage of pregnancy.
what did shiloh's father do after seeing his oldest and only son having back-to-back minutes-long seizures?
nothing.
josiah had done absolutely nothing.
once he saw jj slowly coming back to his normal energetic self— josiah let his son resume his playful activities as if nothing had happened.
now he's gone.
leaving behind grieving parents and a sister who will carry on his name the same way jj did.
a name that now comes with a significant weight and responsibility because it was named after two people that shai and josiah loved deeply; the only way they could keep the memory of their son and josiah's younger brother alive was by giving it to the newborn baby girl that came into this world a few hours after her brother's death.
why would parents do such a thing? how selfish can one be? these were the questions both shiloh's maternal and paternal grandparents recited to their grieving children, but they were set in their ways and would not change their names.
now shiloh carries the burden of a name that had belonged to two people she's never met. both ended in tragedy. one by his own hand— the other was taken from them just as suddenly.
i don't know who he is.
shiloh's parents had become different after her birth. they became more cautious, careful, and exceedingly paranoid —or quick-tempered in josiah's case— about how they could stop their daughter from sharing her brother's fate.
josiah started to get rid of any reminders of their son from the home. it was a slow, painful process that continuously drained his sanity and will to live.
some items were kept, like his bed— that was one of the things they couldn't bring themselves to remove— a few of his clothes, books, and a bear that jj picked out to give to his baby sister, "it'll protect her from the monsters when i have to take a nap." josiah wanted the bear to be thrown out, but shai fought against it and even threatened to walk out with shiloh and never come back if he ever thought about touching the stuffed animal.
jj's bedroom was right across the hall from what become shiloh's nursery.
her crib was eventually moved to their bedroom— shai had become fearful of not being able to see shiloh or be near her and would constantly wake up in the middle of the night to make sure the baby was still breathing.
josiah kept his distance from his daughter.
because the older shiloh got, the more she carried and reminded both of her parents of the two people whose name she now bears. she had the color of her uncle's eyes— and she looked almost identical to jj.
shai and josiah would also become highly restrictive of their daughter and keep her inside the home most days. watching her every step and checking to make sure nothing's wrong. doctor visits were frequent to make sure there was nothing wrong with shiloh because if there were and they missed it— shai barely slept through her first months out of fear that she would wake to find her baby in the crib not breathing.
they would tell themselves that they do so to keep her safe.
shiloh couldn't go outside for long periods of time, and having friends to play with was a possibility, but they would have to play inside the now gated front yard of the boudreaux home and she was prohibited from going over to play with kids at their homes or outside of her front yard.
that rule was broken several times. shiloh has always been a clever child even at an early age.
shiloh was allowed to play and have fun; shiloh had plenty of toys to keep her occupied and happy. but she was lonely— shiloh knew the meaning of loneliness before she could even pronounce the word itself.
no child's supposed to know that. they're not supposed to know how absolutely crushing being isolated feels, except shiloh knows. she knows it so well that when she got older, loneliness became her first true friend.
as shiloh grew, she had grown accustomed to each sound in the house and how different they were from one another. she knew the difference between what her mama was doing in the kitchen and what her father was drinking that day— she could tell if he was drinking water versus when he had alcohol by if he used ice or not. if she heard him opening the freezer and placing ice cubes in his cup— shiloh would call it the 'bad day' and would avoid him.
shiloh was only four when she started doing this.
she also started to realize and could tell the difference in her parents' footsteps and their scents— mama was careful, cautious, and gentle with her steps. josiah footsteps were loud and harsh; she could tell he was coming by how loudly his boots hit the floor and how shiloh could feel the floors would shake underneath his feet. shiloh could tell what mood he was in just by how hard his feet were against the floor as he walked.
shiloh associated lavender and honey with her mama because that's what she always smelled whenever she was near— that scent used to mean home and safety to her.
josiah scent was strong and overpowering, and it made shiloh not want to be around him sometimes. even during the moments where he actually acted like a loving father and not the shell of a man who could not look his own child in the eyes.
her parents then made the decision to move them from louisiana, too many memories resided in that city, which both wanted to be away from and start over in. josiah believed that moving would keep shiloh safer and maybe death wouldn't come for shiloh if she was no longer there.
so the family of three moved from louisiana to california.
shiloh was five when she moved to a new city and a new neighborhood— it was also where she had first met her, the girl that now lived across the street from her own.
she remembered the day when the family had moved into the empty house; it was a few months after their own arrival, and it was that very day josiah had taken her from the yard of their neighbors next door— he had been furious with her for disobeying him and leaving where he couldn't see her. she had watched from one of the windows downstairs in the living room, and that's when she saw the other little girl. she could see that they were probably around the same age, and her lips were moving as if she were talking to someone. curious, shiloh raised the window up and peeked her head out lightly to see if she could hear her, and that's when she could hear clearly and realized that the girl wasn't talking— she was singing. shiloh was fascinated.
until the girl turned her head towards shiloh's direction, and shiloh nearly hit her head against the window with how quickly she moved to duck down and hide. shiloh waited a few seconds before sitting up some to peek out the window again— only to find that she was still looking.
shiloh had run off because the girl had smiled and waved at her.
sophia. her name was sophia.
they were friends and did everything they could together within the restrictions that were placed on shiloh— didn't mean she abided by them.
and for awhile shiloh no longer felt alone.
then sophia had to leave. her family was moving away, farther away than shiloh could reach.
that was the first heartbreak she had ever experienced.
everything seemed to be shattered afterwards.
shiloh's birthday had come and gone; she had turned six years old with little acknowledgement.
no cake.
no presents.
no one sang to her while hugging her.
just empty looks from josiah and avoidance from her mama.
that's when her parents started screaming at night. mama's quiet and careful footsteps have gotten louder, quicker— like she was always running.
josiah footsteps still sounded the same, but they sounded heavier whenever he was close to her bedroom, where shiloh laid hidden underneath her bed, teddy bear pressed tightly against her chest as she listened to his loud footsteps.
then the screaming started again—
josiah carries a guilt inside of him because of both his brother's and son's deaths.
once upon a time, before he and his wife ever got together, shai did not love or even think of josiah in that way— because it was all towards his brother. the two had been friends for years and had loved him just as deeply throughout those years but said nothing, not knowing he had felt the same for her, and this caused the first crack. the second came from josiah entering the picture, and he had always known about his younger brother's love for shai but saw that he was too cowardly to admit it.
so josiah pursued her instead— shai recipricated. but that wasn't what broke everything— that was just the second crack between the three— no that came when the brother did confess his feelings. not knowing that how his older brother was pursuing her and told her how he felt and asked the question she'd been wanting to hear for years.
shai rejected him. thinking that he was only doing so because another man, his own brother, wanted her. shai and josiah announced they were together the next day. shiloh had left the following day.
calls, letters, and messages from both josiah and shai were ignored. years had passed by before he finally made an appearance at a family gathering— he had looked different. the boy who could light up the room with just a smile was now a man whose light had left his eyes but still had that smile that can bring out your own. the family had heard how he and his fiancée recently suffered the loss of their child from stillbirth just weeks after learning it was a boy and that he came back home after spending time with her parents at the suggestion of his and josiah's mother.
shai could not stop looking at him, and the feelings she thought were gone came rushing back. anyone in the room could see the longing in her eyes whenever they landed on him.
josiah noticed.
and after seeing shai look at him in a way she never looked at him, he decided to be sure to remind everyone, especially his brother, how he won in the end as he looked his little brother directly in his eyes as he made the announcement that he and shai were expecting their first child. a boy.
he watched as what little light in his brother's eyes dimmed away completely.
shiloh was gone by the end of the night.
they learned of his death months later from his late fiancee.
the guilt stayed with josiah—
"i can't look at her— i don't want to look at her because all i see is my son in every little thing she does. my brother's eyes stare back at me when she looks at me, and i can't— she is not a person but a walking reminder of what we lost."
that next morning, josiah was gone.
shai had found shiloh underneath her bed, fast asleep, hugging her teddy bear tightly to her chest. she didn't know her daughter had crawled under her bed moments after she tucked her daughter in because she had gotten scared hearing all the screaming and of josiah saying that shiloh prescence 'haunted' him.
after josiah left them, shai knew she had to step out of her zombie-like trance to take care of both herself and of shiloh and after thinking it over, she made the frightening decision in letting shiloh attend school and be around children her age. shai had seen the isolation slowly consume her child over time, how she shut down completely after the little girl from across the street had moved away. shiloh was only a child; what possessed her and josiah to stop her development due to their own fear?
shiloh was enrolled in school the next month.
the teachers had told shai that she was a bright student and excelled in her classes and gained a very particular and intense interest in anything music.
however, the young girl was behind socially.
shiloh was indeed a very shy, quiet child. she'd play with her classmates, but because of how she was isolated and alone during the six years of her life, she had preferred to play or do activities by herself. apologized for things that weren't her fault— flinching whenever someone walks too hard or too loudly where she could hear, hiding behind her hands when the teacher yelled to get the children's attention or quiet down. shai was asked if she was comfortable with letting shiloh speak with a professional and involve her in peer groups, or would she rather a teacher do one-on-one time after school?
shai had denied the help. saying that shiloh's fine and just needs time to adjust to being in school and around children her age.
several months had passed since the conversation, and shiloh still hadn't adjusted well enough to her environment, her teacher decided to implement more music time into the students' daily routine, and when she saw how much more comfortable and confident shiloh became, the teacher would give her lessons after school that revolved around music.
music was the second friend shiloh had made after the loneliness— it was the friend that would save her.
mama i'm chasing a ghost, i don't know where he is
the years passed with shiloh coming more out of her shell, but her introverted nature continued to be prominent. shiloh and her mother also became closer, and for years, it was just them against the world. there wasn't a time when she had believed that mama wouldn't be there and didn't know what life would be like if she weren't there anymore.
seeing that shiloh's interest in music never wavered, shai started to look for schools mainly known for their music programs and was recommended an all-girls charter school that was mainly known for it and immediately enrolled her into the school.
josiah never made an appearance back into their lives, but he was still financially obligated for shiloh and sent financial support every month since her seventh birthday. and if it weren't for his pictures in the house— shiloh would have forgotten his face.
but she did remember his footsteps— the harsh smell of his cologne and the way he used to look at her. like he was seeing someone else and not her.
shai never talked about the past, and the room that was across the hallway from shiloh's bedroom always stayed closed. shiloh has never known what was inside that room— she has only seen her parents go inside and stay in there for hours or sleep in it. but whenever they weren't in there, the door stayed closed.
there were times when it was opened and she could hear her mother inside, but shiloh would always back away and head back downstairs, remembering the conversation she had with her mama and that she shouldn't enter that room.
"some ghosts— don't have a need to be known— sometimes you just have to let them be."
shiloh never asked what she meant by that, but she had stayed away from that room since then.
throughout the years, shiloh noticed that her mother started looking at her differently.
would look at her like she wasn't supposed to be there at times.
or would look over her as if she weren't there. the times when she would look shiloh in the eyes and flinch— she just flinched and backed away from her.
shiloh was 11 when she came to a horrific realization. about the relationship she had with her mother— how shai felt about her.
she kept it to herself because she never wanted it to be true— that it was just the passing thought all young girls tell themselves when the relationship with their mother changes. how does one cope with a painful realization?
shiloh was 13 when the realization turned out to be true.
birthdays have never been a thing for shiloh because they were never really acknowledged. sometimes she would get a happy birthday, but most of the time it was just ignored. so when she came home the day of her birthday, shiloh expected it to be the same as always, her mama sitting down in her chair reading with music playing softly in the background. what she wasn't expecting was to see her mother in the dining room, telling her happy birthday while holding up a cake with candles.
shocked would be an understatement to how shiloh felt in that moment because she immediately sensed the shift in the air— shiloh knew something was off. shai has always been a serious woman, and there has maybe been a time where she was happy and showed it— but shiloh has never seen it. she's rarely ever seen her mother smile…even towards her.
—but shiloh was still a child. a very naive child.
this was all she had wanted— for her birthday to be acknowledged and celebrated. for once shiloh just wanted what she'd witnessed other children had for years and never got to have.
she never cared to have a cake or even wanted presents— shiloh just wanted to be acknowledged. loved.
and now her mother was giving it to her.
until her mother told a truth she's been holding for years about her daughter.
they were sitting outside on the bench in the backyard and looking up at the stars— this was the first time shai had joined shiloh as this was something the young girl did on her own every night before going to bed without fail, so this— this was an even more special moment to shiloh.
shai had turned to look at her daughter, eyes shining with unshed tears; she brought a hand up to place an escaped curl behind shiloh's ears. she had a smile on her face— a smile that never reached her eyes. "i never loved you…"
there it was— the truth. the horrific and devastating thing she had realized when she was only 11 years old was being told to her by a woman who was supposed to love her with a fierceness that only a mother could have for their child.
her mind flashed back to
but her mother wasn't finished. she kept talking like she hadn't just shattered her child, "death is the only reason you are here— and you take it with you wherever you go. in your eyes, your face— and your name. death has cast a shadow on you since the moment you came into this world— you were born to it. the quiet, cold nature that's within you. you're hard to love, and it's why your father left us— i hope me telling you this has brought you comfort, shiloh…sorry if it doesn't."
shiloh said nothing as her mother effortlessly destroyed her with words, thinking it would bring her child peace with how she had been raised and why josiah was no longer here.
they were afraid of losing her.
so afraid that they stopped themselves from loving her in the way a parent is supposed to.
and of her.
every time they looked at her face, they saw their son jj, and whenever they looked into her eyes, josiah's brother stared right back at them.
her expressions, the way she moves. everything she's done reminded her of the child and man that were brutally taken from her. shiloh has been living in the shadows by both the appearance and name of two people she's never heard of or known.
and she was being punished for it.
mama i'm chasing a ghost. do i look—
the next morning, shiloh got up for school as if last night never happened. as if her mother hadn't emotionally decimated her with her wording.
shai had always been someone who chose her words carefully, as she never wanted to be misunderstood when it came to saying what it was she wanted to say.
when she said something, she meant it.
every single word.
that morning— shiloh left without a word more being said to her from her mother— when she left for school, shai was in her chair, reading, music playing softly in the background.
nothing's changed for her mother. shai carried on as if she had never told shiloh she never loved her.
she had expected things to be the same when she came home from school, but as soon as shiloh entered the home— she knew.
shiloh knew when she walked in and didn't hear music playing in the background.
knew when she walked upstairs and saw the door to the room across from hers was opened.
knew when she went into her parents' bedroom and saw that all of her mother's belongings were gone and there was no trace of her anywhere in the room— like she was never there in the first place.
shiloh didn't cry.
she couldn't get herself to.
she had learned to shut off her emotions and the ability to feel when everything started to hit her all at once. she's done it before and will have to do so again. like now.
shiloh went into her room and saw a note on her computer desk, and beside it was a thick envelope.
shai left her a note explaining that she had been in contact with her father for some years now and didn't know how to tell shiloh without hurting her. the letter continued to explain how shiloh no longer needed her and that she had become self-sufficient enough to do things on her own— that she was sorry. sorry that shiloh looked too much like her little boy when she was younger, and now that she is older— she started to look nothing like him anymore and is now simply a symbol of what he could have been if he had lived, and how she now started to remind her of the brother josiah lost and why she had to leave— but her husband and his new child needed her in more ways that shiloh ever did, and she was now old enough to take care of things on her own.
proud of who you'll become, though i havenever loved you in a way a mother should to their daughter… you became harder to love the older you got when you stopped looking like my son.
the enevelope next to the letter was money and a debit card. the card was in shiloh's name.
do i look like him?
her parents room was a mess by the time shiloh could find what she was looking for.
she had no clue what it was she came looking for once entering the room, shiloh just knew that there were more secrets that could possibly be held in this room that she needed to find. there was no reason for her to tear the room up like she did, and she could have easily found what she was looking for if she had the patience— but tearing through everything made her feel a little better.
shiloh sat amongst the destruction after finding what she was looking for— a journal.
josiah's journal.
it detailed everything in his life, but she didn't care enough to know anything about him— she didn't want to humanize a man who rarely saw her as human.
she flipped the pages until she came across a picture— a picture of a man that bore somewhat of a resemblance to her father, but that's what didn't catch shiloh's attention. his eyes did— along with the name.
shiloh.
his name is— was— shiloh.
my brother's eyes stare back at me when she looks at me…
was shiloh ever just a daughter to them? why would they give her a name that came with such a heavy history?
lost a brother and gained a son.
named the son after the lost brother, only for the son to become lost as well.
lost a son— gained a daughter.
daughter lives— but in the shadows of deaths that shaped her life due to two grieving people who refused to let go. shiloh living must have felt like a punishment— jj died unfairly at six. shiloh lives past it.
gain a daughter—
abandon the daughter.
i don't look like him…
i've passed my uncle in age, and i'm older than my brother ever got to be...
shiloh was only 22, had only been so for a few hours that night. the thought had passively come to mind as she stared up at the ceiling from her bed.
