Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Synopsis: A girl going through college wanting to make friends, but is faced with two problems in doing so - her hermit lifestyle and social anxiety. However, as she navigates through college she meets a boy and they become fast friends. But...is that everything?

Warnings: none

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• ───────────────── •

Redd Nichols moved through the campus ways into the cafeteria. Many people were crowded there, laughing and talking, but some were doing homework or sitting alone. She was one of those people. Making friends wasn’t her strong suit, and certainly not on a college campus where she knew next to nobody. She sat at one of the tables which already had a man there, but she made sure to sit on the opposite side of him.

She opened her computer and got to work on a homework assignment. She didn’t have anywhere she needed to be, she could sit in that chair until the campus closed for all she cared. However, the urge to make friends kept nagging at the back of her mind. She just started here, but it seemed like everybody had their cliques. She stole looks at the man from over her computer.

Like her, he had brown hair. It was short and slightly curly, and he had blue eyes. That was all Redd managed to see before he looked up at her. Quickly, she looked back at her computer and hoped he hadn’t caught her.

“Can I help you with something?” The man asked.

“Oh no, no sorry I was just staring off into space.” Redd spoke nervously. Why was this so hard for her to do?

“It’s okay. I’m Sam. Sam Reed.”

“Redd.” She finally looked back up at him.

His eyes were a dark blue, but he had the kindest smile. She gave him a smile back. “What’re you working on if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Oh just stuff for programming.”

“Ew.” She grimaced, remembering her high school coding class.

“I know.” Sam rolled his eyes. “But it’s what I have to do.”

“Is it your major?” Redd asked.

“Sort of.” Sam typed more on his computer and sighed dejectedly. “I’m a computer science major but this isn’t what I want to do with my life.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Build computers.” Sam’s smile was brought back a little bit. “I’ve always loved building stuff. Computers, Lego’s, Gundam kits, you name it.”

Redd nods. “That’s cool! I’ve built a couple Gundam’s myself, but never a computer. You must be pretty smart.”

“Eh, I don’t think so. It’s just something that comes with instructions and you follow it, just like Lego’s, or IKEA furniture.” Sam clicked his mouse twice before typing more into his computer. “What about you? What’s your major?”

“Oh, General Education for now, at least until I can figure out what I want to do.” She sheepishly looked away. Sometimes Gen Ed majors got some bad reputation, and she didn’t want this potential friend to be put off by her major.

“That’s cool. Any idea of the major you want to declare?”

“No idea yet, but I’m hoping to get there soon.” Redd put her gaze back on her computer.

“I’m sure you’ll get it soon. Hey, I have to run to class, but it was lovely chatting with you.” Sam closed his laptop and Redd could see his broad shoulders. “I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah! For sure!” She smiled and waved as he left the table.

If she saw him again, she would want to strike up another conversation, which means this is possibly her first college friend! She couldn’t wait to tell her uncle.

• ───────────────── •

Getting home around an hour later, she could smell cigarette smoke. Her uncle Lance was home. “Lance? Why are you home? I thought you were working tonight.”

She dropped her bag at the front door and moved through the house, ending up at the back of the house. Lance was standing at the back door, half in and half out. He had a cigarette between his fingers as he turned to look at his niece coming through the house. As he turned however, he revealed a woman with bright blue eyes that seemed to glow. Redd stopped and shifted uncomfortably.

“Hey kid, how was school today?” Lance asked, flicking his cigarette.

“Fine…who is this?” Redd pointed to the woman she’d never seen before.

“Oh her? This is a girl I work with, Maelstrom.” Lance pointed to her with his thumb.

Redd sensed something wrong with her. She noticed Maelstrom had her hood up, but it seemed like something underneath it was jutting up under the hood. Aside from that, something was just…off.

“Nice to meet you.” Redd noticed the air was stiff.

“You too. Lance, I should probably take my leave.” Maelstrom spoke with urgency.

