Good Luck Charm

Good Luck Charm

[Arcane] Jinx x Female Reader

Summary: Jinx has been told she's a mistake and a...well, a jinx her whole life, which is why it's such a surprise when you tell her she's your good luck charm.

Word Count: 3.09k Content Warnings: A small breakdown Category: Angst + Heavy fluff || Oneshot

[A/N]: Not proofread. Just wanted a quick break in between characters again. I couldn't stop myself from writing for this dork, especially after seeing the teaser for season two.

Enjoy!

 “Alrighty, toots, I think I’m gonna head to bed. You wanna come with, or you gonna stay up a bit longer?” You turned your head over to glance at Jinx, watching as she repeatedly turned her chair partially back and forth with her eyes fixed on you. Smiling warmly, you shrugged. “Well, I’m not tired just yet, and I wanted to finish this book,” you started, watching from the corner of your eye as she seemed to slump down at your words already. “But I can just keep reading in bed.”

Jinx stood and let out a small cheer, trotting over to you and gently taking ahold of your wrist to tug you toward the bedroom you often crashed in. Ever since you had grown close to the “loose cannon” of the undercity, things in your life had rapidly changed. It started off simple – you would spend far more time hanging out with her than anyone else. Then, as things started to develop between the two of you, you began staying the night almost every night with Jinx cuddled up against you as you slept. Even when she couldn’t sleep, you could feel her arms wrapped around your shoulders while she traced random patterns against your skin.

When Jinx had told Silco of your relationship, you feared the worst, already preparing to write your will or find a way to escape his wrath. Surprisingly, though, he was rather accepting. When you asked Jinx about it in private, she told you she believed it was because he had seen how happy she had been ever since you showed up. A few days later, her theory was confirmed when Silco had called you into his office to set rules about dealing with Jinx and her issues with trust.

He warned you that Jinx could get extremely clingy and would get overprotective of you, which you had already noticed she had begun to do, so you simply nodded. He continued to speak of things such as her hallucinations and wish to keep her past a secret. You agreed to all of the terms he had set to be with his daughter, unaware of the figure stationed above you on her usual platform. Her eyes were trained solely on you, legs swinging back and forth as she let herself rest on her stomach. With her head cradled in her palms, a wide grin made its way to her lips as you calmly agreed to take care of her.

It seemed, however, that she had done the opposite, meaning she seemed to take care of you more than the other way around. More often than not, if you were outside of her hideout, it would come across more as possessive than anything. She’d blurt out insults and impulsively pick fights with people who threatened or flirted with you.

Once they realized who they were dealing with, they backed off instantly. The few poor souls who decided to test their luck suddenly went missing, as well as Jinx for a short time, and then were never seen or heard from again. You had learned to come to terms with her reckless and apathetic behavior towards outsiders rather quickly.

“Trinket? Hello? You in there, or… did ya leave this planet?” You blinked, glancing back over at the blue-haired girl as she waved her hand in your face.

“Hm? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about what’s going on in my book. I’m near the end, so everything is getting chaotic.” She snickered and hooked her arm around your shoulders as she led you into the bedroom. “Ah, then you’ll have to let me borrow that book sometime. You know I love a bit of chaos. Or a lot of it.” You smiled at her and rolled your eyes, playfully bumping against her and earning another chuckle.

As she plopped down to sit in her spot on the bed, she watched you silently while you flipped your book back open and sat on the other side of the mattress. Once you had leaned back against the pillows, it didn’t take long before you felt a head land gently on your shoulder. A quick look down let you know Jinx had already bundled up under the covers and shuffled over to cuddle against you for the night. With weary eyes, she peered down at the pages of your book, briefly skimming over the short excerpt of the story she could see.

Soon after, she let out a yawn and tucked her head further against your neck. “G’night, sweets. Love you.” You beamed down at her and pressed a small kiss to the top of her head. “Love you too, hun. Sleep well.”

By the time you had finally woken back up the next day, Jinx had already been up for a few hours. She hadn’t left the bed, but she was tracing patterns and words into your arms and back. When you shifted and yawned, she smiled and perked up rather quickly, sitting up in her spot and peeking down at you. Once you had rolled over to look her in the eye, her grin only grew. “Mornin’, toots. Did you sleep well?” You nodded and sat up, yawning again.

“Yeah, what about you?” She shrugged and toyed with the hem of your sleeve. “Eh, I slept okay. I got kinda restless after a while and woke up, and then I couldn’t go back to sleep.”

You nodded at her words. After a while of you trying to keep your eyes open, you felt Jinx lean against you and tug you close. “I don’t wanna leave to go work on those stupid experiments,” she confessed with a frown. “I just want to stay in here with you. I wish I could come down with you to your job instead.” With a small smirk, you raised a brow and glared over at her. “Oh? And why’s that?” She smirked back at you and slipped her hand down to lace your fingers with her own. “‘Cause I could keep you safe. I could beat up all the pervs that keep trying to get their nasty paws on you.”

A gentle chuckle escaped you as you pulled her further into your side. “Yeah, that’s what makes you my good luck charm. Nothing seems to go wrong for me when you’re near.” You had expected another teasing remark of some kind, though nothing came. Instead, you were greeted with silence. After a while of not receiving any kind of acknowledgment of what you had said, you looked down at Jinx. You blinked in surprise when you saw her gazing right back up at you, eyes filled with a concoction of emotions that couldn’t seem to even out.

Her brows furrowed together. One moment, she seemed confused, and the next, she seemed upset or in disbelief. Similarly to her eyes, her eyebrows couldn’t focus on which emotion to express.

“Uh, hun? You okay?”

“What’d you call me?”

“What?”

“What did you call me?”

You continued to stare at her, unsure of what you were supposed to say. “I called you ‘hun.’” She shook her head and lifted it from your shoulder to be eye level with you. “No, before that. What did you call me before that?” It took a moment for you to recall what you had said a mere moment ago. The confusion of the new situation had made it hard to wrack your memory. “‘My good luck charm?’”

She was silent for a few minutes, which felt like hours with how thick the tension had grown.

“You think I’m lucky? That I’m a lucky charm to you? Do you really think that?”

An uneasy smile and chuckle left your lips. “Well, yeah, of course I do. I mean, I always love being around you, and because of all you do for me, everything seems to go right when you’re around. You really are like a being of good luck to me.”

She seemed troubled at that, which certainly was not what you had expected. Tears welled up in her eyes and prompted them to grow glossy, though she fought them back. “But – no, I’m not lucky. I’m, I mean, my name is “Jinx” for goodness sake! I’m not good. I’m a horrible person. I mess everything up. How could you possibly believe that I’m a good luck charm? I don’t understand.” You felt your nerves spike, recognizing that she was at the beginning stages of another episode. “Woah, hey,” you whispered, placing a hand softly on her shoulder in an attempt to ground her back into reality before she could fly too far away from the present.

“No, I’m not lucky, I’m a Jinx. I’m the opposite of lucky – I’m unlucky. I didn’t – no, please, I’m not. No, shut up! She’s not trying to – stop it already!” Unintentionally, you leaned back, making sure to keep your hand in place. It seemed like Mylo had taken over again, throwing insult after insult at her and flooding her mind with false realities.

“Love, I’m sorry,” you murmured. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” She glared at you, eyes fixed on you in front of her, though she seemed to be staring so far away. Her eyes flickered as though she were reading some sort of script, incoherent mumbles rolling off her tongue. “No, you shouldn’t be… you didn’t – shut up! You shouldn’t be the one apologizing!”

You remained silent, waiting for the right time to chime in as Mylo continued to torment her. Although you had no idea what he was telling her, you could get a general idea based on the few words you could make out in her sputtering.

It took forever, but she ultimately calmed down, panting for breath and clutching handfuls of hair. When she came back to her senses, she found you holding both of her hands to prevent her from tearing her strands out again. Sometime in between her episode and her break into reality, she had begun copying your breathing the way you had helped her practice each time she had gone through it in the past. At length, she sighed and let her eyes bore down into her lap.

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered.

Softly, you cupped her face in your hands and lifted her head up to look her in the eye. She shifted her focus away from you, unable to meet your gaze. “It’s okay, I promise. I’m not mad.” The feeling of the pads of your thumbs grazing across her cheeks to wipe her tears away brought her a feeling of relief. Her tense shoulders drooped down after she sighed once again.

Moments passed. She finally forced herself to meet your eye. “Did you really mean it?” She whispered with a broken tone. “That you think I’m lucky?” You nodded with a weak grin. Again, tears pricked her eyes, though she leaned forward and buried her face in your shoulder before they could fall. Her arms lifted from her sides, hands grasping at the back of your shirt as she sucked in multiple shaky breaths.

“I’ve always thought you were lucky.”

Weeks had passed since you had started referring to Jinx as your good luck charm, then it shifted into months, and your list of nicknames began to grow. It became a common occurrence for her to hear you call her “lucky charm,” “charmer,” or even “bluebird.” It seemed as though you were shifting to just focus on positive nicknames instead of entirely pinpointing each play on the words “good luck charm,” though she wasn’t complaining.

She certainly wasn’t used to all of the compliments and the nice names. After all, she had been referred to as a jinx, a screwup, and essentially a burden her entire life up until she met Silco. It would take a while for her to accept what you said as truth, but she had started to come around to the loving nicknames. After a while, she even began to look forward to what you would call her for the day. She had started rubbing off on you in terms of nicknames as well. “Trinket” and “sweets” began to creep into your vocabulary, and she adored the way it sounded rolling off your tongue when it was directed at her.

