Conner Bailey x Reader: Author’s Block
Fan fiction from the series, ‘The Land of Stories’ by Chris Colfer. You don’t have to read the book to understand this fanfiction, but I totally recommend! Anyway, Conner is such a small bean so here ya go!
Requested: No
Warnings: Really mild swearing. There is NO F BOMB.
Word count: 1,244
Things you probably wanna know:
(Y/N): Your Name
(R/B/N): Random Boy’s Name
(N/N): Nick Name
***
You bit your lip, tapping your pencil at the edge of your desk as you stared at the blank paper in front of you. You were drawing a blank as you thought of all the ideas that you had thought of beforehand. You knew exactly what was going to happen, who the characters were going to be and when everybody dies. You just didn’t know where to start.
Ideas swirled around your head. Should you start with the main character waking up from a coma? No, that’s too boring. Maybe you should start with a battle? No, that doesn’t give enough introduction.
You groaned, slamming your head against the table. You had to get this story into the competition in two weeks; you obviously procrastinated.
“Hey (Y/N)! ... What’s wrong with you?”
A voice was sounded at the doorway and you recognised it immediately. You lifted your head up with a smile. “Hiya Conner! Nothing’s wrong with me! I’m just trying and failing to write a short story! Everything’s all fine and dandy!” Your eye twitched as you gave a very animated greeting.
“Let me guess... writer’s block?” He snickered.
The boy had light brown hair and sky blue eyes. He was taller than you by a lot. Like, he was really, really tall. You could remember the times when you were just a little taller than him. That’s when he had that super unplanned growth spurt. You were so surprised that you thought he convinced Alex to magic him taller.
“Anyway,” he continued, “you’ll build a bridge and get over that soon enough.”
That only made you more aggravated and you almost snapped a pencil. “But I don’t have time for that!”
He was silent for a moment before pulling you up from your chair. “Come on,” he said. “I’m going to help you.”
You rolled your eyes. “Uh huh, sure. What are you going to do? Get Red to tell me all about what happened in her life? Get me to write Trollbella a biography?”
It’s been about a year since you, Conner and Alex defeated the Literary Army. You haven’t been in the fairy-tale world for ages; heck, you wouldn’t be surprised if another war began to rage. The two of you were now seventeen, completing your eleventh grade and practically running on coffee.
“No,” Conner scoffed, “I’m not that mean. Trollbella would give me hell for it, anyway.”
“So where exactly are you taking me?” The two of you were outside your apartment building and he was definitely dragging you somewhere.
“My inspiration guild!” He paused. “You have a bike, right?”
**
Less than half an hour later, the two were at a park nearing the centre of the city. It was a pretty but small park with a lake in the middle. Hanging over the lake was a beautiful willow that was surrounded by lush green grass. The grass was littered with small white flowers, too small to pick but beautiful all the same.
Beside the lake was a picnic area with tables and chairs; some even had built in chess boards.
“So this is where you get all your inspiration?” You took in your surroundings, a small smile gracing your features. “It’s pretty.”
He nodded in response. “It reminds me of the fairy village, actually. Whenever I get an author’s block, I come here to take a breather.”
The two of you parked your bikes before walking over to the benches. You plopped yourself down in front of a chess set. You let out a laugh. “I never really enjoyed chess.”
He chuckled, “me neither.”
Silence crept its way and rested over you like a thick cloud. It was a good silence, though. Friendly and comfortable. It gave you the time to think about your story and how everything was going to unfold.
Conner glanced over at you every so often, a find smile taking over his features. Over the past few years, he couldn’t help but feel attached to you. After all, you were kind, thoughtful and brave. Still, both of you knew that you were also reckless and stubborn. During the attack of the Literary Army, you would do everything in your power to protect your friends, even if that meant dying while you did. At some point, he was sure that you took an arrow for him, even if you refused to show the pain.
However, these traits only made him more drawn to you. Even with those traits, you had a quiet demeanour and you didn’t talk unless it was necessary to do so. Often he found you lost in your own thoughts, sometimes against your own will. Sometimes he yearned to know what you were thinking about; he wondered if you ever thought about him. It was safe to say that he had the smallest crush on you. After all, the two of you were authors and were working with each other in order to exchange ideas.
His quiet thoughts were interrupted when you yelled out in excitement.
“I got it!”
He almost fell off his chair in surprise. “Trying to kill me now, are we?”
You giggled. “Sorry. Anyway, I finally have an idea! And when I say ‘finally’ I really mean finally!”
“Would you mind sharing what you’re planning to write?” He raised an eyebrow with a small laugh.
“So, you know how I’m writing about how the girl is trapped in a house and she can’t get out? Okay, so the first thing I’m going to write is how she hears people talking around her. Obviously, she freaks and tries to kill those people, but whatever,” you grin. “Thanks, Conner!”
All was quiet apart from the occasional tweeting of birds. You bit your lip before breaking the silence. “Hey, Connor? I’ve been meaning to ask; how are you and Bree?”
He frowned. Oh yes, Bree Campbell, his friend from eighth grade and now ex-girlfriend. “Oh, Bree. We... broke up. About a month ago.” He must have caught your sympathetic look and he quickly covered it up. “We’re still on good terms, though. We agreed to be just friends.”
You nodded. “I see. If you don’t mind me asking, what happened? Every time I see you, you both look so happy.”
He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. “It just didn’t feel right anymore. I guess we both liked someone else; continuing our relationship would be like lying to ourselves.” He turned to you, “what about you and (R/B/N)?”
“Oh, him?” You rolled your eyes. “I was only helping him get with the girl he likes. Now they’re a couple and I couldn’t be happier for him!” You smirked at him. “Why, jealous?”
In all honesty, he was, in fact, very jealous. He would always see the two of you together, laughing your butts off, and that sparked some kind of anger within him. He couldn’t help but blush at the accusation. “N-No...” he mentally punched himself for stuttering.
Your smirk widened but you didn’t pester about the subject any further. Instead, you gave him a loving side hug, his blush darkening. “Thanks, Conner, you’re the best.”
Let’s just say that Conner was a blushing mess when he got home.
•Extended Scene•
“Conner, geez Louise, you’re super red! Are you sick?”
“I’m fine, Alex... it’s just a little warm in here.”
“Oh! YOU WERE WITH (Y/N) WEREN’T YOU?!”
“DAMMIT, ALEX, CAN’T KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT FOR ONE MINUTE, CAN YOU?!”
