Imagine you and Robin deciding to prank Steve by mixing up all the labels on the sound effect tapes (idk what theyโre called :/) and pretending to go on air and so heโs just running around trying to figure out why the hell all the sounds are wrong and meanwhile you and Robin are 5 seconds away from falling over laughing
warnings: i don't think there is any, but lmk if there is!
a/n: i've haven't seen a many clark fics where the reader is just as dorkish (affectionate) like him and decided i needed to be the one to make one pronto lol
The day at the office of the Daily Planet had been slow. Well, as "slow" as it could ever truly be. The level of unbusy the office was, was probably the norm at any other newspaper company that wasn't based in a city that got attacked by superbeings and aliens every other day. By some odd miracle the most hectic thing that had happened the last few days was that someone hit a pole and knocked the power out of Fourth Street for a few hours. No one, not even the driver, was hurt but some people thought it was the end of the world that they had to go without internet access for any amount of time.
The report on this particular incident was just what you were in the middle of typing up, well a section of the oddly long report. Oddly long enough that a few reporters were tasked with typing up sections because some people did in fact seem to think it was the end of the world. Your section was to talk about how some guy was caught scaling a fire escape because he was planning on taking the neighbor's dog. He claimed it was just to let the dog be free of the hot apartment. An act that would have normally gotten him called a hero if it wasn't for the fact that his apartment would have been just as hot, he broke two windows, and was promptly mildly attacked by said dog in the process.ย
You were in the middle of trying to think up a clever one-liner of a joke to go with the situation when you heard not-so quiet giggles from a few desks over. Glancing over your shoulder, you spotted the two new interns who you thought could still pass for high schoolers. You saw that they would point to someone at another desk, and then point to another person, and then would giggle to themselves.
You turned your attention back to your computer screen shaking your head, wanting no part in whatever it was that had those two so amused. You had to get this section done by lunch or Perry was going to have your head for having an article be late for the section time. Not like the first one was actually your fault, someone just had to jam nearly all of the printers seconds before you needed to use them.
You managed to drown out the two intern's antics for a short amount of time before their too loud laughter caught your ears. I swear these younger hires don't even pretend to want to be actually hired anymore. All they do is write a few sentences hardly worthy of the gossip column and then they-
"So, who'd you think that Clark guy would be good with?"
If the loud giggles didn't fully capture your attention before, the mention of a particular glasses wearing man definitely did.ย
It wasn't that you had particularly noticed anything about Clark Kent, and it definitely wasn't that you had any sort of crush on the guy. You hadn't even had a full conversation with the guy yet.
The two of you would exchange soft smiles and "Hi"s when you hopped into the elevator at the same time or went to reach for the cups by the coffee machine at the same time. The two of you would occasionally share mirrored looks of annoyance with arms crossed when you both would find that the scanners had just spontaneously stopped working at least once a week. The ritual being one asking "Gone kaput?" and the other sadly nodding and repeating "Gone kaput" as if it was once a live creature.
Yes you have on a few, maybe many, occasions glanced over your shoulder just to look at whatever he was doing for a few seconds. Also yes on a few occasions you'd softly smile to yourself when you've overheard him proudly tell Lois or Jimmy that he was the one to score an interview with Superman again. And yes there has been the occasional time where all you wanted to do was walk over and push his glasses up just a smidge cause you noticed they'd fallen down the bridge of his nose ever so slightly.
All this to say, you did not- definitely, certainly- have any bit of any cru-
"What about that girl over there?"
Your hands stopped moving across the keyboard and your ramble you just were having in your head had hit the breaks. You definitely didn't hear that the intern's chair turned your direction along with her voice. Even if you did hear that, there were other women around your desk right? Why would they have possibly-
"Hey! Hey you!" The same intern that was facing your direction called out. "Dog article girl! Sorry I don't remember your name."
If you weren't already frozen in place you would have now anyway. It took several more seconds, and a thousand blinks of shock in a row, before you slowly spun around in your chair. When you finally faced them fully you looked at them completely puzzled, a hand pointing at yourself to confirm they really were talking to you.
"Yes you, silly." The one laughed, you realized you didn't know either of their names yourself. "You're single right? I mean, I don't mean to assume or anything."
If you hadn't been accidently eavesdropping before you would have thought this was a very odd way of making a move. "Uh, yeah..?"
"Perfect!" The other intern cheered before quickly spinning in her chair to the other side of the room- Oh good God to where Clark's desk is. "Hey Kent, come here!"
Similar to your reaction upon suddenly being called across the floor, Clark spun around in his chair as if this was the most confusing thing he's been a part of, also pointing at himself.
"You are the only Kent around here, right? Jesus you two." Intern number two sighed loudly, shaking her head.
"Wha- What's up?" If Clark had heard any bit of the conversation before, then he was doing a damn good job at pretending he didn't.
"We think-" Intern number one gestured between her and her friend. "That you two would be absolutely perfect for each other! Don't you think?"