Soon enough, the positivity had worn down part of her insecurity, so long as she was around you. You made her feel safe and secure, which wasn’t something she was used to either. Often, she could be seen practically bouncing down the halls with a cheesy grin plastered on her face, even if she had just left Silco’s office. Silco and Sevika had definitely taken notice of her sudden shift, and although Sevika didn’t understand why she was so much livelier than normal, Silco found himself smiling more often at the sight of Jinx when she’d suddenly remember the nickname you had chosen for her for the day.

When she’d sit up top on her makeshift platform in Silco’s office, she had to be given reminders in between meetings to settle down. Her legs would swing over the edge and kick at the air rhythmically, and her hands would pat randomly at the wooden planks.

She loved the nicknames, to put it bluntly. She absolutely adored them. Since that night, not once had you referred to her as Jinx. Somehow, even though everyone else called her by her known name, the mere mention of what you were calling her for the day gave her a boost of confidence. Whenever a mission would go wrong, she’d come straight to you to talk about it, then listen with a soft smile as you told her repeatedly how things would be okay and how she’s still your lucky charm.

With how suddenly all the flurry of names were thrown at her, she struggled to pick a favorite. Even so, her energy and overall glee grew daily, even beginning to show in her work. Weapons were crafted more cautiously, produced quicker, and had more expressive markings made by her oil crayons. Sevika didn’t enjoy the increase in enthusiasm, Silco certainly appreciated everything.

He still didn’t fully trust you, though it was growing increasingly obvious to him that you weren’t a threat, and in his eyes, you were there for a reason. You made Jinx happy, and that was all he really wanted in the end. As far as he was concerned, you had his blessing. He knew things could change, but after seeing how you treated her during every emotion she expressed, he figured that was a slim possibility.

As he sat in his office one day, he sighed and ran a hand down his face. The door had closed only a moment ago, and still he could hear the tapping and swaying above him. Leaning back in his chair, he gazed up at Jinx sitting on her small platform, biting back a small smile when he saw her grinning gleefully. “Jinx,” he called out just loud enough for her to hear. She finally turned her attention to him curiously. “Hm?”

“You know you need to be quiet when I have people in here. It’s very distracting with you shuffling around up there.” Jinx chuckled nervously. “Sorry.” He finally allowed himself to smile, catching Sevika off guard from her spot on the sofa. “Why don’t you spend the rest of the day with [Y/N]? You’ve earned a break, both of you.”

Instantly, Jinx dropped from her spot above and landed on Silco’s desk. She crouched down and looked him in the eye. “Really? You’re okay with that?” He nodded. “So long as you two don’t cause any major problems,” he added. She beamed brightly at his words and her eyes lit up. “Thanks!” Within an instant, she turned on her heel and hopped off the desk, already out the door and skipping down the hall to find you.

Silco grinned softly with a small shake of his head. He leaned forward again and motioned for Sevika to shut the door as he picked up a few papers to straighten them.

When Sevika returned to her spot on the sofa, she huffed out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. She bit her tongue with what she wanted to say, but a look of warning from Silco made her waver. “What are you breathing so heavily for?” She waited, trying to rephrase her words before speaking them, but ultimately gave up.

“It’s nothing against either of you. I’ve just never seen her this energetic before, and I’ve seen her get energetic in the past.” To her relief, Silco hummed and smiled. “Yes, she’s certainly been in a better mood as of lately. It’s refreshing, in a way.”

Sevika waited momentarily, unsure of what to say. “You think that girl is the reason she’s been so cheery?” “I know she is. Her name is [Y/N]. She’s known Jinx for a couple of years now, and the two of them have grown quite close in such a short amount of time. I don’t entirely approve of that girl, but Jinx has taken a liking to her, and I’d be a fool to take that away from her.”

Even with her disliking of  the blue-haired girl, Sevika couldn’t help but grin at his words. “Yeah, it is nice to see she’s stable with someone. I was worried she’d drive someone away. [Y/N], was it? She’s patient, and that’s definitely good for someone like Jinx. To be honest, I’m glad they met.”

“Yes, I am as well. I suppose I should include a few of the names [Y/N] has been using to refer to Jinx as when speaking to her. It seems to put her in a better mood, as you’ve said, and I’ve noticed an improvement in her crafts and missions.” A chuckle slipped from Sevika before she could stop it. “Yeah, she hasn’t screwed up another task in a while.”

“Pardon?”

Sevika swallowed and cleared her throat. “Sorry, sir. It was nothing.”

All the while, as they chatted away about her improvement, Jinx trailed down the hallway and all the way to her hideout. When she saw you there, sitting comfortably by her desk in the extra chair she had pulled into the room to have you nearby while she worked, she couldn’t help the smile that stretched across her lips from ear to ear. As she grew closer, she wondered what you would refer to her as that day.

Apologize

[Until Dawn] Samantha Giddings x Female Reader

Word Count: 2.04k

Proofread: Yes

Content Warnings: An argument, but nothing really specific

[A/N]: This one's really short compared to the others, but it's because that's what my intention was. I didn't want to stress out over this one, so I gave myself a really low goal of 2k words. It was fun to write this. Hope you'll enjoy. Not sure who I'll write for next. At the moment, I only have six more characters I want to write for.

Enjoy!

 It was extremely hard for Sam to get angry at someone, let alone get into an actual argument. She tended to be the level-headed one in her friend group, never one to willingly indulge in drama. Very rarely did she raise her voice in a non-joking manner, so when she did, the people around her she was close to got very uncomfortable. Not necessarily because she was threatening, but because it was so unlike her. Fortunately, her girlfriend was the same way. The two of them hardly ever got into an argument that wasn’t playful.

So when one broke out one night, both of them grew uncomfortable. They got defensive, with Sam trying to steer the conversation in another direction, and [Y/N] trying to just agree to disagree. Neither one of them really remembered how the argument started, but they both knew it wasn’t going anywhere.

Another thing that was uncommon for the two women was for them to say something hateful toward anyone, even if they felt threatened. During the entirety of their relationship, which was running strong for over three years, no one in their shared friend group had ever witnessed them fight with each other. Out of all of them, she and [Y/N] were usually the ones who stayed calm and tried to compromise and keep the peace. And when anyone needed to talk something through with a trusted friend, she and [Y/N] were the go-tos.

Somewhere in the middle of the argument, one of them had slightly raised their voice, which in turn prompted the other to do the same. This continued until they were almost yelling at each other, something they had never done to one another. It was causing a great deal of stress on them both. They couldn’t seem to find a way to fix whatever had begun the whole ordeal.

As they grew louder, Sam shouted something of ill-intent toward [Y/N] in the heat of the moment, wanting to just be done with the argument. In response, [Y/N] threw back a similarly hateful retort, claiming she wished they had never started dating. She didn’t mean to say it–neither of them meant to say any of it–it all just spilled out before they could stop it.

Sam froze at her words, grimacing as she fought back the tears pricking her eyes. She sniffled and took a breath to prevent her voice from breaking.

“If that’s how you feel, then…”

She paused, trying to calm herself down and think things through. After a moment, she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

“I’ll give you some space. We both need to calm down before we even try to talk this through.”

[Y/N] huffed. Usually, she’d agree without hesitation. Because of her hurt feelings, however, she was hesitant to do so. Instead, she turned on her heel and stormed into the kitchen, then the pantry. There, she grabbed her car keys and left through the front door, passing Sam on her way out. She slammed the door behind her, and she instantly regretted doing so, but she couldn’t take it back. Not once in her relationship with Sam had an argument gotten this bad. The two of them had never said dating was a mistake, nor had they thrown nasty comments at each other out of frustration.

Sam didn’t know how to deal with the situation quite yet, and neither did [Y/N]. Silently, [Y/N] agreed with Sam about giving each other space before working things out.

She hopped into her car and switched the engine on, pulling out of the driveway and speeding down the road. Once she came to a red light, she popped a CD in and cranked the music up, wanting to drown out her hateful thoughts.

As she drove off to who knows where, Sam remained in the living room of their shared home. She plopped herself back down onto the sofa cushions and sighed, burying her face in her hands as she replayed the entire conversation over and over again in her mind. Each time she recalled the words she spoke, or rather hollered, she flinched, wanting nothing more than to take them back.

There was no excuse for what she said. She didn’t even really remember why things had gotten so aggressive.

As she sat there, counting the hours while she waited for [Y/N] to come home, her guilt began to grow even further. She promised herself she’d sit down and talk things out once they were together again.

Whenever that may be.

She should’ve stopped [Y/N] from leaving.

She should’ve asked her to sit down with her, or at least stay home.

She should’ve kept her cool and ended the argument before it began.

And all the while, as her guilt ate away at her conscience, [Y/N] was battling with her own mind nearly halfway across town.

How could she have said something so cruel? Sam didn’t deserve that at all. She had no right to be that crude towards her. She had been trying to change the subject, but [Y/N], for some reason she couldn’t figure out, refused to give in. Instead, she wanted to just “agree to disagree,” even though she knew that wouldn’t have ended very well. She and Sam were both very stubborn about their personal beliefs, meaning they’d struggle with that concept.

She knew that, and yet she continued to press on the matter.

She knew that, and yet she still blurted out that the relationship was a mistake.

She knew that, and yet she still stormed out of the house like a child.

With a heavy sigh of defeat, [Y/N] turned the car around and started her journey back to the house. One way or another, she’d find a way to work things out with Sam, even if it took all night.

