#'what kind of summer camp is sending kids home at 6 in the morning' well the thing is it's 80-20 odds he just ran away

[exercise-of-trust]

it's 6am and your newborn twins have been up crying all night and you just came outside to find your third son back from summer camp with an immortal puppy as big as he is. good luck

[idkthisisjustforfanfic]

too soon to tell, chapter t w o

You dropped your bag in the foyer of Harry’s house after work on a Thursday. It was quiet--he wasn’t home yet and you’d keyed in knowing that you’d have some time to yourself.

You felt a vibrating in your pocket when you shrugged off your coat, your visible reflection told you it was a FaceTime call, Alyssa’s name danced across the screen until you slid your thumb to answer.

“Hello, hello,” you greeted, walking to find a seat on the couch.

“Where are you?” She furrowed her brows as she took in your surroundings.

“At Harry’s--he’s out, though.”

She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “I will never get sick of you lounging in his house when he’s not there.”

You rolled your eyes at your old roommate’s antics--she’d always been the number one supporter of your relationship and when you texted her earlier saying you needed advice, she promised to call on her lunch break.

“I’m not lounging,” you informed with a shake of your head. “I just got out of work, we’re having dinner tonight.”

“Mr. Popstar isn’t too busy?” She teased, aware of the tension both of your schedules had been causing.

“Apparently not.”

She forked a bite of food into her mouth, the sun was shining through the window behind her, the walls of your old apartment were redecorated now with the art of your replacement. “Is that what you wanted to talk about?”

“Sort of,” you leaned back and let out a breath. “I mean, it’s all connected--”

“What is?”

“I’m getting to it,” you made a face at her through the phone. “So--don’t freak out, okay? Cause I don’t even know if anything will come from it and Harry doesn’t know yet.”

She nodded and gestured with her hand for you to get on with it.

Knowing Alyssa, she was already jumping to conclusions in her head. You were pregnant, you were engaged, you quit your job, you had a huge fight with your sister. No, no, no.

“I interviewed for a job in LA...and I haven’t told Harry because all our friends have been so excited about us being in the same spot again but--”

Her eyes went wide at the mention of a US city, she did her best to hold back her smile until it faded when you said: “I don’t know. Something feels off between us.”

“Off between you and Harry? More than just being busy?”

“I’m probably overthinking it but,” you looked around his living room. Pictures of his mum, his sister, his cousins--even his manager--were tucked in frames and placed on shelves. There wasn’t a trace of you in his house except for the toothbrush upstairs and the key on your keyring.

“It feels like we’re not moving forward. And we’ve both been busy, like I’ve told you, but since we don’t live together sometimes we go days without seeing each other and it’s fine, I get that he’s busy, obviously, but--”

“But you want to move in with him.”

“Well, I don’t know--I did, sort of, I think--but then I heard about this job in LA and it sounds amazing but Jessie just moved here and no one will shut up about how great London is.”

Alyssa offered a sympathetic frown and repositioned the bowl in front of her to get another bite. “What’s the job?”

You almost didn’t want to tell her, sure she’d get excited and eager to have you back in the same country. You winced a little, bracing for her reaction. “S’with E! News,” you shrugged. “It’d be on-air.”

“Shut up! Are you serious?!”

“Yes m’serious,” you rolled your eyes. “But I haven’t told any of them because you know how they are.”

She nodded, “Jessie will not want you to take it.”

“God love her, but of course not. And Harry spends time out there, so it might be okay, but it’s not like I could ask him to go with me.”

“Why not? He’s famous, Y/N--he belongs there.”

“It’s too soon,” you whined. “He’s not my fiancé and we don’t live together, so--I don’t want to make it weird.”

“But you love him,” she reasoned.

“Yeah, but s’been weird lately!" You tried to drive home the point. "He’s made no mention of moving in and we’ve been dating for a year and a half, I’ve been in London for over a year now. He’s not even mentioned it, Alyssa, I swear. He’ll say things like ‘one day we can go on vacation,’ and ‘what should we do for Christmas?’ But he’s made no concrete plans to actually have a future with me.”

“Maybe he doesn’t think you’re ready.”

“Maybe he’s not ready,” you volleyed.

“Maybe,” Alyssa shrugged. “But you won’t know if you don’t ask him.”

“But if I ask him and he’s not on the same page I’ll look like an idiot and he’s busy with the album and now I’m thinking about moving to LA and--”

She watched you, waited for you to say more, but you were out of words. You changed gears.

“Maybe we’re just not meant to be long term.”

“Oh come on,” she groaned. “Not this again.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Your whole ‘we should have left it in New York’ shit.”

You lifted your eyebrows to demand further details.

“You were freaked out in the beginning that you’d move back there and it would be weird.”

“And?”

“Was it weird?”

“Not at first, I guess. But I mean, come on---don’t you think we should have taken some kind of step forward by now? Even just mentioning the idea of moving in together?”

“I don’t know,” she said truthfully. “Maybe it’s different with someone like him.”

You rolled your eyes--what if that’s what you were sick of?

People always said that: it’s different because of his job, it’s different because he’s on the road, it’s different because he’s famous.

Of course it was, and that was fine, for a while. But what if Harry’s job always got in the way of feeling normal? What if you couldn’t have a real wedding because of it? What if you could never send your children to summer camp because of it?

Were you willing to sacrifice your own future to live an unconventional life with someone just because you loved him?

“When will you hear back about the job?”

“Dunno--talked to them last week on Monday and they said this week at some point. S'been a while, so hopefully soon.”

You’d been keeping busy, trying to avoid your personal email at all costs and also making sure that Harry had limited visibility of your screen at all times.

“Do you want it?”

You thought on it for a second. Being offered a job at a company like E! would certainly be an ego boost, but the mere thought of having to explain to all of your friends that yes, you’d been back in London for 18 months and now you were packing up and moving even farther away than before wouldn’t be easy. That seemed to be the one certainty in the whole situation: no one would take it well.

“I don’t want to leave everyone here, especially Harry--but I also don’t want to be stupid and think that this relationship is going somewhere if it’s not.”

Alyssa nodded and let out a sigh. “I get that, I mean, of course you have to do what’s best for you. But I’d hate to see you not be with him just because things are hard right now.”

You leaned your head back on the couch and sighed. You didn’t want to break up with Harry. If anything, you wanted to move forward and move in with him and do what you’d always imagined: have a good job, have a few kids, try to be happy.

But what if you’d been naive enough to think you could have all of that with Harry and what if this is how you were finding out that you couldn’t?

Were you still stuck in your teenage fantasy of marrying the boy you'd long been crushing on?

She watched you for a second before she reassured: “you’ll figure it out.”

You smiled, glad you’d called Alyssa if only to have someone talk you off the edge a little bit. You missed waking up one room over and her love for basketball games and New York 99 cent pizza.

“Well it’s not like I have to make a decision right now,” you said. “I haven’t even heard back from them. For all I know they could never reach out again because I bombed my interview.”

She rolled her eyes at your self-deprecation and offered a few final words of encouragement before you hung up and promised to catch up soon.

Ever since you’d left, Alyssa had taken it upon herself to keep you up to date on the ins and outs of New York. New restaurant? She’d send you pictures and a 200 word review. Crazy subway rats making the news again? Articles and video proof would be sent your way in a matter of hours.

She’d gotten a new roommate to fill your bedroom and apparently things weren’t always peachy between them. Peyton was quiet and shy--according to Alyssa. She was up every morning at 6am and in the shower at 6:30. She did yoga in the living room and hated it when Alyssa left empty beer bottles on the coffee table.

Alyssa was starting to lose her shit, swearing up and down that she needed to either pull the trigger and move in with Owen or find a new place altogether. It was my apartment first, she’d say. She should leave, not me.

It had been hard that year to leave the city you’d grown to love but harder to leave Alyssa and Carly and the things that made New York feel like home. It was also, in hindsight, hard to leave the place where you and Harry reconnected and built the foundation of your current relationship.

You heard commotion from the front door only a few minutes later when you rummaged through Harry’s kitchen for a snack.

“Hi,” he called from the other room, a close-lipped smile when you stuck your head around the corner to greet him.

“Hi! How was the photoshoot?”

“Good,” he nodded, watching as you stuck your hand into a box of crackers. “What time are we meeting everyone?”

Right--Thursday also meant dinner somewhere downtown with everyone in tow.

“7pm--but Jessie said we should try to get there early since it’s a new place and no one’s ever been.”

He nodded in acknowledgement of your words but seemed distracted, like his mind was somewhere else and his body was the only thing tying him to the room.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, looking back up at you. “Just a busy day and a busy week.”

You nodded, unsure if he wanted to say more or if you were supposed to have more of a reply than a simple nod of your head.

You’d both been stammering out awkward sentences and trying to dance around the elephant in the room for a few weeks, but now, under his gaze, you felt more uncertain than before.

“Are you okay?” He turned the question around and watched you closely.

“Yeah,” you shrugged, moving to sit on the couch.

“You seem--off.”

You didn’t know what it was. Could he possibly sense the tension in your shoulders as you waited for an email either way? You got the job! We regret to inform you…

Or was he just aware that you felt awkward since it had been almost two weeks since you had any considerable amount of alone time and even longer since you were able to have a date night that wasn’t interrupted by Jeff or Erica or someone who needed something from him.

He took a few steps closer towards you, a look of concern etched on his features. “What’s wrong?”

The words were on the tip of your tongue when he looked at you, eyebrows lifted as he waited for you to spit it out.

“I guess I feel like we’ve been distant.”

He pushed his head forward, almost like he hadn’t expected that to be the issue. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” you shrugged, caught off guard by his pushiness. Maybe you shouldn’t have brought it up.

“You don’t know?” He pressed.

You broke eye contact with him for a minute, wondering why you had to state the obvious. “Well, you’re busy all the time, Harry.”

He let his shoulders rise and fall in defeat, looking around the room in frustration. “I told you that finishing the album would be busy.”

“Yeah, but you forgot to mention that you’d also be busy when the album is done once promo starts and then tour,” your voice was quiet, not so much angry as you were upset.

You were tired. You wanted nothing more than to spend a night on the couch with him and only him, tell him about LA and about the sudden itch you felt to see more of the world than just London.

But with Jake and Adam always around and Bryn and Jessie, too, paired with interruptions from Jeff and Erica--it felt as if there was no hope for a private or honest conversation.

He came to sit closer to you on the couch now, took your hands in his. “I know my job is a lot, okay? I know it’s annoying that I don’t necessarily get weekends off or have a typical schedule, but once the album is out and the promo is done I’ll have a bit of a break before the tour. We can go on vacation somewhere, just us.”

It sounded nice, maybe a tropical island or a cabin in the woods. But before you could nod in agreement the thought of Los Angeles popped into your head.

His album was due out in December, promo from now through the New Year, some time off in February and March for both of your birthdays and then tour. You had no clue where you��d be by then.

Would you be in LA? Would you be in London? Would you be stuck in this same spot on his couch with decision paralysis and a crushing sense of uncertainty about the future?

He knew you were over-thinking and tilted his head. “What?”

You blew out a slow breath of air, twisted a ring on your finger and then looked up at him again.

You didn’t even have a chance to be more honest, a buzz on your phone on the coffee table in front of you both broke the room in half, the name of the woman you’d spoken to was in bold next to your email icon. You reached for it quickly, Harry’s brows furrowed when you pulled it close to your chest so he wouldn’t see.

“What’s that?”

Hi Y/N, thank you so much for your patience over the last few days. We would love to offer you a position with NBC Universal - E! News as an on-air correspondent in our Los Angeles headquarters.

You looked up at him quickly, cheeks red and heart racing.

“What’s happening, are you okay?”

“I got a job offer,” you said quickly, still holding the phone close to you.

“What?” He smiled, “why didn’t you tell me you were looking? I didn’t even know--”

“It’s in Los Angeles.”

His smile faded instantly, he blinked a few times like he must have misheard you. The leather of his couch felt cool beneath your legs, a clock on the wall ticked and for a second, you wondered if he could hear your pulse as loudly as you could.

He pulled his eyes away from you but then quickly scanned over your face. “Are you taking it?”

“I don’t know,” you said honestly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Silence, words filled your brain and crawled up the back of your throat, desperate to be said out loud, in real life, instead of just circling in your head.

Because I don’t know what we’re doing or if we’re moving forward. I don’t know where I want to live. I don’t know if I can stay in London forever. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.

Only the last part made it out between your lips. “I don’t know.”

“Y/N,” he stood up, more angry now as he looked around the room and scratched at the base of his neck. “This kind of feels like a bombshell to drop on someone.”

“I was going to tell you--but we haven’t had a second alone, I just didn’t want to have to tell everyone before I knew what was happening.”

“You didn’t even tell me you interviewed,” he said.

“The last time I saw you alone we got interrupted by Erica three times in one conversation.”

“Probably for a good reason--”

“But you seriously can’t even put your phone down lately when we have dinner, even when everyone else is there!”

“I can’t help it that my work is insanely busy right now!”

“I don’t want to fight with you,” you said this quickly, voice higher than usual and a heat on your skin that he normally didn’t provoke, at least not in a bad way. You stood from the couch and put your hands on your hips. “I don’t know what I’m going to do and I don’t even know if this job is right for me and under no circumstances are you allowed to tell anyone. Especially Jessie.”

He rolled his eyes at that.

“What’s the eye roll for?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Everyone just got back and now you might leave and--”

“I said I don’t know if I’m going to take it.”

He was quiet at that, clucked his tongue in thought but then disappeared upstairs to shower and change.

The car ride over was awkward, he asked how your day had been and you told him you talked to Alyssa, he bristled when you admitted you told her about it.

It wouldn’t be the end of the conversation, you were sure of that. You’d likely end up at his for the night and he’d apologize for being busy, you’d apologize for not telling him and maybe, you hoped, he’d ask you to stay over.

When you greeted Adam with a hug, you ignored Harry’s sour mood and opened the menu in front of you.

“My first dinner as a Londoner,” Jessie smiled, shimming her shoulders in excitement when Bryn looked over the specials across the table from you.

“This is on you, right? New job, new salary?” Jake teased.

“Maybe if I hadn’t just bought a whole new bedroom set,” she rolled her eyes.

“How’s everything with you?” Adam eyed Harry, his question veiled to avoid too many details in public.

Luckily, Harry’s ability to go out in public in London was similar to that in New York. As long as a private room or a table in the back was requested, he could typically get away unscathed if dinner was less than 2 hours and if he had his back to the dining room.

“Fine,” he shrugged, eyes still down at the drink menu.

“Fine?” Jessie leaned forward, her tone insinuating that she didn’t believe him. “You’ve been working really hard all summer and now all you say is ‘fine?’”

He glanced up at her, lips in a forced smile. “S’all good, Jess--just tired.”

Bryn gave you a look, one that asked what stick is up his ass?, before she changed the topic.

“Let’s not tell our server how fit she is tonight, yeah?”

Jake let out a snort of a laugh and sipped at the water that had already been brought to your table. “Alright, you thought the one last week was just as hot as I did.”

“I did,” Bryn agreed seriously, “but I didn’t offer my number unsolicited. How do you know she’s even straight?”

“She’s got a point,” Jessie chimed in. “Remember when you asked that girl to dance in the club when her girlfriend was right there with her arm around her?”

“I thought they were just mates!” Jake defended.

“You also have the worst radar for gay women ever,” Bryn nodded.

“When was this?” Harry asked, the hint of a smile on his face when he watched Jake adjust his napkin on his lap.

The words came out of your mouth without thought. “You weren’t here--you were in LA.”

He met your eyes when you replied, nodded, and then leaned back in his chair, effectively bowing out of the conversation without saying another word.

You weren’t trying to be short with him. You looked over to Jessie, who undoubtedly sensed the tension, and offered a smile. “How’s the flat?”

“Good,” she nodded. “Glad that all my furniture got put together without any scratches,” she reached over and patted Adam on the shoulder.

“We’re not children, Jessie, we can handle some furniture.”

“You broke my dresser when I asked you guys to move it into another room,” Bryn reminded, a look of confusion on her face at Adam’s retort.

“Only because it was already half broken and a piece of shit,” Jake said. “I love you, Brynnie, but that dresser was already knocking on Heaven’s door.”

Harry let out a laugh at that, another memory that he had missed while on a trip to a studio somewhere north of London. He excused himself to the bathroom after you placed your orders, and once he was out of earshot, Jake leaned down and looked at you.

“What’s going on with him?”

You forced a cheesy grin and blinked a few times. “He’s just grumpy.”

“‘Bout what?” Bryn asked.

“Guys,” you leaned back in your chair, hoping you didn’t have to say too much. “I can’t tell you every single thing that happens in our relationship.”

“Well, when it affects us I think we have the right to know,” Jessie shrugged, playing the typical we don’t like when our parents fight card.

“It’s not affecting you,” you shook your head, eyed her seriously over your glass of Pinot Noir.

Adam shrugged, a smirk on his face let you know he was trying to rile you up. “He’s grumpy at dinner and we’re all here and we’re all aware of it. We don’t like tension between you two.”

“Alright, leave the woman alone,” Jake waved them off. “As long as everything’s alright.”

“It’s totally alright,” you nodded, wondering when you’d gotten so comfortable lying to them. “He’s just busy with the next phase of work.”

With Harry’s album yet to be announced, you couldn’t sit around in a London restaurant and divulge details--even if you were all acutely aware of the work he’d put in and the upcoming announcements and events.

Adam let it go. “How’s work for you, Smalls?”

Another shrug of your shoulders, “s’good--I told you all about my November cover story, right?”

“Yeah,” Jessie sipped a glass of Cabernet. “But you said you didn’t know who it was going to be with.”

“Well, s’cause I had to drop the bomb on him first,” you nodded in the direction of the bathroom. “I’ll be sitting down in a few days with Ms. Gigi Hadid,” you lowered your voice and leaned forward to say her name.

Bryn’s eyes went wide, Jake grimaced.

“How’d he take that?” Adam asked.

“He’s not thrilled,” you admitted. “But I’ll talk with his team about what to avoid specifically, I guess. Her team will probably have a list of off-limits items too.”

Bryn let her elbows rest on the white tablecloth. “Yeah, but, you can’t just ignore the fact that she’s dating Zayn.”

“I also can’t just barge in and stir shit up,” you said.

Harry pulled his chair out next to you and sat back down. “Who are you stirring shit up with?”

Everyone chose to be quiet now--Adam looked down at his phone and Jessie reached for her wine again.

“Just telling them about my cover story,” you admitted, watching his face for a reaction.

He nodded, a tiny smirk in your direction. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t stir shit up,” he said, reaching to put a hand on your thigh beneath the table.

Those were the moments that made you feel less panicky--the realization that he was still choosing you and even when the tension was high and the mood was low, he’d reach over and remind you that yes, he cared. Even if he was late to dinner or distracted.

Which is why, when you got back in his car that night and headed for his house, you were surprised when his mood shifted again.

“I’ll just drop you at yours?”

“Oh--yeah, sure.”

“Did you want to come to mine?” He looked over at you like he hadn’t expected any resistance to sleeping separately.

You were quiet for a second--not if he didn’t want you there. “No, it’s fine.”

“I can’t read your mind, Y/N.”

“You don’t have to,” you said quickly, a prickly tone to your words when he made an unreadable face.

He drove in silence for a few minutes, closing in on your neighborhood when the street lamps disappeared for the sake of suburbia.

Eventually he cleared his throat and that sent you over the edge.

“What do you want me to say, Harry? Do you want me to apologize for interviewing for this job?”

“No,” he said simply. “I just don’t know why you thought you didn’t need to tell me about a huge decision like that.”

“It wasn’t a decision until today when they offered it to me.”

“Just seems like something you talk to your boyfriend about.”

You looked over at him in the dark of night, the glow from the dashboard didn’t help you see his features as he turned left onto your street.

“Well, sorry that we didn’t have the opportunity to talk about it between your work schedule and Jessie moving in and group dates--”

He slowed down on your street, put his flashers on when he stopped in front of your building. “I don’t want to keep secrets from each other,” his voice was softer now. “I don’t want to not know what’s going on in your life. I did enough of that for two years when we weren't talking.”

You sighed at this, the sentiment broke whatever anger was lurking inside you and when you looked up to see him, you wondered if you should ask him.

Are we ever going to move in together? Are we ever going to get engaged?

You figured the lead up to his sophomore album wasn’t the best time for that conversation. He pressed a kiss to your forehead and you climbed the stairs to your flat alone.

**

A few days later you sat nervously in a conference room and watched as beads of sweat formed on the water glass in front of you. Tyler had brought you in, offered you a breath mint, and promised you’d be fine. When you asked him if the whole room was hot he said it was just you and your nerves--but the droplets of water that raced towards the wooden conference table begged to differ.

You’d gotten email after email this morning: one from Jeff with the rules he and Harry had come up with and eight from Gigi’s team with requests for snacks, topics to discuss, topics to avoid, lunch request, arrival and departure time, and a few extra regarding booking her photoshoot the next day.

A text lit up your screen when you tried to smooth your your hair in the reflection of your screen.

Jake Newcomb (10:42am): In case you’re wondering what to get me for my birthday, a video of Gigi Hadid saying she loves me would be perfect!

You ignored his text and felt a pang of disappointment in your gut, you thought it would have been Harry with words of encouragement.

He was fine with you doing the interview, he seemed to come around to the idea when he met with Jeff and had a chance to mark some things as off limits.

So far, his list was as follows:

Don’t publish anything too negative about anyone in the band (if she says anything negative about anyone in the band)

Harry and Jeff got to listen to the taped interview

Harry and Jeff got to read the article before you sent it off to your editor and could make suggestions to cut things if they felt it necessary.

It seemed silly, but you’d long been used to the lingo of contracts and riders and ground rules for things like these. You knew both Harry and Jeff trusted you, in fact, Jeff was now choosing to see this as a good opportunity for press before the announcement of Harry’s album.

