literally malcolm

It all came to a head on a random weekday, where you were sitting in a random cafe working on an essay. Just above the top of your laptop, towards the back of the room, you recognized your mystery friend. He seemed to be playing on his phone while he sipped his hot coffee. 

You sat there for a while, debating whether you should say something. You were so tempted, but you didn’t want to freak the guy out. What if you were the only one who noticed? He would probably think you were a stalker.

But what if there was a reason you kept seeing him? 

“Can I sit here?”

In the blink of an eye, you were standing by the stranger’s table, holding your belongings. He looked up with some surprise, but quickly recovered. 

“Oh, um, sure.” He nodded to the seat across from him, for you to take.

“Sorry to intrude.” You said as you sat, putting your things on the side of the table to not take up too much of his space. “My name’s Y/n. You go to UCL, right?” You were relieved when he nodded. “Good. Not to sound weird, but I think I’ve been seeing you around a lot. So I thought I might as well introduce myself. So… hi.”

His smile was timid but inviting. “I’m James.”

You smiled back at him. “Nice to meet you, James.”

You didn’t get much work done after that. You and your new friend were too busy talking the rest of the day away. Admittedly, you did most of the talking, but you could tell that James was hanging onto every word and that his contributions to the conversation were sincere. You talked about your studies, favorite food spots, anything you could think of.

A few hours later, you walked out together and went underground. You were happy to see no one else on your platform.

“I liked talking to you, James.” You smiled at him. 

He smiled back. “I liked talking to you too. Do you…” He trailed off, getting shy. But you were glad he powered through. “Do you want to exchange numbers?”

You were quick to whip your phone out, and James followed with a laugh. By the time you switched the phones back with your information, your train was arriving.

“Is this yours?” You asked a bit loudly as the train pulled up to the platform. James shook his head and pointed behind him.

“Other way for me.” He replied louder as the train screeched to a stop. Then he cleared his throat. “But don’t worry, I’ll see you.”

You laughed, hoping it would be true, and boarded your train. You waved James goodbye through the window, and soon the train sped away.

Back on the platform, James was looking at your new contact in his phone, grinning with pride. He didn’t expect you to make the first move. He was also a bit disappointed in himself that you could spot him so much. That was sloppy of him.

“Who’s that?” The blonde thought aloud, staring at you with intense interest. Her friend Jenny giggled after seeing Regina’s expression.

“Her name’s Y/n!” she shouted over the deafening cheers of the crowd as you and your opponent faced each other. “She’s in my history class; she’s the one who told me about tonight.”

Before she could respond, a gasp escaped Regina’s lips. You had just taken a punch in the jaw, and Regina wondered how this was supposed to be interesting.

But as she kept watching, more you than the match itself, she started to see the appeal. You were giving and taking punches like it was nobody’s business. She, of course, would never do it herself. But seeing your muscles glisten with sweat was very entertaining, even from afar.

When the referee raised your hand at the end of the fight, Jenny noticed that Regina’s cheer was much more enthusiastic than in the previous matches. She smirked, putting her lips to Regina’s ear so she could hear her over the crowd.

“Wanna meet her?”

***

After the longest hour of her life, Regina was finally taken to the locker room where she and Jenny waited for you to come out.

“Try not to stare at her too much.” Her friend teased, getting a glare in return. “Don’t worry, I think she’ll like you.”

“Like who?”

Regina was slightly disappointed to find that you had changed out of your fighting attire, a sports bra and shorts, but that didn’t mean you were just as attractive in your sweatsuit. Your hair was damp, and it looked like a bruise was forming around your eye.

“Jenny, didn’t you say something about staring?” You asked jokingly, giggling at how her cheeks reddened. “Kidding, I’m kidding. Nice to meet you.” You put a hand out for her to shake, which she happily did. “I’m Y/n.”

“Regina,” the blonde replied. It wasn’t often she felt flustered; it almost made her mad. “You were, like, really good.”

“Thanks!”

“Maybe…” Regina tightened her hold on you ever so slightly, not wanting to let go of you just yet. “You can show me some moves sometime?” She gave you her sweetest puppy-dog look, knowing so many before were unable to resist it. But you, she really wanted.

