so i’m disgustingly depressed so let’s bring low self esteem reader back
john who plucks out the lonely girl in the corner of the pub, abandoned by all of her mates to get chatted up by the blokes inside. someone has to stay by the table and look after the coats and bags
and he could tell she was an insecure wreck just from looking at her, constantly fidgeting and pretending to busy yourself at the empty table. picking up your phone, scrolling for two seconds and then putting it back down. rinse, repeat, etc
but god, you were gonna be a challenge. good thing he’s always up for one. always happy to take in another lonely stray
she doesn’t make eye contact with him, ever. nor does she ever reach to touch him. in fact, she apologises whenever she accidentally brushes him. looks embarrassed every time she gives some lame response to his smooth line
and the second one of your friends comes back to the table, you move away. as if you’re some warm-up act before the main performance. and that just won’t do one bit
you watch him as he follows your friend to the bar, chatting to her before making his way back with two drinks but instead of cozying up to her the way you expect him to, he slides the drink in front of you and makes himself comfortable in the tight booth. leaving you trapped between his musky scent and peeling wallpaper decorating the wall,
“there y’go, pretty. carry on tellin’ me about yourself…”
and for once, you actually hold his gaze for a few seconds, stunned. before inevitably shrinking back into yourself, slowly reaching for the glass like he might be pulling some kind of joke on you
he knows he’s got his work cut out for him with you, but he also knows that if he digs a little deeper, he’ll hit diamond
Ok so it was basically abt Simon always cheating on y/n and everyone including her knew abt it cuz like ppl would record them and she would see it. one day she called him crying abt something wanting to be comforted yk but then the girl Simon was banging answers and says something like "oh shit yur the gf" then Simon was like "who's that" and then he rushes home to apologise to yn but I can't remember what happened after
Girl if you don’t give us some more low self esteem reader x price i think i’m gonna die 😫😫 genuinely one of my favs!!
john who finally convinces our lovely low self esteem reader to let him take her out and when the time comes, he’s outside your door all suited and booted. expensive bouquet in his hand as he shifts on his feet, anxiously waiting for you to open the door
it’s been ten minutes since he rung the doorbell. ten minutes since you text him saying you’d be down in a second. he understands that sometimes a lady needs time getting ready but now you aren’t even responding to his messages checking on you
he can’t see you pacing from your bathroom back to your bedroom, pulling and twisting at your outfit until it ‘fits right’. cursing under your breath each time you apply more lip gloss or mascara, only to end up smudging your makeup and ruining it
he can’t see the tears welling in your eyes each time you catch your reflection and you just can’t do it. nothing is working because of you. and john is going to see that. john is going to see you. and you just can’t have that so you leave him down there, waiting for you as you sniffle and pull at your hair in frustration
so he calls you, stepping back to see if your upstairs light was still on as the ringing drones on in his ear. and when you do finally pick up, the first thing he’s greeted with is sniffles
“h-hi john…” you say, a nervous laugh following. before he can ask if you’re okay, you speak again. “m’really sorry to do this but… uhm…”
“love?” he cuts you off, a gentle tone in his voice so you know he’s not upset. a few seconds silence follows before you sniffle again
“yeah?” he can hear the sadness in your voice, the uncertainty. his eyes flick up once more to look at the light coming from your upstairs window
“come open the door, yeah? let me see ya, doll… been waiting all week to see that pretty smile just one more time.” the heat pooling in your stomach at his sweet words causes more tears to leak down your cheeks
you don’t know why he’s any different to the other guys you’ve shut down. you don’t know why you agree to see him and shuffle downstairs to open the door
but that kind smile he throws your way when you finally open the door is enough to make your lip wobble a little more so he distracts you with the bouquet of your favourite flowers
“how did you know-?” you’re ready to question him, and he can see the little glint in your eye. runaway thoughts of maybe this guy is a stalker who’s been watching you. not some prince charming like you’d be reluctantly convincing yourself.