“Alright, I understand.” Lance and Maelstrom seemed to share a knowing glance, one that made Redd uncomfortable.

Maelstrom shouldered past Lance and past Redd before leaving out of their front door. She blinks a little before looking at her uncle. “New girlfriend?”

“No, I work with her.” Lance took a drag from his cigarette.

“Uh huh, and what was that look at the end?”

“She’s married.” He avoided the subject. “Besides, she’s not my type.”

“What kind of name is Maelstrom?” Redd asked.

“The kind of name you shouldn’t utter so casually.” Lance threw his cigarette down and stomped it out. “So, spaghetti for dinner?”

“Sure. Wait, hold on, you can’t say the first part and not elaborate. Is she one of us?” Redd asked after Lance closed the door.

“No. She’s just someone I work with sometimes. A boss of a boss of a boss of my boss.”

“You never tell me what you do.”

“And for good reason. What happened at school today?”

Redd decided to drop it. Lance was normally dodgy about his work life. “Fine. I met a man today.”

“Man or boy?”

“He seemed like a man to me. His name is Sam.” She smiles at the memory.

“What did I tell you about men?”

“I know, I’m going to get to know him more before I trust him. I got it.” She put her hands up. “You really think I’d reveal everything to him on the first day?”

Lance chuckled and ruffled her hair. “Atta girl. Now come help with the spaghetti. You want garlic bread?”

“Oh do I!”

• ───────────────── •

First chapter wohoo! I know its probably a slow and weird start, but I promise this will pick up soon. Thank you for reading this far, and I hope you enjoyed!

Hi! I recently came across your posts and wanted to make a request if that’s okay. I’d like a tutorial on how I use this app, as well as notifications on when you add more stories. I’d also like to request some sleep and constant affirmation that your boyfriend is a hotty, specifically that he is very smart and his ff14 character ship of Au Ra and Miqote relationships are very Pog.

I’m very exhausted, but hey I somehow managed this shit lol see you soon love

Hello my love! Everybody, this is my boyfriend Luka. He's the co-writer for my story "Not What It Seems" over on @jwritesstuff4!

Now, assuming you're on mobile (I know you are old man <3), the home button takes you to your home screen. There you'll see posts from people and specific tags you follow. The magnifying glass button allows you to search, and Tumblr will give you some suggestions underneath the search bar.

The video camera button is Tumblr LIVE. No idea what it is, so don't concern yourself with it. The smiley face icon is where you can see notifications of people who liked your comments, reblog/like your posts, or when someone mentions you, answers your ask (request), or when someone you have notifications on for posts. Finally, the little person icon is where you can see your Tumblr account and change things about your blog.

As for turning notifications on, go to my blog(s) and in the upper right corner, you'll see some icons. Click the little person icon and it will prompt you with a few things. Click "get notifications" and voila! You'll get notifications every time I post.

Lol hun, I already know you're a hotty. And yes our ff14 characters relaitionship is very pog. I've been thinking about introducing ff14 to this blog, you think I should?

Yes you did somehow manage this. I'm proud of chu. See you soon my love <3

Chapter 4

Synopsis: A girl going through college wanting to make friends, but is faced with two problems in doing so - her hermit lifestyle and social anxiety. However, as she navigates through college she meets a boy and they become fast friends. But...is that everything?

Warnings: stalker-ish behavior

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• ───────────────── •

Redd munched on the delicious bread Sam had given her in almost every class. People gave her weird looks for munching on a whole loaf of bread, but she was too excited to care anymore. After her last class, she whipped out her phone, leaning against the wall as people walked by her.

Redd: Hey Sam! It’s Redd. You in the cafeteria?

Sam: Yep, waiting on you :)

Grinning, she pushed herself off the wall and made her way to the stairs, jogging down them and searching for Sam. She was a little nervous, hoping she wouldn’t screw this up and potentially lose a friend. As she was trying to look for Sam, a pair of familiar blue eyes locked onto hers from the back of the cafeteria. Why…why was Maelstrom here?

