MASTERLIST:

It downed on me during that scene when Steve realizes something's off about Max and runs up the hill that he has probably been the most reliable grown up male figure in Max's entire life. Let that sink in.

He's always watching over and being stern with her because he knows she can be even more reckless than the rest, since limits haven't been properly taught to her by adults. She has had to be the adult of her house and has forgotten how to be a carefree kid. But Steve is all "Nh-huh, no, you stay put kid." (Exactly as he does with Dustin.) Which is probably why when she stares at Steve for me is a sign that she has come to admire him/trust him as a reliable "adult". (He isn't an adult either but you guys get what I mean.)

Then there's Dustin, you can see how much he trusts Steve not only because of how he always goes to him for help or how he blatantly talks to him as if Steve had his age (when you feel comfortable around someone you totally forget age differences) but also when Steve dives in to the lake, Dustin doesn't panic. He gets worried, yes, but doesn't panic and says "Come on Steve", trusting that he'll resurface.

And Lucas! When Steve ran towards Max he didn't follow him, and we know Lucas cares a whole lot about Max, but still trusted Steve to check on her.

Who else has come to trust Steve? Robin, Nancy and Eddie, obviously. You can see it in how they let him dive in without arguing and even more when they're in the Upside Down. There's a moment when the second round of demobats appears that Robin and Eddie rush to get behind Steve and then there's a shot of the 3 of them slightly behind Steve. They trust Steve with their safety.

All of them trust Steve with their safety.

Let that sink in too.

Bitch Onions

TASM Peter Parker X Reader

⚠️Warnings: swearing, absolute crack⚠️

Sitting on the rooftop, you look up at the vast sky ahead of you. Your eyes making out the shapes within the clouds and your heart beating slow and steady, as calm as you could be. Things were perfect this high up, the sunset making the entire world a luminescent orange and sparkling off the glass of the city buildings below. The cars honking and the various shouts of the people below.

You were on top of the Empire State building. And next to you, was the infamous Spiderman.

Said superhero was currently devouring a chili dog.

"Could you chew quieter? I'm trying to meditate," you said, pushing your loose strands of hair away from your face and fixing the sweater adorning your shoulders. You squinted at him through warning eyes and then laid down in a similar position as before. Before you could get too comfortable, Peter slides down next to you and continues to annoy you by chewing in your ear.

"Is this any better?" He asks with a knowing grin.

"You're such an asshole." You laugh, and swat the chili dog out of his hands. It was only supposed to fall but you forgot about the fact you were up so high, and, well. Physics.

"NO!" Peter yells as he watches his delicious meal fall off the roof and down to the city below. Before you could say 'what the fuck are you doing?' he jumps off the roof after it.

"Peter?"

His image is going, going, gone. Just as you thought that you had gotten left up there, he resurfaces with his web shooters and the food in his hand.

"You made the onions fall off."

he’s literally so cute I wanna cry

GUYS THESE TERRY PICS OMFG 

230521 Taehyun Weverse Post

My heart hurts from loving Johnny so much

💛🦐

is this what falling in love feels like

💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

Prom?

pairing: eddie munson x reader

summary: you ask your boyfriend to be your date to the prom, but he turns you down. angst to fluff

wc: 3.4k

a/n: the chokehold this man has on me is unreal

stranger things masterlist

“Prom?” Eddie repeated back to you, bewildered and borderline offended by the mere suggestion. “You’re asking me to prom?”

You nodded, playing with your hands and avoiding eye contact. You knew this was a mistake. After spending so much time listening to his rants about conformity and “the dark side,” you should have known he wouldn’t be interested. 

“Sorry, Yn, but it’s really just not my scene. Wouldn’t you rather go on a regular date like we usually do?” he asked apologetically, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably. He hated that he was the one to put such a dejected look on your pretty face, but he’d rather do almost anything else than go to a stupid school dance, even if it was with his girlfriend. Eddie swore his heart cracked when you only responded with a simple no, leaving him standing in the school parking lot by himself. You had been so hopeful that he would say yes. It was your senior prom and you wanted to go with your boyfriend. You hadn’t gone junior year, so this was your last chance to have this high school experience. 

You didn’t sit at the table the next day at lunch. Or the next. Or the next. You were actively avoiding Eddie, and the more you avoided him, the more his heart cracked. His eccentric personality was becoming more subdued with each passing day. It hurt to see him like that from across the cafeteria, but frankly you were hurt and slightly embarrassed at being rejected by your own boyfriend.

Not knowing what to do about his relationship problems, Eddie consulted Hellfire.

“Dude, you obviously hurt her feelings. Would it really be that bad to take her to prom? I mean c’mon, don’t you want to see your ‘sweetheart’ all dolled up just for you?” said Dustin, the rest of the guys nodding in agreement.

Eddie sighed, “If I showed up to prom, I’d make a hypocrite of myself. I love her, but…” He trailed off.

“But what?” You interrupted from behind him. You had decided to rejoin the boys at their table, intending to ask Eddie if you could talk privately. You wanted to apologize for the past few days. A silly school dance wasn’t worth your relationship.