Your biggest concern, truly, was not looking/sounding/acting like an idiot in a room alone with Gigi Hadid. Your second biggest concern was conducting a unique interview and writing a unique article.

You knew that Naomi and Tyler were nearby for support if needed, Tyler had already walked by the conference room three times to see if your subject had arrived and likely to make sure you hadn’t sweat through your blouse. You thought the commotion in the hallway was him until you saw a group of busy-looking people with cellphones and sunglasses.

“Hi,” you stood from your chair, extended a hand in her direction and offered your best professional smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Gigi, thanks for doing this interview.”

She seemed hesitant at first, smiled a little and shook your hand. “Happy to,” she said. She turned over her shoulder and locked eyes with the woman who seemed to be the most in-charge of the group. “I’m good,” she nodded.

They hustled out quickly, you stood frozen in place and watched as she took off her coat before sitting in the chair you’d pulled out for her. Once the door was shut behind her posse, she let out a sigh that bled into a frustrated laugh.

“I could never do an interview with all of them just loitering around--wouldn’t that be so weird?”

You nodded, mirrored her smile and had to remind your body how to move. Left foot, right, breathe, sit in the chair.

You weren’t really one to get star struck, but then again, you didn’t spend too much time with celebrities that weren’t Harry or his close friends. You certainly never sat down with a model like Gigi to have a conversation that could be as awkward as this one.

She checked her phone quickly but then put it face down on the table. “I am happy to do this, I know it might feel weird for us to be hanging out--but boys are stupid anyway.”

You smiled at this, immediately relaxed when she leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs.

“Did you also get a whole list of things to not talk to me about?”

She stifled a laugh and rolled her eyes. “Zayn can be a man of few words but,” she looked down at your phone on the table. “Off the record--he had quite a bit to say when I told him you were doing the interview.”

“Off the record,” you laughed, “Harry did too. But how is Zayn?”

“He’s good--thinking about getting back in the studio at some point to start working on a new album, he’s been writing a bunch. Harry’s doing the same I assume?”

“Yes, yeah, he’s been really busy.”

“I know things might not have gone great between all of them at the end, but I don’t want this to be awkward for us.”

“Me neither. You can say as much or as little about the band as you’d like.”

She nodded, you figured it was time to give your pre-interview spiel.

“So, I’ll record us in a few seconds, you can obviously say ‘off the record’ if there’s something you don’t want me to include, but I like my interviews to be like conversations, basically. I’ll send someone on your team the recording when we’re done and a typed transcript. You’ll have 48-hours to look over it and revoke any statements that you don’t want me publishing or to clarify anything. After that I’ll write the story, send a final copy to your team before it gets finalized here, again, 48-hours to look it over and request any changes but at that time we don’t have to approve the requests. This is all in a document somewhere that someone probably signed for you--I’m sure your team is used to it, they know what they’re doing.”

You reached forward and pressed a few buttons on your phone, she watched until you looked up and told her: “It’s on now, so we’re recording and today is September 10th, 2019.”

She smiled like you were old friends. “Where do we start?”

“Is there somewhere you want to start?”

She leaned her head to the side. “We can jump right to it--”

“To what?”

“Oh come on,” she laughed. “Us talking about One Direction will make headlines for weeks.”

“Yeah,” you shrugged. “It’s funny that us just sitting down together will be a big deal, right? As if we’ve got nothing better to talk about than them.”

“Sexism at it’s finest,” she admitted.

“Do you find that a lot in your industry?”

She thought on this for a second, looked out the window but nodded. “It’s unavoidable, in a lot of ways. I think there have been a lot of changes over the last few years to at least move us in the right direction, but we’ve got a long way to go.”

“How would you want to see it change for the better?”

“Well, I’d love to have more privacy about my love life, for one,” she caught herself, looked to you quickly as if she felt bad. “Off the record, we can talk about it here, it’s fine. It’s different to talk about it with a woman, number one. And you’re you, you get it.”

“We don’t have to talk about it,” you offered.

“No, I don’t mind. Unless you plan on asking me stupid things like how amazing is it to be dating someone as handsome as him or do I find that his job overshadows mine, we’re good. We can be back on the record, too,” she looked down at the numbers on your phone, eyeing the ticking of the recording clock.

“But do you know what I mean? No one asks guys questions like that--or they’re different, at least. People just want to know everything about your relationship when you’re a woman and they view you in the context of who you’re sleeping with.”

“Yeah,” you nodded. “I get that.”

She smiled, “it’s hard to date someone famous, isn’t it? Lots of rules around it.”

You were surprised by the genuine look in her eyes, despite her own status and contracts and income, she seemed to be acknowledging that the two of you shared a unique experience and were now brought together under strange circumstances.

“It’s definitely hard for me--but, isn’t it easier seeing as you also have an assistant and a manager and people to, I don’t know, facilitate things? Not to invalidate how hard it still is.”

She laughed at that, “Yeah, in some ways, probably. He’s really private though, which is good for us. We focus on ourselves and do our own thing most of the time.”

“Right--you seem pretty private about it for the most part.”

“Yeah,” she shrugged, reflecting on your words for a second. “I think to me it feels weird that my relationship status can make so much news, you know? Modeling is my job and obviously that’s not your typical nine-to-five but--I like to focus on my work and when male journalists are continuously obsessed with my love life, I find that weird. I mean, you get that, right? I’m sure it’s no different with Harry.”

You bit your lip, embarrassed at how she’d managed to turn it around. She was right--you’d been getting more and more annoyed with how much your relationship with Harry was dictating your life--and for some reason, you admitted this to her.

“People are much more interested in me because I’m dating him--but they’d be just as interested in you even if you weren’t.”

“Would they?” She tilted her head to the side, another rise and fall of her shoulders as she looked around the room. “I get what you’re saying, but sometimes it feels like dating him gave my career a huge boost. I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, I totally get it. I feel the same way. I was building my career in New York and it was going well and I was writing fun stuff and making a name for myself and then I started hanging out with him and--”

“Everyone started to care more about you?”

“Exactly.”

You thought about the headlines, the articles, the pictures in tabloids that undoubtedly helped your name spread like wildfire through London and New York. You had to ignore it, most of the time, reassure yourself that you were a good journalist and a good employee and the good things in your career were not just a byproduct of the boy who slept in your bed.

She smiled knowingly, her lips in a thin line when she looked down to the tape recorder, almost like she felt guilty for steering the conversation in a different direction.

“Sorry,” you cleared your throat, sitting up straight. “Back to business.”

The conversation bled into more normal things: the upcoming fall fashion week, how she manages self-care when she’s busy jetting from city to city, and, try as you might, the two of you wound your way back to your commonalities a few times: sexism in your industries, life as young women dating famous men.

You thanked her profusely at the end and promised that Tyler would be in touch to confirm the date and time for her corresponding photoshoot later that week. She draped a Versace leather tote over her shoulder and seemed to float out of the office with a posse of beautiful people behind her.

You stood--still awestruck--in the hallway and watched as the elevator doors slid shut.

“She’s prettier in person,” Tyler said from beside you, a notebook in hand as he stared at the air she’d once occupied. “I didn’t know if that type of thing was possible but she’s definitely one of the prettiest humans I’ve ever seen.”

“She was nice,” you turned around to see Naomi behind him, also eager for more details. You headed back for your office in a trance, they scurried behind you as you thought aloud. “I mean, I didn’t think she’d be rude--but I didn’t know what to expect with the whole band history stuff.”

“Did you talk about that?”

“Less about the band and more about--” you blinked a few times and sat down at your desk, “sexism, what it’s like to be a woman dating a famous man and how that affects your career.”

Both of their eyes went wide, a smile tugged at Naomi’s lips when Tyler put a hand over his heart in shock.

“I’m sorry, so you’re telling me that you just had a heart to heart with Gigi Hadid about sexism and your boyfriends and--”

“I guess so,” you shrugged, just as surprised as they were.

**

You gave Harry fewer details that night over FaceTime as you brushed your teeth. He was somewhere in New York, disappointed that he’d miss Jake’s birthday dinner and celebration, but he promised to make it up to him when he got back.

He lifted a cup of tea to take a sip, light shone through the window behind him on your screen and he scrolled through emails on his laptop.

You spit into the sink, an ocean between you.

“Have you thought at all about the offer? You have to tell them by tomorrow, yeah?”

You nodded, wiped at your mouth with a towel and then crossed your arms. “I can stay, I mean--if you want me to.”

He made a face at that, leaned forward and furrowed his brows together. “Of course I want you to stay, Y/N, but I don’t want to be the reason you pass on something important."

You were quiet for a second, uncapped lotion before spreading some across your forehead.

"I'm sorry I didn't react well when you told me. I'm proud of you and it sounds like a phenomenal opportunity...I don't know, it's just the timing of it--"

You cut him off, “well none of this is ideal timing, Harry.”

“Do you mean with my album?”

“I mean with any of it,” you said truthfully. “The album, the job offer--”

“Well the album existed before the job offer,” he trailed off.

Only a matter of seconds and a handful of words had managed to get you elevated and angry and ready to fight. That was happening more easily, these days.

“So what am I supposed to do? Always come second? Make every decision in my life based off of your career and your music?”

“S’not what I’m saying.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that--I dunno--I thought you knew what you were getting into.”

Quiet, your hands gripped the counter in your bathroom. Your bare feet were on the floor and you wondered why you were trying so hard to make everything work if things were only getting harder.

“That came out wrong,” he shook his head, the look on his face let you know he wanted to take it back.

“No, it didn’t." You let out a sharp laugh. "I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Take the job,” he said quickly, like he saw you reaching for the button to end the FaceTime call.

“What?”

“Take it. If it’ll make you happy, take it.”

“And what about us?”

“We figure it out,” he shrugged. “We try.”

You sighed, unsure what to say.

"It's Los Angeles," he said. "Not Antarctica."

You blew air between your lips, looked up at him for a second. The curl of hair that dipped onto his forehead, the way his mouth pulled up in the corner like it always had.

“I love you, Y/N. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

His words didn’t offer any relief and you spent most of the night staring at the ceiling, tossing and turning and wondering how on earth you were supposed to make a decision.

Leaving him in London felt stupid. A few bumps in the road and you were ready to jump ship?

But staying and hoping for a ring or a shared address felt even stupider, somehow. You couldn’t pass up a dream job and hope that things would go well for your career if you weren’t going to work for it.

A few hours of rest came after 3am, your morning coffee was a tad bitter and the clouds in the sky seemed to match your mood. Maybe you should have spent more time thinking it over, talking it out, even calling your mum or Katie for advice.

But you couldn’t have told everyone about the job offer without a certain answer, and unfortunately, the person you wanted to talk to the most didn’t seem like he could be impartial.

You’d been upset, you’d been feeling disconnected from him, but that didn’t erase all of the good times and the happy memories you’d made, right?

Naomi and Tyler locked themselves in your office for lunch on Friday, they promised that they’d never tell your boss and they swore they supported you either way. Tyler used an expo marker to make a pros and cons list of staying in London and Naomi came up with a points system for each bullet on the list.

You stared at it, looked at the names of all of your friends, your family, your favorite cafes and restaurants in London. At the very bottom of what had become a long list of reasons to stay was his name.

And on the other side, Tyler’s poor drawing of an engagement ring sat beside a big question mark.

You didn’t know what the future held for you and Harry, and maybe that was okay. You didn’t know what would happen when you packed your life into a suitcase and moved to New York, but you’d survived to tell the tale.

They were quiet, eyes darting from the board back to you as they waited for you to say something.

You sighed, Tyler shifted on the couch in your office and Naomi smoothed out her blouse.

“I can’t take it,” you said.

Tyler’s eyes went wide, “really? You’re staying?”

“I can’t leave,” you shrugged. “I can’t leave him behind and leave my friends and start all over in a new city right as I’m really finding my groove here again.”

“Okay, I know we said we’d support you either way but I would have been fucking pissed if you went,” Tyler admitted, moving closer to wrap his arms around you.

You laughed, let him squeeze you before Naomi joined in.

“Me too,” she confessed, a smile on her face when she pulled away. “But I would have at least faked happy for you.”

You bit back the doubt and second-guessing, used their excitement to fuel a regretful email.

Thank you so much for the opportunity, but after careful consideration I cannot accept this position due to the geographical location.

Your thumb hovered over the small blue arrow, a wave of panic flooded through you when you hit send, like somehow, something inside of you knew that everything was about to change.

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tag list: @thurhomish @styles217 @ursamajor603 @mleestiles @determined-overthinker @g0bl1nqueen @hsfics @sing-me-a-song-harry @theresnooneheretosave @cronias13 @rainbowbutterflyboy @unknown7549

AN: apologies in advance for the cliffhanger......except I'm not sorry lmao

[aizawaorkuroo]

on the house (chapter 6) - coffee milk tea (with boba!)

Ship: Yagi Toshinori x reader

Rated: T

Word Count: 4.1k

Summary: You see Toshinori three times before he has to stop hiding.

Warnings: Language

AN: Sorry for the delay!! i like lost all motivation to write but i got it done! This chapter reads as a series of vignettes lowkey like at each line break. Let me know what y’all think 🥺💖 Also coffee milk tea is also called yuenyeung and it fucking slaps gerfwas

OTH Masterlist

_________

Toshinori texts you religiously after that weekend. A sprinkling of messages throughout the day that make butterflies swarm in your stomach. They start off in the morning when you’re already working at Sweet Bean.

It’s always something simple like Have a good day! :-) or Good Morning! But nonetheless, his messages always stirred up warm feelings.

It always makes you smile, which Aiko takes full advantage of. The teasing you got when you saw her was merciless. The number of jokes centered around “you’re absolutely glowing” astounded you. If she wasn’t such a valuable employee or a good friend, you would’ve thought about sending her home.

Yamada outright teases you, much to your horror. He’s relentless, maybe even worse than Aiko. But it’s Aizawa’s knowing grins that make your stomach flip. But when Toshinori messages you, the growing waves of affection confirm that you would put up with all the teasing and giggling in the world for a chance to have something real with him.

The days slip into something warmer and longer, the air becoming sticky and thick with rising heat. You can’t help but breathe a little easier in the summer. It’s especially nice whenever students come in while they’re on break. They bring a sense of life and youthfulness that warms your heart.

The group of girls Sato brought are back again, lounging around a table. They have stopped by a few times since then, and it’s been nice, watching them study, gossip, and celebrate the end of the term. This time, they’re joined by two other girls, and you can’t help but smile.

“Boss, stop being weird,” Aiko whines from next to you. You roll your eyes, tearing your gaze away from the group of girls to your bubbly employee.

“Don’t you have a summer class you need to be getting to?” you ask bluntly. Aiko’s mouth twists as she’s about to volley back another teasing remark before she freezes. Her eyes widen as she processes what you said.

“Oh shit!”

Your customers offer the two of you a small glance as Aiko rips off her apron, throwing it into the back. Without another word, she sprints out the front door. As she exits, she sails past Toshinori, who looks mildly alarmed.

You grin as Toshinori shyly waves at you from the entrance. There’s someone with him that piques your interest: a boy with green curls and freckles scattered across his face. When they walk past the group of girls, the young boy waves excitedly, stopping to talk.

Toshinori’s been stopping by more and more, much to your pleasure. There were some days where he forgets to order something, too enthralled in chatting with you and watching you work. But you’ve never seen the kid that’s with him.

When Toshinori steps up to the counter, your phone buzzes. Your head tilts as you read it, and you pinch the bridge of your nose.

Please clock me out!

“Suga, can you clock Aiko out?” you call to the back. You hear him mutter, and you smile when he tells you she needs to be fired or demoted.

“He doesn’t mean that,” you tell Toshinori, who looks a little concerned. “Also I want you to try something!” You beam up at him, watching as his eyes widen before a soft, tired smile crawls across his face.

“I trust you. I’m good with whatever you want to make,” he mumbles, not quite meeting your eyes. You hum excitedly, turning around to make his drink.

He watches you fondly as you flutter behind the counter. He meant it, that he trusts you. He just can’t tell you everything. Not yet, at least. It’ll all come crumbling down if he says anything now. The smile on his face slips into a frown, the peaceful feeling evaporating from him. Toshinori’s so lost in thought, he doesn’t even notice when you’ve turned back around and placed the cup down in front of him.

Furrowing your brows, you wave your hand in his field of view, grounding him in the moment.

“Where’d you go?” you ask gently. He shakes his head, eyes downcast.

He’s about to answer when the boy that he came in with bounds up to the counter. Toshinori smiles and glances down, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“This is Midoriya. He’s one of my students.” Midoriya beams at you, and something clicks. You’re almost positive you had heard about him before. You don’t know whether he came up from Yamada or Sato, or the group of girls, but you’re positive Midoriya has been brought up before.

“It’s nice to meet you, Midoriya. I’m Y/N.” He waves at you, and your eyes pass over the faded lines that cover his hands and arms. Your heart drops into your stomach as you force your gaze to meet his, trying to maintain the cheery attitude.

“Got any plans for summer break?” you ask, hoping he didn’t notice your concern for his scarred body. He blinks up at you, his smile never leaving his face. If he did notice, he’s doing a decent job at not caring.

“Just training camp! It’s what we were all talking about.” Your head cock’s to the side, and you glance at Toshinori, silently asking for an explanation. He chuckles at your confusion before elaborating.

“There’s a training camp for the Hero courses coming up, so both Class 1-A and 1-B will attend.” You make a noise of understanding before nodding your head. Your gaze flickers to the group of students that are giggling about something. Your heart warms at the thought of them getting a nice break to train somewhere fun.

“Well, Midoriya, I just made Toshi a drink that all your friends are drinking. Would you like one too?” Toshinori’s face flushes red at the use of a nickname in front of his student, and you wink at him. You stifle a laugh as his blush darkens. Midoriya looks at the counter, mildly uncomfortable at how you tease his mentor, but he nods at the offer. You immediately get to work, when his quiet voice pipes up again.

“How much is it?” he murmurs. You shake your head, working quickly.

“Don’t even worry about it. My treat!” When you turn around with Midoriya’s drink, he looks very excited, like he’s about to vibrate out of his skin. Maybe giving him caffeine is a bad idea.

“Oi!” A voice draws your attention to the back, and you roll your eyes at Suga sticking his head out of the kitchen. “Giving out free things all the time is not a sustainable business practice.” Your nose scrunches up, and you stick your tongue out at him. He rolls his eyes before disappearing to bake. You purse your lips and set the drink down next to Toshinori’s.

“Ignore him. Anyways, it’s a coffee milk tea with boba!” you say excitedly. “Suga felt like making boba, and I figured why not add some black milk tea and a little coffee!” Toshinori smiles down at you, affection running off of him in waves. You watch as Midoriya and Toshinori both take a tip. Midoriya’s eyes widen as he chews one of the tapioca pearls.

“I know! The texture’s perfect,” you hum happily. “Suga kind of makes whatever he wants, and I’m alright with that. We’ve been talking about expanding so he can do some more actual cooking besides the ‘fucking sandwiches’, but it’s pretty expensive.”

You tap your chin in thought as you ramble to Midoriya, and Toshinori’s face pulls into a sharp grin. He’s going to tell you soon. He swears he will.

_________

You fall back against your bed, exhausted after a long day at work. The temptation to just shut your eyes crashes over you. Your phone buzzes much to your annoyance, but any frustration you harbor disappears when you see the message is from Toshinori. You smile stupidly at your phone, curling up on your side as you read the message he sent over and over again.

Can I call you?

You bite the inside of your cheek, glancing out the window. The moon’s drifting across the sky, city lights washing away the stars. It feels warm, and something syrupy makes its home in your chest.

Of course! <3

You narrow your eyes, thumb hovering over the send button. You delete the heart and hit send. A stillness hangs over you, as you wait. When your phone lights up with his incoming call, you sit up, bringing your knees to your chest. Tentatively, you accept the call.

“Hi,” you murmur, trying not to feel shy. He’s fucked you before; a phone call should be nothing. You flush, shaking your head at the thought.

“Is there something you wanted to talk about?” you offer hesitantly.

“Not particularly, just wanted to hear your voice.” A smile unfurls on your face, and you let yourself fall back onto your bed, your legs spreading out in front of you.

“Oh I see, you go a few days without stopping by Sweet Bean, and you just go crazy without me.” He stutters at your words, not able to form a reasonable answer. You laugh at his panic, but change the topic, offering him a way out.

“How’s work going?” He sighs in relief at the question.

“I worked on some lesson plans, and the students will be leaving for camp in a few days.” Your eyes slightly widen as you remember the way Midoryiya said everyone was excited.

“Right, camp! That’ll be fun for them!”

“They’re there to train. But the Pussycats will treat them well.” You bolt upright at his casual tone.

“The Pussycats? As in The Wild, Wild Pussycats? The hero squad?” you ask, desperate for confirmation. He laughs but reassures you that it’s true. Your rest your head in your palm as the realization that Toshinori probably knows some really famous heroes settles in. Your thoughts drift back to the green-haired boy you met and the scars that litter his skin.

“And Midoriya will be going too, right?” you ask. He makes a noise of affirmation, but something lingers: an unspoken worry, a hint of doubt.

“Are you worried for him?” you question lightly, trying to get a better grasp at what’s eating away at him. Toshinori sighs into the receiver, the silence hanging heavily between you too. You hold your breath, waiting for whatever he’s debating over to spill out and into the phone.

“I want him to push himself and grow stronger, but not to the point where he breaks his bones. But Aizawa will be there, and I trust him.” You hum into the phone, brows furrowing with concern. He feels farther away than normal, the phone distorting his voice, but not doing much to hide the fact that he’s avoiding something. A seed of doubt lodges itself in the hollow of your chest, but you drop the subject. Whatever Toshinori’s hiding isn’t coming out anytime soon.

