she was a maniac.

and you loved her for it.

maybe you were a maniac too. at least that's what the students at hollywood arts all thought.

"just there for her hot looks." they heard them whisper when you and jade walked down the corridor, hand in hand. oh, if only they knew.

jade wanted to ("pull their greasy hair follicles out of their heads, see who's hot now, huh?"), but you honestly couldn't care less. you loved jade and she loved you back.

only that mattered.

the ironic thing was, the first time you laid your eyes on her... well, all you felt was a deep, rooted hatred for her.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" jade screamed at her boyfriend beck (well, ex-boyfriend now), for the millionth time.

everyone rolled their eyes neutrally. high school drama, their faces seemed to lament.

that day, you had been this new girl at hollywood arts. and jade west was shrieking with that mangled voice of hers at everything and everyone and you just couldn't take it anymore.

"WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP?" as soon as the words slipped out of your mouth, all heads whipped in your direction. you were sort of shocked now, definitely not used to all the attention.

you were always the keep-peace-stay-out-of-trouble-survive-high-school type of person, so the second you made a scene, the immense feeling of regret hit your stomach with a wave of nausea.

jade turned her head, slowly, predatorily, spitting the words out of her mouth like poison, "what did you just say to me?"

"jade, don't-" beck grabbed her shoulder, clearly nervous at what she was capable of. judging by her not so innocent history.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?" jade practically spitted.

as stupid as it sounded, a sudden rush of anger shocked your figure as you yelled.

right back at her, surprising everyone including yourself.

"look, i'm not trying to butt my head into stuff but i'm telling you it's wrong to fight with your boyfriend in public. it's like you're begging for attention. yeah, i get that he's a real toxic guy, flirting with girls everywhere-"

beck scoffed and jade opened her mouth to interrupt you. you held up your hand. jade shut her mouth.

"but that's no reason to make such a scene. now please just take your stupid drama back home or whatever." you turned and walked away without looking at anyone, but you could feel their eyes tracing your back, leaving imprints of curiosity and awe.

even back then, jade west was a maniac.

"hey, babe?" jade ran down the stairs and kissed you on the forehead, making you jump. "whatcha doing?"

"nothing," you tried to hide it, but a few giggles made it past your mouth.

jade raised an eyebrow and smirked at you, cueing you to elaborate.

"what would the kids at school think of you now? being all cute and flirty with your babe?" you spluttered through your concealed laughter.

"oh shut up. i'm very intimidating."

she gave the same devilish smirk that never ceased to give you butterflies.

"and... jade and y/n."

sikowitz finished announcing the project pairs as you gasped in distaste. you were far from complaining, though. you didn't want to seem whiny on your first week.

"hey, wanna come over later to work on the project?"

you nudged jade as she ignored you completely. "WEST!" you yelled in her ear.

"oh hello there, y/l/n. ain't it a nice day?" she countered with her annoying southern accent that you hated so much.

"can we just get this over with? i don't like this any more than you do."

"fine, i'll come over and we'll work on it." she finally agreed, not bothering to hide her annoyed expression.

"YES!" you pumped your fist in the air, missing the ghost of a grin on her face in your bliss.

jade west was a maniac.

"you're blushing, babe." she stated as you turned redder, if that was even possible.

scoffing, you ruffled her hair, enjoying her exaggerated disgust.

"i hate you, y/l/n" she tilted her head, playfully glaring at you.

"love you too, west." you chuckled at her groan.

"you're so cheesy!"

she had no bite in her voice. you both knew how much she loved it.

you were both sprawled out on the couch, typing on your laptops as fast as you could.

"ONE MORE MINUTE ONE MORE MINUTE TILL MIDNIGHT Y/N! KEEP TYPING, WE GOTTA CATCH THIS DEADLINE."

"no shit, sherlock." you remarked sarcastically while your digits flew across the keys, nails occasionally catching in between the creases.

"well forgive me for caring about our grades."

"you're the one who forgot to come over."

your fingers felt like they were on fire and oh, how they burned. and-

"WE DID IT, Y/N! WE BEAT THE DEADLINE!"

"FUCKING HELL, JADE!"

jade clearly couldn't conceal her giant beam. and as you opened your arms in the heat of the moment, she jumped right into your grasp and hugged you, burying her face in your shoulder.

you held her tight, as if it would physically hurt to pull away from her. she didn't struggle, though. it was like- it was like she was savouring the moment as much as you were.

"did you just call me y/n?" you gasped incredulously, barely making any effort to hide your laughing.