“I asked ya friends at the bar when I was getting your drinks. wanted to know what I should get you for our first date.” there’s a proud beam in his smile, like he knows he’s won you over a little there
“You hadn’t even asked me out yet…” you giggle slightly, sniffling before looking down at the stunning arrangement of flowers
“don’t matter, darling. I knew I was going to the second I saw you…” he states it like it’s obvious, like you should know he was going to pursue you. his hand reaches up to wipe your teary cheeks before offering you his arm to take
“hang on let me change.” you go to turn but he stops you, shaking his head and taking the initiative to wrap your arm in his
“none of that. you look beautiful…” you hate the way his words turn you to mush inside. you hate yourself for falling for it, for leaving yourself vulnerable to his sweet words and charming smile
but you don’t hate him, and the attention he gives you so you figure one date with the handsome man who bought you a drink couldn’t hurt
long awaited part three of lowselfesteem!reader and simon
part two
invisible clothes
that’s what you called them, the rags you don when you have to integrate with the general population but you would much rather not be noticed. clothing that is so bland that it isn’t nice enough catch an eye but not hideous enough to catch any negative attention
you had told simon about them once, when he called you out on wearing them every time you stepped out in public, including your dates with him. especially since he knew you had a very elaborate wardrobe with a tailored sense of style
clearly they aren’t invisible enough to hide you from johnny’s guilty eyes from across the store aisle. you sigh when he comes up to you, tapping your shoulder to get your attention. he shifts uncomfortably on his feet
“I know ye probably hate ma guts, lass but ye should ken that simon shut down all of that bet talk after your first date. Ah just bring et up to annoy ‘im.” johnny says, with a nervous chuckles at the end. you don’t laugh alongside him
“okay, fair enough. look, he’s miserable without ye! he comes to the pub just to get pished and mope about how he fucked it all up with ye.” johnny continues, a pleading look in his eyes, “he’s supposed to he coming by to drop off some things of yours tomorrow. just hear him out, please, lass.”
you roll your eyes at him, continuing to grab what you need from the shelves in front of you. not even bothering to look him in the eyes when you finally begin to speak
"why should I? why am I always expected to think of other people even when they hurt me? you and simon didn't think about me or my feelings when you made your stupid bet. neither of you stopped to consider that I was just a person who simply wanted to be left alone." you say with a scoff, "he'll be lucky if I don't slam the door in his face."
johnny shifts on his feet, looking down at the floor since he feels too uncomfortable to look directly at you, "fair enough. take care've yerself, hen."
you bite back tears as you watch him skulk off in the corner of your eye. you stand there for a few more minutes, staring at the stacked shelves in front of you to distract you from the war raging inside of your head
-
it's late at night, nearly midnight, when there's a knock at your door. you let out a sigh, already knowing who was disturbing your doomscrolling at this hour. and when you open the door, you see him. you’re brooding prick of an ex-boyfriend. he at least has the decency to look guilty, like a dog caught ripping up the couch cushions
except he wasn’t a dog, he was the love of your life. and your heart isn’t so easily replaced like a cushion. though he definitely treated it like somewhere to rest his head
“hey.”
you scoff, you’re not sure why. there isn’t anything inherently wrong with what he said but it still annoyed you. he annoyed you. with his stupid stormy eyes and his stupid jokes and freckled shoulders that you used to connect like dots late at night
“just give me my stuff and go, simon. don’t have time for this bullshit.”
he doesn’t flinch. he saw that hit coming, and sometimes you gotta let them swing at you especially when you know that you deserve much worse
the exchange is quick, a box with small memories passed over to you. a couple items of clothing, a book and some toiletries. before you can slam the door in his face, he jams his heavy boot into it
“wait… love, I… there’s somethin’ else. I never gave it to you but it’s yours. got it for you and I’ll never give it to anyone else.”
the glare you give him only falters when he places a small velvet box in your hand, he pauses the speech you can definitely feel coming on. looking at you expectantly to open it. you do, waiting for him to laugh at you when you find nothing in there. ridicule you for even thinking he would consider making you his wife
but all he does it look on solemn, the beautiful ring twinkling as a devastating reminder of what could have been
“I kno’ I ‘ave no right to ask. I wouldn’t insult you like tha’ lovie. you can hate me, I deserve it. but you don’t deserve it. I won’t let you hurt yourself over what I did. you deserve to know the real extent of how bad I fucked up. maybe it’ll help to look at tha’ ring and know that I’ll spend the rest of my life having to know I lost the woman who should be my wife.”