Redd was about to start walking towards Maelstrom to confront her, but before she could, a hand landed on her shoulder.

“Hey! Let’s get going.” Sam smiled.

Redd looked at him, then back to where Maelstrom was, but she was gone.

“You okay?” Sam asked.

“Yeah…yeah I’m alright.” Redd nods before turning to look at him. “Just thought I saw something. Let’s get goin’!”

Sam hesitated for a moment but nodded. A smile returned to his face as he walked out of the building with Redd, and towards his car. Redd snickered. “Taking me in your car this time, huh?”

“Yeah, figured you could use a break from driving.” Sam motions to his car, then opens the door for her.

“Such a gentleman.” Redd comments, getting in and thanking him.

“Always.” Sam then shuts the door when she’s settled, and gets in the driver's seat. “Alright, where’s this place again?”

• ───────────────── •

Both of them sat down with their orders, sitting across from each other. Suddenly Redd grew very shy, not wanting to screw this up. She stuffed her face with her fries to not be able to speak, but then realized she probably looked like a fool. Sam was eating normally across from her, keeping his eyes averted. He was nervous too, but most likely not nearly as much as Redd was. For a moment, neither of them said anything and it was awkward.

Finally, Sam spoke up. “How is it?”

“Good.” Redd spoke, mouth full of food. Her face grew bright red in embarrassment.

Sam laughed a little. “That’s good. Are you nervous?”

Redd stopped for a moment. Did she really want to expose herself like that? “Yeah. You’re the first friend I’ve made in college, I don’t want to screw this up…”

Sam felt a little sad at that. “Hey it’s okay, if it helps I’m a little nervous too.”

“You are? But you seem so calm.” Redd gave him a once-over.

“Looks can be deceiving.” Sam reminded her.

Redd stopped at that. Yes, looks could be deceiving, but was this code for something? Did he know? She stopped herself. Of course he didn’t know…right?

“You okay?” Sam asked.

“Hm? Oh, yeah. Sorry.” She grinned sheepishly. “Just a lot on my mind.”

“Oh, like what?” Sam’s brows furrowed slightly, seeming concerned.

Redd panicked. “Oh just- my uncle, he’s uh…”

Sam was looking at her expectantly. Redd was trying to find anything to say other than what she would have said.

“Got a new girlfriend.” Fuck, she thought. “Yeah, and it’s been an adjustment because it’s just been the two of us for God knows how long.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m sure that’s tough, I’m sorry. If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to your parents?”

“Lance told me they died in a fire when I was a baby, so I don’t really know anything about them other than that.” Redd scratched at her neck lightly, then took another bite of her food.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry about that!” Sam’s eyes widened, his tone gushing with sympathy.

“It’s alright, I didn’t really know them. But it’s hard for Lance to talk about, so if you ever meet him don’t bring it up.” Redd warned.

“Why would I bring that up in a casual conversation?” Sam asked, waving a fry in her face.

Redd chuckled a little. “True, I guess.”

The two of them continued to ease into casual conversation, enjoying each other's presence. Now making a friend suddenly didn’t seem so scary to Redd. The two laughed and chatted the evening away, long after they had finished their food. It wasn’t until Redd checked her phone for the time did she realize how late it was.

“Oh geez, it’s almost eight. We should get out of here.” She looked back up at Sam.

Sam nods. “Yeah, I think the employees are giving us dirty looks.”

The two of them get up and throw away their trash and finally exit the fast food place. They had been there for a good couple of hours. The drive back to campus was slightly more quiet, but enjoyable nonetheless. When Redd finally got to her car, she turned to Sam.

“Thank you for tonight. I enjoyed it.” She smiled.

Sam seemed a bit caught off guard by that. “I enjoyed it too…! We should do this again soon.”

