#quillstarters-entry

content: no warnings in this drabble, but in the continued fic there will be some posted!

quillstarters halloween challenge day 6: a familiar voice, with a hoarse timbre, whispered from behind him/her, "miss me?" shivers erupted all over his/her body, a spike of adrenaline punching their gut. as they slowly turned around, dread was already filling their stomach. “it’s you.”

wc: 304

“hello?”

static from your phone again. 

you sighed, “another prank call?” 

ever since you had moved into this house, bad luck seemed to strike you in any way. be it dropping ceramic plates, losing your hair ties, or flickering lights, it seemed like some kind of curse was following you around all the time. 

you scrambled on top of your bed, sighing in relief as your body hit the softness of the blankets. it seemed like a new habit for you to immediately pass out in bed after a day of school and work. 

oh, of course.

the dizzy spells and fatigue.

it was an onslaught of symptoms neither you nor your doctor could identify. 

“maybe you should go see a shaman or something,” your friends had joked. 

“maybe i should go see a shaman,” you murmured, echoing your thoughts.  turning over onto your side, your arms felt flimsy and weak from the day and you didn’t feel all that motivated to move. 

your phone started to ring.

you groaned while reaching over to pick up your phone. “hello?” you sleepily asked.

static once more.

you sighed in frustration, fingers reaching up to pinch at the bridge of your nose. you huffed, “i’m seriously getting sick of all these calls-”

“y/n? is that you?”

a voice broke through the ambient static.

your hand froze. your brain froze. every part of your body was frozen like shock had slapped you senseless. 

your fingers shook as you once again raised the device to your ear.

“who is this?” you stammered, panicking. “who are you?”

“huh?” it was a male voice and it sounded familiar. like a phantom in the back of your mind. “you don’t remember me? oh, that’s too bad...

i’m your best friend from 4 years ago, dummy! kim mingyu!”

content: mentions of a plauge (NOT THE BEST TIME TO BE WRITING THIS NOW I KNOW ASJSKJAK), wizard!woozi, mentions of blood, inspired by @ / lovekeigo

quillstarters halloween challenge day 5: “of course i can help,” the witch/wizard replied, stepping out from behind a cabinet of neatly arranged translucent bottles. “the question is: how much are you willing to pay?”

wc: 1050

the plague had been relentless to your small town. it was thorough in cleansing the town of healthy people, leaving no one untouched. 

it was inevitable that the plague would seep into the cracks of your family’s house. but when it did, you didn’t expect yourself not to be infected with the deathly plague. while your siblings grew skinnier and cried out for water, and your parents became too weak to work, you had no symptoms. 

so you went begging to the town’s doctor, pleading for medicine for your family. it was no use, you were shut out and thrown back out onto the grimy streets filling up with the dead bodies of your neighbors. you vowed to come back with medicine, selling almost all of your belongings and fasting for a week, all in the hopes to buy some medicine. 

it wasn’t enough.

“if ya can’t pay, don’ come begging for anythin’!” the fat, old man sneered, slamming the door behind you. 

you had sobbed apologies to the dying forms of your family.

filled with rage and determination, you had to resort to the final, last option.

content: mermaid/siren!minghao, implicit character death, drowning, sailing

quillstarters halloween challenge day 4: she/he gasped for breath, breaking over the waves, just to see a dark shadow flitting in the water. then, the flickering of light shining off aquamarine scales. she/he heaved again, trying in vain to paddle away. finally, there was the voice. “aw, poor little human, what are you doing? trying to escape...”

wc: 822

a voyage across the seas.

escaping across a small strip of ocean.

your family and you needed to leave your homeland to escape the danger persecution from the raging mobs and gangs present there. it all sounded so simple in your head. when looking at the maps in front of you, it seemed the most logical to escape by this route. 

your family had foolishly, stupidly decided to take a short cut along with several other naive families. 

your neighbors had warned your family about this particular waterway. how no merchant or sailor ever made it back.

you and your family had laughed it off, paying no attention to the town’s folklore.

that was obviously the greatest mistake of all of your lives.  

