𝙁𝙊𝙍 𝙇𝙄𝙁𝙀.

this time, gon emerges from purgatory in cricket’s bathroom. 

he narrowly misses stepping straight into the toilet, actually, as he struggles out of the last stubborn tendrils of the in-between and falls hard on his knees on the tile. the shock reverberates uncomfortably through his legs, but there’s no pain. the ridiculousness of it all pulls a harsh laugh from his chest, the sound too loud in the cramped space. like always, he can’t remember how to use his limbs for a good ten seconds before everything hits him and he’s able to yank the bathroom door open. the light blinds him temporarily, and he has to squint as he adjusts.

“what the fuck is all this light for, crick.”

SEJONG HUMS ABSENTMINDEDLY under his breath to the music as he struggles to remember where exactly he had spotted the bin. he switches directions suddenly, now heading towards the front door with the girl still in tow. the girl who was currently talking to him, it seems, but honestly? he’s had too many drinks to be focusing on this many things at once and understanding them all.

BUT HE DID hear at least half of her question. he turns around to glance back at her and point towards the door they’re steadily reaching. “come on!” he calls back to her as he pulls her out of the house and into the crisp night air. he glances around, lifting a hand to push the hair out of his eyes.

A GRIN PULLS at the corners of his mouth, and he swings his arms out in a wide gesture towards the small, rectangular bin that sat against the garage door. “there you go! recycling!”

the further penny’s pulled along, the more anxious she gets. she really can’t see a single person in the crowd that she knows, and everyone is too high or drunk to really be paying enough attention to report to the authorities of anything suspicious... was she overreacting? maybe. but was it unwarranted when this was a college party and the world was the way it was? absolutely not!

she can’t help but shiver when she steps out of the house, the night rushing in to send goosebumps up her arms. she’s thankful when the guy finally lets go of her, looking in the direction he’s gesturing toward and heaving a sigh of relief when she sees the bins he’d promised. “thank you,” she remembers to say, tossing her bottle into the bin and feeling even more like going home. 

then she looks toward the guy, obviously close to being drunk, and frowns a little. “have you been drinking any water? or eating? do you have someone who can take you home?” 

          soyi basks in the words; maybe she asks for validation 5 times a week, but he always makes it sound so sweet. maybe it was one of the perks of being with him so often, maybe she was just used to a certain type of talk coming from men. “too tall? for you?” her lips twitch, forming a honeyed smile. she runs her hands along his arms, leaning closer and nodding, “you’re the best, the sweetest, my juwonnie,” she cooed, dainty fingers cupping his face as she leans even further. “don’t burn dinner, dummy.” dropping her hands and leg, she nodded toward the stove again.

honestly, juwon isn’t sure what game soyi is playing with him, but he’s settled on getting strung along for now. it wasn’t much different from all the other women who were sweet and seductive around him just to look at a handsome face for a little longer. not that he really thought much about any of that when he had a fat stack of bills in his hands by the end of it all. “yes, ma’am,” he says with a little salute, kissing her forehead quickly before turning her away by the knees to focus on the food. kimchi stew wasn’t exactly dinner date material, but it would have to do. “go away, you’re distracting.”

          there was something that vaguely resembled charm in her pout as she turned away from aflie, causing him to snicker to himself and nod. maybe his teasing paid off. as per her request, he turned back to his scraps, gently trying to fit them together with lips pressed closed tightly. metal shavings at best, not nearly good enough for what he had in mind. his eyes occasionally flickered to her screen until she spoke up and he cleared his throat, hesitantly turning his attention back to her. “oh, you can see me through this wall?” he asked, gesturing at the empty space between them, “weird.”

          “nothing really, just… trying to figure out a more stable axis for my next bot,” he shrugged, trying to push a couple of the pieces back together. “my model’s dimensions are off though, so i’m winging it.” jerking his chin toward her screen, he raised a brow quizzically, lips barely curling up in a smile. “what are you working on…?”

it really is a talent of alfie’s, the way he seems to push all of sohye’s buttons with everything he says. it makes her frown with her brows pulled together, which vaguely hurts her face to do. but no matter; maybe robots are interesting enough to make her features soften back into a failed attempt at indifference, curiously eyeing the way alfie’s handling the different bits and bobs. “that’s almost cool,” she says, though it is, indeed, very cool to a person who doesn’t know what the heck he’s talking about. 

she’s honestly a bit surprised when he seems to show some interest in her current task, which is plugging in her usb to retrieve an illustration she’d been working on. “drawing,” she answers simply, though she’s suddenly a bit self-conscious when the image pops up on the screen. “it’s nothing special. just... practice.” a well-rehearsed excuse she’s had to tell her parents hundreds of times. “coding all day sucks the soul out of me.”