By the time she made it back, it was well past midnight. Had she not known Sam well enough, she’d assume the blonde would be tucked away under the covers in their shared bed, sound asleep. However, she had known her all her life. She knew her thoughts, tendencies, insecurities, everything. And Sam was the same–they knew each other inside and out, which is what usually prevented these things from happening.

It was no surprise to [Y/N] when she unlocked the door and pushed it open to reveal Sam still sitting there on the couch. She glanced up from her spot on the cushions, a look of pure relief washing over her features. The blonde stood, stepping over to stand in front of [Y/N] once the door was shut and locked behind her. “Thank god you’re okay,” Sam whispered, lifting her hands to cup the smaller girl’s face and press their foreheads together. [Y/N] made no move to lean away from her touch, but rather leaned into her hands.

Her eyes shut softly when her head made contact with Sam’s, a small sigh of solace slipping past her lips. “Yeah, I’m okay. I’m sorry I worried you.” The blonde smiled and hummed, letting her hands slide down [Y/N]’s arms to gently take hold of her hands. “You don’t have to apologize. You’re okay, and that’s all that matters.”

They stayed there for a moment, standing together under the dim light above the entryway to the den. Finally, Sam led her over to the couch and sat her down, joining her immediately after.

“I’m just gonna get right to the point. I’m really sorry I said what I did. I had no right to talk about you like that. I’m sorry, I really am,” Sam started, squeezing her hands in her own.

“I forgive you. And I’m sorry too,” [Y/N] replied just as quietly. “The fact I said our relationship was a mistake was disgusting. I didn’t mean a word of what I said, I swear. I just…I was hurt, and panicking, and I just wanted to say something to defend myself in the moment. I shouldn’t have said that though.”

Sam grinned, her thumb caressing the back of [Y/N]’s hand soothingly before bringing it up to press a kiss to her knuckles. “I forgive you,” she mumbled against her skin. “Could we both promise not to do that again though? I think that’s the most stress I’ve ever felt in our entire relationship.” [Y/N] chuckled at her words, bringing another genuine smile to her lips. “Yeah, I’d love to make that promise. Nearly cried my whole way home because I felt so bad about what happened.”

With a featherlike touch, Sam pulled [Y/N] into a hug, tucking her face against the crook of her neck and relaxing at the familiar scent of the girl’s shampoo and perfume. Her eyes fluttered shut, a silent sigh slipping through her lips, still perked up in a smile.

“I love you so much,” she whispered.

“I love you too,” came [Y/N]’s reply.

A moment passed, one far more comfortable than the situation from a few hours prior, and the two held onto each other as they swayed side to side. Finally, much to her embarrassment, a low rumble sounded from [Y/N]’s stomach, drawing both of their attention away. Sam leaned back and laughed gently. “Should we order something?” She questioned, already reaching for her phone laying face down on the coffee table.

[Y/N] nodded, laughing along with her. “Yeah. I was too worried during the entire drive to worry about eating, so…I guess it’s better late than never, right?” Sam smirked and nodded. “Yeah, that’s true. I’m in the same boat anyway. What sounds good? Not sure what’s open, but I’m sure we can find something good.”

[Y/N] beamed up at her, already feeling the previously thick tension dissolving at a rapid pace.

Sam picked up her phone after [Y/N] mentioned a few possible choices, clicking onto Google and scrolling through the open restaurants to find something that would satisfy both of their appetites. Eventually, they settled on something fairly cheap nearby, ordering said meal and setting everything up while they waited.

While [Y/N] stayed downstairs to pick something to watch on the TV, as well as gathering nearby blankets, Sam headed upstairs to their spare closet and picked out a few of the fluffiest pillows and blankets she could find. She trailed back downstairs, and the two of them bundled up together underneath their small fort of comfort. They were able to watch a decent amount of what [Y/N] had chosen to play on the screen before their order arrived.

Reluctantly, Sam left the comfort of all of the plush covers and pillows, already missing the warmth of [Y/N] by the time she made it to the door to pay the driver and take the order. Once everything was settled with the deliverer, Sam sauntered back over to the couch. She handed [Y/N] her order, including her drink, then managed to wriggle her way back into her previous spot before diving into her own dish.

As the two downed their food and rinsed it down with their drinks, they leaned further and further against each other. By the time they finished their meal and put the plastic containers and cutlery aside, [Y/N] was resting on top of Sam, both of them still buried underneath layers of their collection of blankets. Her head ended up planting itself atop the blonde’s chest, allowing her to listen to her heartbeat with ease.

Soft, delicate fingers raked their way through [Y/N]’s locks before a small kiss was pressed to her head. She glanced up curiously, only to find Sam beaming back down at her with a look of pure admiration. Her smile was returned just as warmly.

A moment or so passed before [Y/N] turned her head back to face the screen again. Her eyes began to flutter shut as Sam continued to stroke her hair. She fought to keep herself awake, but finally gave in when Sam mumbled a soft, “I love you,” and pressed another kiss to her head, lulling her deeper into slumber with ease.

Reborn

[BATIM/BATDR] Allison Angel x Female Reader

Summary: You're rebirthed from the Ink Machine, wandering around trying to find shelter. You stumble across Allison and Tom, who take you in and offer some advice.

Word Count: 5.01k Content Warnings: Mentions of fear, memory loss, very small mention of blood, minor injuries Category: Angst + Fluffy Ending || Oneshot

[A/N]: I'm trying to write multiple stories at once before uploading, that way I can schedule them to post over several weeks. Please excuse the random gaps in posting.

Enjoy!

 Every muscle and joint in your body ached as you trudged forward. Headaches had become the only constant at this point, as well as the nearly consistent rumbling of your stomach. With every step forward, each nerve in your body was set ablaze. You had no idea how you ended up in this strange place. All you knew for certain was that you were terrified, lost, and starving. It had been nearly two weeks now, and you had only barely managed to survive off of random scraps of food you had found in trash cans, crates, and on dusted shelves.

The last thing you could remember before you found yourself wandering the seemingly endless hallways was being thrown out of a large pipe from a machine. You had been covered head to toe in thick ink, and you had to be careful not to breathe too much until you could wipe it off, otherwise you’d have found yourself suffocating on the thick substance.

Once you had managed to get the majority of the ink drained off your body, it took hours to find the strength to stand and leave the room. You noticed almost immediately that you were alone. Wherever you were, there was no sign of finding help anytime soon. The very few “people” you did come across either tried to kill you, or were simply unable to speak at all. After several escapes from death, trying to escape terrifying creatures and a large demonic beast, you realized you would have to fend for yourself. Hours passed, then days, and it rapidly shifted to weeks. During that time, it was growing increasingly more difficult to get around. The lack of food and proper sleep left you weak and unable to think things through.

By the time you found a decent supply of food, your legs gave out beneath you. You collapsed to the ground, yelping at the warped planks clashing against your knees and shins. The cracked wood forced splinters into your skin. Small droplets of blood speckled the ground beneath you as you tried to stand again, ultimately failing. Pathetically, you crawled forward to the crate, prying it open and picking out the can that had the least amount of scratches and dents. You slid your makeshift shiv from your pocket, which you had originally made to defend yourself a day or two after arriving there, to lift the lid.

As the thin sheet of metal was cracked open, the shiv broke, prompting you to panic and curse under your breath. That was all you had to arm yourself against the vile things lurking around the corners, and now it had shattered while you tried to survive with the cans of soup you had been lucky enough to stumble across.

The sound of the makeshift knife snapping seemed to have been too loud. It echoed down the hall, reverberating throughout the pipes that dripped with the same ink you had been coated in weeks ago. All too soon, before you could even take a sip of the provisions you had found, a loud heartbeat was heard, increasing in volume as the source grew closer.

Fear shot through your body, veins running cold with fear. The adrenaline alone finally allowed you to stand again. Your head whipped around, eyes desperately scanning the room for a Miracle Station to hide in. There weren’t any nearby, causing even more panic. Thinking purely on instinct, you dove behind a large cart blocking a small gap in the wall. Too afraid to peek out at whatever was now only a few feet away, you could only strain your ears to listen past the sound of your racing heart. Your eyes shut tightly, tears springing free, and you clutched at your ink-stained shirt in an attempt to steady your trembling hands.

Low growling and ragged breathing were all you were able to hear. Just as it neared the crevice you were hidden away in, a loud scream rang out far in the distance. It sounded like you weren’t the only one being hunted down in this place. It just seemed like you had been lucky enough to get away each time, though you couldn’t say the same for them. This wail caught the attention of whatever was just on the other side of the wall, and soon it was running in the direction of the roaring cry. You waited for it to return, but it never did. You let out a sigh, which quickly turned to a choked sob.

You clasped your hands over your mouth in surprise, not wanting to attract anymore attention to yourself. Thinking back to everything you needed to do seemed to help, considering you were focusing more on survival than the fact you could be ripped to shreds at any given moment. Hesitantly, you shuffled out into the small room again and practically crawled back to the crate with the cans. You figured it would be a better idea to find a good hiding place to eat them in.

Since you had no idea what was nearby, you simply returned to the space you had crammed yourself into just mere moments before and slurped down two out of six of the cans in silence.

For now, for better or for worse, this was your life.

“Tom, could you give me a hand real quick?” Allison asked, motioning for the wolf to join her by a large shelf. He nodded, walked over to her, and helped her climb up just enough to reach the top shelf, allowing her to grab a flimsy box full of bacon soup cans. After standing properly again down on the ground, she counted how many there were. “We’ve got eight to add. What have you found so far?” Tom jutted his thumb in the direction of three boxes, much to Allison’s surprise. She walked over to count them, only to find that the majority of the cans were empty or entirely rotten.