"did you just call me jade?" she smirked mockingly right back at you.

why jade had to wait till half past eleven to come over, you never knew. it was a twenty page script, and anyone who had common sense would know that thirty minutes is insufficient.

yet you two got yourselves an “a” anyway.

(or did she do that so it would be too late to go home alone? so she could sleep uncomfortably on your couch, though comforted by your presence?)

(or was that why you refused to sleep in your bed that night, and when jade refused to take your bed, you stayed on the couch instead, staring at jade's slightly snoring figure for hours?)

she probably didn't have the common sense to work on a project earlier. she was a maniac, after all.

"i got us tickets to that horror movie i wanted to watch!" jade bounced (yes, jade "i'm practically satan" west bounced) into your house.

you didn't bother to hide your groan as you shivered with anticipation, already petrified. tingling with nerves, you grabbed your coat (and jade's waist) and headed outside.

yeah, you were absolutely terrified of horror movies, and absolutely steered clear of them ever since you saw the exorcist accidentally when your parents were watching it.

but you would suffer through 2 hours of monsters shrieking, victims screaming and jump-scares that you would fall for every time if it meant that your girlfriend would hold you tight and close through every second.

in the darkness of the movie theatre, jade hugged you as you buried your shaking face in her hair, taking in the scent of her grape-flavoured shampoo.

"baby, you know you don't have to come watch these with me, right?" she whispered ever so softly in your ear, eliciting soft giggles.

"i like it when you hold me. and i would go through a billion horror movies if it means that you're happy." you sniffed as another victim screamed.

and, being a sadistic person and supportive girlfriend (how do you even do that at the same time?), she wrapped her arm around your waist and wriggled her fingers ever so softly.

"h-hey!" you let out a quiet squeak as she pinched your side, sending ticklish shockwaves up your spine.

"wehe gottaha behe quiehet!" you muffled your laughs in your sleeve.

"aren't you one to talk?" she shot you a teasing smile as you glared at her. oh, if looks could kill.

"stahap it! jahahahde-"

she gently poked around your torso, keeping her other arm wrapped around your waist so you couldn't slip away.

"thihes is wohrse thahan thehe movihe," you giggled into your fingers.

you could feel her nails crawling up your side to your ribs, and you damn near shrieked.

"aw, didn't you just say i was cute and flirty? am i scary enough for you now, huh?" she shook her fingers into your sides, and you pressed your hand harshly onto your mouth to hide the squeal you were dangerously close to letting out.

she wasn't completely horrible, though. she let you go after that and covered your ears gently as you closed your eyes, eventually falling asleep on her shoulder.

only to be awakened by her fluttering fingers at your neck, once again sending you into a giggle fit.

"the movie's over, giggles. you wasted a ticket by laughing and sleeping through the whole thing," she laughed at your bright red face, painted with a flustered expression, only to be slapped lightly on the shoulder.

“it was your fault for tickling me!” you whined indignantly.

“it was your fault for being so ticklish!” she retorted.

"we would be thrown out by security! THROWN OUT BY SECURITY, JADE!" you flailed your limbs over-dramatically as jade rolled her eyes.

the fact that an evident smile never left her lips said otherwise, though.

the first time that you actually had a hang out with jade west was chaotic. what else could you expect from her?

cat, being close friends with the both of you, had invited both of you to karaoke. what she forgot to tell you was that jade would be coming. and she conveniently forgot to tell jade you were coming either. thanks a lot, cat. (the sarcasm doesn't really come off now that the karaoke night was one of the major reasons why you were dating jade now.)

"west?"

"y/l/n?"

you two stared at each other, dumbfounded as the realisation that cat set this up dawned on you.

"CAT!" you and jade shrieked at the same time.

"i just thought- we could all hang out together!" cat giggled cheerfully, clearly not aware of the tension between you two. (or did she?)

and so, just to satisfy cat, and for no other particular reason at all, the three of you sang together.

"okay okay let's do a serious one," jade grinned. "y/l/n, you, me, duet, now. um- love me harder by ariana grande?"

you agreed and picked up the mic.

"tell me something i need to know," you sang, "then take my breath and never let it go."

"if you just let me invade your space," jade continued, "i'll take the pleasure, take it with the pain."

"and if in the moment, i bite my lip. baby in that moment, you'll know this is."

"something bigger than us and beyond bliss, give me a reason to believe it."