          “please.” his lack of excuse doesn’t go unnoticed, not at all, but something about it makes tai smile a bit. well, until he closes the distance between them and her lips are pressed in a tight line, holding her breath as she felt the air of his hands brush over her neck, “thank you.” her voice is barely above a whisper and she turns, smoothing her dress slightly, awkwardly. “do you?” maybe her voice was just a bit loud for the space the two of them were taking up, a bit too excited, but she smoothed the fabric once more, with a bit more confidence, “i was at my wits end.”

          “stay still.” it’s more for herself as she takes a very tentative step closer, leaning up on to her toes to pull the tie around his neck, vision wavering as she tried to keep it on her hands. it was harder than she anticipated, but she ties it deftly, gingerly tightening it up around his neck in one of her, admittedly, better knots. “i think my father would be impressed,” she mumbled, hands lingering just a moment before she took a step back, giving him a once over. “you look… handsome..” the compliment was apprehensive, but she didn’t allow herself an apology, “.– are you almost ready?”

dante doesn’t let himself linger too long on the way the dress accentuates tai’s body, electing to look somewhere over her head when she gets closer. he does as he’s told, maybe a little well as he squares his shoulder and goes rigid the way he’d been taught to hold himself since he was a boy. he can tell she’s knotting his tie for her, stumbling over a ‘thank you’ as he lifts a hand to loosen it a little. not because she’d done it too tight, but because he seemed to be inexplicably out of breath at this moment.

all he can do is dumbly repeat his thanks to her compliment, sheepish in the way he can’t seem to hold back a please smile. “i have to look my best for you, right?” he says in jest, flicking a lock of hair back into place. “i mean, for appearances’ sake,” he amends quickly, though there had been truth to his previous statement. everything he did was, in some way, for tai. glancing one last time at tai’s face, he nods and makes a move for the door. “i’m pretty much done. if you still have something to do, i’ll just wait outside. i should make sure yibai’s fed before we leave.” with a hand on the doorknob, he hesitates as a thought pushes its way into his head. “you look beautiful, by the way.”

closed starter for @crudelit 

          “putting your hands on her waist like that wasn’t enough?” soyi was on one of her typical rants, legs swinging as she sat perched on juwon’s counter with a huff. “you know i saw her kiss your cheek, i think she even left wrinkled lip marks on you.” despite the pan bubbling away on the stove, she leaned forward to grab his sleeve, tugging him closer, “i’m enough for you, right?” she batted her eyelashes, wrapping a leg around him with a grin, “tell me i’m what you want.”

juwon doesn’t dare roll his eyes at her words; he’d gotten a sound punishment for that long ago, and he’d learned his lesson. leaving his spoon in the pan, he allows soyi to pull him in, an amused smile spreading across his face. “mm, she was a little too tall for my tastes anyway,” he says, fully knowing that those aren’t the words she wants to hear. there’s very little distance between them now, hands braced on the countertop to cage her in. then, in the greasiest tone, just to get through dinner without a pissed off girl on his hands: “you’re the only one for me, kim soyi.”

           SEJONG LOOKS UP as a girl appears, somewhat suddenly, at the wall beside him. she starts speaking to him as soon as their eyes meet, and he has to lean forward towards her in order to hear her question. once he does, he gives her a polite but apologetic smile. “sorry, i don’t know who that–wait, did you say recycling?”

          HE STRAIGHTENS UP and glances around, his vision finally starting to swim a bit after his fourth last drink. he can’t see a bin anywhere, but he vaguely remembers seeing something that could have been the recycling symbol on a bin near the basement. he flashes the girl a dopey grin, raising his own voice to be heard. “i think i saw one! i have an empty bottle too, and i love those turtles everyone is always talking about, so let’s go find it!”