She grimaced at the smell of the molded cans and turned to Tom. “How many of these are full? Can we even eat any of these?” A small shrug was her response. She sighed and nodded, then headed back over to the box she had just taken down, then added it to the other couple of crates and boxes she had gathered recently.

“Alright, I think we’ve got enough for now. That’s thirty-five cans, or more if those new boxes you found are all safe to eat.” Tom nodded and began to pick the few by him up, Allison doing the same. The two of them began to help each other head to their safe house. Just as they reached the hallway that led to the entrance, Tom froze in place, his ears perking up and toward a strange noise only he seemed to be able to hear.

Allison noticed almost immediately and turned to him, asking what was wrong. He placed his boxes down and stepped to the corner of the wall, peering out at the adjacent hall. “Tom?” He waved her over, and once she put her own items down and joined him, she was finally able to slightly hear what he could. Somewhere nearby, someone was weeping. It didn’t sound like the weeping of the Lost Ones that they had grown accustomed to–it sounded like a young woman. They could hear her slightly mumbling to herself, and they both realized that they didn’t recognize the voice.

Tom was the first to emerge from the corner. He slipped his axe from the band on his back and snuck toward the source of the noise. Allison followed closely behind, her hand hovering above the handle to her machete, and she listened as the sobbing grew louder. Finally, they came to stand right before the woman responsible for the sounds. Tom stood over you now, studying the way you huddled yourself behind a large table.

The moment you noticed him, you gasped and scrambled back, doing your best to hide away even further. “Please!” You wailed. “Please don’t kill me. I promise I’m not here to hurt anyone!”

Tom seemed to almost freeze at how you begged him for mercy, unsure of who you were and how to handle the situation. He crouched down to be eye level with you. His head cocked to the side as he studied over your features. He had never seen you around before, and you seemed to be panicking about every little motion he made. You had to have been new to the studio–that was the only thing that made sense to him.

You weren’t birthed into the studio as a Lost One or a Searcher. You resembled a human with more cartoonish features, your skin a shade of yellow, your hair made entirely of ink, your limbs and clothing coated in it as well. You were one of the lucky souls who managed to survive and keep some sort of humanity during the transition. However, it didn’t seem like you understood anything at all.

“Tom,” Allison whispered from nearby. He glanced over at her, finding her features to be riddled with confusion as to why he was crouching down in front of the crying woman. Wordlessly, he motioned for her to come over. She obliged immediately, her hand still ready to grab hold of her blade.

Upon seeing you, Allison grew curious. Who were you? Why were you here in the studio? Her eyes flickered over to Tom, who poked at your hair to show how you had been reborn from the Machine. Allison’s features softened as she watched how you flinched away from his touch, prompting him to quickly withdraw his mechanical arm. You kept your gaze on his axe, weary of what he planned to do.

“Tom,” Allison murmured again, jutting her chin toward his weapon. “I think it’s scaring her. Maybe you could put it away? I think she’s telling the truth.” He shook his head and tightened his grip on the handle of the axe. The Angel sighed and stepped closer to him, pulling her machete from its sheath and placing it down nearby to hopefully put you more at ease. “Well, if you aren’t going to, could you give her some space? I don’t think we should be crowding her.”

Reluctantly, Tom backed away and watched from a few feet behind. Allison smiled at him, turned back to you, then crouched down similarly to how the wolf had done a moment prior. She held out her hand for you to take. As she spoke, she kept her tone soft and welcoming.

“Do you need any help? You look like you’ve been through so much.”

You stayed silent, eyes glancing between her and her open palm. She waited a moment before speaking again.

“You don’t need to worry. I’m not going to hurt you, alright? My name is Allison, and this,” she motioned over toward the wolf still watching closely, “is Tom. We’re like you: people who ended up being reborn into this studio.” Her head tilted to the side as she did her best to search your skin for any injuries. “Do you have a name?”

At this question, you seemed to pause. Your eyes stared down at the ground, hands coming up to clutch at your shirt and hair as your breathing grew uneven. Allison panicked. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to overwhelm you, I’m–” “I don’t know my name,” you blurted, voice shaking and cracking. “I-I don’t remember my name. I don’t… I don’t remember who I am! Why am I here? What is this place? Why is everyone here trying to kill me or hunt me down?”

As your endless questioning continued, Allison glanced back at Tom with worry. How long had you been down here alone?

She quickly switched the topic. “Hey, hey, forget about that for just a moment. Your memory might come back to you eventually. What’s the first thing you can remember?” The gears in your mind began to turn as you reflected back on all that had happened in the past few weeks. “I don’t,” you stammered, swallowing hard. “I don’t know. I think I dropped out of some kind of…tube? Or maybe a pipe? A-All I can remember is there was some kind of machine when I woke up, and I was completely covered in ink. But why can’t I remember who I was before, or how I ended up in this place?”

A look of pitiful sympathy was now painting Allison’s face. She could remember how scared she had been years ago when she was in your shoes, especially after she realized she no longer had her memories from when she was still human. One of the most aggravating things to her all those years ago was not having any idea of who she used to be, and it was incredibly painful to see someone else suffering from the same fate.

“I’ve been looking for food and shelter for weeks now,” you continued. “All I’ve managed to find is six cans of some kind of soup. I can’t find anywhere that’s safe, though. I keep getting tracked down by this weird… demon.” Tom growled at the words, and Allison had to hold her arm out to stop him from stepping any further than he already had. He felt sympathetic for your situation, sure. Allison had been in the same spot years ago. But the Ink Demon had your scent, and you admitted that he was actively hunting you down. He couldn’t put himself and the Angel in danger just because you weren’t able to fend for yourself.

Allison nodded at your words. “Yeah, the food supply down here is running out. The scarce amount that Tom and I can find are never quite enough to even last us a month. You said you found a few cans on your own?” You hesitantly nodded back. “That’s good. That means there’s still supplies to gather. Did you eat any of it? We could give you a bit if you didn’t.” Tom grew aggravated at this, and Allison sent him a look of warning in response. “Tom, we may not have much, but we have plenty to offer one person a meal.”

Shortly after their small staredown, the Angel turned to face you once more. She gently took hold of your right hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “I know how you feel right now. Believe me, I do. I was in your exact same position several years ago after I was reborn. Even to this day, I have no memory of my past life, but things get better with time. It’s scary, I know, and you have every right to feel scared. I just want you to know that there are still people down here who will always be willing to help you with whatever you need. Tom and I are two of them, whether Tom wants to admit that or not.

“You’ll be okay, darling. Everything will be okay eventually, I promise.” You could only stare at her for a moment, no longer used to someone treating you with kindness. Everyone else you had met up until that point attacked you or pretended you didn’t exist. You weren’t sure how to react.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” You finally managed to ask. Allison smiled warmly and squeezed your hand again. “Well, like I said, I’ve been in your shoes. And even though it was so long ago, I can still remember so clearly how badly I wanted someone to help me out. I was alone for so long, and it made things…complicated. I don’t want that for you. I want to be the helping hand for you that I needed once I was reborn.”

Her selflessness left you speechless. She seemed so well put together, even after confessing that she once was just like you were now. And yet, there you were: trembling, weak, and terrified of the new world around you. You hoped she was right and that you’d one day be able to find some sort of the confidence she seemed to have.

“Would you want to stay with us until you can get back on your feet? Tom and I can show you the ropes around here so you can learn to survive on your own.” You finally looked back up at the wolf, expecting to see him still ready to swing at you any moment. He seemed far calmer, however, and even showed some sort of compassion with how he stared at you.

In truth, he still didn’t entirely trust you. You were still a newcomer here, and he tended to be cold to them. There were very few that he trusted immediately, and even though you weren’t necessarily one of them, he still found himself at ease. You weren’t a threat, that much was obvious. You were too fearful of others to try and attack. On top of that, after hearing you and Allison speak, he understood why she was already so welcoming.

Tom had been the first one to greet Allison after she resurfaced from the inky womb of the Machine. They quickly grew to trust each other, and he could still recall how much livelier the Angel grew when she accepted that she was no longer alone in the world. He adored that look on her face then, albeit it was because of their past that she didn’t remember, and he found that he would feel better about himself to grant that solace to someone else as well.

Peace hardly ever came to the people down in the studio. Who was he to deny granting it to someone who needed it most?

With a huff, he nodded at you, Your mouth fell agape in surprise at how quickly they both were willing to accept you into their home. Your attention turned back to Allison, who stared back expectantly with a calm gaze. “That would be,” you whispered breathlessly. There was no way you could put your gratitude into words. “That would be incredible. Thank you both,” was all you managed to say.

In response, you were greeted with a wider smile from the Angel and a small smirk from the wolf. With her hand still grasping yours, Allison stood and helped pull you to your feet. “Let’s go, then. It’s never safe to stay in one place for too long down here. We actually aren’t far from here at all.”

You silently nodded and trailed after the two. Allison had let go of your hand to pick her machete back up from the ground, though you were quick to cling to her arm as she led you down the next hallway over. She grinned at you and squeezed your hand again, not letting it go until the three of you made it to a towering steel door with a large handwheel valve placed in the center. Tom was the one who turned it and pushed it open. He picked up the boxes he had previously set down and carried them inside.

Allison shifted her arm to slip your hands off just long enough for her to lift her own collection of crates and boxes.”You first,” she quipped and nodded her head toward the door. You quickly did as told and stepped into the safe house, instantly looking around at how comfortable it was in comparison to where you had been staying the past couple of weeks.

