#winterslve

It was windy outside the jet, given you were on an extremely large research vessel in the ocean. You looked around, there was a lot of people and machines and vehicles on the boat. There was a lot of machines on the boat.

A sigh of relief left your lips once you recognised a face, Eva Stratt, walking right towards you.

“Hi.” Your voice waivers a bit, but she brushed off your nerves and gestured for you to follow her.

She’s drinking coffee, you note that immediately. You want some. “How was your flight.” She asks, making eye contact as you walk. “It was fine. Never been on a plane that fast, so can’t complain.” She nods, leading you down a strip of walkway as you approach the building part of the boat.

“You didn’t get sick.”

“I didn’t.” You nod.

“That’s a good sign.”

“A good sign? A good sign of what?”

She opens a door for you, bringing you down a narrow hallway that looks like something from a movie where everyone is going to die, but that’s not far off from what’s happening.

“Integrity. Strength. Determination. You are a good sign in general. Or perhaps you just have a strong stomach.” Your thoughts mute in your head for a moment, you glance at her and she’s already looking at you. She’s enjoying your confusion. “Wha-”

“Afternoon.” She interrupts you as you round a corner, where two men stand guarding a door, which they open. Stratt stands behind you, you glance back. “Your room.” The two men stand to the side, allowing you space to walk through. Your steps are slow, brows furrowed while you stare at one of the men. He doesn’t look away. Interesting.

The room has a lot of people. Too many people. This is not your room. You back up, and Stratt’s behind you again, shaking her head to match yours. “No. No. What’re you do-” “Yes. You are doing this. Come.” You turn back around and it seems like there’s people more this time.

There’s a U-shaped table in the centre of the room, and every seat is filled with people looking at you, there’s more people standing behind them too - also looking at you.

Your heart plummets in your chest at the sight of it. Teaching college students everyday is an easy thing to do when everyone is younger than you and they technically pay for you to talk to them. Standing here in front of adults who are either the same age or older than you is a very different experience.

“This is Doctor Y/n L/n. She is a Professor in astrophysics, and will aid us in our research.” Stratt stands a slight bit in front of you, giving you a chance to look around the room better.

The table has an extremely diverse group of people sat at it, men and women varying in ages with different country flags sat on the desk before them. All with the same type of aura as Stratt about them. They each have a thick book, something similar you’d seen Stratt carry before.

“Dr. Y/n L/n, I hereby grant you top-secret clearance to all information pertaining to Project Hail Mary.”

You pause, and an abrupt silence fills the room. Your mouth opens as if to say something, you close it again to swallow sharply. “I’m sorry, Project what?”

-

The smell of coffee filled your senses - your second cup today after eating breakfast and having a quick briefing with some French government officials. They were quick learners, something you were grateful for after the meeting came to an end earlier than expected. Leaving you a spare twenty minutes to have another trip to the canteen and grab the drink in hand.

You were excited today, an uncommon feeling now that you were aware you and three other people would be sent on a suicide mission to space in order to save the world.

Ryland Grace - a name that filled your ears more and more as each day passed, would finally be brought to the ship and you would get to meet the man face to face. He was intriguing, as you’d been told. A man who was confident in his beliefs and somehow managed to breed astrophage. A top secret piece of information you could not tell anyone until he arrived.

Yes, you were excited to meet him.

The meeting room was filled the same way it was when you were first brought to the mission, the U-shaped table, the serious faces of each representative, however this time it was a small bit busier after some of the younger engineers and scientists arrived. Like you.

You stood near the back against the wall, talking to one of the Australian scientists who filled you in on how Grace had once written a paper about the existence of life without water that cost him his job. It seemed some of the other representatives were just an unaware as you were in this fact, and turned around to talk to you both about it.

Everyone fell silent quickly, and a blond man walked in cluelessly, before realising just how many people were waiting for him and turned back around like you had. He seemed to be talking exasperatedly to Stratt, and looked quite disheveled.

He was gorgeous though.

No. You could not think of him like that. No matter how friendly the other colleagues had gotten with each other.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is Dr. Ryland Grace from the United States. He figured out how to breed astrophage.” Stratt announced and the representatives did not sound happy. A German man got to his feet harshly. “Are you serious? Stratt was haben sie-?” “Englisch.” She cut him off sharply. A small smile graced your face.

