Players/Pairing: Mercy Park Crew/Logan x Jin, crossover guest appearance
Rating/Warnings: G
Author’s Note: * All main characters belong to Pixelberry, I’m just borrowing them * OCs are my creation * I got an idea to make a completely random edit (shown at the end) back in May, and I decided it needed a story to go with it…and then everything got shelved. But! Here it is, finished for @rodappreciationweek Wildcard Day, featuring the whole Mercy Park Crew, and a special appearance from another one of my favorite pairings 😉 * Huge thank you to @abookishcreative and the group that pulls assets from all the books! * Also a huge thank you to @brightpinkpeppercorn @choicesarehard and @client-327 for hosting RODAW - there was so much awesome creativity that was shared this week through fanfic, fan art, music (!!!), aesthetics, mood boards, and more! *
Word Count: +/- 2600
All my appropriate taglists because I don’t want to give away much, but you’ll ALL want to read 😉 :: @ao719 @blackcatkita @brightpinkpeppercorn @desireepow-1986 @gibbles82 @innerpostmentality @loveellamae @smalltalk88 @thecordoniandiaries @aestheticartsx @aworldoffandoms @bascmve01 @bbrandy2002 @burnsoslow @custaroonie @darley1101 @dcbbw @gardeningourmet @hopefulmoonobject @iplaydrake @lovemychoices @missevabean @rainbowsinthestorm @superharriet @the-soot-sprite @choicesarehard @dailydoseofchoices @eileendannie @liyanin @omgjasminesimone @storyofmychoices @client-327 @debramcg1106 @everythingchoices @saivilo
“Oh. My. GOD! Logan, look!” Jin thrust her phone in front of Logan’s face and he reflexively jerked his head back at the movement, grinning softly at her. He glanced down in front of him, brows pinching together curiously at the video clip that played on the screen. One of his hands absentmindedly twirled the end of Jin’s braid, and he shifted on the couch to get a better look at the video.
“Blades of Light…and Shadow?” He tilted his head to one side, just like a confused puppy would, before turning to look at Jin. “Isn’t that the name of the book…game…thing you were obsessed with a couple of summers ago?”
Jin beamed at him. “Yes! It was a game, and it’s being made into a movie! And they’re going to have a panel at the San Diego Comic Con next year to promote its release!” She began rapidly tapping his thigh as the video played again. “And! And! They’re offering a prize for the best group cosplay,” she added, tapping his thigh with even more enthusiasm. “Tickets to the premiere! And a meet and greet with the cast!” Logan held his breath, nervous smile playing across his lips. “We HAVE to do it!” She paused, taking in the hesitant look on Logan’s face. “You’ll do it with me, right? And talk to the others to join us?”
Logan pulled his lips back and gave her an unconvincing grin. Jin pursed her lips at him in response. “You know I’ll be your dashing rogue any day, stealing hearts wherever I go,” he smirked, waggling his brows at her. The corners of Jin’s mouth twitched as she fought to keep from smiling. “Toby’s a given, Xi will do it because you asked her to. It’s Colt and Mona that’ll need convincing.”
“I can get Colt to say yes,” Jin grinned. “He’d make a perfect Tyril. And Mona kiiiind of has a crush on the actress that plays Nia, so she won’t need much arm twisting if we win and get to meet the cast.”
“Aren’t cosplay costumes expensive to make?” Logan handed Jin her phone again and leaned towards her to pull his phone from his back pocket; she laid her head down in his lap once he had the phone in his hands, and she started tapping at her phone screen to send a message to someone. He scrolled through search results on how much it cost to make realistic cosplay outfits. “Especially if you’re trying to win first place?”
“We can make some stuff on our own, fake weapons out of foam core and paint and stuff,” she shrugged, scrolling through images on her phone. “I helped my roommate make stuff like that for her cosplay. And I can ask my cousin for help making the clothes, she’s like a super genius or something when it comes to recreating costumes – she won first prize for making a Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor couples costume for a Halloween party.” Jin tilted her head back to look up at Logan, handing her phone to him after pulling up a photo. “See?”
Logan looked at the screen, his eyes going wide as he looked at the couple in the photo. “She made those outfits?”
“Yup!” Jin sat up as her phone started to ring. “Ooh, that’s her now, hold on,” she added, swiping the screen to answer. Logan merely shook his head as he watched Jin get up from the couch before she started pacing around the room, a bemused expression blooming across his face. “Hey, Katrina, I have a proposition for you…would you be able to make six costumes in a year?”
.:.
After several long phone and video calls with her cousin in New York, a surprisingly short conversation with Mona, and a little pleading with Colt, Jin succeeded in getting everyone in the group on board with her plan to enter the contest. Logan was right in his assumption that Toby wouldn’t hesitate – he’d been just as invested in the game as Jin when it first came out, and the pair of them discussed their playthroughs every week as each chapter was released. He was right about Ximena as well – just seeing the excitement in Jin’s face was enough to get her to agree to dress up.
Logan was just happy that Jin was home for the summer; she was halfway through college at Langston, and spending months at a time apart was torture for both of them. He relished the time they had together for winter break, and more so the time in the summer. They would spend nearly all their waking hours together since she worked at the garage with the rest of the crew.
Instead of spending the slow stretches of time hanging out with him in the shop, Logan often found Jin in the break room or up in his loft, channeling the studious side of herself that he loved so much to research methods of crafting cosplay weapons. She watched video tutorials and took copious notes on how to treat faux leather to add intricate designs without leathermaking tools – apparently it involved glue guns and lots of paint – and smirked when she bookmarked a number of pages on corsetry.
He admired Jin’s enthusiasm and dedication to the whole project, along with the magic her cross-country cousin seemed to possess – by July, Katrina had finished the costumes for Toby and Ximena, along with the underpinnings for Colt’s costume. Everyone chipped in to pay her after she shipped Ximena’s costume and they marveled at the level of detail in all the pieces, even though she only asked for the cost of the materials.
By August, Colt’s costume arrived; Colt looked genuinely surprised when Jin finished helping him with the armor she’d spent weeks assembling and painting. Everything fit alarmingly well without having to make adjustments to the cloth garments underneath. He raised his eyebrow at Jin and her cousin on the video call. “Told ya,” Jin quipped. “My cousin is a magician with a sewing machine!”
A week later, Logan was at the airport with Jin, helping her load her suitcase onto the scale at the check-in counter. “Promise me you’ll keep the weapons away from Colt until the Con,” Jin pleaded, speaking into Logan’s chest as he held her tight. “He’s already busted a sword twice. If I have to make another one over Winter Break, he’s paying for all the supplies.”
Logan tipped his chin down, kissing the top of her head and chuckled lightly. “No swords for the Elf Boy. On it, my Priestess of the Light.”
“That goes double for Mona and her sword,” Jin added, squeezing his sides. “Those two are impossible.”
“You wanted them to get into their characters! It was inevitable they’d like having weapons,” he teased, letting out another soft laugh. He felt Jin nuzzle her nose into the hollow of his chest, her cheeks pressing against the fabric of his shirt to let him know she was smiling.
“Just…keep them intact, please,” she mumbled into his chest again.
“As you wish,” he grinned, kissing the top of her head again. “I’ll see you for Christmas?”
“With all the phone calls and video chats you can stand in between,” she answered, smiling sadly.
.:.
When Jin returned home for Christmas break, she handed Logan and Mona their costumes, courtesy of Katrina.
Mona and Colt handed her wads of cash to make new weapons. She kept them at her house after that.
.:.
SIX MONTHS LATER
Logan fiddled nervously with the buckles on his gloves as he looked in the mirror, adding the last bits of his costume as he waited for Jin’s flight to get in from Logan International. He chuckled to himself at the irony of sharing a name with the airport in Boston. He’d offered and nearly insisted on picking her up, but she wanted him to take his time getting ready for the Con. She had stayed in Boston for a six-week summer session so she could double major, and was flying straight to San Diego on a red eye to make it in time, promising to meet them at the convention center in full costume.
SDCC kicked off the day before, but the Blades panel and costume contest were scheduled on the second day of the three day event. Ximena and Colt had already been up for hours, applying body paint to their skin to really dress the part for their characters.
Logan pulled the mock dagger from his belt and spun it in his hand before slipping it back into the leather loop. He ran his fingers through the years’ worth of hair he’d grown out, adjusted the armor on one shoulder, and breathed in slowly. He checked the time on his phone one more time and sighed nervously, before unlocking the trunk on one side of the loft, and pulled out the mock swords for Colt and Mona before heading downstairs. Jin had the foresight to give them to him for safekeeping over Winter Break, when she made the decision to take summer classes. He descended the stairs with the weapons in his arms and heard raised voices in the garage.
“Just close your eyes and quit squirming!”
“This stupid wig is too hot! I’m not going to get through another hour, let alone the whole damn day with this thing on!”
“You knew what you were signing up for, at least you don’t have to worry about your horns falling off if you sweat too much! Now sit! Still! Colt!”
Logan shook his head as he watched Colt’s shoulders droop while he sat on a stool. He closed his eyes as Ximena used an airbrush to finish painting his face a light shade of blue; her own face, neck, and arms were painted green, and a pair of black horns protruded from her forehead.
“You get sleeves, so don’t even talk to me,” Ximena sighed, pressing the button on the machine to spray more blue paint onto Colt’s skin.
“You look like a smurf.” Logan laughed at Colt as he passed him, and wordlessly handed a sword to Mona. She took a few practice swipes in the air before sheathing it against her belt.
“Laugh it up, pretty boy,” Colt grumbled. “Your girlfriend better appreciate this. I can’t believe I have to go out in public looking like this.”
“It’ll be worth it when we win.”
“If. If we win,” Colt spat back. “Who knows what other nerds have been planning for this thing.”
“Oh, we’ve got some good competition!” Toby chimed in, spooning cereal into his mouth. “Winged creatures, elf royalty, mermaids…but I’d say we have a decent chance since we’re going with the core group.”
“Okay, just…sit there. And let things dry for ten minutes,” Ximena instructed. “I’ll set it once you’re not so tacky, and then we can head out.”
.:.
The convention center was packed, and the crew was surrounded by mobs of people milling about. Many were in regular street clothes as fans and attendees, but half the crowd seemed to be in costume. They ranged from low-end, pre-fabricated outfits, to detailed replicas from various comic books and movies. A dozen Spider Men wandered through, dancing to music one of them was blasting from a tiny speaker. Logan smiled softly at all the young kids he saw with their families, dressed up as tiny versions of Superman and Star Wars characters. He even spied a young Kenna Rys atop the shoulders of a dragon Dom.
Toby whipped around, eyes wide with delight, as he tried to take in everything around him. He looked like he might spontaneously combust from excitement. Ximena stepped away to grab a few free tote bags for the group, knowing they’d come in handy for any swag or purchases once inside the main area. Mona was busy trying to find the right angle to take a selfie with an anime girl, and Colt looked like he wanted to leave.
Logan’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he swiped to answer when he saw Jin’s photo on the screen. “Hey, where are you?” He craned his neck over the crowd and looked around for any sign of his girlfriend.
“Stay on the phone with me, I just walked into the building and this is insane!”
Logan gestured at the rest of the crew to stand near a pillar with him, and he anxiously scanned the crowd for any sign of Jin. He grinned widely when he saw Jin’s head pop up from the sea of people, admiring the red hair from her wig when she popped up again. His grin wavered for a moment when he noticed a tall guy and a young woman following behind her, but grinned again when he recognized their faces from Jin’s many video calls with her cousin.