You grinned. “Sure! Yeah, give me your number; we can set something up.” Regina was beyond grateful that Jenny kept her reactions to this whole interaction to a minimum. But she knew she was going to be teased about it the entire ride home, how ecstatic she was to talk to a hot girl and get her number.

“If you wanna get a drink or dinner, we can do that too.” You said nonchalantly as you finished making Regina’s contact.

“How about now?” All three of you were surprised by Regina’s quick response, but her eagerness didn’t embarrass her. 

You looked at Jenny. “Do you…” You didn’t finish the question because Jenny held up her hands.

“I can just head home. But you two, by all means.” You caught the suggestive smile she gave Regina, realizing what she could be implying. “Have fun.”

“We will.” You said reassuringly, turning to Regina with a playful smirk. “Won’t we, Regina?”

She put on a fiendish smile. “Oh, we will.”

***

“Well, it’s certainly frustrating when your captain’s a stubborn man with blockheaded ideas on what to do with his chasers.”

That triggered a louder argument between you and Oliver, and all Harry could do was watch. This was far from his first time witnessing one of your spats with the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, and he doubted it would be the last. Part of Harry wondered how you could function as team members with the constant bickering, especially over how Oliver should run his team. But in the end, as long as Gryffindor was winning matches, he didn’t mind too much.

“Trouble in paradise?” Harry suddenly found himself sandwiched between the Weasley twins, who watched the scene in front of them.

“They’ve been at it for a while.” Harry said with a sigh. “I’d stop them, but the sooner they stop, the sooner we have to do drills.” All three boys grimaced at the thought of what hell Oliver would put them through during practice today.

“Oi!” Fred and George’s fiery red hair caught Oliver’s eye, and the young man turned his attention to your spectators. “What are you lot gawking at?”

“Just enjoying the view, Ollie!” George grinned.

“Oh, yes,” Fred jumped in. “We just love how passionate you two get.”

Oliver huffed in annoyance, and his cheeks turned pink. “Go get changed before I make you run laps.” Not bothering to see if the boys listened to his instructions, he turned back to you. “And you, lass… If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop giving me so much sass.”

Instead of agreeing and running off like any other player would, you gave a sweet, innocent smile.

“And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll get your broom out of your arse.”

***

A week later, Harry was sitting at a table in the common room with Ron and Hermione, hunched over a DADA essay that was due the next morning. He and Ron were the ones scrambling, as Hermione had completed it the other day. She was with them to do some “light” reading and lead the boys’ essays in the right direction.

The portrait door to the common room opened, which caught the three’s attention because of how late it was. Out of the corridor emerged a group of seventh years, clearly filled with giggle water and firewhiskey as they failed to suppress their laughs and loud “whispers.” Last to come in was the drunk student's herder, Oliver Wood. He seemed to be the least plastered of them all. And there you were next to him, clearly drunk and clinging to him so you didn’t trip over your own feet.

The sight was very confusing for Harry, as he had never seen you two get this close unless it was to argue face to face on defensive strategies until you were nose to nose. And Harry had never seen you treat each other so… nicely?

“Ollie, I‘m tired.” You whined into his shoulder, dragging your feet until you slowed to a stop.

Oliver took your hand, squeezing it before pulling you towards him. “I know, lass. Just up the steps and then to bed.” 

Just looking at the start of the staircase, you knew you were too drunk and tired to get to your room. Your eyes were already heavy, and you were still standing up, although that was mainly because Oliver was holding you up and against his chest.

“Can you carry me?”

It seemed instantaneous in your drunken state, Oliver picking you up with ease and taking you up the stairs. You giggled and kissed his lips before settling down with your head on his shoulder. Harry watched in complete shock, but when he turned back, he was met with confused faces.

“What’s the big deal?” Ron asked.

“Can’t handle affection, Harry?” Hermione teased.

Harry shook his head so hard that his glasses slipped down the bridge of his nose. “No, you don’t get it. I have never seen them act like that before. On the pitch, they seem like colleagues at best, and that’s when they’re not at each other’s throats.”

“I dunno.” Ron shrugged. “They all seemed pretty smashed; maybe it’s a one time thing.”

“So smashed they became different people?” Harry retorted, finally adjusting his glasses and returning to his essay. But he didn’t even write a word before Hermione spoke.

“Are you really that blind?”

