a small anthology [part 1]
itunes shuffle portion of a collection of writing exercises
warnings: drinking; allusions to drug use, character death and age difference in a relationship (nothing explicit)
1. jackson (got7)/hyunyoung (rainbow): staple it together- jack johnson
he's head over heels for her, has been for as long as he can remember, but he has things he needs to do (the olympics are calling his name), so he lets her go.
(graduation and joy is shining in her eyes and her arms are around his neck and something wells up inside of him and he has an inexplicable to whisper 'marry me', to tell her he's coming with her on her trip around the world, but instead he says 'one last night, huh? better make it one to remember', except he doesn't, she does; he tells her he's promised his night to his friends and something dims in her eyes but then she's kissing him goodbye and before he knows it she's gone.)
years later and gold medals under his belt and he runs into her again, curvier and more tanned and the last remnants of honey blonde hair growing out and he's drowning in feelings he thought he'd forgotten and she looks so happy; so happy he can't bring himself to ruin that, to say anything to her, not when her stomach is curved in a way that isn't weight gain and her cheeks are flushed with something he can't name.
so he just smiles and congratulates her, and then supports her when he finds out when she's alone (she has enough on her plate, she doesn't need him comfusing things) and he plays with her daughter, rosy cheeked and looking so much like her, and he never says anything, can't bring himself to say anything.
it's only years later, after a chubby-cheeked three year old calls him her dad, that he says anything and it's met with glistening eyes and fond admonishments and welcoming arms and he can hardly believe it was so easy.
2. jimin (15&)/joy (red velvet): my inspiration- prime circle
jimin was at a complete loss of what to paint for her final project (she wasn't sure why she'd been talked into doing art in the first place- she blamed yerin for dragging her off to the community hall twice a week- but yerin could actually draw).
she was about to paint a flower and be done with it, she was telling yerin, when she saw a flash of orange in the corner of her eye and her knees almost gave out.
'can i paint you?' she blurted out, abandoning yerin abruptly, starring starry eyes at the girl in front of her. 'for an art class,' she hastened to add, and the girl gave a hesitant nod.
'okay? i guess. i'm joy.'
'jimin,' jimin gushed, unable to believe it had worked.
she refused to allow joy to see any progess fot the weeks she painted her, citing something that sounded pretentious-artist enough as an excuse.
(it's hardly better than a stick figure, shapes and painted over features and long flowing orange hair at the end of it, and joy's waiting for her outside the last class to see it.
'i can't really paint,' admits jimin, 'or draw. i kind of just wanted to look at you a lot.'
joy's eyes are sparkling as she laughs. 'i like it,' she says, 'very abstract.' she gives jimin a wink. 'maybe i should paint you next.')
3. jungkook (bts)/yerin (15&): smile- david byrne
he'd never actually spoken to her before, but he knew her. he'd seen her around, laughing with her friends and her smile made the greyest days seem happy.
-
it was raining and her head was bowed as she sat on a bench and he had to ask her if she was okay, and she looked up, hair plastered to her damp face and she gave him a soft smile.
'i think so,' she told him 'just feeling a little blue.'
'must be the cold,' he blurted without thinking, 'you're looking a little blue too.'
she laughed that time.
'do you wanna come for a drink?' he asked, 'it should make you feel less blue. i mean, warm you up. i don't recommend drinking your problems away. not that you have problems- not saying you don't, most people do- i mean- i don't know you. so forget everything i just said. would you like a drink?'
she was smiling wide at his pink cheeks, amusement dancing in her eyes.
'i'd like that,' she said and he couldn't help the smile pulling at his lips.
-
'i wouldn't recommend drinking problems away, either,' she remarked as they walked, 'but it really does work sometimes.'
--
'hey, jungkook?' she said softly one afternoon, the sky cloudless for months. 'do you wanna go out?'
'go out where?' he asked, concentrating on twisting flower stalks.
'no, with me,' she corrected and he looked up. the silence stretched between then before he smiled adn placed a flower crown on her head.
'i'd like that,' he said.
4. yugyeom/bambam (got7): the takeover, the breaks over- fall out boy
'fancy seeing you here,' yugyeom says softly, appearing at bambam's elbow, drink in hand.
(of course he'd be here, really, high profile event and bambam's face splashed across front pages every other day)
bambam starts and looks at yugyeom, blinking a little before his posture changes almost imperceptibly.
'i'm sorry, do we know each other?' bambam inquires and yugyeom laughs.
'please, don't even pretend you don't remember me.'
'do we know each other?' bambam repeats and yugyeom rolls his eyes.
'not in this world,' he answers, 'only in one behind closed doors years ago, rolling between cum-stained sheets and basking in stolen sunlight.' he pauses to take a sip of his drink. 'you know, i've oftened wondered how much the tabloids would pay for that story.'
he raises his glass in a mockery of a toast and wanders away.