Eddie stared up at you from his seat, wide-eyed, trying desperately to form the words that would stop the tears in your eyes from falling, but nothing but stuttering came out. With every fresh tear from your eyes, the cracks in Eddie’s heart deepened until it finally shattered at what you said next.

“If you have doubts about how you feel about me, then maybe we shouldn’t be together.” Your words came out in a whisper, as if it would lessen the blow. You hadn’t said it in a fit of anger, hadn’t said it to be malicious, you had actually meant it. Eddie was going into a tailspin. You broke up with him. The most precious person in his life was walking out the cafeteria doors, out of his life, and for what? Because his pride got in the way? Because he couldn’t give his girl one night? His club members were talking to him, but it was all just background noise to Eddie.

Mike snapped his fingers in Eddie’s face, “Dude! What are you doing?! Go after her!” That was all it took to spring Eddie into action. You were the best thing in his life and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t at least try to fix this.

He jumped out of his chair, nearly tripping over his own feet in his rush through the cafeteria. You were nowhere to be found. In a last ditch effort to find you, Eddie ran to the parking lot. He’d gotten there just in time. Just in time to see you pull out onto the road, that is.

From that point forward, all Eddie saw of you was brief glimpses in the hallways and fleeting looks in the cafeteria. 

Soon enough, the dreaded week of prom arrived.

Eddie was staring at you across the lunchroom again, lost in his own pity, when Dustin slammed his hands down on the Hellfire Club’s self proclaimed table. “Dude!! You have to make things right with Yn right now. Your campaigns SUCK lately, and you look like a kicked puppy. Just talk to her, Munson.” 

Eddie sighed and put his head in his hands. “She won’t even talk to me, Henderson. I don’t know what you want me to do.” Before the younger boy could respond, a crash sounded throughout the cafeteria. Everyone looked towards the noise, and the cause of it, which happened to be Robin Buckley hurriedly fixing the trash can she had stumbled over moments prior. 

“Uh- sorry everyone, um- proceed!” She quickly turned and exited the cafeteria, wide eyed with a hand over her mouth. 

“Yn might not talk, but I know someone that will tell you everything you need to know.” Confused, Eddie lifted his head and followed his friend's gaze. “Huh?”

 The next day, in between 3rd and 4th period, Robin found herself cornered by the smallest, most determined-looking freshman she’d ever seen.“Uh, can I help you?”

“That depends.” The boy squinted at her, scrutinizing. 

“On.. what, exactly?”  She shifted anxiously under the curly-haired boy's glare.

Without answering her question, he continued. “Come to the science hall during lunch.” With that, he promptly turned on his heel and hurried away. 

“I’m not doing that.” Robin uttered under her breath. 

Robin did, in fact, do that. Call it a morbid curiosity.

When she arrived, Dustin was already there, checking his watch and tapping his foot as if he was an angry parent. “Seriously, could you have taken any longer? Lunch is almost over!.”  

“Sorry baby-man. Gotta eat.” The boy rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Whatever, Eddie should be here in a second.” 

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear. What’s all this, Henderson?” Before the boy in question could respond, Robin interrupted. “Woah woah woah hold on a second this is bad- I can’t talk to you, Munson.”  Eddie furrowed his brows disbelievingly. “Why? We literally went to middle school together. Are you seriously still mad about the time I cut off your ponytail? I was 12! And it looks super metal short-“ Robin waved her hand in the air, cutting him off. 

“No, dingus! I can’t talk to you because Yn is still super upset with you and now you’re all broken up and stuff! Girl code still exists, dude!” 

The boy darkened. “Oh. Did she.. did she confirm that we were broken up or..” 

Robin panicked when she saw the look on Eddie’s face. Yes. Panic. That’s what she would tell Yn when she undoubtedly gets in trouble for this later. 

“I mean yes but she still loves you she’s just really upset because it’s her senior year and everything and she knows it’s not your style she just figured that you might make one little sacrifice for your girlfriend because she’s always supporting your Dungeons and Dragons nerd things all the time and it seems like you expect her to compromise and I guess it just hurts her feelings that you won’t do the same for her and she already picked out this really cool dress and she was just really looking forward to it and she’s still going but it just won’t be the same and-”

The girl took a deep breath to begin talking again, but she was interrupted by the man in front of her. “Oh shit. Ohhh I fucked up.”

The boy beside him hummed in acknowledgement. “Oh shit indeed, Eddie.”

Eddie ran a ring-clad hand through his hair and laughed incredulously, sliding down the lockers he had been leaning against. “I’m the biggest idiot ever to exist in the history of idiots.” He frantically looked up at Robin. “Quick, what color is her dress?”

The day had somehow snuck itself onto everyone. Girls were panic-buying hairspray and boys were rushing to the nearest grocer for acceptable looking bouquets. As soon as the sun went down, Hawkins’ roads were filled with rented limos and concerned parents. Meanwhile, Eddie was pacing around his trailer as Dustin tried to give him a pep talk.

“Dude, relax. This’ll work, I’m positive.”

Despite Dustin’s words, Eddie didn’t look any less nervous than he was before. He stood in front of Dustin and spread his arms, “Do I look okay?”

“Perfect! Except for one thing. Do you have a tie?”

“Yeah, but I couldn’t figure out how to tie it so I just took it off. Do I need one?”

