Asher: Told you he wouldn't know what to do with the ladies.
Wes: He's supposed to be getting information, but instead, he's talking about his boyfriend. So get in there and shut him up.
Asher: Hells no. And Annalise finally lets us loose. I'm getting some tonight.
wes and laurel raised christopher together, eventually got married, and never got harassed by the castillos again :)
asher never so much as stepped foot in an fbi headquarters, and he and michaela got back together
frank and bonnie got to be happy and live long lives together and frank wasn’t an incest baby because wtf
none of 6.15 🥰 (minus annalise and tegan ending up together)
the fact that all of the keating five + oliver stayed in contact with annalise after they graduated and never spoke of how they got away with many, many murders
they all got to have successful law careers
oliver and connor had a happy, normal marriage! and connor never went to jail
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ A story in which you and Connor are best friends but he wants a deeper relationship. So he hatches a plan to make you his forever.
Part 1
You first met in kindergarten. It was halfway through the school year when Connor transferred to your school. The teacher sat him in the seat next to yours and asked you to help him out for a few days. You tried to talk to him throughout the morning but he kept his head down not saying a word. At lunch you found him sitting alone and went to join him. When you opened your lunchbox you found that your mom had packed you two juice boxes. You slid one over the table and Connor took it, neither of you saying a word during the exchange. The next day at lunch he had two apples and slid one over to you. You took it, again neither of you spoke. It soon became routine for you. You'd bring one extra snack to share everyday.
On the last day of school you were walking out the front when you heard someone call your name from behind. You turned to find Connor standing a distance away looking at you. Then he did something. Something you never thought would happen, something you never saw coming. He waved and said "Have a good summer!". With a smile on your face you waved back and replied "See you next year Connor!". That's how it all began.
Every year since then you sat next to each other in class and shared snacks at lunch. You started hanging out during summers. Late night calls, movie nights, concerts, you guys did it all. Overtime you came to be best friends. To you it was a simply perfect friendship. You had someone to count on who you knew would always have your back. All your secrets, dumb questions, insecurities, every thought that crossed your mind Connor knew and you were fine with that because he was your best friend. If you couldn't trust him then who could you trust?
However, your friendship was more complicated for Connor. He told himself you guys just spent too much time together. You were too similar. You were his best friend so of course he had a strong connection to you. Over and over he said these things. Yet he never believed them, not once because he knew deep down underneath all the lies and the fake reasoning, he knew with every ounce of his being what the truth was. He loved you. He loved you more than anything. He loved the way you laughed. He loved the way you hung your head when you were embarrassed. He loved to watch your eyes light up whenever you heard your favorite song. He loved how peaceful you looked when sleeping. He loved how every moment he spent with you made his heart beat out of his chest. He loved you. There was nobody else he dreamt of being with, nobody he wanted more than you. Still, with all this love flowing through him he could never bring himself to confess. His palms got sweaty at the thought of confessing. What if you didn't feel the same way? What if he ruined everything? All those years together. Every birthday, wedding, funeral, party, injury, day, and night. What if it was all washed away with nothing but the words his heart ached to say? The words that fought to escape his lips everytime you looked into his eyes.
He'd known you since you guys were five years old in kindergarten. Now you're 18 going into your senior year in highschool. He knew he was running out of time. Graduating meant starting a new chapter of life and he feared that there wouldn't be a space for him in your next chapter. He knew that senior year was his last chance to get over his nerves and finally tell you about his feelings. So he made up his mind. This school year he was going to do everything in his power to make you fall in love with him. He was desperate to make you see that he was the right guy for you in hopes that maybe, just maybe he could avoid having to say goodbye to you forever. In Connors eyes he was yours and you were his. His first love, his only love, his sugar sweet craving.
Warnings: SPOILERS for Season 1 of HTGAWM, Swearing, Mentions of Heartbreak and Break ups and Insecurities
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Platonic Fluff
It started with how much of herself she saw in Michaela
Hell, Annalise will go as far as to say that she can't remember ever seeing a spirit like Miss Pratt's in her classes before
A girl full of fiery ambition, intelligence and unshakeable attitude
At times she even wishes she'd been that bold at her age
So, when she saw her come home looking drastically more different after the holiday break, she was right to be concerned
She was still Michaela, that's for sure
Ready for a fight, a challenge, an all-nighter
But something was missing
And when the engagement was broken up, she wilted away even more
That's when Annalise couldn't keep her concerns to herself anymore and asked the girl to her office for a private and personal chat - something she rarely or rather never did with her students
It was surprisingly easy to get Michaela to confide in her, almost as though she'd been waiting for someone willing to hear her out
And when she finally let it all out of her system, dropping a few tears along the way, Annalise gave her a piece of her mind, some advice she'll never forget
A promising 'men ain't shit'
Which perfectly transitions to the similar talk she gave Laurel about Frank
She'd caught all their fleeting glances, smiles from across the room, 'subtle' or 'accidental' physical contact and all the times they'd sneak off on their own when they though the other students were least likely to notice
Of course, Annalise had nothing has nothing against a little mixture of feelings in the work place as long as it doesn't hinder the work flow
But the guy in question was none other than Frank and if anybody knew this man, it was her
And the first thing she knew about him apart from his knowledge of law, was that he's a notorious heartbreaker among college girls
And she'd be damned if she let him hurt Laurel
She didn't know exactly why she wanted to intervene this time specifically but she did
First by lightly telling Laurel to watch herself around Frank - which she took quite easily and gracefully
"I love the guy like my own son, but I'd be damned if I looked you in the eyes and lied to your face that he's a good man for these types of things. Romance is not his strong suit and you....you seem fragile, Miss Castillo. Watch out for yourself, ok? He's haphazard and insensitive at times, but he can't break you if you don't let him."