You frown thinking of the first time he slipped up. It was subtle, so tiny that you could’ve easily missed it. Just a few inconsistencies about where he had been. They were small enough that you didn’t say anything, and there’s a chance that you were overthinking it. But at the same time, it sat uncomfortably in your chest, where it rests now, weighing you down. You lie back, letting yourself flop against the bed.

“Besides working on lesson plans, what else are you doing over the next few weeks?”

“Not a lot,” he answers quickly, relieved at the change of topic. “I have some meetings, but that’s it really.” You nod to yourself, a sly grin spreading on your face.

“So, would you be interested in, I don’t know, having another date?” You hear him sputter into the receiver, and you practically see flames of red spreading from the tips of his ears to paint his cheeks. “And it’s not that I don’t like you coming to Sweet Bean, but it’d be nice to see you other places too,” you murmur. His breath catches and you bite your lip, trying to stifle a giggle at his reaction.

“I’d like that very much.” Toshinori’s voice is soft, sending butterflies gently floating through your stomach. You sit up again, nervously tapping your fingers against your thigh.

“Good. I was worried you were beginning to lose interest,” you tease. He lets out a laugh at the notion.

“Sweet girl,” he groans, making you flush, memories of the last time he called you that overwhelm your brain. “I’ll take you anywhere you want.”

“There’s a small festival that’s going on, actually. It’s some sort of dance competition I think. Would you wanna go tomorrow and check it out?”

“It’s a date.” A large smile forms on your face, and you make a satisfied noise.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” you whisper.

“Goodnight, sweet girl.”

Laying your phone down in your lap, you look out the window and your brows crease, the twinge of concern solidifying its roots. The city lights look a lot colder now.

_________

The festival is wonderful, full of games, a variety of colors, and inviting scents. You had been right, and it was some sort of dance festival, much to your delight. Troupes of dancers in beautiful, flowing, clothing performed in the street all day.

You let out a little hum as you bring a spoonful of kakigori to your mouth. The sun hangs low in the sky, painting the scattering of clouds gold, and shining beautifully in Toshinori’s hair. You glance up at Toshi, before pulling the spoon out of your mouth and offering it to him. He grins sharply, accepting the spoon and taking a bite of the shaved ice.

“I swear, those people have the best topping options,” you exclaim. He scoffs at you, shaking his head as he returns the spoon.

“I’m pretty sure they’re the same as they are everywhere.” You narrow your eyes at him and pout. Toshi’s eyes widen before he lets out a laugh that resounds in the air around you, enveloping you in something warm and soft.

“I mean, you are right. Their menu is special,” he corrects himself, shoving a hand into his pocket. You laugh at him, before carefully holding the kakigori with one hand, and sliding your other arm around the one he just placed in his pocket. You rest your head on his arm, and when you glance up, a deep red blooms at the tips of his ears. You grin before looking towards the crowds on the street.

“I kind of wanna see another performance. What about you?” you ask. A noise of agreement rumbles through his chest, and the two of you walk towards the mass of people. You never let Toshinori go, holding him close until you reach the crowd. Making sure to keep an eye on your kakigori, you take his hand, trying to guide the two of you forward, but the crowd is surprisingly dense. You stand on your tiptoes, trying to see the current group of dancers that were performing, jealous of Toshinori’s height.

His phone buzzes in his pocket, and he gently pulls his hand away from yours. His eyes flicker over to you, and then back to his phone. You take another bite of your kakigori as you wait for him to tell you what’s wrong. Toshinori shifts uncomfortably on his feet, reluctantly looking back at you. Your stomach drops at the way his pointed face is twisted.

“There was an emergency at the school. I have to go.” Your brows shoot upwards. You had not been expecting a school emergency. Especially when they’re on break. But then again, it’s one of the most prestigious schools in the country, and some of the classes are about to go to a training camp.

You set your spoon down in the ice, and you nod, forcing a smile onto your face.

“I understand. Don’t worry about it.” His shoulders sag in relief, but you smirk and bat your eyelashes at him. “But I was looking forward to taking you home again.” Something full of pain and longing slips into his eyes, and his mouth fixes itself into a sad smile.

“Let’s have dinner tomorrow night. If you’re free.” Toshinori sounds sad as he says it, and you reach up to gently grab the side of his arm.

“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.” Your words give him permission to leave, and yet he hesitates. You squeeze his arm in reassurance. “It’s okay, Toshi.” He nods down at you, before stalking off into the crowd. You let out a sigh and turn back towards the dancers, taking another bite of the sweet kakigori.

_________

Toshinori is late. A twinge of annoyance flickers in your chest. He had already called you, apologizing to you about not being able to pick you up because something had kept him at work, and he was just now heading out. That was thirty minutes ago.

Starting to get flustered by the sad glances the waitress keeps sending your way, you pull out your phone pulling up Toshinori’s contact again. Before you hit the call button, Toshinori is sliding into the seat across from you. You blink blankly at him, before slowly setting your phone down on the table.

Something hot and sharp grows in your chest. He looks worn out, as if he’s being spread too thin, tugged in too many directions. He’s always looked tired, and you partially think whatever caused his scar is to blame, but this, this is different. A small frown forms on his face, and you reach out, resting your hand on his.

“Is everything okay?” you ask quietly. His eyes flicker between your hands and your concerned face. Toshinori’s face softens before he shifts his hand to squeeze yours lightly.

“I’m just glad to be here now.” You flush under his gaze and tighten your hand in his.

“I’m glad you’re here now, too,” you murmur. His large, calloused thumb strokes the back of your hand. You lean forward, wanting to bask in this moment. Toshinori mimics you, a smile tugging at his mouth. Your eyes trail up and down his face, and the tips of his ears turn red. Eventually, the waitress comes by again, and she looks relieved that someone’s finally joined you. She takes your order happily and manages to make only one comment about how long you’ve been waiting, much to your horror.

“Anyways, how was your day?” he chokes out once the waitress scurries off. Giving his hand one last squeeze, you pull it away, drawing back into yourself.

“It was fine. Same as every day. I’m sure your’s was more interesting.” Leaning against the table rest your head in your hand, looking at him expectantly. His eyes widen, and he opens his mouth, but before he can get a word out, he’s interrupted.

His phone buzzes on vibrate, and you bite the inside of your cheek. Toshinori exhales shakily, and he rubs the back of his head sheepishly. His face is downcast, shoulders slipped, and he meets your eyes reluctantly.

“Y/N, I am so sorry,” he starts, but you just shake your head cutting him off.

“It’s okay. We can reschedule,” you try to say brightly, ignoring the cold feeling seeping into your bones. He nods at you sadly and rises from the table. His mouth quirks up sadly, and he ducks down, pressing a kiss to your forehead. When he pulls away, Toshinori leans his forehead against yours and brings his hand up to caress the side of your face.

“Tomorrow,” he reassures. You nod against him, and he’s gone, tearing out of the restaurant in a flash. You twirl your straw in your drink and purse your lips, brain twisting along with the liquid. A frigid thought pierces through your muddled mind: maybe he wasn’t interested in you and didn’t know how to let you down? When the waitress drops off the check, she smiles sadly at you; you wish you were a thousand miles away.

_________

He doesn’t even make it the next night. You’re left by yourself for about an hour, trying to ignore the pitying looks from the waiter. You had been excited earlier, watching as the sun sinks lower and lower, until the sweet orange shifts into soft pinks and deep blues. But it’s dark outside now, and you feel nauseous.

Your phone rings, jolting you from your thoughts. Your mouth twists into a small frown when you see it’s Toshinori. You let it ring, tilting your head to the side as you look at his contact picture. It’s a selfie of both of you holding to-go cups from Sweet Bean. He had to duck down to fit into the frame, a pretty blush covering his face as he looks at you with more tenderness than you’re used to. You had taken it when he walked you home from the police station with the intention of sending it to Aiko. Taking a deep breath, you answer the call.

“Hi.” You wince at how pathetic your voice sounds.

“Y/N, I am so sorry,” Toshinori practically yells. His frantic tone jolts you out of your self wallowing pity.

“Toshinori, what’s wrong?” Your stomach flips as your mind races through all the worse case scenarios.

“There was a villain attack at the camp, and -” he breathes in sharply, trying to calm himself down. “I won’t be able to make it tonight.”

“Oh my god, do not worry about it. Do what you need to. I’ll talk to you later,” you reassure him, guilt pooling in your stomach. He quickly sputters out a goodbye, and the line goes dead. You walk home by yourself, and the entire time you think of those girls laughing inside Sweet Bean just a few days ago. When you finally go to sleep, your cheeks are wet and your eyes are sore.

It’s only the next day that you find out one of the students has been kidnapped. Bakugou Katsuki. You don’t know him, but you recognize him from the Sports Festival.

You close Sweet Bean for the day.

_________

Aiko is over the next night, watching you from the couch while you tend to the tea plants on your tiny balcony. She’s brought over takeout that’s been forgotten in your kitchen. You’re much too focused on trying to stay busy.

You hold the plants tenderly, trying to turn on the faucet of warmth inside you.

It’s foolish to be this worried about someone you don’t even know, but you can’t help it. You’ve met his classmates (and you are constantly worrying about them now), you know some of his teachers, and it’s horrible that he’s been kidnapped. It twists your stomach, and you bite back the bile that’s threatening to rise.

Your hands stay cold.

“Y/N, you should see this!” Aiko calls from the living room. Standing up, you wipe your hands on your pants and join her. On the screen is Aizawa, another teacher, and the principal of U.A. Your nerves pool in your stomach at seeing how much worse the bags under Aizawa’s eyes have gotten; you can’t help but think of Toshinori.

You space out, chewing on your lip nervously as the conference comes to an end. You hadn’t heard from him all day, and considering what was going on, that’s to be expected. But you just want to know if he’s okay. The panicked tone that was in his voice plays on a loop in your mind.

Aiko’s gasp jolts you back to reality, and your eyes zero in on the screen. There's a fight being televised. You squint, trying to make out the hero as the camera zooms and refocuses. It’s All Might, you realize. A shallow sense of relief overwhelms you. He’ll take care of this. But to your horror, the villain’s power is on par with his. You reach out, gripping Aiko’s arm, your jaw clenching.

Your brain slinks back to the day he had chastised you for running recklessly into a situation. It’s best to leave situations like this up to the professionals. That’s what he had said to you that day. And then he had stuck his neck out for you for no reason. He can’t lose. He can’t lose. He can’t lose, fuck.

You watch, mouth tightened into a firm line, as he takes a beating. After another forceful blow, Aiko stills next to you, the atmosphere between you two crystallizing into something cold and sticky as your jaw slackens.

On the screen, in All Might’s now baggy outfit, covered in blood is Yagi Toshinori.

________________________

Taglist: @bougainvilliea713otaku @chou-maitresse​

[astyle-alex]

[Fanfic] Museum Mishap | the BatFam

Heya! As we approach the End of 2020 (FINALLY), I’m realizing that this story is ridiculously close to reaching the milestone of 25k hits on Ao3. To celebrate, I’ll be posting the whole thing here on Tumblr!

(I would however, deeply appreciate it if y’all would pop over to view it on Ao3, briefly, so I can get the view counted as a hit and actually make it over the line for 25k in views before the close of 2020!)

Museum Mishap  |  Chapter 1/6

Fandom: the DC Universe, Batman & co. Pairings: Jay x Tim Characters: Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson Rating: Gen Audiences Warnings: None

Total Word Count: 38,590

Summary:

Middle-School Tim Drake is on a field trip to the Science Museum, but with a WE exhibition of top-secret new technologies being staged in the basement, Tim separates from his classmates and breaks into the staff-only areas by using the skills he's developed over years of stalking Batman and Robin.

Current-Robin Jason Todd catches him in the act, but he's not there to confront Tim for trespassing or truancy - he's there because there's a rumor on the street that Tim Drake knows Batman's real name. And the rumor's gaining ground, quick, drawing in the wrong kind of attention.

When a Drug-Lord decides to take the rumor seriously enough to kidnap the little genius, Jason jumps into the crossfire. It all goes downhill from there. Fast.

(Jason is 14, Tim is 12)

Chapter 1 : Special Access

           A trip to Gotham’s History of Science and Technology Museum would’ve been exciting for even your average twelve year old – it was a day of school that didn’t feel like school, and it meant a chance to hang out, relatively unsupervised, with your friends all day instead of just the one or two classes you managed to luck into having together.

           Timothy Jackson Drake was not your average twelve year old, and a trip to the SciTech Muse was the kind of thing that made his enrollment in middle school entirely worth it. For starters, it was an entire day spent in the heart of the city surrounded by some of the coolest artifacts of science humans could craft.

           And to make things even better, the trip was an all-day, delayed opening affair, starting at 10am and ending at 6pm – which meant he’d actually been able to get enough sleep last night to be well-rested, a rarity in its own right with his particular extra-curriculars. Better yet, he’d been able to tell the Drake housekeeper / nanny that he’d be having dinner with his class so she could go home right at 6 without having to wait for him to get back so she could cook for him.

           That part wasn’t true, of course, but he had concrete evidence that had been legitimately published by the school to help back up his story. Mrs. Simz had her own kid, and was therefore harder to convince than some of the others Tim’s parents had hired, but that also meant she had more reason to hurry home when presented with a believable reason excusing it.

           Being a sixth-grader meant Tim couldn’t just stay in the heart of the city when the field trip was over, he was on a rollcall and the bus back to Gotham Academy wouldn’t leave without his name getting checked off. The high schoolers were allowed to take public transit home if they had a signed permission slip from their parents, but Tim had to wait a few more years before he could con his way into having such freedoms.

           Still, getting over to the West Side from where his school was in Coventry would be far easier than getting there from the Drake Estate way out in Bristol. The extra hour and a half he’d save himself in commuting time mean he would be able to grab some coffee and something to eat without having to rush to get in place for the nighttime adventure he’d planned.

           Beyond all that, the fact that the field trip was this week, meant there was a special exhibition from the cutting-edge tech division of Wayne Enterprises in the midst of being set up. All the main components were being staged in the museum's basement and the ones too big to steal were as close to unprotected as they would ever be – and Tim intended to take full advantage of that.

           He’d been summarily and repeatedly denied acceptance to the WayneTech summer camps as his parents owned one of the company's main competitors: Drake Industries. Apparently corporate espionage was a big enough problem that even ten year olds were suspect. Tim found it ridiculous that the one time he would’ve been entirely okay with having his abilities underestimated was the one time he wasn’t assumed to be just another dumb kid. Honestly, Tim was pretty sure that no one had actually read his application – the computer had probably scanned his ID and kicked his profile out of the running before it had even made it to a human that might care about his actual qualifications.

           Tim hadn’t figured out how to make a bulletproof fake identity profile – not yet, at least – And he certainly wasn’t going to get caught trying to gain illegal access to WE on a sub-par fake ID. Because there were all kinds of ways that would go poorly for him – between his parents possibly being disappointed in him enough to hire a live-in Nanny to the legal ramifications he’d face, even as a minor, it just wasn’t worth it.

           But the thought of getting an up-close look at the new tech WE was rolling out still made Tim's heart pound like he’d just downed a full pot of coffee. WE took a very different approach to developing their tech than DI – more of a ‘you know what would be cool? can we make that reasonable?’ philosophy than a ‘how do we solve this problem?’ sort of thing. Tim found the both the WE approach and their results utterly fascinating.

           Not that Tim had been allowed to play with much of DI's tech, being that his parents would hear about him attempting to gain unsupervised lab access, and promptly ground him, and anyone who might supervise treated him like a kid far too young to understand or unobtrusively observe the work going on inside the places he wanted to see.

           So, the fact that a spectacular spread of WE tech was set up in the basement of a rather glaringly unsecured staff only area in the very building Tim’s class was touring stood as an open invitation for Tim to investigate.

           An invitation that Tim took very seriously. He’d spent at least 18 hours over the past week examining the museum’s blueprints – courtesy of the Gotham City Hall Public Archives – And the rundown of the security, both in terms of the human guards and staff on-hand and the electronic countermeasures – via close examination of the extensive repertoire of ‘insider access’ videos on the museum’s own webpage. Tim would probably end up sending the museum an anonymous suggestion about adjusting that at some point, but he’d worry about that later.

           After he used it to his tech fantasy fulfillment advantage.

           For now, he simply slipped away from the unwatchful eyes of his teachers, stuck headphones in his ears, and carefully made his way – casually, calmly, and like he had no destination in mind – over to the hallway by the cafeteria near the east wing gift shop. The hallway that had restrooms and a staff-only door halfway down it. A door secured with a heavy-duty machine-lock, with a ten-digit keypad, but a door that was not alarmed.

           The human guards were always more focused on preventing shoplifters from stealing over-priced – for a good cause, but still over-priced – museum memorabilia than on the high-traffic restroom hall by the cafeteria. Using his headphones as an excuse to tap his fingers to keep count – while his eyes and most of his brainpower focused on evaluating targets – Tim tracked the museum employees on their lunch breaks and calculated the best option to use as his ticket backstage. He had some in mind, but he had contingencies for last-minute adjustment.

           Tim settled on a big guy whose name he’d read on staff profiles but had forgotten with the other useless information provided about his role in the marketing department. What Tim hadn’t forgotten about him was that his department’s office was right by the staff door he was eyeing – 4.5 meters down and to the left, to be exact – which meant that, even with his slow stride, he would be behind another door in the hallway approximately 17 seconds after the door Tim needed closed behind him.

           When Mr. Marketing got up and lumbered over to the trash, Tim sidled over towards an informational sign with a museum map. As Mr. Marketing passed him, Tim counted off 4 seconds before he turned around to follow. He slid his hand into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around the u-shaped metallic magnet he'd had to smuggle in by jamming it into his mouth and using sleight of hand to pretend it was his retainer – Less than sanitary, but effective, and he’d taken an extra vitamin this morning as a precaution.

           Mr. Marketing punched in his code and pulled the door open to well over 90° before he lumbered through the gap. Tim kept his pace consistent; patient, he could be patient – even though it made his heart rate kick up uncomfortably as he put his faith in his calculations instead of in his feet. He reached the door with almost 6 inches of clearance left for him to slide his hand in and clip his magnet into place over the latch.

           The door closed as he withdrew his hand and kept walking, but it did not click.

           The machine lock whirred with an attempt to close, but its components struck the flat surface of his magnet and failed to properly secure the door. Had the door been alarmed, that would have drawn a lot of unwanted attention, but as it was Tim made it to the restroom with almost nothing noticeably amiss.

           The restroom was crowded enough that his entrance didn’t draw attention and he shut himself in one of the stalls to count off exactly 10 seconds. Then he washed his hands, acquired a paper towel that he did not immediately dispose of, and went to retrieve his magnet. The paper towel allowed him to grasp the handle without leaving fingerprints and he retrieved his magnet without incident – opening the door onto an empty hallway and promptly swerving right to access the unsecured stairwell he knew would be there.

           Tim had no way to hide himself from the singular security camera watching the hallway, but the area was so highly trafficked that he doubted any security guard had been monitoring closely enough to spot his detour. He would get in a ton of trouble if he was caught here – phone calls to his parents would be unavoidable and they’d likely be so angry at him they’d fly back from Spain a week early. But he’d almost certainly avoid any kind of legal consequences.

           Besides, he wasn’t going to get caught. He’d planned this too well for that.

           Tim made his way through the less convenient passageways in the museum’s basement until he reached the corner of the sub-basement where the WayneTech exhibit was being staged. It was, as he’d known it would be, isolated and completely vacant of staff.

           A smile split his face as the relief he felt in making it there successfully was quickly replaced by the buzz of unadulterated excitement. He set his backpack down carefully – mindful, as always, of his precious camera. Then he rolled up his sleeves as he stepped closer to the first machine he saw with the WE logo stamped proudly on its side.

           According to the signage prepped in the binder sitting next to the behemoth, it was a component of the quantum computer WayneTech was developing to facilitate physically interactive virtual realities. Tim bounced on his toes as he warred with himself – half wanting to read more about the technical specs and half wanting to dive right in and see it for himself.

           Tim made it through another two pages of engineering details before he gave up and literally tackled the machine to hoist himself up high enough to look inside via the glass panel built in for that specific purpose. There were at least a dozen windows in the casing and Tim wondered – for a brief moment of distraction from the tech itself as he clambered higher up its exterior – how the museum was going to work in ramps and such for visitors to get the best views. If he didn’t get arrested tonight or banned from the museum forever, he might have to come back to see it in its full glory.

           He’d finagled his way to the last protrusion from top and was marveling at the neat rows of complicated wiring laid out below him when something crucial changed: he discovered that he was not, in fact, alone.

           “Ya know, I don’t think you’re supposed to be down here.”

           Tim really wanted to pretend he didn’t yelp like a kicked puppy when the sudden voice scared him half out of his skin, but the basement echoed enough for him to know it would be ridiculous to think the newcomer hadn’t heard him. Tim ducked his head in shame as his ears burned red and he turned to face whoever had caught him with hunched shoulders and guilty hands raised in surrender.

           And then he spotted his accuser on the floor and froze.

           It was Jason Peter Todd.

           Jason Peter Todd – Bruce Wayne’s new ward and the new Robin. And also kinda Tim’s neighbor. Well, as far as the word ‘neighbor' applied when your respective estates were so big it took an hour to hike door to door. Tim’s brain got caught in a loop of wondering what the frack Jason Peter Todd, of all people, was doing at the museum on a Thursday afternoon. Was doing down here, in this particular sub-basement, on a Thursday afternoon.

           Tim had fully been expecting to see the new Robin today, but that was when he was in full costume and wasn’t supposed to be for at least ten more hours. And Tim had not – in any of his contingencies – planned for Robin to see him.

           “Uh, hi,” Tim floundered.

           “Hi,” returned the crime fighting teenager Tim idolized and had been planning to stalk through Coventry later today. There was a glint in his eyes as he stared up at Tim with a smirk.

           They stared at each other in silence for way longer than could possibly be considered reasonable and Tim's ears resumed to burn at that, and at the distinct realization he had no idea what to say next.