Dustin rolled his eyes and sighed, “Bring it here.”

10 minutes later Eddie could proudly say that he knew how to tie a tie. Dustin gave Eddie another once-over before approving; with Dustin’s stamp of approval, Eddie was finally ready to knock on your front door (after dropping Dustin off at home, of course). His emotions were so frazzled that he doesn't even remember the drive. One second he was putting a bouquet in his passenger seat and his guitar in the back and the next he was pulling into your driveway. It was nearly 8pm already, and though he wasn’t a religious man, he was praying to any god out there that you were still home. Eddie knocked on the front door with one sweaty hand, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited for someone to open the door.

Except it wasn’t you who opened the door, it was your mother. “Eddie? What are you doing here? Yn’s not here right now.”

He nodded quickly before running back to his van, your mother watching him, confused at his unusual behavior. There was no time to waste. If you weren’t home then you must have already been at the dance. Robin did say you planned to go anyway. Plan B it is.

As soon as he made it to the school, he was rushing to the gym, bouquet in hand and guitar strapped to his back. The dance had already started, which made it difficult to spot you in the crowd of his peers. He eventually spotted you seated at a table with Robin, completely oblivious to his presence. You looked beautiful, and as you laughed at something your friend said, his heart tightened at the thought that it could’ve been him sitting with you and drinking (probably spiked) shitty pink punch.

“Guess she wasn’t home, huh? You owe us big time, Eddie. Do you know how hard it is to rent a tux day of? It’s easier to buy alcohol underage. Thought they were gonna background check us, dude.”  

He turned to his friends and smiled sheepishly. “Seriously though, guys, thanks. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn't agreed.” 

“Whatever Munson, we’re desperate for you to get Yn back. Your campaigns have been dogshit lately because you’re so heartbroken. It’s pathetic. Seriously. Now what set are we playing?”

Eddie smiled. “Oh no boys, we’re not playing a Corroded Coffin original tonight.”

While Eddie led his band-mates backstage, you stood and offered your hand to Robin. “Let’s dance, Rob. I’m missing out on a boyfriend at prom but no WAY am I missing out on dancing to Pat Benatar.” Reluctantly, your friend stood up and took your hand. “Cool ring by the way, where'd you get it?”

You looked at your hand, confused, until you realized you were wearing one of Eddie’s rings. You’d had intentions to give it back, but you couldn’t bear to take it off. It was your favorite of his, a silver, spider shaped ring with a ruby in the middle. “Oh uh, I got it at a vintage shop. Now come on, the song’s almost over!” Dancing with Robin allowed you a moment of reprieve from thinking about Eddie. It didn’t last long though, not when you heard the music stop abruptly, replaced with angry protests from your peers. “Seriously? What gives?” 

Curious, you made your way to the front of the crowd surrounding the stage, Robin in tow. Before you could reach the stage, you heard the sound of a bass guitar starting up. “What the hell?” You finally pushed your way past the group closest to the stage, and what you saw made you stop dead in your tracks. “Robin, please tell me you’re seeing this too.” 

“If you’re also seeing Eddie Munson on stage at prom playing with his band, then yeah I'm seeing it.” 

You gawked as he leaned towards the mic and started singing. There was no way he was going to these lengths. “Tonight- I wanna give it all to you, In the darkness, so much I wanna do-“ You saw him search the crowd, but his eyes never met yours.

“Doesn’t he usually play all that death metal stuff? Kind of a genre switch if you ask me.” You looked at Robin and ran your hand through your hair. “Yeah-” You had to yell over the deafening noise . “It’s my favorite!”

 “And tonight- I wanna lay it at your feet, ‘cause girl I was made for you, and girl you were made for me-“ 

The crowd was buzzing again, excited that the ‘freaks’ were playing recognizable music. “I was made for lovin’ you baby, you were made for lovin’ me!” You felt yourself smile endearingly, adoring how at-home Eddie looked in his element, eyes closed and all but yelling into the microphone. 

“And I can’t get enough of you baby, can you get enough of me?” For the first time, you took notice of his outfit. It looked like he’d actually tried- he had a tie and everything, though he hadn’t taken off his signature rings or his worn-down converse. (You preferred it that way anyways- it was unapologetically Eddie) 

“And tonight, I wanna see it in your eyes, feel the magic, there’s somethin’ that drives me wild.” His eyes raked over the crowd again. “And tonight, we’re gonna make it come true, cause girl you were made for me, and girl I was made for you-“ Finally, your eyes met his, and he grinned, triumphant. With as much force as he could muster, he sang the chorus, and motioned for the crowd to join. “I was made for lovin’ you, baby, you were made for lovin’ me!” Throughout the rest of the song, Eddie’s eyes were only on you, pleased that you at least looked amused at his performance. However, as soon as the song ended, his confidence was spent and he was eaten up with anxiety. Would you be angry? Would you tell him to piss off? As he left the stage in an attempt to find you, he felt a hand clasp his shoulder. Expecting you, he turned around, but instead found himself face-to-face with his drummer.

 “I saw her head to the bathroom with Buckley. They’re probably deciding your fate right now, dude.” 

“Thanks, Gareth, that really makes me feel better.” Eddie deadpanned.