Ryland still seemed very perplexed, and looked around the room bewildered by the situation.

“Doctor, have a seat and lay it out for us.” Stratt asked softly, pulling a chair out for him. He paused, holding his hand up to brace himself. “Hold on.” He began. “Who are these people? Why am I on a Chinese aircraft carrier? And have you ever heard of Skype?”

A huffed laugh left your lips in the noiseless environment. His gaze met yours for a moment, and he seemed almost relieved to see your face. He smiled softly at you, before Stratt interrupted again.

Okay, maybe you could think of him like that.

-

“Did you know the stegosaurus had a brain the size of a walnut despite being as big as a bus?”

“I’m not sure that’s a biology fact.”

“Still a fun one though. And it technically is a biology fact if you think about it.”

Ryland places a spoon on your tray, smiling at you while you look at him with furrowed brows. You reach slowly for a bottle of orange juice, handing it to him while he chuckles at you. A small part of a routine the two of you have been building over the past few weeks.

“Didn’t know I was getting a history lesson too. I must be lucky.” You follow behind him to a table in a hidden corner, a spot you sit in everyday.

“Oh yes, you’re very lucky actually. It’s not everyday I use my knowledge for other people’s benefit.”

“Wow, I wasn’t aware I was so special to you.”

“Very special. There’s a reason it’s you and not Yao I sit with every morning.”

You place a hand to your chest, looking away with a sarcastic bashful expression on your face. “That is not a compliment.” Yao appears from behind Ryland, making you burst out laughing at his timing.

“Ruining my flow here but I’ll allow it.” Ryland mutters and Yao ruffles his hair, a large grin playing his face. Yao smiles fondly at you both, watching as you try and suppress your laughter and Grace drag a hand tirelessly down his face. "Ah, young love."

His words were quiet and mumbled as he walked away, but Ryland heard. Of course he heard, and of course you didn't. You were still laughing away as he tried to stop the heat rising to his face, the tips of his ears were red, but the sheepish smile he had on his mouth distracted you. "What did he say?" You finally asked, taking the first bite of your oatmeal with the spoon Ryland had given you.

He shakes his head and makes use of opening his bottle of orange juice to give him something to do with his hands. "Oh I don't know. Didn't hear." He lied, and he felt his heart stop when you shot him a questioning look at his response.

It took a second before you spoke, swallowing slowly as you watch him look down at his plate feebly. A small habit he had when nervous. A cute habit.

"Are you coming to tonights party?"

Your question was much more easier to answer than he anticipated, even though he still couldn't find the right words for that one. "Jeez I'm not really sure... you know how I get around those guys. I- I mean, it's just not my thing." He trails a hand to the back of his neck, looking at your narrowed eyes.

"Come on. You seriously can't get a drink with me for one night?"

"No, it’s just..." He sighs, making eye contact with you for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. Gosh you really were pretty. "Please? Just this once?" You drag out, almost halfway through your meal whereas Ryland has barely had two mouthfuls.

"Fine."

He gives in, and he starts to think maybe he should've said yes sooner with the size of the smile that erupted on your face.

Your eyes shoot up to meet his, and your face practically lights up at his response. DuBois and Ilyukhina have been edging him on each day they see him to join in on the fun, and they won't be surprised it was you who finally got him to crack.

"Really? Oh you won't be disappointed. First drink on me!"

"Well good, I'd certainly hope so after all that begging." He snorts, laughing as you roll your eyes. Shovelling the last mouthful of your breakfast in your mouth, you push your chair out to stand.

"I better get going. Don't want Stratt finding me on the opposite side of the ship as to where I should be again." Ryland nods, holding out an apple he took from his tray.

"Eat more. It's gonna be like four hours before she lets you have a break."

"I’ll be fine, you watched me have one of those on the way here."

"Still."

A shy smile grows on your face once you take the piece of fruit from him and stand up. "Thank you. I'll see you later Ryland."

He waves when you turn your head to him once last time before leaving, and you wave back after he mouthes a silent "Bye." He watches you go through the lenses of his glasses, and he huffs at the now stagnant air around him compared to before when you were still sat with him.

He was hopeless.