-
'asshole,' he hears later when he comes out of a toilet cubicle to see bambam leaning against the bathroom door with folded arms.
yugyeom laughs. 'please, how many times did you threaten to out me back in college?' bambam shrugs.
'did you marry that socialite princess your parents approved of?' bambam asks and yugyeom hums in reply.
'yerin and i are very happy together,' he says, 'our daughter's totally unaware she's a political move.'
'daughter, huh?' bambam comments and yugyeom wipes his hands on his pants.
'she's three.' he pauses. 'yerin's very close to her nanny.'
bambam laughs and steps away from the door, reaching for yugyeom as if given permission, and yugyeom kisses back with vigour.
'it's been too long,' bambam murmurs and yugyeom grins.
'you should come over for supper.'
5. jaebum (got7)/yezi (fiestar): ghost song- jim morrison
the fires are burning low and there's drumbeats somewhere in the distance, people wandering around in various stages of energetic and leisurely. fairylights strung around someone like a poncho bob through the desert, fading like dying fireflies as the path is illuminated by headlights affixed to people's head.
someone's on a bicycle, meandering on a curvy road through the people, wrapped up with as many items of clothing they can find, a makeshift cape billowing from their neck.
it's cold in the desert at night, but jaebum doesn't notice that either, too lost in the warping of his mind, too lost in the way yeji tastes under his lips and the way her hands feel tugging at his hair, and he tries to press closer, to breath more of her in.
'there's people,' she whispers against his lips, barely audible, and his mind scrambles to understand.
'what?'
'there's people watching,' she says on a bubble of laughter and he leans in to suck a flower into her neck.
'sharing's the whole point of this festival,' he mumbles and he can feel her laugh.
he's grinning when she nudges him off, and he swears the moonlight is caught in her blonde hair as she tugs at his hand and walks on her knees into their tent, and he follows without protest, willing to go anywhere she leads.
the zip of the tent feels loud as it muffles the sound around them, capturing time inside wind-blown canvas, and then her lips are on his again, and he's never been more content.
6. jungkook (bts)/bambam (got7): scotty doesn't know- lustra
bambam's gaping at the stage in horrified disbelief while jungkook's trying his best not to laugh into his drink (and failing miserably, judging by the amount of beer he's just spilled down his front).
'is this actually happening,' bambam says and jungkook pats him on the shoulder and offers him the dregs of his beer.
'sorry, man. never liked her.'
bambam gives his beer a disgusted look. 'that's not going to do anything.' and then he's ploughing through the crowd, his fingers tight around jungkook's wrist as he heads towards the drinks table.
jungkook's never been able to keep up with bambam once he gets drinking, and tonight's no different, and jungkook's definitely using bambam as a support as he hiccups out giggles, nuzzling into bambam's neck.
he's quite content with where he is when bambam yells out, swaying slightly.
'hey, babe!'
jungkook looks up and squints to see bambam's ex-girlfriend (as of about eight hours previously) and he grins a little, giving her a little wave.
'guess what i was doing all those times you cancelled on me?' bambam yells at her, then jungkook's going crosseyed at bambam's thumb very close to his face. 'this guy.'
jungkook almost falls over as bambam wiggles out of his grasp to kiss him, so he leans into the kiss instead before dissolving into laughter, shooting the gaping girl a slightly smug grin (he thinks; he means to, anyway, he doesn't know if his face is cooperating).
'and, sweetheart, you don't even come close,' bambam finishes, hand gripping tight on jungkook's waistband. 'guess that makes us even.'
7. poppy/myles: same direction- hoobastank
* girl7!verse; poppy=jaehwa=fem!jaebum; jess=jinkyeong=fem!jinyoung; myles=cap (teentop)
poppy was fuming, throwing her bag down on her bed, wondering, not for the first time, if it was really worth it. if myles was a good idea (and she didn't have jess to tell her he wasn't anymore, didn't have jess to talk her down from whatever fight they'd had, and that was the root of it all really; jess was gone and poppy just wanted to believe something that would make her feel better, she just wanted a small hope that it wasn't forever and ever til the end of time, and maybe it's not what she normally believed, went against the reason she'd developed her thoughts on, but goddammit he just just let her believe, let her cling onto threads of hope no matter how foolish, at least until she didn't feel she needed them anymore).
she dug her phone out and was halfway done dialling when she faltered, staring at the familiar face that popped up with the contact, the raised-eyebrows-expression that always made her laugh, her breath catching in her throat until-
fuck it, she decided, and her nail clinked against the screen with the force she hit call and she brought the phone to her ear, staring up at her ceiling.
hey, this is jess, can't come to the phone right now so try again later, leave a message or call whoever you were actually trying to reach.