—her bed in the hospital, that is.
regan was with her and finally managed to fall asleep on the couch after a nurse had come in to check on shiloh's vitals and could see for herself that she was still alive.
unsuccessful suicide attempt.
"—was wandering around on a highway at the dead of night—"
"—walk into on-going traffic—"
"—there were a lot of prescribed drugs in her system... her stomach needed to be pumped—"
"—lucky she was barely recognized— brought in by the driver and her husband— said they watched her from across the street while getting into car—"
that's what she heard a doctor tell missy while she was in and out of sleep— or consciousness, if one needed to be technical.
shiloh had forgotten that the bun lady was technically still considered an emergency contact and forgot to remove her from it because her brain had been in a fog for months, and before this— she was doing so well, or is that what she deluded herself into thinking? shiloh's done it throughout her life— protecting herself from the truth so it wouldn't break her further than she already is.
lying to herself was just a normal thing for shiloh, and one day, she had gotten the bright idea to check twitter.
the regret was immediate.
seeing the pictures, the hate comments, and dms had sent shiloh into a dark spiral where she had forgotten where and who she was. it felt like it was worse than before— where she saw the photo of them kissing and shiloh had shut down. this one— this one felt different from the beginning.
it was always going to lead up to this.
—and yet, shiloh managed to survive it.
shiloh took a day or two to recover because of how exhausted her body was, and she was awake and lucid long enough for missy to tell her that she would handle any medical bills, medication, and treatment care should she accept the offer for it. missy made sure to point out the media or the public in general does not know what happened and that the couple who brought her to the hospital have signed an agreement to not say anything.
hours later, once missy had left and shiloh was essentially forced to do a psychic evaluation with a psychiatrist to determine whether she was mentally stable enough to function, those weren't the words that were used by the woman, but that's pretty much what shiloh got from it.
regan had stayed throughout everything in the hospital. the only time she's been out of the hospital room was because she had to leave and get a change of clothes and another phone charger— shiloh's been unable to look her friend in the eye because she thought about a conversation they had a few weeks ago. how she told regan that she was fine— that everything was fine and she was doing better.
she wasn't. shiloh had already started thinking about an 'exit' plan long before and was thinking of it while talking with regan.
now she doesn't know how to face her and is now just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
you're can be very hard to love, shiloh.
when regan had returned with clothes for shiloh, apologizing for taking too long to get there because she smelled like a hospital and needed to shower it off.
shiloh was sitting up, looking out of the window; she thought about yoonchae— what she was doing and how she was doing right now. shiloh doesn't know where her phone is and knows that it's probably filled with missed calls and messages from the younger girl.
i almost left her—
regan sat down on the hospital bed, careful not to do anything that could cause her pain, and after a moment's hesitation, covered her friend's hand with her own.
shiloh turned her head away from the window and towards regan, eyes shifting down to regan's hand lying softly on top of her own— she hadn't expected regan to stay.
"— i had a brother— he was only six when he died. i have his name—" shiloh whispered, eyes filling with tears. her eyes never left from regan's hand over hers. " i was told by my parents— mostly by my mother— that i looked like someone she loved, and it made me hard to love because i stopped looking like him and now— i don't look like him anymore— do you think—"
shiloh stopped speaking. regan's hand tightened over hers.
the apologies spilled out of shiloh quicker than she meant to. regan was trying to get her to stop, but shiloh couldn't because she had tried to leave her, and she wanted her to know that she wanted to stay.
shiloh tried to leave regan and yoonchae like she had been left. but in death.
regan would tell her months later that whether shiloh liked it or not— no matter how mad the two could be at each other or argued. she will never leave her.
the two also came to a silent agreement to not tell yoonchae what had happened. ever.
it'll just hurt her more.
shiloh still keeps the pictures she had found of both her uncle and jj. she kept them in a box of old things she brought from her childhood home— the home she now has legal possession of but hasn't stepped foot inside of in years.
she still catches herself looking into a memory and tries to see if there are still traces of him in her features— and finds nothing. the only thing that could be considered left behind that would remind anyone that knows of her family and of the brother she's never known was her smile. shiloh smiled with her entire face in the exact same way jj did; she remembered how shai slammed her hand on the table one time when she saw her smiling at the tv— she was only six years old at the time; it was months after josiah had left.
she was just a child watching a cartoon that made her smile, but even then, smiling was too much for her mother to deal with.
shiloh's always thought that maybe if she minimized herself enough, maybe shai would love her again, and that would have made her stay.
maybe if i styled myself better— stopped doing things that reminded her— she would have stayed with me. was a thought that constantly played in her mind that night when she made her 'exit' plan.
it took a random conversation with yoonchae and regan to accept that nothing would have made her stay and the fault lay with her parents and only them.
"they made you live in the current of ghosts that were never yours to begin with, shy... and that's on them, not you. never you." yoonchae told her. she was lying down with her head in shiloh's lap— she had started coming over to shiloh's home more and wouldn't exactly explain why. shiloh had a guess as to why, however.
when yoonchae said nothing else, shiloh had assumed she had finally fallen asleep, but the younger girl softly said, "you don't look like him—"
"hmm? who do you mean?" you know what she means.
"him— your brother. that was just another projection of grief your parents placed on you, and they forced you to carry it until you believed it…it wasn't fair for the two of them to do that to you…"
shiloh was speechless.
regan had hinted at the same thing weeks ago when she showed her the pictures— her eyebrows had furrowed, and she had looked up at shiloh once but at the time kept what she wanted to say to herself, only saying that he favored shai a lot.
that night shiloh stared at her reflection in the mirror again— had she always looked at herself only from her parents' point of view and not her own?
before she could spot numerous similarities between her, jj and her uncle. shiloh and her uncle both have the same eye color— but so does her mother.
shiloh and shai have the same shade of eye color, while her uncle had more of a blueish tint to his. if there was someone shiloh shared more of a strong resemblance to— it was to her mother. she, jj and shai all smiled the same, except shiloh has dimples. had it always been like this?
that night shiloh felt lighter than she had been in months, years even. but only about her family and the tragedy that was tied to the name she carried and was going to change.
she's not changing now, nor will she ever do so because the name is hers.
shiloh may have been named after two people whose deaths impacted them so that their grief became their identity and crutch— but that doesn't mean she lives with the projection of guilt they placed on her just because she's alive and lives with the name, the chosen name they had given to her.
i am not their guilt— i am not their grief.
not anymore.
a/n: this was a lot of a chapter to deal with that i had to take several breaks from because of how heavy it is. like him by tyler the creator and unsteady (erich lee gravity remix) by x ambassadors was on repeat while writing this chapter.
݁ᛪ༙ synopsis you’ve been obsessed with sophia since the first week she transferred to your tiny rainy town. she’s beautiful, distant, and impossible to read — the kind of girl who stares at people like she’s trying not to memorize the sound of their heartbeat. but as strange accidents begin happening around town, and Sophia keeps appearing exactly when danger strikes, you start realizing your crush may be hiding something far darker than secrets
݁ᛪ༙ disclaimer vampire! sophia laforteza x human! fem reader, wlw, fluff, slowburn?¿, twilight au
݁ᛪ༙ a/n happy birthday to me & daniela :D in honour of my bday, only my real moots who follows me since the beginning knows my endless love for vampires so is it surprising to me writing about vamphia, well… not really
the first thing you noticed about sophia was that she never blinked enough
it wasn’t obvious at first. just… strange
you sat two rows behind her in chemistry, close enough to see the sharp line of her jaw whenever she turned her head, close enough to notice how perfectly still she stayed while everyone else shifted around in their seats like restless animals
sophia never fidgeted
never yawned
never tapped her fingers or chewed her pen or checked the clock
she just sat there like a statue carved from moonlight
and unfortunately for you, you were hopelessly in love with her
“earth to y/n,” your friend mia whispered, nudging your arm with a grin. “you’re staring again”
“i am not”
“you absolutely are”
you looked away so fast your neck hurt
outside the classroom windows, rain hammered against the glass in silver streaks. forks had two seasons: rain and slightly colder rain. the gloomy weather should’ve made sophia blend in with everyone else dressed in oversized hoodies and damp sneakers
instead, she looked unreal
dark curls. pale skin. eyes so deep brown they looked black in certain lighting
like something out of a gothic romance novel
mr. bennett droned on about covalent bonds while sophia quietly snapped her pencil in half
not accidentally
just—crack
her expression didn’t even change
your stomach flipped
“how does she do that?” you muttered
mia snorted. “maybe she’s secretly a vampire”
you laughed
sophia looked back at you instantly
not toward the sound
at you
her eyes locked onto yours with terrifying precision, and for one impossible second, you could’ve sworn she heard every single word
then she turned away again
cold prickles climbed up your spine
—
things got weirder after the accident
it happened in the school parking lot a week later
rain soaked through your hoodie as you wrestled your bike free from the rack, muttering curses under your breath. tires hissed across wet pavement. students rushed to their cars
then somebody screamed
a silver truck skidded across the parking lot, spinning completely out of control
straight toward you
you froze
the headlights blinded you
people shouted your name, but your body wouldn’t move
the truck was seconds away from crushing you when suddenly—
something slammed into your side
pain exploded through your shoulder as you hit the concrete
the truck screeched past where you’d been standing and crashed into the bike rack with a deafening crunch
metal twisted
students screamed
for a moment, all you could hear was your own heartbeat
then you realized someone was holding you
sophia
her arms were wrapped around you, impossibly strong, shielding your body against hers
“you okay?” she asked sharply
you stared at her
she wasn’t even breathing hard
“that truck was like twenty feet away,” you whispered. “how did you—”
“i moved fast”
“no, i saw—”
“you hit your head”
“i didn’t hit my head”
her jaw tightened
around you, chaos erupted — teachers running outside, students panicking, somebody calling 911 — but sophi only looked at you with something dangerously close to fear
not fear for herself
fear of being seen
your gaze drifted past her shoulder
the side of the dented truck had a deep handprint pressed into the metal
like someone had physically shoved it
sophia followed your stare
her expression went blank
“you should go home,” she said quietly
then she stood and disappeared into the rain before you could say another word
—
after that, she started avoiding you
which only made your crush infinitely worse
you caught glimpses of her everywhere — sitting alone in the woods behind school, standing motionless under the pouring rain without an umbrella, staring out cafeteria windows like she was listening to something far away
and every time you got close, she vanished
until one night, you followed her
it was stupid, dangerously stupid
but sophia had slipped out of a party without telling anyone, disappearing into the forest at nearly midnight, and curiosity outweighed common sense
branches clawed at your jacket as you pushed through the dark woods
“sophia?” you called
no answer
wind rattled the trees
then—
a low growl echoed somewhere ahead
you stopped cold
another growl answered it
your pulse spiked
slowly, carefully, you stepped toward the sound and emerged into a clearing
at first, you couldn’t process what you were seeing
sophia stood in the center of the clearing, completely still
facing three enormous wolves
not actual wolves
bigger. monstrous
their snarls vibrated through the air
one lunged
sophia moved so fast she blurred
a sick crack split the silence as she hurled the creature sideways into a tree hard enough to splinter the trunk
youu stumbled backward with a gasp
every head snapped toward you
sophia’s face changed instantly
her eyes—
they were red
not brown. not dark
red
“oh my god,” you whispered
the wolves retreated into the trees with furious snarls, leaving only silence behind
sophia stared at you like the world had just ended
then, slowly, she stepped forward
“you weren’t supposed to see this”
your legs should’ve run
every instinct screamed at you to run
but somehow, unbelievably, all you could think was :
she’s beautiful
rain began falling softly through the trees
sophia’s expression twisted with something pained
“you need to leave”
“you saved my life”
“you should be afraid of me”
“i’m trying to be”
a sad laugh escaped her lips
for the first time since meeting her, sophia looked genuinely human
synopsis: love is in the air when you travel to italy to attend your sister's wedding. manon thinks you should give love a chance. daniela thinks love only made her wrong.
when your paths cross and the inevitable happens, the both of you face your own feelings to make space for each other.
cw: strangers to lovers. fluff. making out. light, very light angst. mentions of drinking. maphinz are getting married <3
the playlist (some song recs for y'all)!
a/n: hello!!! i was working on this fic for the last months and i thought it was never seeing the light of day since i wasn't quite enjoying my own writing anymore, but i had this bounce back on ideas and here it is :)
i'd also like to say that i am very much sad and frustrated abt everything that's happening with manon. she deserves better and has my full support. and so do the girls. fuck hxg. once again, this awful company has let all of us down.
sorry in advance if this looks rushed! hope you guys are taking care of yourselves and i wish you all a great year ahead. i'll see you again 🤍
—
when manon told you she was in love, you thought she was joking.
when she told you she was dating, you thought it wouldn't last.
when she told you she was getting married, you knew manon was completely out of her mind.
now you're in italy, enjoying the weather setting nicely on this picture-perfect, idyllic resort. you lay on the grass next to the pool, enjoying the warmth of the sun on your skin. next to you, your sister, manon, and your sister-in-law, sophia, are together in what looks like a picnic date. the public pda displays how much in love they are. you just happen to be there, only third wheeling.
“you guys are gross.” you joke.
manon scoffs. “you're just jealous.”
“actually,” you turn your head towards sophia. “i appreciate you, phia. you turned my sister into someone tolerable. all credits goes to you.”
sophia flashes you a smile as she caresses manon's back, but her attention is elsewhere. manon attentively looks at the bar next to the pool. sophia notices.
“what's wrong?”
“i don't know? that girl is staring at us for way too long. think she's staring at you.”
“oh, here we go,” sophia mutters. she sits up to look towards manon is looking. “no, i don't think so.”
manon realizes sophia's also looking at the girl, and doesn't like it. "why are you looking back at her?"
"it's not me," says sophia. sensing manon's jealousy, she slightly cuddles to your sister. "she doesn't seem bothered or something. maybe she's looking at y/n."
you're still relaxing on the grass. "now you're imagining things."
you can't shake the curiosity away, so you sit up to get a better view. "where?"
"over there."
and, my god, you have never locked eyes with someone so gorgeous it makes the words stuck on your throat before. your silence throws you away in front of manon and sophia.
manon encourages you, "ask her number."
you ask sophia, "she's always straightforward like that?"
"that's why we're getting married."
"makes sense," you smile at them.
your sister's voice reach your ears. "you're coming to the party tonight. on the yacht."
you shake your head slightly. "don't think this is a good idea."
"it's not like a shark will bite you or something," manon says while looking at you. "come on, it'll be good for you. to relax. to loosen up. to feel at ease."
it was not a good idea.
but that night changed your life forever.
after a couple drinks, you decide to sink on a sofa and look to the sea. the party goes inside the yacht. the view and the combination of muffled music and waves crashing makes you feel, indeed, at ease. but there ain't alcohol enough that could make you feel more dizzy than hearing her voice for the first time.
"having fun?"
she lays against the back of the yacht. the wind plays with her curled hair.
slightly drunk, your face lights up at the sight of the girl. "i remember you."
"do you?"
"a face like yours is not one to forget."
she smirks, casts a glance to the sea and her attention is all yours again. "i'm daniela. you can call me dani,"
"pretty name for a pretty girl," you say. "i'm y/n."
daniela crosses her legs and has a curious expression on. "i wonder if you always flirt with girls at parties like this?"
"no," you shake your head. "just you."
she hums. "i feel like you're lying."
"what would i be?"
"i don't know you well enough." yet, she wanted to say.
