Secret Admirer

[hotlink]

SECRET ADMIRER meme

You're in love with them, but they don't know it and you have no real intention of changing this. Whether it's because you don't want to admit anything to yourself, can't handle rejection, don't think you're good enough, or have no real experience with this kind of thing, your lips are sealed...for now. And maybe forever, if you're contented to love them from afar.

That is, if the object of your affection doesn't figure you out first.

HOW TO PLAY

• Comment with your character, preferences, and whether they'd be the admirer or the admired.
• Reply to others.
• RNG it or not.

PROMPTS

1. Meeting: How do you meet? Is it love at first sight?
2. Falling: You learn to love them, even if you never have before.
3. From Afar: You're not too close to them - they may not know you at all - but you still admire them. Whether "afar" means something like a different school, a different team, or a different world or walk of life is up to you.
4. Notice Me: You actually do want to be noticed. Please, senpai!~
5. Right in Front of You: The two of you are friends or allies, yet you're hiding your emotions in plain sight.
6. Denial: You? Love? No! Especially not with them...no, you weren't looking at them!
7. Jealousy: They don't know you're attracted to them, so you shouldn't feel mad when they're getting attention from others.
8. Too Shy Shy: The words just won't come out. Besides, you're too flustered by their presence in general.
9. Don't Deserve Them: You wouldn't want to subject them to you, anyway. They're too good.
10. Favors: Your love may not be known; still, you can do things for them or get them gifts, and they'll wonder who's doing all this. Their happiness is all you want, not their recognition.
11. Bad at This: So, about all those gifts or favors? You're not the sort to know about kindness and because of this, your shows of affection tend to be you offing their rivals or giving them stolen items.
12. Adorkable: You're awkward but it's endearing!
13. Never Expect the Quiet Ones: You barely speak, much less show how you feel. How could they know what you really think?
14. Lash Out: It's frustrating to have a crush you can't act on, so you've decided to act out...towards the one you love, perhaps to push them away.
15. Admission: Finally, you've decided to admit what you've felt all along.
16. Outed: Someone else has told your secret.
17. Caught: Maybe you were caught looking at them too much, speaking about your love out loud, or leaving them a gift. No matter what, the jig is up.
18. Content with Secrecy: You can admire them without saying a word. You're not conflicted in the least with living this life!
19. Requited: No more harboring secrets, as your feelings are returned.
20. Unrequited: ....ouch. Just ouch.
21. WILD CARD

Comments

Eugene Sledge | The Pacific

[dungarees]

Jackson Deveaux | The Arcana Chronicles

[deveaux]

[Could be either, probably would be a jerk if he was the admirer.]

Kenny | The War At Home | m/m

[rainbowflavored]

[Either. If he's the one admiring he probably wouldn't tell but it'd probably be kind of obvious.]

Inquisitor Trevelyan | Dragon Age: Inquisition | ota

[fletchedfaith]

(Also available in companion" flavor for other Inquisitors.

Can be the admirer or admired, whatever works best.)

Shirayuki | akagami no shirayukihime

[forwardfacing]

AU as discussed, and SO MANY of the options

[orthodontia]

[Eugene Sledge was two grades below him, for starters. That alone would've made hanging out with him social suicide, never mind dating him. Of course, the second point was that they were both guys, and that couldn't be emphasized enough - Shelton was one of the troublemaking outsiders and Eugene a nerd first class, so it didn't have the potential for devastation that it might if one of them were, say, an athlete, but that wouldn't make a public relationship any more acceptable.

The third point was their social standing, but luckily for Shelton, that one also made it more acceptable to torment Eugene. Which he took advantage of at every opportunity, since it was the only real way to make contact with Eugene at all: he was sure Eugene hated him at this point, but just as sure he would've done if they'd met any other way, so it didn't make a lot of difference.

Eugene was seated unusually close to Shelton's group that lunch hour, only one table away; Shelton considered the various bits of food on his plate, but decided that he didn't want to get Eugene messy, which would just chase him off to clean up. Instead, he tore a piece of paper from one of his binders and scribbled something on it, then folded into a neat paper airplane and lofted that right alongside Eugene's can of soda.]

Ain't you getting brave. [It was written in a slanting, sloppy cursive that was at once unusually decorative for a guy like him, and unusual in general in an era where cursive had nearly disappeared.]

[dungarees]

[It's not as if Eugene had specifically chosen to sit near Merriell Shelton but sometimes there were only so many options for where you could eat lunch. The lunch room was a bit of a minefield for someone like Eugene and he's always lucky when he ends up being able to finish his lunch and leave the cafeteria unscathed.