'hey, jess,' poppy began, something inside her loosening as she imagined jess was on the other end of the line, disparaging remarks about myles ready at the tip of her tongue. 'hope you're- i hope there's something out there for you; or at least if there is that it's something good. i miss you. myles's being a jerk. i mean. not really. he's just saying that there's nothing after death and i know i've said that and god, you spent most of your life saying that, but that was before- before i lost you, you know, and now i just- now i just really hope there is. i don't want this to be forever, jess, i don't want to think that everything that made you you is gone. he can let me believe that, right? it's not too much to ask?' her phone beeped, and she figured the message time is running short anyway. 'i miss you, jess. it hurts so much, and maybe it's selfish of me to say that, but- i can't help it. i love you. you better be waiting for me in the next life.' she hung up and let her phone drop from her hand.
it rang again a heartbeat later and she stared at myles's picture on the screen for a while, deciding whether she wanted to answer. at the last second, she pressed accept and held it up to her ear.
'what.'
'i'm sorry.' his deep voice said, and she could hear the worry in it. 'i shouldn't have said what i did. i'm sorry. i know you're having a really hard time with this, and i swear i was just- i was just trying to help.'
'didn't work.'
'yeah. i noticed. i'm sorry. can i come over?'
poppy sighed. 'i don't know, i kind of want to be alone right now.'
the silence stretched out. 'you sure?'
poppy swallowed the lump in her throat down. 'no.'
'i promise i won't say anything stupid if i come over.'
'it wasn't stupid, it was just-' poppy let out a breath. 'it doesn't matter. no matter what any of us believe it's not going to change anything. we all believe in different things and it'll end the same for all of us.'
'yeah,' he said, 'but... none of us know what that end is, so. believing doesn't do any harm.'
something loosened in poppy's chest and she turned onto her side, burying her face in her arm. 'come over,' she whispered, voice hot and burning in her throat and she heard his assent before she let the phone drop to the bed, tears following after.
8. jessica/myles/leon: yellow taxi- matt costa
*girl7!verse; jessica=jinkyeong=fem!jinyoung; myles=cap (teentop); leon=l.joe (teentop)
leon reached out to touch myles's elbow, forehead creased as he peered at a figure sitting on the curb. 'hey, isn't that jess?' he asked and myles craned his neck to see.
'huh,' he said, 'yeah, i think it is. wonder what she's doing this side of town.'
leon started to head towards her. 'hey, jess!'
she looked up at the call, wary surprise etched on her features until she relaxed. 'oh, hey. didn't expect to see you guys here.'
'had to pick up something,' leon explained, and gave her a onceover (clothes far too dressy for an early sunday morning). 'looks like we need to pick you up too. can you walk?'
'fuck off,' she said with a short laugh. 'i may be a bit hungover but i'm not an invalid.'
myles laughed as he held out a hand for her to grab. 'so what are you doing out here?'
'early morning stroll,' she said, sarcasm dripping from her words.
'in those heels? brave.'
'how were you planning to get home?' leon asked, scanning for a purse or bag of any kind.
jess gave a attempted careless shrug. 'not sure,' she admitted, 'i think i left all my things with poppy last night.'
myles gave a low whistle. 'you want me to tell her you're not dead?'
'please,' jess said with a almost-sheepish laugh.
'good thing we ran into you, then,' leon said, voice overly-jovial, 'we're your knights in shining armour. you wanna share a taxi?'
'i'll bum a taxi ride off you,' she negotiated and leon pretended to consider it.
'i don't know, taxi's can be pricey...'
'too bad your mate's dating my best friend, then,' jess shot back and leon gave myles a throwaway glance.
myles shrugged. 'can't risk leaving her, poppy'll have my hide.'
leon laughs and slung an arm awkwardly around jess' shoulders, pretending that he wasn't just a bit too short for it to be comfortable.
'guess you're stuck with us whether you like it or not.'
'i could think of worse people to be stuck with,' jess muttered with a wince.
'wanna talk about it?' myles asked.
'not really.'
'you sure?' leon teased and jess laughed.
'i suppose we do need conversation for the car ride.'
9. lily/conchobar: goodbye- secondhand serenade
*girl7!verse; lily=yerin (15&); conchobar=jungkook (bts)
his heart's beating in his ears and he doesn't know how to articulate, how to say how he feels, how to tell her- because as soon as he tells her, she's going to know that he hasn't been completely honest with her for years, and he doesn't want to hurt her (doesn't want to lose her) but he can't see anyway out of this without that happening, and he feels like shit but he can't keep it from her any longer; it's not fair to her.
he runs through the words he's going to say to her over and over again in his mind; prepares his speech of how he loves and adores but it's for the best, because he's a piece of shit not good enough for her, never was, and she deserves so much better, deserves someone whose heart isn't confused and greedy and it's the scariest thing he's ever done, he's sure of it.
'hey.'
her soft voice jolts him out of his near-hysteria and he turns to face her shit i'm not ready i can't do this oh god somebody help mom do it for me please
'lily,' he says on an exhale, 'hey.'
'you sounded nervous on the phone.'
he runs a nervous hand through his hair. 'uh, yeah. um. do you- actually it's probably better if i just say it.'
her forehead creases slightly. 'say what?'
he takes a deep breath and almost forgets to let it out. 'lil, you know- you know i love you, right?'
lily gives a slow nod. 'yeah.'
his resolve weakens and he almost gives it all up (but he can't do that to her; not anymore, so he steels himself).