Logan’s mouth dropped when Jin finally made her way through the crowd, with Katrina and Katrina’s boyfriend following right behind her. Jin did a little pirouette to show off her costume, before launching herself into Logan’s arms. He wrapped his arms around her and they spun in a small circle from the momentum, and he planted a flurry of kisses to her lips as she pressed herself to him in a tight embrace. She beamed a huge smile up to him as he set her down. “Troublemaker, you look gorgeous,” he breathed, voice low.
Jin craned her neck up and kissed him sweetly on the lips, biting her bottom lip as she looked up at him again. “You look so dashing!” She stepped back and looked at the rest of the group, smiling at them. “You all look so great! Oh, guys, this is my cousin Katrina, and her boyfriend Liam. Katrina, Liam, this is my boyfriend Logan, and this is Mona, and Colt, and Toby, and Ximena!”
There was an exchange of handshakes, waves, and smiles with introductions, and the group moved to one of the tables to pick up their badges, before heading into the main convention arena. As they made their way towards the fantasy booths, Toby called the group over to a mural against a wall, bouncing on the balls of his feet, and Jin handed Katrina her phone to take a photo. She stood near the center with Logan next to her, and Colt stepped to move to her other side. Mona, Ximena, and Toby shuffled in next to them and Katrina snapped several photos in a row.
A woman dressed as Sailor Mars smiled at them and offered to take a photo so Katrina and Liam could join them, and they squeezed in behind Jin, smiling happily for the photo.
“I feel like I’m gonna sweat all this blue paint off before the contest even happens,” Colt muttered under his breath, once they were done taking photos.
“Could be worse,” Katrina replied. “You could be that guy.” She elbowed Colt lightly and jutted her chin out to catch his attention, and Colt let out a small chuckle.
“Sucks to be him,” he chortled.
A man in head to toe blue paint walked past, his shoulders and arms sporting darker blue painted tribal tattoos, and he had a massive green braided mohawk down his back. He wore contacts that changed his eyes to an alarming shade of yellow, and turned his head, giving Colt an acknowledging nod before continuing on his walk. “Full Vaanti in this heat? That’s a commitment.”
“What’s a commitment?” Liam strode over to join Katrina and Colt in their conversation as they started walking.
Katrina tipped her chin forward again, pointing at the painted man in blue. “That dude dressed as Varyyn, from the Endless Summer series.”
A smug grin appeared on Liam’s face. “I could wear that, I think.”
“Dude, Varyyn’s a prince turned king of his people on a crazy island in a time traveling bubble,” Colt scoffed. “You wish you could wear that.” He quickened his pace to catch up to the group.
Liam leaned down to whisper in Katrina’s ear. “I could totally rock that costume, just get me a leaf skirt. Maybe a matching one for you,” he teased. “Now tell me about this time travel island full of blue people?”
Katrina laughed nervously. “Hoooo boy, that’ll take more than a walk through this thing.”
TRR AU SERIES: OPEN + IN PROGRESS; last updated December 2020
This AU series takes place between Book 2 and Book 3 of The Royal Romance, where MC (Katrina Bailey) accepts Liam’s proposal on the condition that she gets to complete law school in New York City before they marry. Drake is convinced to finish his degree at the same time and operate as an extension of the Kings Guard to protect Katrina for the duration of her studies. The stories that follow are from Katrina and Drake’s POV as they study, work, befriend some interesting co-eds, and make unforgettable memories in the City that Never Sleeps.
Series Rating/Warning: 18+ -- adult language but mostly fluff; N*FW / lemon / spicy scenes occur and will be tagged.
🍐 = PRETEND THIS IS A LIME more than kissing, less than lemon territory | 🍋= erotica/30 diamond scene
Players: Liam, Drake, Katrina, Lis
Series Rating/Warnings: PG-13/Mature 18+ (language/swearing; trigger warning – this series will include discussion of nonconsensual relations)
Chapter Summary: Liam’s in a bind, Katrina chats with her roommate, and Drake drops a little truth bomb.
Author’s Note: * All main characters belong to Pixelberry, I’m just borrowing them * Song lyrics belong to the various musicians and singers * Here we go kids, time to see if college Liam can do the thing. Catch up with previous chapters via my Master List page (see bio for link) because tumblr’s a butt.
Word Count: +/- 2300
THURSDAY NIGHT
“Hey Liam, I need a favor.”
Liam barely looked up from the notes sprawled before him on the bed. “Name it.”
“I uhh…need you to find somewhere else to sleep tomorrow night. Maybe Saturday night too.”
Liam’s head shot up and he looked over at Drake, who was paging through one of his textbooks. Seriously? SERIOUSLY?! “We’re in the middle of Reading Week, are you kidding me right now?”
Drake shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “What can I say? Stress does things to Liv, and when she gets stressed she—”
Liam waved his hand in the air, signaling Drake to stop talking, and he exhaled with a laugh. “I don’t need the details, I’ll give you the room.” I could crash with…ugh, no, he snores. Lovejoy and Quinn...god no, I can’t even see the floor in their room. Miller…he’d kill me with the wakeup calls from Trina. Hmm…would Trina? He picked up his phone and opened ViewTube to find a music video, making a mental note of the time when the line he was waiting for was sung. After copying the link, he opened the messaging app and pasted the link into a new message along with the time. He bit the inside of his cheek to avoid smirking and pressed ‘send’.
Katrina sighed on her bed, shutting her laptop closed before pushing it across the comforter. She took her glasses off, holding the frames between her thumb and forefinger, and pressed the base of her palms against her closed eyelids before slipping the glasses back on her face. Then she launched herself backwards into the bed, landing against a pile of pillows. She pulled one over her face. “My brain can’t handle any more,” she groaned, removing the pillow from her face. “My brain is mush.”
“Are you sure it’s not mush because of a certain point guard that you have heart eyes for every time you see him?” Lis shrieked as Katrina tossed a pillow across the room and smiled at her roommate. “Seriously, Kat, has he asked you out yet? You went to Homecoming together! That was almost three weeks ago!”
“Nothing to report,” Katrina stated matter-of-factly. Part of her just wanted to forget that Liam said anything about a date because she felt like he was never going to ask, even if he’d made a promise. “Maybe it’s better if I just stay friends with him. I’ve never had a guy friend like Liam before.”
“A guy friend like what? How is he different?”
“He’s just fun to be around,” Katrina replied, shrugging her shoulders. She pulled her laptop towards her and flipped it open; after unlocking the screen she looked at the desktop wallpaper – a photo of her and Liam from the dance. She pulled up one of her essays to cover their smiling faces before she started grinning back at the screen. “I can’t explain it, really. He’s kind, and funny, and smart, and he’s easy to talk to… I just want to talk to him all the time, about everything and nothing.” She tipped her head forward, letting her long ebony hair fall in front of her face like a curtain. “Did I tell you I listened to him talk about old cars for nearly an hour the other day?”
“What’s so bad about that?”
“Nothing, really, I just…short of minor car repairs, something like rebuilding an engine isn’t that interesting to me. But he told me this story of how he and his dad went searching for car parts to restore a ’57 Chevy Bel Air one summer – ugh, I know the model of the car – and then finding the right paint color, and…I just let him talk, because it was adorable watching him get all excited talking with his hands as he kept going.” Katrina ran her fingers through her hair and pulled it back into a high ponytail, twisting it into a messy bun as she continued. “His eyes lit up and did this squinty, thing,” she added, gesturing in the air. “And he couldn’t stop smiling. He was talking a mile a minute about spending the whole summer working on the car with his dad. If anyone else tried to tell me that story, I would’ve been bored out of my mind.”
“Kat, admit it,” Lis said, shaking her head. “You like him. A lot. A lot a lot a lot. Just…kiss him or something. Let him know.”
Katrina dramatically dropped her head forward and sighed. “But what if that ruins whatever this thing is I have with him? I don’t want to lose that.”
“So you’re just going to wait until the end of time for him to ask you out? That doesn’t seem fair.”
“I know, but…uuuugh,” she groaned again, flopping back against the mattress. “This sucks. I really like him and all I want to do is kiss him again but now I’m scared to. This crush is killing me, Lis, killing me!”
“You’ve got it bad, I don’t know what else to tell you,” Lis laughed. Katrina’s phone buzzed on the mattress and she sat up to look at the screen, a happy smirk flashing across her friend’s face. “Speak of the devil,” Lis teased, “I know that look.”
Katrina stuck her tongue out at Lis, her eyes scanning over the text message from Liam. She noted the time to pay attention to in the video before clicking the link; one of their new “things” was sending links to songs they liked, which morphed into using song lyrics for questions and answers. Her brows knit together as the video loaded, wondering why he chose Gin Blossoms “Hey Jealousy,” and then she smiled as the gears turned in her head.
Tell me do you think it’d be alright / If I could just crash here tonight / You see I’m in no shape for driving / And anyway I’ve got no place to go
She searched for another song, copying the link and noting down the time for her lyrical response, tapping her reply to Liam.
.:.
Liam’s phone buzzed next to him, and he clicked on Trina’s response – What’s the story, Morning Glory? – grinning at the screen. He repeated the same process as before, running through song options in his head, and sent more video links in his reply.
.:.
Katrina’s phone buzzed with Liam’s response – Drake + Olivia 1:41-1:52 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEmrvCiEapM) ME, first 10 seconds (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q_ZzBGPdqE)
She plugged her earbuds into her phone and clicked on the first link, a blush creeping up her neck as Trey Songz “Touchin, Lovin” video loaded, and her eyes grew wide as she tried not to overreact; then she laughed when the video hit the 1:41 mark.
I’m touchin you tonight / I’m lovin you tonight / I’m fuckin you, girl
She clicked on the second link and laughed harder when The Beatles song played through the earbud in her ear, the other one dangling off her shoulder.
HELP / I need somebody / HELP / not just anybody / HELP / You know I need someone / HELP
“What’s so funny over there?” Lis asked, peering over at her friend.
Katrina wiped the tear in her eye and took a few deep breaths to stop laughing. “I think Liam just asked if he can crash in our room this weekend. I…I think Drake is sexiling him,” she replied, before erupting into laughter again.
Lis’s eyes widened in surprise, her hands pulling away from the keyboard. “Drake’s doing what now?!” The two ladies stared at each other before falling into a fit of giggles.
“You know,” Katrina finally replied, clutching her stomach as she attempted to calm down, “sexiling him…kicking him out of the room so Liv can stay over.” She removed her glasses to wipe at the fresh tears from her eyes, then picked up her phone. “What should I say? Is it okay with you if he stays here a night?”
“Say yes, moron!” Lis grinned and shook her head. “I’ll stay with Erin down the hall to give you two privacy,” she added, winking and nodding emphatically.
“Oh my god, that’s not happening!” Katrina giggled. “We kissed once months ago and you think I’m going to sexile you? Even though he hasn’t made a move on me?”
“I mean…maybe that’s a talk that’ll come up if he’s alone with you. Overnight. Without me around to get in the way of…possible things?”
“I’m not kicking you out.”
“I know you’re not. I’m offering to leave,” Lis laughed. “If I stay or go is your call, I’m fine if he stays here a night or two.”
“You’re the best roommate ever,” Katrina replied, typing in her response to Liam. “What’s Drake even thinking? We’re in the middle of reading period for midterms!”
.:.
Liam’s phone buzzed and the screen lit up, and he couldn’t help smiling as he read Katrina’s message: 0:12-0:14 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RQDIJ2CvbA)
Come on over / Come on over baby
He typed a quick response back to her before looking back at his notes. The past week he’d found himself missing her company more than he anticipated; aside from their ritual morning phone calls and meeting up for dinner on Monday, they hadn’t seen much of each other. Katrina changed her work schedule so she’d have time to study, so his afternoon runs weren’t as pressing since he couldn’t walk her back to campus.