On the way to your first meeting of the morning, you trailed mindlessly behind two women from the engineering team. You’d talked to one of them before, Jesse you think her name was, and you couldn’t place the other one. They were talking about tonight’s mixer. You tried not to listen in - but they were like eight feet away from you. How could you not?

You heard some names being mentioned here and there, like “Leclerc” and “Ilyukhina” followed by “Vodka.” Nothing uncommon to hear alongside their names. But then another name caught your attention, an you found yourself picking up your pace slightly to hear better.

“I am so gonna try my luck with Grace tonight. I think he’d have a good head game.” Jesse stated, and your mouth actually opened in shock at her words. The other girl laughed, nudging her slightly. “That’s even if he’s there and you can get him away from that scientist he’s always with.”

You. They’re talking about you. Fantastic.

“Well I’ll just have to snag him away and show him a good time.” She answered, and the two of them started giggling loudly. They suddenly turned a corner, the opposite way you were heading.

Your steps lulled a tad, and your gaze stuck to the floor incase they glanced back at the last second. They didn’t. But you didn’t bother lifting your head.

It’s not like it’s a big deal or anything. Ryland was more than welcome to go around and have all the fun he wants with other women. But how could you be so naive? You wouldn’t always have Ryland to yourself, and you hadn’t even realised you thought of him like… that. until now.

That’s a lie. You have thought of him like that once or twice. Jesse wasn’t the only to think Grace has good head game.

A door opened infront of you. The door to the room you were meant to be in actually, and you were ripped from your thoughts. Stratt’s face stood before you, a polite smile on her face.

Gross. Gross. Ew. Don’t ever do that again.

-

The communal area was busier that normal tonight, and people were already pretty rowdy. You sat with Ilyukhina and some of her engineering crew, who were drinking a bottle of something strong that you couldn't name while you awaited your little scientist friends arrival.

Ryland said he would be there for 20:00, and it was 19:58 right now. Ryland wasn't the type to flake out - in fact he had never done it before, but christ were your nerves on fire.

You peeled your eyes away from the doorway, and instead watched as Chekhov downed an entire bottle of Smirnoff under his twenty second timer. He was impressive, and you all cheered when he completed it with three seconds to spare. He wrapped his arm around your head and swayed you back and forth as the others chanted his name, the two of you cackling loudly.

Ilyukhina placed her hand around her neck, pulling your body into her side instead of Chekhov’s. All of you cheering as one of the others got up to get a round of shots. Standing in the middle of the doorway, your eyes find a familiar head of unruly hair. Ryland had arrived, right on time too. His eyes skimmed the room before his framed gaze landed on you, and his face lit up as you waved and beckoned for him to come over.

He was barely three steps into the room when a hand caught his arm, and he turned to find a woman he had never seen before. She greeted him with a very loud “Hi.” He grimaced at the sound in his ear, but he sent her a polite smile and greeted her with a quiet “Hello” nonetheless.

Your smile faltered a bit and you turned around immediately, fighting the urge to bite your fist and roll your eyes at her voice halfway across the room.

You tilt your head to Ilyukhina. She was a good talker. She could distract you. If Ryland wasn’t going to come over and stay, then you needed someone else to humour you for the rest of the night. Someone good too.

“You’re Dr. Grace right?”

“Yeah, that’s me.” He nodded, noticing the way her grip hasn’t loosened on his bicep since he said hello. She watched his eyes flick down to her hand on his arm, and a cheeky smile grew on her lips.

“Are you nervous?” She asked lowly, and Ryland furrowed his brows with utmost confusion on his face. “Nervous? No? What? Why - What’s your name again? I don’t think I heard it.”

She grins, and her hand finally lets go of his arm before it’s stuck out infront of him. “Jesse Wallace. Part of the engineering team.” He takes her hand curtly, shaking it quickly before shoving his hands in his pockets. “Must be why I haven’t seen you then.” His tone is dismissive, and he’s looking around the room in an awkward manner, wondering why the hell you haven't come and swept him away yet.

“Maybe you haven’t looked hard enough.” Her voice is sultry, and not in a good way as he raises his brows and avoids eye contact. “Maybe.” He mutters, looking over to the crowd you’re sat in, staring straight at the back of your head.