And then by telling Frank off to hell, making him promise up and down that he wasn't playing games with her
"I swear you're gonna be regretting the day you stepped foot in my office, you understand? I've heard you pull the 'nothing personal' card far too many times to hear it again this year. Got it? Miss Castillo is too good to be a conquest or toy you enjoy for a month then drop and forget about within a day!"
Much like Rebecca was playing with Wes
The Puppy of the group had his own love troubles too
Pursuing an emotionally unavailable person has become Annalise's specialty too over the past few years of her marriage to Sam so she knew exactly what he felt when she sat down in hopes of having a proper talk with him
She figured that his love troubles were only the tip of the iceberg
This boy had layers and layers of problems suffocating him and, although initially reluctant to open up about them, he eventually did, allowing for Annalise to be let in on his life story, the death of his mother, how hard his life has been since, how he's so unsure of himself and how his trust issues have never been so bad
She took the opportunity to fill him in on a little secret - the faux confidence of lawyers, she called it
The confidence they exhibit in court isn't always 100% genuine or stable
Hell, some of them walk in there 99% sure they're gonna lose the case and yet they still stand strong and tall before the judge and build a case that can only stand for any length of time if it's shown with confidence
But, one has to know when the confidence has gone overboard
Faking it doesn't always lead to making it, sometimes it can lead to a bad crash and burn
Which is what Connor has been dealing with behind sly smirks and sarcastic remarks
Annalise noticed each change of his expression whenever he wouldn't get something right in class or when he'd see the trophy getting handed off to someone else of the Keating 5
She sees his brick wall of self-assuredness falter in those moments, something no one else catches a glimpse of which is probably his intention
Which is mainly why he refused her help when she offered it to him
He did, however, accept a drink, and after two, he was singing his heart out, spilling his worries to her
From love troubles with Oliver, to how the recent events have affected him and how he's starting to lose his sense of self, no longer able to tell right from wrong, how his walls were built so high, he couldn't let in even the people he wanted to
All struggles that hit very close to home for her
She understood him and advised him the best she could - to the extent he'd listen to - but comforted him with words that have stuck with him ever since
"The pressure sucks, I know. But imagine how much suckier it would be to be left in a state of ignorance. You want to be in the know? You better prepare for what that brings Mr. Walsh."
Speaking of ignorance...there's Asher
He's like the baby of the group by this point, protected from the truth that his friends have done something terrible, that his professor is in on it and that the only reason he's here is probably because of his father
Although he proved himself smarter and more capable than anticipated he clearly didn't see it that way for when Annalise congratulated him on his recent progress, he had simply asked:
"How much did my dad pay you to bump up my grade?"
Turns out he knew of that last part
Which was perfect to prompt Annalise into giving him a brief lecture on clinging onto details
"Our job may or may not revolve around details, but look at it this way: he's the reason I took you in, you're the reason you've stayed this long. After all, he never said I couldn't kick you from the program whenever I'd please. Keep up the good work, Mr. Millstone, and maybe your daddy won't have to pay your way any further than this spot on my team."
Each and every time she did it, she reasoned with herself that she just wanted her team to be top-tier and remain so at all times
If she had to coax them out of a dark place then that's what she was prepared to do
But now, as she's found herself looking at all five of them gathered in the living room of her house as per usual, she can't help the smile that comes across her face
Michaela's back to being herself, lively and intense like the hurricane she's been since day one, eyes on the prize with no distractions on the way
Laurel seems happier too, but that might have something to do with the fact that those looks, smiles and touches between her and Frank aren't so much fleeting and exchanged in secrecy anymore
Yup, even Annalise was taken aback to find out that the two were an official item but God if that didn't make her day
Wes has been working more on his confidence as of recent, being more open with his ideas and thoughts, not only with the other four students but in front of the whole class too
Baby steps, but meaningful ones, letting the woman know her efforts weren't in vain
Connor has kept up a poker face facade - the one all too regular for him, but she has been noticing the subtle changes
The leisure in his posture when he sits, the easy smile on his face when the five are taking a break from their hard work etc.
And Asher seems to have found anew surge of motivation, now knowing that what he did actually mattered and that at least this element of his life wasn't in the hands of his father
All in all, missions Keating 5 seems to have been a success
And it's helped Annalise find out a little thing about herself too
The answer to the question why she's grown so attached to these students out of all 4's she's coached throughout her career
Simple: Because these five have become her responsibility, like her very own children