Harry and Ron looked at her, then each other, then her again. She asks them a version of this question almost every day, and they still haven’t come up with a response. So the boys stare at Hermione, waiting for her to just tell them what she knows.

She sighs. “They’re going out.” She said in the most obvious, matter-of-fact tone. Yet it still blew Harry’s mind. “Have been since we’ve started at Hogwarts, I think. They probably just keep it off the pitch.” 

“Then why are they always fighting?”

“Harry, you know they’re both mad about Quidditch.” Ron said. “Besides, Fred and George say they mainly do it to get the other worked up.”

Ron’s friends looked at him curiously. “Worked up?”

“Yeah.”

“For what?”

“Dunno.” The redhead shrugged. “They never said. But I have a feeling them going upstairs like that has something to do with it.”

***

“Oh my God, re-lax! Each bed is a queen, and there’s a pullout couch in the living room. So, I think…” Jackie trailed off, inching towards Kelso until she was latched around his arm. “Michael and I take one room, Donna and Eric take a room, and…” Jackie looked at you, Hyde, and Fez, who were all staring at her expectantly. “You guys can figure the rest out. Come on!”

With that, Jackie pulled Kelso towards a hallway, beckoning Donna to do the same with Eric. When it was just you and the two boys left, you turned to them.

“I call dibs on the room.” You said quickly, turning to where the rest of your friends had gone. “You guys can decide who gets the couch.” Then you sped off to find your room.

Luckily, Jackie seemed to have been waiting for you, keeping her head poked out into the hall. When she saw you, she grinned and pointed to the door across hers.

When you walked in, you mentally patted yourself on the back for racing to the room. Although it was more rustic than the Burkharts’ usual extravagance, it was still way nicer than what you and your friends were used to. 

The bed was buried under fluffy blankets and mountains of pillows, with matching nightstands and lamps on either side. On the left was a dresser and vanity, both with more drawers than you knew what to do with. On the right was a desk and some doors that led to a small balcony.

You were unpacking when the door creaked open. Hyde came through, closing the door behind him and dropping his bag on the floor.

“That was quick.” You commented after looking at the alarm clock on the nightstand. “Did you and Fez actually talk, or did you just punch him in the arm until he said you could have the room?”

“The way I got the room doesn’t matter. What matters is that I got the room.”

You continued to unpack. Meanwhile, Hyde flopped onto what was clearly now his side of the bed, flicking his lighter on and off in boredom.

“You better not smoke in here.” You muttered, although you didn’t really sound like you’d stop him if he did. “Jackie’ll kill you.”

Hyde snorted at the thought. “Oh, yeah. She’ll get Kelso to pick her up so she can reach my neck.”

“Ha ha.” You said sarcastically, walking to the balcony doors that were framed by curtains. “We’ll make this the smoke spot.” You opened the doors, and the view made Hyde agree instantly. Your room had a perfect overview of the lake, which seemed to stretch on forever. The balcony wasn’t very large, just enough for a few people to stand together.

Hyde sat up and peered at you mischievously over his sunglasses. “What do you say we make it official?” A flame emerged from his lighter, and you knew what he was insinuating. Before you could answer, the door burst open.

“Ah! Kelso, what the hell?!”

“What?” The man in question looked surprised, like he hadn’t just barged into your room unannounced. You and Hyde rolled your eyes. “Jackie told me to tell you guys that we’re gonna go in the lake. Last one there’s a rotten egg!” Kelso ran out of the room, knocking his shoulder into the doorframe. “Ow!”

You shook your head and laughed before going into the dresser drawer you had just filled to grab your swimsuit.

“I guess I’ll see you down there.”

You turned around to respond to Hyde, but lost words at the sight in front of you. Rarely did you ever see Hyde with his shirt off, especially with him acting so casually about it. Your eyes widened when you saw his hands reach to mess with the zipper on his jeans. It was then that he decided you had been quiet for too long and looked up. Seeing you were staring back at him, he grinned smugly.

“Waiting for me to take my pants off, L/n?” Your mouth opened without an answer, and Hyde clicked his tongue in faux disappointment. “I’m not a piece of meat.”

“Hyde.”

“You should at least buy me dinner first.” He was now by the door, a pair of swim trunks and a little brown paper bag in hand. “I’ll see you down there.”