 “I’d pray to god that Yn’s in a forgiving mood. We’ll catch you later, Eddie. Goodluck.”

“Y’know, I don’t see why you're so freaked about it. Do you have any idea how many girls would kill to have a guy that would do that for her?” 

“Do you know how many girls didn’t have to break up with their boyfriends before they showed up to the god damn prom?” 

Robin shrugged. “Touché.”

“So, what do you think I should do?”

“Don’t leave it up to me!” she screeched. “I’ve never had to deal with this before!”

“No no no, not a valid answer. What would love guru Steve Harrington do?”

Robin snorted. “Something dumb, probably.” You groaned and put your head in your hands as you slid down the stall door. “Somebody sedate me.”

After a moment of silence, Robin spoke up, giving her best impression of Steve. “You gotta take a chance on the guy, what if you lose the wrong guy and end up a single, nerdy loser that works at a video shop like me for the rest of your life?”

You giggle, but then pause. “Wait, you’re right.”

Robin blanched. “About your future of being a single loser?”

You pushed her slightly. “No idiot, about taking a chance.” You lept to your feet and started out of the bathroom. “Hey, where are you going?” 

“To do something dumb, probably.” 

As soon as you exited the bathroom, you frantically looked around for a glimpse of Eddie’s mess of dark hair. Immediately, you spotted him pacing around the entrance to the gym. He was fiddling with his hair, frazzling the ends and rolling them over his fingers. You walked towards him quietly, and he didn’t notice you until you spoke.

 “You clean up pretty good, Munson.” You lightly joked. “Oh my god, Yn-“ He was tempted to hug you, but he didn’t know how you'd react. Your arms were crossed over your chest and you looked uncomfortable. God, he could feel his palms sweating already. “Yn, I'm so sorry, I’ve been such a dick and you look so amazing and I can’t believe I almost missed seeing you just because of my pride. I’ve been totally blind to your needs and just totally inconsiderate. I hope you can forgive me.” Afraid of your answer, he looked down at his feet, bracing himself for your response. 

To his surprise, you just sighed. “Eddie.. It’s not all your fault. I overreacted over something I knew was probably a stretch in the first place. I knew prom wasn’t really your thing and I almost lost the guy I love over it.”

He looked up and met your eyes, hopeful. ”So you forgive me?”

You smiled and he pulled you into a hug. “This time. But you know, you can’t just show up and sing me a Kiss song everytime we fight.”

He grinned. “Of course. Next time it’ll be a Depeche Mode song, then Tears for Fears, then maybe even an Ozzy song.” You rolled your eyes. “Whatever, Munson.” You snuggled into his chest and appreciated his warmth for a moment until he moved. 

“Hey wait, I have something for you. He removed his hands from around your waist and stepped back. 

“Close your eyes!” He said in a sing-song voice. You huffed a breath in amusement and complied. “They’re closed.” You heard shuffling before he spoke again. “Wait here for a sec.” You heard footsteps retreating and waited, but not for long. 

When he returned, he was accompanied by a crinkling sound. “Okay now open.” You complied, and were met by the sight of Eddie offering you a bouquet that nearly covered his entire face. You held back a giggle and took the flowers as he cleared his throat comically and brought himself down to one knee. 

“Now, will you, Miss Yn Ln, do me the ultimate honor and accompany me to senior prom?” 

You tapped the bouquet to your chin and pretended to think deeply. 

“Okay, sweetheart, honey, baby, I’m gonna be honest with you, I don’t have the strongest knees and this is really doing a number on me.” You laughed and offered your hand to him in a faux-cordial manner. “Well, Mr. Munson, I would be delighted to accompany you to the senior prom.” Before he stood, he kissed your hand and smiled. “I love you, Yn.” You felt yourself melt a little. “I love you too, Eddie.” He brought you into yet another hug, burying his face into your neck. You stayed like that for a few minutes, until you felt him smirk against your neck and lift his head to meet your eyes.

“So I take it you liked my performance?” He raised his brows and you huffed. “Oh my god, would you just shut up and kiss me already?” He smiled and leaned in until your lips were ghosting each other. “As the lady wishes.” Finally, his lips connected with yours. After a moment, you pulled away. “So I guess I really did get the entire prom experience, Mr. Teen Angst.” 

  “Not quite.” You gave him a questioning look, but all he did was wiggle his brows suggestively. You deadpanned and started walking back to the gym. “Always gotta ruin the sweet moment, Munson. Keep it in your pants at least until we get home, ’kay?” He smiled and followed after you. “No promises!” When he caught up to you, he grabbed your hand. “And by the way, sweetheart, I'm 20, so it’s not teen angst, it’s just the regular kind.” 

“You’re lucky you’re cute.”

Fight Club

Johnny X Y/N X Yuta Nakamoto

Just a piece of advice!!! This fanfiction probably won't make any sense unless you've seen the 1999 movie Fight Club written by David Fincher. This revolves around the storyline for said movie and previous knowledge of it needs to be present for it to make sense! In that case, read on! :) 💜💜

⚠️ Warnings: swearing, mentions of gore, mentions of nsfw, talk of weapons and violence as well as drugs⚠️

"You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You are not your fucking Khakis. You are the all-singing all-dancing crap of the world."