"i saw you looking at me from the bar today," you mention. "my sister wanted me to ask your number."
"well," daniela sits right next to you. "why didn't you do it?"
"i thought you didn't knew me very well."
back at her.
she looks at you up and down. her tone softens. "are you with someone?"
"only my sister and her bride. they're somewhere inside."
daniela rests her head on her arm, eyes glued on you. your cheeks get hot. a beat before you whisper, "your eyes."
"what about them?"
"they're beautiful. like, sparkling."
there's somewhat childish excitement in your voice. you don't know if it's the drinks getting at you or her presence alone. it might be both.
she giggles, "you're drunk."
"i am. you're still beautiful, though."
you notice daniela smiles with her dimples.
the bite of a shark.
feels like it.
almost a day went by since you talked to daniela. at night, you're sitting by the pool, alone, but you don't feel lonely. your mind is accompanied by the thought of her. which feels strange, but not in a bad way. you're confused, trying to understand how is it possible that you think of her smile, and smile too?
you think of her voice, and—
"y/n?"
"hi," you greet her with a warm smile. "you remember my name."
daniela grins. "of course i do."
you try to maintain your composure towards her presence, but her tanned skin and toned abs are definitely not helping at all. still, you can't take your eyes off her. she looks good. way too good.
"i just wanted to say thank you. for looking out for me last night."
"you're welcome," she says kindly, before getting into the pool.
you watch as she swims. it's beautiful to see her figure between the mediterranean tiles mosaic at the bottom of the pool. you wait patiently for her to resurface, still taking in the sight of her. she's gorgeous.
"daniela?"
she looks back at you, eyebrows raising when she hears your voice saying her name for the first time. "yes?"
"i really enjoyed talking to you last night. even though i don't remember a couple things."
"me too." daniela means it. she sounds and looks sincere. you feel comfortable. "but i do remember. never thought you were a flirt."
there it goes the comfort.
"me?" you're taken aback with her words. "oh my god." the moments from the night before starts to hit you. you bring your hand to your forehead. "i was drunk, excuse my manners. not used to it."
"it's alright," she comes to the edge of the pool to get closer, brushing your knee on the way. you overthink about it for a second before she continues, "i thought it was cute."
you scratch your brow. "you're making me feel embarrassed."
daniela teases, "you also mentioned my eyes."
you decide it's time to join her inside the pool. "i'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose."
she lowers her voice. "maybe i am."
suddenly, you feel cold. you don't know if it's the water temperature or the drop on her tone alone.
"you know what they say?"
you swim a little further away from the edge. "what?"
she follows. "they say," daniela pauses. "when you're drunk, is when the truth comes out."
"it could be. i never take my words back."
"is that true?"
"it is.”
"so you think my eyes are beautiful."
"i do."
"and my face is not one to forget."
"i'm assuming these are my words."
"mhm."
she's definitely enjoying it.
"anything else?"
"besides how badly i want to kiss you right now? hmm, no."
you hold her gaze as an invitation. your shoulders are tense as you build into anticipation, waiting for the girl in front of you to crash into you. she doesn't.
instead, daniela comes in closer with care, as if she's waiting for you to tell her something. to stop her in case you change your mind. you don't.
when her fingers reach your face, you know it's going to happen.
daniela kisses you slowly, deliberately. she takes her time, letting you adjust to it. afraid that you might break in two in her hands. your hands brush against her ribs underwater. her body reacts to the touch by pulling you towards her.
her hands find the back of your neck. daniela scratches it lightly. a soft moan escapes your lips, parting them slightly. you feel her teeth grazing between your lips when she opens up a sly smile. when your hands travel all the way to her back, caressing it as you hold her closely.
you break apart. daniela brings one of her hands to your cheek, her face glued to yours. her wet hair brushes against your collarbone. you pepper kisses on her face.
she caresses the back of your neck gently. "it's late. we should go."
you tread water. "five minutes?"
"too much."
"two?"
"not enough."
"what about a day then?"
her face lights up. "i have no plans for tomorrow."
you grin at her. "now you do."
the next morning, you wait for daniela inside the shiny red, mid-century cabriolet that she rented. you look over the rearview, her figure growing as she gets closer to the car. she wears a white tank top that matches with her low rise denim jeans. her hair is pinned to the side, curls flowing over her shoulders.
you take a closer look to the cross necklace daniela wears, tangling on a thin chain. only then, you realize how much of every detail of hers you are taking in.
she settles into the car. "ready to go?"
"this is like, the coolest car ever."
"right?" she flashes you a smile. "it's not as fast enough for me, but the engine sounds really nice."
daniela starts the cabriolet. the engine sounds deep, like a growl, to which you whistle in approval. it catches her ears.
the car moves off. "so, what are your plans?"
you chuckle. "to be honest, i have no idea."
daniela casts a glance at you. "first time in italy?"
you nod. "you?"
"been here before. my family likes it in here. i think we're gonna move soon."
"nice," you rest your arm on the door, looking around to the coastal road. "lead me to your favorite places, then."
from the corner of your eye, you notice daniela furrowed her brows.
you ask, "what's the matter?"
"i don't think you're gonna like it."
"why not?"
she casts a glance to the coast. "it's a little far. pretty basic too. definely not crowded and nothing like the places everybody likes to go when they visit."
"i have all day," you tell her. "besides, i'd rather know this place in your eyes. what you like to do. where you eat. what made you love this place so much you want to move in here."
daniela weighs your words in a face flush. you exchange smiles as she keeps driving. the glittery sea on the coast as the background.
she stops at the entrance of a small, quiet medieval town, surrounded by gardens, stunning stonework and narrow alleys that leads to a coastline.
first, she leads you to this artisan, antique store, that she digs in deep like a book, browsing patiently between sections every time. you follow her steps inside the store. you look subtly at each other when the other's not looking.
daniela's eyes wander through the place. the smell of fresh paint fills her lungs. something has changed, she thinks, but can't really tell what's so different about it. something was there, and it still is, hidden by the thick brush of paint and memory.
you watch as she walks away from you, approaching the counter to talk to what looks like the owner of the store.
it's lucia, in her fifties, who greets daniela with a welcoming, motherly grin on her face.
"ciao," says lucia. "how are you doing, dear? it's been a while."
"ciao. it looks a little bit different in here. i like the color."
"grazie," lucia pauses, noticing your presence inside the store. mostly, the way you stare at the girl in front of her. daniela never took anybody here before. "you together?"
"is she?" lucia senses the nervousness on daniela's answer. she doesn't push it against her, but she doesn't let it go either. "looks like an extended stay to me." finishes by pointing with her head towards your direction.
when daniela switches her attention, only then she realizes you've been looking her way the whole time being.
daniela feels so taken by you.
lucia feels like she's watching a tennis match.
you feel your face getting warmer by the pair of eyes laying on you.
"sorry. i just can't seem to pick anything."
"it's okay," she breaks into a smile, amused. "we have time."
her choice of words makes your heart skip a beat.
you walk along in silence down the alleys, getting closer to the promenade. you observe everything going by, the quiet, but lively local culture, noticing why she likes it in here so much.
she breaks the silence with a question. "have you ever had frozen custard?"
you're not familiar with the name. "what's that?"
"it's like ice cream, but better. what makes the difference is that they mix it with eggs. the texture feels creamier and denser. you're gonna love it."
you watch as she explains, moved by her enthusiasm.
"why are you looking at me like that?"
"i just find it nice that you're this excited over ice cream."
"it's not ice cream!" her voices comes out high-pitched. daniela impulsively takes your hand. "come on, i'm gonna grab us two."
you are now sitting together with the infamous frozen custard in hands.
the sun is setting over the bay. when it starts to hide behind the sea, the gentle swaying motion of the waves sends daniela back to what she was missing from lucia's store: there used to be a visible crack on the wall, that came all the way from the ground to the ceiling.
she asks herself, how could i not remember such a familiar sight before? and why does this image shows up so clearly right now?
your voice reaches her ears. "you were right. this is better than ice cream."
crack.
daniela snaps away from her thoughts, something about you that makes her feel at ease.
the sun is still there. daniela likes the way the golden-colored tone glares onto your face.
it's like she could feel that crack on the foundation wall herself. it spoke louder in her thoughts than she imagined. and she ignored it for too long.
still there.
to bring you here meant bringing you closer enough to see through her. it also meant she had someone that doesn't make her think twice about every word that slips from her mouth.
still there.
"this is nice."
daniela meets your gaze. "what?"
"this," you point to the frozen custard with the spoon.
"this," you make a circle motion, mentioning the place around you.
"and this," pointing towards each other.
"yeah," she smiles, playfully. incredibly shy for once. "i like this too."
daniela touches your face in a manner to pull you towards her. you paint a soft kiss on her palm. she brings you in a kiss that tastes like vulnerability.
or salty caramel.
when your lips part, you watch as she steals a spoon of your frozen custard, lifting her eyebrows in approval. you smile brightly.
the sun is gone.
you're still there.
it's late at night when you're back at the shared suite. you close the door behind you, leaning against it with a smile, completely smitten. daydreaming about daniela, even if you saw her less than an hour ago.
you meet manon at the kitchenette, preparing a midnight snack.
"you're awake."
your sister jolts at your voice, surprised.
"sorry for coming back so late," you make an apologetic expression. "no signal."
she relaxes, smiling. "it's okay. you hungry?"
you shake your head. "i'm fine." more than fine, even. perfectly fine.
manon looks at you, really looks at you and thinks, something's different.
"you look happy." like a side of you she was yet to see.
you sigh dreamily, approaching the counter. "i am."
manon opens her mouth to ask why, but you beat her to it with a surprising question to her ears.
"meret, when did you realize had feelings for sophia?"
"there you are!" sophia's voice reaches you both on the kitchenette. she gives you a sweet back hug. "you will join us at the wine tasting tomorrow, right?"
you face her with the same level of excitement. "of course!"
manon looks over in awe towards her two favorite people in this world.
"oh, i need to use the bathroom." sophia yawns, letting you go from her embrace. she winks at manon before she leaves. "be right back."
when sophia walks down the corridor, her attention is fixed right there. "right now, y/n."
"sorry?"
"you asked me when i realized i love sophia," manon leans against the counter, a coy smile on her face. “well, it just happened right now. once again.”
your sister breathes in before saying, "you know, i'm getting her name sewn into my dress. closer to my own heart than i, myself, have ever been before. don't tell her that." manon chuckles. "i guess what i'm trying to say is... i hear her voice everyday but i still don't know how it sounds when she says i do. imagine being granted to wake up besides the person you love everyday. you'll close your eyes, probably dream about hers and get to see them again the next morning. somebody can't be luckier than this."
you can feel your eyes watering, with that being the first time you've ever heard such words coming from your sister. you never had a conversation like this before, and it deeply moves you to see manon so in love.
it also comes to you that she gave you more than one answer to the question, without even realizing it. you used the word feelings. manon instantly called it love. hearing this coming from your sister made your feelings settle into a shape, rather a person, that names that feeling for you.
daniela.
the next day, you stand with sophia and manon on the resort entrance, waiting for the van that will take the three of you to the winery. you watch the gorgeous boats drifting on the sea.
sophia says, "we should go with white."
manon disagrees. "red."
"it's summer! white wines go well with this weather."
"love, don't you think the red ones pair better with the dishes?"
sophia sighs. "y/n. break the tie."
you face your soon-to-be sister-in-law. "why don't we have both?"
sophia crosses her arms. "not an option."
manon furrows her brows. you can hear her complaining before the conversation between the couple fades as background noise. you stare past them when you see daniela on the stairs.
you think out loud, "dani!"
manon and sophia stare at you, confused. but you only realize it when you see daniela actually walking towards your direction.
in a motion, she engulfs you in a hug. you relax in her arms. sophia watches the interaction with certain curiosity. she remembers that face. that particular pair of eyes, reminiscing of a cat. while manon, well, it's difficult to understand what her expression is trying to say.
all you know is the weight of daniela's back on your hands, grasping onto the silk of her mini white dress.
you clear your throat after you break apart, trying to compose yourself once again before introducing them to each other. "dani, meet the lucky ones. this my sister, manon, and her bride, sophia."
"nice to meet you, i'm daniela. i'm..."
nervous, she thinks for a bit before speaking again. heart heavy just to think about it. daniela encourages herself to hold your gaze, searching for an answer to the million dollar question.
what are we?
she looks back at sophia and manon, saying, "just daniela."
manon looks at her with a serious expression.
oh no.
here it comes.
"do you enjoy drinking wine?"
uncertain about what the question means, daniela only nods.
manon speaks again. "good. white or red?"
she looks at you thinking about the perfect answer. you shrug, as if it said, trust your gut. sophia and manon wait anxiously for her answer. they really mean it.
"white?" she looks at you, who gives back an approving grin. manon exhales in defeat. sophia cheers in the background. "i think it's suitable for the weather."
sophia looks at manon with a wry smile. "what did i tell you?"
manon surrenders, but her soon-to-be wife doesn't let this go. you neither.
"you see, this is what my sister looks like when she loses to sophia," you look at daniela with a playful grin. she likes the way you make her feel so welcome. "and this is how happy a bride looks when you pick the same type of wine she wanted for her wedding."
"oh?" daniela holds an apologetic expression. "sorry, manon."
"don't be," you tell her. "this happens very often. she's such a loser when it comes to sophia."
manon says, "you'll act just the same when you fall in love, trust me."
the mention of that four letter word makes daniela freeze on the spot. she feels goosebumps on her ribs, where your hands first touched her underwater. the mention of that four letter word makes you feel like sunburn. you feel flushed, where her hands first touched you.
sophia senses something between you both. doesn't say a word, though.
manon keeps an eye on the van getting closer. "that is our ride."
reluctantly, you tell daniela, "we're leaving to the winery."
she hesitates to kiss you goodbye, instead, brushes her thumbs on your wrist.
"i guess i'll see you later, then?"
you say, nodding. "you bet."
"sophia, manon. congratulations on your wedding! once again, nice to meet you and i wish you both the best."
your future sister-in-law notices the shift on your expression as daniela turns to leave. she feels like doing something to stop it.
"daniela, why don't you come with us? there's enough space on the van. we would love to have you with us. also, our y/n here," she pats your shoulder. "could use some company. how does it sound?"
the growl of the red cabriolet you loved so much.
sounds like it.
at the winery, you sit together at a outdoor table under the trees. empty wine glasses are all around the table. daniela is seated at your side. you share the bowl of pasta in bianco.
sophia pours the sangiovese into your glasses. "megan is in trouble."
your sister is not surprised by sophia's remark. "tell me something i don't know."
"we're like, a couple days before the wedding. she still doesn't know if she's showing up with yoonchae or lara."
manon serves the pasta to herself and her bride. you offer to do the same to daniela, who smiles at you with appreciation.
sophia picks on her plate. "y/n, you gotta keep an eye for me on them."
she runs these girls like the navy.
"sister, i'm afraid you'll be left out."
you answer with a smile. "i don't think so."
manon is caught off guard. "wait, what? are you really bringing someone?"
"well, i haven't asked her yet."
you cast a glance at daniela, who avoids your gaze by looking around the picturesque vineyard. observant, sophia fights a smirk.
you mutter, "i might as well do it today."
daniela bites lightly on her finger.
"alright, lover girl. enough talking. let's eat."
later, you search for a specific bottle of red wine for manon inside the softly lit, yellowish glow wine cellar. steps on the stairs reach your ears.
“hi.” daniela says with a light tone. “sophia sent me here. i think we're leaving in a couple minutes.”
“okay. this won't take long.”
"so,” she leans against the wooden countertop on the center of the cellar. “who's the girl you plan to invite as your plus one?”
you look back at her, teasing. “guess.”
daniela hums. “i don't know, give me some hints.”