content: lots of inspiration from holly black’s books!!, faerie!joshua, no warnings, mentions of losing family

quillstarters halloween challenge day 3: she/he nodded their head, the words of contract flowing languidly over the curves of their lips and hanging, thick with magic, in the air between them. a wicked smile grew on the faerie’s face as it answered, voice coming out through the slits of its teeth, “you’re mine to command now.”

wc: 319

“i-if i do this,” you stammered, fear choking at your throat. “you’ll, let my family go?”

the faerie bared his teeth at you, pearly whites with slight points at the ends. he was beautiful. indescribably so. all faeries were beautiful, you knew that, but the moment your eyes laid on him, you were entranced, ensnared in this illusion.

“of course,” he nodded. when you seemed apprehensive, he continued, “faeries can’t lie, you know. one year of your life for your family’s. how’s that?”

you should’ve known about all of this. you should have been more careful venturing out into the faerie woods. you shouldn’t have gotten your family involved. all of these “should” sentences rattled around your brain, making you addled with guilt and regrets.

you weren’t thinking straight.

“i- yes. i’ll do it. just please save them,” you pleaded, crossing your fingers.

the faerie grinned at you, and you realized just how terrifying these mythical creatures really were. 

“after you say the words of contract, darling.” his cruel smile grew impossible wider. “then you’ll be binded with me. for a whole year!”

you shuddered at the glee in his tone. 

“fine.” your next words rushed out of your mouth, like a breeze of cool air. “joshua hong, child of air. i swear myself into your service.” 

you paused before adding the next sentence. 

“i will serve you only for the interests of my family.” your eyes narrowed at joshua, the coals of rage burning in the pit of your stomach. 

“but let it be for only one year. not a second more.”

joshua continued to smile. unwavering. slowly, he came closer, and closer. you instinctively stepped back.

“i command you not to move.”

at once, your muscles stilled. your brain began to race. why weren’t your legs moving? he was getting closer, close enough to stand face to face.

“what a foolish, little girl...

content: chasing, mentions of partying

quillstarters halloween challenge day 2: the moon shone against the werewolf’s eyes and she/he gasped. “ah,” they sighed, “the moon has finally come to expose my lies. how tragic that you must know now. and it was going so well...”

wc: 681

“seungcheol?” you called out again, “where are you?” 

your friends had seen him leave the party a couple of hours ago, telling everyone that he had a stomach ache. you saw him venture into the forest.

now, it was nearing midnight and the moon was a full ring of silver light in the sky. the night weather was cold and the silence in the forest made it colder. 

branches scraped at your legs like bony fingers and your feet sunk into the canopy of leaves underfoot.

member: kwon soonyoung

w/c: 637

genre: fluff, best friends-to-lovers i suppose? emphasis on the former part.

warnings: none except heavy and perhaps cringy reference to a classic romance novel teehee

m.list for other stuff I've written!

☆.*☆°*☆.*☆ °☆.*☆° ☆.*☆ °☆.*☆°

There is a certain tranquillity that you’ve been feeling recently, and you have a hard time describing it to your best friend, who currently lies beside you.

It feels like a stage of existence between being awake and being asleep. It isn’t as careless as the phrase ‘dozing off’ suggests, and it isn’t as wavering as drifting in and out of a slumber. There’s no pushing or pulling, no back and forth, no heavy eyelids trying to resist being dragged open by negligent voices or bright lights.

Rather, it’s the sensation of stroking a soft, warm cat’s back; feeling the low, almost undetectable purr of pleasure that it breathes out. It’s the feeling of standing in a silent kitchen and pouring a carton of milk, letting the last drops join the rest of the drink as the liquid just about fits inside the glass. It’s the sight of two strangers on the park bench a hundred meters away from your apartment window, unable to control their laughter for reasons you’ll probably never know nor need to find out.

In this tranquil stage of existence is where you currently reside, nestled into a soft blanket with Soonyoung reading beside you, an assortment of your favourite summer reads laid out behind you. “I’m telling you, romance in the sunshine is simply exquisite,” you’d told him this morning, referring to your favourite genre. He’d teased you for being a nerd, while secretly blushing at the thought of romance bubbling between you and him, rather than between the pages of Pride and Prejudice.

