#pm imagines

[flowerbeanz]

Spending The Day With Youtuber (Y/N) and Boyfriend Brandon

[namu-jin]

[calumfmu]

Instagram stories dating Zion Kuwonu

—

In honor of me going to FOMO in a few weeks, I’ve decided to make an edit based around Zion from prettymuch! I’ve been obsessing over them as a band lately, and I needed to work it out somehow! Hope you enjoy!!

[nickmuch]

c.z.k - high school (part 1)

PART 2 / PART 3

Note: another day, another nothing-to-do-at-work-so-imma-write moment! This time for my baby z bc why not. Also, this ended up being WAY longer than expected. Wrote nearly 5 pages, but that’s what happens when you’re bored

I walked down the hallway quickly. The bell would soon ring and I really didn’t feel like being late to class. Again. On my second official day on this new school. So, I picked up my pace thinking it was a good idea, but oh boy was I wrong. Keyword: boy.

Suddenly, I bumped into something and fell down. When I looked up, I saw a tall boy with pretty tan skin. He was beautiful. His hair was twisted into dreads and pulled together by a baby blue scrunchie to securely get them out of his face. He had mesmerizing deer eyes, his lashes so long and beautifully curled. And his lips. Oh god, his lips. Slightly pouty and parted. A hand was stretched out in front of me. He spoke first, making me abruptly stop staring at him and turn my gaze low.  “You good? Did you hurt yourself of something?”. Grabbing his hand, I allowed him to help me on my feet. “Erm … no, it’s all good. Sorry, I wasn’t really looking because I- “. The ring of the bell interrupted me. “- was gonna be late to class. And now I am” I finished. He gave me a quick nod before slowly making his way down the other side of the hall, probably already wondering what stupid story he had to tell his teacher for being late.

“Honestly, if you are allowed to skip, then I am too”. Startled by the voice I turned around just to be met by my friend Edwin. Beside him, a boy with glasses and tousled dark hair waved at me shily. We weren’t even really friends yet. My parents were no longer here so his mom decided that as the daughter of her best friend, I should stay with them from now on instead of a shelter or relative I didn’t even know. Truth be told, I hadn’t seen the Honorets in years since my mom used to always visit them on her own during her business trips to New York. However, they made me feel welcome and home quite immediately, so I didn’t feel uncomfortable with staying with them. At first, Edwin protested a little bit because me moving in meant that he had to room with his two little siblings, so I could have his.

“Edwin and friend of Edwin, go to class”. Rolling my eyes, I tried to make my way down the hall. “Mrs. Robertson won’t let you in her class now anyways. She doesn’t tolerate tardiness” his friend spoke. “And you are?” I asked kind of annoyed. “Oh, that’s Brandon” Edwin chirped in. “And we” he gestured between the three of us before locking his arm with mine and the other with Brandon’s. “Are going to enjoy this beautiful free lesson”. And thus, we reluctantly followed him into the empty art room, so he could finish his painting while Brandon and I just mingled around, occasionally saying a thing here and there.

“Ed, I am hungry! We’ve been in this room for hours now. Haven’t you finished your painting by now?” Brandon complained. I just agreed with an exaggerated nod of my head. “Ugh, fine! You guys are too uncultured to understand the true beauty and excitement in this. An artist needs their time and full concentration to paint a masterpiece and-” he rambled without an end on sight.

“Is he always like this? I’ve only been here for a week and most of my time was spent with the kiddos anyways”. His friend laughed and answered with a genuine smile and nod. “- but since it’s time for lunch now anyways and I am starving, I think it’s time for a proper break”.

Happily, we jumped up and dragged him behind us to the cafeteria. After getting our food, they slowly made their way towards a table in the back of the lunch room. Three guys were already sitting there talking and when we got closer, I noticed a familiar face. My cheeks burned under his heavy gaze. “Guys, this is my friend I told y’all about” Edwin turned to them to fully introduce me. “… so this is Austin” he pointed to the boy with the anime backpack on his side of the table. Austin gave me a quick smile before the shorter boy with a base cap on his head spoke up. “I am Nick. Nice to meet you”. He shook my hand firmly and sat down.