“she has beautiful curly hair, awesome taste in cars and loves frozen custard.” daniela gives you that breathtaking smile. the side of her eyes gleam. “did i mention she also smiles with her dimples?”
the scent of wood mixes with her inebriating sweet fragrance. the air becomes thick, almost unbearable. it affects you enough that your voice comes out weaker. “come to the wedding with me?”
daniela nods happily. “thought you'd never ask.” she pulls you by tugging on your clothes. “is that all?”
your voice falters. “yes.”
it is not.
she caught it. “say it.”
someone could walk by.
she repeats, demanding. “say it.”
but daniela manages to risk it.
when you feel her breath ghost against your skin, that rips off the band-aid.
you press your body against hers, initiating the kiss slowly, tenderly. involuntarily, you begin to lean her body even more against the countertop to keep your own balance. your body is burning hot into hers. daniela seems to take notice of that, hands on your sides to pull you further. she wants to control the pace. you let her. you can feel the sweet taste of wine on her lips. she moves her tongue into your mouth, famished. also taken aback to how easily your body responded to her. daniela grows more insistent, bringing a hand to touch your jaw in a possessive manner. almost as if she wants to claim you. eagerly, yours take hold of her waist, helping her sit on the countertop. she gasps into your mouth.
her legs embrace your figure. you hold her steady. daniela arches her neck to allow you access. one of daniela’s hands rests against the side of your head, fingers lightly tangled on your hair. your lips tease her before you suck on it lightly. when she groans, you can feel the vibration of her skin on yours. then, she grabs your hand, sliding all the way to the bottom of her dress, stopping by her thigh.
“fuck,” you mutter against her neck. your teeth graze against her skin.
you pull back. your eyes meet. it is so fucking hard for daniela to concentrate when you're rubbing your thumbs on her thigh. anyone could come down the stairs and see you two like this, but she couldn't care less. actually, it makes everything more exciting. and god, all she wants is for you to say,
“come here.”
and her mind goes completely blank. every little thought is replaced by the touch. daniela captures your lips with hers. grabs the fabric of your clothes, desperate to get them off her way. when she flips your body on the countertop, there's no way back.
“they're not.”
“they are!”
manon scoffs. “y/n's just picky.”
sophia rebuffs, “nobody takes 20 minutes to choose a single wine, love. not even you.” she teases, “i mean, it's not something we haven't done when we had their age.”
“sophia, oh my god.” manon brings a hand to her temple. sophia laughs at her reaction.
her little sister? in love? no way. she tries hard to remember the last time you've mentioned a girl before. no familiar name comes to mind.
manon looks out the window and sees you. great! you're finally back, but… something's wrong. rather something missing. no sign of a bottle of wine in your hands. daniela appears next. she acts a bit too touchy, as if she was fixing your clothes or… your clothes are mushed. you look off, and it's definitely not from drinking.
“holy shit,” manon whispers.
sophia asks, “what's wrong?” and glances at the window. she holds a smug smile when she sees you together. “yeah. holy shit.”
you walk into the van with a dreamy grin.
your sister would recognize that reaction anywhere.
later on the patio, things are way too quiet. you sat in between sophia and manon on an outdoor couch. sips on a drink as you take a look at the surroundings. the bohemian, laid-back vibes make you feel tranquil, despite the obvious tension in the air.
manon breaks the ice. "we have to talk."
“please don't tell me you're calling off the wedding.” you look at your sister-in-law. “sophia?”
she rubs your shoulder. “it's nothing to do with the wedding, don't worry.”
your shoulders drop. “what's going on?” you stare at your sister, sipping on your drink. “manz?”
sophia breathes in. “manon wants to know when were you going to tell us that you and daniela are together.”
”fuck—” you almost choke. sitting between them, you feel trapped. “wait, how… how did you find out?”
“i didn't. sophia realized it.”
sophia shrugs. “well, you guys took a lot of time in the cellar. that wasn't subtle at all.”
manon huffs. “do not mention it. please don't.”
sophia has fun with manon's dramatic manner. she's having the time of her life.
you cast glances at them, feeling terribly shy. “uh, i can explain.”
“please don't,” manon fakes a painful grin. “we got the message.”
“it just happened.”
sophia calms you down. “it's alright.”
a beat.
“do you like her?”
“yes.”
“does she treat you well?”
“yes, she does.”
“oh my god,” sophia cackles at manon. “you're really interrogating her.”
“older sister duties.”
a playful mood settles in. “you were the one to say i should get her number though?”
“well, you little fucker, i didn't imagine you'd take it seriously.”
you correct her, “she found me first.”
it falls silent. nothing but the sound of the palm trees rattling. something clicks.
manon furrows her brows in shock. “that's why you looked so happy when you came home last night!”
sophia suggests, “invite her to the wedding,”
manon agrees. “bring her as your plus one, so we could get to meet her properly.”
“don't put pressure on her. they're barely meeting each other, right?” sophia glances at you. “right?”
“i, uh… already did that. today.” you mutter the last part, “at the wine cellar.”
your sister cheers. “damn, you're fast!”
sophia hugs you, joking, “like this, you'll end up engaged in our wedding.”
they're both laughing. insufferable. you take a huge sip on your drink. “oh god, i need something stronger.”
“so, what did you think of my speech?” you ask daniela, walking along in the sand. the water sparkles because of the low sun.
“beautiful, love.” you feel giddy, still getting used to being named after a feeling. “it's easy to tell where that came from. i mean, your sister's vows? i cried during the whole thing.”
during manon’s two-page vow, you felt daniela’s fingertips graze against the back of your hand. touches like this, however slight and sudden they may seem, don't feel like coincidence for you anymore.
she knows you can read into it now. the touch you crave means forever, where a hand waits for hers. and daniela knows you're worth falling for.
she breathes in, holds your hand firmly.
you breathe out, fingers intertwined.
you walk together, hand in hand. "it was also my first time hearing it. manon refused to show me before. she thought i would spill it out for sophia out of nowhere.”
"you're gonna have to match that,” daniela says. “it's good you'll have a lot of time to practice for our wedding.”
you stop to look at her when she mentions our wedding, amused.
“don’t worry, i planned everything. there's something you need to agreed, though.”
you smile at the offer. “go ahead.”
“we're going with white wine.”
you tilt your head back. “damn, i thought i was getting away with it.”
“don't give up too easily, love. you know how to change my mind.”
you pull her close by the hand, kissing her softly. daniela smiles into the kiss.
lowdown ☆ after the failed civic center mission, soldier boy turns his anger on butcher and demands you’re taken off the team.
ride or die ☆ soldier boy x reader ( f )
miles ☆ 2916 ride style ☆ we've left angst town and now it's just tense
danger on the trail ☆ physical confrontation, choking/pinning, bruising, emotional cruelty, arguments
liv's log ☆ ya'll thought this was gonna be smut huh? 🤭
𐚁 .ᐟ masterlist ☆ join the taglist ☆ listen to the playlist ☆ support my work ᢉ𐭩
the new safehouse doesn’t have enough space for this much anger.
that’s the first thing that crosses your mind when you get out of the van and the rain follows you inside in little cold flecks, clinging to your hair, your lashes, the stiff white collar of the catering shirt you never got the chance to change out of.
everyone moves at once, but not quickly enough to feel organized. frenchie comes in breathing hard, one hand still pressed over the staff badge clipped to his shirt. kimiko is rifht behind him. hughie nearly trips over a duffel someone left near the entrance. annie pulls her cap off and drops it on the counter, rainwater darkening the ends of her hair. mm starts checking the windows without being asked.
butcher’s last through the door. he doesn’t slam it. instead, he closes it quietly, calmly, like the whole civic center isn’t currently crawling with vought security because the deep recognized your face and soldier boy knocked him flat instead of letting him pass. like noir isn’t still out there. like homelander wasn’t moved before anybody got close enough to make the risk worth something.
for a second, nobody says anything.
the safehouse hums around the silence. the old refrigerator. the rain ticking against the kitchen window. somebody’s phone vibrating once inside a bag and then going quiet. your wrist still feels warm where soldier boy dragged you to safety.
“well,” butcher rolls the word on his tongue enough that it almost sounds obscene, “that was a spectacular fuckin’ waste.”
soldier boy’s head turns slowly. you see it happen before anyone else does. not the anger—that’s been sitting in him since the van, tight and ugly beneath his ribs. you see the moment he gives it somewhere to go. his shoulders square. his jaw locks. the wet line of his hair sticks near his temple, and he doesn’t wipe it away.
mm notices half a second after you. “don’t.”
soldier boy ignores him completely, ready to continue what couldnt be finished in the van, “you had one job.”
butcher lifts his brows. “that right?”
“keep your team in line and her from getting made.”
the room shifts around the word her. like you’re a piece of evidence on the table between them, damp and breathing and inconvenient.
your fingers curl at your side.
butcher’s mouth curves, but there’s no humor in it. “interesting. could’ve sworn the job was to get noir.”
soldier boy steps closer. “she shouldn’t have been in that hallway.”
“she was where the plan put her.”
“the plan was shit.”
“plan was workin’ fine until you redecorated the south corridor with fish boy’s teeth.”
“he was going after her,” the words come out too fast. too blunt. the words hit the room with enough force that hughie’s eyes flick toward you and away again.
butcher’s expression changes by almost nothing, which is always how you know he’s found something sharp enough to keep. “aw,” he taunts, low and almost song-like. “would you look at that.”
soldier boy’s eyes narrow. “watch it.”
“what? you want me to pretend that wasn’t sweet?” butcher tosses the coat onto the back of a chair. “you had noir close enough to smell the rubber on his little ninja suit, and you chose runnin’ after our girl instead.”
the temperature of the room drops. you breathe in once. our girl. butcher says it to hurt him. to hurt you. to make ownership sound communal enough that nobody can punch him for it without proving his point.
soldier boy’s mouth twitches. “keep talking.”
“why? you embarrassed?” butcher asks. “don’t be. happens to the best of us. bloke sees a pretty thing in trouble, forgets the mission, goes runnin’ with his shield swingin’ and his prick making all the decisions.”
annie’s voice cuts in, sharp. “butcher—”
“no,” soldier boy says, and now he’s smiling, all his teeth hidden. “let him finish.”
butcher leans back against the edge of the table, bruised mouth still marked from the last time soldier boy decided talking had gone on long enough. “you wanna blame someone because noir walked, fine. blame me. blame the deep. blame the bloody catering company if it helps you sleep. but don’t stand there actin’ like this is about strategy when we all saw what it was.”
soldier boy moves. there’s no dramatic buildup, no chair scraping, no one getting enough time to shout. one second he’s standing in the middle of the room with anger locked behind his teeth, and the next butcher’s slammed back against the wall.
annie lights up immediately. gold spills under her skin, small but bright. kimiko steps off the wall. hughie makes a sound that might be soldier boy’s name or a terrified vowel. frenchie’s hand twitches toward the equipment bag and stops when mm points at him.
soldier boy’s hand is wrapped in the front of butcher’s shirt, fist twisted tight under his throat. not choking him. not yet. close enough that butcher’s chin tilts up beneath the pressure. “she’s off the team.”
“wha—” your whole body goes still.
butcher’s eyes sharpen. “say again?”
“you heard me.”
“did i?” his voice scrapes slightly where fabric presses against his windpipe. “because it sounded like you thought you were in charge.”
soldier boy drags him an inch higher against the wall. “the deep knows her face. vought knows her face. every supe in that building’s gonna have her picture by night.”
“and?” butcher’s lack of ability to keep his trap shut could almost be impressive if the entire room wasn’t holding their breath. “homelander wants all of us dead. noir’s followin’ us through alleys. deep’s got beef with annie too, if we’re makin’ a little social calendar of grudges.” butcher’s mouth curls faintly even with soldier boy’s fist against his collar. “you think fish boy holdin’ a grudge makes her special?”
his grip tightens. “she blew the mission.”
“you blew the mission.”
soldier boy jerks him forward and slams him back again. the wall gives a little behind butcher’s shoulder. plaster dust falls in a thin pale line.
“ben—” the name leaves your mouth before you decide whether you’re allowed to use it.
“leave it,” mm says, voice firm. “both of you.”
butcher ignores him too, because nobody in this house values survival as much as they should. his eyes stay on soldier boy, but the edge of his smile is for you. “you really want her safe? give her another dose.”
the room breaks open around that.
butcher doesn’t look at anyone else. “girl gets made by vought, we don’t bench her. we make sure next time she can do more than run.”
soldier boy’s face empties. your stomach drops because you know that expression now. you’ve seen him furious. crude. cruel. jealous. wounded enough to put teeth into every word. this is different. this is the part of him that existed before you ever walked into a safehouse and called him butcher’s commie toy. the part that sat under restraints and learned that a body could become a room with no doors.
“you give her that shit again,” he says, each word quiet enough to scare even you, “i’ll rip your spine out through your mouth.”
butcher’s eyes flicker. finally. a little. “quite the gesture, innit?”
soldier boy’s free hand draws back.
you move before anyone else does. maybe you shouldn’t. maybe after everything that’s happened, after his hand around your throat, after telling you not to call him ben anymore, after your own voice turned his body against him, maybe you should know better than to put yourself between soldier boy and something he wants to hit.
but butcher’s standing there with his mouth full of gasoline. soldier boy’s holding the match. and your survival instincts have never learned to mind their own business.
you cross the room fast and shove soldier boy in the shoulder with both hands.
he doesn’t move. not even a step.
pain jumps through your palms from the impact. something old flashes between you so quickly it nearly steals the air from your lungs: your fist meeting his face in that first safehouse, the total failure of it, the smile he gave you after. only now, there’s no smile.
soldier boy drops butcher. you didn’t move him. he just decides butcher can wait. butcher hits the floor with one knee first, coughing once as his hand catches the wall. before you can shove soldier boy again, his hand snaps around your wrist. hard. your whole body stops short. his fingers close around the narrow bones with brutal precision, not enough to break, but tight enough that the pressure bites straight through your skin and into memory. your breath catches before you can hide it.
annie takes one step. “soldier boy—”
“stay out of it,” the words scrape your throat on the way out. the bruises there are mostly faded now, disappearing beneath your jaw, but the skin still remembers.
you try to pull your wrist back. nothing. not even the satisfaction of making him adjust his stance. you might as well be yanking against a locked door.
“take your hand off me,” you demand, forcing your chin high.
his eyes return to yours. “big girl now?”
“always was. you’re just juiced up.”
silence lands so fast it almost makes the room smaller. hughie’s mouth parts. annie’s eyes widen by a fraction. frenchie looks at the floor like he wants to be anywhere else and also can’t stop listening. butcher coughs out something that might have been a laugh if soldier boy hadn’t just nearly put him through drywall.
soldier boy’s eyes narrow. the old thing shows. the ugly spark. the part of him that likes your mouth even when he wants to shut it. especially then. his hand tightens by one cruel degree. you refuse to wince.
“that right?” he asks.
“yeah.” your free hand presses against his chest and shoves again. useless. humiliating. “if you were human, i would’ve put you on your ass by now.”
his gaze drops to your palm against his chest, then lifts slowly to your face. “you think so?”
“i know so.”
“you couldn’t take me.”
“you’re bulletproof and steroided by nazi kool-aid. forgive me if i don’t find your advantage personally impressive.”
butcher makes a low sound from the floor. “christ.”
soldier boy ignores him. you have all his attention now, and you hate how familiar it feels. hate the heat of him in front of you. his hand around your wrist. the way your body remembers being caught by him in other rooms, under other lighting, when his grip meant pull closer.
that memory turns your anger mean. “let go.”
his mouth twitches. “you gonna command me again?”
everything goes quiet at the mention of the wound underneath the fight.
your pulse stumbles once. for half a second, guilt rises so fast it nearly folds your anger in half. you see him on his knees in the motel, one hand braced against the carpet, sweat at his temple, eyes so full of betrayal you still can’t recall it without wanting to tear your own voice out.
then his fingers dig into your wrist again, and the present comes back.
your voice lowers. “no.”
he leans closer. enough for his words to land where only you should hear them, though everyone else does anyway. “funny. didn’t bother you last time.”
hurt flashes through you. still, you smile without meaning. “i can be sorry and still tell you to go fuck yourself.”
the line hits somewhere. maybe because you don’t deny it. maybe because you don’t beg. maybe because for days, you’ve walked around this house wearing guilt like a muzzle, and he’s gotten used to the quiet it bought from you. no more.
you step closer even with your wrist caught. “i’m sorry for what i did to you. i’ll be sorry for it longer than you’ll probably believe. but my guilt is not a leash either.”
his eyes sharpen at the word.