'okay, so. i love you. i honestly do. i'm in love you, i think i always will be, you're- you're one of the best things that ever happened to me- but-'
her eyebrows raise ever so slightly, and shit he already wants to cry.
'but?' she prompts.
'butilikeyuji,' he says in a rush and her forehead creases.
'what?'
'i like yuji,' he says, more clearly, 'i have for as long as i can remember, and i'm pretty sure i'm in love with her too, and i don't know how it happened, and i've never done anything with her except for one kiss back in fifth grade which hardly counts, and i've been trying to ignore it, but it's not going away and i can't hide it from you any longer, it's not fair to you, it's not fair for you to think that you're the only one in my heart even though i wish you were because this is horrible, but you're not and i can't lie to you anymore, and- i think we should break up.' his voice turns subdued and quieter at the end, and she blinks, looking a bit taken aback.
'i'm not saying that because i want to date her- i wouldn't do that to you- but... i mean, you probably want to break up as well after that, i don't blame you. i mean, it's probably for the best. you deserve someone who'll devote himself to you and only you. not that i wouldn't, but- well, i mean, the long and short of it is, breaking up would probably be the best move, and i'm not going to date yuji.'
'why not?'
lily's question catches him off guard and he has no answers rehearsed for that question.
'why- because- because- i'm- i'm not going to break up with you just to date her- she probably doesn't even want to date me anyway-' he's stammeriing and confused.
'so don't break up with me.'
'what?' he says helplessly.
'don't break up with me-' she pauses briefly, '-and date her as well.'
conchobar sits down on the nearest surface, feeling as though nothing was going the way he thought it would.
'what?' he tries again.
lily gives a little giggle. 'i know you like her, conchobar. i've kind of always known. you're not exactly subtle about it.'
'you never- but you never said anything.'
lily shrugs. 'because i trust you. and i knew you liked me just as much. you're kind of transparent with your emotions like that.'
all he can manage is a confused sound, and lily comes to sit next to him.
'i like yuji. i mean, we're really good friends. and i love you. and... look, we've often joked about sharing you, and... well, i'm okay with it, if it's with her, and- well, we can talk to her. or i can talk to her. but you should ask her out. there'll need to be some ground rules, probably, and communication will be really important, but... we could make it work.'
all he can do is gape.
'you never know until you try,' she tells him, 'i'm willing to give it a go if you are.'
'you're an actual angel,' he manages after ages of staring, 'i don't deserve you.'
she laughs. 'well, then i'm glad i'm settling.'
10. bambi/simon: i feel fine- the beatles
*girl7!verse; bambi=fem!bambam; simon=siwon (super junior)
simon was happy as anything, humming his way to work, thoughts filled with the blue haired beauty he'd been seeing.
well, they weren't necessarily official, but they were as good as, in his mind. he was planning to ask her to be his girlfriend on their next date- he had it all planned out; he'd take her out and insist they stay out for a good amount of time instead of her draggin him back to his place halfway through the date as she kept doing. he smiled a bit at that. she really was something else.
he flicked through the setwork he had to go through with the class he was subbing, listening to notes from the principal on the class and the teacher who'd fallen sick, paying attention to the pertinent bits, determined not to daydream too much (oh, but she was detrimental to his work ethic).
he glanced at the clock, figuring he had a few minutes to spare, and looked through the lesson plans left for him.
he couldn't wait to introduce her to his parents; he was sure they'd- well. he thought about her tattoos- but they were all easily hidden. her brightly coloured hair- there's nothing wrong with it, he reasoned. her bright clothing- well... he's sure she had something toned down in her wardrobe, and besides, it was very youthful- although maybe he could convince her to wear a longer skirt...
he shook his head. maybe it was a bit early to be thinking about introducing her to his parents. he couldn't help it. he tended to go feetfirst into relationships, and he could feel himself falling fast in this one- she was just so charming and bright (how could his parents not love her).
bambi... he let out a sigh, and glanced around quickly to make sure no one had seen. sure, he was a new teacher, a year and a half out of university, but that wasn't an excuse for him to be drifting off unprofessionally. he checked the time again and double-checked directions before heading off to find the classroom, the last of the students ducking into their own classrooms.
as he walked, he idly wondered when her birthday was- he thinks she said something about may- which would make her- his steps slowed as he realised she hadn't told him exactly how old she was... he shrugged it off. a little younger than him, he's sure she said something about university, even if she'd never said what she was studying. there was plenty of time to find all that out, it was early days yet.
he looked up to make sure he had the right classroom, and glanced at the top of the register he held.
grade tens.
he pushed open the door, not bothering to read the rest of the names on the register (he never did until he was actually taking register) so he completely missed the 'bambi' scribbled over the first name in 'williams, kanita', only seeing the top of the list so long as he walked into the class, saying a distracted 'good morning'.
warnings: drinking; allusions to drug use, character death and age difference in a relationship (nothing explicit)
1. jackson (got7)/hyunyoung (rainbow): staple it together- jack johnson
he's head over heels for her, has been for as long as he can remember, but he has things he needs to do (the olympics are calling his name), so he lets her go.