Thank you for the request! So I've chosen Wonwoo for this one because you truly can't spell "book" without Wonwoo lol. Hope you like it!

GENRE: fluff

Warnings: none.

Word count: 1,654

Summary: Realizing you’re in love with your best friend can simply take a couple of flashbacks, a bit of nice weather, and a book.  

quillstarters challenge no.6 ( @quillstarters )

Gleaming.

He was gleaming as he sat under the sole tree that decorated the backyard of your new house. He was your best friend of years, and you weren't sure if it was thanks to the way the sun's glare bounced off his skin, or if it was the way his round glasses slowly slipped down the bridge of his nose only to be pushed back into position, whatever it may be, the boy that you teased for being dull and sometimes boring, was suddenly gleaming.

He was very unaware of your presence as he flipped the page of whatever western philosophy book he'd picked up now. Funny enough you'd met under a clouded sky and rain, and yet even then, there had been a philosophy book wedged under his arm.

                           ~ ~ ~

"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies" the cold rain was no longer pelting on your crouched body causing you to look up at whoever had sheltered you through your bloodshot eyes.

"What?" You managed to ask.

"It's Aristotle" he shrugged before crouching down beside you. His umbrella covering the both of you as you stared at the wet street before you. The same street your boyfriend... or should I say, ex boyfriend, had just walked away from.

"Who the hell is that?"

A small smile appeared on his lips as he turned to face you. It suddenly dawned on you that you weren't in the best position to act sassy towards a stranger that had been kind enough to shelter you after being embarrassingly dumped. "Not important." The stranger retaliated before looking back towards the street. "What I'm trying to say is that he might just not be the other half of your soul"

With those last words he handed you his umbrella, stood, and rushed for the coffee shop that you'd just been dumped in.

Finding the kind stranger after that required a lot of your efforts. You suddenly wanted to give him his umbrella back and tell him that you did know who Aristotle was, and most of all, you wanted to thank him for having been nice enough to save you from yourself that day.

It was after a month of showing up to that coffee shop and repeatedly missing him that you finally managed to meet him again. His gaze had lifted almost automatically as you entered the place, both your gazes meeting and a soft sigh of relief leaving your lips. He gave you a small half smile before returning to his book, only then did you realize you were still standing at the door of the shop and it would be very weird if you didn't order something. So that's exactly what you did. Once you placed your order, the girl at the counter nodded over to the kind stranger and grinned proudly. "I told him you'd been looking for him, he's been waiting since 11"

Your cheeks flamed as you took your drink and sped towards the table furthest away from him. Why would she tell him you were looking for him?! He probably thought you were a stalker and a weirdo and probably only waited for you so he could tell you to stop looking for-

"That looks like sugar with coffee more than it does like coffee with sugar"

You froze in your spot and realized that you'd been emptying packet after packet after packet of sugar into your coffee and had gotten caught in the act by the same stranger you'd been looking for for a month now. "Uh... I like my coffee sweet" you lied.

He scoffed slightly and sat down across from you. "I'm guessing that's my umbrella?" He asked.

You nodded quickly and pushed it towards him. "Thank you for your kindness."

"No proble-"

"And I do know who Aristotle is." You blurted right after, earning yourself a deep laugh from the guy sat across from you.

                           ~ ~ ~

The memory brought a smile to your face and you found yourself walking over to the book worm that you called your best friend. “Hey” you greeted as you took a seat beside him. He turned his attention over to you and smiled warmly. “Do you remember how we met?” you asked as a soft breeze blew at the pages of the book in his hands. 

His brows furrowed as he thought back, face lighting up only seconds later. “Why so suddenly?” He questioned. 

You shrugged and rested your head on his shoulder. The sun’s glare catching your attention again. You wondered if you gleamed the same way he did. Both of you allowed yourselves a moment of silence before he broke it.

“I think I have a better memory of the night I met the real you” voice low and teasing as he stretched his arm before him. Your mouth shaped itself into a reminiscent ‘o’ at the sight of the “apology” bracelet you had gifted him after that night. 

