Sparrow Of The Dawn : Chapter Five
Sam x Willa (Fem OC)
Warnings: Swearing, One mention of the word 'Daddy', mentions of boners? Mild accidental groping, light talk of spit kink if you squint, a lot of movie references, Jumpscare Warning: Jeremy Allen White, mentions of very minor injury, Girls Night (gender neutral term), guys being dudes, mentions of avoiding a car accident, fluff, and per usual Sam just being his usual self.
Word Count: 8k.
Author’s Note: Taco Bell IS on the boycott list and just included for entertainment purposes. Also, if you need help with figuring out which companies are on the boycott list you can download the “No Thanks” app to keep track!
Summary: Sam unfortunately finds himself in not so meet cute with Willa. Hopeful that he doesn't cross her path again; the world works in mysterious ways and not always in your favor.
That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings
“Are you callin' me darlin', are you callin' me bird?”
‘If it weren’t for bad luck, we wouldn’t have any luck at all’ is a phrase my grandfather repeated growing up. I feel that a little more deeply these days, especially when it comes to my truck. As I sit here, willing her to turn over every time I twist the key, I lose a bit more hope. I have got to get her looked at. I pull my phone from my back pocket and text the group chat, praying that someone is awake this early.
Me: Is anyone awake that loves me enough to drive me into work. Edith wont start again ☹️
Tweedle Dee 🦐: It’s your lucky day.
It only takes about ten minutes before Josh pulls up in his white Jeep truck, and I’ve never been more thankful that we all live so close.
“You look awfully dapper for 7:30 in the morning,” I remark, eyebrow cocked.
“And you are just a pair of cargo shorts away from being Steve Irwin, but you don’t hear me questioning you.” He retorts. Touche. “I thought I was dropping you off at the newspaper office?”
“You are, but we’re going to Wolfe’s Neck to take some nature photos for the assignment we’re working on. I’m meeting her at the office first.” Josh and I haven’t spoken much in the last few days; he’s always busy lately, working at the bar or devoid of his phone for hours, so I fill him in on the project.
“An incredible idea, Sammy. All hers, I assume?” He chides.
“Not.. all hers. I helped.” I speak a bit more defensively than I mean to.
“Convincing.”
“I did! We’re even using a couple of my film cameras because I’m so nice.” I further defend my stance.
He pulls up to the curb, effectively cutting our conversation short, thankfully, and I exit his car.
“Sam!” He yells jovially, and I turn around, his window fully unrolled. “Have a good day, Sammy Boy! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” He twists the dial on his stereo volume. The soundtrack of my suffering plays to the tune of ‘Barbie Girl’ by Aqua. I wave him ‘goodbye’ with a simple middle finger as he drives off. As I make my way back to the front door, there she is.
Birdie.
She greets me with, “I bet he’s a nightmare in the morning.”
“You have no idea.” I reach for the door, opening it for us both and letting her walk in first because I am a gentleman; however, I am still a pain in the ass. “Is it not too early in the morning for my voice today?”
“It's always far too early to hear your voice, Samuel.” She presses the button on the elevator and twists her shoulders toward me.
“How are we supposed to work together if you refuse to talk to me, huh?”
“It’s not like taking pictures requires conversation.” The sound of the elevator dinging catches our attention, and we both enter. Birdie reaches to press the correct floor button.
“How about,” I start, facing her and smirking with a cocked eyebrow, “we stop for coffee and breakfast, my treat? Since now, I don’t have to break the news to you that you have to drive.”
“You.. have my attention.” The elevator arrives, and we exit right, down the hallway, through the glass door, and past the reception desk. Sharon greets us warmly with a wave; she’s no Daisy, but she is lovely. Once we reach the cubicles, we separate, unloading our belongings on our own desks. Birdie looks good today. Her earth-toned Patagonia pullover fits snuggly, along with the black leggings on her legs. The tail ends of her brown bob poking out the bottom of her tan Carhartt beanie.
“I see you’ve dressed for the occasion.”
“Oh, uh yeah. I couldn’t exactly wear my Steve Maddens in the forest.” She stares down at the white socks and brown hiking boots I know are on her feet. “Where are we going, by the way? You never told me, just said, ‘I have a place.’”
“Wolfe’s Neck State Park, you been before?”
“Surprisingly, no. It’s on my list though.”
“It doesn’t open until 9, so we have a little bit of time to kill before we have to leave; it’s only a half-hour drive. Maybe forty-five or fifty with breakfast.”
“Did you wanna hit up Dunkies for breakfast?” she asks.
“Please, god no. They can never get my food right. I swear they have a secret vendetta against vegetarians.”
“I didn’t know you were a vegetarian. Is it an animals with faces thing?”
“Nah, Daniel, bet me fifty bucks I couldn’t do it. I never turn down a bet.” I sit down on my desk and cross my arms. Looking at her over the divider.
“How’d that turn out for you?”
“A new diet and fifty bucks richer,” I snicker.
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The trail I lead her down is not a very long one. I can hear her small feet padding behind me, breaking branches and rustling leaves in quick steps. She takes two to match my every one. I figured one of the shorter trails would work better for getting in and out with enough time to head back and finish our project.
“Ooooh, it's giving Twilight,” she beams, eyes huge with excitement.
I turn to follow her gaze toward the large, moss-covered rock wall. A few fallen, slimmer trees lay around the bottom. She runs over toward it.
“This is the skin of a killer, Bella.” Reenacting a scene from the movie. A movie I’ve definitely never seen. “I don’t care. You won’t hurt me.” she quotes dramatically, switching from Edward to Bella. She matches Bella’s awkward movements perfectly. It’s hard not to laugh, her head bobbing, arms flailing, jumping back and forth between spots for each character. I haven’t seen this side of her yet, A fun side. Who knew Birdie had it in her?
“You know I’ve never seen Twilight before.” I lie as I slip one strap off my shoulder and pull my bag around to the front of my body. Unzipping the compartment that has her camera in it, I pull it out and give it a wiggle. She walks over to meet me.