***

An hour later, you were sunbathing on the dock with the girls. From a couple yards away, you had been watching the boys play around in the lake. You all couldn’t help but giggle when watching Kelso and Hyde swing Fez back and forth to throw him farther into the water, or seeing the boys sneak up on and attempt to dunk each other. But eventually, you, Jackie, and Donna lay back to soak up the sun.

The sound of wet feet stepping on the dock caught your attention, and you turned your head toward the speed walker.

“Hey,” Eric sounded out of breath, waving his hand limply to you and Jackie in greeting while making his way to Donna. In his usual dramatic fashion, Eric all but collapsed next to her, giving her a kiss before he lay down to rest.

The footsteps didn’t end with Eric. They eventually slowed to a stop, and you could smell something burning. “Hey, Y/n.” You opened your eyes, squinting as they adjusted to the bright sun. Hyde held a smoking joint towards you, waving it around as if to entice you. “Want some?”

Grinning in delight, you reached out and carefully took the lit object from him. “Why, thank you.” You said before taking a slow inhale. Eric’s hand quickly appeared in front of you, ready to take the joint as soon as you were done. You laughed at his eagerness, taking another hit before passing it off. Jackie, who was between the two of you, grimaced.

“Ugh, that smells so gross.” She scrunched her nose. “You are not smoking that on my dock.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Hyde plucked the joint out of Eric’s hand and jerked his head towards the manmade path to the lake. “Y/n, wanna come?”

You practically floated out of your chair and close to Hyde’s side. The weed was already hitting you, relaxing you to where you started leaning against your friend for support as you walked down to the water. Luckily, Hyde didn’t seem to mind, which was surprising considering he wasn’t one to be touchy.

Once you reached the water, Hyde surprised you further by grabbing your hand. He started guiding you along the water, getting farther from your friends in the lake and the view of your friends on the dock.

Eventually, you stopped at a large rock just a few feet away in the water. You yelped as you stepped in, not expecting the water’s sudden chill. You and Hyde sat shoulder to shoulder, looking at the expansive lake.

“Damn.” Hearing the man sigh, you looked over to see what was the matter. He now held a filter tip with a slightly burned end. “All gone.” Then he flicked it into the water before pulling a fresh joint from behind his ear, as if it were a pencil. How you failed to notice it until now, you’re not sure. Maybe his curly locks had been concealing it. 

“Here.”

Blinking back to reality, you realized Hyde was holding the joint to your mouth, waiting for you to accept it. You did so, feeling your cheeks heat up. But instead of grabbing it like you normally would, you simply leaned forward to wrap your lips around the filter.

Hyde smirked, like that was his expected result. He pulled a lighter out from the other side of his head (what else could be hiding up there?) and flicked it on.

The earth stilled as the flame moved closer, with you and Hyde refusing to look away from each other. Carefully lighting the end, Hyde watched you slowly inhale. Your eyelids fluttered shut as the taste hit you, much more intense since the bud was actively burning. It wasn’t long before you were coughing and sputtering., handing the lit object to your friend.

Hyde handled his hit better, still coughing a small bit but doing a good job at pushing it down. Sensing you’d be good for a while, he hit the joint again.

Your eyes were glued to his lips, no matter how much you were yelling at yourself to look away. The filter had the faintest mark of your pink glittery lip gloss, which you then found on Hyde’s mouth when he took the joint away.

“You want it?”

Hyde’s voice brought you to reality, where he was trying to hand you the joint because he thought you were drooling over it. God, you had to get a hold of yourself.

You grabbed the object, reveling in the few seconds where your fingers were touching. “Thanks.”

***

Hours later, the group was dry and warm in the living room. The boys had gone to the nearest town, about twenty minutes away, to pick up pizza and drinks for dinner, because there was no way any of you were cooking tonight, even if it was just hot dogs over a fire. While awaiting their arrival, you and the girls flipped through the channels on TV to find something to watch.

In front of the Burkharts’ TV was a low and round coffee table, which was currently covered in semi-empty pizza boxes. Surrounded by the table were three loveseats. On the one in front of the backyard patio, Kelso was demolishing his fifth slice while Jackie fussed over his hair. Eric and Donna, on the center couch, leaned against each other as they ate. And you were able to get the one across from Jackie all to yourself, taking advantage of the space by laying across it, resting your head on the single armrest that allowed you to enjoy the hijinks of the Mystery Gang.