           Because what exactly are you supposed to say when Jason Peter Todd catches you red handed in an off-limits part of a museum? Sitting on top of a piece of cutting edge computer engineering that you had absolutely no right to touch?

           “You're Tim Drake, aren’t you,” Jason asked – in a way that was definitely not really a question and also made it clear that Jason was laughing at him. “We met last month at the charity gala. I’m Jason.”

           “I remember, Mr. Todd,” Tim spouted, falling back on the robotic safety net of manners his mother had drilled into him. “Um, what brings you here?”

           “It’s just ‘Jason’, kid.” He jerked his chin at the machine Tim clung to, continuing, “That shit’s WayneTech. B sent me over to make sure it’s got all the right bits with it.”

           Tim nodded like a puppet, trying not to drown in his horror as he realized what it meant that Jason had caught him. He was messing with tech that Batman owned. There were probably a hundred undetectable BatSecurity features on this thing. Robin had probably been sent to see if someone was trying to steal it when one of Batman’s invisible alarms had gone off.

           “How about you, kid,” Jason asked, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his cargo pants. He regarded Tim with openly amused parody as he asked, “What brings you here?”

           “Field trip,” Tim responded automatically.

           “Field trip?” Jason echoed with an incredulous chuckle.

           He stared at Tim for another long moment and Tim stared back, terrified and unblinking and too tongue tied to substantiate his claim.

           “Alright then,” Jason said eventually, with a one shoulder shrug inside his leather jacket. “So, you got yourself stuck up there or are you gonna come have lunch with me?”

           “Lunch?”

           “Yeah, ya know, food. You eat it,” Jason explained. “I know I could use some pizza.”

           Tim frowned – at the confirmation of the non-sequitur of lunch plans, not the various insults attached to it.

           Jason seemed to falter briefly. “You actually stuck up there, Tim?”

           “No,” Tim huffed, willing to admit he sounded slightly petulant about it.

           “Well then get your skinny ass down here,” Jason prompted – a beat too late in a way Tim didn’t quite understand. He blinked, trying to puzzle out what didn’t sit right, but Jason arched an eyebrow – in the way Tim had seen him do as Robin, magically managing the expression despite the mask – and Tim realized he was supposed to be doing something.

           He was already in enough trouble as it was, so Tim scrambled down the computer and found himself face to face with the second Robin. Or face to chest, as it were.

           Tim hadn’t hit his growth spurt yet, so he knew he was a scrawny twelve, but he hadn’t thought Jason would be that much taller. Jason was only two years older and he was stocky to start with. It was different when he’d been in the suit he’d worn for the charity gala. In civvies he looked broad and strong, and he stood up straighter.

           Jason pulled one hand from his pocket and threw his arm around Tim’s shoulders – began dragging him towards the exit. Tim lunged for his backpack as they passed it and clutched it close to his chest as Jason continued to drag him back upstairs.

           They ended up in the west cafeteria, in a corner that Jason had clearly selected for it’s state of semi-privacy. It was crowded and public enough to make raised voices problematic, but private enough to discuss sensitive details without much worry of being over heard. And it was neutral ground, like Jason was trying to make Tim comfortable before hashing out exactly how much trouble he was in for touching Batman’s stuff without express permission.

           Jason had acquired a large pizza, dripping with extra cheese and a blanket of peperoni, and two double-thick paper plates – one of which he piled high with three slices and placed in front of Tim. He gave himself five slices and settled down to chat having somehow already inhaled half of a sixth.

           “So,” Jason started around a mouthful of food as Tim poked tentatively as his own serving, “Some people are saying you’ve got some sort of connection to the Batman.”

           Tim frowned, his gaze snapping up to evaluate Jason.

           He’d spoken quietly, conspiratorially – like he wanted in on a secret Tim had. Like he wasn’t about to threaten to hang Tim by his thumbs in the depths of Batman’s secret lair for the rest of the foreseeable future.

           Awareness that Jason didn’t know that Tim knew his vigilante identity sparked inside Tim’s brain. He might be able to get out of this. If Robin didn’t know then Tim was only in trouble for touching the quantum computer because Batman didn’t want anyone touching it, and Jason was limited in how he could exact vengeance because the wrong move would reveal his role as Robin. All Tim had to do was talk his way out of this.

           Tim could do that. Right?

           All he had to do was figure out how.

           “I’m sorry I touched the quantum computer,” he blurted.

           Probably not like that.

           Tim hunched down into his shoulders and poked again at his pizza to avoid eye contact with Jason. His ears began to burn again as he felt Jason staring at him.

           “Shit, kid,” Jason said, after swallowing his bite this time, “You’re not in trouble.”

           Tim’s finger paused mid-poke. “I’m not?”

           “Nah,” Jason promised. “Fuck the Man.”

           Tim blinked. “Then why are you talking to me?”

           Jason blinked. A sort of confused expression that was vaguely pitying flickered across his face. Then he reiterated, “’Cause I hear you know who the Batman is, ya know, under the cowl.”

           Okay. So, Jason didn’t know he knew, but he suspected.

           Tim could work with that. Probably.

           He took a bite of pizza purely to keep himself from blurting anymore unhelpful apologies and attempted to calculate the best response.

           “Nobody knows who Batman is,” Tim said eventually.

           “But you’re a fan, right?” Jason nodded at Tim sweater – at the big black and yellow R embroidered on the left-hand side of the red-wool knitwork. Mrs. Davis had made this sweater for him, before her kids had insisted that she retire from babysitting rich Gotham kids and go be a grandmother in the safety and comfort of their town in Florida. Mrs. Davis had been one of the very few people who had supported Tim’s moderately obsessive interest in Batman and Robin.

           She hadn’t really understood, but Tim missed her – missed being able to talk about it.

           “You’ve gotta have some theories,” Jason was saying, his voice persistent enough to pull Tim back out from inside his own head.

           “I don’t have any theories,” Tim said. And it was true enough. He’d had theories. But that was before. Now, he had evidence. Another bite of pizza kept him from saying that out loud.

           “Seriously? None?”

           Tim shrugged and counted the circles of peperoni left on his first slice. Nine more circles, fifteen more bites. His stomach was already wary of the food he was putting in it. If this interrogation lasted more than ten bites, Tim’s stomach would probably begin to protest.

           Adamantly.

           He peeked up at Jason. Who was somehow already finishing slice number three.

           “Then why’s the word on the street that you’ve got insider know-how on ole Batsy?”

           “I dunno,” Tim said with another shrug. Truthfully, the question was bothering him too.

           Tim had never been seen when he’d staked out a spot to catch the dynamic duo on patrol or in the midst of a big bust. Never. They would’ve confronted him then and there if they’d ever found him with a camera full of very clear photos of them in action.

           So, how did Robin know enough to suspect him?

           “Who’d you hear it from?”

           This time, Jason shrugged. “I dunno. People. But like seriously, you don’t have any fucking idea why someone would think you know Batman’s real name?”

           Tim shook his head silently. He wanted to save his pizza for the questions that really needed him to have something to do with his mouth other than blabbing out his secrets.

           “Huh.”

           Jason’s eyes were narrowed, not quite threateningly, but pressingly – like he wasn’t quite sure a threat would be appropriate, but he was certain that Tim wasn’t telling the truth. It was another look Tim had captured him using as Robin. A kind of gentled-down BatglareTM for Robin to use on uncooperative victims instead of how Batman used his on uncooperative criminals – because victims could be uncooperative for all kinds of non-criminal reasons.

           Tim suddenly understood why it was so effective.

           He squirmed in his seat and caved to the need to take another bite of pizza.

           But he wasn’t a victim. Was he?

           Suddenly, Robin’s presence at the museum seemed a lot more suspect. It made sense for Robin to be there because Tim had triggered some sort of invisible Batalarm on the quantum computer, but he’d gotten there way too quickly for that to have been what brought him to the museum initially. He’d’ve had to have already been inside the building.

           But why?

           Tim’s class had been scheduled for this museum trip over a month ago. He’d even talked about it briefly with Bruce Wayne himself at the charity gala he’d attended with his parents – that’s how he’d known about the WayneTech exhibition far enough in advance to plan effectively to sneak down to the basements.

           “When’d you start hearing that rumor?”

           Tim’s question was so sudden and loud in his own ears that he startled himself.

           He seemed to have startled Jason too – who was starting on pizza slice number five and appeared to have been in the middle of a sentence when Tim had jolted into questioning him.

           “Uh, about a week ago, I guess,” Jason explained. “Your name had come up a few times before that in regards to you being a fan, but it wasn’t too long ago that it changed to you having special access or some shit.”

           Tim nodded absently.

           Two weeks ago, there’d been a major drug bust in a neighborhood just over half a mile away from his school. Batman had been tipped off about the drug ring in the same way Tim had: kids who came to school high rode the bus home and the chalk marks on the benches at the stops used by the kids who were using weren’t terribly sophisticated code.

           Tim had snagged some really spectacular shots the night that bust went down.

           Several of Tim’s classmates had exhibited symptoms of withdrawal shortly after that. A few of those students – namely some who’d never seemed to be able to have a civil conversation or simply let Tim pass in silence – had stopped exhibiting those symptoms a few days later. Tim had assumed they’d found a new dealer.

           Maybe they’d needed to find something more valuable to trade too, to make up for getting their old dealer busted.

           Info on the Bat who’d busted them would be pretty valuable.

           Even just a lead on info would’ve been valuable. Tim had been outright stalking Batman and Robin for over a third of his entire lifespan, at this point, and only just recently figured out who Batman really was. And he was a verified genius who’d happenstantially acquired the right life experiences to recognize things like quadruple somersaults. Who’d circumstantially idolized and stalked two different costumed acrobats for several years before he realized they were actually the same person and begun to extrapolate from there.

           Nobody knew anything about Batman.

           A tip on someone who might, would be very valuable indeed.

           Tim was being interrogated by Robin because he was a victim. He just hadn’t been victimized quite yet.

           Tim dropped his pizza like it’d burned him and began to rifle through his backpack for the new cellphone his mother had bought him when school started. It was ‘so he could fit in with his peers’. It was too big to fit in his pocket and he’d never liked wearing a watch, so he’d had to dig to find it and figure out the time.

           It was 4:32pm.

           Shift change for the guards was in less than an hour and they were already definitely antsy for it. Most of the science staff were already heading home to beat the traffic, and most of the new guards wouldn’t be coming in for at least another twenty minutes.

           If Tim were going to lead a team to invade this place and capture an unwilling potential asset, he would do it in the next ten to fifteen minutes.

           “We have to get out of here.”

           Jason frowned, his confusion pronounced with wary unease. But he demonstrated a willingness to trust Tim at his word for no other reason than Tim wanted him to and clambered to his feet. He took his last slice of pizza with him though – and nabbed the two untouched pieces from Tim’s plate as he followed.

           “What’s wrong, Tim,” Jason asked, carefully nonchalant. His hands were full of pizza in the way Tim’s mouth had been to stop him from doing what he wanted to do when asked a stupid question he should’ve known better than to answer – Tim suspected that if Jason wasn’t holding onto the pizza he’d’ve grabbed Tim’s shoulder at this point.

           Tim didn’t know how to answer at all, let alone efficiently communicate what he’d deduced about their current situation. Especially not without revealing that he knew Jason was Robin and could guess why Robin was here talking to him to begin with.

           Jason was rapidly eating though the pizza that was keeping him from grabbing onto Tim’s arm to stop their not-so-subtle scramble towards the museum’s main exit. They made it to within sight of the doors before Jason had inhaled the last piece of crust, and Tim had probably ignored several unheard comments and questions about their rapid egress, when Jason finally lost the battle to avoid physical contact and wrapped his hand around Tim’s elbow.

           Tim swung around to face him as his inertia asserted dominance.

           “Timmy, what’s got you so spooked?” Jason asked. “C’mon. You can tell me. Anything. I won’t rat on you, even if it’s something bad. Lemme help.”

           “I can’t – it’s not – You don’t,” Tim could practically feel the whine building in his voice at all the false starts that his brain attempted to send through his mouth to make the act of communication happen. His brain apparently thought it worked something like magic.

           Tim was frustrated and embarrassed and still very acutely aware of the fact that they needed to get out of the building. Right now.

           And Jason was doing the Robin look, the other one – the one for the scared little bunnies of the victims they came across that needed to be soothed and calmed and promised that they had a friend somewhere in the cold cruel world. Tim knew why it worked – felt it working on him – and yet he was mortified that Robin thought it necessary.

           He wasn’t a bunny. He was an asset. Currently being targeted.

           Recentered, he focused and forced words to come out of his mouth intelligibly.

           “We have to get out of the building.”

           Jason had moved to holding onto both of Tim’s shoulders at some point – holding him steady, holding him still. He looked Tim right in the eye and asked gently, “Why?”

           The words got jammed up in Tim’s throat again and he squeaked.

           And then the museum’s windows exploded inward with a dramatic shower of glass and gunfire as more goons than Tim could count began to repel their way inside.

           Tim closed his eyes and winced at the bite of regret on how fracking close they’d been to getting out of this without any major complications.

           “That’s why,” he groaned.

-----

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[pens-swords-stuff]

Please read!

On March 11th, 2011 Japan has gone through a cataclysmic earthquake, followed by a massive tsunami that has destroyed much of Northeast Japan. Hundreds of lives were lost, homes were washed away, and the effects of the disaster can still be felt today.

If you go to yahoo.co.jp and search “3.11″ today, Yahoo will donate 10 yen (approximately 9-10 cents) for tsunami relief.

Please take the time to do this. It will take about 2 seconds at no cost to you, and the money will be used for a good cause.

It’s been about 8 years since the disaster, and Japan has still not fully recovered. Every little bit helps, and in the chaotic cycle of news it is really easy to forget about major events like this. Thousands of lives were affected, and I would really appreciate it if you took the time to participate, and take a moment for all of the lives affected.

I have a personal connection with this disaster, and it is really important to me that this gets as much awareness as possible.

Please reblog to boost awareness!

If you would like to know my personal story and connection to tsunami and earthquake, it is all underneath the cut. [includes pictures]

For those of you who don’t know, I am Japanese-American. Although I was born in and grew up in the United States, both of my parents are Japanese and I used to go to Japan every summer to visit family.

My mother’s hometown of Kesennuma was the very first place hit by the tsunami. In the image below, the star was the epicenter of the tsunami, and that little place circled in blue is Kesennuma.

Almost the entirety of my mother’s side of the family lives in Kesennuma including my grandmother and numerous relatives. Kesennuma is basically my second home, I grew up going there every year, I attended school there, I grew up playing on the beach, and running through the streets as a kid. 

On the morning of the 11th, I remember waking up because the phone started ringing at around 4 AM, and didn’t stop. My mom usually wakes me up at 7 AM to get ready for school, but she didn’t that day. When I woke up on my own and went downstairs, my mom was staring at the TV. The only thing on the TV was a building being swept away by massive waves.

My grandmother lives right next door to Kesennuma’s City Hall. When I was a kid, I used to open the window in my grandma’s house and wave to the office workers across a small alley — that’s how close it was. The only thing that was on the news at the time, during the disaster was “The City Hall of Kesennuma has been engulfed in waves!”. Over and over, for about two weeks, that was the only source of information that me and my parents had. For two of the longest weeks of my life, we had absolutely no idea if my grandma, my cousins, my family, and my friends were dead or alive.

During this time, the electricity was down, cell phone signals were wiped out, and despite the entire world paying attention and sending prayers and well-wishes to Japan, they received none of it because they had no way to communicate with the outside world. Me and my mother spent these two weeks combing through the internet and playing the news 24/7 for any update. But we didn’t get any, the only thing that was on the Japanese news that we watched was the news of Kesennuma’s City Hall being swept away.

About 2 weeks later was when we finally managed to make contact with my mother’s cousin. Aid was finally beginning to arrive with limited access to basic necessities including portable chargers so people could contact their loved ones. 

It was only later that I heard the full story of what happened.

City Hall was actually safe, and so was my grandmother’s house. About 6 feet of water had flooded the area, but it was actually the point where the waves begin to recede, and City Hall became a Refugee Camp for people in the area. My grandmother went there to evacuate, and during those 2 weeks everyone was stuck there, huddling over limited quantities of food, as they watched people die and their homes get destroyed. 

When aid finally arrived with food and blankets, one of my grandmother’s friends told me that everyone was too despondent and in shock to move. So my grandmother is one of those people that cannot sit still, she always has to be moving, and she always has to be helping people in need, and she decided that she wasn’t going to sit around in shock. This 84 year old woman went around, cooking meals for hundreds of people and making sure that they were as comfortable as they could be without anyone helping her. We later found out that she had broken her foot in the tsunami and didn’t even realize that was why her foot was hurting her so much because she was so caught up in aiding others.

I went to Japan in June of 2011, 3 months after the tsunami, and here are some of the photographs that I took of the aftermath.

The last image in particular, that was where my relative’s house used to stand. They lived right by the coast, and it always smelled of sea salt there.

Right near their house, there was a massive vat of oil, as giant as buildings. That was knocked over in the tsunami, spreading oil all over the water. Somehow, that got ignited and my mother’s cousin described it as an ocean of fire.

They retreated to a nearby hospital which was the highest point of the area, but they got stuck there for days as the tsunami ravaged the area around them with fire dancing over it. They had to be rescued by helicopters several days later.

As I mentioned, my mother and I went to Japan as soon as we could, three months later. The town that I remember walking through was completely unrecognizable. The streets were gone and replaced by a gravel path, hastily laid out so that people could drive through. All of the buildings were gone, and even though there was quite a distance to the ocean, I could see it clearly because all of the buildings that once stood there were completely wiped out.

Despite all of this hardship, the first thing people would say to me and my mother when they saw us was “You must’ve been so shocked. Are you okay? I know everything is different now.”

They had gone through hell. They had lost their homes, and were living in temporary housing that made a college dorm room look luxurious in comparison. They had lost their friends, family, money, belongings, and the first thing they did was worry about how me and my mother took the news. Not a single person complained about their situation even though they were 100% justified in doing so. They were suffering, but they were too kind and caring to let it show.

I also had the opportunity to visit some of the temporary housing that was literally put together like a giant doll house in any open space, like a playground. When I got there, I had the privilege of listening to their story. And when people told me their story, they were always smiling and reassuring me that they were hopeful, and that I didn’t have to feel sorry for them, even though they were the ones that had gone through a terrible natural disaster that took everything from them. They literally had nothing, and were living off of donations but when it was time for me to leave, they would offer me food, trinkets, anything they could spare for me to take.

These people are so kind, so generous, so giving in a situation where it would be completely understandable if they weren’t.

This is just my secondhand story, and my experience. There are thousands of other stories out there, thousands of experiences and tragedies, and a lot of hope that managed to remain even throughout all of this tragedy.

Obviously, 8 years later things have improved. But remnants of this disaster can still be felt, and things still aren’t back to normal in not only Kesennuma, but all over Northeastern Japan as well.

For those of you who got to the end, thank you so much for reading. I know this isn’t my most coherent piece of writing because it’s a very painful and emotional memory for me — I can’t even imagine what people who actually went through and experienced this feel like.

My grandmother is okay, and my relatives have recently built a new home after living in a too small temporary house for so long. My baby cousin was born a day later on March 12, 2011 and he’s also doing fine. Most of my family members have survived, even though they may have lost their homes, photographs, memories, etc. And they’re recovering. I don’t know if they’re 100% better yet, but they’re getting there. I’ve lost some friends to this disaster, and I just hope that they’re in a better place now.

Thank you for your time, and thank you for your donation. We still need your help, and it is greatly appreciated.

[straykidsmusings]

Summer Paradise - Mark Lee

Pairing: Mark Lee & Y/N Words: 5.8k+ Genre: Fluff Warning(s): none, maybe a few swears Summary: y/n comes back to summer camp as a counsellor, so does her childhood enemy, what happens when they’re forced to share a room for the summer?

You drove down the familiar dirt road on your way to camp.  You have been going there since you were young, growing to love the large wooden cabins with the soft ripples of the lake that curved around one side of the camp grounds.

When you became too old to attend the actual camp last year you decided to apply as a camp counsellor, hoping to inspire and help as many campers as your counsellors had over the years.

You parked your car, taking your beat-up suitcase that you had used every summer since you were eleven. Walking up to the large main cabin that had the head counsellors’ offices and opened the glass door. “Y/n!” Diane, the owner of the camp called when she saw you, getting up to give you a long overdue squeeze. “Sorry I’m a bit late, there was so much traffic, I hope I haven’t missed anything important.” You said, pulling back from the long hug, looking slightly guilty. “No its alright Hun, everyone is just getting settled, campers should be arriving in a couple of hours so just get comfy in your cabin. Your other counsellor is already there, you should recognize him, he’s just like you. Couldn’t get away from us.” She said, telling you which cabin you were in and sending you on your way.

Your camp had always been a bit different from the other ones, it was very large, a seemingly never-ending lake and the cabins were larger than some people’s own homes. However, the camp was not for ‘rich kids’, whose parents were lawyers and accountants, not in the slightest.  The owners of the camp, Diane, and Gabriel had a son who went to a summer camp each year but unfortunately developed tumours in his brain. During the last couple of painful and hard last months of his life he asked his parents to set up their own camp.  News got out and many donations were made by people all around the country, making it into the camp ground they had today.  The cabins each have two bedrooms, one big one filled with bunk beds for the kids and one room with two beds for the two counsellors for each cabin. They had a small living room area and kitchen, two main bathrooms, a girls and a boys one, and one smaller bathroom connected to the counsellors’ bedroom.

You walked up the wooden steps and into the house looking cabin. You walked over to the door of your soon to be bedroom for the next two months, walking backwards into it, dragging your suitcase behind you. “Late on the first day huh? Tut tut, thought you were always perfect at everything princess.” You heard the piercingly familiar voice mock you. Turning your head towards the noise you saw the boy you wanted to see the least this summer.

“Mark?”