“Never had a girlfriend in high school who forced you to watch it?” she smiles, jokingly as she takes the camera from my hand and slips the strap around her neck, checking over her settings.
“Nope.” popping the ‘p’, “Never really dated til I got to college.” I take out my own camera.
“Aw got no game huh?” She makes a mocking frown at me as we walk down the trail.
“Got no game, huh?” I mimic her. Way to go, Sammy. Wicked come back. That’ll teach her.
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We take our time, snapping photos as we go until we reach the water. It's beautiful here. Large formed rocks surround the lake that makes up an amazing scenic view. The sunshine only adds to the effect. It's breathtaking every time. I can’t believe she’s never been here before. We slowly walk up to the edge of the water. She finds little crevices that the water runs through. In her continued child-like wonder she can’t help but kneel down to run her fingers through it, picking up small rocks to inspect before dropping them back into the tiny flowing river. The sun’s rays bounce off the water, the reflection a bit blinding, but I’ll take it on a day like today. It sparkles off the waves created by the small gusts of wind, which keeps me comfortable, but I notice the little shivers that run through her shoulders. Despite the minimal clouds in the sky, the sun isn’t strong enough to truly warm you from within this time of year.
I watch as Birdie steps onto one of the taller rock formations. She brings the camera to her eye, the clicking sound pleasantly mixed with the sound of all the petite rivers running nearby. She drops her camera and tilts her face toward the sun, eyes closed, taking in the warmth from the sunshine above. She looks as peaceful as it feels out here. I snap a photo of her. She brings her arms out as if she's standing at the head of the Titanic; I snap another one. That is what Maine is about, the simplistic beauty of being with nature. Any time of year, any weather. Just enjoying the feeling of connecting to nature. Water, trees, rocks, sunshine. All of it. Always.
I’m so lost in thoughts of her and home I don’t notice her suddenly standing in front of me.
“Earth to Samuel.” She sing-songs, fingers waving in front of my face.
I shake my head, willing my brain to focus on the task at hand. “Yeah, what.”
“Can I put this in your bag?” She’s holding a rock. A damp, white-ish looking rock clutched between her delicate fingers.
“Uh, sure?” I’m very confused. I open a compartment, and as she places the rock inside, she shivers again. I guess it is chilly despite the day’s sunshine. It's still March after all, though I’m not a great gauge for temperature because I run warm.
“Are you cold, Birdie?” I question.
She scrunches her nose in response. I fight with the thought of how cute that is. “I’ll be fine,” she dismisses. “I’m always cold.”
“Here, take my scarf. I’m hot anyway.” Pulling my scarf from around my neck.
She immediately gives me a side-eye.
“It’s.. not gonna bite, Birdie?” I tease her with a little wave of the scarf.
“Not my name,” she scrunches her nose again, apprehensively reaching out to grab it. “Biting I'm not worried about. It being magically cursed into strangling me when I least suspect it, on the other hand.” She tosses her hands back and forth like an invisible set of scales. Her hands work intently as she folds the scarf in half and places it around her neck, taking the ends through the loop and pulling it tight.
“What am I? Harry Potter?” I scoff.
She lets out a cackle. “Not even remotely. More like Lucius Malfoy.” She raises an eyebrow at me.
“Wow, straight to Lucius. Not even Draco, huh? Yeah, I guess I am Daddy.” I stop in my tracks as I watch her pluck another rock from the tiny river leading out toward the water.
“Ew. God, no.” Her infectious laugh hits me right in the gut.
“See, Lucius was evil.” She stands, and her eyes give me a once over before placing the rock in my hand, presumably to be put in my bag with the other one. “Draco had a good heart even if he was a little chicken. Plus,” raising her pointer finger, “he was hot. And you are neither of those things.” She turns back to the small river of flowing water.
My mind flashes back to the other night at the bar, where she’s sitting with her friend. “No, you’re right, Wilson. Sam IS cute.” Replaying in my head.
“Oh, really?” my mischievous side coming out to play. I step toward her.
“Mhmm.”
“OH, REALLY??” I repeat louder, taking another step. She stands to face me.
“YES,” she says pointedly.
I smile wide, now looking down at her.
“That’s not what your friend said the other night.” I bite my lip, tilting my head to the side and running my hand along my jawline. I watch as her eyes follow my movement, a fire lighting behind them. I know I’ve gotten under her skin by calling her out.
She raises both of her eyebrows, this time taking a step toward me to fully bridge the gap between us. Nearly chest to chest, nose to nose, she says, “Wow, I’m actually shocked you were able to pull your head out of your ass long enough to hear someone speak besides yourself.”
I chuckle, running my tongue along my teeth. “I don’t hear you denying it. Go on, you can say it. You think I’m hot.”
“And why would I need to deny such a clearly false statement, Samuel?” Confusion etched across her face. “You know, when you come up for air, usually you can hear better. You should try it sometime.”
“So, that’s not what I heard, huh? ‘You’re right, he IS really cute.’ ? Your friend never said that?”
“No, you didn’t. Because no, they didn’t.” She huffs. I pick up on the use of ‘they.’
“Right, right.” I nod my head. “So, do they frequently lie to embarrass you?” a silent acknowledgment between us.
She pulls out her phone, tapping away.
“Whaaaat are ya doing?” I question her clear deflection.
“Just looking to see if there is a quick care clinic open on our way home because, obviously, you need to have your ears checked out,” She pockets her phone. “Can we continue, please?” A swift eye roll follows as she turns to walk back toward the little river.
“Wait, wait, wait,” a breathy chuckle falling from my lips. “If it's not you who thinks I’m cute. Then it must be your friend, right?” She opens her mouth to try to cut me off before I even get started, but, “So, can I have their number then?” slips out before she can manage. I relish in the fact that I know I’m bothering her.
“No, no. Absolutely not.”
“Wow, for being Birdie, you’re not much of a wing-woman, are you?”
“First off, they would hate you. Second off, what makes you think I’d ever be your wing-woman. And THIRD-OFF, that’s not my name.”