...

Part Two:

Flashback:

Going on business trips was Yuta's least favorite part about his shitty existence. Having to travel from flight to flight for his business sucked, as he would say, ass.

So another plane ticket for him would mean another night of no sleep, zoning out while someone talked about a car line they needed to recall because of safety hazards, and then back onto his flight with people he had no interest in. That's the thing about self-serving "friends." They're just people who you have the displeasure of meeting because you're both going to the same place. After you're done trying to pass the time, you never see each other again and that's that. Well, Yuta thought of it that way.

Trying to get some sleep, he rested against the very uncomfortable plane seat and closed his eyes.

He didn't know when he passed out, just that it wasn't for long. The flight attendant had already gone through with the snack tray, he figured from the pretzels other people had on their laps that it wasn't too long ago. Sighing, he shuffled around his seat so he was in view of the window. However, someone was now sitting there fiddling with the window cover. He had longer black hair and red tinted glasses taking up most of his face. A cigarette was dangling between his teeth- unlit -and he had on a pair of very tight and very leather jeans. He also had an old pair of dress shoes with a hole in the top and scuff marks along the side. This man must've gotten dressed in the dark, Yuta decided.

"If you feel that you would be unable or unwilling to perform the duties on the safety card, please ask a flight attendant to reseat you."

The Elton John impersonator finally spoke to Yuta, a cocky grin on his face and glasses slowly sliding down his nose. In his hand was the manual for a plane crash which he must've taken out of the seat pocket in front of him. Yuta didn't think that anyone actually read those.

"That's a lot of responsibility."

"Wanna switch seats?"

"No, no I don't think I'm the man for that particular job."

What was with this guy? Yuta's first thought was drugs, but then he mentally slapped himself for thinking that. 'This guy's probably just as sane as I am', he thought.

The man sighed and looked around at the rest of the passengers before staring back out the window. "An exit door procedure thirty thousand feet. Mhm. The illusion of safety." He smiled again, except this time Yuta could feel himself glued to his chair, as if his movements would lead to the plane crash Red Glasses was talking about.

"Yeah, I guess so." Yuta let out with a sigh.

Just then the man said, "You know why they put oxygen masks on planes?"

'Oh joy', "So you can breathe."

Red Glasses sighed and rolled his eyes. It's clear that he's making Yuta out to be an idiot. "Oxygen gets you high. In a catastrophic emergency, you're taking giant brain-panicked breaths. So you become euphoric, docile, you accept your fate. It's all right here." He grabs the pamphlet and opens to the page he was reading. Then, shoving it in Yuta's face, he continues his rant.

"Emergency water landing 600 mph. Blank faces, calm as Hindu cows."

The horribly computer generated pictures of people following safety protocol showed them all- as Red Glasses stated - unusually calm. At this, Yuta laughs. The man did have a point.

"That's uhm, that's an interesting theory."

After a pause in conversation, Yuta tries to talk to the man again as he realizes that this is the most interesting conversation he's had throughout his whole trip. He actually didn't expect someone with so much exuberance to be seated on his opposite side.

"What do you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what do you do for a living?"

The man's face turned into another one of those cocky smiles as he pushed a couple strands of hair away from his eyes.

"Why? So you can pretend like you're interested?"

Yuta laughed again, not sure how to respond. His textbook conversations that he had thought up earlier while sitting on his prized IKEA couch wasn't working. The conversations he saved for when he didn't know what to say. They were usually foolproof, but not with this guy. For once in his life, Yuta felt dumb.

"You have a kinda sick desperation in your laugh," The man stated as he reached for something from below the seat in front of him. Realizing what it was, Yuta exclaimed that they had the same briefcase. Odd stranger and similar taste. Interesting.

"Soap."

"Sorry?"

"I make and I sell soap." He opened the briefcase and saw the bars of soap Red Glasses was talking about. For the neat way they were packaged, Yuta could tell this guy was serious. Indeed, he made soap. They were a little deformed, but Yuta guessed the sold well. Their appearance was high quality.

"The art sticks of civilization." Yuta took the business card held out in front of him.

'And this is how I met....' "Johnny Seo."

"Did you know if you mixed equal parts of gasoline and frozen orange juice concentrate you can make nepalm?" Johnny said, looking directly at Yuta now.

"No I did not know that, is that true?"

"That's right. One can make all kinds of explosives using simple household items."

"Really?"

"If one were so inclined." Johnny smirked again and shut the briefcase in his lap closed. The smell of the fruity soap washed over Yuta's nose as it did, and he started to understand why people bought them. There's a sense of familiarity to the smell, Yuta couldn't tell if it reminded him of old lady perfume or bacon.

"Johnny, you are by far the most interesting single-serving friend I have ever met. See, I have this thing that everyone on a plane is single-serving-"

"-Oh I get it. That's very clever." Johnny interrupted Yuta as he was about to explain his odd correlation with people and planes. Usually, the person Yuta talked to when he boarded was someone who was desperate to get him to shut up, so they let him talk about God knows what for however long he wanted. Not Johnny, though.

For lack of something better to say, Yuta replied with "Thank you."