Both you and Clark locked eyes from the at most fifteen feet apart the two of you were. Your mouth parted slightly in shock at the straight to the point-ness of the interns, while Clark very visibly gulped as if you were all in some sort of cartoon.
"Why- Why do you say that?" Clark eventually stuttered out, gaining the slightest bit of control of his mind back, as he still stared straight at you.
Intern number two scoffed as if that was the dumbest possible question anyone in the world could have asked. "Well for starters, you both act as if you'd be condemned to hell if you said the even slightest bit of a 'rude' thing."
"I'm pretty sure I heard you loudly exclaim 'oh what the hey' at your screen earlier like an eight year old and not a giant of a man." Intern number one noted to Clark. "And you-" She sharply turned pointing. "You said 'oh dear' when your pencil rolled across the floor and then said 'dang' while seeing that the point broke."
"It's like a match made in a 1960s kids cartoon or something!" Intern number two laughed.ย
Once again you and Clark were left to just gawk at each other and the situation while the interns were practically holding imaginary popcorn as they watched.ย
You started this time, "Well, umm-"
"Uhh, so-" Clark spoke at the same time. "Sorry, you can speak!"
"No, you can!"
"You were first, I think?"
"Jesus Christ what have we done?" Intern number one cut the both of you off, wanting to end yours and most importantly their suffering already.
"Why don't one of you just ask the other out for dinner tonight or something? Better yet, let me do it for you." Intern number two turned, pulled a sticky note from her desk, and then turned to hand it over to Clark. "Kent, write your number on this and then I'll give it to her. She'll then add it to her contacts, probably send a text with just a 'Hi' and her name to say it's her. Then you'll both agree to meeting up after work. Have a great time at whatever place dorks like to eat food from. And then next thing you know we will be seated at least second row at the wedding."
After a few more bewildered stares, next thing Clark knew he was scrambling for a pen and jotting down his number in wobbly handwriting and you were practically lunging for your phone in your bag. All the while the two interns were happily exchanging a high five as if they just won the Olympics.ย
Good God where's that dang phone? Wait, how do you even add a new contact again?
Oh what the hey- Gosh I gotta stop saying that, huh? Pull it together Kent, you're flipping Superman for Pete's sake! Who even is Pete anyway?
warnings: reader wears contacts and they bother their eyes for a moment, pet names
a/n: brought to you by an experience that definitely did not happen to me, idk where you got the information that it has. and this totally isn't completely self-indulgent in anyway, why would you say that? also someone please tell me they get the joke with the title lol i spent too long trying to come up with a serious one and could only think of this lol
Hearing you loudly exclaim "Jesus Christ! Ow! Please just stop!" from the bathroom on the other side of the apartment had Matt practically leaping up from his spot on the couch.
When he finally got to the bathroom, after nearly tripping on a pile of loose clothes he didn't sense in his panicked state, he was expecting some sort of intruder attacking you or maybe you had cut yourself. But he sensed neither anyone else nor the smell of blood, but he could instead practically taste the saltiness of the tears that were in your eyes. He could also tell that you were frantically rubbing your eyes and blinking very quickly.
"Hey, hey! Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Matt asked frantically as he walked up to you, a bit hesitant to put his hands on your arms for fear of making whatever was wrong worse.
"It's just my eyes." You say a bit too plainly for someone whose voice was a fraction of a bit too shaky. "I'm fine, it'll go away soon."
"You're eyes?" He asked, deciding it was alright to place his hands on both of your arms. It being more so to ground him in his panicked state than you. "Baby, I don't understand. What is it? What can I do?"
You couldn't help but laugh softly at the endearing way he was so worried about a situation that seemed so mundane to you. "Matt, I'm alright. I promise!" You laughed again, lowering your hands from your face and onto his arms. "Sometimes if I put my contacts in when my eyes are still half asleep, they get a bit upset and fight back."
Matt just about looked at you as if you were explaining rocket science at seven thirty in the morning.ย
"That was a terrible explanation, huh?" You laughed upon seeing the more than usual faraway look on his face. "If my eyes aren't used to being open just yet and then I put my contacts in, then they get all funky. It usually takes a few seconds so by the time I have both of them in my eyes they feel like they're burning out of my head."
"And you're saying this so casually?" He let out a breathy laugh that was practically a scoff. He removed his hands from your arms and moved them to your face, his thumbs brushing under your red eyes. "Honey, if your eyes hurt that badly it most definitely is not okay nor normal."
"For someone who has practically crawled back into this apartment with multiple stab wounds at least twice a month and said they were fine, you sure are one to talk about."
"Touche." Matt laughed for real this time. "But seriously, maybe you should make an appointment if this is a normality to you."
For a long moment you just nodded, thinking he was probably right. Well, that was until you remembered something. "Actually, I think I've just been wearing these for too long."
"Huh?"
"These are supposed to be monthly contacts, but I think it's been more like four months since I've changed them..."