I feel a bit of satisfaction and a warm swell of my belly when her nose scrunches in distaste.
I wander off back toward the trail we came down, keeping my gaze pointed toward the opening in the trees. Trying to focus in between the little gaps for anything interesting or photo-worthy. The leaves are not quite growing yet, and the ground still wet with leftover melted snow. I can hear the squish of the damp soil with every step I take. The lead into spring is probably my favorite time of year. Most people enjoy the summer because the weather is nice and warm and the surrounding cities are alive with tourists and events. But those moments of fresh life leading into spring show you that despite the dark coldness of the winter, you can still grow and bloom into beautiful potential. The hope of it all, to come out the other end of the darkness to greet the sunshine, is why it's such a valued season to me.
Just then, Birdie comes padding over to me with two more rocks in her hands.
“Sam, I found more.” She calls on her way over. I, once again, pull my bag to the front, and she opens a pocket, attempting to deposit the rocks herself.
“No, not there, I have a lens in there.” I zip it back up and choose a different one. “Try this one.” As she’s trying to fit the larger of the two in there, something clicks inside my brain.
“You’re one of those girls, aren’t you?”
“One of what?” Her brows are knit in frustration when she realizes the rock is too big. She picks another, thankfully empty, pocket.
“One of those girls that sits around with her crystals and her tarot and her moon water.” I chide.
Her hands stop what they are doing and she slowly looks up at me, eyes narrowing. “How do you know about moon water?”
“It’s a long story.” I shake my head and sidestep the comment so I don’t have to talk about ‘she who shall not be named’. “You know my brother is into all that shit. He’s got crystals all over the place.”
“The brother that owns the bar or the one with the mustache?”
“Uhh.. both of my brothers have a mustache.”
“You sure about that.” She smirks. Oh, they’re both gunna just looove that. “Actually, why don’t you give him my number since we seem to actually have things in common.”
“No.” immediately denying her. “If you refuse to be my wing-woman. I refuse to be your wingman. No way.”
“Fine then, at least make yourself useful and find some space to fit this in your bag.” Flashing the rock, she couldn’t fit before.
“Seriously, how many more of these do you need, Birdie? My bag is getting heavy.”
“How about you hold this one.” She pulls a small crystal from her bra, and drops it into my open hand. “It’s good for grounding. Maybe it’ll help center you. Woo sah, Sam. Woo Sah.”
Very funny.
I offer to drive the way home and now I’m curled uncomfortably in the driver's seat of Birdie’s car. Partly to get warm again and partly because of the intense growling of my stomach.
“We should stop for lunch before we head into the office,” I suggest.
“Where?” She pulls out her phone, searching for options.
“Is there a Taco Bell nearby?”
“You can eat at Taco Bell? I wouldn’t think a Mexican food place would be vegetarian friendly.”
“Taco Bell is hardly Mexican, but you can sub almost anything out for beans. Plus, I’m craving a crunchwrap.”
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We pull up to the drive-through speaker, and I place my order. “I’ll have a cravings box with a black bean crunchwrap supreme, a spicy potato taco, and cheesy fiesta potatoes, and a Large Dr. Pepper, please.” Her eyes are boring holes into the side of my skull as I pull out my card to pay. I scrunch my face in question.
“Nothing.” is all she says.
She leans over the center console to place her order, elbows perched and ass off the seat. I know she’s trying to be able to project her voice from across the car, but she is so close. I shrink back into my seat to try and give her space, but I can't escape her sweet floral perfume. Oh, she smells so good. I close my eyes, reveling in the mixture of orange blossoms and vanilla as it clouds my brain.
“I’ll have two soft taco supremes and a medium Baja Blast, please.” She plops her ass back in her seat, “Ready?”
I open my eyes again. “Yep.”
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I hand the cashier my card and receive the receipt and we pull up to the second window. She is staring at me again with the most unpleasant face.
“Okay, what gives. Why are you looking at me like that?”
The worker opens the window and hands us our order. Birdie's own customer service voice shining through her ‘thank you so much!’ Unwrapping our straws and sticking them in our respective drinks while I slowly pull away from the building. I reach for my Dr. Pepper and take a large, satisfying gulp.
“How can you possibly drink that?”
“A Dr. Pepper?”
“Yes! It's like.. Against the law in at least 22 states to not order Baja Blast when you go to Taco Bell.” she quips.
“Oh, you’re not gunna like this.” I pause.
She stares intently.
I take a deep breath in and exhale slowly, “I.. don’t.. Like Baja Blast.”
She stares some more. This time, the brown of her eyes barely peeking through the thin space between her eyelids.
“Dr. Pepper just hits better.” I shrug.
“We- Are not friends.” Turning back to the food in her lap.
“Consider it one of my 19 crimes,” mumbling around a bite of my lunch.
“Every sip is a little act of warfare, Sam.” She argues a bit further down the road. “I cannot believe you would commit such.. Such TREASON in my own car.” Her hands wave theatrically in front of her.
“Oh, you’re a Queen now, are you?”
“It is my car, so if I say I’m the Queen of my car, then I’m the Queen of my car. And I rule that drinking Dr. Pepper is an act of treason.” She crosses her arms, chin raised high, a playful smirk sitting on her plush, chapstick-covered lips.
I laugh, a good, full-bellied laugh. She’s fun when she wants to be. When she’s not being so combative.
“I’m so sorry, Your Grace,” I respond and enthusiastically take a bite of my spicy potato taco. She rolls her eyes at me.
“How much food did you order?”
“What? I’m a growing boy!” I argue.
As soon as I take another bite, chipotle sauce comes out the bottom and lands right in my lap. “Oh shit!” I once again say around my food. She starts to rummage through the bag for some napkins. When she finds one, I reach my hand out to take it, but she bypasses me completely, leaning right over the center console with her head nearly in my lap, hands working to try and get the sauce out before it stains.
That’s how I ended up praying to the Gods above that I don’t accidentally pop a boner while she cleans up my crotch. What have I done to deserve this?