“Sure, but I’ll make you a meal.” Redd offered.

“Are you sure?”

“Hey, you make me bread and I make you dinner.” Redd grinned.

Sam smiled. “Okay, next time at your place then. It’s a date.”

“What?” Redd cocked a brow.

“Nothing, have a good night!” Sam went to his car and quickly drove off.

Redd chuckled as she watched him drive off before getting into her own car and began to head back home. However, as she was driving, something in her back seat shifted. Alarmed, she looked in her mirror to see what it was, and a pair of ice blue eyes stared right back at her. Redd screamed and slammed on the breaks. When it was stopped, she turned to yell at the woman.

“What the hell are you doing here?!”

“What?”

“Don’t play stupid! Why are you following me?!” Redd gripped her steering wheel tightly.

“Just go back home, talk to Lance. He’ll know what to do, I promise.” Maelstrom explained before she was suddenly gone.

Redd stayed there for a moment before the car behind her laid on the horn and she began to move once more. Rolling the window back up, she tried to forget about what happened as she drove back home. Lance better have a good explanation for this.

Mael watched Redd’s car drive away, a black blob limp on the ground behind her. Once the car was out of sight she turned around to leave, picking up the corpse on the way.. What she took with her definitely wasn’t a deer.

• ───────────────── •

Had my boyfriend proofread part of this to make sure it was okay. Hope you all enjoy, thank you!

My bf: Let me put this nicely…

Me: uh huh

My bf: Kaiba would skip the birth of his own child to duel Yugi

*muffled burst stream noises*

All the people who think Seto Kaiba and Alexis Rhodes/Asuka Tenjoin look alike (and are potentially related) say aye

Nothing Builds a Friendship Like a Crisis

Co-written with multifandoms27 Summary: You wanted to work in peace, but a certain CEO wanted you to take on a job for him. Dub canon plus a version of DSOD. Female Reader. Set maybe two years post DSOD. Fun fact: I always write my Reader character with personality and specific description. This means she may not be as generic as is customary for this type of story. Each reader character also has a specific place in the Yu-Gi-Oh world, and is basically an OC with set connections and feelings about the various canon characters and other reader characters. This is reader B, who is immune to the siren song of romance, cheap, eccentric, logical, and hands-on. Word count: 1,100 It felt lonely after Yugi and his friends’ graduation. Over the course of the three prior years, while you had worked at Kame Game, Yugi had slowly pulled you into his friend group. Always slow to form emotional connections, you found you were no match for Yugi’s bright smile and quiet nudging to join in the fun. And despite being four years older, you had been well integrated by the time Yugi graduated—although, truth be told, you were only marginally aware of how much you had come to delight in spending time with the group. At least, until it ended, then you became keenly aware. Téa left to study in New York. Tristan was working full time in his dad’s factory. And Joey spent his days working a collection of odd jobs and chasing down his dream of becoming a professional duelist. And then Joey started dating your younger sister, and it felt like losing two friends at once. Fortunately, you and Yugi grew closer, starting Pharaoh Games together, designing a few games which the two of you sold for a slight profit at a small scale. And Mokuba started to swing by; he latched onto you, quickly becoming close. It was Mokuba who hired you and Yugi to design the proof of concept game for his older brother’s new solid vision holograms. And that was how, amidst a whirlwind year and a half project, you met Seto Kaiba. He was the most interesting human you had ever met, he designed incredible things, and he loved his little brother—the three shortcuts to winning your favor, all in one person. You and Kaiba worked well together—which Mokuba encouraged—and to your surprise, by the end of the project, Kaiba was going out of his way to talk to you, tell you about his plans, and ask for your advice on specific elements of scenario design for his own Solid Vision projects.