                             ~ ~ ~

”I hate her.” you murmured into the sleeves of your sweater. “I don’t get why she would come back after so many years.” 

Wonwoo had been silent as you poured your heart out to him bitterly. After spending nearly all of your life alone, struggling with your depressed father, your mother had reappeared and suddenly wanted to “reconnect”? And your father was encouraging it? You didn’t understand. Was the burning feeling of betrayal not something you and he shared for the decades spent without the woman?

Your throat was twisted in painful knots as you tried your best not to cry in front of the guy that you’d looked up to for the past year. Yet it was hard. 

Wonwoo, ever the level headed bastard, sighed before speaking up calmly, “ To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it...” 

You looked over at him and rolled your eyes at him causing for the tears you’d wanted to hold back to roll down your cheeks. “Are you being serious right now?” you smacked at his arm.

“...is what Confucius would have said!” he exclaimed rubbing at his arm. 

“I don’t care what some dead man has to say about my situation Wonwoo... this is real. I am in actual pain. I don’t want to see her because every time I do, I see my face in hers. She’s everything I hate, yet I’m such a part of her and she’s such a part of me.... it makes me hate myself. It makes me wonder if I’m going to be the same as her in a few years” You hug your knees to your chest finally allowing yourself to cry wholeheartedly. 

Wonwoo moved his gaze away from you and stared up at the starry night that sheltered you both this time. His hands nervously picked at the corners of the thick book in his hands. He had never seen you cry, not once for the year of friendship you’d both experienced. However, the moment tears rolled down your cheeks he decided it was something he hated, but something only he wanted to see. “Comfort comes in all shapes and sizes and I’m glad you’ve chosen this mere case of a human to trust in.” He said continuing to stare up at the sky after letting you sob for a few minutes.

“Was this Plato?” you sarcastically asked between sniffles.

“No... that was Jeon Wonwoo.” He stated looking back at you. “If you ever need to cry about your mom, about your dad, about your ex, about the food you had for lunch, I hope you continue to come to me.” 

Your mouth fell agape as you took in the silver glow of his face under the moonlight. That was the first time your heart skipped a beat for your best friend. The first of hundreds.

                            ~ ~ ~

“You’re being weirdly quiet. Penny for your thoughts” murmured Wonwoo bringing you back to the present. 

Ah, right. It was no longer dull and raining... It also wasn’t a cold silver night.... the present was sunny. The present was warm and breezy and Wonwoo was gleaming, his dark eyes back on his book, but his ears were ready to listen to whatever it was that was weighing down on your heart. 

You sat up straight and looked over at him. Your sudden movement catching his attention, making his eyes meet yours in less than a split second. The same split second it took for you to make up your mind. “I found it” You confess.

He stared at you quizzically, a brow raised. “You’ve found what?” he asks. 

Your lips press themselves against his soft ones in the briefest of kisses. For the first time since you met him, Wonwoo looks taken a back. A soft pink taking over the apples of his cheeks and the tips of his ears. “I’ve found the other half of my soul” you finish your confession. His eyes immediately light up remembering what he had told you the day you’d met. 

"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies" he repeated the words causing a chill to run through you. A smile painted itself on his lips before he took hold of your face and returned the kiss you had so blatantly stolen from him. 

“It’s Aristotle” you added causing him to laugh softly. 

“The one you know really well?” he teased.

 “That one” you agreed.

Before you knew it, you were back to doing nothing. Wonwoo’s attention was set on his book once again, your hands interlaced, and all you could think of was how beautiful everything was. You met him in the rain, fell in love on a random night, and chose him as your other half on a sunny day, a love whose sole representation was a book. Your heart couldn’t help but flutter at the thought of it.

The harsh pull of the corset strings squeezed just that last inch of you in. You press to your hand to your upper waist. The air constriction a common feeling, but one you had yet to have grown comfortable with.

“Almost.” The lady in waiting murmured.

“Thank you,” you whisper back.

She helps slip your finest gown on before guiding your feet into your shoes.

“He is going to fall head over heels,” your mother says from the doorway. You turn in a swirl of shimmering skirts to see her beaming at you. “My daughter to be married.”

“I have to get the King first.”