"Christ, honey." Matt laughed softly, the skin around his eyes crinkling as he did so. At this point he was practically cradling your head as he leaned to kiss the top of your head. "What am I ever going to do with you?"
You couldn't help but mirror his laugh as you leaned into him. "I suppose I should take these one's out, huh."
He quickly retracted his lips from kissing the top of your head to smile at you. "Yes, most definitely, we can't have you going blind your own self now too. Imagine the talks people would have."
You playfully shoved at his shoulder, shaking your head as you laughed. "If I did you could just teach me that echolocation super skill."
"Echolocation-" He threw his head back laughing. "Honey, I'm not a dolphin."
"You're right," You shrugged, smiling. "Dolphins are cuter than you."
Matt scoffed, dropping his hands from your face, feigning offense. "Now don't be mean, remember you're the one who's managed to wear monthly contacts for four months! He teased back.ย
The two of you both broke out in laughter and continued to do so for the next several minutes. Getting the contacts out of your eyes was a difficult process while this was happening. Every time you would go to do so you'd catch the reflection of his lopsided smile and burst out in a fit of laughter again.
Safe to say the two of you were both late to work because of this. Matt getting funny looks from Foggy and Karen when he walked into the office an hour late a bit too cheery. Them fully not believing the innocent story he tried to explain to them over and over again throughout the day. Your boss on the other hand just made a side comment that you probably shouldn't come into work high again.
I kid you not my parents where listening to this song the other day for like 10 seconds & I immediately knew I had to make this lol Did not realize how funny their fight scene in the stairwell was until this ๐ Like Dex literally threw a can of something at Matt and nearly knocked him out with it before Matt did the same with one of his batons lol (Also you can find this originally posted here!)
pairings: matt murdock x reader (could be both romantic & platonic)
warnings: reader has poor vision and can't really get around on their own without their glasses
a/n: brought to you by this little blurb i wrote a little while ago! completely inspired by me realizing a few weeks ago that i would be useless even in my own house without my glasses/contacts and then thinking about what would happen if i was outside anywhere lol
This could not be happening.
All you wanted to do was go home and celebrate by doing nothing the rest of the day because your boss let everyone in your department go home early. But then the elevator just had to be out of order, and you just had to take the stairs, and you just had to have happened to wear those shoes you couldn't fully walk correctly in just yet, and you just had to momentarily stumble on the third step down.
All events just had to happen in a domino effect that resulted in your glasses sliding off your face and then over the railing. You being forced to helplessly listen to them clank against other rails as they went down until they hit the ground, most likely shattering into a million pieces.
For a long moment you just looked over the railing, down into the blurry abyss as you contemplated whether or not you could make it the rest of the way down by yourself. A decision that was abruptly decided when you realized even if you made it the rest of the way down without falling, there was no way you would be able to make it back home. No way you could walk through New York City half blind and no way you would trust getting into a taxi without being able to see where they were taking you. You did NOT want to end up on one of those true crime shows all because you tripped on the third freaking step!
After another long moment of panic creeping in you suddenly remembered there was one person you could call for help. One person you knew would never let you hear the end of this but also someone who wouldn't laugh at you cruelly.
You had to call Matt Murdock. You had to call the one blind man in your life to guide YOU home.
And so, here you were sitting on the top of the steps as you searched through your phone contacts with your phone just a few inches from your face. A task so simple if it wasn't for the fact that if you moved your hand just the tiniest bit back you could no longer read the names on the screen and the fact that in your panicked state your hands shaking.
Finally, you found his name and clicked the call button as if your life depended on it. Which considering you probably couldn't tell who or when someone else entered the stairwell, this could be considered a life-or-death situation.
Unfortunately, however, at this moment Matt, Foggy, and Karen were in a meeting with a potential client at the office. Something that shouldn't have caused too much of an issue since Matt would normally have immediately left the room when his phone rang and said you were calling, but there was another domino effect in place.
Earlier that morning when Matt put his phone on his desk, he somehow accidentally set it to silent. There was no sound signaling someone was calling and it being in the other room meant no one could see that it was lighting up.
Not knowing why he wasn't answering, you were forced to leave a voicemail and pray he would get to it soon. And then when "soon" didn't happen you decided texting Karen to tell him to check his phone was the backup move. Though you refrained from telling her any details, not wanting your little mishap to spread to more ears.
This refraining being one of the three causes Matt was just about to have a heart attack in the middle of the office at 1pm.
The second being your vague and terrifying voicemail. "Matt can you please come get me from my work? I'm in the stairwell. Hurry please!"
The third being that any of his attempts to call you back failed, it kept going straight to the recorder.
Now while you were sitting in the corner at the top of the stairwell praying no one else used these stairs with a phone that died right before he tried to call, Matt was in the middle of Hell's Kitchen looking like a lunatic jumping from roof to roof.
"Hey, where did Matt go? He was just here?" Foggy had asked Karen about two minutes after Matt left.