While they’d spent countless evenings doing homework together, she confessed that she’d been slacking on her creative writing portfolio and had to focus on editing and writing new pieces. Liam obliged, though he was curious to know what she was writing about. I wonder if she’d let me read any of her writing.
“Why do you keep smiling at your phone like a dork?”
Liam looked up at Drake, who was grinning at him. “I am not a dork.”
“Says the dork,” Drake teased. “Are you talking to Half Pint again? She’s the only one to cause that goofy smile on your face, y’know.”
Liam chuckled and shook his head, glancing back down at his notes. “You know it bugs her when you call her that.” We’ve been over this, Drake.
“She’s not even here!” Drake laughed, lifting his hands with exasperation. “When are you going to get it over with and ask her out? You two act like you’ve been dating since you met, only without any of the fun shit.”
“It’s not like that with Trina,” Liam replied, suddenly defensive towards his friend. “She’s…something else. She’s different from the other girls I’ve dated.” He looked up to see Drake’s raised brows and a smug look at his slip-up. Shit. “Not that Trina and I are dating. Because we’re not,” he added quickly.
“Not…yet…” Drake replied. “Seriously Li, after the way she was ready to throw down with your ex at Homecoming – that would’ve been the perfect time to ask her.”
Liam sighed, turning the page of one of his books, before pushing things aside to lay down in his bed. “That was probably the nicest thing anyone’s done for me,” he chuckled. He propped himself up on his elbows to sit up. “I can’t get into it, but I’m waiting for a sign.” Maybe that night WAS the sign, and now I’m just chickening out. What if I took too long and I friendzoned myself? He paused to stroke his chin before rubbing his hand across his face. “And now that I’ve gotten to know her I think I—”
“Might be falling in love with her?” Drake wiggled his brows up and down. “Liv and I see it, man. You two might just be calling yourselves friends, but it’s so much more than that.”
“No, no I’m not,” Liam lied. Right? I mean, I like her…a lot…more than a lot, actually.
“Yeah, okay.” Drake rolled his eyes and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “We’ve been roommates since freshman year, and I have never seen you spend so much time with one girl. Ever. She’s here all the time—”
“Sorry about that, it’s jus—”
“No no no, it’s fine, I don’t mind that you hang out here, Half Pi—Katrina is great,” Drake replied, correcting himself. “I was pointing out that she’s here all the time, you visit her at work and walk her back to her dorm, you two are practically joined at the hip. It’s like…you’re a modern day Mark Darcy.”
Liam looked at Drake with an amused expression. “How do you even know who Mark Dar—”
“Lit class, you jerk,” Drake answered. “Anyway, my point is if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck…”
“I haven’t asked her out yet.”
“What’s got you spooked? Afraid she’ll say no? According to Liv she’s going insane waiting for you to bring it up.”
Liam furrowed his thick brows together. “Really?”
“Rys, are you dense?” Drake shook his head as he laughed. “You didn’t hear this from me, but Katrina’s outburst at the dance was because she was jealous, so yeah…pretty sure that means she’ll all but jump you when you ask her out.”
.:.
Katrina’s phone buzzed again, and she quickly scanned over Liam’s message: 1:01-1:02 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oomCIXGzsR0) see you Friday, I’ll come over around 8 and we’ll get dinner?
You’re the best / Around
She fought the smile that eagerly flashed across her face as she watched the Karate Kid clip in the song and replied to his message, then flipped the phone over so she couldn’t see the screen. Pulling the jack from her phone, she plugged the earbuds into her laptop and pulled up another document, reading over the last few lines of the short story she’d been toiling over the few days. The words “lightning,” “kiss,” and “promise” stared at her, the stark text against the white background burning into her eyes, as the cursor blinked at her expectantly.
Katrina moved her fingers across the trackpad, covering her smile with her left hand as she read over the story again. She was going to have a sleepover with Liam.
Players: Liam, Katrina, Drake, Olivia
Series Rating/Warnings: PG-13/Mature 18+ (language/swearing; trigger warning – this series will include discussion of nonconsensual relations)
Chapter Summary: What if Liam was just a regular guy at college, living an ordinary life, searching for a connection? Sometimes fate finds a way. Homecoming has arrived, new feelings come to light, and wheels are set in motion.
Author’s Note: *All main characters belong to Pixelberry, I’m just borrowing them* Lyrics to “Let It Be Me” belong to Ray LaMontagne* Here we go kids, time to see if college Liam can do the thing. Catch up with previous chapters via my Master List page (see bio for link) because tumblr’s a butt.
Word Count: +/- 5300
Liam kept true to his word after Katrina shared her dark secret – things between them didn’t change, at least not in a negative way. She still called him every morning, and they continued to spend their free time together studying and talking. Liam noticed that she seemed lighter after sharing what happened to her, part of the immeasurable weight she’d been carrying on her shoulders having been cast away. Though it pained him to know what she’d endured, he was glad that confiding in him made her feel better.
It had been an innocent request a few days later – “Let’s go watch the Homecoming game together” – Drake casually said to them over lunch with Olivia. Liam noticed the way Katrina froze, nearly choking on the food in her mouth. He patted her back gently as she cleared her throat, leaning in to whisper in her ear.
“We don’t have to go, I can make something up and we can just hang out and watch movies all day if you want.”
Katrina kept a neutral expression on her face and shrugged her shoulders. “It would be weirder not to go. I should be okay as long as I’m with all of you,” she replied, taking a sip of water. “Maybe save the movie marathon for another weekend?” Liam smiled and nodded silently, and both of them resumed their meals.
As the foursome walked back to campus, Liam pulled back a few feet behind Drake and Olivia. “I have a question for you,” he said, glancing down at her.
“Kay.”
“Would you go to the Homecoming dance with me?”
Katrina stopped in her tracks on the sidewalk, paying no attention to the people that ‘tsk-ed’ at her for blocking the flow of foot traffic. She looked up at Liam, who turned back to look at her, but continued to walk on. After telling her body to move her feet and catch up, her brows knit together. “Are you asking me out…on a date?”
Liam chuckled, a satisfied smirk plastered across his face. “Nooo…I asked if you’d go to the dance with me.”
“You’re killin’ me Smalls,” she groaned, rolling her eyes. “But my answer is yes – I’ll go to the dance with you.”
---
It was a sunny Saturday morning in October when Katrina and Olivia met Liam and Drake in front of the boys’ dorm before heading to the football field. Everyone was clad in their school colors of baby blue and navy, despite Olivia’s protest that red was her color. She felt vindicated in her rebellion by opting to wear crimson red leather boots. At the game, they were lost in the sea of blue, cheering until their voices were strained and hoarse, fueled by too much beer and not enough food.
The game was close, and for most of the fourth quarter, everyone stood and cheered, watching the home team inch their way closer to the end zone. “Motherfu—” Katrina mumbled, standing on her toes. “I can’t see anything!”
“Aww, half pint can’t see the game!” Drake teased, patting the top of Katrina’s head.
She swatted his hand away, moving to stand on the bleachers, but it barely helped her to see over the tops of the very, very tall members of the basketball team that were in front of them. Liam sidestepped in front of her. “Hop on, Shortstack,” he teased.
“Are you serious right now?” she asked, mildly insulted.
“You wanna see the end of the game or not?” Liam flipped his baseball cap the right way around, raising his arms in the air. Katrina hopped onto his back, wrapped her arms around his neck, and gripped his shoulders as her legs closed around his long torso. Liam wrapped his hands under her knees to carry her, squeezing lightly as he adjusted his stance, and Katrina giggled and kicked one leg out, pressing herself against Liam’s back.
“Stop, I’m ticklish!”
“Is that so?” Liam playfully prodded the underside of Katrina’s knees with his fingers, and her feet flailed on either side of him as she squirmed, trying to break free without completely letting go. Hearing Katrina laugh was one of his new favorite sounds in the world, though his joy ended abruptly when she started thrashing and her heel came dangerously close to hitting him where no man wanted to be hit. He bent forward trying to counter her movements, losing his balance as he tried to right himself. She was still laughing and squirming around on his back, her fingers digging into his shoulders, and the altered center of gravity sent them toppling backwards.
Katrina landed on the bleachers with a hard THUD on her backside, Liam falling right on top of her so that her head collided against the shins of the people standing behind them. “OWWW!” She quickly apologized to the students behind her, and Liam scrambled to his feet before helping her up. Olivia and Drake looked down at their friends, shaking their heads and laughing.
“You two need to kiss again and just get it over with, seriously,” Olivia chided. Drake wrapped an arm around her waist and whispered in her ear, and she tilted her head back to laugh, kissing him on the cheek as they helped their friends stand up.
“Take two?” Liam asked, stepping in front of Katrina once more. “I won’t tickle you this time, you thrash around too much,” he laughed.
She flicked the back of his neck with her fingers, causing him to reflexively pull his shoulders forward, before hopping on his back once more. She was finally able to see the game, keeping one arm wrapped around Liam’s collar; his hands gripped the underside of her thighs, just above the knee. She barely paid attention to the game, focusing instead on the warmth from his hands pressing through her jeans, and a fluttering sensation rose up from her stomach until she felt like her ribs could no longer contain the lightness within her. The roar of the crowd grew faint in her ears, her attention focused on the scent of Liam’s cologne invading her nostrils. She closed her eyes as she committed the heady mixture of vanilla, sandalwood, and moss to memory, a tiny smile creeping its way across her face when she inhaled. The sound of Liam shouting broke her from her trance.
“Go, go, gooooo!” he cheered, bouncing them both as he pumped his knees. Her eyes shot open, catching a knowing look from Olivia before she turned her attention to the field, and Katrina felt her cheeks warm. The home team scored another touchdown, creating an even larger lead against the opposing team, and everyone would be in good spirits with a win. She cheered along with her friends and wrapped her arms in front of Liam’s broad chest, her hair cascading off one shoulder as he turned his head to smile at her.
---
“Are you sure I can’t give you at least a little something for the dress, Liv?” Katrina wrapped another section of hair around her fingers, sandwiching it between a piece of foil, and wrapped the curl in place. She repeated the process with the rest of her hair as she and Olivia prepped for the dance in Olivia’s room.
“Pshh, don’t worry about it,” Olivia replied, her own crimson locks swept up in an elegant updo, secured with a glittering ebony comb that looked like a dagger in her hair. Olivia had been kind enough to find and purchase a dress for her after searching her closet and coming up empty handed. “Liam’s not going to know what hit him when he sees you in that dress. When’s that idiot going to ask you out, anyway?” Her emerald eyes shot across the room as she tapped blush onto her cheeks.
Katrina sighed. “I don’t knooow,” she whined, wrapping up the last few locks of hair. “He says he’s saving it for the right moment, but it’s driving me insane.” She clamped one of her foiled locks with a flat iron, counting in her head before releasing it, then clamped another lock. “It’s been weeks, Liv. WEEKS. I know he wants to take things slow, but this is like…”
“Lingchi Torture? Death by a thousand cuts?”
“YES,” Katrina huffed. “That is…frighteningly specific,” she added, laughing nervously. “The way he looks at me sometimes, and,” she paused, “I don’t know if it’s me, but he’s such a flirt.”
Olivia’s lips curled up as she swept blush on her other cheek. “That’s all you, according to Drake.”
Katrina released the foiled lock between the plates and picked up another. “I get that he’s been hurt before and he wants to take things slow, and I’ve never had a friend like him before, but…” She hesitated to finish the sentence, unwilling to believe that Liam would be the type of person to lead someone along for no reason.