(graduation and joy is shining in her eyes and her arms are around his neck and something wells up inside of him and he has an inexplicable to whisper 'marry me', to tell her he's coming with her on her trip around the world, but instead he says 'one last night, huh? better make it one to remember', except he doesn't, she does; he tells her he's promised his night to his friends and something dims in her eyes but then she's kissing him goodbye and before he knows it she's gone.)
years later and gold medals under his belt and he runs into her again, curvier and more tanned and the last remnants of honey blonde hair growing out and he's drowning in feelings he thought he'd forgotten and she looks so happy; so happy he can't bring himself to ruin that, to say anything to her, not when her stomach is curved in a way that isn't weight gain and her cheeks are flushed with something he can't name.
so he just smiles and congratulates her, and then supports her when he finds out when she's alone (she has enough on her plate, she doesn't need him comfusing things) and he plays with her daughter, rosy cheeked and looking so much like her, and he never says anything, can't bring himself to say anything.
it's only years later, after a chubby-cheeked three year old calls him her dad, that he says anything and it's met with glistening eyes and fond admonishments and welcoming arms and he can hardly believe it was so easy.
2. jimin (15&)/joy (red velvet): my inspiration- prime circle
jimin was at a complete loss of what to paint for her final project (she wasn't sure why she'd been talked into doing art in the first place- she blamed yerin for dragging her off to the community hall twice a week- but yerin could actually draw).
she was about to paint a flower and be done with it, she was telling yerin, when she saw a flash of orange in the corner of her eye and her knees almost gave out.
'can i paint you?' she blurted out, abandoning yerin abruptly, starring starry eyes at the girl in front of her. 'for an art class,' she hastened to add, and the girl gave a hesitant nod.
'okay? i guess. i'm joy.'
'jimin,' jimin gushed, unable to believe it had worked.
she refused to allow joy to see any progess fot the weeks she painted her, citing something that sounded pretentious-artist enough as an excuse.
(it's hardly better than a stick figure, shapes and painted over features and long flowing orange hair at the end of it, and joy's waiting for her outside the last class to see it.
'i can't really paint,' admits jimin, 'or draw. i kind of just wanted to look at you a lot.'
joy's eyes are sparkling as she laughs. 'i like it,' she says, 'very abstract.' she gives jimin a wink. 'maybe i should paint you next.')
3. jungkook (bts)/yerin (15&): smile- david byrne
he'd never actually spoken to her before, but he knew her. he'd seen her around, laughing with her friends and her smile made the greyest days seem happy.
-
it was raining and her head was bowed as she sat on a bench and he had to ask her if she was okay, and she looked up, hair plastered to her damp face and she gave him a soft smile.
'i think so,' she told him 'just feeling a little blue.'
'must be the cold,' he blurted without thinking, 'you're looking a little blue too.'
she laughed that time.
'do you wanna come for a drink?' he asked, 'it should make you feel less blue. i mean, warm you up. i don't recommend drinking your problems away. not that you have problems- not saying you don't, most people do- i mean- i don't know you. so forget everything i just said. would you like a drink?'
she was smiling wide at his pink cheeks, amusement dancing in her eyes.
'i'd like that,' she said and he couldn't help the smile pulling at his lips.
-
'i wouldn't recommend drinking problems away, either,' she remarked as they walked, 'but it really does work sometimes.'
--
'hey, jungkook?' she said softly one afternoon, the sky cloudless for months. 'do you wanna go out?'
'go out where?' he asked, concentrating on twisting flower stalks.
'no, with me,' she corrected and he looked up. the silence stretched between then before he smiled adn placed a flower crown on her head.
'i'd like that,' he said.
4. yugyeom/bambam (got7): the takeover, the breaks over- fall out boy
'fancy seeing you here,' yugyeom says softly, appearing at bambam's elbow, drink in hand.
(of course he'd be here, really, high profile event and bambam's face splashed across front pages every other day)
bambam starts and looks at yugyeom, blinking a little before his posture changes almost imperceptibly.
'i'm sorry, do we know each other?' bambam inquires and yugyeom laughs.
'please, don't even pretend you don't remember me.'
'do we know each other?' bambam repeats and yugyeom rolls his eyes.
'not in this world,' he answers, 'only in one behind closed doors years ago, rolling between cum-stained sheets and basking in stolen sunlight.' he pauses to take a sip of his drink. 'you know, i've oftened wondered how much the tabloids would pay for that story.'
he raises his glass in a mockery of a toast and wanders away.
-
'asshole,' he hears later when he comes out of a toilet cubicle to see bambam leaning against the bathroom door with folded arms.
yugyeom laughs. 'please, how many times did you threaten to out me back in college?' bambam shrugs.