Soon enough, the door was shut and locked behind you, and you turned to see Allison was now headed toward a shelf to help stock the cans with Tom. All you could think to do was stand there awkwardly, worried you’d only be getting in the way if you offered to help. The Angel took notice of your tense form and chuckled. “You can sit down, darling. We won’t be upset if you make yourself comfortable.” A nod was your reply, and you trotted over to one of the bulky wooden chairs encircling the large table in the center of the room.

You watched as Tom and Allison continued to place the cans on the shelves and counted them. They began talking about how they planned on rationing them evenly between three people. A pang of guilt shot in your heart at how much they were already doing, realizing you didn’t really have anything to offer in return.

You did your best to remind yourself that they were understanding of your situation and likely didn’t expect anything. They were aware that you were struggling to survive on your own, and you had told them of how you had been hiding anywhere you could, so they knew you didn’t have much of anything at all.

Without realizing it, you had lost focus, staring down blankly at the surface of the wooden table. You were snapped out of your trance when a bowl full of bacon soup was placed down in front of you. A quick blink and glance up let you know that Allison had been the one to put it there. “I’m not sure how long it’s been since you’ve eaten, but here. I’m sure you must be starving either way, judging on what you’ve told us so far. I’ll go tidy up where you’ll be sleeping while you eat.”

You continued to stare at the bowl in silence after Allison walked away into a different room. You nearly denied the food, but the volume of your stomach growling forced you to push that thought away instantly. With a swift motion, you picked up the bowl and began to drink from it, too famished to worry about how there was a spoon beside it for you to use instead.

It only took a minute before you had drained the bowl of the broth. You then finally picked up the spoon and used it to scoop up the small pieces of bacon gathered at the bottom. By the time you finished, Allison had returned to the room, laughing softly in surprise at how quickly you had managed to finish. “You really were hungry,” she murmured, then looking sorrowful. “You must’ve had so little to eat while you were wandering around. I can’t imagine being starved for that long.”

A look of sheepishness now adorned your features as you looked down. “Sorry,” you whispered. She stepped over and stood beside you, her hand dropping to rest on your shoulder. “You don’t need to apologize. I would’ve done the exact same thing. In fact, I did do the same thing back when Tom and I started gathering rations.” She smirked and pointed over at the wolf, leaning down to whisper in your ear. “Tom eats like that all the time anyway, so you really aren’t doing anything too out of the ordinary here.”

A look of relief crossed her face when you laughed at her words. Now you felt more at ease, even after nearly downing an entire can of soup in less than a minute. “Come on, I’ll show you to your room. It’s nothing fancy, but at least you’ll have your own bed and some privacy.” You felt excited at the mention of a safe place to finally get a proper night’s rest. Standing from your spot at the table, you trailed behind her as she brought you to a small room.

There, you found that you now had a bed with thick comforters and pillows, a large chest tucked in the corner for storage, a makeshift aquarium with live fish built into the furthest wall, and a small column of shelves lined with plenty of books. You beamed ear to ear at the sight, glancing over at Allison. She mirrored your expression, grateful to see you so joyous over what she and Tom were able to provide. “I love it,” you stated gleefully. Almost instantly, you walked forward and practically threw yourself onto the bed, the plush surface welcoming and already lulling you into sleep.

Allison snickered once again and opened the door again. “Sleep well, darling. You’ll be safe here,” she whispered, then closed the door.

 It had been several months since Allison and Tom had graciously taken you in. During that time, Allison had been the most understanding, considering she knew exactly what you were going through. She helped you choose your name since you couldn’t remember your old one, gave you rations and supplies to keep you safe when you joined her to scavenge for supplies, and offered advice on how to cope with no longer remembering who you used to be.

After another successful round of gathering supplies, you and Tom had sat down at the dining room table to play a game of cards, the radio playing softly in the background. Allison hadn’t gone with the two of you, instead heading down to the lower levels on her own. She returned about an hour after you and Tom had made it back. Immediately after stepping through the door and shutting it, she greeted you both.

You smiled at her as she walked over to give you a small hug. She questioned how the search had gone, and while Tom gave a simple thumbs up, you gave a more detailed description of what had happened. Allison beamed brightly at you and sat in the chair next to you, chin resting in her palm as she listened intently to the way you enthusiastically recalled your quick trip with Tom. As you chuckled at how the wolf had dropped an empty box on his head and gotten it stuck there, the Angel couldn’t help but laugh with you, much to Tom’s dismay.

She could feel the sensation of her heart fluttering that she had grown familiar with during your stay. She couldn’t–and wouldn’t–deny that she had fallen for you, though she wasn’t sure how to let you know. So instead, she kept it to herself for the time being. She enjoyed listening to you talk, hearing you sing with a random song playing on the radio, watching you make up a small dance as you cooked the soup at the stove, and overall just appreciated having you around. That was enough for her until she was ready to confess.

Tom had developed a soft spot for you, too. Although it took him far longer to trust you, he knew that you weren’t there to harm him or Allison. All it took to fully convince him was swooping in to stall an enemy long enough for him and the Angel to get away. You had risked your life for both of them, claiming that it was the least you could do after all they had given you, and that was enough for him. He knew how Allison felt for you, and although it hurt him to watch the woman he was once married to fall for someone else, he was at least glad it was you she had taken an interest in. He trusted that you’d keep her happy.

Once your laughter calmed down and your story came to an end, you couldn’t wipe the smile from your lips, glancing down at your cards. “I really can’t thank either of you enough for helping me out these past few months. I really do appreciate all you’ve done for me, and I hope one day I’ll be able to properly repay you. I love it here in the safe house.”

With a casual motion, Allison reached over and took hold of your hand to squeeze it the way she often did now. “You don’t need to do a thing. Just having you here with us is enough. You know you can stay here as long as you’d like.”

Although she didn’t want to admit it, she had actually grown to hate the thought of you leaving to live on your own. Not necessarily because she didn’t trust that you couldn’t defend yourself, but because she would miss having you around. Tom was great company on his own, but your cheerful, positive personality was a breath of fresh air to both of them. It made it far more enjoyable to come home for the day.

If you left to be on your own, there would be so much she’d miss. No more late night talks or bundling up to read a book together, no more watching you doodle and paint while she talked to Tom about their plans for the day, no more cuddling up under the blankets with each other when the studio grew frigid in the winter months, and no more days spent simply relaxing with the one person who truly understood all she had been through.

In a way, she had grown dependent on you.

It was a foreign feeling, considering she had grown to be a hardened survivor, but she enjoyed this new sensation.

She loved feeling this way.

She loved you, so, so much.

“You know we’ll always be here for you. You aren’t doing this alone anymore.” Her hand squeezed yours again, her gaze lingering a little too long on your features as you bashfully moved to stare back at your free hand still grasping your cards with a smile. “I know,” you replied. “Thank you both so much. I can’t ever tell you how grateful I truly am. And for what it’s worth, I promise to protect both of you with my life the same way you’ve done for me.”

Although your next words were mostly directed toward both of them, you found yourself staring directly at Allison as you spoke. Your hand squeezed hers three times, a wordless phrase her face burned brightly at. She had no need to worry about whether or not you knew of her feelings for you anymore–you had just told her you felt the same, even when your words didn’t say it explicitly.

“You mean everything to me. I couldn’t have asked for better love and company in this new world. Thank you, truly.”

Busy Confession

[Mean Girls 2004] Janis Ian x Female Reader

Word Count: 5.81k

Proofread: No

Content Warnings: Language, anxiety, and feelings of rejection

[A/N]: Story three for Janis--I'll be working on another character soon. I still have a couple of characters I want to write for, but then I'll upload the master list I'm currently making and start answering requests.

[A/N] #2: Sorry this one took longer than the others. I've been trying to post every Saturday, but I could not for the life of me figure out how to write this one. I haven't proofread this yet, so let me know if there are any mistakes.

Enjoy!

 “Oh come on, turn red already!” Janis hollered, her voice raising towards the end as her nails dug into the material of her steering wheel. Her hands had begun to cramp in the past few minutes, and she knew it was from her white knuckled grip that she had on the wheel during the entirety of her drive, but each time she tried to loosen said grip to help her tense, aching muscles relax, they’d return to their firm grasp at the mere thought of the text she had received.

Logistically speaking, Janis knew [Y/N] wasn’t trying to come across as flirty or teasing. In the emotional part of her mind, however, she wondered if it was actually the opposite–if the girl she had been crushing on for years was finally picking up on it and was now taunting her with semi-flirty responses. Usually, when her emotions would spiral out of control the way they were in the moment, she’d head to [Y/N]’s house to rant about it and ask for any kind of advice. Since that was who was causing what she was feeling, however, she knew she had to resort to her other best friend: Damian. Too jittery from her gay panic, Janis only managed to call him long enough to let him know she was headed over.

He had tried to say something to her before she hung up, but she was in too much of a rush to get in the car that she didn’t comprehend a word he said. She hopped into her car after barely remembering to snag her keys from the hook by the door, scolded herself when she struggled to get the key into the ignition, then sped off out of her driveway toward the direction of Damian’s house.

On the way there, she continued to glance anxiously over at her phone, which she had tossed over into the passenger seat. She feared that [Y/N] would notice her going silent and say something, but she herself couldn’t think of anything to say. With anyone else, she could blurt out a clever retort or crack some kind of joke. With this girl, however, she always seemed to find herself falling silent. The last thing she wanted to do was say something weird or make the situation worse and lose [Y/N]. She was aware that wasn’t how it would happen. After all, she had known [Y/N] far longer than she had known Damian, and even knew her before Regina George changed the course of her life back in middle school.