“To be fair, the last girl he dated was a real piece of work.” Olivia clicked her tongue as she continued applying makeup to her face. “This ice queen named Madeleine. No idea what he saw in her…thankfully it was short-lived when she got the attention she wanted from her target.”
“Who was her target? He vaguely mentioned the last girl he dated wasn’t that into him, and stopped seeing him out of nowhere.”
“She had eyes for the captain,” Olivia answered, pursing her lips in disapproval. “A few girls I know that know some of the guys on the team said it messed with his head for a while.”
“As in Liam’s captain? Of the basketball team?”
“That’s the one. From what Drake’s mentioned in passing, Liam moped for weeks…until he met you at that party.”
Katrina’s lips formed a tight line across her face as she continued “panini-ing” her hair, Olivia had teased. She’d asked about some of his exes, curious to know whether he stayed friends with any of them – they’d spent the better part of two months becoming friends, but Liam only ever talked about Drake, Olivia, and a few guys on the team. He told her that he usually parted amicably with who he dated in the past; at best they were acquaintances and he’d smile or make polite conversation if he ran into anyone on campus.
Anyone that hurt him – Madeleine seemed to fall into this category – he would cut ties with, preferring not to have that reminder in his life. Madeleine had dated Liam and then dumped him for the captain of his own team. Katrina thought she sounded like a status climber; only interested in being at the top for her own personal gain. How anyone could use someone as wonderful as Liam was beyond Katrina’s comprehension.
Olivia carefully applied false lashes to her eyelids as she finished getting ready, and Katrina stepped into the bathroom to change into her dress. She hooked the halter neckline at the back of her neck and smoothed down the ombre tulle fabric covered in silver glitter. Standing in front of the sink, she pried open the foil wrappings from her hair, letting her jet-black curls fall loosely around her. She gently used her fingers to separate the coils to relaxed waves, smoothing down a deep side part. If her hair was shorter she could’ve gone full Rita Hayworth, but she liked the Old Hollywood effect it had nonetheless. She returned to Olivia’s room, holding her hands up at her sides, and Olivia turned around with a pleased smirk on her face. “If Liam doesn’t ask you out on a date after tonight, I’ll slap him myself.”
There was a knock at the door as Katrina and Olivia packed what they needed into their clutches, and Olivia opened the door to let the guys in. Drake and Liam stepped inside, looking dapper in their suits. Drake took Olivia’s hand and spun her around, planting a sweet kiss to her lips as she met his gaze. Liam took one look at Katrina and rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly at her. A hint of color started to creep from the collar of his crisp, black shirt up his neck, and he held up a clear box containing a corsage. “It might be old fashioned, but I…got this for you,” he stammered, his voice wavering with nervous energy. “You look beautiful, by the way.”
Katrina’s eyes twinkled and she smiled at him. “Thank you. You’re looking very sharp tonight,” she commented, gesturing at his dark suit. “You too, Drake.”
“Yes, we all look amazing, let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” Drake leaned over to Olivia and kissed her earlobe, whispering something in her ear that made her playfully hit him with her clutch.
“May I?” Liam asked, opening the plastic container. Katrina held out her hand and he slipped the small trio of white orchids on her wrist.
“It’s lovely,” she murmured, turning her wrist to admire the flowers. She grabbed a wrap from her things, and Liam held the door open as they left the room, Olivia locking the door behind her.
---
Katrina and Liam danced the night away in the hotel ballroom, filled with their classmates. She introduced him to friends from some of her classes, and they hung out with several of his teammates when taking breaks from poor song choices. She noticed a tall, leggy blonde looking at her with a sour face for most of the night, though she kept her distance with an equally tall upperclassman on her arm. Katrina turned away from Liam, who was chatting with one of his friends at the table. “Marcus, who’s the tall guy and the bitchy blonde?” she asked the young man sitting next to her.
“That’d be our team captain, Travis Howard,” Marcus answered. “And I’m pretty sure you know who his date is, considering who you’re here with.” His eyebrows shot up as he nodded in Liam’s direction.
“That’s what I thought,” she replied, pulling her lips into a tense line.
The song changed to something upbeat, and Liam rose up from his seat as he grinned at Katrina, extending a hand to her. They returned to the dance floor and soon it filled with students all around them. Liam moved closer to Katrina as their bodies moved to the beat, moreso to keep her from bumping into anyone else, but she caught the half smile on his face before she spun around in her heels. She took a step back until she felt Liam against her, one of his hands falling to her hip, the pressure of his touch causing her skin to warm under the layers of tulle. His other hand grazed the back of her neck, sweeping her hair over the opposite shoulder, and two fingers lightly traced down the exposed skin on her back. She hoped that the music was loud enough to cover the gasp that escaped her throat, feeling both of his strong hands on her hips as their bodies moved in tandem to the beat.
She closed her eyes as she lost herself to the hypnotic notes of the song, swaying her hips as Liam matched her movements. Rolling her shoulders back, she leaned against his chest, smiling to herself as his fingers dug into her skin and bunched up the fabric of her dress around her waist. She pivoted around, keeping one foot in place so that she faced him, and they continued their silent game. She bit her bottom lip as she looked up at him; half his mouth pulled back in a smirk as his eyes met hers before moving further south. She swung one arm up to rest on the back of his neck, rubbing the soft, short hair there, and Liam licked his lips. Just as his hand wrapped around her waist to pull her in, someone stepped on her toes. HARD.
Katrina shot a look over her shoulder at the guilty party and saw none other than Madeleine as she turned and danced with her date, pretending that nothing had happened. Liam saw the annoyed look on Katrina’s face and tried to shift so that he stood between her and his ex, but it didn’t take long for Madeleine to work her way close to Katrina again as the crowd ebbed and flowed with the music. This time Madeleine hip-checked her, Liam grabbing Katrina’s other hip to keep her from falling over. He leaned down and pressed his face to her ear, his warm breath making her skin tingle. “Let’s go somewhere else, she’s just going to keep doing this if we stay here.” There was the lightest sheen of sweat across his warm skin, and she could smell the intoxicating blend of his cologne and him as her heart fluttered in her chest the way it did at the football game.
Katrina shook her head, lightly tapping Liam’s cheek with her hand. “Nuh uh,” she muttered. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and tapped Madeleine on the shoulder, digging the tips of her nails into Madeleine’s shoulder harder than necessary.
Madeleine whipped around, pretending not to see Katrina, laughing coldly as she glanced down. “Can I help you, little girl?”
“You can apologize, for starters,” Katrina seethed. “I know you pushed me.”
“It’s a crowded dance floor,” Madeleine replied, rolling her eyes. “You can leave if you can’t handle a little bump.”
“I don’t know what your game is, Madeleine,” Katrina hissed. Madeleine’s eyes widened in surprise, unaware that Katrina knew her name. “But you can stop right now.” Liam and Travis exchanged awkward looks with one another, before Travis lightly wrapped his hand around the inside of Madeleine’s elbow, trying to pull her away.
“Travis, I have this!” she exclaimed, yanking her arm away. Other dancers around them stepped back and started watching their exchange. “I don’t know what your problem is—”
“My problem is you,” Katrina interrupted, “trying to ruin a perfectly good evening by stomping all over me like you own the dance floor.”
“Liam, really,” Madeleine scoffed. “Can’t you keep the trash you date in line?”
Liam stared at Madeleine in disbelief as the students around them gasped and jeered. His eyes turned dark and the muscle along his jawline twitched as he clenched his teeth. It was easy to see that he was trying to control himself before responding, and Katrina calmly placed her hand around one of his closed fists, squeezing once, though her own hand trembled. She narrowed her stormy grey eyes at Madeleine, tilting her head up to look her in the eyes as best as she could. “First of all, Liam and I are here as friends,” she began, baring her teeth in a forced smile. “Second, you realize that you just called yourself trash, because between the two of us, you’re the only one that dated him.”
The crowd around them began to snicker and laugh at the revelation, and Madeleine’s porcelain skin took on a scarlet hue upon realizing the error of her words. She opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water, failing to pull together a comeback. Katrina craned her neck past Madeleine to look at her date. “I don’t know you, but I’d watch my back around her,” she added, pointing a curled finger in Madeleine’s direction. “If she was willing to use someone as sweet and genuine as Liam just to get to you, she could be doing the same with you to get to someone else.”
The crowd jeered again and Madeleine stepped up to Katrina, making her lean back in place. “I don’t know who you think you are, you little gutter rat,” she hissed, jabbing a finger near Katrina’s collarbone. “But you should watch your tongue.”
“Bitch, I’m half Irish, you wanna settle this right now?” Katrina’s heart was pumping and pulsing blood through her limbs, and she’d quickly removed the dangly earrings from her ears along with the corsage on her wrist. She stretched her arm behind her, her eyes never leaving Madeleine’s stare. “Liam, hold my things!” She felt Liam’s hand around hers to retrieve the items, but he kept a firm grasp on her wrist.
“Trina, we should go,” he urged gently. “I think she gets the point,” he whispered in Katrina’s ear, before pulling back to stand upright. “Isn’t that right, Madeleine?” His voice was harsher, louder, almost commanding. Liam placed his hands on Katrina’s shoulders as he stood behind her, protecting her or keeping her from lashing out further, she couldn’t tell.
Madeleine straightened up, still staring at Katrina, before flitting her gaze up at Liam. “Understood.” She took a step back from the two of them, and Travis reappeared behind her. He brusquely led her off the dance floor through the crowd that had gathered.
Liam kept his grasp on Katrina’s shoulders, nudging her off the dance floor to where Drake and Olivia were standing at the edge of the crowd, and they made their way out of the ballroom to the hotel lobby. Katrina’s heart was still racing and there was a pounding sensation in her head as Olivia took her hand and led her to a powder room, where she grabbed a stack of paper towels and wet them, placing them on the back of Katrina’s neck. Katrina grabbed the towels and pressed them to her forehead, resting her elbows on her knees as she sat down in a plush chair.
She closed her eyes and took slow, deep breaths. Slowly, her heart stopped racing, and the pounding sensation in her head ceased. Olivia handed her another cold, wet stack of paper towels, and Katrina tossed the first set in a trash can before pressing the cold cloths to one side of her temple.
“Were you seriously going to fight Madeleine in the middle of the dance floor?”
Katrina stifled a wry laugh. “Yes? No? I’m not sure,” she replied, shaking her head. “Probably? If she tried anything.”
“I have so much more respect for you,” Olivia answered back, an amused tone in her voice. “It’s like my parents used to say, ‘If you can breathe, you can stand…if you can stand, you can fight’…and you looked like you were ready to fight for Liam’s honor… or maybe his heart?” She arched one of her impeccable brows in the air to go with her question.
Katrina sat up and sighed, tossing the wad of paper towels into the trash can with a flick of her wrist. “It just makes my blood boil that someone as nice and decent and wonderful as Liam would be treated so horribly by someone like…her.”
“Look at it this way, if she’d seen how great he is, you probably wouldn’t have met him the way you did at the party, and you wouldn’t be here with him tonight.”
“Good point. I dunno Liv,” she sighed again. “I’m starting to feel things that I shouldn’t feel if I’m just supposed to be friends with him.”
“What sort of feelings?”
“These…jealous type of feelings. The kind that make me irrationally angry seeing his ex in the same room… the kind that have started to make my heart ache when I have to say goodbye to him at the end of the night when he walks me back to my dorm, and make me smile like an idiot when I call him every morning before dawn to wake him.”
Olivia turned and looked in the mirror, tucking her hair into place. “Sounds like you’re starting to fall for him.”
Katrina stood up and looked at her reflection in the mirror, fixing her hair. “Yeah. Only we haven’t gone on a real date, and our first kiss was a half-baked ploy to avoid my ex, which didn’t even work.” She tucked her hair behind one ear, then grabbed her earlobes. “My earrings!”