'did you marry that socialite princess your parents approved of?' bambam asks and yugyeom hums in reply.
'yerin and i are very happy together,' he says, 'our daughter's totally unaware she's a political move.'
'daughter, huh?' bambam comments and yugyeom wipes his hands on his pants.
'she's three.' he pauses. 'yerin's very close to her nanny.'
bambam laughs and steps away from the door, reaching for yugyeom as if given permission, and yugyeom kisses back with vigour.
'it's been too long,' bambam murmurs and yugyeom grins.
'you should come over for supper.'
5. jaebum (got7)/yezi (fiestar): ghost song- jim morrison
the fires are burning low and there's drumbeats somewhere in the distance, people wandering around in various stages of energetic and leisurely. fairylights strung around someone like a poncho bob through the desert, fading like dying fireflies as the path is illuminated by headlights affixed to people's head.
someone's on a bicycle, meandering on a curvy road through the people, wrapped up with as many items of clothing they can find, a makeshift cape billowing from their neck.
it's cold in the desert at night, but jaebum doesn't notice that either, too lost in the warping of his mind, too lost in the way yeji tastes under his lips and the way her hands feel tugging at his hair, and he tries to press closer, to breath more of her in.
'there's people,' she whispers against his lips, barely audible, and his mind scrambles to understand.
'what?'
'there's people watching,' she says on a bubble of laughter and he leans in to suck a flower into her neck.
'sharing's the whole point of this festival,' he mumbles and he can feel her laugh.
he's grinning when she nudges him off, and he swears the moonlight is caught in her blonde hair as she tugs at his hand and walks on her knees into their tent, and he follows without protest, willing to go anywhere she leads.
the zip of the tent feels loud as it muffles the sound around them, capturing time inside wind-blown canvas, and then her lips are on his again, and he's never been more content.
6. jungkook (bts)/bambam (got7): scotty doesn't know- lustra
bambam's gaping at the stage in horrified disbelief while jungkook's trying his best not to laugh into his drink (and failing miserably, judging by the amount of beer he's just spilled down his front).
'is this actually happening,' bambam says and jungkook pats him on the shoulder and offers him the dregs of his beer.
'sorry, man. never liked her.'
bambam gives his beer a disgusted look. 'that's not going to do anything.' and then he's ploughing through the crowd, his fingers tight around jungkook's wrist as he heads towards the drinks table.
jungkook's never been able to keep up with bambam once he gets drinking, and tonight's no different, and jungkook's definitely using bambam as a support as he hiccups out giggles, nuzzling into bambam's neck.
he's quite content with where he is when bambam yells out, swaying slightly.
'hey, babe!'
jungkook looks up and squints to see bambam's ex-girlfriend (as of about eight hours previously) and he grins a little, giving her a little wave.
'guess what i was doing all those times you cancelled on me?' bambam yells at her, then jungkook's going crosseyed at bambam's thumb very close to his face. 'this guy.'
jungkook almost falls over as bambam wiggles out of his grasp to kiss him, so he leans into the kiss instead before dissolving into laughter, shooting the gaping girl a slightly smug grin (he thinks; he means to, anyway, he doesn't know if his face is cooperating).
'and, sweetheart, you don't even come close,' bambam finishes, hand gripping tight on jungkook's waistband. 'guess that makes us even.'
7. poppy/myles: same direction- hoobastank
* girl7!verse; poppy=jaehwa=fem!jaebum; jess=jinkyeong=fem!jinyoung; myles=cap (teentop)
poppy was fuming, throwing her bag down on her bed, wondering, not for the first time, if it was really worth it. if myles was a good idea (and she didn't have jess to tell her he wasn't anymore, didn't have jess to talk her down from whatever fight they'd had, and that was the root of it all really; jess was gone and poppy just wanted to believe something that would make her feel better, she just wanted a small hope that it wasn't forever and ever til the end of time, and maybe it's not what she normally believed, went against the reason she'd developed her thoughts on, but goddammit he just just let her believe, let her cling onto threads of hope no matter how foolish, at least until she didn't feel she needed them anymore).
she dug her phone out and was halfway done dialling when she faltered, staring at the familiar face that popped up with the contact, the raised-eyebrows-expression that always made her laugh, her breath catching in her throat until-
fuck it, she decided, and her nail clinked against the screen with the force she hit call and she brought the phone to her ear, staring up at her ceiling.
hey, this is jess, can't come to the phone right now so try again later, leave a message or call whoever you were actually trying to reach.