“It’s fine. It’s not on the seat. It’s just on your pants. Hold on.” I squirm under the pressure of her fingers as she tugs to flatten out the fabric of my khakis to make sure she gets it all.
“It's fine, Birdie. Birdie!” raising my voice to catch her attention, to no avail. “I can take care of it when we get back. Or we can stop off at my apartment, and I can change.” I plead, desperately wishing for this to be over.
“I almost got it. Stop moving!” I glance down as she slaps my thigh. Holy shit. She licks the napkin then and I swear I see Jesus in the middle of the freeway. I press the brakes to slow down to avoid a collision. Trying my best to focus on the road ahead, but instead, now all I can think about is her spit on my dick. Oh God. My eyes go wide as soon as the thought crosses my mind, and my dick definitely twitches.
Oh, don’t go there. Not now. Think Sam, Think. Grandma Althea. Her house is old and smells like moth balls. Her hands are always dry from all the fabric she touches because she’s always sewing something. She coughs really loud and wet because of the cigarettes she smokes. I breathe a heavy sigh of relief when Birdie sits up. She clears her throat, “I uh think it should be all set.”
We drive the rest of the way back to the office in silence. I really hope she didn’t notice. But then again, I do have terrible luck.
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When I walk into the dark room, Birdie is already in there; the red lights casting a glow on her that reminds me of the first time she walked into my brother’s bar. Though now she’s rifling through the lower shelves.
“Whatcha lookin’ for?”
“I uhh, I haven’t developed film since college. Tryna find some instructions.” Her ass in the air as she continues her search.
“I don’t have nine film cameras for nothing, Birdie. I know how to develop film I can help.”
She stands and faces me, the uncomfortable expression on her face taking on a completely different view under the light. I wish I knew her well enough to know why she’s so uncomfortable.
I get us set up with our film canisters and developing mixture while she grabs the rolls of film from my bag. We each carefully cut the film off the cassette. I try to focus on what I’m doing instead of how our fingers gently brush each other while loading the film onto the reel. I pour the developing mixture into each canister while she watches on.
“We have to shake them every, like thirty seconds for a few minutes, and then we can do the stop bath,” I instruct her, and she nods.
Her small, delicate hands hold the rather large container as she shakes it back and forth. “Like this?” She questions, her brow furrowed. And.. I am only a man. Staring too closely at the motion of her hands, I freeze. For christ’s sake Sam. Be normal for 5 seconds. As I clear my throat to answer, I drop my canister. In her attempt to help me we end up crashing our heads together.
“OW.” “Oh Fuck.” We mumble at the same time. I feel around for the edge of the counter and end up knocking the other film canisters into the sink.
“For fuck’s sake,” I whine. I reach to grab those, and Birdie bends down to grab the one I dropped. And, it is so dark in here she ends up ramming her head right into my junk.
“Fuck!” I yell. At the rate we’re both complaining, I’m sure they think we’re trying to fuck. If only I were that lucky. Instead, I now need to ice my goods.
I hold my breath, willing the pain to stop.
“Sorry.” her apology is small.
A strained “It’s fine” tumbles from my lips.
We continue awkwardly fumbling around each other, trying to make sure the rest of the containers stay properly agitated, and instead, she gets properly agitated. If this was a cartoon, I’m positive that steam would be coming out of her ears.
“It’s too small in here; you are far too large, and it's too dark.” She huffs.
“I don't know what to tell you, Birdie. It’s a darkroom, and I cannot get any smaller.”
“That’s not my fucking name.” Angrily, setting down the container with a loud thud.
We add the stop bath and then the fixer, making sure to keep a good distance from each other, and then finally rinse and soak the film.
When we hang the film up to dry, I realize I have about a foot on her.
“Need me to get you a stool, shortie? Or should you just hop on, and I could lift you up.” A cocky smirk spreads across my lips.
“Nah, you’re the man you could do the heavy lifting,” she makes air quotes around ‘heavy lifting’.
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Once they’re fully dry, I gather the film strips and bring them to the lightbox. Scooting our stools close and setting each strip up one by one to see the negatives of our photos. Shooting nature is one of my favorite things but Birdie really does have an incredible eye for it. Of course, I’d never tell her that because she would hold it over my head. Our styles are very different, which is clear to see lined up next to each other, but they still look amazing together.
“These.. Are really great, Birdie.” I smile down at her and bump her with my shoulder gently. Her face softens a bit and I can’t help but think how beautiful she looks. I am a man- I’m not blind.
“The hard part is choosing the best ones. It feels like choosing my favorite children.” Her infectious laugh plays through my ears, and I smile back.
We take some time discussing which ones have the best lighting or the best proportions. Which ones we think will make great features and finally settle on eight ‘prized children’ to print. The other eight photos selected for our presentation will be digitally edited and printed outside of the darkroom, making at least half of this project easy. At least the editing and printing we can do from the comfort of our homes in our PJs. Which is exactly what I will be doing after I see Daniel for dinner.
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We settle back in the dark room using the projectors to print our respective photos. I don’t know what’s in the air today because I keep messing up. Either exposing for too long or too short and I keep running back and forth between the developing tray and my projector to try to correct it. On one of my passes, I run smack into Birdie. In my effort to stop the collision, I put my one unoccupied hand out to cushion the momentum and ended up grabbing her boob instead. For fucks sake. How does this shit keep happening?
I pause, slowly backing away. She just heavily sighs.
“Well.” She brushes her hands off and adjusts her beanie. “That’s the most action I’ve had in a minute.”
Before I can stop myself, I blurt out, “Is that why you’re such a tight ass?”
“No, I have,” she emphasizes, “such a tight ass because I do squats.” And now I’m thinking about her in tight gym pants doing squats.
“Well, if you ever need help loosening up a bit, you know who to call.”
“Jeremy Allen White?”
“Who?” I match her confused expression.
“Oh, you know, he was in Shameless. The bear?” her brow further knits each second that passes. “He just had that big ad campaign for Calvin Klein?” Calvin Klein? As in.. models. Cool. First Edward, then Draco, now.. models.