"Uh, he just said he had to leave right now because his "world depended on it" and then he kinda just jumped out the windowโฆ"
"I'm going to kill him, I swear. We were so close to getting a client that actually wanted to pay us!"
As Matt drew closer and closer to your office building, he grew more and more confused. Yes, he could hear that there didn't seem to be any real danger around you, but that didn't explain why your heart was beating a million miles per minute.
"Wait, that's why you called me sounding so frantic? God, I thought you were hurt!" Matt said between a laugh and a huff when you explained to him your predicament.
"Well, my ego is definitely hurt so you weren't that far off." You had tried to joke. You couldn't exactly see the look on his face, but the blob in front of you looked vaguely like his hands were on his hips which told you he wasn't exactly in the joking mood at the moment.
Eventually, after just a few steps out the building the jokes from him did start piling in.
"One of us is legally blind, the other is partially visually impaired. Guess who's the one leading who!"
"I think you just stepped in an odd substance." "What!?" "Just kidding!"
"Watch out there's a car there." "Matt I'm pretty sure I can still see a giant metal rectangle five feet from me." "Just wanted to make sure!"
"Watch out for that lamp post!" "I'm pretty sure that's a dog." "No, I think it's definitely a lamp post."
Oh, how you wanted to just push him into oncoming traffic. If you did though you'd probably get charged with a hate crime, AND you would have to wonder half blindly the rest of the way back home.
So, you don't push him. this time. Matt could be such a little shit but who else would have dropped everything to scurry across the city at the odd chance that you were in trouble? Who else would make you feel not stupid about being afraid to go off on your own? Who else would make a situation that is incredibly terrifying in an insane city seem like just another fun day with someone you cared about? Who else could possibly replace Matt Murdock?
May I present you with these memes I made because I couldnโt get the ideas out of my head lol (the first one is just cause that scene was all I could think about when writing that line lol)
pairings: matt murdock x reader (could be both romantic & platonic)
warnings: reader has poor vision and can't really get around on their own without their glasses
a/n: brought to you by this little blurb i wrote a little while ago! completely inspired by me realizing a few weeks ago that i would be useless even in my own house without my glasses/contacts and then thinking about what would happen if i was outside anywhere lol
This could not be happening.
All you wanted to do was go home and celebrate by doing nothing the rest of the day because your boss let everyone in your department go home early. But then the elevator just had to be out of order, and you just had to take the stairs, and you just had to have happened to wear those shoes you couldn't fully walk correctly in just yet, and you just had to momentarily stumble on the third step down.
All events just had to happen in a domino effect that resulted in your glasses sliding off your face and then over the railing. You being forced to helplessly listen to them clank against other rails as they went down until they hit the ground, most likely shattering into a million pieces.
For a long moment you just looked over the railing, down into the blurry abyss as you contemplated whether or not you could make it the rest of the way down by yourself. A decision that was abruptly decided when you realized even if you made it the rest of the way down without falling, there was no way you would be able to make it back home. No way you could walk through New York City half blind and no way you would trust getting into a taxi without being able to see where they were taking you. You did NOT want to end up on one of those true crime shows all because you tripped on the third freaking step!
After another long moment of panic creeping in you suddenly remembered there was one person you could call for help. One person you knew would never let you hear the end of this but also someone who wouldn't laugh at you cruelly.
You had to call Matt Murdock. You had to call the one blind man in your life to guide YOU home.
And so, here you were sitting on the top of the steps as you searched through your phone contacts with your phone just a few inches from your face. A task so simple if it wasn't for the fact that if you moved your hand just the tiniest bit back you could no longer read the names on the screen and the fact that in your panicked state your hands shaking.
Finally, you found his name and clicked the call button as if your life depended on it. Which considering you probably couldn't tell who or when someone else entered the stairwell, this could be considered a life-or-death situation.
Unfortunately, however, at this moment Matt, Foggy, and Karen were in a meeting with a potential client at the office. Something that shouldn't have caused too much of an issue since Matt would normally have immediately left the room when his phone rang and said you were calling, but there was another domino effect in place.
Earlier that morning when Matt put his phone on his desk, he somehow accidentally set it to silent. There was no sound signaling someone was calling and it being in the other room meant no one could see that it was lighting up.
Not knowing why he wasn't answering, you were forced to leave a voicemail and pray he would get to it soon. And then when "soon" didn't happen you decided texting Karen to tell him to check his phone was the backup move. Though you refrained from telling her any details, not wanting your little mishap to spread to more ears.
This refraining being one of the three causes Matt was just about to have a heart attack in the middle of the office at 1pm.
The second being your vague and terrifying voicemail. "Matt can you please come get me from my work? I'm in the stairwell. Hurry please!"
The third being that any of his attempts to call you back failed, it kept going straight to the recorder.
Now while you were sitting in the corner at the top of the stairwell praying no one else used these stairs with a phone that died right before he tried to call, Matt was in the middle of Hell's Kitchen looking like a lunatic jumping from roof to roof.