Olivia tapped her shoulder. “Liam has them outside. Let’s go back, maybe I can talk Drake into one last dance if they play a slow song.”
They exited the powder room and found Drake and Liam waiting for them in the hallway, smiling as they approached. Drake pretended to punch Katrina’s shoulder. “Who knew you were so feisty?”
“Like I told Blondie, I’m half Irish,” Katrina answered, laughing as they walked back to the ballroom. “Feisty’s in my DNA.” Liam stuck his hand in his shirt pocket and placed Katrina’s earrings in her palm, brushing the tips of his fingers across her open hand. They made their way back to the table where Drake and Liam left their jackets. “Thanks for holding on to these for me,” she said, putting the earrings back on. “What’d you do with the corsage?”
Liam carefully pulled the corsage from his pants pocket. “You don’t have to wear it anymore if you don’t want to,” he offered. “I noticed your wrist is a little red.”
“Oh, that’s probably just the elastic.” She grimaced a bit, trying to cover the red stripe across her wrist where the corsage had been most of the night. The flowers were beautiful, but the elastic was always itchy and too tight for anyone that wore them. They sat down in a pair of empty chairs while Olivia and Drake went to the bar for drinks. She opened her clutch and retrieved a pair of bobby pins. “How about we turn it into a boutonnière for the rest of the night so it doesn’t go to waste?” Liam watched as she used the bobby pins to pin it to the outer breast pocket of his suit jacket. “Perfect,” she said almost to herself, a pleasant smile on her face. She turned in the chair so she faced him, leaning against the back with one arm as she kicked her heels off under the dress.
They looked at one another in a comfortable silence, Katrina unsure of what to say while Liam’s eyes moved back and forth between her and the crowd dancing behind her. He licked his lips and she saw his Adam’s apple move before he leaned in to speak to her over the loud beat of the music in the ballroom. “What you did earlier, standing up to Madeleine like that…”
“I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable,” she began to explain.
Liam looked into her eyes as he took hold of her hand. “No, you don’t need to apologize for that. I was going to say, the only other person – not counting Drake when we’ve been out and someone’s had a few drinks too many – “ he laughed. “The only other person to stand up the way you did was…well…my mother,” Liam laughed again.
“What do you mean?”
“I uh, I used to get picked on a lot in elementary school,” he explained. “Small town and all, I was different from the kids in my class. So I got picked on, and my mom would come to the school and argue with the Principal that they should punish the kids that teased me. Every single time. Until I decided that I could fend for myself…I mean if my tiny Mom could stand up to the Principal, I could stand up to the kids that were picking on me, right?”
“Right…so I remind you of your mom?” Katrina bit her bottom lip as her brows knit together, trying to understand.
“Sort of,” he replied, looking up at her with a shy smile. “I…appreciate that you were ready to throw down against Madeleine if it came to that. And…I think you’re pretty sweet too, Trina.”
Katrina tried to fight the smile making its way across her lips, but it was a losing battle. “Caught that, did ya?” she teased.
Liam placed his hands on hers as he looked into her eyes. “That I did, you sparkly ball of rage,” he teased back. His head quirked up as the music changed to a slow song, and he glanced at his watch. “I think this is the last song of the night,” he said, standing up from the chair and extended his hand to Katrina once more. “Will you do me the honor?”
Katrina took Liam’s hand and rose from the chair, using him to balance herself as she slipped her feet back into her heels, and they walked over to the dance floor. They noticed Drake and Olivia a few feet away, shifting around in a lazy circle as they danced together. She was about to reach up and wrap her hands around the back of his neck and dance in a similar manner, but Liam took her right hand in his left, and gently raised her left arm with his right arm under hers, until they were in a waltz position. “I umm… I don’t think I know the proper steps,” she said nervously.
“It’s a really simple box step, just follow my lead,” he assured her. “Just mirror my feet, and I’ll do the rest.” He began counting off the steps as they moved, and Katrina found herself being whirled around a small space of the floor as Liam waltzed effortlessly with her. She faltered a few times, and Liam slowed down. “Don’t look at your feet,” he said, his voice just above a whisper. “Look here.” He tilted her chin up with his hand so they looked each other in the eye, before supporting her arm again.
Katrina gazed into his deep brown eyes as he led her around again, noticing the way the corners of his eyes wrinkled as he smiled at her. She hardly noticed that he’d stopped counting off the steps, until she heard him quietly singing along to the song. Liam’s voice was tender and earnest, as though the words were meant just for her to hear. Feeling her eyes start to water, she blinked furiously to keep any tears at bay as Liam continued to sing to her while they glided across the floor.
You feel like you’d give anything // for just a little place you can call your own // that’s when you need someone // someone that you, you can call // when all your faith is gone // it feels like you can’t go on // Let it be me // Let it be me // If it’s a friend you need // Let it be me // Let it be me
As the song came to an end, Liam winked at her and twirled her round before leaning forward to dip her, and Katrina laughed. If she was unsure of where her feelings towards Liam were before the evening began, she knew where she stood now. In his arms, Katrina was finally starting to feel safe.
---
The next morning, Liam went through his usual weekend routine. Katrina called him at 7 AM instead of 5:30 AM, and he went for a run. He strolled through a park on the way back to campus, taking in the quiet sounds of the city waking up around him, wishing that he could watch the sun rise with Katrina. Only an hour had passed and he wanted to hear her voice again, but he knew she was fast asleep.
After taking his time getting ready, reading in bed, and scrolling through a few candid photos of her on his phone, Liam got out of bed and scrolled through his contacts until he found the name he was looking for. His eyes darted over to the corsage and bobby pins sitting on his desk, and he smiled to himself as he pressed the green call button before stepping into the hallway. On the other side of the room, Drake had his head buried under pillows. The other end of the line trilled three times before a familiar voice greeted him.
“Morning Momma,” he uttered quietly into the phone, making his way to a communal lounge on the floor. “I’m fine, how are you and Dad? And the dogs?” Liam paused to listen to his mother’s voice on the other end of the call, stretching in front of a window. “I just wanted to say hi, and to thank you, Momma. For the dance lessons you made me take when I was younger. They um, finally got put to use.” Liam smiled as he scratched the back of his head with his free hand, then pushed the bridge of his glasses up. “I met a girl, Momma, and she’s…she’s everything,” he mused, leaning against the windowpane. “You’ll never believe what happened when I took her to a dance last night…”
Players: Liam, Katrina, Drake, OCs Connor, Lisette
Warnings: PG-13 (language/swearing; trigger warning – innuendo/discussion of nonconsensual relations)
Summary: What if Liam was just a regular guy at college, living an ordinary life, searching for a connection? Sometimes fate finds a way.
Author’s Note: *All main characters belong to Pixelberry, I’m just borrowing them* Here we go kids, time to see if college Liam can do the thing. Includes Fluffy Friday prompts “Just one drink” and “she’s with me” .:. ROLLIN INTO FLUFF WAR 2018 .:. Part 1 can be found in my Master List page (see bio for link) because tumblr’s a butt.
Word Count: +/- 3100
Liam flipped the glossy dollar bill over in his hands, his eyes scanning over the ten digits scribbled on the back. Six days had passed since his encounter with the mysterious girl that he met – and kissed – at a house party. One hundred forty-one hours since he’d looked into her stormy grey eyes and smelled the intoxicating floral perfume on her neck. Eight thousand four hundred and sixty some odd minutes had passed after locking lips with a complete stranger on a whim, only to feel like the world dissolved all around them for the brief moment that their lips touched over and over again.
He shook his head, unsure of what made him think that laminating the dollar she’d given him was a good idea. He texted her Sunday afternoon – too soon, according to Drake – just to say hello, so that she’d have his number. What Drake didn’t know was that Liam had tapped out messages and deleted them since Saturday morning, and the text he sent was accidental. It was odd when he saw the little mail icon appear on the screen within seconds, and his heart dropped into his gut when he read “Liam who?” – only to be followed by a wink and “I was wondering if I’d hear from you” – before his heart jumped back into place in his chest, beating a little faster.
They spent the week texting each other in a never-ending game of 20 Questions. He’d text her something like “coffee or tea” after his morning run, with her reply arriving mid-afternoon as an amusing “ALWAYS/sometimes Earl Grey.” He never seemed to catch sight of her on campus as he walked to class or the dining hall.
Drake assured him that she did in fact exist, once he saw Olivia in class on Wednesday. She lives in one of the dorms at the far end of campus and takes late afternoon and evening classes because she’s an insomniac. She has a class in Monroe Hall Thursdays at 6 PM. That was all the kindling Liam needed before initiating the next round of 20 Questions.
After going for a run to calm his nerves, Liam showered and dressed for his not-quite-a-date with Katrina. He slipped into a pair of dark jeans and pulled a white undershirt over his head, hanging a green button down shirt on the back of his closet door. Drake walked in as he was putting on a pair of boots, raising a curious eyebrow as Liam finished getting dressed. “Where are you headed?”
“I have a—” Liam stopped short. Not a date, we never said it was a date. “I’m meeting up with Katrina after her class.”
A smug grin spread across Drake’s face. “A date?”
“Just one drink, maybe some pool,” Liam answered, pulling the green shirt off its hanger. “Never actually said it was a date.”
“But you’re seeing her in the evening…over drinks, while enjoying an activity together, and it just happens to be around dinnertime,” Drake teased.
“Shut. Up.” Liam rolled up his shirt sleeves a few times and tucked the hem of the shirt into his pants.
“Dude, did she or did she not ask you to make out just minutes after meeting each other?”
The back of Liam’s neck felt hot as he replayed kissing Katrina that night for the hundredth time since it happened. He scratched his neck before slipping his wallet in a back pocket and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to ignore his friend staring at him with the smug look across his face. “That was…she saw her ex at the party and thought that would help, somehow,” he chuckled. “I wasn’t going to argue with her.” Satisfied with the haphazardly roguish look of his hair, he wiped his hands clean on the towel hanging at the foot of his bed frame before slipping his phone and keys into his pockets. He pulled a grey hoodie from his closet and made his way to the door.
“Heh. For your sake I hope her ex shows up wherever you’re just meeting her on your not-date tonight,” Drake replied, before falling into his own bed.
Liam smirked and picked up the basketball near the door, chucking it at Drake with more force than necessary. “Have a good night, brother,” he said over his shoulder.
---
Liam arrived at Hyperion a few minutes before 8 and walked through the door, quickly scanning the crowd for Katrina. He saw a dainty hand high in the air towards the back. Craning his neck slightly, a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he recognized her, already racking up balls on one of the pool tables. He shrugged off his hoodie as he walked across the small dance floor in front of the stage, smiling as he stood before Katrina. “Would’ve waited at the door, but a table opened up right when I got here,” she said, rubbing chalk on the end of a cue. “Hope you play.”
“You’re on,” he replied, tossing his hoodie on a nearby stool. “Should I order a pitcher to start?” He motioned at the bar with his thumbs.
Katrina bit her bottom lip – god that’s cute – and cast her eyes at the bar. “Could you order a Granny Smith cider for me? We’ll settle up after we play.”
Liam nodded and walked over to the bar to order their drinks. He leaned against the fixture as he waited, casting a glance over at Katrina. She’d worn a pair of form fitting jeans and a charcoal grey sweater that seemed to bring out her eyes, even from their current distance. He paid for the drinks – making sure to leave the twist-off cap on Katrina’s cider – and noticed one of the football players approach the pool table. Narrowing his eyes, Liam watched as the muscled blonde stood too close to Katrina, the young man’s eyes darting up and down her figure. Liam gripped the handle of the pitcher tightly in his hand and his jaw clenched. The interloper traced one side of her face with a curled finger, and Liam wanted to drop what was in his hands and rush over to her.