"cause if you want to keep me, you gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta got to love me harder. and if you really need me, you gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to love me harder."

and as you two moved on to the chorus, you were aware of the way cat had fallen silent, closing her eyes to the harmonising melodies of jade and your voice. and as the music surrounded the three of you, you felt something "bigger than us and beyond bliss".

it was pure happiness and joy.

jade west might be a maniac, but you realised with horror that you might be becoming friends.

jade dumped her bag down on your couch, turning on your tv and scrolling through netflix.

"oh, so you decide to torture me through the actual movie that i paid for and go to my house and go through my netflix, hm?" you teased.

"i mean, technically it's your parents' house and their netflix," she shrugged nonchalantly.

“you’re insufferable,” you quipped.

“am i now?” again with the southern accent. (and you had learnt to love it.)

“sorry, gotta go, bathroom!” jade shouted.

“y/n,” cat’s voice was laced with urgency. “i think jade likes you.”

you almost snorted at the absurdity. “are we talking about the same jade west? no way. besides, she's still hung up on beck.”

“not anymore she's not! i know it, she likes you! i see the way she looks at-”

jade, returning from her bathroom break, only to see cat reading a magazine upside down and you sitting stiffly on the chair, picking on a strand of hair.

“okay, what happened?”

“nothing, gotta go!” cat cried hysterically and bolted out of the room.

“okay, guess it’s just you and me, then.” jade sat down, not a hint of a frown on her face.

huh. she might be a maniac, but you would certainly would consider her as a friend. nothing more than that.

"cuddle me. now." jade demanded, eyes glinting.

"rude." you said as you snuggled up to her, relishing in the warm feeling of her arms wrapped around your torso.

"you love it."

and yeah, you did love it.

maybe you were a maniac too.

____________________________________

Riddle & Jade (interpret as you wish)

Lee: Riddle

Ler: Jade

Warnings: Tickles! Jade!

____________________________________

Another day, another lecture. Most students would find the monotony of history class to be quite boring, but not Riddle. He treated every subject with utmost importance. He’s always in top shape, never slacking off on his notes, nor hitting the snooze button like some of his other classmates enjoyed doing. Absolutely nothing could deter his focus from the class. Well, except maybe someone…

Most people thought that Jade was the nicer one of the twins, but Riddle wasn’t fooled. He very well knew that Jade could be just as bad as his brother, if not outright worse. Dealing with Floyd is one thing, but having to deal with Jade’s shenanigans is a whole other can of worms. Still, he would never let that deter him from his classes.

Riddle’s focus was completely engrossed in the lecture. His gaze would flicker from Professor Trein, to the chalkboard, to the notes he was writing in usual pristine handwriting. That was, until he felt it. A sharp poke to the side of his rib cage. The touch caused his body to jolt out of his seat, like he’d been shocked. Except it just tickled, really bad. A startled squeak rang out in the classroom. Did that come from his mouth? How embarrassing! He quickly looked to his side, finding Jade wearing his usual polite smile, as if he had done nothing wrong.

“Oh? Is something wrong, Riddle? You look a bit… startled~” Jade’s voice came out low and smooth, the pinnacle of innocence, yet he was anything but!

Riddle took a sharp inhale, grey eyes glaring daggers at the mer-eel. This only seemed to amuse Jade further.

Feeling the eyes of other students on him, Riddle bit back any reprimands that bubbled in his throat. He sat up straight again and picked up his discarded pen. Looking down at his notes, there resided a noticeable stain in pearly white paper, a courtesy of Jade’s antics. The redhead could feel his eye twitch, but he couldn’t let himself get affected by something trivial. Otherwise, he’d be giving Octavinelle’s vice-housewarden exactly what he wanted.

He flipped open a clean page and continued with his notes. Though, he could feel his attention falter, too focused on keeping his guard up in case another incident occurred. After a while, nothing else happened, allowing Riddle to relax and almost forget about the previous disturbance. What a fool he was. You’d think he’d learn by now.

This time, a squeeze to his kneecap broke him out of his concentration. His leg jerked up out of reflex, banging underneath the desk. Why did that tickle so bad?! He didn’t even know he was ticklish there of all places. Riddle could feel his face turn all shades of red, from anger or embarrassment, who knows. He could feel all eyes on him, even the teacher shot him a glance. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wished that someone would shoot him down and put him out of his misery.

He mustered up the courage to look over at Jade. The merfolk looked back with a grin, showing those pointy teeth that would make anyone run the other way. Riddle then noticed Jade’s hands, the way those gloved fingers tapped against the wooden surface of the desk. It felt like he was taunting him, toying with him. The redhead’s face grew warmer, if that was even possible.