“And this is –“

“Zion” the boy from earlier interrupted Ed. “Uhm, yeah. This is Zion. Thanks for interrupting, man. I am totally used to this by now” he complained about his friend, which made the rest of the group laugh. Everyone, but me and Zion. His eyes never left mine when I sat down between Ed and B. It made me feel nervous to have a guy stare at me like that. It wasn’t even a staring, but more like an observing. I felt like he didn’t like me, though. His gaze made me feel uncomfortable and like an intruder to their group. Shaking my head slightly, I tried to join the conversation between the other four. “This party will be massive!” Nick exclaimed. “It’s the beginning of the school year, everyone will go. Trust and believe!”. Brandon and Austin seemed so hyped about it already, dragging Nick into their own little conversation to plan everything for the upcoming night. “We’re going, right?” Edwin asked me precisely.

Honestly, it was really nice and cute of him to include me in everything and making me genuinely feel like a part of his family and friends. He had even introduced me as his “twin sister from another mister” to our teachers. Our math teacher was very confused by it and asked Edwin how that was even possible, to which he only answered with “Mr. T! With all due respect, but you’re asking too many questions, sir. She’s my twin sister that used to live somewhere in Canada or something, ion even know. T’was Canada, right?”. He didn’t even give me a chance to answer him. “Doesn’t really matter. What matters is, that she’s here and she’s here to stay! And we might not look alike and she might have a different last name”. This made me cackle. “But! She’s still my twin sister and that’s all to know”. Mr. Toya seemed to regret even asking by the way he had already dragged Edwin out of his class in hopes of making him stop talking.

“Sure” I answered him with a soft smile. It was clear that they wanted to go and I didn’t want to be the party pooper by saying no. “Great! Aye yo Z, you picking us up by 8 then?”. That’s when I noticed that his eyes were still on me. Zion nodded shortly without ever breaking eye contact.

Later in the evening I found myself in Edwin’s room – or how he liked to call it “the twin closet” since more than half of it was full with boxes of mine and also his clothes. He sure had more things to wear than I did, though. “Look, if you wear this white crop t-shirt” he rummaged through a box of mine. “And this silky thingy here” he was holding up my darkish red silky jogger pants. “Plus your white air force one’s and this dope black fanny pack” he handed me all the items. “Then, you won’t overshine my fit and we gucci”. His smile was so dangerously serious that it made me not want to mess with him when it came to outfits. So, I just gave him an “Okay”, and got up to get dressed in the bathroom.

Even though, I didn’t feel like going, I still found myself in the backseat of Zion’s car quietly humming along to the Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR song that was playing. It was nice and chill rather than too loud and hype on our way to the place. The boys didn’t even let him finish park the car before running off to god knows where in the house. “I guess it’s only you and me then, tonight” he said. I was okay with this, even though his presence did make me feel nervous since I couldn’t really read him as easily as I could with the rest of PRETTYMUCH. Apparently their 5-person-group had a name due to the fact that he used to over-use the word back in middle school and thus, it just stuck with them from then on.

“Z! Over here!” A girl with long and straight dark hair waved from the other side of the front yard. Her black dress was cut low in the front, complimenting her curves perfectly. With her heels-clad feet, she tried to make her way over to him. “Shit, gotta go! You on your own, I guess”. He rushed over to her before she could reach us, giving her a tight hug and leaving me all by myself in a foreign neighborhood of a foreign city with foreign people surrounding me. Great.

I spent most of the night in the kitchen, drinking some soda out of a blue solo cup. A couple hours had passed and three drinks later, I found myself wandering around the big house trying to find the bathroom. The one on the ground floor was obviously occupied by some horny teenagers, so I went upstairs. On my way down again, I heard faint music playing from one of the rooms.

Curiosity took the best of me and even though there was a high possibility I was going to walk into a couple trying to have fun, I still decided to open the door. To my surprise I didn’t find anyone in there trying to do the deed, but instead I found Zion sitting on the edge of the bed. One hand playing with his cup and the other gripping onto his phone securely. He didn’t even notice me with his eyes lowly staring at his feet.