But that was exactly why she was suddenly so cautious over her words around her. She didn’t want to ruin all of those years together and lose the one person who genuinely seemed to love her for who she is. As far back as she could remember, [Y/N] was the one person she could always rely on without the constant worry of being talked about behind her back. She didn’t want to ruin that by assuming [Y/N] felt the same way about her that she did.

Eventually, after what felt like hours, Janis finally made it to Damian’s house. There, she practically fell out of her car with her phone tugged tightly against her chest. Quick footsteps beneath her was all she could hear as she more or less ran to the front door. Subconsciously, her arm raised far enough for the side of her fist to pound against the thick wood of the door now in front of her. Almost immediately after, it swung open, revealing Damian standing there with a conflicted look. Before he could say anything, however, Janis pushed her way past him and dashed into the kitchen. She froze in the doorway upon seeing Cady standing there as well, visibly confused at her desperation.

“Janis? What’s going on?” Speechless for a moment, Janis could only stare at her. At length, Damian stepped in and cleared his throat, moving to stand beside Cady. “Yeah,” he started, “I was trying to tell you that she’s here, but I guess you weren’t listening. Which, I mean, your face right now kinda confirms that for me.” Finally, the goth managed to blurt out a small, “oh,” before glancing at her feet to avoid eye contact with the redhead still glancing at her in puzzlement. “Am I interrupting something?”

A heavy sigh slipped past Damian’s lips as his hand shifted up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “No, but I think I’m not the only one here that’s “too gay to function.” Not sure if she even heard me at all before she hung up.” Finally, a look of understanding crossed Cady’s features. “Oh,” she mumbled as she once again turned to gaze at Janis. Although she was still averting her eyes from Cady’s focus, Janis managed to sneer up at Damian at his words.

Now worried she was in the way, Cady slipped past the two having a one-sided staredown and made her way over to the front door. “Well, I was just about to head out anyway.” Janis glanced up at this, looking slightly relieved. “But, uh…I’ll give you a call about our plan later on, Damian.” The exhausted teen, at the mention of his name, looked over at Cady as well and nodded. “Yeah, sounds good.”

With that, the redhead vanished through the door and began walking home. Only waiting a moment to make sure she was really gone, Janis quickly whipped her phone back up and powered it on, clicked over to her recent messages, and turned the phone for Damian to see. “Dude, I don’t know what to do. What the fuck do I even say after that? Do you think she knows how I feel about her? What if she does? I don’t want her to hate me for it. How would she react if she really did know? Would she–” Two hands landed heavily on her shoulders, halting her babbling and forcing her to look up and away from the screen.

“Janis, calm the hell down, holy shit.”

He huffed when she managed to settle a bit, then took the phone from her hand to read the screen properly. At the sight of the words [Y/N]’s had chosen, he chuckled and ran a hand down his face. “Good lord, I have no idea how you’re gonna survive if the two of you actually start dating.”

“That’s exactly why I came here, Damian: if I don’t ask her out soon, and if she starts talking like this all the time, I’m going to fucking die of embarrassment. Problem is, I have no idea how to ask her out without ruining everything. I need your help, man. Please.” Damian let out a laugh, crumbling whatever sense of confidence Janis may have had. “Oh my god, you and Cady are the bane of my existence today. How did I manage to not be busy the exact same day you both decided you needed relationship advice?” At his words, the goth tilted her head and hummed in confusion.

“That’s what I was trying to tell you over the phone: the reason Cady was here was because she was trying to figure out how to ask Aaron out on a date without Regina ripping her to shreds.” Janis’s brows shot up in surprise. “Oh, shit. Seriously? Is that what the phone call she mentioned was about?” Damian only nodded in reply, crossing his arms as he suppressed another groan. A moment passed where they only stood there in silence, and Damian was internally grateful his parents were at work as Janis had an existential crisis in the middle of their kitchen.

Finally, a smirk replaced his bothered grimace. “So, she wants to kiss you, huh? Wanna do that with her?” He teased, leaning down to nudge her shoulder and gain her attention again. Janis scoffed and shoved his arm away. Her head turned and lowered in an attempt to hide the growing shade of red on her face, though she wasn’t able to bite back the small grin that painted her lips. “You know damn well I do,” she murmured almost silently.

Damian snickered, cupping his ear and leaning toward her in a mocking manner. “What was that? Speak up–you know I’m selectively deaf.” Janis sighed, forcing herself to speak in a louder tone. “I said you know damn well I want to kiss her.” Upon finishing her statement, she stormed over to the kitchen table and planted herself in one of the chairs, crossing her arms on the tabletop and burying her face in them with a drawn out groan.

As she struggled to gather her thoughts, Damian moved to sit next to her, cackling softly to himself at seeing how uncharacteristically distressed his best friend was over a girl. “But it’s not just kissing you wanna do, is it?” He questioned after a moment. Janis shot up from her slouched position and gestured wildly with her hands. “Of course that’s not it! You know it isn’t! But I just…” She glanced down again, her fingers tangling themselves into her fringe and tugging harshly at the strands as she wordlessly went to war with herself, unsure of what to actually say.

“I just don’t wanna mess everything up,” she all but whispered in a broken confession, returning to her previous position of hiding her face in her arms.

The sound of a chair squeaking followed by something landing softly on the table and being slid her direction made her glance up again. Damian had slid her phone back over to her, though now it was face-down and powered off. “I know. I know you love her–pretty sure everyone does at this point. You’re terrible at hiding it.” Janis jabbed him in the arm again, making him chuckle. Upon seeing how distressed the goth was, he sighed, his voice taking on a much softer tone.

“But I do know that she’s one of those people too, even if that’s not what you wanna hear. Trust me, she feels the same. I’ve got quite the eye for these kinds of things.” Defeated, Janis sighed. She leaned back against the chair, dropping her head back to glare up at the ceiling. “Even if that were true, how the hell would I confess without sounding like some sort of loser? I don’t want her to think I’m a creep or something.”

Her friend hummed in thought at this, his eyes seemingly scanning everything and nothing in front of him at once. “Well, why don’t you make it count then? Make it special–your confession, I mean. Just add a whole bunch of stuff she likes. I mean, she loves going to the movies, eating out at restaurants, playing random sports and board games…there’s all kinds of stuff you could do.”

Janis remained silent for a while, prompting Damian to question if he said something wrong, or if she had even heard anything he said. Finally, right as he parted his lips to ask if she was alright, Janis slowly looked up with a growing smile, almost as if realizing something. “That’s a good idea,” she murmured. “Uh,” Damian started in reply, glancing around nervously as she pocketed her phone and began to stand. “Which one?”

“All of them.”

Over the span of another two and a half weeks, Damian managed to help Janis set up a plan where she could finally confess her feelings to [Y/N] and ask her out. The day had come that they agreed to put it into motion. Janis had never felt so nervous before. Not when she had a class presentation, not during any of the art contests she had participated in, and not even when she came back to school after leaving for the final half of her eighth grade year. She knew how to handle those levels of anxiety, but not this.

Never before had she confessed to someone–let alone someone she could actually picture a future with. In the past, when she found herself developing some sort of crush on another girl in her class, it was short lived. She never had to deal with the feeling long, which is why her feelings for [Y/N] became very evident after reflecting for a while.

In the days leading up to her confession, Janis more often than not found herself sketching [Y/N] on everything. She wasn’t able to focus during classes, so she’d pretend she was taking notes or working on an assignment to hide her inattention from the teacher. Even when [Y/N] wasn’t there for her to see, Janis was still doodling her from memory on anything and everything available to her.

Her sketchbook had been filled to the brim with illustrations of the girl before, but the closer she got to the end of the book, the more the pages seemed to be occupied by her face. No matter what she tried–playing video games, watching movies, going to work after school–she couldn’t get [Y/N] out of her head. More than usual, anyway. Tucked away in the corner of her  room, hidden by a thin white sheet, she kept a canvas propped up on her favorite easel. Underneath the cover lay a portrait of [Y/N] she had spent weeks on, always finding another flaw that had her repainting over the dried, flaking pigment.

In her mind, Janis could picture the girl so easily. She could recall every little marking, whether it be a scar or a freckle of some kind, it was so vivid. On her canvas and on paper, however, she just couldn’t seem to get it right. She wanted the illustrations and paintings she made of her to be perfect because that’s how she saw her.

That’s how she had always seen her.

It felt nice thinking about someone she loved so much, but it also worsened her anxiety for her upcoming plans.

She waited until school had been let out for a holiday toward the end of the second semester to carry them out. It would allow for her to set up an outdoor date that would hopefully take place past the beginning of her and Damian’s ideas, as well as give her time off from both school and work.

After making sure [Y/N] was ready for the day, Janis let her know she was headed in her direction to pick her up. The entire drive there, everything about her was shaky, including her breathing. By the time she arrived, her mind was numb and her limbs were tingling. She barely managed to type out a coherent message to let the girl know she was there. Her breathing only got worse once [Y/N] was in the car with her, sat so close to Janis, yet so far away somehow. When she greeted her, her voice cracked and shook, furthering her embarrassment. [Y/N] giggled at her, so she looked down. “God, fuck my voice,” she mumbled.