"Hey, where did Matt go? He was just here?" Foggy had asked Karen about two minutes after Matt left.
"Uh, he just said he had to leave right now because his "world depended on it" and then he kinda just jumped out the windowโฆ"
"I'm going to kill him, I swear. We were so close to getting a client that actually wanted to pay us!"
As Matt drew closer and closer to your office building, he grew more and more confused. Yes, he could hear that there didn't seem to be any real danger around you, but that didn't explain why your heart was beating a million miles per minute.
"Wait, that's why you called me sounding so frantic? God, I thought you were hurt!" Matt said between a laugh and a huff when you explained to him your predicament.
"Well, my ego is definitely hurt so you weren't that far off." You had tried to joke. You couldn't exactly see the look on his face, but the blob in front of you looked vaguely like his hands were on his hips which told you he wasn't exactly in the joking mood at the moment.
Eventually, after just a few steps out the building the jokes from him did start piling in.
"One of us is legally blind, the other is partially visually impaired. Guess who's the one leading who!"
"I think you just stepped in an odd substance." "What!?" "Just kidding!"
"Watch out there's a car there." "Matt I'm pretty sure I can still see a giant metal rectangle five feet from me." "Just wanted to make sure!"
"Watch out for that lamp post!" "I'm pretty sure that's a dog." "No, I think it's definitely a lamp post."
Oh, how you wanted to just push him into oncoming traffic. If you did though you'd probably get charged with a hate crime, AND you would have to wonder half blindly the rest of the way back home.
So, you don't push him. this time. Matt could be such a little shit but who else would have dropped everything to scurry across the city at the odd chance that you were in trouble? Who else would make you feel not stupid about being afraid to go off on your own? Who else would make a situation that is incredibly terrifying in an insane city seem like just another fun day with someone you cared about? Who else could possibly replace Matt Murdock?
Imagine knowing Matt Murdock and knowing about his abilities and one day youโre frantically calling him in the middle of the day and telling him he needs to get where you are quickly -Cue Matt having a minor heart attack- Though the closer he is to you the more confused he is because despite your heart beating a million times per second you donโt seem to be in any real danger. Turns out the reason you called in such a panic was as you were going down the stairs you momentarily stumbled, sending your glasses down the entire flight of stairs and were now too afraid to walk the rest of the way down. And you knew even if you did your glasses would most definitely be in a million pieces now :/ Cue the many jokes that are made on yโallโs walk back home because to everyone else it looks like youโre leading a blind guy when in reality the blind guy is very much guiding you around lol
- brought to you by someone who has a strong fear of dropping stuff from high up and someone who canโt even navigate their own house without glasses/contacts let alone New York freaking city lol
Alright if I made a social media au inspired series where the reader posts pictures of their bf/gf that look just the slightest bit โwrongโ that has people questioning if the photos are edited, would anyone be interested in it? Itโll be entirely made up โmonstersโ and not specific characters from a show or something so idk if anyone would actually read it lol Maybe kinda one of those blurbs where you can insert whatever character you want into the scenario kinda thing
Alright if I made a social media au inspired series where the reader posts pictures of their bf/gf that look just the slightest bit โwrongโ that has people questioning if the photos are edited, would anyone be interested in it? Itโll be entirely made up โmonstersโ and not specific characters from a show or something so idk if anyone would actually read it lol Maybe kinda one of those blurbs where you can insert whatever character you want into the scenario kinda thing
Youโve lived in NYC in this building for years and know what everyone on your floor looks like. Weirdly enough you also seem to think your new neighbor looks familiar but you canโt quite place where youโve seen them before. A family friend? Friend of a friend? Maybe they lived on another floor before and just moved floors? Maybe youโve just past them on the street at some point?
Some time goes by, you still canโt quite place where youโve seen your new neighbor but eventually forget about it. One day youโre going through some older family memberโs attic for some reason and come across an old box filled with old comics/newspapers. You flip through a few and then you freeze. No, no. That canโt- That canโt be, right?
Youโve just discovered your new neighbor is Captain freaking America
warnings: mentions of jj getting in a fight & he gets a black eye, slight use of cursing
a/n: hey, guess who's still alive!! i've been meaning to make a part two to this for over a year now but could not come up with a good enough storyline and it ended up going on my never ending to do lists :/ fortunately however season 4 seems to have jump started the gears in my brain because i thought up the entire outline for this in like two minutes the other night lol. anyways, i hope this follow up does part one justice!
When the midday bell rang signaling for everyone to either go to lunch or go home, you all but practically ran out of the building. Your attempt at trying to find JJ at school before first period and during class changes had failed and due to the strict deadline for the mural of two weeks you didn't have time to look around for him before you left. You hoped he might skip lunch or even the rest of the day to meet you at the restaurant.