~*~

You and Mark arrived at the camp on the same year. You were a very shy and quiet child, just getting on with everything you were given, not wanting to bother anyone. Mark was always loud, not wanting to participate in any of the activities and always pulling pranks on the other campers, you being his main target. He loved to put itching powder in your things, throw water balloons on your art work so it was ruined and hiding the most important things to you. Over the summers every year you both had attended camp, you had never properly spoken to him, trying to stay under the radar and far away from his cruel glares and mocking actions.  So now that you had to share not only a cabin but a bedroom with him you weren’t sure if you could handle it. After getting your things on to the remaining empty bed and leaving the cabin as quickly as possible, you went to find who the other counsellors were in the near-by cabins.

Not long after you had finished calling into the other counsellors’ cabins, the campers started to arrive in the large green near the front of the camp.  You walked over to the new arrivals, standing beside Diane who had multiple clipboards in her hand. She passed one to you with our cabin number at the top with a list of eight or so names on it.  “Go find them if they’re here, get Mark to help you.” she said, turning back to the worried looking parents in front of her. You walked over to where the rest of your co-workers for the next couple of months were, who were holding similar clipboards to yours. You all stood in a line as campers were directed over to you.

~*~

You both eventually got all your campers and hauled all their luggage up to your home for 2 months.  After getting them all situated and calmed down you walked back down to the green for some team building exercises.

It’s been hours since you arrived, and you hadn’t spoken to Mark yet, but you knew you had to for your campers. You walked to the back of the line of your kids, to where Mark was walking in a slight day-dream. “Mark.” you said, walking in step with him and trying to get his attention. “What?” he said, moving slightly away from you. “We need to at least pretend that we get along for this hour that we’re doing this okay? Please? For the kids?” you said, looking ahead of you at your campers that were talking and joking around. He glanced at you, his eyes meeting yours but only briefly.  “Fine.” he grumbled, looking back at the ground.

That truce didn’t last as long as you hoped.

After half an hour, you had finished one activity and started a new one. You had two chairs and had to get your whole cabin from one point to the other. Everyone, campers, and counsellors.  You had your ideas, and apparently Mark had his. You couldn’t really tell because he was just shouting at you, something you didn’t respond well to. “Will you shut up for a minute!” you snapped, slightly shocking your campers and Mark, who promptly shut his mouth.  “Lay out the chair flat, get two people to stand on it, get the other one to be in front of it, then move to that one etc.” you said simply, looking up at him, “It’s not that hard.” “Oh look at you miss know it all.” he said, but laid out the chairs the way you said.

You had got all the kids over and now only you two were left. Obviously, you both didn’t think that through too well, not working well with each other at all. There was pushing and shoving but you both eventually made it to the other side, the first entire cabin to make it.

~*~

It was late on now after a tiring first day, but everyone was sat in a circle in the living room area, pjs on and teddies being cuddled. You both had decided that it would be good idea for everyone to get to know each other because you will be damned if your campers don’t get along with each other. “Hello, as you know I’m Mark, I’m 19, my favourite colour is blue and I really like dessert and dogs. But not together, obviously not together…” he trailed off, earning a few chuckles from the campers. “Hi, I’m y/n, I’m also 19, my favourite colour is red and I really like dogs and drawing.” you said, not knowing what kind of thing to say. Next a tiny girl with baby pink pjs and a slight tattered elephant clutched in her hand spoke from next to Mark, “I’m Rose, I’m 5 and I like puppies and, um, hugs.” she mumbled quietly. You barely heard her, but you were happy when you saw Mark run his comparatively large hand over her back comfortingly. A taller boy next to her started to talk when he understood that she was finished.  “Hi! I’m Oliver, I’m 6 and I love trains and the stars.” he said enthusiastically, but very loudly. He reminded you of someone, but you couldn’t place who it was.

The rest of the kids spoke, and you eventually got everyone into their beds, giving everyone who wanted one, a hug and a cuddle, reassuring them that this will be the best summer ever.

You walked out of the room last, closing the door quietly behind you, being surprised that Mark was holding the door of your room open, waiting for you to walk through. You whispered a small thank you, shuffling over to your bed in the far corner and pulling back the covers and getting under them and laying on your side so you were facing the wall away from Mark.

You lay there for a while, unable to get to sleep due to thinking about how the next 2 months are going to pan out with both you and Mark hating each other. “I’m sorry.” you heard a soft voice say, obviously thinking that you were asleep. So, you pretended you were, not being able to deal with this right now.

~*~

You woke up to the soft sun on your skin, the fluffy blanket over you. You looked at your phone seeing it was 8am, and you needed to get up soon because breakfast was at 9 and you had to get everyone up and ready. You got up, putting your clothes on and applying some light makeup and walked out of your door, letting Mark sleep for a bit longer.

Walking into the kid’s room you slowly started waking them up, getting them to start getting dressed despite how sleepy they might be. It was now quarter to nine and you went back to your room, seeing that Mark was still sleeping, cuddled up to his pillow, hair messy against his forehead and blankets strewn to the bottom of his bed. Revealing him in just his black boxers.

You walked over, placing your hand on his shoulder, rubbing slightly, knowing this was the only way to get anyone up without them being pissed off at you. “Hey, Mark, we need to get up now, breakfast is in fifteen minutes.” you said, unable to hold back your small smile when he raised his head slightly, looking like a lost kitten. “Oh, okay,” he said in his morning voice, husky and a lot deeper than usual.

Breakfast was a tired one, everyone including the owners looked like they were about to fall into their bowls of cereal. But soon everyone cheered up at the mention of doing activities in the lake.

You leisurely walked back to the cabin, looking for your bikini in the depths of your bag when you got to your room. Finding it, you went into the bathroom, securely locking it behind you so that Mark doesn’t suddenly get a surprise.  Putting some shorts and a thin t-shirt over the top, you left the room and went to help any of the campers that needed it.

You were walking at the back of your group, Mark near the middle with the small girl you learned yesterday to be Rose, holding on tightly to his hand. You were in a daydream when you heard a young male voice shouting. Looking up, you saw that Oliver was standing shouting at Mark saying how he didn’t want to go swimming, that he just wanted to play on his DS and sit in the shade.

Looking back at you with pleading eyes, Mark tried to calm the small boy down but had a hard time with all the shouting and the small girl clinging to his hand. You walked briskly over to where all your other campers had made a circle around them, shooing them off to go down to the lake with another counsellor.  You knelt beside him, putting your hand on the small of his back. “Hey buddy, what’s wrong huh?” you asked softly, making small circles with your hand. “I don’t wanna go swimming.” he said, looking at you, tears beginning to swim in his eyes, “Wanna play on my DS.” he sniffed.

You looked up at Mark, nodding your head, signalling that he could go down to the Lake with Rose. You stood up and brought him over to a bench under a tree. “So there’s no other reason why you don’t want to go swimming?” you asked carefully, not wanting to upset the boy. Slowly he shook his head, seeming unsure. “You sure?” you asked again. He mumbled an answer so quietly you couldn’t hear him at all. “What’s that?” “I-I can’t swim…” he said quietly but still louder than last time. He looked up at you, tiny silent tears running down his face.

“Hey, it’s alright, I’m going to be there, I’ll make sure you’re safe and we can stay near the side, so you don’t have to go far to get out? Does that sound okay? We can even bring your DS along with us and I can set it with our towels so when you’ve had enough you can still play it. Okay?” you said, looking down at the boy, rubbing the ending tears off his face.

He smiled slightly, jumping up to go get his DS, but skidded to a stop and ran back to you, wrapping his arms around you in a hug before saying a small “thank you” and running off again.

You walked back down to the lake for the second time this morning, however the noise got louder the closer you got to it, Oliver’s small hand encased in yours, his white DS in your other hand because he was scared he would drop it. You both walked up to some other counsellors sitting on a low wall who were talking and observing things happening in the lake. “You know she’s exactly like a younger version of y/n right?” you over heard Scott say to Mark. He looked down at the side of the lake where Rose was sitting chatting to her friends with her feet dipping in and out of the water. “Mmm, maybe, but I don’t really see it.” he replied. “Dude, they’re exactly the same and you know it.”

You walked in front of the wall, pretending you didn’t hear anything that was just said. “Everything sorted?” Mark asked you, noticing the DS in your hand and frowning slightly. “Yeah everything is alright isn’t it Ollie, we’re going to go have some fun but if he doesn’t like it he can come sit with you guys and play, can’t he?” you said, making pleading eyes that they would go along with it.

The boys nodded, taking the small device out of your hand along with your towels. You weren’t exactly sure why Mark wasn’t being mean, but you certainly were not going to complain.

You took off your top and shorts so that you would only have your bikini on and put them in a small pile at the boys’ feet. You walked down to the edge of the lake, walking in slowly, getting used to the temperature of water. You eventually got up to your thighs and turned around and held out your hand to come with you.  “It’s alright little man, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

As soon as you were out of earshot all Mark could hear was the other male counsellors talking about you. “Mate, it must be great being in a room with her.” Scott said, clapping him on the back. “If you’re not going to do that, I will.” Theo, another counsellor, said. “I don’t understand how you two haven’t banged yet, you’ve known each other, what? Five years or something? With a body like that I’m surprised you haven’t just looked over your differences.” another one said.

Mark looked down at you, you did look gorgeous, more beautiful than anyone he had ever seen, and he wondered why he hadn’t noticed earlier. But that was no excuse. “Its eight.” He said, not looking away from you. “What?” “I’ve known her for eight years. And she’s a girl, not something you can sit and stare at like wolves with their prey. She’s a girl with feelings, and a brain.” Mark said, jumping off the wall and walking down to where you were with Oliver.

You had got Oliver into the water and he was now bobbing about on his own, however stayed within a metre radius of you.

“Hey y/n.” you heard a female voice say.  Turning around you saw Alex, another female counsellor, standing a bit behind you, starting to wade towards you. “You know he is exactly like Mark.” she said after a while, after the conversation had faded into silence. Looking at her confused, “Who is.” “Oliver.” she said simply. “Oh.” you said, not really knowing how to reply to that. Before you could say anything else or really properly think you were swiftly interrupted by Mark. “How is everyone? Everything good?” he asked, rushed, looking slightly annoyed. “Uh yeah.”

~*~

It was now coming to the end of week two, tomorrow was Monday, well, in a few hours it was Monday, and you had just had a call from your mother.  Like all conversations with her it didn’t end well.

The kids had gone to bed a couple of hours ago and you were now walking towards your favourite place, a small bench near the side of the lake. The moon shone down onto the cool water, the stars lighting up the dark sky. You hated fighting, whether it be with your mother, or anyone else, you hated shouting, you hated arguing full stop. You didn’t notice the tears falling down your cheeks until one dropped onto the back of your hand in front of you.

You felt like you had been there for hours when you heard someone walk through the sparse trees behind you. “Shi-Fuck-Ow.” You turned your head to see Mark trying to duck under a tree branch but it had got caught in his messy hair.  A small giggle escaped your lips at the sight of the boy and his battle with the twisted tree branch.

When he eventually got free he came and sat beside you, putting legs either side of the seat so that he could face you comfortably. “You okay?” he asked quietly, seeing the tear tracks on your face and from hearing bits and pieces of the conversation earlier on the phone. You shook your head slightly, saying simply, “Mother.” He understood. He really did.  “Want to talk about it?” he asked softly, moving slightly closer to you but not wanting to invade your personal space. “No its okay, maybe later.” you said, turning to look at him. “So how come you’re here?” “Came to talk everything out, the past eight years.” he said, sighing.  Not knowing where to begin he ran his hand through his hair, looking at his feet for inspiration. “I heard you, you know.” you said, looking down as well. “Heard what?” he said, confused. “The first night we were here, you thought I was asleep but I wasn’t, you said sorry.” “Oh. How come you didn’t say anything?” “I didn’t know if you wanted me to know it or not so…”

You both sat for a couple of hours talking everything out. Why he hated you, apparently it was because you seemed to be the best at everything and he just wanted to be like you, just wanted to get something right for once.  Which was why he was sent to camp in the first place. Another thing you both talked about. His parents apparently couldn’t put up with him anymore and just wanted him gone for 2 months every year.  You explained why you were there; your grandparents didn’t want you to be about your parents screaming at each other for longer than you had to, so they sent you here.  You explained to him that that is why people assumed you were the 'perfect child’, because you didn’t want to bother anyone because when you do at home you just get shouted at.  That also explained why you hated people yelling, there was too much of that at home and you just wanted quiet.

After a lot of talking and tears and hugs on both of your parts you walked back to your cabin. When you came through the door you saw little Oliver with his arms around a tiny looking Rose, both sleeping on the sofa, her small elephant teddy grasped tightly in her hands. You lightly hit Mark on the arm, not wanting him to accidentally wake them up from their slumber. “Hey, ow, what?” “Look at them.” you whispered, pointing to the cute bundle in the corner of the sofa.

He looked over your shoulder to the small sleeping heap and a warm smile graced his beautiful face. You both walked closer to them, slowly becoming concerned because you noticed tear tracks down Rose’s tiny cheeks.

You woke them up slowly and softly, seeing them look confused for a minute but then realization came to them, Rose opening up her arms for Mark to take her. After both of them were situated on your laps you asked what had happened. “Rosie was crying because she missed home so I took her down here to see one of you but you weren’t here so we hugged on the sofa because she was sad and we were gonna wait until one of you got back but I guess we fell asleep.” Oliver said in one breath, afraid they were going to get in trouble for being up after they were meant to be in bed.

You felt him cuddle into you, as Rose did the same to Mark, both obviously tired from the late hour. “You okay bub?” he asked the shy girl in his arms, rubbing small shapes on her back. She nodded but hid her head in his neck in tiredness. “How about you come sleep with us so no one gets sad?” he said, looking up at you.

Nodding, you lifted the sleepy boy on your lap onto your hip and followed Mark into your own room. He set Rose on your bed, pushing it over so that your and his beds were connected, making her giggle at the small ride she was given. You set Oliver onto Mark’s bed and both you and Mark went to the bathroom quickly to change into your pjs.

When you got back you found them cuddled up in the middle of your beds under the blankets. You slipped in beside Rose, her immediately cuddling into you when she felt the bed dip. Mark and Oliver being the same.

~*~

It was now a couple of days later and your beds hadn’t moved back to normal yet, despite no children needing to sleep with the comfort of other people. It had been a horrible day so you spent time in the hall doing some crafts with the kids, not risking it outside in case it rained.

However, it did not start to rain until the night time, and oh boy, did it rain. The ever-quickening droplets were hitting your window with such a force you were afraid that it was going to either leak or shatter, which ever came first.

You were laying in your bed, almost complete body underneath the blankets, trying not to be too loud with your whimpers in case you woke up Mark.  But of course, that was short lived when the thunder and lightning started.

You let out a loud whimper from the back of your throat, going further under the blankets so that you couldn’t be seen from outside of it. You felt the other bed creak a bit and the blankets lifted off of you, Mark’s head popping in. “You okay under there?” he said in a joking tone. Not able to speak you spook your head rapidly, curling in on yourself to create an even smaller ball.

His large hand came down and ran his fingers through your hair, trying to calm you down, he crawled under the blankets with you, wrapping his strong arms around you and cuddling you into his chest. “This okay princess?” he whispered, moving his hand back to card his fingers through your hair.  You nodded, uncurling yourself from the ball you had made and curling yourself around him. Your head on his chest, arm wrapped tightly around his middle and legs tangled together. You fell asleep after a small kiss was placed on the top of your head.

~*~

It had been a week since the thunder and lightning incident and you both just cuddled every night anyway, you both realized that you slept better with each other than not.  Things were different, Mark was nice, sometimes overly nice and it was because he was trying to make up for lost time.  He made flirty comments occasionally and every single time it made you blush.

It was your first day off since the camp had started, a warm Saturday.  Each cabin counsellors had one day each but could only go with the other person in their cabin, which luckily for you, you and Mark were very much getting along.

You woke up to a heavy weight on top of you, a voice talking in your ear. “Get up y/n, get uuuuuppppppp. I’ve planned a whole day, don’t ruin it by staying in bed you lazy lump.” it said, far too close to your ear.

Groaning, you turned over despite the weight on top of you and snuggled your head into the pillow.  The weight which you learned to be Mark from his too loud voice, sat up so he was sitting on your lower back and started kneading small circles into your back and shoulders. At that you couldn’t help but let out a small moan. “Careful princess, don’t want anyone to think we’re doing anything inappropriate in here do we?” he whispered in your ear, still making shapes on your very tense shoulders.

You eventually made it out of bed, got clothes and makeup on and out to his car, slumped in the passenger seat, still ready to go to sleep if you had the chance. He hadn’t told you were you were going or what you were doing but you trusted him enough that he would plan a lovely day.

Finally, you arrived, the beautiful sand and sea is the first thing you lay your eyes on. Getting out, you both walked over to the railing, breathing in the fresh sea air. Mark took a small backpack out of the trunk of his car, locked it, and walked down to the small grass area, sitting down, and bringing out a few nicely made sandwiches and bottles of Coke. You looked at him curiously, not thinking he could make sandwiches as nice as that. “Diane.” was all he said, and it made sense.

After a lovely lunch, you packed up and went for a walk along the sand, talking about everything but also nothing at all. You were in a small daydream when you felt a warm hand slip beside yours, interlocking your fingers together. You glanced up at him, seeing a cute pink colour gracing his cheeks. He looked down quickly before he peeked up at you. “Is this okay?” he asked, not wanting to scare you away. You nodded your head, squeezing his hand softly in reassurance, loving the way it felt in yours.

It was nearly the end of the day, you had gotten ice creams, played in the park like the overgrown children that you are, and you were now driving back to camp, the sun setting blissfully behind you.

When you arrived, everyone had gone on a walk around the lake, so you had the cabin to yourselves for a while.  You walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water, you reached up to get the tall glasses in the far up cupboard, which apparently was too far away because as soon as your fingers caught on the side of the glass, it fell to the ground with a heart-breaking shatter. Mark ran in seeing you in the middle of a sea of broken glass, only a pair of thin socks on your feet.  He walked over, lifting you out of the broken glass and set you on the worktop beside the sink. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did it cut you? What happened?” he asked all at once, not leaving time to breathe. “I have a small cut on my finger but it’s okay.” you said, going to hop down off the counter.  He held you where you were by the waist telling you to not move and that he’ll be back in a minute.

He arrived back not long after he left, a tiny pink plaster in his hand, Disney princesses gracing the front of it. He stood in between your legs, running the finger under some cold water and gently applied the plaster, bringing it to his lips for a small kiss afterwards. “Gotta kiss is better, okay y/n.” he said, a small smile on his lips.

He then swept up all the broken glass, even hoovering after that to make sure everything was gone, but made sure that you stayed where you were. After he finished he made his way back between your legs, playing with your tiny hands in his massive ones.  He moved his hands from yours to around your back, placing his head in your neck, giving you a very loving hug.  He squeezed you one last time, placing a small kiss where his head was cuddled into on your throat, and he leaned back to look into your eyes. “Can I kiss you?” he asked carefully and quietly, not wanting to ruin the mood at all.

You nodded your head slightly, closing your eyes briefly and letting out a shaky breath. He leaned forward slowly, giving you time to say no if you changed your mind. But you didn’t, meeting him in the middle and your lips met. It was still for a moment, everything moving in slow motion as you kissed your childhood enemy, lips moving slowly against each other. After a while you both pulled back, and he rested his forehead on yours, glancing up into your eyes, smiles on both of your lips.

~*~

The rest of the summer was filled with cuddles in bed, shared earphones while you were laying in the sun beside the lake, secret kisses and hand holding shared between you when you thought no one was looking and a few awkward moments… You had been woken up by Oliver and Rose at your door, shouting that it was time to get up and play.  You had lifted your head up from your pillow, signalling to them that you were awake. But just you wasn’t enough, they wanted the stretched out boy that was clinging to you from behind to get up as well. “Come on Mark, we need to get up.” you whispered to him, still seeing the two children relentlessly standing at the door, unwilling to move from it until they see you both up and not going to go back to sleep. “I cant.” he whispered in your ear. Confusedly you asked, “Why not?”

He didn’t answer verbally, but when he moved closer to you, you realized why. Laughing slightly you looked at the kids at your door, “Why don’t you both go play and I’ll make sure Mark gets up okay?” you say.  They nodded eagerly, shutting the door behind them.

You laughed properly now, hearing a small groan from behind you. “It’s not funny.” he said, pouting at you like a child. “It kind is.” you said, turning your head to smile at him. “Well it’s your fault.” he said bluntly, cuddling his head into your neck. “Well I mean I can take care of it if you want?” you whispered, smirking at his surprised face.

~*~

“They’re going to be fine y/n.” he said, driving down the dirt road you hadn’t been down in years. “I know, I know but I worry about them. They’re so small.” you replied. You arrived in the busy car park where cars were being unloaded of kids and their luggage. You got out of the car whenever it stopped, opening the back door for your twins to get out, Mark getting the two suitcases from the trunk of the car. You all walked over to the line of counsellors, letting them find theirs on their own. “Daddy! We found them!” they called, leading us over to two counsellors, around the age of 19. “Mark? Y/n?” they said. You both looked up, “Ollie? Rose?” They nodded their heads eagerly, rushing over to you to give you hugs. “So how have you been?” You asked them. “Well, we’ve been coming here every year since you had us, and now we’ve decided to become counsellors so we can be just like you.” Rose answered, winking at you.

You saw Oliver slip his hand into hers, and you let out a small squeal. “Look how cute!” you said to Mark, him also smiling when he noticed. “You better be treating lil bub good, okay Ollie?” he said to him, still being protective of Rose after all these years. “Yes sir.” he said, jokingly saluting him. “How have you two been?” Rose asked.

“Well, we got married eight years ago, then these two came along.” Mark laughed, messing with your daughter’s hair. “Zoe, Isaac, this is Rose and Oliver. We used to be their counsellors when they were your age.”