“Yes, because I definitely seem like the kind of guy who keeps up with Calvin Klein campaigns.” Really trying to drive the point home with a snarky tone.
“Oh..” I try to read the expression on her face before she continues, “I just thought because of you.. You know, actually know how to dress yourself.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
“You shouldn’t. Your competition is the genre of men who pick up a shirt off the floor and go, ‘yeah, this smells clean’.” She stands on her tiptoes as she hangs her last photo and then promptly exits the darkroom.
A few minutes later, she returns through the circular door. It always reminds me of something a magician would have on stage. A weird sort of contraption to ensure the light stays out and doesn’t ruin the developing process for those inside.
“Sam.” her voice is quiet again, just above a whisper. I look up at her and can barely make out her petite frame in the dark. She’s just standing, a strip of film pinched between her fingers, head hung low.
She continues just as quietly, “Did you.. Um. When did you take these?” The realization hits me. I forgot about the pictures of her.
“Oh. Uhh. You were just.. Ya know in your element. And I sorta thought. Well, this is a big part of what Maine is like. Ya know. Outside, nature. You just seemed.. Happy. Thought it should be captured..” I trail off. Oh God, she’s gonna think it's weird. It's not weird, though, right? No, Sam, it's fine.
The length of silence kills me. The longer she doesn’t talk the more I start to internally freak out. As if being a naturally warm-blooded person wasn’t bad enough, I feel myself start to sweat. I wipe my forehead of the perspiration gathering there and grab at my wrists for a hair tie, of which is conveniently missing at this moment. Please say something… please.
“This.. um.” she pauses, inhaling and exhaling a deep breath. “They’re lovely, Sammy. Thank you.”
Sammy.
“Yeah.. yeah. You’re welcome.” I shift my focus back to my photo.
“So, uh.. Anyways,” she says, calling my attention back to her. “Since we’re printing the photos here and we’re editing the digital ones at home, you can just email me the finished ones when you’re done, and we can talk about the bullet points we’ll go over for the presentation.” She turns on the projector light until she gets the desired contrast, and then turns it off and carries her photo to the developer bin. I grab my own photo and walk over to meet her, dropping it in the solution to join hers. She idly uses the tongs to move her photo around the bin to help the developing process. Just like shaking a Polaroid picture, it doesn’t really work; it only passes the time.
“That sounds good, Birdie.” I reach to grab the other set of tongs and end up blindly bumping her arm in the process, knocking hers to the ground. She bends down to retrieve them, and I set my sights on a different pair of tongs to my left. Two things happen at once. First, I bend slightly to reach the other pair. Second, she headbutts my ass. That’s two parts of me she has head-butted today.
“We’ve touched more today than I ever thought we would in this lifetime.” She groans.
“Think about us touching often, huh?” because I can’t help but try to get under her skin every chance I get.
“Why are you like this?” she complains. She tosses the tongs back on the counter and goes to fish the photo out with her fingers. I lunge to stop her, but I’m too slow.
Now, it’s definitely not life-threatening to handle photo-developing chemicals without gloves. But they are, at the end of the day, chemicals and can sting like a bitch if you have opened wounds. Given how clumsy she is, I anticipate –
“Ouch, FUCK!” she yells, cradling her hand. I grab her by the wrist and shimmy us over to the sink, where I turn the water on cold. When the temperature is cool enough, I pull her finger under the running water.
“That was stupid of you.” I gently scold her. There’s no weight behind my words, just concern.
“How stupid, Sam? I didn’t realize I had a cut. Is it bad? Do I need to see a doctor?” She rattles off.
“Hey, hey, hey.” I leave one hand on her wrist, keeping it in place under the faucet, the other one I place on her cheek. Settling in the crook of her neck beneath her ear. The palm of my hand burns against her cool skin; she really is always cold. Despite the darkness of the room I still pull her gaze to meet mine. “Calm down, okay? You’re fine, I promise. A little stupid, maybe. But you’re fine.” I rub my thumb along her cheekbone, hoping to soothe her worries. I can barely make out her eyelids as they flutter closed for a moment and then open again.
“You promise?” I can feel the anxiety radiating off her.
“I’d pinky promise if you wanted me to.” I joke, and she lets out a small giggle. Pride settles in my chest, knowing a crisis is averted.
“God, that was stupid.” she laughs again and rests her forehead against my chest.
“Lil bit.” I shake my head and slide my hand down to rub her back. Part of me doesn’t want to move from this spot, knowing she's comforted, but I ruin the moment anyway. I pull back from her, hand resting on her shoulder now.
“Lesson learned, huh?”
She zips the top portion of her Patagonia pullover a little higher when we make it outside. I pull out my phone to see who is available to be my chauffeur home.
“Did you need a ride home, Sam?” She asks, pulling her collar up to her ears. The ends of her hair start to stick out.
“I was just going to see which brother was a spare and could swing by.” I drop my eyes back to my phone.
“I can give you a ride home if you want? I know you’re not too far out of my way, I can just.. Drop you off?” placing her foot on the next step down and pointing toward the parking lot.
“You don’t have to do that. None of them do anything productive anyway.” I laugh.
“Do you have more than just the two?” I bite my lip and smile when her brow furrows in confusion.
“No, but you know Daniel? The bouncer? We went to grade school together so he’s been my best friend since we were like six. He's basically a brother at this point. Ya know, brotha from anotha motha.” Her gentle laugh bringing forth another swirl in my belly.
“Oh, I was about to say. I’m not sure the world could realistically handle any more of you Kiszkas.” She says when we finally reach the sidewalk.
“Yeah, they broke the mold with me. Realized I was peak Kiszka genes and said, ‘all done’.”
“Seriously though, I can give you a ride. It’s no big deal.”
I fall in step with her, “Why not? None of my degenerate brothers are answering me anyway.”
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The drive back to my apartment is quiet. Almost too quiet for us. The awkwardness of the day still lingering in the air. I clear my throat to cut the silence, but I can’t think of anything to say to fill it. I just fidget with my fingers instead.
“How are you getting to Boston tomorrow?”