"How's that working out for you?"

"What?"

"Being clever."

'Who is this guy?' "Great."

"Hmn. Keep it up then." Johnny patted Yuta's shoulder and smiled again. It was 100% a half smile and Yuta could tell that his small talk was boring Johnny to no end. His observations were proved true when Johnny readied to get up to leave his seat.

"Right-O. Now, a question of etiquette as I pass- do I give you the ass or the crotch?"

...

Yuta aggressively typed on his work computer while his thoughts mercilessly tugged at his brain. Y/N was mad again, Yuta could tell. It wasn't just about the dress thing, no it was also because of the sex. She'd been pestering him about it all week, trying to lure him upstairs. Yuta wasn't sure why she was trying to play with both him and Johnny but he knew that there was something wrong.

Fight Club was also very quickly taking over Yuta's life. He dressed sloppily to work every day, not even bothering to put on a tie or button up the rest of his shirt, with blood stains from a fight the night before. He was even smoking in the office, something he wasn't used to doing but now couldn't care less about.

Throughout all of the activities taking hold of him, Yuta couldn't sleep again. His insomnia was the worst he can remember it ever being. With that thought still on his mind, he grabbed his laptop bag and walked out of the office, on his way to Joon's once again.

...

"Alright boys. It's time for another fight. This week we have Yuta and one of the newcomers."

Johnny was getting used to his position as a spectator. He'd only fought a couple of times, but he seemed to get a pass from the other members because of the position of leader he'd taken over. His poise and demeanor had changed since Yuta's first encounter with him; that cocky, arrogant smirk still resided on his face but that was all that was left of the Johnny Yuta once knew. Or so he thought. He'd only known Johnny for a few months after all.

Yuta prepared himself for his next fight. He was angry. And his insomnia was getting worse by the second- he needed someone to take his aggression out on. Pain seemed to be the only cure to his sleep deprivation.

"Alright Yuta. You're up against Ten."

Yuta stared at the tall and muscular man at the other end of the "ring". He wasn't jacked but he definitely worked out. He was fit, covered in tattoos, and was littered with piercings along the sides of his ears. This man had so many pictures etched onto his skin that Yuta doubted he could even count them all. And, he was bleached blonde. Like- really bleached blonde. Draco Malfoy would've been jealous.

Yuta planted his feet firmly to the ground, watching the strange man named Ten do the same thing. This was his first night, so Yuta would be sure to make it memorable for him. At least, from the ground.

"How much do you bet?" Yuta heard from someone in the crowd. Since when was Fight Club about bets?

"I'll give you a twenty for tattoos."

That was all Yuta needed to hear before he was filled with rage. Johnny was in on this too? This was just supposed to be the two of them. Since when was it about an underground cult? Yuta felt sick to his stomach as he dealt the first blow.

And then another. And then another. And then another.

Why wasn't Ten fighting back? Well you see, Yuta had struck him completely by surprise, rendering him defeated from the minute his ass hit the cement ground of Joon's sacred basement. Ten couldn't even stand to try again before this kid was on top of him hitting him everywhere: the jaw, the nose, the eyes, even his motherfucking ear.

Yuta was ruthless.

For once, Fight Club was silent. The only thing that could be heard was Yuta's punches and the snapping of bones and moaning of Ten from beneath him as his body contorted into uncomfortable positions. He was bleeding from his nose and mouth and his beautiful face was now going to have an incredibly large scar across the side.

Amidst all of this commotion, Johnny lit a cigarette.

"Get him off."

Yuta was pulled away from Ten who was now knocked out cold.

"Why'd you beat up Ten that badly?" Johnny asked, looking directly at Yuta with an undecipherable look. He had a beer in one hand and hair frizzled everywhere. Over the past couple of months it had grown to an extraordinary length of an inch and a half. This meant flyaway strands everywhere. Yuta was mainly just looking for anything to focus on instead of his friend's face. The humiliation of what he had done to Ten's face was enough for him. Yuta held his wrist to his chest and assessed any leftover damage.

"I felt like destroying something beautiful."

...

The streetlights were dim as Johnny and Yuta ran through the dark. The sidewalk was uneven so they'd taken to the side of the road instead, making their way to the back of a large building with scuffed up shoes and bloodied noses. Yuta had no idea why he was here other than the fact that Johnny had dragged his ass out into the cold to "make soap" or whatever the fuck that meant. Yuta knew he'd figure it out though, Johnny always had a way with turning anything into a philosophical speech.

The chain-link fence was nearing Yuta's vision as he and Johnny ran on. The lights were brighter up there, and for a second Yuta wondered if they would get caught trying to break into the place. Johnny had said it was abandoned, but that obviously wasn't true seeing as he was shimmying his way over the fence after throwing his coat up over the barbed wire. He was making fast hurried movements and Yuta followed suit, grabbing the red leather jacket and hoisting it over his shoulder once he was on the other side. An alarm rang out and they both ducked for cover behind a large dumpster.

"I thought your dumbass said this place was abandoned?"

"It is at night. Usually."

"Who's out here?!?" They heard a policeman yell, the sound of a dog nearby made them stop in their tracks.

"Shit. Guess we'll have to wait him out." Johnny said between drawls of his cigarette.