“I sure hope it’s just some water you’re drinking”. His head shot up, tensing, before letting loose once he realized it was just me. “It’s coke. No alcohol. I don’t really drink”. He gave me an all over look before motioning for me to sit down next to him. The bed was small, so our legs were touching.

“What happened to your lady friend? Why are you chilling here all alone?” I wanted to know. After all, they did seem very familiar earlier. “Asya? Nah, she’s just a good friend of ours. A bit like a little sister”. Understanding what he said, I nodded and just continued to aimlessly look around the room. “And for the all alone part” he spoke up after a while. “I don’t feel like partying.”. “Yeah, same” I breathed out.

“Tell you what?”. He looked up with his full attention on me now. “You seem stressed and I think you might need someone to talk to that’s not part of your little PRETTYMUCH group” grinningly I said. With my hand I pushed his chest to make him lay down on the bed. Zion obliged and I waited for him to get comfortable before grabbing his phone to play another song. “Now tell me”. My head rested right next to his and my body was pressed right on him. Every inch of my left side was touching him somehow. “I’ll start then if you want?” I figured it would be easier for him to open up that way. With that, I told him about it all. From the reason I ended up in New York to Edwin’s glorious idea that I would be his twin. “I should’ve known. Edwin and his egghead always on some weird shit, I swear.” He had said in realization. Also, I let him know about my worst and best childhood memories, or the first time I tried to sneak out and how my dad caught me. Basically, everything that came to my mind.

“I don’t know what to say. It’s hard for me to talk about feelings and stuff” he finally said after I was done talking. No more stories were left to be told, I think he knew me better than I knew myself by now.

“Oh, so you like someone? Feelings and all?”. Patiently I waited for him to answer. This time, it was me who searched for his eyes to lock them in place with mine. For a second, I could feel him stop breathing. The soft voice of Bryson Tiller took over the room.

“There’s a time and place for all this

This is not the place for all this

Is there a reason why you’re saying all this?

And can we talk about it later?”

His gaze flickered between my eyes and over my face. “Maybe”. He licked his lips nervously. “Kinda. Or maybe not. I don’t know”. He grew more and more anxious by the second and I was sure he thought he was doing a great job by keeping a poker face, but really he was horrible at it. I could finally read him and to tell the truth, I didn’t mind what I found out.

Now, my heart started beating faster and doubt was slowly taking over me. Yet, I still said “Then find it out. Just take the risk”. With one last inhale of air, Zion took all of his courage and leaned in, capturing his soft lips with mine. It felt different, but a good different. A different I could get used to. My hand cautiously crept up his arm, delicately going up and down while we found a steady rhythm. A small moan escaped his lips. I silently prayed to god and begged him to make this moment last forever. He didn’t seem like a stranger to me anymore. It was as if we’ve known each other longer than we really thought, but at the same time this was crazy. All of this was crazy. Yesterday, I didn’t even know the name Zion existed. And yet, here I was, him kissing me and gripping my thigh. (I’ve been listening to Phases on repeat for days now, can you tell?)Promptly, he pulled away with full force. “I can’t, I mean we- we can’t! We shouldn’t” he bursted out. “Edwin is gonna be so disappointed in me when he finds out”. I wanted to silence him and say how that wasn’t true, but next thing I knew, the door flew open revealing – of course because the universe wouldn’t let me kiss a cute boy in peace for once – Edwin. Behind him the other three reluctantly followed like lost puppies. “So, I put two and two together and my senses did not betray me! I had a feeling y’all were up to something nasty in here!”. With a sigh, he was interrupted by Austin. “He’s lying, someone saw how first Zion and later you went in here. And for some odd reason, Eggie is playing protective brother”.

“Okay, so whatchu tryin’ to tell me is that we goin’ home cause Ed had some to drink and you need my car?”.

“… Yep”.