there’s no chance to respond, not like you’d know what to say anyway,
c/w: stepdad!john x lowselfesteem!reader, step-cest, dead dove, slight mention of reader taking a prescribed medication for unspecified medical condition
john and his ‘loser’ step-daughter, who’s riddled with a winning combination of mommy and daddy issues. john steps up as much as he can to fill the gaps left by your deadbeat dad but your mother digs her claws in deep to rip that warm feeling away from you whenever she can
you’re a sweet thing, haven’t really found your path in life yet. no further education because you’re ‘not really passionate about anything, I guess’. no job, no close friends and no boyfriend, not even a first date
your mother makes no attempts to hide her disappointment in you, shoving your medications to the back of the cabinet when she catches john looking in curiosity. so he tries his hardest to keep her out the house. busy with work, and spa trips, weekends away with her friends. far away so she can’t bother you…
poor thing who just needs a loving, guiding hand. and john is more than happy to provide that. more than happy to pay your way for you. you’re a good girl despite what your mother says. always washing his clothes for him, giving him a portion of whatever you cook yourself, a kiss on his cheek every time you head off to bed
your mother doesn’t like that he offers his jacket to you instead of her, that sickly-sweet ‘she’s shivering, love. look at her’ every time. or the way you sleep in his old t-shirts from his recruitment days. you hear them argue about it every once in a while, before your mum storms out and like clockwork, john comes into your room and asks if you want to have a movie night with him
your mum doesn’t need to know how you snuggle up to him on his lap, drooling into his neck when you doze off after the third movie. or the way he sits next to you for a while after he’s carried you off to bed, stroking your hair and thinking about you’ll thrive when it’s just you and him <3
They had been talking about how valentines are dumb and they would hate to get one and the boys think its because she just doesn’t like it but really its because she has low self esteem and never receives them. So they send one to her as a prank because they’ll think it’ll piss her off and be funny but then they see how excited she gets over it :(
And now they probably have to break her heart again
Or maybe on the valentine it had a ‘meet here at X o’clock’ and she keeps talking about how much she can’t wait to see who they are and the 141 now have to make it up to her in someway
mmm and they can’t find the guts to tell you until you’re all ready to go to the meeting spot, dressed in your finest khakis and as much make-up as regulation will allow
the way your smile drops, eyes hood and shoulder slump is arguably worse than you yelling at them or insulting them. the soft ‘oh’ that slips from you and it’s almost instinct the way you turn around and begin getting un-ready
“it was just a joke, love. never meant to go this far.”
“mhm. just one thing, can you explain the joke to me? like, what exactly is the punchline here?”
the guilty, unsure looks passed between them answers the question better than any words could :(
Coming from the loser/bluecollar!simon ask to bring you what I believe to be an incredibly big-brained idea: reader is also kind of a loser for simon 🥰
c/w: suggestive content, slight nsfw
simon and reader who are both loser with no game so they just making imaginary moves in their head and hope the other person catches on to their telepathic flirting
like how simon only goes to the pub in hopes of you asking him for a lift, but you only go so you can dress up and ask him for a lift home in hopes of catching his attention
you both think the other is so much cooler and nonchalant than they actually are. you’re constantly mistaking simon’s awkward aloofness for a suave indifference. unaware to the way his hands start sweating when you come near him
and the way you trot about in pretty clothes, not looking his way makes him feel invisible in the best way possible. you don’t look his way and he feels like he has to earn you, worship you just to get a scrap of affection. little does he know you’re asking your sisters for hair and make-up tips before you leave because you want him to notice you
you’re both honestly so delusional it’s sweet
and when it finally comes down to it, you finally see each other for what you really are? just dumb, stupid idiots in love. shaking hands and fumbling apologies as his clumsy fingers struggle to unhook your bra or when you nearly knee him in the crotch as you get comfortable on the bed
shy hands exploring each other’s skin for the first time, cheeks warming when you feel his eyes burning into you. you can’t bring yourself to look at him but not because he’s invisible, no
you’re far too aware of his existence, you can’t bring yourself to look at him. with the way he makes you burn, it would be like looking into the sun. although, for you, that’s how you’d like to go
poor reader :( when valentine’s Day actually comes it must feel like such a cruel reminder that reader has never had a valentine, or a relationship… reader calls in sick for work that day to mope in bed and binge on the candy she bought to give her supposed valentine
I’ve been thinking about this post a bit, unsure of the next place to take it
the posts have been quite vague, I’ve been under the impression that price definitely wouldn’t have taken part in this. simon is a stretch but for the plot I’ll include him. but I really think this is too far out of price’s character range
so I thought about him finding out, disappointed with his boys for playing with their fellow comrades emotions like that. maybe he makes the boys spend valentines doing your weekly base chores whilst he takes you for a drink at the local pub off base