"Wait him out?! It's 26 degrees outside are you crazy?!?"

At this, Johnny smiled. "Very."

The next twenty minutes were grueling as they waited for the guard to leave. Once security was taken care of, Johnny led Yuta to another dumpster on the other side of the building. Upon opening it, he climbed inside and started rumaging through it.

"Johnny, where are we?"

"Can't you fucking read?"

Yuta looked above Johnny's head to where he was pointing. There was a giant sign that proved they were in a medical facility. Liposuction.

At Yuta's realization, a bag of said material was thrown at him and he barely caught it in his arms before it fell to the ground. The red and flesh colored goop slid around in the bag reminding Yuta of throw up.

"Here, there's a few more."

Going back over the fence, Johnny threw Yuta more bags from the dumpster as he caught them from the other side. However, one of these were a failed attempt because the Yuta had found himself lost in thought. You, in particular.

He remembered how excited you were to show him the dress you'd bought. Your happy little giggles as you paraded around in it when you had found it made his heart swell.

Wait why does he remember that? Wasn't the first time he'd seen you wear it was in the kitchen?

"Hey shit face! The lard!"

Snapping back into reality, Yuta watched the bag catch on the barbed wire and split open, releasing a flood of human fat and blood all over his head.

"Aw fuck."

...

Yuta had taken a very thorough shower. He had been washing for hours it felt like, just to try and remove that god-awful smell from his hair and his clothes. Not that the water on Paper Street was very clean, but it was better than nothing.

Once he was finished he got dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. It was already past 3:00am and he doubted he would be getting much sleep anyways, so he just got ready for work. Walking down the rickety stairs from his bedroom and into the kitchen, he was met with that horrible smell once again.

"Ugh, what is that?" Yuta asked, looking for Johnny to answer. He held his nose and made his way to the fridge where he was stopped by Johnny who brought out some of his experiment stuff.

"Ay watch it this shit burns." He said, going back to stirring whatever pot he had been fussing over previously. Johnny was wearing nothing but his pants from earlier, his shirt was lying on the other side of the counter and his jacket had been abandoned to the bedroom upstairs. Because of this, Yuta was able to see Johnny's exposed muscles as well as the scars from previous fights and other miscellaneous events in his life. Yuta couldn't help but stare. Johnny really was pretty.

"Okay." He motioned for Yuta to stand at the table that was covered with experiments and the lard from their previous adventure. Once Yuta was situated at the table with a confused expression dawning his face, Johnny smiled. This was one of those malicious ones that he put on before he fucked something up for Yuta again. Last time he'd given him this look, it was when he threw Yuta's work computer out the window of their dingy old house blabbering on about corporate businesses and the corruption of everyday society.

Johnny then grabbed Yuta's hand and kissed it.

"What is this?"

Johnny picked up a lenticular container from his left hand side and started to pour the powdery contents onto Yuta's hand.

"This," he said, "is chemical burn."

Yuta was confused as to why his wrist was being held down to the spot but then the chemical kicked in. Yuta's first reaction was to scream.

The pain was unbearable. It was the worst pain Yuta had ever felt and he was starting to wish he could die just to get it to stop. Anything to put out the flames on his hand, eating his flesh and leaving a crater in its wake. His breathing quickened as his body went into fight or flight mode, his hand shaking around in Johnny's grasp and his legs wobbling.

"It'll hurt more than you've ever been burned and it'll leave a scar." Johnny stated in a nonchalant tone.

'If guided meditation could work for cancer it could work for this.' Yuta thought as he closed his eyes and tried to envision a nice forest somewhere. His daydreaming, however, was cut short by Johnny's voice.

"Stay with the pain. Don't shut this out."

"No!" Yuta drew back from Johnny's hand and his head hit the shelf containing their unused pots and pans. He held his burning hand to his side as he waited for the pain to stop or even just dwindle a little. Yuta felt his adrenaline levels skyrocket as tears formed in the corners of his eyes.

Johnny took hold of Yuta's wrist with his burning hand once again and slammed it down on the table. Due to his thrashing, Yuta knocked a lot of Johnny's materials onto the ground of the kitchen, not caring about destroying anything and only thinking of the excruciating pain before his eyes.

"Look. At. Your. Hand! The first soap was made from the ashes of heroes, like the first monkey shot into space! Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing!" Johnny stared at his friend dead in the eyes and tried to illicit a sense of fear into him.

Yuta screamed again as he tried not to think of the words sear or flesh. Nothing was working to try and calm the pins and needles attacking his body. He tried to break away from Johnny but to no avail. The man was prepared for this, it seemed.

"STOP IT. This is your burning hand! It's right here!" With that statement, Johnny slammed Yuta's hand against the counter again to try and focus his friend on his philosophical assignment. He was getting pissed now.

"I'm going to my cave. I'm going to go to my cave and I'm going to find my power animal!" Yuta exclaimed, trying to remember his sessions from support group and their ways of coping with difficult tasks. He remembered in a Leukemia group that someone had mentioned a "safe space" where you could form whatever it is your heart desires to try and make yourself feel safe in an unsafe situation. Yuta found his to be a cave with a penguin, however, that penguin has changed into his daydream of you.