Thankfully, class ended shortly after, setting Riddle free from whatever else Jade might try. Of course, Heartslabyul’s housewarden was anything but a pacifist. After class, Riddle caught up with Jade to confront him.

“Jade, I’d appreciate it if you stopped bothering me during class.” Riddle held his head high, yet there was a slight waver in his usual confident tone.

The merfolk let out an amused chuckle, before responding: “Oh? And what was I doing?” He was clearly being baited, but Riddle was too riled up to notice.

“T-tickling me!” The redhead managed to choke out a bit too loud, catching the attention of passing students. That familiar warmth returned to his cheeks.

“My, Riddle. If you wanted me to tickle you, you should’ve simply asked.” Jade’s lips quirked up into a smirk, his voice dropping dangerously low. “I’ll make sure to give you exactly what you asked, next time.”

Riddle could only stand frozen as he watched Jade depart. Next time? NEXT TIME?! What did he mean by that?! Riddle could feel his heart beat out of his chest at the prospect of a ‘next time’. Perhaps it was fear, or maybe… excitement? No, absolutely not. Riddle shook his head, trying to rid himself of those weird thoughts. He’d have to keep his guard up going forward.

Anyway, Floyd usually only interacted with Jade or Riddle, if he was in the mood for teasing the housewarden. He didn’t really talk to you all that much.

So obviously, you were surprised when he apparently had decided to change his target for the day to you, plopping down in the seat next to you. Grim often sat there and you could hear his protests, but Floyd either didn’t hear or pretended not to. Eventually, Grim grumbled and just moved to sitting on top of your desk. He was small enough.

“What’s up, Shrimpy?” Floyd drawled, a small grin on his face, showing his spiky teeth. It must be a Moray thing, you thought offhandedly.

“Oh, hey, Floyd.” You greeted him back with a small smile. Mostly out of politeness because you had no idea what he was doing there.

“M’ bored. Jade won’t entertain me. And Goldfishie’s not here.” He sighed, sadly, though, it did not sound genuine at all.

“That sounds annoying.” You said, but you start focusing your attention away from him and to Professor Trein, who began speaking. And… you really didn’t want to get on his bad side.

“Yeah, you get it, Shrimpy. That’s why you’re gonna entertain me today!” Floyd grinned, a large toothy smile, almost like an innocent child.

“Am I?” You asked, though it was more of a “response” than a question. You looked down at your notebook, jotting down notes as Trein lectured, pouting when you saw Grim snoozing away. Usually, Trein noticed right away, but he seemed very invested in his lecture today.

“Mhm!” Floyd said, slowly, before he decided to try annoying you. From taking away your notebook so you couldn’t write it down, from kicking your chair, from grabbing every little thing he could get his hands on. You began feeling pity for Riddle. You had always thought he was exaggerating, but you swore you could feel yourself popping a blood vessel every two seconds.

Suddenly, Floyd decided that stealing your items were too boring and he resorted to poking you instead. Again. And again. And again.

“Would you sto-AH!” You tried whispering but then he poked a spot on your side and you couldn’t hold back your squeal.

“Everything alright over there?” Trein asked, seemingly annoyed that his class was disrupted.

“I—uh yeah!” You stuttered out, embarrassed as everyone turned towards the two of you. You glanced over, hoping that Floyd didn’t notice, but the scary grin on his face told you otherwise. For the rest of class, he kept poking your side and you found yourself unable to focus on the lesson, trying your hardest not to giggle.

“I’m gonna squeeze ya!” Floyd exclaimed, though a bit quietly. When the bell rang, you were the first one out the door.

You didn’t notice that Jade had been watching the two of you the entire time.

——

“Floyd, leave me alone!” You shrieked, running around the mostly empty lounge. You decided to get a quick snack from there since you were about to dive headfirst into an all-night study session for the Alchemy test coming up and you figured that making sure you weren’t hungry would.. help.

It was supposed to be in and out. Quick and easy.

It was not in and out.

Floyd was clearly still interested by his discovery, which even you had thought he had forgotten about. Really, he got bored of most things so quickly so why not now!?

So brings you to the present, him chasing you, wiggling his fingers menacingly and you running as far from him as you can. Azul sighed, used to Floyd’s antics.

“Just don’t mess up the lounge… or you’ll be cleaning it all by yourself.” He said, before walking away and into the kitchen.