Zion abruptly got to his feet, pulling me up with him in the process. The ride home was actually quite peaceful. Nick and Brandon fell asleep, all cuddled up while Austin tried to stop Edwin from drunk texting some random girl he hadn’t talked to in years. We drove them home, one after another left. When we arrived at the Honoret house, Edwin was quick on his feet. “I need my bed” he mumbled, rushing into the house.

This left me and Zion alone. Shily, I dared to turn my head towards him trying to see the expression his face held. “You know …” he began. His voice sounded a little shaky, yet it didn’t stop him from saying what was circling around in that precious head of his. “I think we can. And I think we should”. The smile on Zion’s face was contagious, I couldn’t contain myself from smiling back. Before walking to my front door, he gave me a long chaste kiss on the lips leaving me dizzy and occupied with my own cloudy thoughts.

“I think so, too” I whispered to no one in particular but myself while drifting off to a much needed peaceful sleep.

NOTE: I legit wrote all of this today in like idk 3 hours?? Whew chile, but it was worth it because I passed some time. Only two more hours left at work and I have nothing to do. Might start writing another imagine to pass some more time.

[edwinmyheart]

BOYFRIEND!EDWIN HONORET 

the absolute cutest ray of sunshine, this one 

he’s always got the biggest smile on his face when anyone says your name 

“y/n? yeah, i know, she’s the best.” and he’s all giggly UGH 

he is always looking out for you - ALWAYS 

“did you bring a jacket? i know it would have ruined the fit, but come on babe!” 

“you got a headache? don’t worry baby, i gotchu.” 

and he’s literally your number one hype man 

“dAMN! MY GIRL OUT HERE LOOKIN FINE AS HELL, ARE Y’ALL SEEING THIS?” 

always sneaks a candid pic of you on his ig and when you find out you always complain about it 

“ed, i look like i’m about to sneeze in that one” 

“because you were about to sneeze, silly. i was trying to take a vid but it just didn’t happen.” 

absolutely loves hear you laugh and always tries his best to get a good laugh out of you 

and never fails to make you feel loved 

“you look like you need a hug, mama. c’mere.” 

is always ready to sit down and listen to whatever you have to say

he does that thing where he rests his chin on his hand and just looks at you with complete adoration

and dates are THE best

but there’s no in between

like it’s either hella chill

or hella boujee

the first date y’all went on was really cute though

he took you bowling and an arcade

he felt like with actual engaging activities, you wouldn’t feel so awkward or shy around him

and it worked lmao

you were NerVOus as hell oof

and then y’all started bowling and it all that nervousness was forgotten

y’all would just be a giggling mess

edwin would start dancing to whatever music was playing

just to make you laugh bc he hadn’t told you yet @ the time but he LOVED your laugh

always made him feel warm and fuzzy inside to hear it

but chill dates we’re just y’all chilling at home, in ya pjs and one of ed’s vintage tees

and he’d lay his head on your chest and you’d play around w his hair

just soft soft moments

honestly edwin makes me so damn soft i CanNot

[angelicarreaga]

Would you do a cute soft Nick imagine or blurb about you guys going to a theme park or fair? Love you ❤️

SOFT!! CUTE!! YES!! (sorry if this is horrible)

You and Nick had spent the last few days holed up at home, whichof course you didn’t mind, but today he decided he wanted to do somethingdifferent. 

He asked you if you wanted togo to the fair, and of course you said yes. It had been a while since you hadgone and it sounded like it would be fun.

Immediately when you paid atthe ticket booth and entered, Nick was grabbing your hand and dragging you overto the cotton candy stand, paying for 2 of them as he handed one to you.

You thanked him and he kissedyour cheek, interlacing his fingers with yours as both of you continued walkingaround, being passed by children, teenagers and adults who all seemed to behaving a good time.

“What do you wanna do most,baby?” he asked, looking over at you as he watched you scan the fair, thinkingof the times you went to them as a child.

“I don’t know,” youshrugged, “I think I wanna go on the ferris wheel, or play the littlegames.”

“Let’s do it,” he grinned, andboth of you walked over to where there was a whole line of different games toplay.

You excitedly ran up to yourfavorite one, being the balloon pop, and after you paid the person running thebooth passed you a handful of darts.