'hey, jess,' poppy began, something inside her loosening as she imagined jess was on the other end of the line, disparaging remarks about myles ready at the tip of her tongue. 'hope you're- i hope there's something out there for you; or at least if there is that it's something good. i miss you. myles's being a jerk. i mean. not really. he's just saying that there's nothing after death and i know i've said that and god, you spent most of your life saying that, but that was before- before i lost you, you know, and now i just- now i just really hope there is. i don't want this to be forever, jess, i don't want to think that everything that made you you is gone. he can let me believe that, right? it's not too much to ask?' her phone beeped, and she figured the message time is running short anyway. 'i miss you, jess. it hurts so much, and maybe it's selfish of me to say that, but- i can't help it. i love you. you better be waiting for me in the next life.' she hung up and let her phone drop from her hand.
it rang again a heartbeat later and she stared at myles's picture on the screen for a while, deciding whether she wanted to answer. at the last second, she pressed accept and held it up to her ear.
'what.'
'i'm sorry.' his deep voice said, and she could hear the worry in it. 'i shouldn't have said what i did. i'm sorry. i know you're having a really hard time with this, and i swear i was just- i was just trying to help.'
'didn't work.'
'yeah. i noticed. i'm sorry. can i come over?'
poppy sighed. 'i don't know, i kind of want to be alone right now.'
the silence stretched out. 'you sure?'
poppy swallowed the lump in her throat down. 'no.'
'i promise i won't say anything stupid if i come over.'
'it wasn't stupid, it was just-' poppy let out a breath. 'it doesn't matter. no matter what any of us believe it's not going to change anything. we all believe in different things and it'll end the same for all of us.'
'yeah,' he said, 'but... none of us know what that end is, so. believing doesn't do any harm.'
something loosened in poppy's chest and she turned onto her side, burying her face in her arm. 'come over,' she whispered, voice hot and burning in her throat and she heard his assent before she let the phone drop to the bed, tears following after.
8. jessica/myles/leon: yellow taxi- matt costa
*girl7!verse; jessica=jinkyeong=fem!jinyoung; myles=cap (teentop); leon=l.joe (teentop)
leon reached out to touch myles's elbow, forehead creased as he peered at a figure sitting on the curb. 'hey, isn't that jess?' he asked and myles craned his neck to see.
'huh,' he said, 'yeah, i think it is. wonder what she's doing this side of town.'
leon started to head towards her. 'hey, jess!'
she looked up at the call, wary surprise etched on her features until she relaxed. 'oh, hey. didn't expect to see you guys here.'
'had to pick up something,' leon explained, and gave her a onceover (clothes far too dressy for an early sunday morning). 'looks like we need to pick you up too. can you walk?'
'fuck off,' she said with a short laugh. 'i may be a bit hungover but i'm not an invalid.'
myles laughed as he held out a hand for her to grab. 'so what are you doing out here?'
'early morning stroll,' she said, sarcasm dripping from her words.
'in those heels? brave.'
'how were you planning to get home?' leon asked, scanning for a purse or bag of any kind.
jess gave a attempted careless shrug. 'not sure,' she admitted, 'i think i left all my things with poppy last night.'
myles gave a low whistle. 'you want me to tell her you're not dead?'
'please,' jess said with a almost-sheepish laugh.
'good thing we ran into you, then,' leon said, voice overly-jovial, 'we're your knights in shining armour. you wanna share a taxi?'
'i'll bum a taxi ride off you,' she negotiated and leon pretended to consider it.
'i don't know, taxi's can be pricey...'
'too bad your mate's dating my best friend, then,' jess shot back and leon gave myles a throwaway glance.
myles shrugged. 'can't risk leaving her, poppy'll have my hide.'
leon laughs and slung an arm awkwardly around jess' shoulders, pretending that he wasn't just a bit too short for it to be comfortable.
'guess you're stuck with us whether you like it or not.'
'i could think of worse people to be stuck with,' jess muttered with a wince.
'wanna talk about it?' myles asked.
'not really.'
'you sure?' leon teased and jess laughed.
'i suppose we do need conversation for the car ride.'
9. lily/conchobar: goodbye- secondhand serenade
*girl7!verse; lily=yerin (15&); conchobar=jungkook (bts)
his heart's beating in his ears and he doesn't know how to articulate, how to say how he feels, how to tell her- because as soon as he tells her, she's going to know that he hasn't been completely honest with her for years, and he doesn't want to hurt her (doesn't want to lose her) but he can't see anyway out of this without that happening, and he feels like shit but he can't keep it from her any longer; it's not fair to her.
he runs through the words he's going to say to her over and over again in his mind; prepares his speech of how he loves and adores but it's for the best, because he's a piece of shit not good enough for her, never was, and she deserves so much better, deserves someone whose heart isn't confused and greedy and it's the scariest thing he's ever done, he's sure of it.
'hey.'
her soft voice jolts him out of his near-hysteria and he turns to face her shit i'm not ready i can't do this oh god somebody help mom do it for me please
'lily,' he says on an exhale, 'hey.'
'you sounded nervous on the phone.'
he runs a nervous hand through his hair. 'uh, yeah. um. do you- actually it's probably better if i just say it.'
her forehead creases slightly. 'say what?'
he takes a deep breath and almost forgets to let it out. 'lil, you know- you know i love you, right?'
lily gives a slow nod. 'yeah.'
his resolve weakens and he almost gives it all up (but he can't do that to her; not anymore, so he steels himself).