“Uhm, well, the plan was to ride the train in like I did last time, but Edith almost made me miss it.”
“Edith. Right. Your truck.”
“She’s having trouble turning over.” I run a hand through my hair.
“Well, I don’t want to have to worry about you missing your train and messing up this presentation for us by not being there, so i'll pick you up at like 6 a.m. if that’s fine with you.”
“You don’t have to do that. I told you I live close to my brothers. I'm sure one of them can take me.”
“It’s really fine. I have to make the drive anyway and I really want this presentation to go off without a hitch. It would make me feel better if I knew for sure you’d be there.”
I don’t read into that sentiment. She just wants the project to be successful, and I know that. So I agree, much to my dismay. I hate feeling like a burden to people, and with Edith giving me trouble, I feel pretty much like a burden to everyone who has to deal with me.
When we reach my apartment, she pulls over to the sidewalk out front.
“Why don’t you put your number in my phone, and I’ll text you when I leave my apartment. I’m only like ten minutes away.” She pulls her phone out from the center console near her gear shift, and I put my contact info in. Entering my phone number and email under Sammy Kiszka with the camera emoji.
“I put my email in there so you can flag it, but shoot me a text with yours when you get home so I know where to send the digitals.” I place her phone back in her palm. “Thanks again for.. carting me around.” I let out an awkward laugh and scratch the back of my neck.
“No problem, see you in the morning,” she gives me a tight-lipped smile.
“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” I grab my camera bag and hop out of her car. Shutting the door with a small wave through the window.
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When I hear the signature knock, I know Daniel’s arrived. Two quick knocks, a pause, a single knock, another pause, and ending with two quick knocks. I don’t know when he developed that habit, but he only uses it on my door. Penelope lets out a loud boof of a bark and runs ahead of me, her shaggy hair swaying with her little jumps. Well, little for Pen. When I open the door, she’s already sniffing and pawing at his legs.
“I brought beer.” He says as he holds up the 12-pack of coronas, careful not to trip around her. “Hope you got limes.”
“It’s me. Of course, I do.” Gesturing to myself and stepping aside to let him in, “Plus, I have an extra large meat-lovers pizza on the way.” I resist the urge to make a joke about ‘meat-lovers and guys night.’ “So.. tell me what’s wrong.” I continue, following him into my kitchen. He's stacking the beers one by one inside the fridge to keep cold, Penelope impatiently waiting for her attention from her favorite uncle. Her words not mine. I can tell by the expression on his face he’s struggling with whatever is on his mind. He closes the refrigerator door and shrugs off his coat, setting it on a nearby chair.
“Hello, Penny girl. I wouldn’t forget about you, I promise.” She laps at his fingers as he playfully pets her face. Still reaching for her head as he stands, he takes a deep breath. “I, uhh, went on a date last night..”
“Still living up to your name, I see. How was it? Awful? Terrible? Did she have a big head or lipstick on her teeth?”
“Very funny.” He snarks back. “It was terrible, thank you very much.”
Eventually, I get the full story out of him. His date, named Allie, a very adorable waitress he met through a friend of a friend, was completely horrible (pleasant), didn’t let him pay (she wanted to split the bill because her drink was expensive and she felt bad), and.. the kicker? She opened the door for him (she got to the door first). We’re each two slices and a few beers deep, and I can’t figure out where the awful comes in.
“She sounded completely fine, Daniel. I don’t get it?” I lean back against the couch, Penny quietly snoring by my feet.
“She ordered a salad, Sam.” he looks at me expectantly as if that answers everything. “A SALAD!”
“Oh no. A salad. How completely terrible of her.” I roll my eyes.
“I.. want a girl who isn’t afraid of eating a burger.” he shrugs, drawing a sip of his corona and lime.
“Do you want me to be honest with you?” I pinch the bridge of my nose and close my eyes in frustration.
“Always.”
“Bro.. you have got to get over Melody.”
He stands, effectively scaring Pen awake, and I watch him pace back and forth in front of my TV. She pads over to him, nails clicking against the hardwood until she can get her paws on him.
“This has nothing to do with her.” He stops and reaches down to run his fingers through her fur for some comfort through this uncomfortable topic.
The subject of Melody has always been a touchy one. He dated her in high school, and we were all pretty good friends for most of our childhood. I really liked her for him, actually. Until she broke his heart when we all graduated and ran off to college, leaving him in the dust and I was the one who was left to clean up the mess. The mess being Daniel because he was.. A full blown mess. He would never admit that, though. But what can you expect when you get your heart broken for the first time? I kind of get it. He has always been and always will be my brother, and I’ll always be there for him. No matter what. Which naturally means I’ll always harbor a severe distaste for her, even if I know I don’t have to worry about seeing her ever again.
“This has everything to do with her. You haven’t been able to make it past the first day with a girl since you broke up. It’s been what? six years?” I shoot him a pointed glare. He stops pacing and crosses his arms, waiting for whatever else I have to say.
“Have you considered that trying to get to know someone while eating food is actually incredibly awkward? Or is this really just about the monstrous salad?”
“She also wanted to go for a walk after dinner.” He defends. The sigh I let out.. My God. “Why would I wanna go for a walk when I stand all day at work?”
He cannot be serious right now. The weakest arguments known to man.
“You’re an active guy, Daniel. Why wouldn’t you want to go for a walk? Doesn’t Linda always go on about your golf arms or whatever?”
“No, that’s completely different, and you know Linda is the love of my life.” he smiles wide, his tongue poking out just beyond his teeth.
“Right. So what other red flags did she have?” I dig a little more.
“Okay, well, she tried to kiss me?”
“GASP.” I feign shock. “She wanted to kiss you? How very dare she. Daniel, that’s absolutely insane. It’s not like you guys went out on a date or anything.”
“I don’t wanna talk about this anymore.” he plops himself back down on the couch beside me, his shadow following him until she perches her head on his knee. I swear, when he’s here, it's like I don’t exist. “Tell me about poking girl. How’s that going?” He lays his head back and pulls his trucker hat down over his eyes.