“Ready for this?” you askedNick, looking over at him and smiling cockily, knowing this was the game youwere best at.

“I’m ready,” Nick confirmed.

He watched you carefully as youheld the dart up at eye level, analyzing the distance before throwing itforward, popping a balloon. You jumped up excitedly as you repeated the samemovements with the other darts, hitting a balloon every time.

“I never miss,” you winked athim. 

The person behind the standasked you which prize you wanted, and of course you pointed at the largeelephant stuffed animal that was hanging above you. He pulled it down andpassed it to you and you thanked him before you continued on your way.

“I won this for you,” yousmiled, passing the stuffed animal over to Nick, who took it into his arms andsquished it, burying his face into the soft fur of the toy.

“Aren’t I the one who’ssupposed to win the toy for you?” he asked, making you laugh and shake yourhead at him.

Nick decided to play a gametoo, and you watched as he threw basketballs into a hoop, getting one eachtime. Clearly, this was his balloon pop. He won a different stuffed animal andhanded it to you, a smirk playing on his face.

“Now we’re even,” he told you.

“You can now say you met thecliché,” you chuckled.

You guys walked down the row ofgames, playing a few and being pretty bad at most of them, occasionally winningsomething smaller which you were both proud of. By the end of it you were bothdressed up with stupid hats and necklaces, giant stuffed animals in hand.

“Think we look like realadults?” you asked him.

“Oh yeah definitely,” Nick agreedsarcastically.

You both ran through the fairtogether, stopping at every ride that you thought was interesting. Whether itwas screaming on a roller coaster, aggressively hitting each other in bumpers,or getting extremely dizzy on the teacups, you were both constantly laughing,wide open smiles spread across your faces.

“Ferris wheel?” you asked himwhen you were approaching the line to get on it.

“Anything you want,” Nicksmiled as you guys got in line for the ride.

You took your spot in thelittle pod and placed all your possessions of the day onto the ground belowyou, and you scooted closer to him and nuzzled into his side as it beganmoving.

Nick admired you as you staredout beside you, gazing at the world that was now so far below you, peoplebecoming little sardines from up where you guys were. 

The ferris wheel stopped right when you were both at the top, letting more people on at the bottom. You looked over at Nick, who’s hand was resting gently on your thigh. His brown eyes widened ever so slightly when you turned to him, the corners of his mouth turning upward.

“Would it be totally cliché to kiss you at the top of the ferris wheel?” he asked.

“Today seems to be about clichés,” you smirked, “come here.”

You pulled him towards you, pressing your lips against his as you put your hand on the back of his neck, feeling on top of the world even though you were only on top of the ferris wheel. It didn’t matter to you, though.

The ride began moving again, and you jumped back slightly, looking around you, but Nick just pulled you back towards him, continuing to kiss you as the wheel took you guys around.

[imdreamingofaplaceicallhome]

Pretty Much Preference #2: First Meeting

Austin: I was standing in line at the coffee shop. I yawned as I looked over the menu, but I already knew what I wanted. I finally ordered my coffee and stood off to the side. Once my name was called I grabbed my coffee and started to head out of the coffee shop. I bumped into someone, coffee went everywhere and I landed on my ass. “Oh my god I'm so sorry,” he said as he reached for my hand. “I should have watched where I was going,” I said as I grabbed his hand so I could get up. I brushed myself off as I stood up. I looked up at him our eyes meeting for the first time. For a second I got lost into his eyes, I finally looked down. “let me buy you new coffee?” he asked. “It was my fault” I nodded. “My treat” he smiled slightly. “Sure” I nodded and walked back to the front with him. I ordered my drink after he ordered his. “Excuse me I forgot to introduce myself”  he smiled. “I'm Austin,” he said. “Nice to meet you, I'm y/n” I smiled as I looked at him. “It's nice to meet you” he smiled softly. We both grabbed our coffees and headed out the door. “Wait before you go, can I get your number?” he asked. “Sure” I took out a pen and wrote my number on his hand. “Hope to see you soon” he smiled as he walked off. “Me too” I took a sip from my drink. It was a meeting over spilled coffee but turned into something we both didn't expect.