He smirked with pleasure as Katrina pressed the pool cue directly into the blonde’s throat, making him gag in response. Liam strode over as quickly as he could without spilling the contents of the pitcher, setting everything on a table against the wall as the blonde held his hands up and took a step back. The two young men stared at each other, Liam’s eyes narrowing into dark slits; Connor Matthews. He was notorious for hitting on girls whether they gave him their attention or not. Connor looked back at him with an arrogant smile. “Rys, good game last week. You actually managed to score a few points there…shorty.”
Liam took a deep breath, rolled his shoulders back, and tilted his neck until it cracked. “Matthews,” he said, stepping in front of Katrina, “I don’t think your company is welcome here.”
“I don’t recall you being a part of my conversation with…what’d John like to call you? Kitty. He always said you were easy…on the eyes.”
Liam’s jaw twitched again and he stood his ground. “I’d stop talking if I were you,” he warned, his voice low in his throat. Liam could feel blood pulsing through the veins in his neck as his hands curled into fists. “She’s with me.”
Matthews arched his brow at Liam. “Is that so?” He leaned over to look at Katrina standing behind him, her hands on her hips as she glared back. “Why slum it with a point guard when you could party with me, Kitty?” He raised his hand as if he was going to grab Katrina’s hand.
Liam pushed Matthews’ hand away and leaned to block his view. “That’s enough, Matthews,” Liam growled through his teeth. You’re insulting her and taking a dig at me, and you think that’s going to sway her? He felt Katrina’s hand wrap around his wrist, tugging lightly at his arm.
“It’s okay, Liam,” she said. Liam shifted his weight to the right and in one swift motion, Katrina tossed the pitcher of beer directly into Matthews’ face, soaking him from head to toe. “You and John and anyone else in your group aren’t going to say another word to me and my friend…or I’ll follow through and meet with Dean Wilson.”
Matthews lunged forward, seething “You bitch” through his teeth.
Liam grabbed hold of his shoulders and pushed him back. “Back away, man. Just back away,” he warned, pressing his feet into the ground. A pair of barbacks rushed over after seeing the commotion.
“What the hell’s going on here?” The barbacks hooked their arms around Matthews to restrain him.
“It was a misunderstanding,” Liam replied. “The lady and I were just leaving.” Liam took out his wallet and left a few bills on the pool table. “Sorry for the mess.” He turned to grab his hoodie, but Katrina was already clutching it in her arms, along with a messenger bag strapped across her chest. He held his hand out to her, and she grabbed hold of it. They walked out of the bar as the men held on to Matthews to calm him down, and Liam grabbed a coaster as he passed an empty table, slipping it into his back pocket.
---
Outside the building, Katrina walked quickly back to campus in silence. Being a foot taller than her, Liam’s long legs easily kept up with her pace. “Hey,” he said gently, tugging on her hand. “Are you okay? What was that back there?”
Katrina sighed and she pulled her hand away from Liam, fidgeting with her hair as they continued walking. She piled her long raven locks into a ponytail and twisted it into a messy bun, securing it with a hair tie around her wrist. “I…” she began, before closing her mouth. “John, my ex, he…” she paused, kicking against the pavement. Her gaze fell to her feet, and Liam could hear her breath catch in her throat. She sniffed loudly, confirming his guess that she’d begun to cry.
“Hey,” he said softly. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her, but he gently grasped her shoulder instead. Trying to look into her eyes, he spoke again. “Did he…hurt you?”
Katrina’s bottom lip quivered and she darted her eyes away from Liam, even though she wasn’t looking at him. “I’m sorry…I can’t…” she said, her voice small.
“I’m going to hug you now, if that’s okay,” he replied. She nodded, wiping tears away with the back of her hand. Liam stepped closer to Katrina, so that their toes touched. They stood in the middle of the quiet sidewalk, and he wrapped his arms around her small frame, pressing her close to his chest. He only relished in a small twinge of pleasure when she put her arms around his torso. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he said, resting his chin on the top of her head, “and I know you hardly know me, but I’ll listen, if you ever want to talk about it.”
Liam was no stranger to the rumors whispered across campus about the frat houses and some of the athletic teams – namely football and rugby, though the baseball team was almost as bad. Girls would throw themselves at the players, and they took advantage of that at parties. It was inexcusable behavior to Liam, but Drake reminded him that they were cut from a different cloth than most of the guys they went to school with. A consensual hookup was one thing, but waiting until someone was on the edge of blacking out, or slipping something in their drink – it was one of the reasons he never liked going to parties and kept caps on bottles when offering someone a drink.
“Thank you Liam,” she replied, mumbling into his shirt. He felt her arms tighten around him for a second before she pulled back, and he let go of her. I like the way we fit together. “I might take you up on that offer some day.” Katrina licked her lips and wiped more tears from her face, taking a deep breath to calm down.
“I will drop whatever I’m doing, whenever you’re ready to talk.” I promise.
Katrina quirked one side of her mouth into a grin. “What if I called you while you were in the middle of a game or something?”
Liam chuckled. “Well, as soon as I could see that you called, I’d go to you. Even if it meant leaving the game.” He puckered his lips slightly and knit his brows together. “How do you know I’m on a team?”
“Dude, look at you,” she answered, finally casting her eyes up to meet his. Even though they were red-rimmed from crying, her eyes sparkled under the streetlamp. “Besides, Liv tipped me off about you when we left the party last week.”
“Figured as much.” He smiled and offered his arm to her. “Sorry the night didn’t quite work out. Can I at least walk you back home?”
Katrina finally cracked a giggle; it was the best sound Liam had heard all evening. “I, um…okay,” she replied, looping her hand to rest on the inside of his elbow. They resumed their walk back to campus. “Thank you, by the way…for trying to get Connor to back off.”
Liam let out a tense sigh. “He’s an asshole, and he was out of line with you. He shouldn’t have said what he did.” Katrina didn’t respond, but he felt her squeeze his arm in agreement.
Katrina changed the topic to something lighter as they walked back to campus, her hand steady on Liam’s arm the whole way back. She smiled to herself when he insisted on walking her all the way back to her room, instead of parting ways in front of her building. “Are you trying to find out my room number?” she teased.
“I’m a man of my word, dear lady,” Liam joked, bowing at the waist. “I said I’d walk you back home, and you’re not quite home yet.”
Katrina rolled her eyes, waving her ID in front of the card reader until it made a clicking noise, and opened the door. “Come on then,” she said, gesturing for him to follow. Liam followed her into the building, up the stairwell and through a hallway, until she reached her room on the fourth floor. She turned to face him, her back against the door. “You have officially walked me home safely,” she said, handing over his hoodie.
Liam flung the hoodie over one shoulder, clasping his hands behind his back. He didn’t want the night to end, but didn’t want to invite himself into her room either. You should have suggested going somewhere else to eat, idiot.
Katrina pulled a slim wallet from her back pocket, unfolding a few bills. “What do I owe you for the drinks that we never got to drink?”
Liam reached out and put his hand over hers, curling her fingers shut. “Call it an IOU for the future,” he said, taking a half step towards her. She lowered her gaze before looking back up at him, trying to resist the smile that was spreading across her face.
“You want to hang out again? After tonight’s scene?”
He gently moved his hand from hers to tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear. “Yes, if that’s okay with you.” She leaned back against the door as his hand splayed across the wood, just behind her ear. He leaned in slightly – not enough to trap her against the door, but enough to imply that he might kiss her again, if she let him.
Katrina bit her bottom lip again, looking up at him through her lashes. If he hadn’t been looking down at her already, he would have missed seeing her hips arch in his direction ever so slightly. “I’d like that, Liam,” she replied. God, the way she says my name. He leaned in closer to kiss her, before he felt the door give way against his hand. “What th—” Katrina’s eyes opened wide, and she fell backwards as the door opened.
Liam stepped forward, instinctively wrapping his arms behind her to catch her, and put his weight on his bent leg. “Oh! Sorry!” He looked up to see a brunette in running gear, pulling earbuds from her ears. “I didn’t know you were back from your date so soon, Kat!”
Date? She thought it was a date. She thought it was a date!
Liam pulled Katrina up, grinning at her and her roommate. “Lis, shhh!” Katrina hissed. She nervously brushed off her clothes and adjusted the weight of her messenger bag. “Liam, this is my roommate Lisette, er...Lis,” she said, gesturing at the girl standing in the doorway. “Lis, this is Liam.”
“Nice to meet you.” Liam smiled and extended his hand.
“Hot. Uh...Hi! I mean hi!” Lisette covered her mouth with her hand as Liam smiled even wider, and she shook his hand quickly. “Don’t mind me, just going to the gym! Okay bye kids!” She scurried down the hall, leaving Liam and Katrina alone in front of her room again.
“Never a dull moment with you,” Liam mused. Katrina smiled sheepishly at him. “So, you told your roommate you were going out on a date?”
“What? No! She – I…she came to that conclusion on her own!” Katrina’s cheeks started to turn a bright shade of pink.
Liam grinned at how easy it was to fluster Katrina. “It’s okay,” he assured her. “When I ask you out on a date, you’ll know it’s a date.”
“I…what?”
“You’ll know when it’s a date when I ask ‘will you go on a date with me’.” He looked down at her adorably confused face, lost somewhere between pure confusion and joy. “Tonight’s not that night though. I want to know what makes you tick, Katrina…Bailey,” he added, looking at the colorful sign on the door that displayed her name. “I promise you that I will ask you to go on a date with me in the future…and I keep all my promises.” He took hold of her hand in his, drawing it to his lips, and placed a gentle kiss across her knuckles before letting go. “Night!” He smiled and walked down the hall and through one of the hallway doors, leaving Katrina dumbstruck in the hallway.
Once on the other side of the door, Liam leaned against the wall to catch his breath. She thought it was a date. She thought it was a date. He heard Katrina’s voice on the other side of the door as she talked to herself – “What. Just. HAPPENED.” – before hearing a door open and close, and he laughed to himself. My thoughts exactly.
Tagged (let me know if you’d like to be added to/removed from this series): @likethetailofacomet @ooo-barff-ooo @brightpinkpeppercorn @mind-reader1 @endlessly-searching-for-you @agent-bossypants @katurrade @alj4890 @angelicfangirl @annekebbphotography @bella-ca @bowful @coldcollectornight08 @cordonianredruby @fullbeaumonty @furiousherringoperatortoad @hhiggs @hopefulmoonobject @i-choose-liam @liamxs-world @lodberg @marywrites-things @missevabean @mynameiskaylabella @nekkidmolerat @pixieferry @romanticatheart-posts @sarwin85 @sleepwalkingelite @smalltalk88 @thecordoniandiaries @umccall71 @jlouise88 @littleblossom-18 @blackcatkita @jovialyouthmusic @akrenich @debramcg1106 @innerpostmentality
Serendipity Part 3 - Hey Cheerleader, Give It A Try
Players: Liam Rys, Katrina Bailey
Rating/Warnings: PG-13/Mature 18+ (language/swearing; trigger warning – this series will include discussion of nonconsensual relations)
Summary: What if Liam was just a regular guy at college, living an ordinary life, searching for a connection? Sometimes fate finds a way. Liam and Katrina settle into a comfortable rhythm as friends.
Author’s Note: *All main characters belong to Pixelberry, I’m just borrowing them* Here we go kids, time to see if college Liam can do the thing. NO CANON STORYLINE HERE FOLKS, I’m making it up as I go along. Catch up via my Master List page (see bio for link) because tumblr’s a butt. Lotsa fluff + flirting in this chapter.