“Good. Project is good. I still can’t ever tell if she likes me or not. We bicker and banter all day long. It’s entertaining as hell for me. Then, there are some moments where she acts like a sweet, normal girl. But most of the time, it's just bickering.” I take a swig of my beer. “I gave her a nickname to get under her skin, and she makes this face every time I say it. It's very.. Samantha from Bewitched.” I swallow my laugh down with another sip.
“Whaddya call her?” he asks with a smirk, eyes poking out from underneath the brim.
“Birdie.”
“Birdie? Why on earth does that get under her skin?”
“Dunno.” I shrug. “But it does. And I take sick enjoyment out of irritating the fuck out of her.” I set my empty beer back down on my coffee table.
A maniacal laugh escapes him. Clutching stomach, he bends forward. I start to wonder if he got high before he came over because what the hell is so funny?
“Oh god.” He wipes a tear from his eye and rights himself on the couch. “So you think she’s cute, huh?”
“I mean.. I.. have eyes, yeah?” I answer with confusion heavily present in my tone. “But we don’t get along. As in cannot go five minutes without bickering, don’t get along.”
“You always did like em’ psychotic, Sam. None of us are stupid.” he chuckles.. to himself because I am not laughing.
“No, I don’t!”
“Right, and Chelsea was what? Totally normal? You didn’t listen to a single one of us on that one, and we all told you.” I forgot about her. The girl I dated right before ‘she who shall not be named.’ We saw each other for only a few months but what a whirlwind it was. We went to a concert an hour away, and she ran off with one of the roadies. A fricken roadie? Left me there to get home by myself, considering, yep, she drove. But again, she was hot, so what was I to do?
“Hey now! She wasn’t.. that bad.” I say innocently.
“Right, that’s what you always say. Sam – I never take advice from anyone – Kiszka.”
“Yeah, alright, keep laughing. As if I’d take advice from ‘One Date Daniel’.” I elbow him in my defense. “Besides, I’m not sure I have much to worry about. Once the project is over, I won’t have to see her again unless we actually do well.”
I get up and head to the kitchen to retrieve another beer from the fridge, and my own dog doesn’t even glance up at me. She just rests peacefully by Daniel’s side. I open the drawer to the left and pick up the bottle opener, and pop the top. I take a long drink before I reenter the living room.
“I uhh, actually the receptionist at the Boston Globe is really cute. Her name is Daisy. We hit it off a bit when I was there last.” I point to the flowers laid on the shelf. “I stopped by the farmer’s market after work and picked up some daisies. Thought I might ask her out tomorrow.”
“Daisies for Daisy. Real creative, Sam.”
“Hey!”
“How’s Birdie gonna feel about that?” he inquires. I pick up the flowers from where they rest and give them a light sniff.
“Oh, she’ll hate it. She already chirped me about hitting on Daisy last time we were there. Said something about ‘it's easier watching teenagers flirt.’ or whatever.” I set them back down and take up my spot on the couch.
“Yeah, you never did have any game.” He tips his corona back, finishing the remaining liquid and setting it on the coffee table.
“You say that like your game is any better.” I shove his shoulder.
“I may be ‘One Date Daniel,’ but at least I get dates.” he chides, linking his fingers together with a crack of his knuckles in front of him and placing them behind his head.
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Chapter Four
Chapter Six
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thoughts while watching the first harry potter:
listen i started this list a little late im ngl but notable thoughts so far are me thinking of dumbledore as a gay idiot and still loving hagrid
do you think hes speaking in parseltongue in the zoo when hes speaking to the snake
forgot boats existed
these idiots do scream a lot dont they
i forgot how light hearted this universe really is in the first couple movies
yer a wizard harry, okay hagrid maybe slide him into it a little better
we get it tuney you have fucking trauma, doesnt mean you should abuse a child
hasnt everyone had their name down since they were born, hagrid? theres a list
i like that his umbrella is pink
are you paying for those damages hargid? stop taking the door off the hinges
though, if the dursleys are, keep breaking shit
speaking about dragons on the the fucking tube, its a miracle harry didnt get in trouble with the ministry sooner
what is hagrid's usual? does anyone know???
fucking Quirrell, cant wait for your epic love story with the dark lord
maybe we should tell the 12 year old how the fuck everyone knows his name, just maybe
they do a great job of getting the wonder down pat
how much money and licensing do you think it took for them to get all these owls on set
ahh yes, antisemitism the bank
how many vaults are in gringotts?? also if harry's vault is the potters vault, a literal like sacred 28 family, one of the original families, and its number 600 something, how many were there before the potters?? did the potters get a vault recently? or is this james and lily's vault?? how rich were james and lily if so??
look at ollivander, crazy tinker uncle, love him
this might be the socialist in me but why do people have to pay for wands if everyone needs one??
why is the dark lords twin wand just sitting around on the shelf, ollie me boy??
do you think thats Harry's true wand or do you think thats because of the horcux thing?? do you harry had to get another wand after he died?? did he? i dont remember the last movie
is ollie me boys actor wearing contacts or are his eyes just like that??
thats a very weird way of showing Halloween 81, very misleading
hagrid said ill predict voldys rise in the first movie so we can have some plot development
hagrid is late to everything isnt he? i can feel it in my bones
i swear ive seen these movies, and ive even read the first book, i just dont remember shit
youd think theyd have someone in the know stationed close to the entrance for the platform, for any muggleborns
ginnys actress really had no fucking lines in this movie did she, just had to stand there
oh wait she said good luck
amazing work ginny
ooh a warm filter
can muggles see the express? like just running from london to scotland
wicked!
you didnt have to show the woman the sad sandwich ron
i think the trolly replenishes magically, i think thats how thats how that works, i want to believe that
god i cant tell if i would love or hate hermione, shes pretentious but so was i at that age
god dont fucking point your wand right in someones face mione
how does mione know who harry is?? why does she care?
look at the tiny first years, might just go and pinch theyre cheeks
MINNIEEEE i love you minnie
looking stunning minnie, the green brings out the sternness in your brow
you go minnie, give your speech, thats my head of house
shut up draco, youre not bond
you pretentious fuckwit, your hair is brassy anyways
if this is a class of kids born in the middle of a war, how big are the usual class sizes wtf
THE FUCKING CLAP
fucking propaganda ron, you slytherin hater
what order are these names going in, did they just randomized the list
oooh we get quiet for the boy who lived, jesus let him keep living
the fact that for the rest of these people its just silent is so fucking funny to me, Harry's just fucking whispering to himself
get their attention minnie
me dads a muggle, mums a witch, bit of a shock for him when he found out
NICK, love to see you buddy
i have no emotional attachment to peeves but i feel i should mention him here
the stairs still piss me off, why the fuck would you make moving stair cases
who sets out gloves for the next day? am i the weird one who doesnt??
