『 P e p p y！R e a d e r 』
＊ Cursing, I'm using they/them pronouns for Oz , he/him for Brian, and she/her pronouns for Vicky and Amira ＊
Sorry but you'll be a bit oblivious in this one?
Requested by @dolledupj
Word Count: 1811
I wrote this in like January but published it the end of December oop—
~
Oz blushed heavily, a bright pink replacing the previously charcoal color of their cheeks. They failed to conjure up a reply and only managed to squeak out incoherent syllables. It didn't help them to calm down when your face was barely two inches away from theirs. It really didn't help that your radiant smile and wide, innocent eyes were directed towards them, waiting for a response to your invitation to eat lunch together. It definitely didn't help that they could hear the obvious giggles and snorts their friends tried to hide from behind them. 'Guys please, you're really not helping right now.'
To their relief, you lowered your heels to the ground, no longer tip-toeing to reach an eye-to-eye level yet still maintaining an expectant look on your face.
"So, waddaya say? Wanna sit with me at lunch, Ozzie?" you chirped. They honestly couldn't decline your offer even if they tried. You were just too adorable to turn down, especially since they've had the biggest crush on you since freshman year.
Oz buried their hands into their pockets, with a sheepish smile towards you, they managed an answer, "Um, o-o-of course! Any-anytime Y/N, d-don't worry about it!" 'Oh my god Oz, you idiot! They're gonna think you're super clingy and weird! Now they'll never-'
"Great!" you unknowingly interupted their internal flip out. "See you then!" your farewell was accompanied by a soft boop to your crush's nose, causing thus another wave of pink to wash over their cheeks. Oz watched you skip away from their desk and over to your own, stunned into silence.
They slowly sat back down, processing what had just happened when their franken-friend spoke up from behind them, causing them to twist around and face her.
"That was pretty smooth, my dude. She totally likes you back! Why else would she ask you to sit with her at lunch?" Vicky encouraged her best friend with a close-eyed grin and two thumbs up. The flustered monster frantically shushed her in fear of being overheard as Vicky continued to giggle.
This earned an amused snort from the desk to Vicky's right, where Brian was currently lounging, lazily resting his cheek on his fist, "I don't know, Vicks. Maybe they just wanted to spend time with their friend, Ozzie here." His quip and teasing smirk earned a glare from Ozzie and a cackle from their fiery friend.
"Duh, it's not like Ozzie's blush is obvious whenever they talk to them or anything. Nope, definitely not! Definitely not hardcore crushing on them," Amira grinned evilly, fistbumping Brian. She too, was unfazed by Oz's fruitless attempts at glaring.
Oz's phobias were now nudging their chin to try and turn them towards Y/N's direction, where they were currently laughing with Polly and Scott about something. They sighed, impatiently drumming their fingers on the desk, waiting for class to start.
〜
After what felt like an eternity, class ended with a new assignment and a week's notice of an exam coming up. The gang rose, eager to get to the cafeteria for their long-awaited lunch. Y/N jumped up from her seat and bounded over to Oz and the group, beaming.
"C'mon guys, let's go!" you chimed.
Oz's blush didn't go unnoticed this time, fortunately for them, you decided to not comment on it. Their friends however, saw their flush and exchanged knowing looks with eachother. Oz was about to reply when they was cut off by the their flame-headed friend.
Amira stepped up and put a hand on Oz's shoulder, smiling at you, "Actually, we've got some questions to ask about that test coming up, you two can go ahead without us."
Oz's eyes widened, immediately realizing Red's intentions. They tried not to let their panic show and assure her that they could wait, "Oh, we can wait outside for you guys! Really, ah, it's no problem!"
Ozzie's friends merely shook their heads as Amira patted their shoulder reassuringly. "Nah, you two should go, we wouldn't wanna hold you back. There probably aren't many tables left, anyways. We'll catch up sooner or later."
You nodded understandingly, agreeing with the logical reasoning. You turned to Oz, who still seemed conflicted. Do they really not want to walk with me? Maybe I'm being too pushy. They probably feel uncomfortable. Should I just go alone then? "If they're cool with it then we can go on ahead, if that's alright with you? If not, I can just go ahead and grab us a table, I guess."
Your tone was as upbeat as ever, but the look in your eyes contradicted how you sounded. Oz noticed the slight disappointment, and sensed the embarrassment you felt. They were the embodiment of fear, after all. They picked up on these things quite easily.
The anthropomorphic fellow looked back at their friends, who only smiled in return. When they turned back to you and nodded, your demeanor brightened once again. They offered their hand shyly, allowing you to take it and lead them to the lunchroom. Before they made it out the door, they turned around and gave a death glare to their so called friends, who just waved back teasingly. Brian wiggled his eyebrows with a knowing grin while Vicky and Amira made kissy faces at him. 'Wow, thanks guys. Glad to have you on my side. Your contributions are greatly appreciated.' Oz rolled his eyes at them, focusing his attention back on you.