They gave him a small nod, and you continued with your conversation.  “Baby Finn is at his auntie’s, and now this little one is on its way,” Mark8 continued, rubbing your tummy slowly. You looked up at them to see surprise on their faces, “That’s a lot of kids for such a short space of time.” Rose mentioned.

“Well, this one is irresistible, can you blame me?” he smiled, putting his arm around your shoulder and giving it a small squeeze. “Well, we better get going,” you said, leaning down as much as you could to give both your kids long hugs, “We’ll miss you.” They walked hand in hand with Rose and Oliver, over to their cabin.  You walked back to the car, seeing small tears form in Mark’s eyes. You wrapped your arms around him securely, letting him burrow his head into your neck like he has been doing for the past fourteen years. “I love you.” he mumbled, a small patch of wetness gathering on your shoulder.

“I love you too.”

[musicalmukebox]

Let’s Get (Back) Together | l.h. (15)

Ctto of the gifs used!!

AU: Parent Trap Dad!Luke

Summary: A strong love which led to a strong marriage and twin daughters. Yet in the end, it didn’t turn out so well. You strongly refuse to encounter him ever again. But what happens when both of you coincidentally send your twin daughters to the same summer camp in Florida after 10 years?

Word Count: 11k

Warnings: angst, swearing, sweet sweet revenge, verbal and almost physical fighting, mental breakdowns, s e x u a l tension

A/N: Gahhh it’s around 1:40 am here! I enjoyed writing this chapter like wooo! I hope you guys won’t find it too cheesy or underwhelming! First, I wanna thank my parents for giving me the medical terms mentioned here, though I still struggle with capturing some concepts of it haha! And by the way, I found out the Parent Trap film just celebrated its 20th year anniversary since its release a few months ago. Pretty coincidental to say the least! Anyways, enjoy!

I don’t own Parent Trap and its ideas. It’s only used as inspiration.

1 / 2A / 2B / 2C / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15

Feedback/Questions/Others? Here.

-

2022, Los Angeles

These past weeks, you’ve created a new daily routine. Or rather, your body did.

Wake up suddenly. Race to the bathroom. Vomit your guts out. Go back to sleep. Wake up to get ready for work. Prepare breakfast. Race back to the bathroom. Vomit again. Fully lose your appetite. Take a shower. Get dressed. Drive to the studios or film settings. 

It pretty much varies, but this was a close one to each passing day. You ached the rush of your guts boiling up to your throat because it was physically draining and hindering you from current filming projects. Also to your disdain, Luke was on a mini tour at the moment, so you were on your own for this, though it was bound to end soon so a speedy recovery must be in order. But he knew what you were going through due to your nightly (or morning) video calls you do almost every day whenever both of you can.

“Are you sure you’re really okay, (Y/N)? I can ask Eleanor to come over and help.”

“No need! I’m fine, Luke. Just need more rest, that’s all.”

Even though the directors of latter were lenient and kind enough to give you some rest days since they knew how much of a busy woman you’ve become, you still felt bad because it looked as if you haven’t taken care of yourself too well with your condition.

Was it something you ate? Did you exert too much effort to the point your body couldn’t handle it? Are you overworking on these projects? Seriously, did you or Luke cook something that actually expired?

Actually before the nausea, fatigue has hit you faster before you begin working on-set. Thus, sitting out became a norm that quick. Going home after is just exhausting, and crashing on the bed is a lot easier than usual. Not really a bad thing, but you still had to work on your lines and respond to emails. Alongside that, you’ve suddenly gained weight despite the nausea. Your jeans don’t fit like they used to and mostly, you prefer wearing crop tops and sweaters instead of anything tight. 

The last straw was today, when you no longer tolerated that insane wave of nausea that hit almost every thirty minutes in the late morning which clashed with the fatigue. Only now were you growing concerned on your health since you figured it firstly to be a stomach virus, but it could possibly more than that. Hence, you needed to get a clear idea of what is happening to you. So today, you excused yourself again to the director of one of the filming shootings for the day due to health reasons, and urgently went to the hospital. Fortunately, he freely allowed you to do so because you had one of the lead roles, and really wanted make sure that everyone was healthy.

By chance, no paparazzi was present in the area, which made it easier to check inside. Seeking guidance from any expert in the lobby as soon as you walked in, a young looking woman in her green scrubs raced to your aid, probably an intern in her twenties who was starstruck by your appearance by the way she beamed when she greeted you.

“Omg hi, Miss (Y/L/N)! How may I help you?”

Although flattered, you bluntly gave her the synopsis of your physical well-being. “Well, something’s odd with my health, like I’ve been easily tired these past weeks, and vomiting hardcore too which makes me lose a lot of sleep. Today took a toll me while at work, so I just want a clear idea of what’s happening because I’m pretty nervous and hoping it’s not serious that it could affect my work ethic.”

Upon talking, she was taking down of everything and it didn’t take too long for her to think of a procedure or solution to assist you. “Oh no! It’s a good thing you’ve come today. I suggest you take a blood test, which you can get the results of next week if that would be okay. Though for nausea, avoid oily foods and eat something bland like pretzels.”

As impatient as you were feeling now due to the tension of what’s happening within you, you trusted her opinion and pushed through with it. “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good! Now, may I lead you to the institute of pathology? That’s where the laboratory is for blood extraction.”

“Surely, lead the way.”

-

“And we’re done!” The phlebotomist, or someone who extracts blood from you aka. the patient for testing, exclaims as she ejected the needle from your forearm and untied the tourniquet right above. Internally, you celebrated for facing your long fear of needles for the sake of your health.

“Thanks so much, love. I hope it’s nothing serious.”

“I doubt that it is. You’re practically glowing and fit since you’ve acted and done your own stunts in your films too. Also c’mon, your body is goals!”

Gushing, “Aww, thanks again.” You attempted to stand up from the seat, but it only made you dizzy so you sat back down. You weren’t even in a rush, self. Chill. “Wow, I’m getting dizzy and tired so fast nowadays honestly. This sucks.”

“What else have you been feeling then? – By the way, I’m Claire.” She introduced whilst asking, tucking away your blood sample in a cabinet.

“Nice to meet you, Claire. Hmm well,” You leaned back in the chair to suit your comfort. “I get the most absurd food cravings at weird times yet there is non-stop vomiting late in the morning especially. I gained weight too, where I can’t fit some of my jeans and shorts and wearing tight tops and bras are suffocating. Also whenever I try to go to gym, the fatigue kicks in. Actually, the fatigue is always there, but they get worse like the vomiting.”

“Oh, I see.” Claire, who just sat across from you, listened and put her mind into use of what may have caused this, although the answer was so predictable to her and still wanted to inquire. “Have you been … sexually active recently? I mean, you are married and all to Luke Hemmings!”

You gushed again since you weren’t much to talk about your sex life with him, covering your burning cheeks. But if it’s meant to help you, then by all means go. “Last time we’ve gone at it was around 2-3 months ago, right before he went on a mini tour in the country.”

“Interesting. - When was the last time you’ve got your period?”

Frankly, you weren’t much to check on your menstruation patterns nowadays since you’re too time consumed with your career. Besides, if it’s arrives, you have pads prepared back at home. “I don’t remember. I’ve been so distracted to keep track. Why is that so important?”

“Oh my god, is it that hard to unravel? – Morning sickness, weight gain, weird cravings, over fatigue, late period?” She asked back, cracking an enthusiastic smile. But you shook your head, still not understanding where she’s getting at.

“Though I’m glad you took this blood test to be sure, my motherly instincts are telling me that you, Mrs. (Y/N) Hemmings, are pregnant.”

-

A week later, and she was right.

You received from the mail the results, which confirmed your suspicions. Since that extraction, you couldn’t stop thinking about it despite everything making much more sense now. All the symptoms were exactly what Eleanor felt when she was still pregnant with Nick, how naïve of you to have not realized sooner!

The need to tell Luke in person as soon as possible is making you impatient, and you were in utter luck that he was coming home tonight already after months.

You were still in contact with Claire, who was ecstatic for you when you told her and hastily recommended you to the best OB-GYN doctor in the hospital named Dr. Katherine Han. Booking an appointment today was challenging at first, but luckily, you got it. Waiting outside her clinic, her secretary kindly invited you in. “Dr. Han is ready to see you, Mrs. Hemmings.”

Dr. Han, or Kate as she fully claimed, scanned through your results happily, recommended the necessary vitamins and insisted you afterwards to make an ultrasound to inspect on your unborn child. “This is pretty exciting, must I say?”

Unquestionably, yes. Maybe, at first, you freaked out because that would mean a lot of adjustments. You and Luke have talked about before about wanting kids later in your marriage, when you’ve toned down from your busy lifestyles. But now, who cares? Your mindset changed drastically, and the idea of carrying a little life inside you was mind-blowing. It was actually happening.

With that idea having you feel thrilled for the next months to come. But the moment you lied down on the examination bed and put up your blouse, there was already a bump, which is unlikely since it’s early in the pregnancy. Regardless, you then felt the wand move below your abdomen with the cold gel, you were breathless of what your eyes witnessed on the screen.

“You see that flickering light? That’s the heartbeat. Let me raise the volume of it.” 

Doing as she said, the thumping increased and you felt goosebumps grow in your entire body. There was the little bean in its glory, your little bean.

“Oh wait a minute.” She paused briefly, raising the wand higher to show another flickering light and an echo of sounds. “Looks like you have two healthy heartbeats. – Congrats, Mrs. Hemmings. You’re expecting twins. Would you like a copy of the sonogram?”

Just as you though things couldn’t get any better, you’ll get two little bundles of you. Okay, maybe one mini-you and one mini-Luke. Though if they are both mini-Luke’s, it’s alright too. It’ll be a quite a mess since Luke is practically a man-child. But, who cares?

“Mrs. Hemmings?” Too absorbed in your thoughts, you haven’t answered the doctor’s question.

“Yes please.”

-

As great and fantastic these news were, you were bound to surprise Luke this when he gets home. It’s been quite a while. Also, you really wanted him to be the first to know before telling anyone else. Since your careers are already over the top, you planned to just keep it simple. Besides, the both of you weren’t much into giving lavish luxury items, well except on special occasions. 

But on a normal basis? Nah, you’d like to save some money for the future. Most likely for education. It’s always nice to think ahead.

There were balloons on the walls and some tied down the legs of the side tables, where you were sat by the couch with a small bag of goodies were inside with a mutual meaning. Time is ticking on your watch, and Luke could be home any minute now. He’ll be exhausted since he’ll be coming back from New York. You’ve missed him so much, where neither video not phone calls were not as sufficient as physical contact. Especially the rated R ones!

Well, before you got “sick”.

Your calm body was sprawled on the couch, trying new positions that’ll suit best for your little beans and scrolling up and down possible room decorations to purchase. Oh yes, baby fever is real with you, starting with the nickname of little beans. While at your enjoyable daze, you can hear the fumbling of the door knob from the outside, unlocking it. Struggling to roll down his huge luggages and his dufflebag as his hand carry, he dropped them immediately.

“I’m home!”

For him, all he knew was that his home is wherever you are. 

There he was in his glory. His hair was a lot messier as compared to usual, his facial expressions of tiredness from the long trip but still gave a loud greeting that could get a noise complaint from the neighbors.

Again.

“Luke!” You shot up from your seat, catching his attention. Upon hearing, he knew in a snap you were in the living room. He hoped you cooked dinner or something because as much as he did like eating everywhere from hotel rooms and famous restaurants, nothing beats yours. But then again, you’ve been sick so probably not. As long as he gets to see you, he’ll be happy.

Advancing there, he lightened up at the sight of you, as if you were glowing like the sickness never bothered at all. The blue dress you had on with your beaming smile had him fall over heels all over again. Absolutely smitten.  Alongside that, another thing that caught his eyes were the few balloons that bordered where you stood. Coming home from tour or a trip has never been new to since your jobs require to, yet little additions like them was blissful. He couldn’t waste anymore time, running to you and lifting you up in a tight hug by the waist.

Gasping at such suddenness, you enveloped your arms around his neck whilst internally praying he doesn’t crush the little beans, even by a bit. He then puts you down not so long after, giving you a lingering kiss on yours. He could care less if he would get sick. Tour is over anyways, and he has a break before going back to business. 

God, feeling them just never gets old nor unsatisfying, like they were custom made just for you. “I’ve missed you so much.” 

“I missed you too, love. These past months felt way too long.” Dragging the “too”, his interest returned on the balloons. As a symbol of celebration and surprises, something is up. Maybe he was just overreacting, considering this homecoming was a celebration in itself. 

As he felt your arms linger away his neck, you brought out the small bag of goodies from the floor, preparing yourself for the reveal. “I came across some items you might like when I was the way home.” 

He grew skeptical, but he went along with it. Taking a seat right beside you, he rummaged through them and brought it all out, laying them on the coffee table right in front.

“Hmm,” He begins his close observation. “An orange-flavored Caprisun, animal crackers and Starburst. Well, maybe for you, they were some of your favorite childhood snacks. I only liked the  Starburst. – I’m still pretty lost with this.”

Not bad, he got a keyword: childhood.

This next step is the climax, which involved a sealed envelope from your jacket right beside you. It was quite nervewracking at first, but you came this far and nonetheless of his reaction, it wouldn’t affect how you feel towards the beans. “Here. Maybe this can make much more sense.”

He was so confused, but you didn’t blame him. “You’re scaring me, love.”

“Just open it.” You laughed, anticipating for too long and wanting already to see his reaction. Unsealing it felt like a lifetime, also ripping it a bit in the middle. There he saw two folded pieces of paper and took them out. The first was a short note, which he read aloud.

“Hello there! So as of now, we can’t eat and drink those treats so you can have them! Maybe give us around 6-7 months and we’ll steal them from you! We can’t wait to meet you, dad! Love, Little Bean 1 and Little Bean 2.”

Dad.

It took him seconds to sink in the premise of the surprise. Unfolding the last paper, it was the ultrasound from early afternoon, his mouth hanging down from the surprise and racing happiness that he was gaining. There was still a short sentence written on the back side.

“Turns out it wasn’t the flu or a virus. It’s just us adjusting, sorry for hurting mom though.”

From his contagiously, cute smile, he was the exact opposite of what you were overthinking previously. He was at a loss of words as he repeatedly looked back in forth at the goodies and the letters before facing you, having a matching smile and blushing. To add, he got up on his feet to really sink the information further because he was too happy.

“I’m pregnant, Luke.” You blurted, no more holding back.

Luke swore he was breathless for a moment, before lifting you up again and back into his arms you were. “Oh my God, wow. Fuck. – This is the best thing I’ve heard all day!” You were laughing too hard from his reaction, and as he put you down, he was literally filled with so much adoration for you.

“It’s actually happening! Like you’re going to be a mom, I’m going to be a dad, we’ll be parents! And twins?!”

“It’s going to be double trouble but double fun, right?” You reassured, only leading him to pull you closer for a kiss on your forehead.

“Fuck yeah. I hope they have your nose though.” He booped your nose, knowing that it annoys you often. But you let it pass.

“I hope they have your blue eyes, they are gorgeous.” You complimented, grazing a finger on his scruffy face. You were equally appreciating every facial feature of each other, giving more “I hope’s” back and forth and then confidently, you tiptoed to place your lips against him, sharing a much more passionate kiss that can are as equal to the kisses from your consummation.

He was the first to pull back, desiring to place his available hand on your lower abdomen with a grin so pure it can spread world peace. “There’s a little us there, and I’ll make sure to take care of the three of you.” Your hormones were about to get the best of you, but you didn’t let it control you for now.

“God, can we just stay in this moment forever? It’s too amazing.” He pleaded, looking directly in your eyes.

“I really do as well, but if it helps,” You pointed your finger at the fireplace, where a tiny camera was situated. “I recorded the whole thing for us to look past on.”

He couldn’t get any more blessed and grateful for you, scattering your entire face with pecks. “Fuck, I love you so much. I can never picture anyone else having my children except you.”

Your heart was fleeting crazily, but his cursing was all over the place which is now considered unacceptable in this household. “I love you so much too, Luke. – But one, stop swearing around me, or at least minimize it. They can hear you, you know?” He frowned in guilt, but when you laughed out the seriousness, you declared once more.

“Second, you’re the only person I would ever want to have a domestic life with.”

-

2034, Sydney

It was 4 am, and most of the adults were passed out drunk in their separate bedrooms in the second floor. The house they were lodging currently had 4 stories with a basement. In the third floor, there were designated rooms for the young boys and girls. Stella and Rebecca currently shared a bed and a room with Scarlett and Beatrix. Yet, it was Rebecca to get up first due to the soft alarm she set on her phone. Good thing no one else heard it or else Scarlett would be complaining so much about how precious sleep is.

Shaking her sister gently to wake up, it didn’t take too long before she groggily did, having some of her blonde strands covering her visage and lips. When she blew them off, her eyes crinkled open more from the flashlight Rebecca switched on since Stella was arrogant to move at first. But because now she couldn’t fall back into sleep, she urged her body to get upright and focus on her awoken twin.

“God, this bed was too comfortable like you said.” She stretched her arms, unwrapping her tiny body from the duvet and put on her slippers.

“I told you so! Anyways, we need to grab some things at the kitchen and pantry first.” Rebecca tells, adjusting her sweater and jumps out the bed with her phone. Slowly sneaking out the door without disturbing anyone else, the twins tiptoed their way to the stairs and hurried to the pantry where a huge chunk of their needed materials lied.

Rebecca switched on the light, a mischievous smirk forming in her face as she stepped on the mini ladder so she could reach items that were up in the shelves. Stella watched her, making sure she doesn’t trip or anything, but she also took some items on the lower shelves they knew they would need. When they finished, they gathered their things and laid them down on the kitchen island, arranging and checking them orderly.

“Hair dye?” Stella asked.

“Got it. Honey?” Rebecca picks the item up for showing.

“Check. Balloons?”

“Done.”

As they completed in reviewing their materials, “You ready for this, brat?”

“Fuck yeah. Sierra deserves only the worse.”

“Truly. So Camp War 2.0? Let’s get to work.”

-

Phase 1.

Luke dazedly woke up to do his morning run around 6 in the morning in hopes to watch the sunset by the cliff that he loves to do alone. He was blessed to not have gotten wasted like Ashton. Tying the shoelaces of his shoes and inserting his airbuds, he was on his way out the house. Sierra was in a peaceful slumber for quite some time – That was until the first alarm from her phone hit piercingly. Groaning, one eyelid was open to stop it. She didn’t recall putting any alarms before getting to bed, but nonetheless, she wanted to claim back her beauty sleep.

But the second alarm then came around not even 10 minutes later, and there she was annoyed. Muttering profanities under her breath, she turned it off and tossed back to her initial sleeping position. Unfortunately, the deafening sound of the alarm messed with her mind, which made her lose the drowsiness. No longer forcing it, she rose from her side of the bed with bad bed head. Disoriented by her “dysfunctional” phone, the first thing she was looking for was her glasses, which is usually by her bed side so she can properly operate. However, it wasn’t there as she rummaged it. Odd again, but she ignored it again since just a few hours, she was drunk off her butt and probably left it someplace else.

With blurry vision, she stumbled her way to the bathroom, discarding her pajamas to take a warm shower. Here, another scheme is set. Putting on shampoo is a normal thing when cleaning yourself, only that when Sierra applies it on her hair, it gradually left her a raging red shade. 

It didn’t process to her what was happening until she saw the shower floor filled with red water. At first, she figured that she got her period, but she just got it 2 weeks ago and it’s long ended. Pulling the handle open of the shower, she went nearer to the mirror to see what has took place. 

“Fucking shit!” How did this happen? Did she take the wrong shampoo? The smell was right though. Maybe there was a chemical malfunction, and she has to get this fixed as soon she can because God knows how much more damage it can bring. Also, email the company about this. 

Rinsing it off with a towel, she changed into cleaner clothes and pretty set for the day, knowing she has a few things on her agenda already. She likes to be productive after all. But first, breakfast. She just needed her phone to do some contacting. When she got ahold of it on her bedside, she received a message. 

 [6:40 AM] Future Husband: just went out for a run! but i have a surprise for you downstairs in the basement, come check it out x 

 She loved surprises, where she gets to be spoiled rotten by absolutely anything she wants. And since recently he’s been so distant due to the whole surprise family reunion, she assumed that he felt bad and is making up for it. 

 [6:50 AM] Sierraaaaa: just showered babe, i’m gonna check it out! love you, hubba!

 Meanwhile from the work room, where security cameras were placed in the major rooms like the basement, living room, the small lobby, and patio, Rebecca and Stella were imitating vomiting sounds due to the pet names Sierra gave. “So this is dating works, huh? Just bleh!” 

“I suppose so. Good thing I’m too young for that! - Shit, she’s by the staircase already!” 

They watched carefully her movements, hoping she doesn’t take any unnecessary detours and giggling at the new hair color on the side. When Sierra reaches the end of the corridor of the first floor, which leads to a another staircase going to the basement, the girls were on the edge of their seats, giddy. There were two open tabs on the desktop computer they were using, one showing Sierra and the other on the basement. The latter was a total and messy obstacle, which was about to be unleashed in less than a minute.

“Fuck, let’s get the actual party started!” Stella exclaimed. 

Phase 2.

“Hope you like it, babe. Love, Luke.” Sierra reads the sign on the door, pumped up what lies behind the wooden door. With the suspense it expressed, Sierra couldn’t wait any longer and unlocked the door in front of her.

It was quite dark since the curtains were spread open at the large open doors on her left, so through her eyes, she searched for any light buttons to switch on. Luckily, there was one on her left, but it was pretty far from where she stood, so she moved her body to do so minimally. However, as she did, she actually overpassed a light string that was connected to the light switches. Instead, she slipped on the floor instantly and caught the tacky view of the basement.

First feature: A mixture of honey and maple syrup spread throughout the floor like peanut butter on bread.