Edwin: I was sitting outside of my apartment waiting for my friend to show up. She finally pulled up and I got into her car. We finally pulled up to the beach where all of our friends were waiting for us. I got out of the car and greeted everyone, hugging everyone. “Come on we have food over here,” my best friend said. “It smells amazing” I smiled as I followed her. I grabbed some food and sat down with my friend. “Who's that?” I asked. “Who?” she asked. “Him” I nodded towards a guy. “I have no clue,” she said. “Oh,” I nodded. “I'm sure you will know his name by the end of the night” she smiled. “Hush” I pushed her gently. I finished eating and decided that I wanted to know his name. I walked over to him tapping him on his shoulder. He turned around our eyes meet and I forgot why I was over here. “hey” he spoke softly. “hi” I smiled. “It's nice to meet you,” he said. “yea” I nodded as our eyes were still locked on each other. “Excuse me?” he asked as he broke the eye connection. “Sorry” I blushed slightly. “No problem” he smiled softly. “What's your name?” I felt dumb asking that question so bluntly. “I'm Edwin, you?” he asked. “I’m y/n” I looked back at him. “Nice to meet you” he looked at me. At first, it was an awkward silence but we finally broke it. We hung out for the rest of the night and I could say we hit it off very well.

Nick: It was Friday night and I wanted some girl time. I called up my girls and we had plans to go to the hottest bar around. I got dressed in my little black dress but I made sure to put some flats on. I wasn't one to be wearing hills in no club. I called an uber and I was off to the club. I meet up with my friends and got into the club pretty quickly. Normally we would have had been standing in line. It helps to know the bouncer, we had gone to high school together. I went and sat down at the bar trying to get the bartenders attention. “Hey,” I said. “Be there in a second?” he said. I rolled my eyes as I waited for him to get to me. “What can I get you?” he asked. I just looked him up and down like what I was seeing. I believe he was a new bartender and of course, I wanted to get to know him. “Excuse me?” he asked. “Sorry, can I get a mixed drink?” I asked. “Sure” he walked away. He finally made his way back to me placing the drink in front of me. “Hey, can I ask you something?” I asked. “Sure” he leaned against the counter. “Are you new here?” I looked at him. “my first day” he smiled slightly. “You are cute” I smiled. “Thanks, your name?” he asked. “Sorry I'm y/n” I responded. “Nice to meet you, I'm Nick,” he said. “ it's nice that I got to meet you tonight” I smiled. “I like your style” he looked at me. Throughout the night we would talk but of course, he was very busy. I waited until the bar closed, I was beyond tired but I wanted to talk to Nick. We finally exchanged numbers and left the bar. I must say a girls night turned into a chance encounter.

Brandon: I put the collar onto my dog. Hooking the leash as I grabbed my phone. I slipped on my shoes and we were out the door. My dog was beyond excited to go outside, smelling everything and everybody. We walked to the dog park, I let him off the leash. He went running around meeting other dogs, I sat down on the bench. I kept an eye on him of course but I just allowed him to be a dog. “Come here Andy” I yelled out. He had another dog by their leash and came back over to where I was. “Andy” I sighed as I grabbed the other dogs leash. “Princess” someone came running after their dog. “Sorry my dog loves other dogs” I nodded. “Its no problem” he smiled slightly. I looked up at him and I smiled as our eyes meet. “I'm Brandon,” he said. “I'm Y/N,” I said. “I guess our dogs like each other” he chuckled slightly. “Yea Andy is surely looking for a girlfriend” I smiled. “Well I think Princess likes him” he smiled as he looked at me. “It's nice to meet you,” I said. “Same,” he said. Andy grabbed Princess leashed and ran around our legs. I stumbled against Brandon, he grabbed my arms making sure I didn't fall. “Andy” I laughed as I got us both free. “Funny dog,” Brandon said. “Yea he is” I nodded. “Maybe we could get together some time?” he asked. “Sure” I nodded. “For the dogs or just maybe us” he smiled. “Sounds like fun” I nodded. I put my number in his phone before leaving. I took Andy back home and I couldn't stop smiling, just thinking about Brandon. I guess my dog was a matchmaker for himself and me.