Word Count: +/- 2500
In the weeks following Liam and Katrina’s non-date at the bar, they found more ways to make time for each other in their schedules. She started calling him at 5:30 in the morning to wake him up for his morning run – Drake was extremely thankful for this change – since she never slept at night. Her voice was the first thing Liam heard in the morning, and his was the last voice she heard before drifting off to sleep for a few hours.
Katrina told him where she worked – a little coffee and juice shop in SoHo – and Liam soon found himself planning afternoon running routes in her neighborhood, stopping in to say hello, conveniently ending his run near the end of her shifts. She’d have a decaf drink or recovery smoothie ready for him and they’d walk back to campus together. It was during those walks that they got to know one another, sharing little snapshots of who they were before arriving in New York.
Liam was from a small town in Michigan; he chose New York for the athletic scholarship, but with each passing basketball season he felt his chances of being recruited becoming less likely. He had an older brother, Leo, who dropped out of college to “find himself” on some sort of backpacking trip through Europe. Leo’s year abroad turned into several years, picking up odd jobs to save up enough money to keep traveling. Liam felt like everything rested on his shoulders to finish school and find a good job to look after his parents, even though they told him to focus on what made him happy.
Katrina grew up in Boston with her younger sister Josephine, along with her father. Her parents divorced when she was 8 or 9; her mother moved to the West Coast and essentially forgot about her and Josie so she could start a new family with another man. Katrina didn’t seem to care, telling Liam that her father filled the single parent role with ease, making sure that she and Josie always had enough. He went to every soccer game and music recital for them, every theater performance and track meet, and even attended football games to watch Katrina cheer.
“You were a cheerleader?” he asked, arching his brow at her with a flirty grin. They were walking across West Houston Street, headed north back to campus. “I’m going to need proof of that.”
She smiled and kept her eyes trained forward as they crossed the street. “Not here.”
“Come on, not even a chant?” He nudged her with his elbow.
“Not even if you belted out a show tune, Kenickie,” she teased.
“I told you about that in confidence!” He pulled the hair clip out of Katrina’s hair, causing her long obsidian locks to flow down past her shoulders. Liam started jogging backwards ahead of her.
“Hey!” she shouted, giving chase. He flashed her a smile before he turned around and took off in a sprint, Katrina running after him as fast as she could. They both dodged past people on the sidewalk, Liam waiting for her at the end of the block having hardly broken a sweat. Katrina was pink in the face, huffing short bursts of air with her hands on her knees. “You know I hate running,” she panted. “Josie’s the track star. I’m the peppy drama nerd.”
“Prove it, let’s see a high kick. Herkie. Back tuck. Something,” Liam smiled at her, dangling the hair clip out of reach.
“How do you even know those terms?!” She jumped again, her fingers grazing the edge of the clip as Liam taunted her.
“I was friends with cheerleaders at my school, they cheered at the basketball games too.” He laughed at Katrina’s futile efforts to grab the clip. “Might have been persuaded to do a routine or two for pep rallies,” he added, with a wink.
“Whoa whoa whoa, I’m gonna need to see proof of THAT,” she mocked, waving her hands at him. “Also, I refuse to risk touching the street with my hands if I don’t stick a landing.” Liam pouted slightly, letting his arm drop a few inches. She took that as an opportunity to jump for the clip again, just as someone hurriedly bumped past her on the sidewalk, knocking her into Liam.
“Whoa!” He grabbed hold of her shoulders as he tried to steady himself, but the inertia of Katrina moving into him was too much, and he winced as his back slammed into the crosswalk post. Her forearms landed squarely on his chest as she tried to block her fall.
“Are you okay?” Katrina regained her footing, pulling Liam away from the post.
“Yeah…that was unpleasant.” He rubbed at a spot on his back after handing Katrina her hairclip. They crossed the street as she twisted her hair up once again. “Surely my injury is worthy of seeing a pike-out now, right?”
“You don’t know when to quit, do you?”
“Nope. You like it, admit it.”
“Persistent.”
“Yes, yes I am.” He looked over as she smiled at him. A few minutes later they arrived at Liam’s dorm, and he held the door open for her to walk in. It had become another one of their routines; if Katrina didn’t have night class or a night shift, she’d have dinner with Liam and they’d hang out in his room. Sometimes they’d watch a movie, but most nights they’d study together, and he’d walk her to her dorm on the other end of campus so she wouldn’t have to walk alone.
The only issue Katrina had was that none of these nights together counted as dates, even though they started to feel like something very close to dates in her mind. They spent time together in the evening – check. They shared a meal, even if it meant picking up random food at a bodega or something from the dining hall – check. They watched a movie or got lost in long conversations – double check. He’d walk her back to her dorm – check. All of these things happened, but he’d never laid a hand on her other than when he’d try to keep her from falling. While neither of them had any problem flirting, Liam hadn’t tried to kiss her since the first night he walked her back from Hyperion, and it was killing her to know when he was going to ask her out. He made a promise, after all.
Once inside Liam’s room, they both slipped off their shoes near the door and pulled items from their respective bags. Katrina pulled Banh mi sandwiches from her bag, along with a container of seaweed salad for Liam, and edamame for herself. Liam pulled Nalgene bottles from his backpack, filled with iced coffee for Katrina and coconut drink for himself. He dangled her bottle of coffee as she started to settle on the floor. “If you want your liquid crack tonight, the fee is one cheer with a fancy kick,” he said, grinning down at her.
“I made the damn drinks, Liam.” She glared up at him. “Besides, I can’t kick in skinny jeans. I’d risk busting a seam.”
“You can borrow a pair of my sweats.”
“I’ll drown in a pair of your sweats, Tall Man.”
Liam rolled his eyes. “A pair of my shorts, then. I want to see you cheer.” He walked over to his closet and set her drink on the tallest shelf, knowing she’d need a chair to reach it on her own. Leaving the closet door open, he walked over to a dresser and pulled a pair of shorts from a drawer, tossing them in her direction.
“I hate you sometimes,” she muttered, making a face at him.
“I’ll be in the hall when you’re ready.” He stepped out of the room to let her change in private, keeping the door cracked open. “And don’t think I won’t hear if you try to move a chair to get to your drink either!” he called into the room.
“SHUT. UP. LIAM!” After a minute, the door swung open, and Liam tucked his lips between his teeth, admiring how adorable and ridiculous Katrina looked wearing a pair of his basketball shorts. She was swimming in them, even after tightening the waistband and rolling it several times over so it bulged under her fitted t-shirt. “Not a word,” she warned, pointing a finger at him. He smiled and held his hands up defensively as she stepped into the hallway. Liam leaned against the frame of the open door, crossing his arms across his chest, as Katrina walked several feet away. She closed her eyes before sighing heavily, suddenly clasping her hands together, and looked up at Liam with an enthusiastic smile.
C’mon Knights, let us hear, let us hear that sound, that sound we love
I’m sayin SWISHHHHH SWISHHHHH
Let us see, let us see, two points, two points on the board
I’m sayin SWISHHHHH SWISHHHHH
Liam watched as Katrina clapped and punched the air with both fists as she cheered, his eyes moving directly to her hips as she chanted “swish swish” when she turned and sashayed in place. After the second “swish swish” she straightened up, nodded her head, and took a running start before executing a perfect aerial cartwheel. He beamed a smile at her and clapped as several other residents clapped and cheered, having heard the commotion in the hallway. Katrina’s face turned beet red as she laughed and ran back into Liam’s room, and he followed.
“That was the best thing I’ve seen all week,” he said, sitting on the edge of his bed. “I knew you didn’t just cheer at football games!”
“I never said I didn’t – we did more tricks at the football games, so that’s when my Dad would come see me cheer.”
“I can step back outside to let you change into your clothes again.” Even if you look adorable wearing my clothes.
Katrina bit her bottom lip, glancing over at the dresser drawer. “Actually, would you mind if I borrowed a pair of sweats?”
Liam grinned and walked over to his dresser again, pulling a fitted pair of dark grey sweatpants from another drawer. “These should fit you a little better,” he said, handing the pants over to her as he made his way to the door again and stepped outside. This time he made sure to close the door all the way.
After a moment, the door clicked open and Katrina smiled up at him. He had a close-lipped smile as he stepped back into the room, noticing that she’d cuffed the sweatpants several times to fit her shorter frame. They walked over to the makeshift picnic on the rug, and Liam retrieved the bottle of coffee from his closet, handing it over to Katrina as he sat next to her and flipped his laptop open to log in to Netflix. She unscrewed the cap and took a long sip of her drink, letting out a little moan of pleasure that made him swallow hard. “Nectar of the gods,” she said to herself.
“You’re going to be up all night drinking that.” He clicked on the next episode of The Last Kingdom to resume the series they’d both agreed to watch.
“And that’s different from any other night how?”
“I’m curious…have you always been a night owl?” They unwrapped their sandwiches and Liam opened the container of salad, using a pair of chopsticks to eat.
Katrina held an edamame pod between her teeth, pulling it through so the beans stayed in her mouth. “Umm…I guess, sort of,” she replied. “More so since I started college and could make my own schedule.” Liam didn’t miss the way Katrina’s jaw tensed at his question, or the way she paused to answer. “Besides,” she continued, “if I wasn’t a night owl I couldn’t be your personal wake-up service.” She tilted her head to grin at him, offering him one of the bright green pods.
He took it from her hand and bit the pod between his teeth, pulling it out so the beans popped from the shell. “Drake really appreciates that, by the way,” he said after chewing and swallowing. “He’s stopped throwing random objects in my general direction since I don’t have to set an alarm.” Katrina made a noise between an exhale and a snort before coughing. Liam held up a portion of his dish in front of her and she shook her head. “Try it, just once?” he asked.
“It’s…seaweed.” She crinkled her nose at him, her eyes darting between Liam’s expression and the laptop screen, trying to follow along with the show.
“One bite, and I promise I won’t ask you to eat it again if you don’t like it.”
“You and your promises,” Katrina said, narrowing her eyes at him.
I know what you’re getting at. Liam winked in response, holding the seaweed-laden sticks up at her once more. “I promise.”
Katrina sighed and begrudgingly pointed her chin at him. He held the chopsticks close to her lips and she opened her mouth as he fed her, her lips closing around the chopsticks as he pulled them back. Her eyes closed as she started to chew, her brow furrowing as she tried to make sense of the texture and flavor of what she was eating. Liam watched intently as her eyebrows relaxed and then she looked surprised, a hint of a smile playing across her pouty, petal pink lips. She swallowed and let out a quiet “oh!” before opening her eyes again.
Liam smirked at her response. “Verdict?”
Katrina pursed her lips as she stared into Liam’s dark eyes. “Hated it. Awful.” He arched his brow at her as she tried not to smile. “May I have more?”
Liam let out a deep, heartfelt laugh, holding up the container and chopsticks. “They only gave us one set of chopsticks, but help yourself.” She took the chopsticks from him to pick up another mouthful of seaweed, and slid the container of edamame between them. They watched the rest of the episode in relative silence as they ate their food.
Once the episode finished, they cleaned up the wrappings from their meal, and Liam pocketed the chopsticks when she wasn’t looking, dropping them in his desk drawer when she went to use the bathroom. He sat across the top of his bed, wedging a pillow between his back and the wall, and pulled books off the shelf to work on a set of economics problems for class. He queued up an instrumental playlist on his laptop for background noise, handing her the other pillow on his bed when she returned to the room. She sat at the foot of the bed, sandwiching the pillow between her back and the wall, and pulled one of her language books from her bag.