You, on the other hand, ran towards Jade, who had been watching you guys with amusement. He seemed like he was wondering whether he should continue watching or help you and well, you decided it for him.

“Jade, help!” You exclaim, ducking behind him and using him as cover. You guys hopefully seemed friends enough to be able to do this, so you were obviously gonna use it to your advantage!

“Now, Floyd, don’t be like this..” Jade started, a pleasant smile on his face that had you sighing in relief and Floyd groaning in disappointment.

“Come on, Jade, just let me squeeze 'em..”

“Look at them, don’t you think they’d be too sensitive to endure your wrath?” Jade added and you could see the exact moment Floyd’s gaze lit up and all hopes of mercy on your poor, unfortunate soul were shattered. But before you could move, Jade grabbed your wrist, locking your arms up easily. You struggled in his grasp, but it was no use. It wasn’t even as if you were weak! What did he eat anyway?! Were moray just stronger?

“Jade.. How could you do this to me..?!” You shouted, betrayed, gulping when Floyd walked towards you, menacingly. It was fast-paced, but to you, it felt like he was walking in slow-motion.

“I must apologize. However, I should indulge both myself and my dear brother at times. You must understand.” Jade said, though there was not an ounce of guilt on his face. Your arms, which were hooked up from Jade’s arms were suddenly released, but that didn’t mean you could escape. Instead, Jade wrapped his arms around your waist and began tickling your sides. And Floyd, well, he pounced and started tickling your stomach, your armpits, pretty much anywhere he could get his hands on.

“N-nOHOHOHO, w-why?!” You cried, feeling overwhelmed by the fact that the Leech twins were so easily tickling you.

“Oooh, Shrimpy, already broke ya, huh?” Floyd teased. He was more on the rougher side of tickling, pinching and squeezing your sensitive skin, while Jade was more gentle, with light grazes and scribbles which were still so evil.

“Ehehehe shuhuhut uhuhup!” You looked around, feeling embarrassed, but the lounge was mostly empty and those who were there seemed occupied with other things so they didn’t pay attention to you. You looked back at the Leech twins, flailing in their arms, but Jade managed to pull your arms above your head with his hand, despite your flailing.

“You’re really going to say that to us? Now, don’t be so mean. You might hurt my feelings.” Jade chucked, deep and low. You knew that what he said was complete bullshit, but you couldn’t comment on it, too caught up on the hands on your body.

They were relentless, that much you could tell. It felt like they were trying to find the spots that made you tick and react the most and you could feel that this wasn’t the last time they’d tickle you like this.

“Plehehehease!” You giggle instead, unable to find the words to respond.

“Please what, Shrimpy? You’re so ticklish already!” Floyd giggled, his hands grasping against your sides and occasionally drifting over towards your stomach.

“Now, now, Floyd. I’d say that they are faring quite well.”

“W-WAHAHAHAHH!” Is your response, apparently. You could just die right now. You never imagined that today would be the day you found yourself being tickled to absolute pieces, by none other than the Leech twins! You began wondering how Azul ever put up with them! Knowing how they’re acting now, you’re sure the three of them have engaged in some sort of tickle-fights, if the experience they very obviously had was anything to go by.

“Sure about that, Jade? They’re like a squeak toy!” You tried to put your lips together. That.. lasted about half a second before you found it hard to keep your mouth shut, eliciting the noises that Floyd had just compared to a toy. “Squeak, squeak!” Floyd chirped, squeezing like you were, in fact, a toy.

“Nohohohoho!!” You shriek, laughing and laughing. The fingers on your body were unrelenting and you could feel tears of mirth begin to prick at your eyes. They hadn’t even gotten your worst spot, and Jade was barely even tickling you, more focused on holding you so Floyd could get more access. Still… you were feeling a bit overwhelmed.

It seemed Jade was watching your reactions, though, because he muttered Floyd’s name. Either that, or he just conveniently and coincidentally noticed at the exact time you were reaching your limit. It didn’t matter, because he had let go of you and Floyd, instead of tickling you, slung his arm over your shoulder, leaning. You felt exhausted, so you just dropped your head, using his arm as a headrest.

“That was super fun, Shrimpy! We gotta do that again sometime!” Floyd laughed, heartily and cheerfully.

“Hopefully not too soon…” You muttered, under your breath, causing Floyd to laugh harder.

“I agree. I wouldn’t mind this scenario happening again.” Jade nodded, poking your side and smirking when you flinch and glare.