          WITH THAT, HE wrapped his fingers loosely around her wrist and stumble forward into the crowd, clearing a path through the tightly packed space for her while simultaneously making sure she wasn’t trampled by the rest of the partiers.

turtles? penny can’t tell if she’s mildly interested in the fact that there might be some one premises or just incredibly worried about what all these drunk college kids might be doing with them. either way, she doesn’t exactly have the time to respond or decline, so she lets herself get dragged along while trying not to get jostled; hasn’t this just been how she’s been spending the entire night anyway?

she can’t exactly tell where this guy’s taking her, not knowing the layout of the house much other than where the main living space and kitchen are in relation to the door. there’s a back patio with a pool, which she only knows because she caught a glimpse of it through the sliding doors when they walk past it. “where are we going?” she calls over the music, trying not to trip over her own feet or bump into this guy’s back. she doesn’t think she’s ever seen him before. what if he’s under the influence and leading her to her doom? hadn’t thought of that until now, huh, penny? 

at least she had her beer bottle to defend herself if things went awry. 

take me home - jess glynne

   “would you take the wheel if i lose control? if i’m lying here, would you take me home? could you take care of a broken soul? will you hold me now? will you take me home?” // @crudelit

an eye-roll and a frown: two gestures of annoyance that cover up a world of hurt. it’s all she can offer his raw words, all she’s ever known to offer; it’s either this or money, after all. “i told you not to call me when you’re drunk. especially not to say something like this.”

          this is alfie’s safe haven, away from the stale smell of beer and sex that lingers in the frat halls. the must here is comforting, the quiet is more than welcome. if anyone knew he was here, however, he’d probably gag and roll his eyes. he was forced to work in here, he’d tell them. he’s settled in the corner, one AirPod™️ hanging from his ear as the door slams, causing his shoulders to tighten in surprise. no, he didn’t jump. he tries to center his attention on the splayed out pieces of metal before him, eyes flicking to the code rolling on his monitor. footsteps get closer. he holds his breath for a moment and pushes his AirPod™️ in further, only briefly glancing up as he hears a slightly familiar voice.

          “uh– sohye?” his name catches him off guard and he turns toward her completely, “didn’t i tell you to call me alfie.” he offers a half smile, sleazy at best. “that’s what it looks like, doesn’t it? you’re extra observant today.”

honestly, sohye isn’t really sure what she’s done to make alfie so... mean to her. okay, maybe she’s almost accidentally exposed his big secret to all his frat buddies and had called him his full name with her whole chest. big deal! it really didn’t warrant all the teasing and seat-stealing in her own personal slice of sanctuary. the thought, coupled with alfie’s sarcasm, is enough to make her pout as she sits down and turns resolutely toward her screen. “okay, grumpy. you can just pretend there’s a wall between us,” she says calmly, logging into her school account and immediately opening up photoshop. 

she’s in the midst of pulling her drawing tablet out of her backpack when she finally spares the mess of parts on the table in front of alfie a glance, lips pursing as she feels the first licks of curiosity tugging at her. offhandedly, while hooking her tablet up, she lets her resolve crumble and asks, “what are you making anyway?”

          tai’s admittedly worse off than he is, half of her closet spread across her floor as she sweeps through her wardrobe. events like these aren’t for her. they aren’t for dante. they’re for her father, the only one who cares, but she loves him so she goes. people know her name, unfortunately, she’s expected. she and her… husband. the corners of her lips twitch at the word. it’s kind of ugly, foreign as it sits on her tongue. her mother told her it would get easier, but she’s feeling more than impatient.

          impatient seems to be a theme today, however, as she finally gives in and pulls a dress from her closet. it’s safe, a few shades darker than her skin, and modest. her father would have nothing to complain about. she’s just barely got herself decent before the knock, which snaps her from her thoughts and causes what feels like all the blood in her body to rush to her face. crossing to the door, she opened it, brows furrowed slightly, “of course, come in,” nodding, she pushes the door open further, moving from his path as she continues the buttons up the back of the gown. her eyes never leave him (how could they), but her fingers fumble even having him in the same room, “is everything okay?”

dante isn’t sure why, but he’d half expected tai to tell him to wait, or come back, or something other than the door opening with his hand still on it. he startles, though it doesn’t take him long at all to get his composure back, eyes sweeping over tai’s frame before swiftly looking elsewhere. like the dresses laid out on the floor and beds. very interesting indeed. he clears his throat, hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck before glancing back at tai, lips parting to offer the explanation he’d cooked up just a second ago but letting it die on his tongue.

“i, uh―“ he hesitates, unsure of his place even now, but steps closer either way, gaze lingering on the bare skin of tai’s back. “everything’s fine. did you―did you need some help? with that?” he asks, even as he places his tie over his shoulder and reaches out to get the top two buttons for her, careful not to brush her skin with his trembling fingers. there were still too many boundaries between them to not be nervous about the little things, too many lines that have yet to be tested, let alone crossed. when he’s done, he takes his hands away in a rush, like she’d swatted them away. “the dress. i like it.”