Eugene had deemed to keep his head down while he ate, a book to the side of the his tray and open. He'd been about to start reading when the paper landed in front of him. He glanced in the direction it'd came from, gaze landing on Shelton and knowing it was him. It was always him. Eugene had no idea what he'd ever done to the other boy to deserve his harassment.

He unfolded the paper, rolling his eyes when he saw the message and crumpling it up. Brave ain't got nothing to do with it but he didn't want to give Shelton the satisfaction of any real reaction so he went back to his lunch and book. He could swear he felt the other's eyes on him though.]

[orthodontia]

[He did. He absolutely did feel Shelton's eyes on him, because Shelton's eyes had a way of boring into someone's skull when he looked at them, and he never stopped looking at Eugene when the younger boy was nearby.]

Now, see - that just ain't polite. [Shelton's voice wasn't loud enough to broadcast to the whole room, since his preferred tone tended to be lower and more intimate, but it certainly carried enough for his friends and for Eugene to hear him. The other boys gathered around the table snickered to one another, but they didn't go after Eugene with the same tenacity as their de facto leader.]

Where're your Southern manners, boy? [That got a bit more of a laugh, because Shelton and Eugene were both oddballs in the school, one being from Alabama and the other from Louisiana. A couple of backwoods hicks.]

[dungarees]

[Eugene felt himself tense when he heard Shelton. His shoulders hunched as if he was turtle and could somehow duck into his shell and avoid whatever torment was in store for him. He was no stranger to getting teased and bullied a bit. No nerd was really and he had the added benefit of not being from around here.

He tried to ignore him, but reading was hopeless and he closed the book, keeping his eyes on his plate. Shelton had a way of goading him though and he pressed his lips together to bite back a response to the question. His eyes slid sideways to catch a glimpse of him.]

Probably about where you left yours. [He ended up retorting, grabbing his book and shoving it into his bag before he got up grabbing his tray. It was best to just get out of there before this could escalate, right?]

[orthodontia]

[An actual ooooooooh rippled through the crowd close enough to hear the exchange at Eugene's answer. Shelton just smiled in response, but it didn't touch his eyes at all, which made the overall effect much more unsettling than either his neutral or negative attention.

Unsurprisingly, he was able to get right in Eugene's way before the younger boy could escape. Eugene was actually just a bit taller than Shelton, but his build was much more lanky, and Shelton held himself tall and straight in all the places where Eugene tended to slouch. The lines of power were clearly drawn in this match-up.]

You got a lot to say, don't you, Sledge. [That was, of course, a ridiculous accusation coming from Shelton, but he was referring more to the bite behind his statements than the word count.] What if I make you back that up, huh? Still gonna be such a cocky li'l son of a bitch?

[dungarees]

[Eugene had half a mind to dump his tray forward and let it spill down Shelton and make a run for it but as it was he gripped it tighter, not quite meeting the other's eyes, but he could envision his face. He'd seen it enough. He'd seen it more than enough.]

Just leave me alone. [The last thing he wanted to do was get into a fight because there was no way that ended well for him and it'd only give Shelton more fuel to the fire he could use to ridicule him. His pride wanted to rise to the challenge but logic prevailed for now.] Ain't you got better things to do?

[orthodontia]

[Poor, poor Eugene. There would never be a fight if he did call Shelton's bluff, and this low-level sniping just kept him coming back for more because it was a surefire way to get and hold Eugene's attention. But of course, there was no way of guessing his motives from the outside.]

I dunno how a honor roll teacher's pet straight-A pissant like you gets so dumb, but you got all the smarts of a sack of hair when you ain't learnin' from a book.

[Oddly, when he launched his more vicious verbal attacks in return, all the bite tended to leave his tone. It just sounded like idle chitchat, but for the words.]

See you after school. [Likewise, that didn't sound like a threat. There wasn't even a set location. But whichever way Eugene left the grounds, even if he switched up from the usual, even if he tried to cover his tracks, he'd find Shelton there.]

[dungarees]

[Eugene scowled at the insults which just sounded strange the way Shelton's voice had changed. Stupid asshole, he thought to himself as he moved past him. He had no intentions of running into Shelton after school. How we was going to manage that he had no idea. He tossed away his mostly uneaten lunch and set the tray where it belonged before leaving the cafeteria just as hungry as when he had come into it. There's no way he could've eaten after the exchange though because hunger or not his stomach was in knots.

The rest of the day classes were difficult to concentrate on and as he moved between periods he felt like around every corner Shelton would be there staring at him. Finally, the last bell rang and he skipped going to his locker and headed out one of the side exits that went past all the music rooms. It was out of his way, the opposite side from his locker and he would have to completely circle around to get in the direction he needed to go to get home.