Zion: I stood in line so I could get my book for class. I sighed as I knew it would take forever but I was excited to be in school. I finally got my books and as well as my schedule. I sat down at the table looking over everything and I saw that it would be a very busy semester. I shoved everything in my bag as I got up from the table. I didn't realize someone was behind me as I ran right into them. “Oh my god, I'm sorry,” I said. “Its fine,” he said as he turned to face me. “I should be watching where I'm going,” I said. “Its fine, maybe I'll see you around?” he smiled. “Sure” I looked up at him. “I'm Zion” he looked down at me. “I'm y/n,” I said. “Nice to meet you, maybe you could be my lunch date?” he smirked slightly. “Maybe?” I questioned. 'Will you be my lunch date?” he asked. “I like your style” I laughed slightly. “I like your style” he smiled. “Then its a date, meet here later?” I asked. “Sure” he smiled. “Here,” I said as I grabbed his hand, writing my number on his hand. “In case you get lost” I smiled. “Maybe I'll get lost now” he smiled as he walked away. I had started to question if this school was right for me but he just erased all my doubts.

[bredsticon-blog]

title: ¡quake! & ~the wave~

desc: by day, you're a reporter for a sketchy newspaper called the exposé. by night, you're a hero named ¡quake! (the exclamation points actually stand for the ground shaking). you and a fellow reporter, brandon arreaga, have recently found the lead on a villain's identity: ~THE WAVE~ (the tildes actually stand for the water... er, waving). ~THE WAVE~ is also your archenemy. who is also brandon arreaga. ...whoops.

part: one (déjà vu)

tags: superhero au, dark! brandon arreaga, humor, love square, gender neutral reader (as always), cussing, mentions of drug use, alcohol, & death (later on)

word count: 1.2k

notes: i have a really large kink for weird multipart aus so expect more to come :^) i have an edwin and austin one coming up. whichever i update first depends on the responses i get

You're not groggy and foggy this morning. You haven't had your coffee yet and the sun isn't peaking through the boarded windows, but you don't stumble around your room, either. Not like there's much to stumble around. Furniture is hard to move from house to house. That, and you stuffed too many confidential documents in the couch cushions to trust any moving company.

In fact, you're never groggy and foggy in the mornings. You don't need to drink coffee. You could step outside in your costume, turn to the wall of flashing lights and microphones, and say three words: "I want chairs." and every furniture designer in the world would scramble to ship their best pieces to you. Not that they'd know your address—you've made certain that no one would—but they'd try.

You make your way to the living room, gingerly stepping over piles of unopened letters covered in kiss prints and heart stickers. Your fans discovered your past home, so you had to move before they found out who lived there. A box T.V., slouching on one of your untouched packing boxes, blares in the corner. You grimace and cover your ears, but you can still hear it.

"International supervillains quake at the sight of ¡quake! Haha, that was a nice one, wasn't it, Normani? Last night, ~THE WAVE~ was found plotting to stea—"

You dart to the TV and turn the volume down one notch. It goes mute. There you go, that's it. Bliss.

Not for long.

Something goes off near your hip. You scramble in the deep plush of your pajama pockets. It's like an earthquake. Your skin vibrates along with it. Your fingers clasp around smooth plastic, and you tug your phone out.

"HELLO, STERLING."

Your boss's voice explodes in your ears; you grimace, throwing your phone to a couch.

"Yes, boss?" you say, answering to your alias. Sterling wasn't your actual name, but that's what your boss calls you when she's on the phone. In case someone's tracking.

From the couch, her voice is less booming. "Sterling, a certain friend of yours has told me that you moved again? Without telling me?"

But just as terrifying.

"Yes, boss. People found my address and started sending things. Most were good but... gross things, too. Y'know how it is now. Normals have a fetish for me. My kind."

You give her a second to respond.