'okay, so. i love you. i honestly do. i'm in love you, i think i always will be, you're- you're one of the best things that ever happened to me- but-'
her eyebrows raise ever so slightly, and shit he already wants to cry.
'but?' she prompts.
'butilikeyuji,' he says in a rush and her forehead creases.
'what?'
'i like yuji,' he says, more clearly, 'i have for as long as i can remember, and i'm pretty sure i'm in love with her too, and i don't know how it happened, and i've never done anything with her except for one kiss back in fifth grade which hardly counts, and i've been trying to ignore it, but it's not going away and i can't hide it from you any longer, it's not fair to you, it's not fair for you to think that you're the only one in my heart even though i wish you were because this is horrible, but you're not and i can't lie to you anymore, and- i think we should break up.' his voice turns subdued and quieter at the end, and she blinks, looking a bit taken aback.
'i'm not saying that because i want to date her- i wouldn't do that to you- but... i mean, you probably want to break up as well after that, i don't blame you. i mean, it's probably for the best. you deserve someone who'll devote himself to you and only you. not that i wouldn't, but- well, i mean, the long and short of it is, breaking up would probably be the best move, and i'm not going to date yuji.'
'why not?'
lily's question catches him off guard and he has no answers rehearsed for that question.
'why- because- because- i'm- i'm not going to break up with you just to date her- she probably doesn't even want to date me anyway-' he's stammeriing and confused.
'so don't break up with me.'
'what?' he says helplessly.
'don't break up with me-' she pauses briefly, '-and date her as well.'
conchobar sits down on the nearest surface, feeling as though nothing was going the way he thought it would.
'what?' he tries again.
lily gives a little giggle. 'i know you like her, conchobar. i've kind of always known. you're not exactly subtle about it.'
'you never- but you never said anything.'
lily shrugs. 'because i trust you. and i knew you liked me just as much. you're kind of transparent with your emotions like that.'
all he can manage is a confused sound, and lily comes to sit next to him.
'i like yuji. i mean, we're really good friends. and i love you. and... look, we've often joked about sharing you, and... well, i'm okay with it, if it's with her, and- well, we can talk to her. or i can talk to her. but you should ask her out. there'll need to be some ground rules, probably, and communication will be really important, but... we could make it work.'
all he can do is gape.
'you never know until you try,' she tells him, 'i'm willing to give it a go if you are.'
'you're an actual angel,' he manages after ages of staring, 'i don't deserve you.'
she laughs. 'well, then i'm glad i'm settling.'
10. bambi/simon: i feel fine- the beatles
*girl7!verse; bambi=fem!bambam; simon=siwon (super junior)
simon was happy as anything, humming his way to work, thoughts filled with the blue haired beauty he'd been seeing.
well, they weren't necessarily official, but they were as good as, in his mind. he was planning to ask her to be his girlfriend on their next date- he had it all planned out; he'd take her out and insist they stay out for a good amount of time instead of her draggin him back to his place halfway through the date as she kept doing. he smiled a bit at that. she really was something else.
he flicked through the setwork he had to go through with the class he was subbing, listening to notes from the principal on the class and the teacher who'd fallen sick, paying attention to the pertinent bits, determined not to daydream too much (oh, but she was detrimental to his work ethic).
he glanced at the clock, figuring he had a few minutes to spare, and looked through the lesson plans left for him.
he couldn't wait to introduce her to his parents; he was sure they'd- well. he thought about her tattoos- but they were all easily hidden. her brightly coloured hair- there's nothing wrong with it, he reasoned. her bright clothing- well... he's sure she had something toned down in her wardrobe, and besides, it was very youthful- although maybe he could convince her to wear a longer skirt...
he shook his head. maybe it was a bit early to be thinking about introducing her to his parents. he couldn't help it. he tended to go feetfirst into relationships, and he could feel himself falling fast in this one- she was just so charming and bright (how could his parents not love her).
bambi... he let out a sigh, and glanced around quickly to make sure no one had seen. sure, he was a new teacher, a year and a half out of university, but that wasn't an excuse for him to be drifting off unprofessionally. he checked the time again and double-checked directions before heading off to find the classroom, the last of the students ducking into their own classrooms.
as he walked, he idly wondered when her birthday was- he thinks she said something about may- which would make her- his steps slowed as he realised she hadn't told him exactly how old she was... he shrugged it off. a little younger than him, he's sure she said something about university, even if she'd never said what she was studying. there was plenty of time to find all that out, it was early days yet.
he looked up to make sure he had the right classroom, and glanced at the top of the register he held.
grade tens.
he pushed open the door, not bothering to read the rest of the names on the register (he never did until he was actually taking register) so he completely missed the 'bambi' scribbled over the first name in 'williams, kanita', only seeing the top of the list so long as he walked into the class, saying a distracted 'good morning'.