“you don’t get to use it to shut me up,” you continue. “you don’t get to use it to bench me. and you sure as hell don’t get to stand there calling me a liability because you made a choice you don’t know how to live with.”
soldier boy goes very still.
behind him, butcher pushes himself up fully, one hand rubbing at his throat. “careful, love.”
you turn your head toward him. “no, you be careful.”
butcher lifts his brows.
you yank once against soldier boy’s grip. he still doesn’t let go, but you don’t need him to. your stare stays on butcher now, anger finding a second target and liking the symmetry of it. “don’t stand there acting like you’re defending me when your intentions have always been far from noble.”
butcher’s expression flattens.
“all of you want to make this about what i am when it’s useful. liability. weapon. bait. leash.” your voice tightens. “pick a better word and it still means the same thing coming from all of your mouths.”
kimiko watches you from beside the couch with her hands still half-curled, ready for a fight that keeps changing shape before anyone can enter it.
you look back at soldier boy. “you want me off the team because you’re scared. and he wants me on it because i’m useful. neither are my problem.”
his grip shifts. for a second, you think he might shove you away. instead, he pulls you closer. not a lot. not close to make your bodies touch. enough that your arm bends between you, wrist still caught in his hand, his strength dragging you into the edge of his space with no permission asked and no apology offered.
the motion is rough enough that annie glows brighter.
your heart kicks hard.
soldier boy looks down at you, voice low. “you think this is a game?”
you laugh once, ugly and breathless. “no. i think you’re pissed because noir is alive and i’m standing here.”
his expression lashes shut. “you don’t know shit.”
“i know you chose.”
his jaw flexes. “i made a mistake.”
for one second, the room loses sound. something in your chest folds inward. it hurts in a way you don’t want anyone to see, so you make your face harder around it. that’s what he’d do. and maybe that’s the worst part—how much of him you’ve learned.
butcher breaks the silence because he’s never respected anything sacred in his life. “touching as this little domestic is, we’ve still got a problem.”
soldier boy’s head turns slightly. “you’re still talking?”
“amazingly, yeah.” butcher’s voice is rough from being held against the wall, but his eyes are bright. “because while you two are workin’ through whatever the fuck that is, noir’s gone, homelander’s tucked away somewhere vought thinks is safe, and the deep’s probably cryin’ into a lobster tank about his concussion.”
“shut up, butcher.” mm doesn’t raise his voice. he doesn’t need to. “we got made at the civic center. vought’s adjusting. noir knows we’re moving around him. homelander’s security just got tighter. and we’re standing here arguing about whether one member of this team gets treated like a person.”
the words land differently from yours. steadier. less bloody at the edges.
he doesn’t look away from soldier boy. “she stays on the team if she chooses, just like you.” mm says. “no more temp v unless she chooses. no more secret doses. no more deciding for each other because we’re scared.”
soldier boy’s mouth curls. “easy for you to say.”
mm’s stare hardens. “no, it ain’t.”
that shuts even butcher up for a second.
because mm knows. maybe not the same way. not the motel room. not your voice under his skin. but he knows what it means to have a body left behind in someone else’s war. he knows what soldier boy costs. what butcher costs. what every violent man in this room keeps asking everybody else to pay.
your wrist is starting to ache.
it’s almost like soldier boy notices. his eyes drop to the place his fingers remain locked around you briefly. something crosses his face so quickly you almost miss it. not an apology. not even regret clean enough to use. just the awareness that he’s still holding you.
his hand opens all at once. he releases you like the touch itself disgusts him, fingers snapping away, leaving the ghost of pressure burning in a ring around your wrist. your arm drops to your side. you keep it there. no rubbing. no shaking it out. no giving him the satisfaction of seeing how much it bit.
there are so many things in soldier boy’s face you don’t want to name because naming them might make you weak. things that your brain clocks despite your needs—fury, betrayal, resentment, the leftover shape of fear dressed up as command. something else too. buried so deep he’d probably put his own fist through a wall before letting it surface.
“you get grabbed again,” he says, voice low, “that’s on you.”
you nod once. “okay.”
his eyes narrow, like he expected a fight and hates that you didn’t give him one.
you turn before your face can do something stupid. before the ache has time to leak out. before the old version of you can look at him and ask if the mistake was choosing you or not choosing noir. you don’t want the answer. not tonight. maybe not ever.
Manon, your busy pop star wife, finally gets her first solo time with your cheeky 2 year old daughter Merliah while you're out for work. Chaos explodes instantly, yogurt wars, toy rejection, bath floods, and full toddler tantrums. Manon spam texts you in total panic, dramatically begging for rescue as Merliah repeatedly bullies her…
A/N: Hi! I'm back! I miss you everyone!! Belated Happy birthday to my dearest Manon! 🩷 Sorry if this is short huhu, make it up to you guys next time!
I’m sorry, not a soul is gonna convince me that Manon and her friends are in the wrong. She’s actively being erased by the company. Her emphasising her health and her friends stepping for her is a good thing. She’s kept it classy mad long already. Shes the one being done wrong
the next few days settled into a routine. the early mornings became a little less painful and before y/n really realised it, camp had started to feel somewhat normal.
every morning began the same way; a whistle, someone complaining usually megan who was followed closely by lara.
breakfast at the dining hall before sophia marched them off for another day of training, there was always something new to learn.
one morning was spent learning how to run activities for different age groups “an eight-year-old and a fourteen-year-old are completely different people,” sophia explained “if the younger ones are bored, they’ll cry. if the older ones are bored, they’ll make your life difficult.”
they practised leading icebreakers, keeping everyone’s attention and learning how to include quieter campers without putting them on the spot.
another afternoon was spent rehearsing rainy day activities. the idea was simple, learn enough games to keep fortyish children entertained when the weather inevitably decided to ruin everyone’s plans.
in reality, it became increasingly difficult for sophia to get through a single explanation without megan and manon somehow derailing it.
every game immediately became competitive and every demonstration somehow ended in an argument and very quickly sophia had learnt never to leave the pair unsupervised for too long.
one afternoon, while everyone had been sent off to organise activity equipment around camp, megan and manon disappeared which, by that point in the week was never a good sign.
they’d somehow ended up squeezed inside the tiny storage cupboard in the staff rec room.
mops, paint tins, boxes of glitter and a shelf full of board games. they barely fit, megan crouched beside the door, one hand clamped over her mouth trying not to laugh.
manon sat on an upside-down bucket beside her, already grinning. megan held the camp radio “…this is a bad idea.” she whispered.
“it’s a brilliant idea.” manon whispered back “just do it.”
megan took a breath and pressed the button.
click.
“lara?” her voice immediately changed, it was higher, shaky and almost breathless “lara, come in.”
the radio crackled.
click.
“it’s lara copy” she answered almost instantly “megan? what’s up.”
“lara…” megan’s breathing hitched “i-i don’t know what happened.” there was a pause “manon just…” she looked at manon who was biting back a laugh “…she just fainted.”
“…what?” lara’s voice had changed completely, all traces of joking gone.
“we were sorting the craft stuff and she just… she just went down.”
“megan.” lara cut in ““look at her.”
“yes.”
“is she breathing?”
“i…” megan swallowed “yeah.”
“okay.” lara’s voice was fast now “good. is she awake?”
megan looked at manon. who shook her head dramatically before pretending to flop sideways against a shelf.
“…no.”
“shit okay.” another breath from lara “don’t move her, stay with her, i’m coming.”
“lara-“
“i’m already on my way.” the radio clicked off.
for a second…neither of them moved then they both completely lost it into silent laughter, manon slid off the bucket she’d been sitting on.
megan had both hands over her mouth trying not to make a sound “she believed“ megan whispered.
“i know.” manon wheezed. “she actually-“
the cupboard door suddenly opened, light flooded inside. y/n stood there holding a roll of coloured paper and daniela beside her carrying two boxes of paints.
they both stopped “…what are you-”
“shhh!” manon hissed, throwing a finger to her lips. as she jumped her thumb slipped holding the radio button down. y/n’s eyes slowly dropped to the radio.
“…manon.” lara’s voice came through, dangerously quiet. all four of them froze “…did you just shush me?”
manon’s face drained. “…oh.” she slowly lifted her thumb too late.
the radio crackled again “are you two fucking kidding me?” lara’s voice echoed through the speaker.
“i have never ran that fast in my life.” another click as she keyed the radio again “…i am going to fuck you both up.”
they heard footsteps, fast ones getting closer. megan’s eyes widened “…she’s actually coming.”
manon peeked through the crack in the cupboard door. “…run.”
they burst out of the cupboard, almost knocking into y/n and daniela on the way out. “move!” manon shouted.
“move!” the pair sprinted down the path just as lara came flying around the corner.
she came to a stop outside the cupboard, breathing hard, hair slightly windswept from running. she looked at y/n then daniela then in the direction megan and manon had disappeared “…which way?”
daniela didn’t even hesitate, she slowly pointed down the path. lara nodded once “thank you.” then took off after them.
“GET BACK HERE!”
lara disappeared around the corner still shouting threats that became harder to make out the further away she ran.
somewhere in the distance came megan’s laugh followed by manon’s unmistakable dolphin cackle.
“STOP RUNNING!”
another burst of laughter echoed through camp.
y/n couldn’t help laughing herself. she bent slightly, setting the roll of coloured paper down against the wall as she shook her head “…they’re actually ridiculous.”
beside her, daniela smiled the laughter outside slowly faded into the distance, leaving the craft cupboard quiet again.
sunlight streamed through the dusty windows, catching tiny specks of glitter floating lazily through the air.
“come on.” daniela nudged one of the boxes she’d been carrying with her foot “before sophia wonders why nothing’s been organised.”
y/n climbed onto the balls of her feet to slide a box of paint onto one of the higher shelves. daniela stood beside her, organising stacks of coloured paper into neat piles.
still smiling to herself, y/n reached for another box. she took one step backwards and her foot caught the bucket manon had knocked over during their escape.
“oh-“
it rolled and y/n’s balance disappeared instantly. before she could catch herself, her balance disappeared, the box slipped from her hands.
daniela reacted on instinct, her hand shot out, fingers wrapping firmly around y/n’s forearm before she could fall.
the sudden pull stopped her but the momentum carried her forwards instead, straight into daniela.
the box hit the floor with a dull thud and neither of them seemed to notice. everything else went still, daniela’s hand remained around y/n’s forearm.
her other hand had instinctively come to rest lightly against y/n’s waist to stop the rest of her weight carrying forward. y/n had grabbed the front of daniela’s shirt without thinking.
her hands pressed lightly against her chest to steady herself. they were close, much closer than either of them had ever been before.
close enough that y/n could see the tiny flecks of amber hidden in daniela’s brown eyes where the sunlight caught them, enough to notice the faint dusting of freckles across her nose, enough that she could feel the warmth of her breath between them.
the little storage room suddenly felt far warmer than it had a moment ago.
daniela blinked once her cheeks had taken on the faintest hint of pink. whether from catching y/n so suddenly…or simply from realising how close they were…y/n couldn’t tell.
she realised she was still looking, her eyes drifted across daniela’s face before she caught herself.
their eyes met again. then almost at the same moment, they both seemed to realise exactly how they were standing. they stepped back together. just a little too quickly.
“i…” y/n awkwardly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear “…uh… thanks.”
daniela let out a small, slightly breathless laugh as she smoothed the front of her now-creased camp shirt where y/n had grabbed it “yeah.” another tiny laugh “maybe…” she glanced down at the rogue bucket “…watch your step next time.”
y/n looked at the bucket before rubbing the back of her neck, trying to hide the smile tugging at the corner of her mouth “probably a good idea.”
another brief silence settled between them then daniela bent to pick up the box that had fallen “come on.” she smiled, sounding a little more like herself again “if we don’t finish this, sophia’s going to make us reorganise the whole camp.”
“please don’t even joke about that.” y/n laughed and the moment passed but somehow it lingered anyway.
they stepped back outside into the afternoon sunshine. for a little while neither of them said anything. they simply walked together as the sounds of camp drifted around them, the breeze through the trees, distant laughter somewhere near the cabins, the occasional thud of equipment being moved.
y/n kept her eyes fixed on the gravel path. she couldn’t quite tell whether it had suddenly become warmer outside or whether the heat creeping into her face hadn’t actually gone away.
she risked a glance sideways, daniela was looking ahead completely normal.
at least, she tried to look normal but every now and then she absentmindedly tugged at the hem of her camp shirt where it had creased.
before either of them had the chance to say anything-
“she’s fucking crazy!”
megan came sprinting around the corner at full speed. she practically skidded to a stop in front of them, bent over with both hands on her knees trying to catch her breath.
“where’s manon?” daniela asked, already laughing.
“i don’t fucking know.” megan panted “i just know that…” she looked over her shoulder “it’s every man for themselves.”
almost on cue the dining hall door slammed open behind her.
BANG.
lara stormed out her eyes locked onto megan instantly.
megan let out a tiny yelp and without a second thought she darted behind y/n, grabbing both of her shoulders and using her as a human shield.
“y/n.” she pleaded dramatically “save me.”
she clung onto the back of y/n’s camp shirt “come on, newbies stick together.”
y/n laughed as megan attempted to hide almost entirely behind her. lara didn’t even slow down, she pointed directly at y/n.
“y/n.” her voice was almost unnervingly calm. “move the fuck out of the way.” another step “or you’re next.”
“don’t listen to her.” megan tightened her grip “i’m innocent.”
y/n sighed, trying not to laugh. she reached back, peeled megan’s hands off her shoulders and gently untangled herself then stepped to one side.
“it’s every man for themselves…” she shrugged innocently “..no?”
megan stared at her mouth hanging open in complete betrayal “…you’ve changed.”
“AH!” megan shrieked before spinning on her heel and sprinting across camp again. lara took off after her without hesitation.
their shouting disappeared between the cabins. a second later…manon’s laugh echoed somewhere in the distance.
followed by-
“WHAT THE FUCK WHY ARE YOU CHASING ME AGAIN?!”
~~~~~
the last couple of days before the campers arrived felt different. training hadn’t completely stopped but the focus shifted.
instead of learning how camp worked, they were getting camp ready. every morning started with a different checklist. cabins were swept from top to bottom and fresh bedding was laid out.
welcome signs were hung outside every door. they walked through every activity area making sure nothing had been forgotten.
the arts and crafts cabin was restocked, the sports shed reorganised, all canoes lined up perfectly along the edge of the lake.
they even walked every trail through the woods one final time, clearing fallen branches and repainting the little wooden arrows that pointed campers back towards the main paths.
the camp no longer looked like it had just opened for the summer, it looked ready.
ready to be filled with shouting, muddy shoes, homesick tears, new friendships and far too many children.
later that evening, sophia gathered them around one of the dining hall tables. a stack of folders sat neatly in front of her.
she slid one across to each counsellor “camper files.” she said simply “take them seriously.”
y/n opened hers. inside were twelve names, ages, medical information, allergies,emergency contacts and little notes from parents.
prefers sleeping on the bottom bunk.
gets anxious during thunderstorms.
vegetarian.
bring favourite teddy if upset.
“read them tonight.” sophia said “learn their names and their faces.”
“if one of them walks up to you tomorrow morning and you greet them by name…” she smiled “they’ll remember that.”
everyone quietly nodded.
once the camper files had been packed away, lara pushed herself up from the bench “don’t go anywhere.” she pointed at the table “i’ll be back.”
she disappeared into another room the sound of cupboards opening and plastic tubs scraping against shelves echoing through the room.
a few seconds later she reappeared carrying a large clear storage box with both hands. it was packed to the brim. she set it down in the middle of the table with a soft thunk.
inside were dozens upon dozens of little bundles of embroidery thread, every colour imaginable.
some were solid colours, others fading from one shade into another. there were tiny alphabet beads in one compartment, little charms shaped like stars, animals and flowers in another.
y/n hadn’t expected friendship bracelets to involve quite so much…stuff.
daniela leaned forward almost immediately. “oh my god.” she reached into the box “they got the new colours.”
sophia smiled too, picking up a bundle of sage green thread “finally! they didn’t have this one last year.”
lara nodded proudly “i ordered them.”
“good choice.” daniela agreed, already comparing different shades beside sophia “look at this one.” she held up a bundle that faded from pale pink into orange.