Your hope slowly shattered piece by piece as the hours went by and the blonde boy hadn't shown. His previous attempt at painting a chicken still on the wall being a stark reminder of his absence. You hadn't had the heart to paint over it yet, leaving it for him to maybe continue tweaking it.
This situation then repeated day after day for a whole week.
You searching the halls of Kildare County High School before school and during changeovers, even deciding to spend a few extra minutes during lunch one day to maybe spot him somewhere. You thinking maybe, just maybe you'd turn the corner by the restaurant and he'd be there standing, waiting for you. And each day you found no trace of him.
Maybe because you only went half of the day and maybe you two just had wildly different classes on different sides of the building made for you two to keep missing each other. Maybe you had walked past him a million times and just hadn't spotted him in the crowd of students walking to and from classes. Maybe considering when you first met him, he was in the middle of skipping school so maybe he just wasn't there to begin with. Though this didn't explain why he was never there at the resultant.
By the fourth day of you coming up empty you had decided to ask around to see who his friends were. The only reason as to why you hadn't before was because it felt too desperate, but now you were bordering on being desperate.
Upon finding out he spent most of his time hanging out with the same three people, you spent another day staying a few minutes after your dismissal time to look for them at lunch. Soon enough you found one of them, a taller guy with curly hair that you hadn't forgotten the name of, but he only said he hadn't seen JJ around. Which you would have believed if it wasn't for him pausing for a long moment and adding in one too many 'uh's that left you to believe he was lying.
Now you felt like shit. Here you were thinking you had made friends with this cute, funny guy who actually seemed to care about your work, but it seemed like he had ditched you after only talking for a day. And it was one thing to get ghosted, another to have his friends also seemingly lying about his whereabouts.
Safe to say you had spent the fourth day wallowing in your own self-pity as you continued working on the mural, still refusing to paint over his contribution.
The truth was that JJ was also wallowing in his own self-pity from not that far away.
A few feet away actually.
In the public library across the street.
As he pretended to read some history book he found on a random shelf.
While instead of reading he spent the entire time he was there just watching you paint from the window.
Man, he felt like such a creep spying at you from afar through the half-tinted library windows, but it was to make sure you were safe from the assholes who wouldn't know great talent even if it slapped them in the face.
The reason for all of this was that he did actually show up the day after you guys' first meeting. He even made it a point to show up extra early so he could admire what you had painted after he had left the day before and surprise you when you arrived. But this exact time ended being the same time some group of guys showed up just to tag the wall.
At first JJ walked directly up to them to kindly explain that the mural was actually the work of someone who put in a lot of time and effort into it, but then things got a bit heated when the guys continued to pull out cans of spray paint. Saying something about how they were getting back at the fancy restaurant stealing customers from family business on the other side of the island. They didn't care if it was actual art made by the same people they claim to be helping as long as it meant hurting the people with money too.
Long story short JJ ended up with a black eye and a busted lip, but it was all worth it to him because the guys decided they no longer cared about the wall. It was all worth it up until he spotted you turning the corner down the street and he realized he did not want you to see him all beat up and so he quickly went off down the other side of the block.
He couldn't let you see him looking like this on the second time you two ever saw each other. What if you took one look at him and just automatically assumed the worst? What if you just saw him as just another asshole who got into fights every other day just for the hell of it? Yes, he had gotten into many in the past like just now, but it was all because someone he cared about was going to get hurt otherwise.
Oh god now that he thought about it, in just one day you had become someone he cared about and now he was definitely not going to confront you with this information on day two of knowing each other. What if you thought that was way too forward and pushed him away?
Something in his mind told him you didn't seem like the person to just make assumptions and turn him away without any explanation. That even if you thought it was too weird, you would probably just kindly reject him. But the mere thought of that being a wrong assumption was too much to handle and so he just decided to avoid you completely.
He had to admit that the idea sounded pretty stupid, but he didn't know what else to do. He wasn't good with feelings stuff or new people. Maybe you didn't even have a good time the day before and didn't care he was there again this time.
And so JJ had his own routine he stuck to for the week. Diving into the nearest classroom when he saw you walking in his direction at school, even if that meant accidentally interrupting a class or two almost on a daily basis. Pleading again and again to his friends to not tell you where he was if you asked, even though they continued to tell him he was being over dramatic. That you'd most likely understand what happened. Going to the library across the street every day after school and then leaving once he saw that you had left.
This was the same routine he continued to repeat on the fifth day since you had met. After pretending to browse the library for the hundredth time he saw that you had left and began to make his way across the street to admire your work up close.
Unknowingly to him however was that you had made it just around the corner before realizing you left one of your paintbrushes on the sidewalk and turned back around to go get it. Good bigger brushes were expensive and hard to come by so there was no way you were just going to leave it there.
Once you turned back around the corner you couldn't believe you were staring at JJ just standing there in front of the wall. His messy hair was shielding you from seeing his face, but you could recognize him anywhere. He really did leave such an impression on you in just the hour or two you talked a few days ago.