You even tried to help Kaiba win a bet with Pegasus, and although the two of you eventually lost, it did help create a true bond between you, (especially when it came time to pay up.) Still, once the Solid Vision game was completed, Kaiba moved on to other projects, and you were left with nothing to return to but quiet work at the game shop. It was a good job, a good life, and Yugi was a good friend; but you missed spending time with someone smarter than you, someone who built imaginary worlds from light, someone with impressive dreams for the future. It felt like, after years of hearing about Yugi’s adventures, you had been swept up into the edges of something grand, only to be dropped again back into the mundane—and there were fewer friends to share it with now.

Still, the Kaiba brothers both kept in contact in their own way, and you had low social needs, so it all seemed like it would work out. 

While working alone at the game shop, you flipped the radio on. An old fashioned trumpet fanfare blasted out of the speakers as you scrambled to turn the volume down. You were all too familiar with the melody—the theme song for a rapidly ascending game company, Knightly Rook, which had been in an advertising blitz for almost a month now. From your admittedly biased perspective, the company seemed more hype than substance, but it was the company’s snide, barely concealed jabs at Kaiba Corp that irritated you. Still, there was a lot of talk from the company’s popular president that Knightly Rook would soon go public, so for the moment, even the news was covering their rise to prominence.

At your hip, your cell phone went off, playing the Kaiba Corp theme. Switching off the radio, you popped the phone out of its clip and answered it. “Kaiba?” 

“You’re taking Mokuba to Kaiba Land tomorrow.” Kaiba rarely bothered with the customary social dance that defined most people’s conversations.

Had you forgotten about a plan made months ago? You switched to your calendar app, “No, I’m not. I’m working tomorrow.” You liked jumping straight past the niceties too. “Besides, I don’t remember asking you to plan my schedule.”

“You should. You wouldn’t make yourself a long-term plan if I paid you to do it.” Kaiba gave a harsh little laugh. “Yugi can run the shop. I want to hire you to assist Mokuba for his park inspection tomorrow.”

“Don’t you usually do the monthly park inspection with Mokuba?” You switched your phone to speakerphone, setting it down and grabbing a box cutter. “Besides, Yugi’s out of town this week.” Cutting open a few boxes of supplies, you began to check the contents against the provided invoices.

After a moment’s silence, Kaiba gave a little growl, “Why is Yugi in New York?”

He must have checked Yugi’s duel disk location. “He’s visiting Téa.”

“Fine. I’ll pay Mr. Muto to give you the day off.”

“Honestly, just wait a couple of days and—“

“Do you think you’re not up to the task? Is that why you’re turning this opportunity down?” 

“Hey, we both know I’m capable of keeping up with Mokuba. I’ll be available in a few days. You don’t even have to pay me.”

“I’d rather you did it tomorrow. And I’ll pay you. The last time someone other than me did the inspection with Mokuba, he ended up covered in wet paint and quit.”

Not surprising. Mokuba could be something of a feral gremlin with anyone he didn’t like. You sighed. “What time will a car be picking me up?” You weren’t going to pay for parking at Kaiba Land if you could help it.

“Nine. I’ll have someone fax you your W-4. Fill it out and have it ready for tomorrow.”

“Okay.” You marked off the last of the supplies on the invoice. “Anything I need to read up on tonight?”

“I’ll send you the latest security protocols. But be sure to destroy the papers after you read them.”

“Security proto—Kaiba what’s going on?”

“I’m handling it. But I don’t have time to accompany Mokuba tomorrow. Just keep an eye out.”

You sighed again. Why did Kaiba have to be secretive? “Fine. But I’m not a bodyguard. I don’t have the right training.”

“Mokuba will have guards with him.”

You set down your pencil. “That’s good. Will we see you tomorrow?”

“I doubt it.”

“Well, I’ll keep Mokuba out of trouble.”

“Bye.” Kaiba hung up. Abrupt as always. Hopefully, you wouldn’t make any embarrassing mistakes tomorrow. If Kaiba trusted you, then you had no intention of letting him and Mokuba down. Part 2