"You're lucky I pity you, babe." Your boss is one of a kind. She's the only person in the world who pities you. "If you weren't you, if you didn't have your condition, if you didn't always give me the juiciest stories, I'd damn near fire you for moving so much. On my bill. This is the sixth time this year, no?"

You nod, then realize that it's a phone call. "Uh- yeah. It is."

Since you're a "superhuman," the government requires that you register to UN, fingerprints included. Your superhero identity would be tacked on every piece of ID you ever own.

The thing is, you're one of the only heroes with a living archenemy. Which means you don't exactly want everyone to know who you are. Which also means that the government doesn't know you exist. Can't file taxes, buy anything substantial, or get a proper paycheck. You just rely on your boss's money to keep you afloat. Every time you move, it's been on her card.

She sighs. "Fine, fine. Just keep up the good work. You being... you is worth it."

"Will do."

"Speaking of good work, I have an assignment for you. You know that person that's been bugging you for the past few years? Well, after the information you gave me, Brandon's found something new on them." Her voice takes on a sparkle. "This is gonna be big. If this doesn't blow up our paper, I don't know what will."

Your eyebrows shoot up. Wait a minute—is she talking about the bane of your existence? ~THE WAVE~? The person that's been messing you up ever since you got your powers?

"The thing is, my darling Sterling, it's so big, I will need your sharp senses. Brandon refuses to leave this story, so both of you are going to work on it."

There's only six reporters working for the Exposé—and she's putting two on one story. That's one third of her entire business. On one story.

"Now, dear, could you tell me your new address so he could do a little hop and skip to your place? Some of this stuff is deeply sensitive."

You whisper it in the a special code you two formulated. Your ears pick up a faint scribbling sound, and she speaks once more.

"Wonderful, wonderful. He'll be over at three!"

She ends the call.

You gulp. Your house is the definition of a wreck. You have fan gifts addressed to ¡quake! all over the place, and as far as Mr. Arreaga is concerned, your name is Sterling, and you're just a humble reporter. You haven't brushed your teeth yet. You didn't take a shower in two days. Your good fits are still in your car. It's two o'clock.

As the great Captain America once said: Fuck.

You speed through your personal hygiene, going in and out of the bathroom to dig through boxes. You knew you should've unpacked sooner. You knew it, and you didn't.

After that, you take all your gifts into the basement. Or, rather, roll them into the basement, since you couldn't carry some. Being ¡quake! didn't give you super-strength, and one person literally gave you a tree (their prized Pennantia baylisiana). You have no idea how that went through UPS, but it did, and you also had the ignorance to bring it with you when you moved. You truly question why little kids look up to you.

You aggressively dust the house, push around furniture, pick a good fit, and sneeze a good fifty times before finishing. The boarded windows look suspicious, but you can just say you're a conspiracy nut. Brandon doesn't much about you, so you can make up whatever bullshit you want. Chances are, he'll believe it.

None of your coworkers know that much about you, really. The other five are pretty much brothers, while you've kept to yourself. For good reasons. You haven't killed your archenemy yet. Until then, you've vowed to keep your hero life away from your personal life. It's the only way to keep everyone safe. Especially when it's your archenemy.

So you chit chat with them, act friendly but not too friendly, just average. You bring good stories, though, the latest scoop, all that. Even if you hold back a bit, you know enough about the criminals in this area to satisfy any paper. It gives you a good excuse to act like you're leaving for an assignment when you're actually just punching ~THE WAVE~. Your coworkers don't know more than they need to. And you plan on keeping it that way.

The doorbell screams. You kick the last fan letter into a corner, and you rush to open the door.

Brandon gives you a smile.

He's cute, but still just your coworker. You gotta keep him at arms-length. You smile back, knowing you look completely dead inside.

He meets your eyes. His are dark. Like an inked signature. Like a new moon on a cloudy night. It flips a switch in you, a spark of coldness, a wisp of familiarity, and your eye twitches. Déjà vu. He stares at you. Neither of you speak.

Then he blushes. "So, uh, I'm guessing this is where the infamous Sterling lives?"

--

a/n: i know this sucked ass. dont remind me