Jesse follow his gaze, eyes zeroing in on you as she realises what he keeps looking at. “You two aren’t hooking up? Are you?” Grace’s wide eyes gape open to look at her, choking on his words and scoffing at the same time. “No! No… we’re not.” He stutters out, voice muffled as he looks down to his feet, shifting back and forth on them uncomfortably. “I wish.”

He mumbled the last bit too quickly, but his eyes flick over to you, then to Jesse, then to you again, and then back to her as if you had heard them from across the loud room.

"She seems like one of the only people you talk to. Her and Stratt."

Ryland nearly sneers at her words. "I talk to people. I talk to a lot of people actually, like Yao and Dimitri and Carl and Steve- I doubt you even know Carl and Steve." She giggles at that, a bit too loudly for his liking. "You don't talk to me?" Her question makes him glance at her for a moment, and he purses his lips at the sight of her fake hurt expression.

"This is the first time I've met you." He responds blatantly.

"Well then we should get to know each other better. Maybe we could head to my room?”

He inhales sharply, his hands balled into fists in his pockets begin to grow sweaty. He could’ve screamed at the thought of it. “Well uh I actually told Y/n I’d buy her a drink tonight. So… no. Sorry.”

She looks agitated at his reaction, yet Grace couldn’t bring himself to care at the moment. Not when you hadn’t turned around once during their conversation. “I’ll just - um. I’ll see you later.” He winces at the awkwardness, but breathes a breath of relief he hadn’t even realised he’d been holding once he walks away, and internally smiles at the sight of your group coming closer.

“Hey.” He beams, placing a hand on your shoulder, standing behind you and Ilyukhina. “Hi.” You grin up at him.

You can’t tell if you’re feeling butterflies inside your stomach at the fact he chose to come over to you and not Jesse, or if your screaming inside at the fact he took so long to come over in the first place. But he looks really good in that shirt and those enticing little teacher glasses.

“I believe I owe you a drink.” You say in a teasing tone, standing to lead him over to the bar. He follows behind happily, trying not to look at your ass in those jeans, he averts his gaze to the duo doing karaoke - another thing he hasn’t seen until now.

The two of you lean against the bar table, waiting to be served. He gets to look at your face now, a better view than the back of your hair. You have a slight bit more makeup on, a teeny change only he would’ve noticed for how much he stares at you.

“How’s Jesse?”

“Who?”

“Jesse. The woman you were talking to.”

“Oh um. Strange.” He tuts, chuckling at the not so distant memory of her asking to go back to her room.

“Strange? What on earth did she say to freak you out?” A light laugh leaves your mouth as you speak, and he smiles at the sound of it.

Ryland shakes his head dismissively, jutting his lip out while pondering whether to say. “She just -” He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck unsure of how to go about it. “She asked me to go back to her room with her and I said no. Then she got all weird and stuff so I walked away.”

Your heart lurches in your chest, feeling your blood rush to your head at the idea of it. “Why didn’t you go to her room? I’m sure she would’ve had a lot of fun with you.” You say in a joking voice, nudging him slightly. Even if the humour was fake.

“Because… I- I like somebody else.”

Your stomach jumps into your throat, and you have to act like you were expecting that. You look around for a bartender, someone to give you both a distraction so your knees don’t buckle on you.

“Oh really? Like who?” You still don’t turn back to him, only gripping the wood of the bar harder.

“Phsh. I don’t know. Maybe someone who actually bothers to talk to me. Someone who eats breakfast and lunch with me everyday.”

You nearly break your neck at how fast you turn to look at him. He looks back at you, then swallows thickly to disguise his burst of boldness. “Someone who makes me go for drinks when I don’t want to. Someone who’s standing right in front of me and hopefully maybe feels the same way.”

The two of you are awfully close now, yet neither of you seem to move. You take a deep breath in through your nose, parting your lips slightly to whisper to him.

“Do you wanna go back to my room?”

“My room.” He confirms.

“Your room?”

“My room.”

“Your room. Okay.”

you hadn’t been to massachusetts before this summer as your parents found going abroad to be much more thrilling than staying within the states, but you would pay thousands to relive that summer than go on any luxurious european vacation.

the boat ride over to the island was smooth, you’d remember it best compared to the choppy waters of the atlantic coast you’d sailed on previous to that moment. from the boat, the island was beautiful with many flowers in bloom across the shore. a large house came into view, and your cheeky grin met cadence’s as you both sat in your life vests.

when you docked, the entire sinclair family stood at the dock awaiting the eastmans arrival. sam was first off, giving penny, cadence and you a helping hand.