"JJ?" You called out as you walked closer to him.
JJ just about jumped out of his skin when he heard your voice. He definitely thought you were long gone by now. Instinctively he turned towards you and then quickly turned back around so you couldn't see his face.
The next minute or two was you two practically spinning in circles as you tried to face him directly and he tried his damn best to make sure you didn't. Eventually you moved fast enough to get in front of him and saw the reason for his avoidance.
You couldn't help but gasp softly when you saw the half-healed bruise across his eye. "JJ what happened?" You instinctively began to reach for his face, but he softly blocked you with his hands.
"It's fine, I'm fine. I've had worse," He tried to fake a smile, but it faded as quickly as it appeared when he saw a new flash of worry come across your face. Shit why did he say that?
"I- bad wording, sorry." He added quickly. "I just mean it's fine, nothing I can't handle."
You shook your head slightly, not having it for his attempt at brushing this off. "JJ just tell me what happened."
He just stared into your eyes for a moment. Man were they pretty and also dangerous. He'd swear that he would have admitted to whatever you wanted him to if you kept looking at him like that.
Eventually he sighed, running his hand through his hair as he closed his eyes briefly and then opened them again when he decided to just tell you the truth.
JJ then explained what had happened with the taggers in a rollercoaster of emotions. One moment he'd pretend to reenact a moment dramatically before realizing that might worry you more, so he'd then cut the explanation short and brush it off as if it was nothing.
You would have laughed at his back and forth if it wasn't for the genuine worry that had overtaken you. As he explained the whole ordeal you couldn't help but feel bad that you had automatically assumed the worst of him. That his avoidance of you was all because he was just some asshole, when in reality it was really the complete opposite.
"You tried to take on four guys by yourself for me?" You questioned once he finished telling the story. He nodded, a thin smile on his face. "JJ that is incredibly stupid but also incredibly sweet in an odd way."
"I couldn't just let them ruin all your hard work." He shrugged it off as if it was something just anyone would do.
You couldn't help the smile that spread across your face, shaking your head in disbelief that anyone cared enough to literally fight for you.
"Just next time call for backup or something, so you don't get hurt again." You gestured to his bruised eye.
It was at this moment you yourself realized how much you began to care about him already. It seemed to just be incredibly easy and right to get attached to him so quickly. Though your moping around all week should have been your first sign to this.
"I'll try, but I make no promises." JJ flashed a stupid grin at you that even though you hadn't known him long you could just tell it was a signature move for him. You couldn't help but playfully shove at his shoulder, the both of you laughing.
"Alright now to make up for avoiding me for a week I must demand that you be here one o'clock sharp tomorrow to continue helping me get this painting done." You spoke in an exaggerated fake drill sergeant voice as you pointed to the half-finished mural.
JJ quickly responded in character, raising his hand up in a salute. It was clear as day that he was holding back a grin, the corners of his mouth twitching. "Aye, aye capt'n! Will do!"
You couldn't help but laugh more. "Pretty sure that's how you'd respond to a pirate not a commander."
"No, I'm pretty sure it can be both."
"Yeah, okay Maybank. Sure." You nodded, laughing.
You couldn't believe you made it a whole week without ever talking to him. Hell, you didn't know how you've gone your whole life without him in it. Come to think of it, you weren't sure if you've laughed this much just in the last month alone before you met him.
The one thing you did know, however, was that you were determined to have him stick around for the rest of it, whether he liked it or not. Though something in the way he looked at you made it not very hard to see that he definitely would like to.
a/n: this is a bit different then what a have been writing, but the idea popped into my head and i just had to write it down. this may or may not just be a writer insert tho lol. i feel like iโm allowed to do that at least once lol. but anyways, i hope you all like this!
Spring was a beautiful time of year on the island. Garden flowers and wildflowers alike all began to bloom painting the town in a rainbow of colors. And while it was very pretty, most people in the Outer Banks on weeks like this could not wait for summer to fully hit so they could go swimming without having to freeze. While the air was getting warmer the water seemed to stay at the same freezing temperature. The spring air made it too hot to wear a nice hoodie, but too cold to jump in a pool.
You on the other hand could not have been more grateful for the cool temperature.
Less than a month ago a local restaurant on the higher society part of the island put out an ad looking for artists willing to paint a mural on the side of their building. It was to be a paid deal and they would throw in a few free meals. Normally many more known artists would jump at the chance to have their art featured on such a well known establishment, but the very short timeframe of two weeks deterred many away. It normally takes a while to come up with an idea good enough for such a big project. And it takes just as long to actually paint said idea.
And while the strict time restraints deterred many away, the offer of money and free food brought you in. That was why you were currently halfway up a ladder, paintbrush in hand, after coming up with a design two hours ago. The design in question being a giant version of the restaurantโs menu with a little painting of each dish next to its name.
โIโm all for defacing public property and all that, but I gotta say that is a weird way of doing it.โ A voice from below suddenly called out making you jump and nearly drop your brush.