"No!" Johny rolled his eyes and slammed his fist on the table to accentuate his point. "Don't deal with it the way those dead people do! Come on!"

"I get the point you're making please! Please make it stop!" Yuta managed to get out in between heavy breaths and the knot in his throat.

Johnny pursed his lips. "No! What you're feeling is premature enlightenment!"

Yuta imagined his cave once again in an effort to escape his reality. Instead of your calming face, he was met with the image of you naked while he was atop you, both of you within the icy confines of his arctic imagination. He coughed as he went in and out of his vision.

Johnny must've sensed what his friend was up to, because not seconds later Yuta was getting slapped across the face. "It's the greatest moment of your life, man! And you're off somewhere missing it!"

"No I am not!" Yuta screamed through gritted teeth.

"Shut up! Our fathers were our models for God. If our fathers bailed, then what does that tell you about God?!"

"No, no I don't-" Another forceful slap from Johnny resonated throughout the room.

"Listen to me!" Johnny threw his goggles off his head and onto the floor with the other cups of mysterious substances that Yuta had dropped.

Johnny got closer to his face to the point where if he leaned any further over the table, he'd be nose to nose with Yuta.

"You have to consider the possibility that God does not like you. He never wanted you. In all probability, he hates you. But, that's not the worst thing that can happen."

"It's not?!"

"We don't need him!" Johnny spat, and Yuta could tell that his pleading was getting him nowhere. For now, all he could do would be to endure the pain until Johnny felt sorry enough to tell him how to stop the burning. He had to know, right? He was the one who was working with the fucking chemical.

"We don't! We don't need him, I agree!!"

Johnny smiled at him from the other side of the table. "Fuck damnation man, fuck redemption! We are God's unwanted children?! Then so be it!"

Yuta flung his hand to the side with Johnny still attached, knocking over more things in their kitchen and watching as his supposed to be single-serving friend laughed through his pain.

"Listen! You can run water over your hand to make it worse, or you can- look at me! -or you can use vinegar to neutralize the burn."

Bingo. That was Yuta's ticket out of this hell. His eyes met Johnny's and he could feel his hatred for him bubbling up from his chest and into his eyes where he put everything he felt into his look. He wanted Johnny to know how he was feeling.

"There you go."

"Please let me have it! Please!"

"First, you have to give up. First you have to know, know, not fear, that one day you're going to die."

"You don't know how this feels!" Yuta screamed again in agony, watching the bubbling of his flesh on what was left of the top of his hand. Of course Johnny could sit all high and mighty on his side of the table, he had no idea how much Yuta was suffering. Was this some sort of sick joke?

Johnny's malicious smile returned once again as he raised his other hand from under the table and into Yuta's line of vision. There, on the spot Yuta felt the most pain at the moment, was a scar similar to that of a chemical burn on Johnny's hand. Ugly, big, and worn with pride.

"It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything."

Yuta's eyes met his as he started to calm down and his body adjusted to the fire on his right hand. "Okay." He said as a tear rolled down his cheek.

Johnny slowly removed the boy's hand from his grasp and watched as Yuta held his same position with his hand over the table. He was shaking, but he was determined to see this through now, knowing that it was one of Johnny's more difficult lessons. If he could get through Fight Club on the daily, he could get through this, easy. Even though the burn hurt more than any missing tooth or broken nose.

Johnny grabbed the giant jug off the counter behind him and flipped the cap off, throwing it's contents onto Yuta's hand and drenching him in vinegar. The pain instantly stopped and Yuta clutched his hand to his chest and fell to the floor, calming himself down after all of this. He looked up towards the table and saw Johnny staring down at him with that shit-eating grin of his.

"Congratulations. You're one step closer to hitting the bottom."

Amongst the spinning of the ceiling and the labored breathing, Yuta found beauty in the events of that night on Paper Street. They might not have made soap, but they made a man. And Yuta found out he was more capable of anything than ever before.

...

(Part three coming soon!)

[AN:] Thank you for reading! Please interact with your thoughts! This is somewhat new writing material for me and I would love to know if you liked it or not! Thank you! :)

I’m so sorry for my absence, guys 😭😭😭😭

do you ever not write for so long that you’re almost afraid to? like what if I’m dumb now

What type of fics are your favorite to write?

Oooh this is a hard one! A lot of my fics are based on my personal experiences with certain events, and I just happen to write the characters into settings I've dealt with while also keeping it pertaining to their storylines. However, I would definitely say my favorite type would be fluff. Just the snuggly lovey stuff with a couple of dad jokes here and there.

As for characters, it depends on whatever I'm into! As of recent, I've been watching Bullet Train a lot so I've written for Tangerine and Ladybug, but I'm sure it'll change and I'll go on a spree for writing someone else soon.

Thank you for asking!! I hope you have the most wonderful day!

💛🦐

THE WALKING DEAD

Carl Grimes:

Nightly Encounter: Depression comes after losing your favorite person. What's worse: the fear of dying or the fear of knowing everyone else around you will die first?

(Romance/Angst)

In-Between Days: Finding more ways to pass time becomes harder and harder as the apocalypse continues. Just a day in with Carl!

(Romance/Fluff/Very slight angst)