They studied in comfortable silence for a while, with the occasional sound of ruffling pages as he flipped through his textbook, or Katrina’s soft mumbling as she read passages to herself in Spanish. He’d been focused on a set of problems, sighing as he rubbed his eyes, when he noticed that Katrina was staring blankly at the opposite wall. “You okay over there? Do you need to head back to your dorm?”
Katrina kept her eyes focused on a spot on the wall. “I think I’m ready to tell you what happened.”
Tagging (let me know if you’d like to be added to/removed from this series): @likethetailofacomet @ooo-barff-ooo @brightpinkpeppercorn @mind-reader1 @endlessly-searching-for-you @agent-bossypants @katurrade @blackcoffee85 @alj4890 @angelicfangirl @annekebbphotography @bella-ca @bowful @coldcollectornight08 @cordonianredruby @fullbeaumonty @furiousherringoperatortoad @hhiggs @hopefulmoonobject @i-choose-liam @liamxs-world @lodberg @marywrites-things @missevabean @mynameiskaylabella @pixieferry @romanticatheart-posts @sarwin85 @sleepwalkingelite @smalltalk88 @nekkidmolerat @thecordoniandiaries @umccall71 @jlouise88 @littleblossom-18 @blackcatkita @jovialyouthmusic @akrenich @debramcg1106 @innerpostmentality @hustacks @tornbetween2loves @darley1101
Players: Drake, MC (Katrina), Leo
Warnings: Swearing, implied nudity (people are taking baths, what’d you expect?)
Summary: Katrina draws a bath for Drake, and Drake has a mishap when he tries recreating things on his own.
Author’s Note: *All main characters belong to Pixelberry, I’m just borrowing them* Inspired by a discussion with @brightpinkpeppercorn and the Friends episode “The One Where Chandler Takes a Bath.” Also uses a prompt from @dancetothestoriesinyoursoul for Fluffy Fridays. This takes place before You Are the Reason, where Katrina and Drake are friends that stay in New York to start law school/finish undergrad.
Word Count: under 2000
It was a quiet Thursday evening, and Drake had his architecture books sprawled across the dining room table along with several notebooks and a large cup of coffee. Elbow propped on the table, he stared at the pages in front of him and rubbed his temples before letting out an aggravated sigh. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Katrina walking from her room to the kitchen in a long silk robe, her hair twirled up in a messy bun. He watched as she pulled a bottle of wine from the fridge and poured herself a generous glass, before turning his head back down to his notes.
“Jesus!” Katrina exclaimed. “I didn’t see you there!” Drake glanced up again, and Katrina was staring at him.
“Sorry, needed the table space to study,” he replied, rolling his shoulders back and stretching. “Mid-term on Monday and I need to make the most of my time.” He gave her a quizzical look, arching an eyebrow. “Bit early for bed, isn’t it?”
“Tonight’s my Friday night,” she explained. “I have all day tomorrow to study, so I’m indulging in a little ‘me’ time with a bath and some wine.”
“What is it with girls and baths?” You’re sitting in filth water. Adding bubbles doesn’t change that.
Katrina popped her hip, placing the hand that wasn’t holding the wine glass on her hip for emphasis. “Like you’ve never enjoyed a long soak in the tub from time to time?”
“Out of necessity, not with bubbles and oils and whatever else you put in the water.”
“You’re missing out. Some bath salts, bubbles, a glass of wine, er…whiskey, in your case, maybe,” she said, smirking. “Scented candle…it’s relaxing.”
“Meh. Unless there’s a naked girl in the tub with me, I don’t see the point.”
Katrina scoffed. “Well I’m not that hard pressed to convince you, if that’s what it takes, Walker.”
Drake realized what he’d implied, and felt his neck grow hot. Way to go, moron. “That’s…not what I meant to say,” he chuckled.
Katrina shook her head, drawing a long pull of wine from her glass. “Give me an hour to enjoy my bath, and I’ll show you what you’re missing.”
“Whatever you say, Bailey.” Katrina walked back to her room and left Drake in peace. He looked at his books again, flipping over his notes. As he occasionally shifted around in his seat, he caught himself glancing at the wall clock often. Is she actually going to come back and…draw me a bath? The hour came and went unceremoniously, and Drake felt a tiny bit of disappointment as he lowered his eyes back to his books…until he heard her bedroom door open and close. He cast his eyes up, keeping his head pointed at the textbook in front of him, trying not to grin. Katrina had changed into a pair of black leggings and one of Liam’s dress shirts; her hair was still up, but the bun had fallen loose, causing strands of hair to fall from the base of her neck, still damp from the bathwater. She had several oddly colored glass bottles in her arms as she walked to the hall bathroom claimed as his, and he soon heard the water running in the tub.
“You ready?” she asked, poking her head into the hallway from the bathroom.
“You were serious?” Drake teased. This should be interesting. “You really drew me a bath?”
“Uh, yeah, you’re getting the good stuff this round. C’mon, water’s going to get cold.”
Drake sighed and got up from his seat, knowing Katrina would hound him until he gave in anyway. That was just the way she did things. As he got closer to the bathroom, he could smell something earthy and woodsy in the warm air, mixed with citrus. Doesn’t smell girly. Katrina was standing off to his side, and he caught the faint scent of jasmine on her. She, however, smells girly. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest but she had a proud grin on her face.
“What, no bubbles?” Drake teased, looking into the tub. The water didn’t look like it had been transformed into the magical bliss she’d made it out to be.
“Not this time,” she said. “One thing, hold on.” She moved past him to go out into the apartment, and he heard her in the kitchen. Drake picked up one of the bottles, examining the label.
Base oils of hemp seed, olive, avocado and grape are richly nutritive and detoxifying…oils of cedar and cypress for a woody and earthy fragrance…rosemary and juniper extract.
“Whiskey, on the rocks for this occasion,” she said from behind him, holding out a tumbler with two fingers of whiskey, along with a large ice cube.
Drake set the bottle down to take the whiskey from Katrina. “What is this stuff? Doesn’t smell like what you used on yourself.”
“I mean, if you want to smell like jasmine, I have that back in my room. It’d be a waste of water though. This is what Liam uses.”
Drake raised his brow as he took a sip from the tumbler. “Liam takes baths.”
“He’s ruling a country. His muscles are basically rocks under his skin from all the stress. Are you too good to use what our King uses?”
Drake rolled his eyes. You just had to play the King card, didn’t you? “Nah. If it works for him I’m sure it’ll be good for me. So…I just sit there, drink my whiskey and wait for the water to get cold?”
“Give it at least fifteen minutes, and I’ll never bother you again, okay?”
“Deal.”
“Have a good night, I’m heading off to bed.” Katrina waved and turned, leaving Drake alone in the bathroom.
He closed the door before undressing, leaving his clothes in a pile on the floor. Drink in hand, he lowered himself into the steamy water, relishing in the way the heat of it felt against his skin, breathing in the woody scent. He could feel something grainy on the bottom of the tub, and looked on the counter to see a jar of bath salts. He felt himself sink lower into the tub and closed his eyes, setting his drink on the ground. Okay. This isn’t so bad. The water is hot, and it smells like the woods around my cabin back home. Maybe baths aren’t terrible…
Drake jerked awake, his arms covered in goose bumps. What the hell?! He looked at the digital clock near the sink. Christ, I’ve been in here over an hour! He raised his hands out of the now chilled bathwater, his fingers pruney. He leaned forward to pull the drain, cursing at himself. Dammit, she was right. AGAIN. This was actually pretty nice. Once the water had drained, he ran warm water to take the chill away, scrubbing his skin with a washcloth to remove the excess bath oil, and made his way to his bedroom. Studying can wait until morning.
---
“Sooo,” Katrina implored, looking at Drake over the breakfast counter. She was stirring eggs in a frying pan. “How was your bath last night?”
Drake held a mug of coffee to his lips. “It was fine.” I want to take another one. Today, possibly.
“Just fine?” she smirked.
“Eh, the oils smelled nice. Reminded me of the woods back home.” And I was so relaxed I fell asleep. ASLEEP. I hate that you were right.
“Well, at least I tried.” She split the eggs onto two plates, adding a few strips of bacon, and handed a plate to Drake with a fork.
“Guess it’s just not for me,” he said, quickly putting a forkful of eggs into his mouth before the grin that was creeping across his face betrayed him.
---
Several weeks later, Katrina and Drake were studying for their finals. Katrina had plans to meet with one of her study groups, and she told Drake she might stay at Sarah’s house if studying ran late. Perfect opportunity to borrow her supplies to take another bath.
Drake spent most of the day studying and working on an essay for anthropology. His eyes were tired, and he took off his glasses to rub his eyes with his fingers. Fucking allergies. He leaned back in the chair, rolling his shoulders back before stretching his arms over his head. The clock on the wall read 11:52 – I guess Katrina’s staying at her friend’s house. He saved the document on his laptop before closing it shut, and left the table to wander into Katrina’s bedroom.
Drake went directly to her bathroom and eyed the small collection of bath products on a shelf. Different bottles of foaming bubbles, bath oil, bath milk – what the fuck is that? – and various scented bath salts nearly took up an entire shelf. He opened a few bottles at random to sniff them, setting aside lavender bath salts, honey bubble bath, and oil that smelled like ginger and lemon.
Once he was in the hall bathroom, he started filling the tub with hot water, gauging how much of each product to use. As the tub filled, he went to the kitchen and poured himself a drink. Though his nose was still stuffy, he knew something didn’t smell right when he returned to the bathroom. That’s not as pleasant as the bath she made. He shrugged his shoulders, shut the door, and turned off the water before he disrobed. There was a generous amount of bubbles in the tub this time, and while it didn’t smell as pleasant, the warm water felt nice as he lowered himself.
He leaned back against the tub and closed his eyes…and felt a very odd sensation near his ass. Not quite tingling…or burning…it…are those the bath salts? That does not feel good. Not good! Drake sat up, but the excessive amount of oil he added to the bath made him slide back into the water. Shit. He maneuvered his toes to open the drain, sitting in the tub as the water slowly drained. Then he heard the front door open and close. Did I lock the bathroom door?
“Bailey, is that you?” Drake called out, reaching for a towel on the shelf behind him. The oily residue in the tub made it more difficult, and he saw the doorknob turn. He pulled a hand towel down – really, a hand towel? – to shield himself. “Bailey, what the f—”
“Not Trinny,” chuckled an irritatingly familiar voice. Fucking Leo. “Whatcha doing down there, Drake? No rubber duckie?”
“Fuck off, Leo. I think you’re abusing your privileges to having a copy of a key to the apartment. Hand me that towel on the rack, will you?”
“This one?” Leo held up a washcloth, dangling it out of reach.
“The BATH towel.” Leo tossed the towel at Drake’s head. Drake moved slowly to avoid slipping around in the tub more than necessary.
“What are you doing with all this stuff anyway? I didn’t take you for a fancy bath person.” Leo picked up the bottles, his eyes scanning over the labels. “This looks like something Trinny would use.”
“Uh…yeah, it is. I was borrowing it,” Drake mumbled.
“You’re mixing too many scents,” Leo said, picking up the other bottles. “Why don’t you just use the woodsy one Liam always uses?”
“How do you even know about this stuff?” Why are we still talking?! I want to get this stuff off me and put clothes on!
“Uhh, from the wife? She has tons of this shit in the bathroom.”
Must have had another fight, he didn’t say her name. “Crashing here tonight?”
Leo set the bottle of bath salts down on the counter. “Nightcap, then crash. Just needed more space than a bike ride would allow tonight.” He nodded lightly. “I’ll leave you to clean up, Princess Bubblegum.” Leo left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him, and Drake moved slowly to turn on the water and scrub off his catastrophic efforts.
