⟢ "I can‘t fucking stand you."
"Then why are you standing so close?"
"I… What?"
⟢ "Back off."
"Stop leaning in."
finalllyyyy wrote this. i'm so sorry it's been months😭😭😭 thank you for ask @rjschoicesstuff <3
botc 2, Gabe's pov
"Would you like to stay? I just made dinner.”
“You’re still eating human food? You know we don’t need to eat everyday, right?” He’s teasing me, but he steps inside nonetheless. I roll my eyes.
“Don’t eat if you don’t want to. I have blood bags, but I’m guessing you don’t want that either.”
He gags, “How dare you even mention it. No, I’ll eat your food. Devi’s always raving about how good your cooking is, I’d like to see for myself.”
I roll my eyes again. He makes himself at home immediately, sprawling onto my small couch.
“Your room is very… you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s very neat and tidy. Cozy.”
“Only you could make that sound like an insult.”
“Yeah, because there’s no personality.”
“There is plenty of personality.”
“Nah.”
“Never cleaning your room isn’t ‘personality’, Cas.”
He chuckles as I walk into my kitchen.
The Nexus rooms for coven members are like small studio apartments. My bed, couch, and kitchen all neatly organized in the same little room. I’d say I did a good job at making it work.
I collect two plates and pile my food onto them. I find myself getting a little nervous as I hand Cas his plate. I know I’m a good cook, and he’s the last person I need approval from. But I want him to like it. I watch his expression as he takes a bite, the slight raise of his eyebrows as he chews, before he puts on a neutral expression once again.
“It’s decent.”
“High praise,” I say sarcastically as I sit on the opposite end of the couch.
“The highest you’ll get from me, babe.”
My heart skips a beat and I hope to god he didn’t hear it. The slight smirk on his face as he eats tells me he did, but for once he doesn’t tease me about it.
We finish eating in a few minutes, and I head back into the kitchen to wash the dishes. To my surprise, Cas follows behind me.
“Are you gonna help wash up?” I ask, as he stands next to me by the sink.
“I’ve got nothing better to do.”
His voice has taken on a somber tone. When I glance at him, his hands are trembling ever so slightly.
“Are you okay?”
“Yep.”
“Are you sure? Your hands are shaking.”
“Back off,” he says, more annoyed than threatening
“Stop leaning in then,” I shoot back.
He glances down like he’s just now noticing the limited space between us, before stepping back with a smirk.
“Do I make you nervous, Golden Boy?”
“No.” Yes.
“Really? I can hear your heartbeat, you know.”
“You don’t make me nervous, Cas,” I say, taking a step closer to him.
“Ooh, so tough,” he says in a low voice that sends a shiver down my spine.
“I can’t fucking stand you.”
“Then why are you standing so close?”
“I- what-”
“Cute,” Cas chuckles.
“Shut up.”
“Or what?” He leans in closer, our bodies now just an inch apart. For a second, I think I see his eyes flicker down to my lips.
rating/warnings: mentions of blood and death, potentially inaccurate description of ice skating (idk how to skate lol), a lot of tears at the end
word count: 2.4k
book and pairing: Immortal Desires, NB!MC x M!Cas x M!Gabriel
tags: @choicesficwriterscreations @rjschoicesstuff @mercedesdecorazon (lmk if anyone else wants to be tagged in future botc posts!)
author's note: might include this in the main series (book 2)
Sunlight glares through my window, casting a harsh light in my room. It’s way too bright for my mood. I groan and roll over, pulling my blanket over my head.
The sweet smell of human blood drifts closer, stopping just outside my bedroom door. Mom knocks softly.
“Devi?”
It’s disgusting how I smelt her blood before I even heard her footsteps. I bite my lip in an attempt to contain myself before responding.
“Come in,” I pull the blanket off my head.
Mom enters the room and leans against the door frame. She knows better than to get too close to me when I’m like this.
“Happy birthday, baby!” She grins widely, and I can see her itch to come closer. “Any special requests for today? I could make your favorite food, or we could watch a movie. Anything you want.”
“...I don’t know. I’m tired,” I don’t have the energy to get out of bed, nor do I feel hungry. Not like I need human food anyway.