โWhat?โ You called out, currently trying to catch your breath from being spooked. When you looked down you were met with blonde hair and blue eyes. Now you might have been catching your breath for a different reason.
โMost people just use spray paint if they want to cover the side of some building.โ Oh he thinks youโre vandalizing or something.
โOh, no. Iโm actually getting paid to do this.โ You correct the guy.
The blondeโs eyes looked around on the wall and spotted very purposeful sketch marks. โYeah, yeah that makes more sense.โ
โI donโt think most people would want to spend all day on a ladder painting an entire wall without getting paid.โ You joked.
โDefinitely not with all those details and stuff. Possibly without the ladder part many would without a second thought if they were just using spray paint. Not that I have much experience with that.โ The way he said the last sentence made you think he did in fact have much experience with it. โAnyways, how long have you been at this?โ
You pulled your phone out of your back pocket to see what the time was. โAbout two hours-ish.โ
The blonde shook his head in disbelief. โYou did all of this in two hours?โ
You shrugged, โThe building already has a flat color on it, so I only had to mark out where I want to paint and what I want to paint in thin lines of white. Itโs a fairly easy design so it didnโt take much effort.โ
The blonde looked at you like you were crazy. What do you mean it didnโt take much effort? You drew an entire outline of the placeโs full menu in two hours! Never in a million years could he have understood how anyone had enough talent to do anything besides draw a few stick figures.
โIโm going to pretend you didnโt just say that, that looks easy.โ You laughed at this. โBut how long do you have to finish the whole thing?โ
โTwo weeks.โ You sighed, nerves setting in when you remembered again just how quickly you have to do this.
โOnly two weeks? To paint an entire wall? Man, rich people are just plain weird.โ He then remembered that school was still in and you looked about his age. โWait, donโt you have school or something?โ
โYep, but I moved a grade ahead so I only have to go half a day now.โ You replied. โSo Iโll spend half a day in school and the other half here working on this.โ
So you were smart and talented, were you sure you were even human at this point?
โCan I help then? You know, to speed up the process?โ He had absolutely no artistic ability but the offer just kinda slipped out.
You were taken back by the sudden offer. Why would anyone want to spend hours on end just painting the same wall if theyโve never had any interest in art. Which from how taken back the blonde was by the whole ordeal you assumed he didnโt know much about painting.
โWell,โ You began after taking a moment to think. โConsidering Iโm getting paid to do this and kinda need all the money I can get, Iโm going to have to decline the offer.โ It was true, you did need the money.
โOh Iโll do it for free.โ Normally those words were only reserved for doing something stupid shit like jumping off of something but now he found himself wanting to spend more time with you.
โYouโd really want to help?โ You questioned. โHave you ever even painted anything before?โ
โWell no,โ He admitted. โBut really, how hard can it be? Since you already have the outlines itโs just like coloring in a coloring book, right? Just stay within the lines.โ
You laughed at the naivety but decided to give him a chance anyway. Worst case scenario you just have to go over what he did. And even if that had to happen you still potentially made a new friend.
Over the hour the two of you talked about any topic that came to mind. You found out each otherโs names, that you both grew up in The Cut, you had dreams of making a living making art, JJ was more of a โliving in the moment type of guyโ so he didnโt have a big dream as of the moment, you both had the same mindset to go wherever there was free food offered, etc.
By the end of the hour JJ decided that the little area he was working on was as good as it was going to get and looked up to see what progress you had made. Any and all confidence in what he did went out the window once he saw what you were working on. You didnโt think what you had painted was much of anything but in his eyes, it was absolutely amazing.
โHow the hell did you get yours to look like that!?โ
โMy entire lifeโs worth of practice.โ You laughed.
โYeah, thatโs just a little bit more time that I have.โ
โJust a little?โ You questioned.
โWow, that obvious?โ
โWellโฆโ You noticed that the chicken he was supposed to be painting didnโt exactly look like a chicken. โJust a little.โ The both of you burst into a fit of laughter at this.
โWell anyways I should probably get going.โ JJ spoke up once the laughter between you two died down. โSorry for wasting your paint on thisโฆ uh, abstract chicken.โ
โOh donโt worry, itโs not mine. The owner had all of this paint and more just sitting in the back room from when they thought they could paint this themselves. They said itโs all free game for me to use and that theyโll get more later if needed. Well actually that very last part depends entirely on how they like this.โ
โWell If they see even half of what I can see Iโm sure theyโll love it.โ The both of you held similar shy smiles at this. โAnyway, Iโm glad I got to talk to you before you go all kook with your paintings in those fancy museums in the mainland. Remember who โhelpedโ you paint your first wall when youโre rich and famous!โ The last line was yelled out as JJ made his way down the street.
You only hoped for one of those things to be true. Having your art hung up where so many people could see was a dream, but you hoped to see JJ again long before that became a possibility.