It didn't take long for you two to make it to the cafeteria, Oz's blush miraculously lessened during the short trip, while yours seemed to grow as you realized your hands were still intertwined. Once you arrived, you both paused, scanning the area for an open table. Seeing none, you looked at eachother and shrugged, taking a seat at a table currently also occupied by Liam and Scott.
They seemed to be in a heated one-sided argument over the purpose of a double creme de la Gruyére and meringes. Liam was set on explaining why it wasn't meant to be eaten, but rather savored through Instagram posts. Meanwhile, Scott was rather confused as to why he couldn't just eat Liam's food for him. Neither seemed to notice you and Oz sit down across from them.
Oz turned to you, in an attempt to start a conversation rather than sit in awkward silence watching the two others continue ranting about Liam's food, "So..." you turned to him. "Were you planning on buying a lunch? I see neither of us packed one." Oz internally slapped their forehead, already scolding themself for starting the conversation so stupidly. 'What the hell was that, idiot? You can't even start a conversation, no wonder the don't like you back.' The phobias heard them, being little semi-personified parts of his subconsious and all, and patted their shoulders reassuringly.
You chuckled, seeing the cute phobias clearly trying to boost Oz's confidence, and reach out to rub the head of one with your fingers. Oz smiled slightly, not pulling away. You replied, "I wasn't feeling especially hungry today. Maybe I'll just munch on a few snacks or something. Liam's cheese ice cream thingy looks pretty good, I might just..."
With lightning fast reflexes, you reached out and grabbed the dessert, "...Swipe it."
You glanced at Oz. They smiled, amused with your mischievous action. Observing the dish closer, you found that it was ( unsurprisingly ) untouched. "Well, let's see if it tastes as good as it looks, shall we?"
You raised a spoonful of the dessert up, exclaimed a 'Bon appetite!' and put it in your mouth. Your eyes immediately lit up, already shoveling several more spoonfuls into your mouth as Oz watched. They felt a little jealous, wanting to try the creme as well, but not wanting to disturb the adorable sight of you with sparkling eyes and puffed up cheeks.
They rested their cheek on on their palm, looking at you with a raised brow and a shy smile, "That good huh?"
You paused, taking a few seconds to swallow so you wouldn't choke. After a bit, you spoke up, nodding enthusiastically, "Yep, it's by far one of the best desserts I've ever had! Wanna try?" You readied another spoonful, lifting it towards the monster across you.
Being the naturally curious monster that they are, Oz reflexively answered with a 'sure', interested to taste a bit of the dessert you seemed to have fallen in love with in mere seconds. They had expected for you to hand them the spoon. As would be the normal assumption when one says they're interested in trying a new food that is primarily consumed with a spoon. But alas, they was incorrect in their assumption. What dearest Ozzie-boy didn't expect was for you to scoop up a portion of the cheese-cream-thing and hold it up to their mouth, ready to feed them.
"Here comes the train, choo choo~" you giggled, amused at their sudden hesitation. Your smile slightly faltered, but you couldn't have Oz not eat anything for lunch. What were you? A monster? Wait... don't answer that.
Anyways, you waved the spoon closer to Ozzie's mouth in a zig zag motion, trying to get them to take a bite while ignoring the intense surges of cringe that seemed to explode throughout your being. What in the name of the seven hells am I doing? Man, this cutie's got me whipped.
Oz's face erupted into a prominent blush, caught severely off guard by your action.
'They– Spoon?? Me???'
At this point, the spoopy spoop was so spooped he couldn't even spoop! Er– speak! The phobias were dancing around on Oz's shoulders, excited. You were trying to feed them. They couldn't think straight? Well, they doesn't really think straight to begin with. He's open to loving others of any gender— Ahem, temporarily unable to speak, Oz timidly opened their mouth slightly, allowing you to feed them a small piece. As the ice cream dissolved on their tongue, their embarrassment seemed to melt away as well, and evolve into pleasant surprise.
'Holy shit this is amazing.'
Oz nodded eagerly when you offered another spoonful, enjoying the rich flavor and the creamy texture that sent waves of deliciousness through their mouth with each sickeningly sweet bite.
'Wait... Holy shit, we just shared an indirect kiss?!'
Their jaw froze mid chew. You merely smiled again, formulating a – fairly accurate – guess on what just crossed Ozzie's mind.
"So Ozzie, d'ya want another indirect kiss, or would you prefer the real thing~?"
• || a/n || •
err0r_030
oz.exe has stopped working
rebooting system...
...
...
reb0ot comp1ete
pr09ramm1n9 re5tart...
...
...
...
re5tart pr09rammed
in1t1atin9 re5tart 5equence
Poor guy? Why'd you guys have to flirt with him so much? You know the precious baby needs some time before letting himself relax and start being witty? How dare you -_-
^^ I WROTE THIS LAST YEAR B R U H
pleasepleasePLEASE tell me if I forgot to change one of Ozzie's pronouns in this, also Happy Almost New Year yall, I'm extremely sorry for just spewing out false promises but my resolution this year is to try and pick writing back up again!!