But he didn't want to run into Shelton. He had no idea what would happen if he did. There was something strange about that guy in more ways than one although he never let himself think too much about it.]

[orthodontia]

[As it happened, Shelton was sitting on those exact steps when Eugene opened the door. Figuring out which route he'd take hadn't been all that difficult - Eugene just struck him as the type to go an absolute extreme, so he chose the exit furthest from where he knew Eugene's locker was, and lo and behold.

He was tossing a fresh, shiny apple into the air with one hand and catching it in the other when he glanced up, casual as you please, to see Eugene passing.]

Think fast. [The apple wasn't thrown at him so much as lobbed, nearly impossible to miss.]

[dungarees]

[Jesus Christ. Frustration was instant when Eugene saw Shelton on the stairs and he almost up and turned around but it was a long hallway pretty far from anyone so there wasn't much protection in going back in when it came to make sure he wasn't about to get beat up.

His hands caught the apple instinctively, frowning at Shelton.]

Seriously, what do you want? [He asked, suspicious of course.

Nevermind he didn't toss the apple back. It seemed like a perfectly fine apple and it reminded him he was hungry and it was a decently long walk to his house from here.]

[orthodontia]

[He didn't quite know what he wanted, if he was honest. He'd had all afternoon to think about it after the spontaneous decision to meet up with Eugene alone, and the plan which had ensured that they wouldn't be too visible to the rest of the student body had worked like a charm, but... what now?]

Didn't mean to make you miss your whole lunch. Ain't it the most important meal of the day? [That was breakfast, of course. But thus the apple was explained. He hadn't even stood up yet, head just tilted to one side so that he could look up at Eugene.]

Rey | SW: TFA | OTA

[thesefirststeps]

[dungarees]

That's breakfast. [Eugene muttered, staring down at the apple. Okay. That was a nice thing to do he supposed but it didn't really tell him much about the other's intentions. After all he was more likely to make Eugene miserable than do something nice so he had to assume there was another shoe about to drop some place.]

And how thoughtful of you. Maybe next time don't start in on me until I'm done eating.

[orthodontia]

Really? [Shelton actually looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged idly.] Just knew it weren't supper.

[He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket and lit one right then and there, not only on school grounds but just outside a door, which was most definitely against the rules - he didn't appear to be showing off, though, more like he didn't particularly care about them.]

How long you been in Portland, Sledge? [There was no R in the name when Shelton said it, and the first syllable dragged out far too long, the last seeming to drop in as an afterthought. It was one of those words people would repeat after he said it, which drove him absolutely insane. As if he didn't know how he sounded here.]

[dungarees]

Seriously... [Eugene gawked at him when the other started to smoke. He shook his head and adjusted his book bag before starting on his way home. No way was he going to be standing there when the other got caught smoking. That was the last thing he needed.

He didn't answer the question either. Why was he suddenly curious about that kind of thing anyway? He frowned, rather sure that Shelton was going to follow him. He'd take the long way home and hopefully lose him if that was so. But as he was walking he bit into the apple.

Even if the other was following him he pretended not notices, eyes to the ground as he walked and focused on the apple.]

[orthodontia]

[Sure enough, Shelton fell right into step with him so casually that Eugene would now look like the rude one for chasing him off if he were to do so. Getting Shelton's attention really did make life a bitch, positive or negative (if someone could even tell the difference.)]

You're from Alabama, ain't you? Makes Oregon a far off place to be. We're nearly neighbors back home. [Apparently he was just going to push the friendly small talk angle until Eugene either pointed out how ill-suited it was to their interaction thus far or joined him.]

[dungarees]

[It confused Eugene. Why was he being nice and almost friendly and polite all the sudden after way more time spent making his life miserable?]

What do you want? [He asked in exasperation, looking over at him.] You spend all this time harassing me and now you wanna talk about back home like we're friends? What's your deal?

[orthodontia]

[That was a fair point. It just wasn't one Shelton knew how to address so directly, because "I wanted any attention I could get" was both pathetic and, to his mind, not all that plausible.]

Y'always stand up for yourself, though, don't you? Ain't never let me get the best of you yet. [To Shelton's way of thinking, that was actually true, because Eugene had never outwardly lost his temper; it never occurred to him that Eugene might stew over the interactions later, especially not to the point of actual fear. He'd always been more of an annoyance than a danger to the people in his life.]

BARRY ALLEN | THE FLASH | OTA

[gottagoflashfast]

Lance | Voltron: Legendary Defender

[the_tailor]