Though she tries to hide it, I can see mom’s smile falter. I feel guilty. I don’t mean to make this hard for her, I know she’s doing her best to be there for me. But I can’t help it. Nothing seems to have any meaning anymore. It’s my first birthday as a vampire, the first of many. And almost all of them will be spent here, in Crimson Beech.
I hate this place.
“I’m not in the mood to do anything, and I’d be terrible company right now. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize to me, Devi. And it doesn’t matter what mood you’re in, you could never be ‘terrible company’ to me. I won’t force you to do anything, but if you change your mind I’m just a call away, okay? I love you, beta.”
She leaves my room, closing the door quietly behind her. I don’t want to spend another day alone with my own thoughts, but I have no mood to be around anyone either. I turn over in my bed, drifting off to sleep once again.
I awake to someone very rudely yanking my blanket off of me.
“What the fuck, Seth?!”
“Get up.”
“Fuck you, what the hell is wrong with you?” I snatch the blanket out of his hands.
“You’re not spending another day locked in your room,” he says, crossing his arms.
“Well it’s not like I can go out into town-”
“I know a place.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’m not asking,” he leans over and lifts me off the bed.
“Fuck off! What the fuck is wrong with you! I’m gonna fucking kill you!”
“Ooo you’re so scary, pipsqueak-”
I launch my fist into his eye.
“Argh! What the hell, Devi!”
“Who the fuck are you calling pipsqueak?”
He lets me go, my feet hitting the floor with a thud.
“Fine, let’s go. I can’t believe you got me mad so early in the morning.”
“Its 10 am.”
“Like I said, early. Now hurry up”
Seth leads me to our lovely crispy school, taking the path through the woods instead of going through town. I pause at the sight of the under-construction building. Its a burnt-up reminder of the night I was turned. Regardless of the horrors that happened here a few months ago, its being rebuilt. The ground surrounding the building is now covered in layers of snow, sparkling in the sunlight. If it weren’t for the charred parts, it would look as if nothing ever happened.
I wish I could move on so easily.
“Here we are,” Seth comes to a stop in front of the frozen basketball court.
“...we’re playing basket ball?”
“Yes.”
“In the middle of winter?”
“Yep.”
“The court is covered in ice.”
“You’re a vampire now, Devi. We can't be stopped by some pesky little obstacle like ice,” he takes a few steps onto the court, slips, and face plants into the floor.
“Oh my god, Seth,” I double over with laughter.
“...fuck off.”
“Damn, I should’ve taken a video,” I say, struggling to breathe. My stomach aches from laughing, “thanks for this. I haven’t laughed this hard in months.”
He carefully stands up again. The black eye I gave him earlier has healed, now replaced with a new bruise.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m glad my misery brings you so much joy.”
“Oh, it definitely does.”
Seth takes a brave step forward, more warily now, and makes his way across the court. He picks up a basketball and throws it to me.
“Come on,” he calls, “we’re still playing. First one to fall looses.”
“Then you’ve already lost, kid.”
“Starting now.”
For the next hour, I have Seth running around like an idiot. By the end of our session, both of us are covered in a few bruises. It doesn’t bother me. One perk of being a vampire is most injuries heal within minutes. I wouldn’t say it to his face, but I’m glad Seth forced me outside. Leaving my bedroom, even if just for a while, has improved my mood a bit.
“Let’s go,” Seth says, “there’s another surprise for you.”
“Oh god, what is it now?”
He grins but doesn’t answer, instead leading me to the edge of the woods, where Gabriel emerges from the trees.
“Gabriel? What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to take you on a date,” he smiles sweetly at me as he takes my hand.
“Have fun, you two,” Seth says. He’s gone in the blink of an eye.
“You two planned this?”
Gabe shrugs, before tugging me deeper into the woods.
“Where are we going?”
“If I told you, it’d ruin the surprise.”
“But is it far? My feet hurt-”
Before I can even complete my sentence, Gabriel has lifted me into his arms, carrying my bridal style up a hill at vampire speed. My face burns in embarrassment as he sets me down at the top of the hill.
“Here we are, cariño,” he grins.
‘Here’ is a cliff overlooking the frozen lake. There is a thick blanket laid over the snow, a basket of food sitting on top of it.
“A picnic? In the middle of winter?”
“So ungrateful.”
“I mean- thank you, its very sweet. But why is everyone doing summer activities in the middle of winter?”
“Because you love summer activities, and the cold never bothered us anyway.”