“that’s pretty.” sophia nodded “i like that.”
meanwhile…megan was staring into the box like someone had just handed her a physics exam “…why are there so many?”
“because.” lara smiled “campers get to make one for themselves and one for someone else.” she looked around the table “tomorrow you’ll be teaching them.”
her eyes landed on megan and y/n “…which means you should probably know how first.”
she reached into the box, selecting three strands of thread. a pale blue, white and dark purple.
“first.” she held the ends together, carefully lining them up so they were all the same length “fold them in half.” she demonstrated slowly “like this.”
the loop sat neatly at one end, she tied a simple knot beneath it leaving a small loop at the top. “that’s where it fastens later.” she explained then she picked up a strip of masking tape, securing the loop to the edge of the table.
“you can tape it down.” she looked at y/n and megan “or…” she grinned “make your new best friend hold it”
manon immediately reached forward holding the other ends of the thread for lara.
she separated the strands carefully “the trick…” she looked up “…is not to rush.” her fingers moved slowly enough that both y/n and megan could follow.
“take the strand on the left.” she crossed it over the middle “now the one on the right.”
another neat movement “over the new middle.”
the threads slowly began twisting together not in a complicated pattern just a simple, even braid. “left.” another cross “right.”
another “left.”
“right.” she repeated the movements a few more times before holding it up. already, a neat woven pattern was beginning to appear.
“that’s literally it.” lara smiled “the biggest mistake kids make is pulling too hard.” she tugged one strand tightly to demonstrate.
the bracelet immediately started curling awkwardly “see?” she loosened it again “gentle.”
megan blinked “…i’m going to accidentally invent a new type of knot.”
“probably.” lara admitted “which is why…” she pushed the basket towards everyone “…we’re practising.”
almost without thinking, everyone paired off.
lara scooted her chair beside megan “come on.” she smiled “let’s see how badly you can tangle it.”
“jeez thanks for the confidence boost” megan muttered, reaching nervously into the box.
across from them, sophia was already helping manon choose colours “absolutely not.” she laughed as manon reached for different neon colours “that looks radioactive.”
which left daniela and y/n sitting opposite one another. daniela rested her chin in her hand for a second, looking down into the box “okay…” she smiled “important question.”
“what colours are we thinking?” daniela looked down into the box, gently pushing aside bundles of thread with her fingertips.
y/n scanned the box, there were so many that it almost felt impossible to choose “green?” she suggested “camp themed.”
daniela nodded approvingly “good start.”
she picked out a forest green before holding it against a lighter sage thread “these together?”
“…they kind of match our shirts.” y/n smiled “then…” she reached in herself, fingers brushing against daniela’s for the briefest second as they both reached for the same bundle.
they both paused “…sorry.” they laughed quietly.
y/n pulled out an off-white thread instead “this?”
daniela held the three colours together.
forest green.
sage.
cream.
she tilted her head “…i like those.”
“yeah?”
“yeah.” she smiled “they match.” she looked at the threads again before adding “we’ll make matching ones.”
y/n smiled without really thinking “…okay.”
across the table “done.” sophia tied the final knot before sliding the finished bracelet off the edge of the table. manon looked at it dramatically “wow. it’s beautiful.”
“i know.” sophia replied “i made it.”
lara glanced over “…you two finished already?”
“years of practice.” sophia shrugged.
meanwhile, megan was halfway through hers. lara had been expecting a tangled disaster. instead “…wait.” she leaned closer “that’s actually…”
megan looked up nervously“…bad?”
“…really good.” lara admitted and megan blinked “seriously?”
“your tension’s perfect.” lara took the bracelet for a second, inspecting it ““how are you better at this than i was my first year?”
megan shrugged “…i used to make loom bands.”
lara stared at her. “…that explains so much.”
back across the table, daniela looked at y/n “hold this for me?”
y/n pinched the loop gently between her fingers, keeping the thread taut. daniela shuffled her chair closer so she could work comfortably. close enough that their knees were almost touching beneath the table.
she didn’t seem to notice or maybe she did but either way she stayed there. her fingers moved with easy confidence, left over the middle and right over the new middle.
the threads slipped effortlessly between her fingers. y/n found herself watching, not the bracelet but her hands.
the way her fingers worked so quickly they barely seemed to think about it, occasionally she’d stop to tighten the braid gently before continuing.
a loose curl kept falling into her face every few moments she’d puff a quiet breath upwards, trying to move it without letting go of the bracelet it never worked.
finally she laughed softly to herself and tucked it behind her ear “…what?” she asked after a moment, noticing y/n was still watching.
y/n blinked “huh?”
“you’re staring.”
“…i was watching how you were doing it.” she answered a little too quickly.
daniela’s smile grew “mhm.” she didn’t sound convinced. y/n looked back down at the bracelet immediately “…i was.”
“if you say so.” daniela teased, the corner of her mouth curling upwards as she returned to weaving the threads together.
y/n could feel the warmth rising into her cheeks all over again. she decided the bracelet suddenly needed her full attention.
daniela tied the final knot before sliding the bracelet off the edge of the table with a satisfied little smile.
“there.” she held it up between them “your turn.”
y/n looked down at the loose strands in front of her. “…i’ve forgotten everything.”
daniela laughed “thought you were watching?” she smirked, picking up the thread and pinching it between her fingers “i’ll hold it.”
y/n took a deep breath “okay…” she picked up the left strand “…left over the middle…”
“mhm.”
“then…” she stopped and daniela waited “…i forgot.” daniela burst out laughing. “you forgot already?”
“don’t laugh!”
“i’m trying not to.” she absolutely wasn’t still chuckling, she nodded towards the threads “right over the new middle.”
“right.” y/n nodded “i knew that.” she crossed it over then immediately picked up the same strand again.
daniela looked down “…wrong one.”
“what?”
“that’s the same one.”
“…oh.” she undid it with a groan “this is embarrassing.”
“it is a little bit.” daniela admitted through another laugh.
y/n tried again. left. right. left. this time she somehow forgot about the third strand altogether. it sat untouched at the side while she happily braided the other two. daniela stared at it for a second “…are you just…” she pointed “…ignoring that one?”
y/n looked down “…where did that come from?” daniela laughed so hard she had to look away as y/n dropped her forehead onto the table “how am i supposed to teach children this.”
still laughing, daniela gave the thread she was holding the tiniest encouraging tug, it pulled y/n’s hands forwards slightly.
“come on.” she smiled “you’ve got this.”
“i absolutely don’t.”
“you do.” another little tug “one more try.”
before y/n could attempt it again, a voice appeared over her shoulder “…are you making a friendship bracelet…” lara leaned down beside her, hands resting on the back of y/n’s chair as she studied the tangled mess in front of her.
“…or making a ball of yarn”
y/n looked up at her “i’m trying!”
“i know.” lara nodded sympathetically “i’m just trying to work out what that it is.”
y/n let out an exaggerated groan.
daniela laughed again then…stopped because lara had leaned in further now.
“move.” lara said softly “lemme see.” she was smiling playfully but there was an unmistakably teasing edge to it.
without really thinking, daniela gave the thread another small tug just enough for y/n to look back towards her instead.
“hey.” she smiled “don’t listen to her.” her voice was lighter “you’ve got this.”
y/n couldn’t help smiling back.
lara watched the exchange then slowly crouched beside y/n instead “okay.” she reached for y/n’s hands “show me what you’re doing.”
y/n handed the threads over “…please.”
lara gently repositioned her fingers “this one.” she guided her left hand “over.” then moved her right hand “now this one.”
“like this.” she repeated the movement once more slowly enough that y/n could follow.
“…ohhhhh.” y/n’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration, the tip of her tongue poked out ever so slightly “that’s what i was doing wrong.”
“yeah.” lara said softly “good.”
“just like that.” she kept guiding the movements.
“left.”
“right.”
“perfect.”
except…she wasn’t looking at the bracelet anymore. her eyes had lifted meeting daniela’s across the table.
daniela was already looking back, the smile she’d been wearing a moment ago had disappeared and her jaw tightened. only slightly barely enough for anyone else to notice but of course..lara noticed.
her lips curved into the smallest smirk “yeah…” she said, still watching daniela “just like that.”
completely oblivious, y/n repeated the movement herself. this time the bracelet finally started to take shape.
“…there.” y/n pulled the final knot tight. she stared at it for a second before holding it up between both hands.
it wasn’t perfect, one section was slightly tighter than the rest and the colours weren’t quite as even as daniela’s.
but it actually looked like a friendship bracelet “i did it.” she said, sounding almost surprised.
daniela looked over at it and a smile immediately spread across her face “you did.” she laughed “see?”
“it only took me…” y/n glanced down at the pile of failed attempts scattered across the table “…about six business days.”
“come here.” lara smiled, reaching her hand out “i’ll tie it on for you.”
y/n instinctively held the bracelet out then paused “…oh.” she pulled it back slightly.
lara frowned “what?”
y/n looked towards daniela “well…” she smiled sheepishly “dani and i are matching.”
she lifted the bracelet slightly “so…” she held her wrist out towards daniela instead “…in true camp spirit…” a tiny smile tugged at the corner of her mouth “…she has to do it.”
lara’s eyes drifted from the bracelet to y/n. then across to daniela and their eyes met and something flickered across lara’s face, almost like she’d just solved a puzzle she hadn’t realised she’d been putting together.
a quiet little hum escaped her ““…right.” the corner of her mouth lifted into the faintest smirk. “of course.”
she stood back up, brushing imaginary dust from her shorts “carry on.”
without another word, she wandered back towards the other end of the table. daniela watched her go for a second before looking back at y/n “…give me your wrist.”
y/n held her arm out and daniela’s fingers wrapped gently around her wrist, turning it over so the bracelet sat neatly against her skin.
she threaded one end through the small loop before carefully tying the knot. her fingertips brushed lightly against y/n’s wrist as she tightened it.
“not too tight?” she asked quietly and y/n shook her head “it’s perfect.”
daniela smiled “good.” she let go and the bracelet settled neatly against y/n’s skin. the soft greens matched the camp shirt almost perfectly.
“your turn.” daniela held her own wrist out and y/n took it carefully. somehow tying the bracelet suddenly felt far more difficult than making it.
daniela’s wrist was warm beneath her fingers. she concentrated on the knot far harder than she probably needed to.
“…don’t mess it up.” daniela teased.
without looking up, y/n smiled “that’s not helping.”
“you’re doing fine.” after a second, the knot was finished. y/n gave it one small tug to make sure it was secure before letting go. they both looked down at matching bracelets. “…look at that.” daniela smiled.
“your first camp bracelet.”
y/n looked from the bracelet to the matching one around daniela’s wrist “…guess i’m officially part of camp now.”
“guess you are.” daniela’s smile lingered for just a second longer before both of them looked back towards the others.
~~~~~
by the time everything had been finished, the sun had already started to disappear behind the trees.
the six of them wandered down towards the campfire as the evening air began to cool.
it sat in the centre of a circle of old log benches, surrounded by towering pines that swayed gently overhead. someone had already lit it, the flames crackling softly as sparks drifted lazily into the darkening sky.
everyone found a place without really thinking about it. megan immediately claimed one end of a log before throwing a thick fleece blanket across both herself and y/n’s laps.
“sharing.” she announced “because i’m freezing.”
“you’re dramatic.” y/n laughed, pulling the blanket around herself anyway.
across from them, sophia sat with one leg tucked beneath her, warming her hands around a mug of tea.
daniela dropped onto the log beside her with a quiet sigh, stretching her legs out towards the fire.
lara and manon squeezed onto the opposite bench together. manon immediately leaned sideways until her shoulder rested comfortably against lara’s. without saying anything, lara rested her head lightly against manon’s. it seemed so natural by now that nobody even commented on it.
they simply sat, watching the fire and listening to the wood crackle. the warmth against their faces while the cool evening air brushed against the backs of their necks.
finally, sophia looked across the fire towards the two newest counsellors “so..” she smiled “tomorrow.”
y/n let out a long breath “…don’t remind me.”
that made everyone laugh quietly and sophia smiled softly “nervous?”
megan didn’t even pretend “…yeah.” she admitted “a little.” she stared into the flames for a second “actually…a lot.”
y/n nodded beside her “same.” she pulled the blanket a little tighter around herself “i keep thinking i’m going to forget someone’s name or do something wrong or accidentally lose a child.”
“please don’t do that.” manon said.
another ripple of laughter travelled around the fire “everyone feels like that.” daniela said softly.
y/n looked over at her “seriously?”
daniela nodded “my first year i barely slept the night before. i kept convincing myself i’d forgotten everything sophia had taught us.”
lara smiled “i was terrified.”
“really?” megan asked “you?”
“mhm.” lara nodded “i was convinced every child would hate me.”
manon laughed then admitted “i cried.” everyone turned to look at her. “…what?” she shrugged “got overwhelmed.” she smiled to herself.
sophia poked at the fire with a long stick, sending another shower of sparks drifting upwards “being nervous isn’t a bad thing.”
she said “in fact…” she looked between y/n and megan “i’d be more worried if you weren’t.”
they both looked at her.
“nerves mean you care.” she smiled “the counsellors who think they know everything…” she shook her head “…they’re usually the ones who struggle.”
another comfortable silence settled over the group. the fire crackled softly and somewhere in the distance an owl called from deeper in the woods.
“you’re not doing this on your own.” sophia continued after a moment.l she looked around the circle “none of you are.”
“if one of you forgets something…” she nodded towards daniela “someone else remembers.”
“if one of you’s overwhelmed…” she glanced at lara and manon “someone steps in.”
“if you’ve had a rough day…” she smiled “there’ll always be somebody sitting around this fire with you afterwards.”
daniela looked across at y/n and megan “you’re part of the team now.” she said simply “that means if something goes wrong…” she shrugged “it goes wrong for all of us.”
“and we’ll figure it out.” lara nodded.
“together.” manon smiled “that’s kind of the whole point.”
megan looked around the circle then quietly smiled to herself “…i actually feel a bit better.”
“good.” sophia said “because tomorrow you’ll realise something.”
“what?” y/n asked and sophia smiled into her mug “the kids are far more nervous than you are.”
y/n looked around the camp one last time. by this time tomorrow there would be laughter echoing through the woods, children running between cabins and campfires filled with songs instead of quiet conversations.
the comfortable silence lasted all of thirty seconds then manon suddenly sat upright.
“wait.” she twisted around, reaching behind the log she’d been sitting on “look what i brought…” there was the sound of rustling plastic “…ha!”
she turned back around triumphantly, holding up a family-sized bag of marshmallows.
she ripped the bag open before looking around the fire “…we need sticks.” everyone’s eyes slowly drifted towards y/n and megan.
megan pointed at herself “why us?”
“because you’re newbies.” daniela smiled and lara pointed towards the trees “off you go.”
sophia laughed “find some that’ve already fallen don’t take new ones off the trees”
still muttering to themselves, megan and y/n wandered away from the warmth of the fire.
the closer they got to the trees, the quieter everything became. the only sounds now were the breeze stirring the branches overhead and the soft crunch of leaves beneath their shoes.
moonlight filtered through the trees in pale strips, broken up by the warm orange glow spilling from the campfire behind them.
every so often one of them bent down to inspect a fallen branch before deciding it was either too short…too damp…or far too wonky to trust anywhere near a marshmallow.
“this one’s terrible.” megan snapped one between her hands.
“yeah.” y/n nudged another with her foot “it’s basically dust.”
they kept walking, their arms slowly filling with a small collection of usable sticks. after a minute, megan spoke again “…you excited?”
“a bit.” y/n admitted “i think i’m more nervous.”
“same.” megan looked down at the sticks in her arms “i keep thinking tomorrow someone’s going to ask me a question…and my brain’s just going to empty.”
y/n smiled “then i’ll answer it.”
“and if you don’t know?”
“then we’ll both look stupid.”
megan laughed “…deal.” they walked a few more steps “seriously though.” megan said quietly “we’ve actually got each other’s backs tomorrow.”
y/n looked over at her “of course we do.”
“no matter what?”
“no matter what.”
megan nodded to herself “..good.” she stopped walking y/n looked back “what?”
megan shifted awkwardly “promise me something.”
“okay…”
“when camp finishes…” she shrugged “..we stay friends.”
y/n frowned turning back to face her fully “megan.”