She slid so fast throughout the entire interior of the room like an indoor slip-and-slide, hitting the corners and sides of the walls with almost every part of her body. Her mind was spinning, and every time she tried to get back on her feet, the syrup would always make her tumble repeatedly. Unfortunately enough, she had no protective gear on her figure to keep her safe from the friction and bumping the hardness, most especially her head. Yet there was another detail that got her much more drenched.

Second feature: There were numerous balloons surrounded in the entire room that were either filled with air or water.

Whilst sliding, different balloons were popping around her as she hit different spots of the room. When did, she’d pop a few balloons in the process that would either trigger her sensitive ears or wet any parts of her body. This went on many times because she really tried her best to stand up and evacuate this mess. Here, her body was reconnecting also with the discomforting syrup then faced one last detail.

Third Feature: One of the light switches from a while ago was connected to the electric fan above her, which would rain the room with feathers.

Various sizes of feathers would glue to her soaking clothing. She sneezed at every encounter she got with them, meaning that she was continuously sneezing during the entire experience. No part of her body was spared, resulting to looking like a hairy chicken, especially with the red hair!

“Bok bok, bitch.” Rebecca referenced Rachel Cho, satisfied by the ugliness of the maze which got Sierra the deserved treatment. But that so-called maze wasn’t the end just yet.

Phase 3, aka. the total knockout.

Drenched and still slipping numerously, her rage and annoyance levels skyrocketed into inflation. Thus, it resulted into passionate and thunderous screams, almost like someone was being murdered. She wanted to get out of this horrendous room, and back to the bathroom to rinse off. But on top of that, she wanted to fight whoever was in charge of this, and she knew exactly who they were. Who else?

“Absolute brats!” 

Since it was impossible to go back to the main door unless she wanted to slip and fall again, she resolved into opening the big, wide doors facing the beach. Carefully taking her time making steps, she pushed them out, relieved that her stay at that maze was over.

Or was it?

Right above where she was drenching and groaning from discomfort, another line of string hung by her eyes with a tiny note with another message. “You think it was over? – P.S. flip over this note.”

She pulled it out strongly, unfolding it effortlessly because she wanted to know more about the minds of the sinister sisters. Little did she know that a bucket of chocolate syrup was stationed right above her, where a friendly creature was swimming in it, or possibly drowning.

“You mess with our parents, you mess with us. Also, look up. – R & S”

Right on cue, she tilted her head upwards and low and behold, the sticky substance splattered all over her entire body, coating the water and honey from earlier. It was almost Carrie 2.0, except there was no huge audience except the twins, who were busy rejoicing for their success. It came upon them of how smart they work together than against each other like in camp, gladly knowing that they have a valid reason to act so. Besides, they are young and bright, they have to hone their growing potentials.

Sierra remained still and quiet, trying to regain her composure because she will not let the brats win over. It took her years to get to where she is, and she will strike back because losing to them is basically like losing to you. However, that idea was scratched off as soon she felt something crawl above her dyed hair. She was disturbed at the foreign sensation, reaching over it to get a touch of what it is. When she did, it continued to brisk off and by the rough skin and long tail, it was a lizard. And she screamed bloody murder when the lizard slid down to her face, even went to her mouth! Spitting it out along other saliva that was contaminated, she attained her breaking point, finally fed up and throwing numerous tantrums like the spoiled woman she is.

“Wait, where again did you find the creepy crawly, Stella?” Rebecca asks, watching Sierra and enjoying herself at her rage.

“When I was placing the bucket by the ledge of the patio. He was crawling everywhere, but I figured he’d be important.”

Just in time with her screams, Luke just arrived back at the house from his morning jog. Removing his airbuds, he could easily determine the voice and raced to where it was occurring. But when he got to the living room so he could get to the patio and see the commotion, he was beaten to it when a soaked Sierra stormed inside with a frustrated look on her face. She pushed away any object within her vicinity and kicked some chairs too, beyond pissed. It wasn’t too long when the other boys and their families were disrupted from their rest and came running down the stairs, seeking answers towards the unexpected fuss. Just like Luke, they thought that she looked like an absolute, hot mess, psyched and intrigued by who could’ve pulled off such an accident.

“Wha-What the fuck happened, babe?” It was all he can come up with at the spur of the moment, his focus more on her newly dyed hair that just didn’t suit her with the chocolate syrup dripping on the wooden floor.

All this pent frustration and the newly added one began to overtake her mind and mouth. She was officially done. When she took a few steps closer to him, “Here's what's going on, buddy, your twins happened! The day we say “I do" is the day I ship those brats off to Switzerland or maybe give them fully to (Y/N). Get the picture? It's me or them. Take your pick.”

Right after she spits her fire, muffled voices blasted from the speakers in that room. Those speakers can be activated a few ways, commonly through Bluetooth or the aux cord from the work room. Rapidly, the device boosted in volume, giving a clearer hearing of what was being voiced out.

It was none other than last night’s convo between Sierra and Arzaylea.

The two and everyone else paused themselves momentarily to take a listen, and in the end were they stopped dead on their tracks by the intensity and ruthlessness of the situation. Though humiliation additionally crashed on Sierra because she was the main involving party.

Oh, poor Luke. The big secret behind his psychotic fiancée was uncovered and served like a slap on the face. Somehow, everything these past years made much more sense. That honestly pep talk she gave yesterday was pure bull. Everything about her was an ongoing façade.

Once the audio reached its end, the twins publicly made their entrance from the work room, giving off their petty and naughty smirks to their main target. So far, so very good.

“Woah, good morning everyone.” Rebecca greeted innocently.

“What’s for breakfast?” Stella continued on casually.

But Luke wasn’t having it, too frazzled by the situation within the room and couldn’t even look at Sierra when she tried to capture his attention numerously during that audio play. “Alright girls, quit playing. What is going on?”

No more sweet talk, just get down to the business.

“Wasn’t the audio enough, dad? Aunt Sierra over here is a lie.” Stella claimed strongly, pointing at the messy woman.

“Dad, please don’t be associated with her anymore. She’s been manipulative before we were even born!” Rebecca defended further, which finally gave Sierra the balls to speak up for herself.

“That audio you gave could’ve been self-made! What other allegations can you give?” She tested, trying to redefine her name. Aish, wrong move. Rebecca was actually bundling up pieces of paper in her arms, and once she opened them up, “Do screenshots of conversations between you, TMZ, Perez Hilton, US weekly and many more tabloid platforms count? Also saw money and private information were involved too.”

“By the way, aunt Sierra, be careful for your surroundings before running your mouth and opening your devices. This house isn’t as big as you think it is.”

First passing it to Luke for his viewing before giving them to Michael, and just by the tired look he had post-work out he begun with, he grew mentally disheartened by the accuracy of his twins’ accusations about his fiancée. Though mischievous, they weren’t wrong at all.

“Ooh, got an extra audio file that can count as evidence if you don’t mind.” Stella added, excusing herself to return to the work room and play the file of Sierra’ conversation at the Forum. The strong persona of Sierra turned weak again when the papers were handed to different people and that extra audio blasted. Her exposure was forceful, and she had nothing else to say or do to deny them especially since the twins were stating facts.

Luke just listened to Sierra’s hurtful words, in disbelief that she was capable to do this all behind his back for the past decade. He was frozen at his standing position, wanting this to all be from the crazy part of his imagination. But once he was fixated with Sierra’s when he almost spaced out, he looked away quickly at disappointment. Sierra saw that short glimpse, still immersed on his facial features that drooped down. “L-Luke, please let me ex-”

Luke cut her off, putting his hand near her face so she would stop blabbering. “So this whole time, you wrecked our marriage?”

“Wait, ple-”

Luke kept going with his questioning. “You’ve planned this whole thing out vividly so that you and I would be the endgame?”

“Luke, st-”

“This meant having to ruin the lives of (Y/N), Becks and Stella?!”

Silenced and interrupted repetitively, Sierra couldn’t contain the concoction of the variety of emotions boiling up in her system. All these years she’s bottled them up has made her insane, insane to do absolutely anything for this particular man that has once helped her genuinely in the past. But in the end, she doomed herself to unsuccessfulness and obsession. All eyes were on her now, and she really is trying to compose and defend herself in her own words despite either way, she was going to lose. But those smirks of the twins which exactly resemble yours ticked her off completely.

“All of the actions I’ve done were out of 18 years of loving you, Luke! I was always there for you, way before (Y/N) came in the picture. Your breakup with Arzaylea? I was there. When people criticized the band’s hiatus and music post-Sounds Good, Feels Good and you needed moral support? I was also there. Every drinking session you wanted and invited me to out of celebration or sadness in your old home? I was fucking there! How did you not see that? We had something going on, but it was so effortlessly destroyed when she kissed you in that Valentine music video! Since then, I never liked her because I just knew she lured you in and used you so she could be famous. I just couldn’t allow that to happen, so I had to do what was best for you. Besides, if she trusted you, she could’ve told you the real behind the scenes of our relationship and we would’ve not been friends anymore. Gosh, secrecy! But I knew how to use my words so she wouldn’t bother to tell you anything. So yeah, the bitch does not deserve you, Luke. And those brats you call daughters are just as sneaky as she is!”

There it is.

The unsaid has finally dropped, which may have brought embarrassment because Sierra didn’t hold back nor had any filter to fix her words if she was to be misread. The rawness of it was a bombshell since no one ever expected it, even you if you were present. Luke felt as if he was stabbed in the gut mercilessly, not wanting to acknowledge her. Her so-called assumptions on what she thought was good for him was beyond ill-advised. Now one thing is guaranteed: she was the biggest factor to the destruction of your marriage.

“And you think you’re deserving?! Since when were you knowledgeable to know what was good for me?! I understand that you were trying to look out for me behind the scenes, but to hurt people in the process is different!!” His voice was on full blast, startling everyone and putting them on the edge as the rising drama climaxed. Sierra buried her face in her hands, put on the spot to reply back, but either way, it was a lose-lose situation. Luke’s fists balled up and hit the first thing he saw, which was a box of Lucky Charms.

“All the controversies you’ve had, I’ve looked past them because you’re a genuine and talented girl. Turns out you’ve fooled us all. Honesty is the best policy you also said yesterday, bullshit!” No one expected him to swear, making the boys and their wives cover some of their kids’ ears.

Sierra grabbed him by the arm to make him look at her. “I still am that girl, Luke. Let’s sort this out, please.”

“You never were.” Luke swat her hand away, but still turned around with a face as red as a tomato. A mix of post-workout exhaustion and frustration. “You know, (Y/N) had her own hustle, having to balance university while looking for job opportunities. Meeting her was a coincidence gone right. I thought I could fix you and your controversies, help make you become greater than that. Yet, it but turns out that you can only fix yourself, and you failed badly.”

Sierra needed to speak, she had to. Regardless of the risks. “Wow, now you’re defending your ex-wife? Last time I checked, you no longer wanted to be associated with her because she broke it off and hurt you so bad!”

Although truth was spilled, Luke began to pick up on her words and tried to piece them together with past events. Then, he realizes how some connect to each other. “She broke it off because the rumors you’ve paid to get done was a bad environment for our family then and we began to lose trust in each other. But you know what the worst thing was that occurred in that kind of setting?”

“What?” She had the nerve to cross her arms in a cocky manner.

Luke’s walls were near to breaking, but he didn’t want to leave the fight losing. “Because of the divorce, it led to half custody, meaning my twins, or “brats” as you said were robbed of a happy and full family. All thanks to you.”

To top off the cherry on top, Luke stepped a little closer to Sierra and ordered, “Leave.”

“Excuse me?” She sneered, putting a hand on her chest.

“L-E-A-V-E, Sierra. Get the picture?” Luke hissed. “You are a love-blinded psycho. By the way you said my twins are sneaky is saying that I am too because they are half of me! With this leave you’ll take is a leave from my life for good. I don’t know about the rest of everyone here, but I have lost all interest to be involved with you. So do leave the ring too, then bring all your stuff and never ever show yourself to me. You have done enough.”

His rage reached its peak, still not moving one bit. As much as they were aware that they’ve succeeded, the twins did not apprehend that their father would be severely affected in the process. All they wanted to do was prove a point and hence, they did get their justice. But for him to become sadder too wasn’t in their truest intention. They were too blinded and motivated in getting the both of you together by doing their war that they didn’t think through of the consequences.

“Luke, I-”

“Did I fucking stutter, Sierra? Leave!”

Sierra threw a hissy fit at the treatment she finally deserved, and angrily walks out of the living room. Luke remained unmoved, but warm tears swelled down his cheeks. He didn’t bother to rub them off, and as vulnerable as he is already, he tried to stay strong and hold it in.

“Luke,” Calum bravely took initiative to comfort his friend, only for Luke to finally move backwards away from his friend from this anxiety that overfilled his entire being.

“Don’t touch me, just stay away from me. Please!” He skipped to the workroom and locked himself inside, where he was left with himself to completely crash down and bawl out his pushed back emotions.

That reluctance to recognize them? Gone.

Emotional walls? Vanished.

He whimpered loudly, punching the different pillows in the couch along with knick-knacks on the desks. Pain was prevalent everywhere. Though his fists were bruised, his heart was deeply affected because he relied on his mind to give the practical solutions. Not entirely wrong, but with complete disregard of his heart meant disregarding his feelings, bottling them up for too long.

It was too difficult to make things seem normal in the household now.

Calum and Michael really did their best to change the atmosphere of the entire room by preparing breakfast, cracking eggs and bringing out the pancake mixes. Crystal needed to walk out to the patio to get fresh air away from the stuffiness. Ashton and Bryana were trying to think of easy ways on how to answer the questions from their children about Sierra since it wasn’t something they’ve ever seen before. Eleanor wasn’t too behind to follow Sierra’s steps, but not too near for the latter to see her. Arriving at her door and leaning against, she watches the ex-fiancée angrily throw different items in her dufflebag, observing how much she wanted to leave this situation.

“I’ve always had strong feelings you were still as controversial back in the day.”

She sensed a sneaky smirk from the brunette, who zipped up her packed bag and put the strap on her shoulder. Back on her feet, she came closer to Eleanor with that exact cocky expression. “You should’ve stopped me then, but you didn’t.”

As she tried to get on her way, Eleanor blocked her way, not letting her get off the hook that easily. “That was because I believed you could’ve grown better, but you chose to be a lot worse. Trashy even.”

“Ugh, harsh. But you may have forgotten that I am a girl who is passionate, who’ll do whatever it takes to get what and who I want in life. Luke isn’t something I could swipe left, babe.”

“Have you no pity or a heart?! You destroyed the well-beings of two of the most kind-hearted people, even got their children involved! - I’m so glad you were exposed. The bitch as you’ve described my best friend? Her intellect and determination were traits passed on the twins. With you, all you could ever give is your body and manipulation.”

Sierra’s jaw clicked, her free hand preparing to slap Eleanor, but she beat her it. Gripping her wrist tight that it could leave a mark, “Smart and nice way to accept loss, babe. Also by the way, I see something that doesn’t belong to you anymore.”

Referring to the diamond engagement ring, Eleanor removed her grip to the hand and watches with keen sight on Sierra sliding off the metal band. Once it was off, she effortlessly handed it to her new enemy, leading to Eleanor unblocking her. She didn’t wear her smirk anymore and scrambled down the stairs and to the garage, where a vacant, extra car awaits.

She was finally defeated.

Meanwhile, the twins managed to discreetly vacate from the living room and back to the basement, only this time, they’ve brought garbage bags and every cleaning material they could find in the pantry. Stella harshly scrubbed first the sticky floor from one row to another, whilst Rebecca disposed every popped balloon remains in the bag, shaking off any syrup stuck in it. Their progress was quite slow because some of the sticky area hardened, making them exert double energy which is more than what their bodies are capable of. Taking breaks in between increased, thinking how impossible it will be to accomplish this the entire day.

Not even halfway, a loud knock was made on the main door, the one from inside the house. “Come in!” Rebecca called out. The knob turned to its right and clicked open, which revealed the older kids, carrying spare cleaning materials and wearing similar frowns.

Stella stopped her actions. “What are you guys doing here?”

Beatrix put down her bucket and mop, entering inside the dirty room followed by the others. “I’m assuming you guys need some help after all that craziness you pulled off with Aunt Sierra.”

“But haven’t we been a burden enough to you all? This trip so far has been horrendous, at least we need to fix our mess down here.” Rebecca fired back, embarrassed to even look at them. Unexpectedly, Oliver advanced to her with his apron getup and declared, “To be honest, Rebecca, if any of us discovered the hidden intentions of a vicious woman like aunt Sierra on our parents, we would do absolutely everything to make sure that the bitch doesn’t walk free.”

“Also your strategy was crazy good, it serves her right!” Nick justified proudly. As much as it gave a short dose of hope and enlightenment to the twins, knowing their friends got their backs, they couldn’t help still feel guilty on bringing upon more emotional instability to their father.

“Thanks for the support, guys. Still though, we made our dad a lot more broken, and we can’t forgive ourselves for that.” Stella opens up, having trouble to maintain eye contact on anybody because of the shame. She may have blinked back tears because she isn’t one to show her vulnerability, another evident trait she got from her father. Less to her knowledge, Alex came to her aid with tissue paper on standby.

She was baffled, putting it away. “Thanks but no thanks, Alex. I’m fine.”

“You aren’t, Stella.”

He was right, and at the same time, one tear from Stella streamed down and he was the one to wipe them off with his thumb. Caressing her cheek, “It’s okay to be vulnerable, Stella.” He gave a hopeful grin, which was easily reciprocated with a tight hug. “T-Thank you, Alex.”

While they had their moment, the other kids were also silently cleaning those spots that the twins haven’t reached and faced the same struggles with the syrup. But now they was a lot more of them, the job was more time and energy-efficient. With that, the whole basement became spotless in another hour. Sharing jokes and another round of funny stories in between made the experience a lot less tense.

Now on their way to return to the ground room with their sweaty figures and full garbage bags, which they first leave by the front door, they were taken aback by all their parents, Luke included with red eyes from all the crying, explicitly arguing post-Sierra excluding Eleanor, who was sat in the couch really trying to get stressed due to the baby. This hindered them to go inside and stay behind the wall near the open entrance. Crystal was right behind Michael, who sided with Ashton. “Luke, you need to tell (Y/N) this.”

“I agree. What happened to no more secrecy?”

Calum joined in, giving a piece of his mind. “Mate, if you want things to work out between you two, you have to be honest. You lost her once, don’t do it again.”

Bryana had the last say. “And if you do so, she’ll give in and likely to share her perspective on why she didn’t tell you about her real relationship with Sierra.”

The anxiety within Luke couldn’t stop raising, not being able to think straight of what the right action is. He thought it was just Sierra keeping secrets, but you did too. Though knowing you all these years, whatever you choose to do and achieve in life always has a good reason behind it. It was thoughtful, yet a secret is a secret, which jeopardizes the trust of the relationship.

“I cannot lose her again, guys. When I tell her that I know, she’ll run away! That means Stella will go along too.”

“But Luke, isn’t the lack of trust the main reason you’ve ended it?” Eleanor caved in from the couch, offended at his defense because it led to her losing all contact with you, her best friend. Running away from Luke meant running away from everyone else.

Lifting herself up, her hands putting more pressure on her lower back to support her growing belly, she approached towards the lanky man. No pregnancy hormones caused her growing rage. “I have had it up to here with you. Not only did that factor caused you to lose the love of your life, but it caused everyone here to lose a friend and our kids to lose a great aunt. Fuck, (Y/N) was my best friend, whom I haven’t heard in over a decade! But mostly, your kids lost half of their parents. If that doesn’t disturb you enough, I have no idea what else will.”

As they eavesdropped, the kids couldn’t help feel the goosebumps up their arms by the hurt and may have gasped a little too vocally. The adults overheard it, sensing that their children kept an ear out for their mature conversation and becoming tenser since it’s like their happy, cheerful innocence was gone in a snap.

“Kids,” Ashton croaked, put his palm on his forehead to relieve the headache he’s bound to receive not so far from now. “We know you’re there. – Please do enter.”

As much as they didn’t want to, disobeying their rules would be a lot worse. One by one they’ve joined inside the crowd with their heads down because they were scared shitless, especially the twins who brought this to everyone. The sense of shame still stayed, aware that they could’ve approached it much more maturely.

“How much have you guys heard?” Bryana questioned, her heart weakens mostly at her kids with their doe eyes overfilled with fright.

“Enough to know that uncle Luke won’t tell anything that happened awhile ago to aunt (Y/N).” Scarlett replies on behalf, being the eldest after all.

Luke knew how energetic his niece was, but the softness of her voice made him feeble because he’s unintentionally brought back the decade old damage and it was just unacceptable for him to bring her and the other children down with him. He needs to get and give space, praying to the heavens that those kids would not have this piece of information get stuck in their heads for too long. It was just too soon for them to face this sort of reality. However, it was the twins’ reality, and it beats him up everyday. He should’ve done better.

Bringing back the need of space, he needs it starting right now.

“Rebecca Audrey Hemmings, Stella Charlotte (Y/L/N).” He directed his entire focus on the girls, who instantly elevated up their faces to his voice. “Pack your things, now.”

His tone was very serious, and very unlike him. But with all this pressure, it has took a toll on him. Not wanting any more trouble, they scurried their way out and to the stairs, trying not to slip from Sierra’s mess and make anymore delays.

Ashton, on the other hand, did not enjoy the way he instructed his kids despite his personal pressure. He negotiates, “Luke, don’t bring them into this. They are already as afraid as you are.”

“Are you their father, Ash? I just need s-space. So excuse us, but we’ll be on our way.” He bumped against the older man on the way out of the living room that became ironic because it now suffocates him in all aspects.

“Let me repeat what I said. – No one will speak of this morning to (Y/N).”

-

“Oh my, back so soon?” 