“Did you just quote Frozen at me?”
“So what if I did?”
“That’s cringey.”
“Okay, go home. I’ll eat this food by myself.”
“No, wait, I’m sorry,” I laugh, “Did you make the food?”
“All for you.”
I sit on the blanket as Gabriel sets up the warm soups and sandwiches he made. It’s fun to tease him, but I’m genuinely touched by his thoughtfulness. I haven’t properly spent time with him or Cas in a while, and I feel a bit guilty. I haven’t help but feel hopeless, but I realize I’ve been pushing them away without meaning to. Tears prick at my eyes, but I quickly blink them away.
“Devi? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just cold.”
Gabriel shifts closer to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder to keep me warm. We enjoy the food, laughing and talking like we used to in school, before the vampire madness. I feel like a burden has been lifted from my shoulders, even if it’s just for a while.
A little while later, I hear someone shout my name from below. I look over the side of the cliff to see Cas standing at the edge of the lake, a pair of ice skates. The challenging look on his face makes me grin. I look back at Gabe, who smiles encouragingly.
“Go join him.”
“You’re not coming?”
“I have an extra shift at the arcade. You guys have fun.”
He leans over to leave a kiss on my cheek before getting up to leave. I help him clean up and head down the cliff.
“Took you long enough,” Cas says.
“You’re so impatient.”
“Whatever. Here,” he hands the ice skates to me.
“By the way, I’ve never done this before. You’re gonna have to hold my hand.”
“No way, the Great Devi, who never loses anything, doesn’t know how to skate?”
“Oh, fuck off,” I hit his arm with the skates. He flinches back and grins, taking my hand and leading me to sit down near the lake. He takes off my shoes and puts on the skates, then helps me stand up. My legs wobble as I grip onto Cas’ forearms for dear life.
“Wait, Cas, I’m gonna fall-”
“You won’t. I’ve got you.”
With that, he pulls me onto the ice. My entire body shakes, and I tighten my grip on Cas. He lets me hold onto him, letting me gain my balance for a minute.
Once I calm down a little, Cas instructs me on how to position my feet and how to move. We skate back and forth for a while, my hand still clutching his, until my legs hurt.
“Do you want to try without holding my hand now?”
“No. I like holding your hand.”
Cas chuckles, tugging me a little closer.
“Let’s take a break,” he says, pulling me along back to land.
“I think I’m done skating. My legs hurt.”
We take off our skates and toss them aside, before laying back in the snow.
“Devi?”
“Hm?”
“...I love you.”
I look at him in surprise, not expecting the sudden confession.
“What-?”
“I’m reminding you. I love you, and Golden Boy loves you too. It hurts us to see you hide away. I know things have been hard for you, and I’m sorry. But we want to help, we want to be there for you. Please let us.”
I frown and look away, not knowing what to say. As if reading my mind, Cas continues.
“If there’s anyone who understands grief, it's us. You don’t have to say anything, you don’t even have to do anything. Just let us be with you.”
Once again, tears sting in my eyes. Cas isn’t one for comforting words, but when he does speak, it hits right in the heart. Wordlessly, I turn back to him and wrap my arms around him. He responds immediately, pulling my closer into his chest.
The sun has set when Cas walks me home. To my surprise, he walks up to the door and rings the doorbell.
“Are you staying over?”
“Why? Don’t want me to?”
Before I can respond, Gabriel opens the door.
“Gabriel? What are you doing here?”
He and Cas exchange a suspiciously cheeky look, before answering.
“We have a surprise for you.”
They lead me inside to the living room, which has been decorated with streamers and balloons. Mom and Seth are waiting on the couch, a pretty cake sitting on the table in front of them. They stand up when we enter.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEVI!”
All four of them converge on me, wrapping me in the most loving hug I’ve ever experienced. I freeze in shock.
“You… you all did this for me?”
“Of course, baby,” mom pinches my cheek, “I love you, beta.”
“I… I don’t know what to say..”
“Don’t say anything,” Seth says, “sit down and look at the presents we got you.”
“Presents…?”
One by one, they all go into the kitchen and come back with gift wrapped boxes. Mom places the biggest one in front of me, a wide, excited grin on her face.
“Open it!”
Her excitement is infectious, and I quickly tear apart the wrapping paper. I stop as soon as I see what her gift is.