“i’m serious.”
“i know.”
“people always say we’ll keep in touch.” she looked down at the ground for a second “then life happens, everyone gets busy and…” she gave a small shrug “..i don’t know…i don’t want that.”
y/n smiled softly she stepped closer “we’ve known each other, what…a week?”
“feels longer.” megan admitted.
“yeah.” y/n laughed “it kind of does but after a week i still can’t imagine you not in my life after this” she bent down to pick up another straight branch before standing again “of course we’ll stay friends.”
“no.” megan said “properly.” she lifted her hand between them, holding out her pinky up.
“pinky promise.”
y/n looked at it for a second before laughing. still smiling, she hooked her little finger around megan’s “i promise.”
megan gave their hands a small shake “good.”
she didn’t let go immediately instead she looked at y/n for another second before stepping forward. without really thinking, she wrapped her arms around her.
the hug caught y/n completely off guard “okay.” she laughed, hugging her back “what was that for?”
“just making sure.” megan mumbled into her shoulder.
y/n smiled “you’re an idiot.”
“yeah.” megan grinned as they pulled apart “…but i’m your idiot now.” y/n rolled her eyes affectionately “come on.”
she adjusted the bundle of sticks in her arms “before they send a search party after us.”
“or lara.”
megan shuddered dramatically “anything but lara”
by the time y/n and megan wandered back through the trees, both of their arms were full of sticks.
“inspection.” lara announced dramatically as she took one from the pile, turning it over in her hands like a priceless artefact.
“…acceptable.” another “acceptable.” she picked up one that curved slightly.
megan folded her arms “just shut up eat your marshmallow.”
everyone stood around the fire rather than sitting back down. the flames had burned lower now, settling into glowing orange embers with the occasional flicker reaching upwards whenever the breeze caught them.
one by one, marshmallows were pushed onto the ends of the sticks. almost immediately the debate started.
“golden brown.” sophia declared confidently, holding hers a sensible distance above the flames “crispy outside, gooey inside that’s the correct answer.”
“wrong.” megan said “set it on fire.”
“what?”
“char it.” she nodded seriously “crunchy on the outside and lava on the inside.”
“psychopath.” lara muttered.
“just toast it slowly.” daniela laughed “it’s worth waiting.”
manon had already shoved hers directly into the middle of the fire “i’m with megan.” she grinned.
for the next few minutes the only sounds were quiet conversation, the crackling fire and the occasional hiss whenever a marshmallow caught a little too much heat.
y/n rotated hers carefully watching it slowly turn the palest shade of golden brown. beside her, daniela did exactly the same and every so often she’d glance at y/n’s marshmallow before returning to her own.
megan’s had caught fire three separate times already she blew it out proudly every single time “perfect.” she declared.
“that’s literally charcoal.” y/n laughed. lara, meanwhile had become distracted halfway through telling a story.
her marshmallow remained completely still above the flames. “…lara.” daniela warned.
“…hm?”
“…lara.”
“…what dani!”
by the time she looked down the entire thing was engulfed in flames. “shit.” she yanked it back, blowing furiously until the fire disappeared “still edible?…” she decided.
before anyone could stop her, she took an enormous bite.
“…hot.” she mumbled around the marshmallow. very hot, her eyes widened. she started fanning her mouth frantically “it’s burning!”
manon immediately stepped in front of her “open.” lara obediently did.
manon leaned in, cupping her hands and blowing dramatically at the marshmallow still half inside lara’s mouth.
“fthhhh-“
lara made a noise somewhere between a groan and a laugh “again.”
manon blew harder “better?”
lara nodded rapidly “much.”
across the fire, megan looked up at exactly the same moment sophia did. they both stopped, blinked. then, in perfect synchronisation raised a finger pointing straight at each other’s faces.
“you’ve got-“ they both said together then they burst out laughing. each of them had a streak of melted marshmallow smeared across their lips from trying to eat it too quickly.
watching them dissolve into laughter made y/n laugh too. she shook her head before turning instinctively towards daniela.
only to find daniela already looking at her not at the fire, not at everyone else but at her.
y/n smiled “…you’ve got…” she lifted a finger, pointing towards daniela’s cheek.
“what?”
“right…” she gestured again “…there.”
daniela frowned, rubbing the wrong side of her face. “no.” y/n laughed “other side.”
daniela switched hands.
“still no.”
another attempt “…am i even close?”
“not even slightly.” y/n smiled, unable to help herself “here.” she stepped closer lifting her hand towards daniela’s face.
daniela didn’t hesitate, if anything, she leaned forward a fraction too quickly almost meeting her halfway.
y/n’s fingertips had barely brushed the smear of marshmallow on her cheek when-
“i got it.” manon’s voice appeared out of nowhere. before either of them had time to react, manon cupped daniela’s face with one hand. and with absolutely no hesitation leaned over and licked the marshmallow clean off her cheek.
manon pulled back “there” she smiled proudly “problem solved.”
daniela stared at her in complete disbelief. manon grinned and lara laughed so hard she nearly dropped her marshmallow back into the fire.
megan doubled over beside sophia, even sophia had to cover her mouth to hide a smile.
y/n slowly lowered her hand still hovering awkwardly in mid-air where she’d almost wiped daniela’s cheek herself.
daniela glanced at her then back at manon “…next time.” she muttered “i’m wiping my own face.”
~~~~~
the evening slipped by slowly.
the marshmallows disappeared one after another, conversation drifted wherever it pleased sometimes everyone was involved and other times three different conversations happened around the same fire.
sophia and megan were somehow still roasting marshmallows. “you’re doing that on purpose now.” lara called over as the smell of burning marshmallows swam through the air.
megan shrugged, blowing out another tiny flame “it’s called flavour.”
“it’s called carbon.” sophia corrected, somehow already reaching for another marshmallow herself.
y/n smiled to herself before settling down onto the grass beside the log bench. she rested her elbows against the seat, looking up at lara.
“so…” she said “how do you actually teach the camp songs?”
lara glanced down at her “depends on the age. the younger ones?” she smiled “they’ll sing absolutely anything if you make it loud enough.”
“the older ones pretend they’re too cool.”
“until?”
“until someone starts clapping.” lara laughed “then suddenly they’re all joining in.” she picked up a stick, absentmindedly drawing little circles in the dirt “usually i teach them one line at a time and actions help especially with the little ones.”
“they remember movements way quicker than lyrics.”
y/n nodded, listening carefully. across the fire, manon stood up, stretching her arms above her head.
“i’ll be back.” she yawned “bathroom.”
daniela watched her disappear between the cabins. then her eyes drifted back to lara still talking, to y/n still smiling up at her.
something uncomfortable twisted low in her stomach. she frowned to herself.
what…
she looked away then back again. lara was leaning down slightly now as she explained something, laughing when y/n asked another question.
daniela’s stomach tightened again, she told herself it was ridiculous. they were talking that’s all. she didn’t know why it bothered her and she didn’t even know if it did bother her.
before she’d really thought about it… she was already walking over and she stopped in front of them.
“hi, dani.” y/n smiled up at her from the ground. the firelight flickered across her face, catching in her eyes.
for a second, daniela forgot she’d walked over at all “…hi.”
lara looked between the two of them then slowly smiled just the tiniest knowing smirk. “join us.” she said and daniela let out a quiet huff before dropping onto the log beside lara “…thanks.”
almost immediately, y/n and lara slipped back into their conversation “…so then all the cabins sing against each other?” y/n asked.
“yep.” lara nodded “and trust me, they get weirdly competitive.”
“i…” the word escaped before daniela had even realised she’d spoken. both of them looked at her, y/n tilted her head slightly “yeah?”
daniela’s mind went completely blank.
what was i going to say?
she stared at y/n for half a second. her eyes darted around for literally anything then landed on y/n’s wrist, a black hair tie.
“…can i borrow your hair tie?” the words came out before she’d thought about them.
both y/n and lara looked down automatically. at the same moment, daniela casually slipped the hair tie already around her own wrist off with her other hand. she tucked it quickly into the pocket of her shorts.
“…yeah.” y/n smiled “of course.”
she slid the hair tie off her wrist before reaching up and handing it over and daniela took it “..thanks.”
she immediately looped it around her own wrist. lara’s eyes flicked briefly to daniela’s pocket then back up to her face, corner of her mouth twitched but she didn’t say a word.
daniela absentmindedly rolled the hair tie between her fingers for a moment then gathered her curls into one hand.
“finally.” she laughed quietly “my hair has been annoying me all evening.” she started pulling it back.
“no-“ lara suddenly reached over, catching her wrist “oh my god.” she looked almost offended “let me braid it.”
daniela looked at her for a second before smiling “okay.” she turned sideways on the log, swinging one leg over so she was straddling the bench backwards, resting her folded arms against the backrest.
lara shifted behind her, immediately running her fingers through daniela’s curls “your hair is so soft.” she murmured. she separated the curls into three sections with practised hands.
lara began weaving the curls together slowly, fingers moving with the same rhythm she’d used making friendship bracelets earlier.
y/n watched for a moment “…it’s like you’re making a bracelet.” she pointed out.
lara didn’t even look up “well done.” she deadpanned “you want a medal?”
y/n rolled her eyes “shut up.”
lara smiled to herself “yes.” she crossed another section over “it is like making a bracelet.”
she continued braiding as the conversation drifted away again. y/n let her gaze wander back towards the fire.
sophia and megan were still arguing over whose marshmallow technique was better.
manon reappeared from the direction of the bathroom block, stretching as she wandered back into the circle.
y/n reached into the pocket of her hoodie, she pulled out a small lip balm twisted the cap off and ran it slowly across her lips.
“what flavour is that?” daniela asked, her head turned slightly her eyes settling on y/n, watching as she applied it.
y/n rubbed her lips together absentmindedly “vanilla and coconut.” she replied, the faint scent drifted through the cool evening air.
“want some?” she held the tube out.
“i do.” lara said immediately, she leaned dramatically across daniela, puckering her lips exaggeratedly as though expecting y/n to kiss it onto her.
“fuck off lara.” y/n laughed, nudging her away before reaching past her instead, she handed the lip balm to daniela.
daniela took it with a quiet smile “thanks.”
she applied a thin layer before rubbing her lips together “…this tastes so good.”
she hummed, the tip of her tongue briefly brushing across her bottom lip “oh my god.”
“right?” y/n grinned, taking it back.
“y/n!” megan called from across the fire “c’mere.” she, sophia and manon were all hunched over something on the ground, gesturing excitedly.
“look at this bug!”
“coming.” y/n smiled, she pushed herself up from the grass and wandered over towards them, disappearing around the other side of the fire.
lara continued working the last few sections of daniela’s braid into place once she tied it off, she gently patted it.
“done.”
daniela reached back, fingers instinctively feeling the finished braid. lara then leaned in close enough that only daniela could hear.
“now you know what she’d taste like when you kiss her.”
daniela whipped around so fast she almost pulled the braid loose “w-what??” she choked out, one hand immediately going to the back of her head, fingers nervously playing with the braid.
lara simply leaned back against the log, completely unbothered “c’mon dani.” she shrugged “i’m not stupid.” a small smile tugged at her lips.
“you got a lil summer crush.”
daniela’s mouth opened “i-i do not.” she retorted far too quickly. before she could stop herself, her eyes drifted across the fire. finding y/n laughing at whatever insect megan had shown her.
lara watched the glance happen she didn’t miss it “…oh.” she nodded slowly “that’s good then.” she said casually.
“it means i can make my move.”
daniela’s head snapped back around so quickly it was almost comical “…what?”
lara burst into laughter “i knew it!” she pointed triumphantly.
“daniela groaned, dropping her face into one hand “you are SO annoying”
“and yet…” lara smirked “i’m right.”
daniela didn’t answer, she couldn’t because against every attempt to convince herself otherwise her eyes drifted back to y/n one more time.
~~~~~
by the time they wandered back to maple, the camp had fallen almost completely silent.
the fire had been put out and the dining hall lights were off. only the porch lights outside each cabin remained, casting soft golden pools across the paths between the trees.
tomorrow, those same paths would be full of children. tonight they belonged to the counsellors one last time.
daniela held the cabin door open for y/n “after you.” she said with a dramatic bow.
“thank you.”
the familiar creak of the wooden floorboards greeted them as they stepped inside. the camper side of the cabin was spotless.
twelve neatly made bunks waited in perfect rows, each with its welcome pack sitting squarely on the pillow.
they quietly made their way through to the counsellors’ section at the back before changing into their pyjamas.
after almost a week together, they’d fallen into an easy routine without ever really talking about it.
one of them would disappear into the little bathroom first while the other changed then they’d swap, brush their teeth side by side, wash their faces and somehow end up talking for another twenty minutes before either of them actually got into bed.
tonight was no different. y/n stood at the small sink, gently rubbing moisturiser into her face while watching daniela’s reflection in the mirror.
daniela was brushing her teeth beside her, curls now loose again after she’d taken lara’s braid out. her curl cream filled the tiny bathroom with a soft clean scent.
daniela caught y/n looking in the mirror she raised an eyebrow through a mouthful of toothpaste “…what?”
y/n smiled “nothing.”
“liar.” she laughed around the toothbrush, catching y/n staring had also become part of their routine.
a minute later they were both finished, the bathroom light clicked off behind them. they climbed into their own beds, facing each other across the narrow gap between them.
neither of them made any move to actually lie down. instead they both sat with their backs resting against the wooden headboards.
the little bedside lamp between them filled the room with a warm yellow glow. outside, the trees rustled gently in the breeze.
daniela broke the silence first “ready for tomorrow?”
y/n let out a small breath through her nose “…i think so.” she smiled faintly “actually…” she looked down at the friendship bracelet around her wrist”…i don’t know.”
“i’m excited, really excited but…” she shrugged “i’ve never done anything like this before.”
“i’ve never been responsible for twelve kids like what if they don’t like me or what if i forget everything?”
“what if they ask me something and i just…” she made a vague gesture with her hand “…blank.”
daniela listened quietly, she’d heard every version of those worries before because she’d had every single one herself.
“hey.” she said softly and y/n looked back up “you’re gonna be fine.” she smiled “you know more than you think you do and if you forget something…” she shrugged “…ask.”
“none of us expect you to know everything.”
there was a small pause as daniela looked down at the bracelet around her own wrist before speaking again.
“and…” she hesitated “you’ll have me with you all the way.”
the words came out before she’d really thought about them. her eyes widened ever so slightly “…a-and…” she cleared her throat “…the others.”
“of course.” she laughed awkwardly “all of us…we’ll all be there.”
y/n smiled, something about that first sentence had settled warmly somewhere in her chest.
“thanks.” she said quietly “that actually makes me feel a lot better.”
daniela smiled back “good.” she reached over and switched off the bedside lamp. the cabin disappeared into darkness. only pale moonlight slipped through the windows, casting soft stripes across the wooden floor.
outside, camp was still for one last peaceful night before tomorrow changed everything.
a/n: hiiii this one is a 🤏🏻 shorter because i combined the rest with the next chapter to make it flow better. and yes i promise the next chapter is when the campers finally arrive! i hope you’re all enjoying this so far :)
⤷ [ lara x f!reader ] every time tiktok's proven that there's something going on between you and lara that's more than "just friends"
・・・cw: 7th member au, language, suggestive content, lap dance, ~3.5k wc, an: just trying out smth new
⋮⋮⋮ ONE
katseyeworld 2d ago following
drop to your knees and... #KATSEYE #Katseye_Y/n #Katseye_Lara
♫ original sound - Kayla Castillo
♡ 1.1M 💬 8.4k ⚐ 163.9k
it's post practice and you all just wrapped up a complete gabriela dance rehearsal, still in full glam and fitted up.
dani's taking a selfie or two in the corner before you guys change and get back home and manon's hitting you with the, "c'mon babe, it'd be a waste not to do anything when you look so mmm," she says, growling the last part.
which is why you're both filming thirst traps that'll probably rot in your drafts forever, megan joining the two of you after she's done with her stretches.
"wait, you know what i saw the other day," she starts, going to her saved collection, "you know that sound that's like 'you better drop to your knees and bark like you want it'?"
of course you do. sir mix a lot's been on your for you page more times than you can count, through that and the fine, 5'9, and i'm jockin' dance trend, which dani's been trying to get all of you to hop on for ages.