“mother! dad!” penny exclaimed, throwing her arms around her parents shoulders while sam gave ed a firm handshake. the wood beneath you and cadence creaked from your joint weight as you watched her parents greet their family. tipper found cadence first throughout the crowd of greetings from penny’s sisters. she smiled assuredly at you both, wrapping her hands around cadence and whispering a small - “my dearest cadence.”

penny came behind the woman and placed a hand on the small of your back. “this is cadence’s friend from school, y/n, the one we spoke about over the phone.” they all smiled the same way when you said a quiet “hello.” with a childish smile on your face, grinning assuredly as blond woman stood to greet you first.

carrie, you remember. she bent down to your height, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before she spoke. “well aren’t you just gorgeous! why don’t you go over and meet the cousins, i’m sure mirren would love you.” she said kindly, watching you with that motherly love in her eyes.

you turned to where she gestured, eyes meeting a small group of kids your age that included cadence. a small girl with hair like cady’s but a smile that didn’t tell you all she was thinking. a tanned boy with dark hair and a gaze filled with enthusiasm for life stood between the two girls. and another blond boy with a presence made of coolness and snark, and deep blue eyes that stood out like the sea.

your eyes met carrie’s again, nodding at the woman when she stood to her full height and watched as you walked away, over to cadence and her cousins.

the adults went back to talking in their group and you undid the buckle of you life vest, tossing it beside the others when you met the cousins. “last one up the hill is a rotten egg!” johnny yelled before turning around and sprinting down the dock. gat followed after, then cadence right after him and then you, leaving mirren to try catch up. you passed out cadence, only stopping when you got to the top and layed down beside johnny.

cadence heaved when she reached you both, with gat behind her due to her tripping him at some point. “fast for a girl…” johnny muttered, eyeing you suspiciously while you leaned on your back, propping your elbows up. you raised a brow. “you’re just mad because you finally have some competition.” mirren spoke exasperatedly, falling to her knees after joining you all.

gat laughed and nodded his head in agreement, nudging the blonde boy slightly. cadence giggled at johnny’s annoyed expression and mirren only rolled her eyes. “c’mon mirren, let’s give y/n a tour!” the three girls stood tiredly, and left the boys on the hill as they walked the wooden walkway to the perimeter path.

only a few hours later that same evening, you five found yourselves on the small, rarely used beach by cuddledown. nobody ever used it, so you were alone. shoes had been discarded somewhere in the sand, a sign of carelessness and youth while you threw rocks against the waves that skidded across the water.

johnny whistled to himself and mirren played with the ends of her hair, you were tucked in beside cadence as you all sat in a circle. cadence wrote your names in the sand with a stick.

cadence, mirren, y/n, johnny, and gat. gat, johnny, y/n, mirren, and cadence.

the beginning of the liars.

the summer you turned 13, was where it got interesting. over the school year with cadence, you grew more mature and confident in yourself. you’d even been invited to a birthday party over the summer, you couldn’t go though - not with beechwood waiting.

your arrival was the same, the entire sinclair family gathered on the dock to greet you and the eastmans again. will sat playing in the sand, johnny stood near to the back wk to his hands in his pockets and gat waited a little nearer to the front than johnny, waving happily at you and cadence.

you were excited more than ever at this point.

july fourth came around sooner than normal that summer. clairmont was heavily decorated with red, white, and blue streamers that came from the ceiling and carefully chosen flower assortments that filled each empty space the house had to offer. cakes, candies, and snacks covered the indoor dining area, whereas the garden had many round tables with white linen cloth, holding charger plates while the food was being barbecued.

you decided to match outfits with cadence and mirren, who wore red and white while you wore a light blue dress. the five liars sat at the back once the two boys arrived. johnny wore a blue polo ralph lauren shirt that his mother most definitely bought him and beige shorts. which looked nice on him. gat came in the same style, a white button up and khaki shorts.

the day of fun led to s’mores on the main beach outside of clairmont, near the family dock. liberty, bonnie, and will found fun in throwing sand at you all as you ate your s’mores.

mirren groaned at her sisters antics, who were the leaders of the operation. “can we go to the beach near mine? it’ll be more quiet and we can get into the water without being yelled at.” she murmured, midway through her bite. gat held his sand-covered marshmallow between two fingers away from his body, nodding as he did so. “i think that would be best.”

the walk down the perimeter path was funny, johnny kept impersonating gat and how he talked so enthusiastically about silly things, then as he tried to defend himself, gat ended up sticking his food into a pile of dog waste the staff didn’t find earlier. you all cackled, heaving as the poor boy stood on one leg helplessly.