But you didn’t get to enjoy the solitude for long.

“Can I sit?”

You didn’t have to look to see it was Hyde asking, standing behind the back of the seat while pointing to the foot-end of it with his chilled can of beer. You gave a hum of approval, and Hyde was quick to sit down. Instead of giving you the opportunity to make room for him, he lifted your feet with his free hand and placed them back down in his lap after he was settled. You reached down to the floor for your soda, using the drink to distract yourself from how your heart started to race.

It was sometime past midnight when everyone started heading to bed; your mind was too occupied to really know. Hyde had been absentmindedly holding you for hours. When his drink was gone, he started using your legs as a place to rest his arms. Whenever a theme song or commercial jingle played, he tapped along to the tune on your shins. Maybe you were just imagining it, but every time you moved to grab something from the floor or table, he’d grip your leg just enough for you to notice. As if he were making sure you wouldn’t roll off the couch.

You felt a squeeze again, this one more deliberate. You looked over to see Hyde already looking at you.

He jerked his head towards the hall. “Wanna go to the room?”

You would’ve been embarrassed by how quick you were to stand if you weren’t so giddy. You were about to share a bed with your friend who was inexplicably becoming more attractive to you by the minute.

You both said goodnight to Fez, who had made himself quite comfortable under a bundle of blankets with an insane stash of candy. Hyde let you lead the way down to your shared room. It puts you a bit on edge, and you hoped hours of lying on the couch didn’t make the back of your hair too much of a mess.

The door closed behind Hyde, making you freeze. What now?

“So…” Hyde started after a beat of silence, “Are you tired?”

“Not really.” You answered, looking at him just to see he was already watching you. “You?”

He shook his head, and a mischievous smile soon emerged. Hyde flicked his head towards the balcony doors behind you. He dug around in his pocket for a moment before bringing out his lighter and flicking it on. “Wanna make it official now?”

You couldn’t help but blush. Luckily, it wasn’t noticeable in the dark. You waited, as if someone was going to barge in and interrupt like earlier today.

But it was just you and Hyde, who was waiting for an answer.

“Sure.”

It was a warm summer night, which you appreciated since you were wearing shorts and a loose shirt. The moonlight barely illuminated the view of the lake, but it was still beautiful.

“Ladies first.” Hyde said, handing you the joint he had just finished rolling. Letting out a satisfied hum, you plucked it out of his fingers and popped the filtered end into your mouth. Like at the lake, Hyde lit the joint for you, but you were better at not coughing this time.

“Nice job.” He commented as he took the smoking object, taking a long drag.

Having Hyde’s eyes glued on you made you more lightheaded than the weed, so you let him hog it. A part of you liked watching him, doing what he did best. What differed from all the other times, though, was that his sunglasses were gone and he was in his pajamas, gray sweatpants and a white tank top. Somehow it was even hotter than seeing him drenched in just shorts. Maybe because now he seemed so relaxed.

“You want it?” You saw his lips move to say, and it was then you realized you had been staring at his mouth and were practically drooling over him. He was presumably talking about the joint, but you knew you wanted him more.

Then you looked into his eyes. Behind those heavy lids and glassy blue orbs, he was staring back down at you with hunger and want. Like he could read your dirty thoughts and was thinking the same things.

You nodded slowly, not knowing what you were about to get.

Hyde brought the joint back to his own mouth to smoke. What a tease, you thought.

Or maybe not, because soon after, he grabbed your chin with his free hand to guide your lips to his. His fingertips pushed against your cheeks to keep your mouth open, and you started tasting the smoke that he had inhaled. You breathed in and exhaled through your nose, ignoring the way it burned your nostrils by focusing on how soft Hyde’s lips were against yours.

Hyde’s hand moved into your hair, pushing you further into the kiss. He set the joint down on the railing so he could grab your waist. It soon became a frenzy of lips, tongues, and wandering hands. It took everything in you to keep yourself up, but once Hyde touched your pebbled nipples and you could feel his hard-on through his sweats, you were quick to pull him towards the bed.

The morning after would be filled with looks and jabs from your friends, who could probably hear your activities. But for now, it was just you and Hyde under the sheets. Not quite how you imagined sharing the bed with him this weekend, but you hoped it was how you’d spend every weekend in the future.

***