Minnie, you are the love of my life
shut up snape you dramatic bloodpurist incel
i know theyre setting him up to be mistaken as the villain but jesus christ hes still an asshole
your robes Neville, you forgot your robes
its weird how they have to learn all these latin charms yet only have to say up to get their brooms to work
why wont you go after him, hes obviously not exactly in control, Hooch
does Hooch only teach first years? she is quite literally the equivalent of a history teacher who coaches football
what the fuck is Quirells classroom
they dont make the house teams because no first years can try out, Ron
MINNIE PLAYED QUIDDITCH?!?!? WHY DIDN'T I KNOW THIS
why didnt you speak up earlier Mione wtf
bc the fire wont give you away, harry, better hide
FLUFFY, WHOS A GOOD BOY
they have much worse things locked up in the school, Ron
Oliver wood is a bloody liar because i still dont fuckign understand quidditch, also theres like 500 rules, wtf
thats a shitty explanation of how the game works, Oliver
BLOW IT UP SEAMUS
SHES TWO FEET BEHIND YOU RON YOU IDIOT
carrot cake? on halloween?
dont shrug as if you didnt literally bully her ron
thought youd oughta know, bit of an understatement Quirell
no duh the trolls left the dungeon ron
lying: the best start to any friendship
we're at a net zero points for gryffindor for the year at the moment
the amount of interaction these kids have with professors is so weird to me, is this what small class size do to kids?? its weird
not comforting Oliver
Okay i understand Oliver simps now, I get it okay
are there no backups or subs for quidditch? feels like there should be, like of all the games
set him on fire mione, i know hes not the villain of the movie but god he sucks
fancy flying from harry fucking potter
okay but also i feel like there are some things we should not trust hagrid with, like hes not that great at keeping secrets
why is harry excited about christmas if he thinks hes not getting presents? i knw there are other aspects but like thats the only reasont o get up early
i always remember this scene at night for some reason??
not just an invisibility cloak, THE invisibility cloak ron
btw who gives it to harry? is it remus? is it dumbledore? is it like an inheritance thing? whats up with that?
there are jumpscares in harry potter
he very much can hide, filch
stop being a narc mrs norris
does harry even know what his parents look like at this point? how does he know who the fuck is in the mirror of erised?? he doesnt have that stupid scrapbook yet does he
oh they nod, sure lets clear up that plot hole
they shouldve put sirius and remus in the mirror in that scene, shown his whole family, wouldve been a nice setup
how does rupert grint already look so tired as a twelve year old
big speech to give to a twelve year old Dumbledore, when you wont even tell him what you see
Emma really does just slam that book on Daniels hand, thats mustve fucking sucked
the fact that ive watched two movies that had Nicholas Flamel in two very different roles this year is very strange to me
well thats probably on account of it being a fucking dragon egg hagrid, now isnt it?
was hagrid a hufflepuff? i think he was, maybe a ravenclaw
yes four, you blonde idiot
that shot is really nice, it sets them apart
what happened to filch to make him such a miserable man?
ooh mention of werewolves, awooo werewolves of london
yeah just dip your whole hand in hagrid, dont be scared of the strange liquid, take a nice little bath
i loev that dog, i want that dog, i want to hug that dog
god just the look of that forest is so bloody cool
wait so is that quirell walking fucking backwards?
maybe ask who the fuck youre talking to before asking other questions??? wtf harry
why are yout talking to the centaur like hes your old friend harry, youve literally never met him before
snape doesnt want the stone at all Harry
god hagrid you sweet stupid man
snape is completely valid for that, if a twelve year old ever looked at me like that i would punch them
Do you think people ever loose invisibility cloaks? like theyre invisible do you think they ever just never get found again
i hate the look of the dog spit, that is so gross
they really left everything in except for the fucking potions didnt they, damn
harry potter walked so queens gambit could run
hermione, posted up
rons stupid in the later movies because he got a concussion as a twelve year old
god harry really posted up to beat up snape in fucking khakis
"I knew you were a danger to me!" Hes twelve, Quirell
let me wait for this weird dude to unravel his head scarf instead of running away
the magic in this movie is real fucking conditional isnt it
just some casual necromancy for the stone? you sure about that voldy, you two faced bitch?
let me choke out this twelve year old real quick
oh yeah why is he able to just avengers endgame Quirell? is there an answer to that? like was that ever found out
do you think voldy passing by him while he hold the stone actually killed him but since he holds the stone hes functionally unkillable and then some magic gets put into him and thats why he can return to life later when he actually goes to the whole afterlife place?
ohhh we're vouching on the blood magic for the endgaming of Quirell
do you think dumbledore came across the vomit flavored bean before or after his sister died?
Mione's got a headband! Looking snazzy!
how did Hufflepuff only get 352 points? Gryffindor literally lost 150 points this year and they only beat them by 50, wtf, is it because they kept getting caught with weed
I wont even speak on the fucking outrage that is this point awarding, its already been spoken on. However, Neville shouldve gotten more points
What if someone just stood up and started challenging Dumbledores math, that would be so funny
some of these extras are really attractive
but james potter is somehow so fucking ugly why did they do that to my mans
hagrid deserves the last shot of this film, i love him, he deserves everything, that stupid sweet man
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