"yeah, you wanna do it?" you ask, to which megan furiously shakes her head no.
"you and lara should do it," she corrects with a grin as you laugh out a, "should i?"
manon's looking at megan like she's the next albert einstein who just came up with the greatest idea of all time. "oh my god, pleaseee, i wanna see what she does."
you turn around, scanning the the studio for her and she's sitting over by the mirrors, wrestling off the ridiculously tall heels you'd all been suffering through for the last hour.
"lara, can you c'mere for a sec?" you call out, motioning her over.
she whips her head up the moment you say her name, walking over to the three of you with a smile on her face. "am i in trouble?"
out of the corner of your eye you can see manon and megan already exchanging looks. oh m&m, what a duo. they'll literally act like those middle schoolers who sing the "sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g" song if you so much as interact, teasing until you fall for the ragebait.
"no, i just need you for a tiktok real quick," you say, pulling up the sound and front camera, placing your fingers on her waist to guide her closer with a grin. "stand right here, okay?"
"okay, and that's all i gotta do?" lara asks, running her hands through her hair and adjusting her necklace for the video.
"for now," you say and with megan and manon who look like they're obviously plotting something, she's starting to look at the three of you suspiciously.
"what--"
too late. you click the recording button with a grin, the volume at max as the sound plays, "and just when i thought i could palm it..."
lara catches on instantly--she's so chronically online you know she's definitely seen the trend before--and she only smiles even harder.
you look up into the camera, lip syncing the, "you better drop to your knees and bark like you want it," before turning the phone towards her.
she bites her bottom lip, locking her eyes into yours as she sinks down straight to her knees. and sink would be an understatement. lara drops down so fast and hard, you're worried her kneecaps are going to shatter.
and the way she's looking up at you is insane. the eye contact is so intense that you're the one who breaks first, cheeks flushed and laughing as you fumble to stop the recording.
"hey, you forgot to bark," megan adds in a second later with a smirk.
"bark, bitch," you joke and lara genuinely is about to start barking until you clamp your hand over her mouth in shock. "no, i was joking, i was joking," you laugh, pulling her up to her feet.
"you know i deadass would," she says and she's so proud about it, it's making your cheeks flush even more.
user1┆had to turn off my phone and go touch grass
user2┆oh no what’s happening to me 🚶♀️🧎♀️🐕
user3┆ON THE MAIN ACC IS CRAZY
user4┆the eye contact???
user5┆#n/narz supremacy
user6┆i know they're dating i just can't prove it
user7┆they're just friends
user8┆now who tf looks at their friend like that
user9┆why is this 10 hours long
user10┆idk if i wanna be lara or y/n more
⋮⋮⋮ TWO
katz_xeye 3d ago follow
for all my n/narz lovers out there that missed the live #n/narz #y/n #lara #katseye #fyp
♫ original sound - katy
♡ 166.4k 💬 489 ⚐ 24.9k
the tiktok starts off with a clip of you, lara, and megan's live from last week--the one the entire internet is still in uproar about--with the words 'mein/narz core' on the screen.
the text fades into you staring at the phone in your pajamas, trying to read the chat, before you get whacked straight in the face with a pillow, a bang sound effect playing.
lara's laughing from the side, pillow in hand as she winds up for another hit. "laraaa," you whine, dodging back onto the bed and covering your head.
megan joins in, blocking lara's hand just before she hits you, turning to face the screen. "you ladies alright?" she smiles, holding the pillow out in the same position as the viral ref guy.
lara drops her mouth in mock offense, "aren't we supposed to be on the same team? roommates versus y/n, c'mon."
megan thinks for a second, before tossing the pillow back to lara and grabbing her own. "yeah, you're right," she grins, throwing one at you.
"oh wow," you laugh out in disbelief, "you're just gonna gang up on me now?"
all you're met with is another pillow straight to the side of your face and there's no time for you to grab your own.
"hey!" you laugh, yelling as you curl up into the fetal position on the bed, grateful that at least they're not hitting you hard.
every time you get smacked by the pillow, the tiktok user adds a boom effect so it's starting to sound like mini explosions. and of course lara's going exclusively for your ass now.
mid outburst, the door creaks open and you all freeze, three heads turning around to see sophia walk in. "how'd you--" megan starts, dropping her pillow by her side.
"you forgot to lock it," she sighs, coming over to see what you're all up to. "are you live right now?"
you all nod as she jumps on the bed, saying hi to the eyekons and reading the chat. "pillow fight? that's what you guys were doing?" she laughs, reading message after message. "no wonder you guys were so loud, keep it down okay?"
"yes ma'am," megan salutes as lara points at you with a smirk, "hear that y/n? no more screaming."
just as you're starting to open your mouth in defence, lara presses a finger over her lips, hitting you with a loud, "SHHH!"
you mouth a fuck you and flip her off as sophia starts walking out, pausing for a moment to look back at you three. "oh, and lara?" she starts with a grin, "you know there's other ways to hit on a girl instead of actually hitting her, right?"
and this is why sophia's your goat.
"i-i-" lara stutters, completely flustered.
you and megan both interrupt with a mock, "i-i-i," in perfect sync, copying the way she sounded before you both turn to each other, bursting out into laughter.
lara groans, launching the pillow at megan as she shakes her head, muttering something to herself off screen that sounds a lot like, "i hate you guys."
user1┆ i'm starting a rumor
user2┆it's not a rumour atp
user3┆guys act shocked when they announce it
user4 ┆"there are other ways to hit on a girl instead of actually hitting her"💀
user5 ┆lara looking at sophia after she said that
user6 ┆NOOO I MISSED THE LIVE
user7 ┆poor megan 😭😭
user8 ┆lara stuttering is frying me
user9 ┆never seen her this nervous before
user10 ┆godly trio
⋮⋮⋮ THREE
katseyeworld 1d ago following
allll nightttt #KATSEYE #Katseye_Lara #Katseye_Y/n #Katseye_Megan #Katseye_Yoonchae
♫ All Night - Beyoncé
♡ 996.3k 💬 8159 ⚐ 77.3k
the video's filmed in slow mo and megan's got you, lara, and yoonchae to hop on the all night tiktok trend.
you're laughing, head thrown back as lara sweeps you off your feet with one hand, megan doing the same to yoonchae just off to your side as beyoncé blasts from the phone.
lara's cradling you in her arms, one under your knees, the other behind your back as you have both hands wrapped around her neck.
which is the complete opposite to what megan's doing--she's fake dropping yoonchae who screams in korean and kicks her feet, the whole thing looking like a wwe match at this point.
but lara's just looking down at you, and you're looking up at her, and she's so beautiful it's making your stomach flip.
for a moment, everything is perfect--the way her hair falls around her face and the way she smiles. it's almost like a scene from a movie where they'd play a happy flashback memory of the main character's wife before she dies or something.
then, not even a second later, the chaos returns. megan, who's spinning yoonchae in circles, steps backwards straight into lara.
the fifteen second timer and tiktok ends just as all four of you stumble into a heap of limbs and laughs off camera. you land on the tiled practice room floor, lara half on top of you, her arm instinctively shooting out to cushion your head as the air is knocked out of your lungs.
but that's not the reason why you can't breathe.
lara's face is inches away, her body just on top of yours, and you can see the way her pupils are blown wide along with every beautiful detail in her eyes.
for a single cliche second, the whole world pauses and the laughter dies in your throat. her soft smile is gone, gaze flicking down to your lips. it would be so easy to just...
"OH MY GOD, ARE YOU GUYS OKAY?" megan's voice cuts through the silence, followed by her and yoonchae's giggles from where they'd fallen right next to you.
you blink and the moment's over. lara pushes herself up on her elbows, a familiar smile spreading across her face. "damn we should've practiced that part," she jokes.
"yeah, you think?" you choke out, looking over to yoonchae who's pushing at megan.
lara rolls off you and stands to her feet, offering a hand. "c'mon, clumsy."
"clumsy?" you start in fake offence, taking her hand as she hauls you up, "you dropped me."
she doesn't let go immediately, thumb brushing over your knuckles as her eyes scan over you. "did you hit your head?" she checks, in full seriousness before she grins, "not that there's much in there anyways."
"oh fuck you," you laugh, flipping her off.
lara knocks your hand back down, joining in on the laughter. "for real though, you okay?"
"m'good," you say, brushing your pants, trying to hide the blush you can feel burning in your cheeks. "took most of the damage from your fatass."
"you think my ass is fat?"
from the floor, megan's making eyes at you two now, yoonchae catching on as well, her mouth curving into a smirk. "oooh," they tease, building off of each other as yoonchae adds in a, "y/n, your face is so red."
"yoonchae jeong..." you start through gritted teeth.
"yes?" she asks, as innocent as she can.
"i'm gonna break your nose," you joke, referencing her iconic gabriela line as she laughs even more.
user1┆ they really out here doing couple trends
user2┆hard launch
user3 ┆meichae n/narz and sodanon agenda confirmed
user4 ┆
user5┆friendly reminder that lara and megan did this ONE HANDED
user6┆when is it my turn 💔
user7┆sacrificing tour for ts shi
user8┆lmao
user9┆my dreams right before the alarm goes off
user10 ┆lara really falling for y/n
⋮⋮⋮ FOUR
eyekonic.aep 9-20 follow
oh they're sick for this @ y/n @ LARA RAJ #fyp #n/narz #katseye #eyekon #weverse
♫ original sound - eye KON
♡ 75.3k 💬 312 ⚐ 9017
the tiktok starts off with a screenshot of dani's weverse dms--which is insanely rare considering she forgets her password literally every other week. her text reads 'we got chris brown at home,' followed by a video attachment.
not even a second later, there's a gunshot sound effect as the giant, pulsing 😳 emoji appears on the screen when the video plays.
it's slightly blurry, the quality watered down from whichever eyekon screen recorded dani's clip. the bass of take you down by chris brown fills the rehearsal room as she holds the camera shakily, giggling in the background and telling you to go.
the lens focuses on you, and you're doing an exaggerated strut, catwalking towards an absolutely bewildered lara.
"am i supposed to be doing something?" she asks, looking back and forth between you and dani.
"just sit there and look pretty," you grin with a wink.
oh she has no idea what's coming.
right as you sing the first iconic lyrics, "here we are, all alone in this room," with chris brown's voice coming from the speakers, you can see the recognition flash through her eyes as her mouth parts in shock.
"wait--" she whips her head around to dani, who's full on laughing now.
you step in front of lara and she's about to open her mouth--probably ready to say what the fuck?--but before she can get the words out, you press your finger over her lips, dragging it down seductively as you continue singing.
her pupils dilate, either because she's just that shocked or turned on, or a mixture of both, and it takes everything in you to hold back a laugh and stay professional.
when you get to the pre chorus, you circle around behind her, singing as you run your fingers across her neck. "so get ready babe, i got plans for me and you..."
you place your mic down, hitting the drop and grind on the ground. lara watches you for a moment, before turning away to look at the camera with a comical grin in hopes she doesn't get clipped staring at your ass.
she doesn't see the next part coming though. you stand up, adjusting the jeans that you're low riding and your backwards cap for this performance, walking slowly towards her.
she still has a fat smile on her face as you throw one leg over her thigh, bringing your other over to the opposite side, settling down into her lap as dani hollers.
the music blasts and you sink down fully, grabbing her chin as you grind your hips once, twice, and a third time to the rhythm, copying the classic choreo to the song.
lara's brain only catches up after a brief moment and her cheeks fade to a light pink as she mouths a subtle "oh my god y/n."
in a quick flash of panic, she leans back way too far, too fast, and the chair legs screech, tipping backwards.
you can hear dani's "oh shit!" as she rushes over and you have to grab the backrest with spiderman like reflexes just to save her from toppling to the floor.
you still continue, voice shaking as you try to keep a straight face. but the moment you start laughing and your microphone picks it up extra loud, you can't stop, falling to the ground in a fit of giggles as the music still blasts in the background.
lara's laughing now too, with her hands out, palms facing up like she's saying the hell? and dani's officially lost her ability to hold the phone up steady, stopping the video with a loud cheer.
user1┆ dani remembered her password for THIS im crying
user2┆futchy/n save me
user3┆this is what i mean when i say i want magic mike
user4┆never beating the dating allegations
user5 ┆bro fell off her chair 😭😭
user6 ┆Y/N?!?!?
user7 ┆where is this from?
user8 ┆daniela's weverse messages
user9 ┆i can smell the edits
user10┆just kiss already 😊
⋮⋮⋮ FIVE
katseyeworld 2d ago following
i can't read you, but if you want the pleasure's all mine... @ clairo new interview out on YouTube! @ billboard #KATSEYE
♫ original sound - KATSEYE
♡ 2.1M 💬 8.5k ⚐ 163.9k
the tiktok's like a trailer to your newest interview with billboard, where they got you all to play guess and finish the song.
you're arranged on two oversized couches, one side with you, dani, manon, and megan and the other with lara, yoonchae, and sophia and you're all competing on who can get each one the fastest, pressing the buzzer and singing the right lyrics.
"guys, huddle, huddle," sophia says, pulling lara and yoonchae closer as they turn away, plotting their strategy in whispers.
"don't worry!" manon leans back, giving her own kind of pep talk, "we got this in the bag."
"you sure manon?" lara grins from the other couch.
your team is in uproar, talking over each other, letting out woah woah woahs and objections, megan saying, "wait, who's always on aux again?" and you know you guys have her beat.
BZZZ.
the clip cuts to the words 'first round' on the screen. before the host can even finish announcing "song one" after it plays, dani's hand is already on the buzzer.
you process the song a second later and it's magnolia by playboi carti--of course she'd know it.
the camera swings to you as you all yell out "magnolia!" and "carti!" before they tell you to sing the next lyrics. you know they've only picked out the chorus because the rest of the words are definitely not something you'd ever say, let alone on live camera.
dani starts off with the, "in new york i milly rock--" as you and manon add in the what? and uh, uh adlibs, megan doing the beat.
"correct!" the host announces and your team erupts in cheers, manon hyping everybody up as you hit the yvl handsign, dani chipping in a "vamp for life."
BZZZ.
the video cuts to the other team's first snippet. instead of rap, it's a softer guitar and drums, a familiar voice filling the room. "every second counts, i don't wanna talk to you anymore..."
lara smacks the button before clairo can even finish singing the first word. "BAGS!" she yells as sophia adds in a, "by clairo!" right after, forming her heart with her hands and mouthing a "we love you claire."
"oh-i know this song," yoonchae says a second later, "lara listens to this all the time."
lara turns her head slowly around to look at yoonchae, like she just outed her biggest secret of all time, and manon starts the type of laugh she laughs when she can't stop for the next hour.
"and the lyrics?" the host prompts, setting them back on track.
"wait, three, two, one," sophia leads, starting her team off as all three--even yoonchae to your surprise--harmonize the lyrics.
"can you see me, i'm waiting for the right time, i can't read you but if you want, the pleasures all mine. can you see me using everything to hold back?"
your team's joining in with cheers and psyching them up as lara finishes with the, "i guess this could be worse, walkin' out the door with your bags."
then, megan leans forward with a smirk. "wow lara," she starts, voice dripping with fake innocence, "i wonder how you know that one so well."
everyone in the room turns their head straight to you, even yoonchae, who's smart enough to see the link between clairo's song about being scared to make a move on your best friend and whatever's going on between you and lara.
speaking of--she's currently throwing her hand up in the air, looking right into the camera. "damn, is today gang up on lara day or what," she laughs, "god forbid a girl has good music taste."
"right, right," manon adds in, side eyeing megan with a grin.
BZZZ.
the tiktok finishes with billboard's logo and a watch now! on the screen.
clairo┆ ❤️❤️
user1┆CLAIRO x KATSEYE COLLAB WHEN
user2┆homegirls 🤝 bags
user3 ┆we all know who that was about
user4 ┆lara fs has a whole playlist for y/n
user5 ┆y/n sitting in the corner acting like she doesn't know
user6┆@ LARA RAJ
user7 ┆performative female type shi
user8 ┆their raw vocals are insane hello
user9 ┆megan on DA BEAT
user10┆this whole interview was y/n and lara flirting btw