Again, [Y/N] chuckled, but planted her hand gently on the goth’s shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze. “Hey, I don’t know why you’re getting so flustered about it. Do you not remember when we first met back in elementary school? You know. When I was crying?” Janis sat up a little straighter and smirked. “Because another kid ate one of your dino nuggets during snack time? Yeah, I remember that. Squeakiest voice I’ve ever heard, even to this day.” [Y/N] faked a gasp and a look of offense, bringing her free hand to her chest in an exaggerated manner. “How dare you say that when Karen Smith exists in the same town as us?”

Finally, Janis snickered at her, turning back to the wheel and shifting her gear into drive. “Fair point,” she replied. She leaned over a bit. “You’re definitely the runner up, though.” A scoff and a playful shove was what she was greeted with in reply, prompting her to finally let out a proper laugh. Her smile visibly faltered for just a moment at the feeling of [Y/N]’s hand sliding off of her shoulder a moment later and moving back to rest in her lap in the passenger seat.

“So, what all are we doing today?” At this, Janis’s anxiety spiked once again. “Well, I thought we could go see a movie and then go eat somewhere before I show you the surprise I have for you.”

[Y/N] leaned over a bit, drawing out a long “oooh” with a dorky grin. “What’s the surprise?” Janis laughed and gently pushed her back, even though she didn’t want to. “If I told you the surprise, then it wouldn’t be a surprise.” Again, the girl in the passenger seat faked a look of hurt, though it was quickly replaced with a smirk. “Okay, okay, fine. Fair enough.”

As Janis began leading the car in the direction of the nearest movie theater, [Y/N] slipped her phone out from her back pocket and began typing away and swiping through her apps. Unintentionally, Janis continued to glance over at her and her screen periodically, some unknown feeling bubbling up underneath her skin and causing her throat to fall dry. Her hand slipped to the side to turn the AC’s settings up higher, then drove upwards to run down her face as she sighed. Whatever it was that she was feeling was making her burn up.

[Y/N]’s attention was drawn to Janis’s motions, her head perking up and turning in her direction. “You good?” The goth only nodded, desperately trying to scrounge up some sort of excuse as to why she was suddenly far more flustered than she previously was mere moments ago. “Yeah, I just…I’m really hoping you’ll like the surprise when we get to it. I worked really hard on it.” A small pause. “Oh.” Another pause, one that had Janis fighting the urge to scratch or pick at something with her fidgety hands.

“I’m sure it’ll be amazing, Jan. You don’t need to worry about anything.”

With a bit of force, Janis managed to convince her lungs to work properly again. She sucked in a deep breath, trying to hide her struggle in the motion, and let it slip back out in the form of a heavy sigh. “Yeah, okay,” she replied softly. Thankfully, before things could grow even more awkward, Janis pulled into the parking lot of the movie theater. She switched the engine off and tucked her keys away in one of the pockets of her black, baggy cargo pants. “Well, I guess we should get inside if we wanna get through the long ass line for concessions,” she explained as she pushed her door open and slipped out of the car.

Without thinking too much about it, Janis sped over to the passenger side and tugged the door open for [Y/N], who glanced up at her with a confused stare. She quickly chuckled, however, and stepped out, moving over far enough for Janis to close the door again and lock the car. “Such a gentlewoman,” she teased, prompting the goth’s pale face to flush red again. She still laughed, even through her slight embarrassment, and rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You’re welcome.”

“Thanks,” came her reply, though it was accompanied by a small bump against her shoulder. She had turned to walk towards the entrance, but [Y/N] had almost immediately caught up with her and nudged her arm with her own. Janis grinned at her and double checked that her car was locked before they got too far. As she stuffed her hands into her front pockets, Janis found herself glancing around at the other people littering the street nearby.

She subconsciously let her teeth hook against her bottom lip as she spotted the couples walking in and out of the building, each one leaning against each other and sharing light conversation or cracking jokes. Her fingers bent upwards, allowing her to toy with her rings as she managed to tear her eyes away from a pair sharing a quick kiss and focus on the ground in front of her. For just a moment, her eyes glimpsed over at [Y/N], who was squinting to try and read the movie posters lined up on the wall still halfway across the parking lot.

Janis couldn’t bite back her small smirk at her focused expression, though she let her gaze drop back down to continue watching her feet leading her forward. Too caught up in her thoughts, Janis let out a startled gasp when she felt two arms wrap themselves around her left one. One hooked around her elbow, the other sliding down so a hand could rest on her forearm. She turned her head to face who had clutched onto her, her cheeks and ears bursting with color as [Y/N] stepped closer and beamed up at her. “A-Ah, you okay?” Was all she could manage to ask between stuttering breaths.

“Yeah, I just like your jackets. They’re cozy, even if I’m not the one wearing them. Like, this sleeve?” [Y/N] gently patted the section of Janis’s sleeve covering her bicep to clarify, making the other girl jump, “it’s soft. Not sure how. Looks really rough, but it’s not.” She giggled to herself for a second. “Kinda like you.”

A darker shade of crimson dusted Janis’s already reddened face. “What?” [Y/N] smirked at her reaction. “Well, I mean, a lot of people are scared of you–specifically the freshmen–but I’m pretty sure it’s just because of your style. You’re really good with comebacks too, and even when they’re mean, they’re still funny as fuck. I think people are just afraid to confront you because they know you’ll destroy them. But you’re actually the sweetest person I know. And you’re really cool. I don’t think you and I have ever really gotten into an actual argument, but I also think it’s because you make sure to listen to me and hear me out.

“Most of the time. Unless you’re trying to lecture me on my gaming skills.” Janis smiled at her last statement, though her heart hammered against her ribs for the small speech before. She thinks I’m sweet? And cool? Unintentionally, she tuned out the majority of what the conversation was about as they both headed inside, the wide, sheepish grin never leaving her lips.

They got their tickets checked, stepped into line, got their drinks and snacks, then headed to the room playing the movie they were there for. As they sat in their seats toward the back of the room, Janis finally felt her spiked nerves subsiding a bit, realizing they could both focus on the movie and avoid having to make awkward conversation.

She didn’t pay attention to most of the film. Although her anxiety had calmed, it was certainly still there. Each time she thought of what she had planned next, another wave of trembling shot through her body. Roughly halfway through, [Y/N] shivered, shifted in her seat, and grumbled something under her breath, gaining Janis’s attention. Sensing eyes now on her, [Y/N] made eye contact and sent a nervous smile in her direction. “Sorry, I just keep forgetting how cold this damned theater is.”

Janis hummed, and almost instantly, after putting her box of small chocolates down, she slid her jacket from her arms. She leaned over a bit, motioning for [Y/N] to lean forward. When she did, the goth dropped the jacket gently on her shoulders and pulled it around her a bit before moving to sit properly in her chair again. She fought the urge to glance back over at [Y/N], but from the corner of her eye, she could see the girl tug the jacket snug around her frame. She let out a gentle sigh at the warmth.

Janis cracked a smile without realizing. She picked her overpriced sweets back up and pulled another one from the box, popping it in her mouth before scooching over enough to take a sip from her soda. For the remainder of the movie, the two sat in silence, simply enjoying each other’s presence. When the film ended and the lights came on, they got up and wordlessly left the theater. Once they were in the car, Janis finally fully looked over at [Y/N], sucking in a breath at the sight of the jacket now fully on her.

Sometime during the ending, [Y/N] had ultimately slipped her arms into the sleeves to wear it properly. Janis beamed, feeling a strange sense of pride. “So,” [Y/N] chirped, snapping her out of her trance. “Which restaurant are we going to?”

Oh, right. Her plans.

Janis, to distract herself momentarily, turned her car on and began the journey to the restaurant she had made a reservation at prior to the movie. She checked the time before answering. “Ah, it’s that new Italian place down by the mall.” “Oh, cool! Have you heard if it’s good?” “Yeah, it’s got a lot of good reviews online. It was also honestly the only place I could find that the two of us haven’t both been to.” [Y/N] laughed gently. “Yeah, but who knew we’d end up being drawn to so many different places here?”

The time at the restaurant, much like the theater, was hard to pay attention to for Janis. Throughout the meal, even when she didn’t realize it, she could be caught practically staring at [Y/N] as they both ate their dishes. She managed to focus enough to answer any questions thrown her way and keep the conversation going, but had anyone asked what they talked about, she wouldn’t be able to answer.

By the time they had made it back to the car, [Y/N] was able to tell something was wrong. As soon as the car started and Janis pulled out onto the road to head toward her next plan, [Y/N] tapped her arm to get her attention. A hum slipped from the goth to show she had acknowledged the touch, though she kept her eyes on the road. “Are you alright? You’ve been really…quiet. Like, all day.”

Shit.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m still just really nervous about the whole surprise thing. Which…is where we’re going now.”

After she pulled up to an empty parking lot, Janis took a breath, practically freezing in her seat as [Y/N] slowly got out of the car. A moment or so later, at the sound of a knock on her window, the goth finally pulled her attention away from the steering wheel to find [Y/N] standing there, confused. Finally, she managed to pry herself out of the driver’s seat and close the door. She locked the car with trembling hands before wordlessly walking in a random direction. With a small squeak of surprise, [Y/N] jogged to catch up with her, immediately questioning where she was headed.

“Oh, right,” Janis muttered, glancing up at the now concerned girl for just a second. She turned around to face where she was walking again. “Sorry, I’m just…I’m leading you to where the surprise is, I just forgot to say that somehow.” “Oh.”