“let’s go inside, we’ll get you clean shoes and have this taken care of before the littles find it.” cadence laughed, linking her arm with gat’s and helped him walk. “my hands are all sticky! i’ll come with you and wash them.” mirren joined, placing a hand on her cousins shoulder while they looked at you and johnny. he only shrugged. “we’ll be on the beach!” you said happily.

the two of you sat side by side, talking about random things while you waited for the others to come back. “the romans would love this place.” johnny spoke, leaning back on his elbows nonchalantly. you furrowed you brows and he noticed. “good entertainment, people doing the work for them, i mean.” he continued.

you nodded slowly, confused at his random statement. “i’d be a good roman emperor, bossing people around like grandad. i’d rule by myself though, no empress to help.” he looked so sure of himself, confident in his words. it made you chuckle. “why no empress?” you asked, glancing back at his face.

he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, brushing off the question. “i wouldn’t need one. i’m the perfect lonesome ruler.” an airy laugh left your lips as you turned away, shaking your head.

“if you had to have one though, who would you pick?” you pressed further, eager to understand johnny better. he hummed slightly before answering. “you, probably.”

“me?”

your neck almost cracked when your head spun to meet his, confusion etched all over your face. he nodded, looking at you intently. “yeah.” he sat upright to further explain his point, running a hand through his messy blonde hair. “you’re smart, you’re nice, you don’t order everyone around and you have a good face to parade across the city.”

silence fell upon you for a minute while you took in his words. really took in his words. “a good face huh?” you said in a sarcastic tone, raising a brow at him. “shut up.” you both laughed at that together, sound echoing across the water as you propped you head on your knees.

a quiet atmosphere grew upon you, not an awkward one, but a comforting one. “have you had your first kiss yet?” he asked softly, watching the side of your face intently. you shook your head slowly, lifting it off your knees as you whispered - “not yet.” johnny nodded in understanding. “have you?” you questioned, not making eye contact with the boy.

he shook his head in response, and you nodded like he did moments before. a pause followed, until he continued on. “do you want to?” you caught his eye for a second, and he could sense your weariness. “only to practise. s’not like i find you pretty or anything.” you pursed your lips as he smirked.

“only to practise, right?” you said quietly, looking at him closely. a soft “hm.” left his mouth in response. you only nodded twice, and muttered a soft “okay.” in assurance. to you or him, you didn’t know.

johnny leaned in slowly at first, and you swallowed whatever fear was growing in your throat as you grew closer. he stopped once your noses slightly bumped, and if you moved just a few centimetres closer you’d kiss, that’s what he wanted you to do. to confirm you wanted it.

you pushed your head forward, and your lips met in the middle. it was short and quick, but it wasn’t bad. he tasted sweetly, like the marshmallow he’d eaten earlier on the beach. a small smile grew on his face as both your cheeks reddened. “you taste like s’mores.” you giggle at him giddily, leaning your head on his shoulder as you both looked out onto the sea. “so do you.”

it wasn’t long before mirren’s giggles could be heard somewhere behind you, and you both glanced back. you smiled at them from a distance and you took your head from johnny’s shoulder. “i lied.” he said as the others walked nearer. “i do find you pretty.”

neither of you spoke of that moment afterwards, and you never told cadence or mirren about it either. but you’d both be lying if you said you didn’t think about it often, a lot more often than what both you and johnny let on.

next

authors note!! okay prologue is pretty good and i’m happy with it, but i just want to let you all know that this first chapter is short because it’s the prologue and I’m basing this off the book because i have not seen the show as i do not have amazon prime. (upsetting, i know.) this will also not follow the plot of we were liars because the ending does not exist xx anywho, i hope y’all like it and comments and reblogs are appreciated!

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