A sewing machine. She got me a sewing machine.
“Open mine next!” Gabriel says, handing me another box. I open it, revealing a stack of books. A pattern making book, a book about sewing, and a book about types of fabrics.
“We know how heartbroken you are about not being able to go to NYC to study fashion design, so we got you everything you need to learn it on your own,” Gabriel explains.
I’ve lost my ability to speak. Never in a million years did I expect this. Cas hands me his gift, and I open it with shaking hands.
“I found some old fashion magazines for you. You can use them as inspiration for your work.”
Seth hands me a large bag.
“I got you some fabric and buttons and stuff for you to get started with. One of the older Clements has a fabric shop, I can take you there later if you want.”
I can no longer hold back the tears. I start crying, hugging the books and fabrics to my chest.
“Aw, my baby,” mom comes over to hug me, followed by the others. I’m sobbing now. I don’t know what I did to deserve this. The last few months, all I’ve done is be mean and push them away, and yet they’ve done everything for me. I’m so grateful for them, I love them so much, but I can’t seem to find the words to express just how much. So I continue to sob in their arms. And they continue to hold me patiently, reassuring me.
Until Seth pulls away.
“Enough of that. Are you not hungry from crying? I’ve been waiting to get a taste of Gabe’s cake since I got here.”
“All you think about is food,” Cas rolls his eyes.
“Take one look at that cake and tell me you haven’t been thinking of devouring it.”
I can’t help but giggle at their antics.
“Devi gets the first bite. The rest of you step away from the cake,” Gabe says.
“Did you make the cake, Gabe?” I ask, finally finding my voice.
“He did,” mom answers, “and Cas and Seth helped me decorate the place.”
The cake is delicious, but that’s no surprise. It was made with love by Gabe. The rest of the evening is so full of love, I feel like I might cry again. We play board games and tell silly stories late into the night.
It still feels a bit odd, seeing everyone together like this. Me and mom, along with Gabe and Cas, who still insist they don’t like each other (who are the hell are they trying to fool?), and Seth, who has become like a brother to me. A family of mismatches, but perfectly matched for each other.
But I can’t help but feel melancholic that Priya isn’t here. I miss her so much. It’s so unfair, I never got to meet her or talk to her about vampires or covens or our family. I never even got to say a proper goodbye. She was my sister and my best friend, I don’t know if this pain will ever go away.
I finally started writing again!! here's another teeny tiny wip cause I'm proud of it hehe
botc 2, chapter 1. 180 words of angst
“Devi, talk to us, please," Gabriel says, his face twisted in concern.
“Didn’t you see all the damage I caused?”
“Damage to some branches and rocks, big whoop. If you really were a monster, the scene would’ve been a lot bloodier,” Cas says.
“It could be the next time. I totally lost control, what if that happens around a human? What if I hurt mom?”
Gabriel wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me closer.
“We won’t let that happen, cariño.”
“Even if I don’t hurt anyone, my life as I knew it is over. I’ll be stuck in Crimson Beech forever. I’ll never get to go to fashion school in New York like I wanted. I’m not even me anymore, and the person I wanted to be is gone,” my voice shakes and I desperately try to hold back tears.
“That’s not true. You’re still you-”
“But I’m not, Gabriel!” I pull away from him, “I was a regular teenager, a normal person with their whole life in front of them! And now it's gone.”
Because of you.
wrote 600 words today! not a lot but it's more than i've written in the last 2 months!! here's a little wip to celebrate~
From BotC 2, chapter 1
“My body feels wrong. It doesn’t feel like it’s mine.”
“Your vampire body will take a while to get used to. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“...I don’t know.”
“That’s okay. If you need anything, all you have to do is ask. I don’t know what you’re going through, but I promise you don’t have to go through it alone.”
No matter what happens, mom is the only constant, the only thing that makes sense.
“...thanks mom. I love you.”
She steps closer to me, leaning down for a hug. As soon as she gets close to me, the sweet scent of her blood fills my nostrils. I can hear the rush of blood pumping through her body, and my focus zones in on the vein on her neck. It smells so sweet. A little taste won’t hurt. She comes closer in slow motion, my skin tingling in anticipation. Her arms wrap around me, but I hardly feel it with my face inches from her neck. I lean forward, fangs descending.