Too anxious, Janis couldn’t force herself to blurt anything out, too afraid of making small talk as they headed to where her source of anxiety was originating from. The entirety of the walk, [Y/N] trailed behind her and quickly told herself to just look around at the scenery. They had stopped at some kind of large park, though the part they were headed toward looked more like the entrance of the woods. The sight at the darker shade under the trees caused her nerves to spike, though she calmed down when Janis finally managed to mumble a really soft–almost inaudible–“we’re almost there.”

The closer they got to the wooded part of the field, the more concerned and puzzled [Y/N] grew. Finally, just as she was ready to ask if they were lost, or if Janis planned on killing her–which in her mind made sense, considering the goth had started acting weird in the past hour–Janis sighed and stepped to the side. She lifted and waved her arm, motioning toward a small setup partially in the shade. “We’re here.”

[Y/N] turned her focus to the setup, which made her gasp softly. It was a classic picnic scene: a red and white checkered blanket laid out neatly underneath a large oak tree, a small woven basket weighing one of the corners down, and a cooler for the drinks. However, a decently sized gift was wrapped up and was propped up against the bark. “Surprise,” Janis murmured, snapping [Y/N] out of her surprised trance.

“Oh, Janis,” she whispered. “It’s beautiful.” Janis seemed surprised at her words, a small smile finally painting her lips again. “Really? I figured you’d find it cliche or something.” [Y/N] chuckled and gently nudged the goth’s shoulder. “I mean, you know I love a good cliche. It’s not a bad thing.”

After sharing an awkward grin, the two of them headed over to the blanket and sat down. They picked a few snacks from the basket on the corner, as well as a drink from the cooler, then ate slowly as they did their best to strike up a normal conversation. This worked for a very short amount of time, but [Y/N] eventually gave in and finally asked what it was all for, to which Janis grew nervous all over again.

She tried to find a way to segway smoothly into her confession, but eventually realized there was no point in trying to appear confident. She had blown that long ago. With a heavy sigh of defeat, she stared down at her lap, fiddling with the tab of her soda can to pull her attention away from the set of eyes on her. “Okay, I can’t keep this up anymore,” she began.

“I brought you here because I–” She swallowed hard and shut her eyes. It was just a confession. How hard could it possibly be?

“I brought you here, and did everything else today, to tell you that I really like you. Like, I’m in love with you. A-And I wanted to bring you here to ask you to be my girlfriend.” A moment passed where the two just sat in silence, and although she didn’t want to, Janis finally managed to open her eyes again to glance up at [Y/N]. She worried she had been completely ignored, but she mainly feared she was about to be made fun of by the one girl she actually had serious feelings for.

Instead, she was greeted with the sight of [Y/N] blushing for the first time that evening, a small smile cracked across her lips. “Uh,” the goth stuttered. “It’s fine if you say no. When I told Damian about wanting to ask you out, he said I should make the whole thing special, so…here we are.” More silence, though Janis couldn’t tell that it was only there because [Y/N] couldn’t find the right words to express how she felt. After what felt like a whole hour to her, Janis finally sighed and put her drink down, readying herself to stand up. “This was a mistake, wasn’t it?”

As she began to lift herself off the blanket beneath her, a hand grasped her wrist, halting her movements and prompting her to sit down again. “No, I’m sorry, Jan! It wasn’t a mistake, I just…I never thought you’d actually ask.”

Janis could only gawk at her, mouth agape. “Huh?”

[Y/N] giggled at her reaction. “I would love to be your girlfriend, Janis.”

More laughter stemmed from Janis sitting there, purely dumbfounded as she visibly tried to process the words. Finally, a bright smile graced her lips, one wider than ever before. An excited glimmer shone in her eyes. “Wait, really? You would?” “Yeah, of course!”

Janis finally let out a laugh, then a sigh as she shifted to fall over and let her head land in [Y/N]’s lap. “Oh thank fucking god,” she blurted, causing the girl to chuckle and gaze down at her in slight bewilderment. “I’m so tired. I spent so much time planning this whole thing out. I wanted things to be perfect. I didn’t know you were going to say yes like it was the most obvious thing on earth.” They shared a laugh, the previously thick tension finally lifting.

“Yeah, no, I was always gonna say yes. But don’t worry, I really loved everything we did today. Uh, well, except when you were leading me to the woods and started acting weird. Thought I was about to be wiped from this planet.” Janis snickered again. “Nah, I wouldn’t do that to you.” She grinned softly up at her, shifting to lean against [Y/N]’s stomach. “But I am glad you liked everything today. That’s a relief.”

[Y/N] beamed wider and nodded. She drove her free hand upwards to let her fingers rake through the goth’s dark strands, causing her to let her eyes to flutter shut and lean into the touch. They stayed like that for a while, but [Y/N] eventually had a small reminder pop into her head. “Oh, what’s the box against the tree for by the way?”

Janis’s eyes shot open again, a deep crimson red dusting her cheeks. “Ah, well…” She hesitantly sat up and stood long enough to pick up the present and hand it to [Y/N]. She sat back down next to her and watched as she carefully peeled open the gift. Once it was mostly torn away, [Y/N] gasped gently at the sight of a canvas with a portrait of her, glazed over nicely with Janis’s signature down in the bottom left corner, right next to a small note.

To the one person who has always seen the best in me and has never treated me poorly. I hope this painting does you justice.

Silently waiting for a response, Janis kept glancing over between the portrait and [Y/N], trying to gauge her reaction. When she got nothing, the overly anxious girl cleared her throat. “Do you…like it?” Finally, [Y/N] turned to face her. “Are you kidding? I fucking love it,” was her reply. Janis huffed out a sigh of relief from the reassurance and smirked, leaning against the other girl’s shoulder and closing her eyes again. “Jesus Christ, another huge relief. I love you so much.”

Softly, [Y/N] nuzzled her head against Janis’s, slipping one hand from the partially unwrapped canvas to lift it and cup the girl’s cheek, her fingertips lightly grazing her raven hair.

“I love you too.”

hi!!! just dropping by to say that your lara croft fics are absolutely PERFECT. and the way you write is amazing!! i hope you have a great christmas, if you’re celebrating of course. i am your biggest fan fr. take care <333

Hi, hun!

Sorry for taking so long to respond -- I've been trying to organize a few things before I start replying to people so I don't get too overwhelmed.

Thank you so much for your kind words! I have a few more fics for Lara that I'm hoping I can finish and publish soon, so stick around for that if you're interested. :)

I absolutely appreciate you being here and enjoying my work. I hope your Christmas was great! Take care of yourself as well! 🩵

Enamored

[Shadows of Rose] Rosemary Winters x Female Reader

Summary: After being isolated for the majority of her life, it's a breath of fresh air for Rose when she finally has someone she can talk to about whatever may be on her mind. And while she enjoys chatting away about everything, she loves to listen to you speak about anything at all, often finding herself enamored in every little thing about you.

Word Count: 640 Content Warnings: None Category: Heavy Fluff || Preference

[A/N]: This is just a really quick drabble. It felt nice to not necessarily worry about the length or the structure for this one.

Enjoy!

Throughout the entirety of her life, Rose had been isolated from others. Whether it was because of her issues that stemmed from the mold that ran through her veins or because of the soldiers that were constantly watching her wherever she went, she never grew close to anyone. That’s why meeting you was such a breath of fresh air for her. Not only did you pay no mind to the BSAA’s miniature army that always trailed after her, but you found her “defects” fascinating instead of terrifying or disgusting.

From the moment she had met you, Rose was enamored. You made her feel safe and seen. She could be herself around you without the constant worry of being made fun of and yelled at for the things she couldn’t control about herself. Whenever she had to be somewhere important and her palms would grow sweaty from her nerves, you wouldn’t hesitate to help her dry them, never repulsed by the molded texture that bubbled up against her skin.

Not only did you make her feel comfortable and confident, but you were also always there to lend an ear. Regardless of what she had to talk about – either Chris getting on her nerves and babying her or one of the other soldiers treating her like a tool instead of her own being – you welcomed her with open arms, ready to listen to her rant for hours on end.

Soon after growing close, she started to return the favor to you. Even if all you wanted to talk about was a bird on the windowsill that you thought was pretty or a random thing you had seen online that had annoyed you, you would instantly be met with her nodding along and chiming in, eager to show that she was interested in what you had to say.

She loved listening to you talk. It was nice to have someone to vent to when training was tough or Chris was on her case, but hearing you ramble on about every possible thing on your mind was her favorite thing of all. She loved your voice, the way you rolled your eyes or chuckled as you recalled something from your day, and the way your eyes seemed to shine when she would point out a small detail about your story that you hadn’t realized she paid attention to. She adored it all.

Often, you would look over in the middle of a sentence and find her gazing at you with a small grin toying at her lips, which tugged upwards into a wider smile when you met her eye. If you asked why she was looking at you that way, she’d admit without hesitation that she loves hearing you talk about your day. In fact, after a while of you shying away from the conversation halfway through out of fear of being too overbearing with the information you had already dumped on her, she’d encourage you, nearly begging you to keep going with what you were saying.

You were everything to her, and she was more than happy to learn something new about you with every word you chose to share. The stories about your life and your day captivated her each time without fail. The smallest of details that you would generally discard after sharing were noted and locked away in her mind. Nothing you could tell her would ever be seen as unimportant. You trusted her to tell her everything: the things that bothered you, made you happy, or your worries for the future. She refused to forget any of it. As little as it might’ve meant to you, it was vital for her.

You brought her the sense of solace she had been subconsciously craving her whole life, and she would always try her hardest to return the favor for you.