Luke roughly dropped off his dufflebag, rethinking of the words he’s planning to say. The trip back home was intense and filled with deadly silence. The twins were too startled to make a sound since hwas already developed much more sensitivity with his environment. Fragile almost, so they resorted to talking through texts. 

“Oh, we got an emergency meeting tomorrow, so we had to cancel. We’ll move it to next weekend, maybe you can join us this time?”

Fuck, you really wanted to go this time. But life as an actress isn’t always filled with vacations even if you go abroad a lot. By next week, you’ll be back in Los Angeles working. Just last night before heading to sleep, you received a long distance call from one of the producers of an action film where they’ve accepted you to play the main antagonist. This meant that the first meeting will be in a few days time, cutting off your stay. 

“I would love to, but it’s just that,” Your hands clasped together. 

“That?” Luke picked up. Your twins beside him were listening attentively, curious.

Heavily sighing, “I got a meeting with a producer this weekend, meaning I need to head back in a few days.” Your view then switched to Stella. “This also means you have to come back with me.” 

As expected, she was quick to retort. “No! I don’t want to leave dad and Becks, not again.”

Rebecca was on the same plane with her. “I agree! Dad, do something please!”

Undoubtedly, he wanted to beg you to stay longer after everything, but work is work. A mantra you and he have followed ever since, and especially now as parents, it must be strictly applied if you want things between you to succeed. His mind has again overpowered his heart.

“Girls, I respect your mother’s priority of work, so since she has important work she needs to attend to, what she says goes.”

Half that statement he didn’t agree to, which was that if you left, there’s more deprivation of bonding time with Stella. He needed to catch up on everything she’s done, and Rebecca still needs to know her more. 

Another thing with you leaving you again is that he can’t mend things as properly as he desired to. He’s afraid to lose you again.

But it isn’t like you weren’t feeling the same way. You’ve missed Rebecca, wherein there was never missed a day to think about her. You could’ve reached out, but you never did. 

Then for Luke. Oh, Luke. 

Although work is an important aspect, it was another factor that deteriorated your marriage. With fame comes time consuming plans and activities that would limit your family time, especially since you both reside on opposite sides of the world. You can’t stay away from them for too long again. 

Then again, work is work. The girls grew cranky over it, like all their hard work was for nothing.

“I though you were on our side, dad.” 

“I lost Stella and mom once, dad. Who knows when we’ll see each other again?”  

On that note, they spontaneously left the scene of the discussion, going up the stairs with frowns and heavy hearts. You felt your heart drop too by their disappointment, investing your sight now on Luke, whom by the crooked grin he gave off, reciprocated the feeling.

“Fuck,” You groaned, returning to sit down at the couch and burying your face in your hands. “I’ve already failed this family.” 

Luke took upon himself to comfort you at your saddened state, putting aside him personal misery and sat right next to you, rubbing your back up and down. “They’ll come around eventually, they are 11 years old. And come on, hasn’t work always been a huge priority for us, love?” 

Love. He’s said it a few times throughout this trip, but now, it felt much stranger. You might’ve felt electrified it, but regardless. It’s just a title, right?

“It was when we were still married.” 

“But it’s more important now because we have the twins.” He affirmed. He had a point, and from where you stand when everything is crumbling down, you would accept any useful advice to help you. 

“You know what, you’re right. They must already understand how hard it can be to balance work and family. They are still equally important, but this job, I cannot simply turn it down because I’m meeting with other great actors. I can’t be disrespectful.”

“Well, there you go!” Luke praised, gladly patting your shoulder with your realization. “Why are you still so glum, love?”

There he goes again, and somehow you could feel much more comfortable around him to express more. His eyes were gleaming with concern, anticipating to listen. 

He’s always been a really good listener. He didn’t brush his hair that much either, but it still looks good on him. Curly hair has always suited him. Distinctly, he bit his lip whenever he is sad to see others feeling down because he always wanted everyone to be okay, and here he did. Though another reason he would bite his lip is he was turned on.

Luke hated seeing you like this, quietly mourning over being a failure so early in the restarting process of familyhood. It still haunts him that the both of you took one twin away, and now that they found each other, it forced you to talk and straighten things out in a flash. But you’re both still pained by the past, and it isn’t easy to simply open up to each other, especially now when you have different significant others. Well, Luke had. Though he knows Timmy has a high dislike for him, he’s there for the sake of his daughters. 

But with you, there is one thing he cannot stop thinking about: your happiness. If Timmy can make you happy in better ways, then so be it. After all, it’s all parental right. But he wouldn’t be lying if he didn’t find you beautiful during the premiere or gorgeous by the way your spectacles drooped to your nose when you were reading awhile ago. Not only that, he found it cute to find you focused on the book, the way your brows knitted when a certain chapter irritated you.

Wait, what was he thinking?

But hey, what were you thinking too? 

Snap out of it!

“(Y/N), you okay? You haven’t answered my question.” He shook his hand in front of your face while you were spacing out, and staring at him too. 

“I preferred love more than my name.”

“Oh sorry there. - I’m pretty bummed because I don’t want to mess things up again. I can’t lose Becks and you again for good.” You worried, not realizing how you were leaning closer to him. He took you by the wrists, clasping them together between his large hands. 

“You won’t, (Y/N). As much as I fear the same, there is no fucking way I’ll let it happen. We can work this out.” He promises, hoping for the best in the future. With wisdom comes intimacy, which is followed by the close proximity of your faces.

Specifically both your lips. 

You could’ve sworn he brought himself closer first, but habitually, you returned the gesture. Maybe some old habits don’t die too easily. 

His blue orbs were as beautiful as you’ve looked into them deeper, diving into his spell that you can’t resist like previously. He barely had any wrinkles on his face, though his eyebags got darker and his scruff is bushier. You could think of other things to describe his gorgeous physique.

The way you licked your lips, which is a sign of you being nervous or contemplating different choices in your head, got him wrapped around your finger. The short-lived grin you gave to show him that you accept his help was too precious, almost like he was falling for you all over again.

There was strong tension building up, but your self control was working stronger. Gaining personal respect towards each other these past weeks has led to respect towards your life decisions. There was no way either of you could blow this up. Nonetheless, you freely picture yourself wrapping your arm around his neck to pull nearer to get a taste of him. Just once and that’s it. 

Your mind is always the dominating party, why don’t you let your heart take charge for once? Besides, did you really mean by what you say, that it’s all parental? The white shirt that grew transparent from his sweat showcases his fit abdomen and his long neck was clean. Too clean.

You accidentally caught a glimpse of his tightened crotch on his chino shorts, the length of his member visibly seen on the side. If only you could give it a - okay self, what the actual.

Luke was too tempted to swoop under your waist and on to his lap where he let you straddle his waist with your legs. He can imagine you tugging on his locks and peppering his neck with short kisses, maybe sucking on his weak spot more deeply and roughly.

Shit, you were only wearing sleeping shorts, flowy and only up to your butt. If he just slide in his digits up inside your - fuck, stop right there! He jerked back first, trying to calm his dirty thoughts because he is no longer obliged to think that way anymore. You in the other hand moved away as well, rethinking on how stupid you were to do that. 

“Stop, self. Let him go. He has Sierra as his bride now.”

“No, Luke. You blew your chance, and she’s already happy with Timothée.” 

Left with your withering realizations, a ding sound echoed the area, alleviating the massive awkwardness that developed. Instantly checking who it belongs to, it was yours. 

[12:35 PM] Timmy Tim: Can we please talk?

Scoffing lightly, he still had the nerve to reach out to a wound that is still so fresh and stinging.

[12:38 PM] (Y/N) angel: Why? “I drunkenly cheated” isn’t big enough?

“Who is it, (Y/N)?” Luke shouted from behind, hearing the clashing of a few pans accidentally which made you giggle because he’s always been clumsy. At the same time, your phone dinged again. 

 [12:40 PM] Timmy Tim: Please (Y/N). I’m so sorry. 

 “Oh, just the same producer. - And oi, be careful! We don’t wanna to nearly burn the house down like before!”

“I’ll try!” 

Rolling your eyes because the short banter brought you back to the old days, he actually bought the half lie. As terrible as at is, you didn’t want to bring him to your personal relationship issues. The less people, the better. You try to distract yourself by rereading some of the chapter you were stuck at to get a better understanding of the plot, yet your mind kept on reflecting on Timmy. By his texts, you can vibe his sincerity although it was you who was the victim.

Ignorance from you is improbable since you preferred facing your dilemmas head on, and you couldn’t become a lie of your own words. Though there is pain, ignoring it prolongs it. It’s closure or nothing. Snatching your phone from the coffee table, you typed out your frustration. Only mildly, you call the time to express when you see him next. 

[12:55 PM] (Y/N) angel: Fine. Noon, the Café Sweetener near your hotel. Oh, and I’m sorry too, that I was too dense to not have realized sooner.

[pbandjesse]

Today was a really nice day off. I am tired and I need to go eat something. But today's just been really good. I don't feel so sad inside. Or guilty. I had a really good day.

Sleep last night was okay. I woke up a few times because I was overwhelmingly hot but then it would pass and it was fine. James apparently did too so I think the heater kicked on like hardcore at one point. Unclear. But it's fine. Actually woke up fairly early without an alarm. But we have stayed in bed until 9. I felt kind of low but only because I was tired still. James made biscuits and I went and got cleaned up and dressed. I really really needed to wash my hair. My head was so itchy. So I was looking forward to going home and doing that. We had breakfast and a soda helped wake me up. And we hung out for a while. I wanted to go home and take an actual bath and wash my hair. So we headed out.

When we got outside it was just beautiful out. The weather was amazing today. Yes it was February 15th and it shouldn't be 65° but jeez it was nice. James had to run back upstairs multiple times because he kept forgetting things but it was fine. We went to my apartment and we didn't have to be in a rush.

When we got back to my place James hung out while I went to go take a bath. He did laundry and I chilled. It was nice. And I felt so much better afterwards. He put his clothes in the dryer and I was drying off my hair and we decided we would go to the store and get lunch after his clothes came out.

So that's what we did. We went out and we went to the diner. He got a burger and I got a Falafel. It was really good. It was nice just sitting and talking with him. Turns out he has a bunch of games for kids that he knows from doing summer camp. So he told me about some of them and I'm going to see if I can Implement them for my kids. A lot of them are based off of drinking games which I think is hilarious. It was nice just being with him though.

We walked around the corner to go get my package but it turned out my mail went to a different pick-up point. And I was very frustrated because I didn't know where it was until I was just never going to do it. I was grumbly and we headed over to the art store so I can get spray paint. And I told James I would never go and get that package unless he looked it up in his phone and to figure out how far of a walk it was. Cuz I didn't want to walk. He kept telling me but we're going to be walking tomorrow we're going on a hike. I told him it's not the same! But he did look it up and it was only 8 minutes away and so we went. And I grumbled the entire time. Because it was too hot. Finally I just took my coat off and he carried it and everything was okay then.

We got my package from the weird pick up point. And then we went up to Rite Aid to look around at the clearance stuff from Valentine's Day. Then we went back to my apartment.

It was getting close to that time he had to leave to go to the overnight but he still had like 45 minutes. He took the wheels off my bike for me and I wrapped all of the pieces up and painted it. I got a color called ketchup red. And I really like it. I found some pink heart stickers in my studio to make the most Valentine's Day bike possible.

And James left around 3. Sweet pea and me hang out in the back. I have worked on my bike and half worked on Furby stuff. I had to fix my 2005 Furby, chamomile, because her nose is messed up. I'm trying this thing with a rubber base to glue to try to build it but we'll see if it actually works. None of the three Furbies I got yesterday turn on but that's okay. I added Sparkles to the one 1998 that came in the lot the other week that does work. And some blush. And a necklace. And one of the people on my Instagram named her marmalade which I think is an adorable name and then I spend some time trying to figure out who was going to come with me on my vacations this week. I think it's been decided that marmalade will come to Jersey and mint jelly will come to California. I'm not entirely sure still because Vincent is still my favorite right now but his eyes don't open and I think mint jelly would be better for photographs. I'm basically just going to go off of a gut feeling in the morning I think.

I hung out with sweet pea and we played. I made sure my bags were packed well and watch TV. At 6:30 I decided to walk to the Natural Food Store around the corner to pick up some stuff like trail mix and vegetarian jerky for hiking tomorrow. I walk down and listen to a podcast and it was a good time. Someone asked me for directions on my way back to a cafe and I accidentally gave them kind of a roundabout way to get there and I felt bad about it. But hopefully they still made it.

I got back here and I put together my trail mix and packed my day bag. And I had a snack. And then I went down to my studio and painted for an hour. I think I'm going to paint over what I painted though because I like the texture but I don't like the finished product. So we'll see what happens with this one. I still have one sheet of paper left so I might use this one and crop it in different ways and then just repaint a new thing. Unclear. It was nice to paint for a while though.

And now I'm just laying in bed. I think I'm going to go check the mail. I'm supposed to have my last birthday present order come today. You must not with standing because they're not supposed to come until the middle of March from China. But it's fine. Even if my stuff doesn't come today.

We're leaving tomorrow around noon. I'm really excited to spend sometime in a hotel with James. On a real vacation. And I really hope we can have a really good time tomorrow. See nature. Take photos. I think it's going to be really good. Send us Good Vibes. And energy. I hope you all sleep well tonight. Stay safe out there.

[iron-touch]

My Name is Rumor Fleetwood

TEN YEARS AGO...

Growing up, Rumor only ever considered himself to be perfectly ordinary. His life was just as mundane as every other kid his age: he went to school and got average grades, had a host of friends that he didn't feel all that close to, and applied himself to a bunch of interests that he wasn't all that talented at. If anything, when he was left alone with his thoughts late at night with only the Liverpudlian rain to lull him to sleep, he wished that he could be more extraordinary. Even that desire, though, was nothing out of the norm.

To most children, however, seeing flowers rapidly bloom on trees as they climbed them would definitely not be normal. Rumor thought nothing of it, though, nor did he think much of the ripples that formed in his glass before he'd take a sip of water. How could he, when this sort of thing had happened around him for most of his life? It was as natural to him as breathing. Besides, a few flowers by his feet and some waves in his lemonade didn't make a significant impact on anyone's life besides his own, so why did it matter?

Even as his parents sent him away to live with a group of strangers, he still didn't understand what all the fuss was about.

It's just like a summer camp, Rumor thought to himself, repeating what his mother had told him. He had never actually been to a summer camp, but he had seen movies and cartoons about it. Visions of lakes encased by pine trees, incompetent councilors, and marshmallows roasting on a campfire with friends played behind his lidded eyes as he approached the gate to his airplane, only carrying the duffle bag his mother had packed for him and the ticket for his flight. The morning sun only barely peered over the horizon through the windows of the airport, mostly obscured by planes and other terminals. He yawned as his father shoved him into line to get on the plane. Where were they even going, anyways? Through sleepy eyes, he squinted down at his ticket.

PASSENGER: FLEETWOOD, RUMOR FLIGHT: AA735 DEPARTURE: 6:30 AM DEPARTING FROM: MANCHESTER ARRIVING IN: VENICE

Venice? No wonder they were at the Manchester airport and not the Liverpool airport. His parents trailed behind as he made his way to the front of the line. As the flight attendant checked his ticket, Rumor turned his head to see his parents sitting in the next to vacant gate behind him, his father reading a newspaper while his mother was snoring on his shoulder.

"Mum? Dad?"

Rumor's father shoved his newspaper down and scowled at his son, his wife still sound asleep.

"The plane's about to take off," Rumor pointed out. "Aren't you coming?"

"No, we aren't coming." He picked his newspaper back up and continued reading. "Someone named Tangerine will pick you up in Venice. Have fun, son."

Before Rumor could say anything else to him, the flight attendant checked his ticket and escorted him through the gate. Too tired to object, he followed her lead, his bag feeling much heavier now than ever before.

Unbeknownst to him, that was the last time he would see either of his parents.

~~~~~

The plane ride over had riddled him with anxiety. Luckily enough, the seat next to his was vacant, so he had ample room to pace around as his thoughts consumed him. Some of the other passengers surrounding him stopped and stared at him, whispering among themselves about why a nine-year-old was on a plane to another country. The middle-aged woman two seats behind him even tried to comfort him. However, Rumor brushed off all attempts at human contact. He had too much on his mind. Why were his parents sending him off to Venice of all places? Why weren't they coming with him to wherever in Venice they had sent him to? Who was this Tangerine person that his father had sent him off to see?

They're probably a nanny or something, Rumor eventually concluded. Or perhaps a chaperone. Mum and Dad wouldn't just hand me off to some random adult, right?

Whatever he was expecting Tangerine to look like, he was the exact opposite. A tall, muscular man greeted him at the baggage claim, holding up a sign with his name written on it in giant cursive letters. His stoic, stern expression contrasted against his flamboyant clothing—two sashes adorned with tessellated triangles that crossed over his chest and drooped down to his hips covered a bright red tank top; his pants, clearly a size too big for his already large frame, split below his spiked kneepads, exposing his calves; his gladiator sandals running all the way up to his knees. His auburn hair was tied back in a long, braided ponytail that reached down to his hips, a pair of sunglasses shielding Rumor from his thousand-yard stare.

His personality even clashed with his appearance. It didn't even take a full conversation for Rumor to realize that he was not the chatty type, mostly because he could barely even get him to converse. As soon as the two of them entered his car—a sleek maroon convertible with leather seats—Tangerine's lips were sealed, save for the cigarette dangling between them.

"So..." Rumor said as they drove out of the airport, "Where are we going?"

No response.

"Will there be other kids there?"

No response.

"Can I turn on the radio?"

Tangerine glared and shook his head.

"Your name is Tangerine, right?"

He nodded.

"How long did it take you to braid your hair this morning?"

No response.

Defeated, Rumor slumped in his seat and stared at his nervous visage reflected in the window. Maybe he just doesn't speak English very well, he reasoned. After all, he was probably just the chauffer. No doubt he drove hundreds of people back and forth from the airport every day. His parents had only said that he would be picked up by a man named Tangerine, they said nothing about anything past that. Surely he would drop him off at the fun summer camp that his parents had told him about with a group of welcoming, talkative adults that he'd feel safe and secure around. His parents wouldn't have dumped him off to some stoic stranger all by himself.

Right?

~~~~~

After a drive that felt much longer than it actually was and a trip on a private ferry, they arrived at Air Supplena Island. Though "island" may not be the best way to describe it. The complete antithesis to the warm and open Venice, where the water seemed to sparkle, Air Supplena was more like a giant, gothic castle with one prominent tower in the middle built on top of a cliffside. It just so happened that said cliffside was surrounded by the Adriatic Sea, which grew murkier the closer they got to the island.

Rumor felt his heart clench up at the realization that he was almost certainly not going to a summer camp.

"H-hey, I think there may be some mistake," he stammered as Tangerine parked the car in a dank underground garage. He exited the vehicle and marched towards a long, spiral staircase. Rumor fumbled with the lock on his seatbelt before following him. "I-I'm supposed to be at a summer camp right now. I don't know who you are or what's going on, but I—"

Tangerine spun on his heels to face Rumor, his arms folded behind his back. "You are Rumor Fleetwood, correct?"

"Y-yes, but—"

"Starting today," Tangerine spoke, his commanding voice silencing the boy in front of him, "you begin your formal Hamon training. I will be your tutor, mentor, and coach. From this moment forward, you will only address me as Master Tangerine. Any questions?"

Questions? Was that some kind of joke? Rumor could only pinch himself to confirm that this wasn't some weird dream. Unfortunately, he didn't wake up. This was really happening. Taking a deep breath, he catalogued all the questions he had; who are you, where are we, why am I here, but the one that came out was:

"What the hell is Hamon?"

His response did not come verbally. Rather, Tangerine extended his pinky and jabbed him in the chest. Rumor lurched over and coughed. It was only his pinky, but the blow carried the weight of a full punch. Thousands of tiny, golden shockwaves rippled from his body on impact, lingering on the pavement even after he caught his breath. They carried a distinctive ring to them, as his body was a tuning fork that had just been struck.

"That," Tangerine gestured to the sparks at their feet, "is Hamon. Or to be more precise, Hamon is a form of energy that is functionally indistinguishable from the rays of the sun. In order to generate it, most people need to learn and adapt to an advanced breathing pattern. It takes years, even decades, for most men to master it, even with a special apparatus to control the rhythm of their breaths. You, on the other hand," he took off his sunglasses to look Rumor in the eye, "you are capable of generating Hamon without even trying. Without even knowing. All on your own, as well. You are a one in a million chance, Rumor."

"I don't care!" Rumor stomped his foot. "What's the big deal with Hamon anyways? Who are you?" Tears began to burn behind his eyes. "I want to go home! Whatever this 'Hamon' is, I—"

He was interrupted by a slap to the face. "Go home?" Tangerine's thick Italian accent echoed off the walls and silenced the crackling Hamon ripples below them. "Tell me, what do you think waits for you back there? A warm bowl of soup and hugs from your parents? They abandoned you here. You should feel grateful that I'm taking you under my wing," he explained. "When I spoke with them, they used some choice words to describe you. Freak was among the tamer ones. Your mother thought you to be possessed by the devil himself. In fact, I only reached out to them after their inquiries about your Hamon had reached my ears, all the way in Italy."

Shell-shocked, Rumor's eyes widened. He had to be lying. What reason would they have to say such things about their own son? "I don't believe you," he whispered. "If I didn't even know Hamon existed, how could they know that I could generate it?"

"Have you ever noticed flowers blooming on tree branches after you touch them? Or stood perfectly still in a lake and have ripples form around your feet in the water?" Tangerine put his sunglasses back on and took another huff of his cigarette. "I'm assuming you have, because your parents certainly did. And it frightened them."

"No," Rumor denied, though the hateful scowl his father had shot at him before he boarded the plane still burned into his memory, "that can't be...it isn't..."

"It is, and the sooner you accept it, the sooner you'll find inner peace." The soles of his sandals clanked against the stone staircase as he ascended them. "There are horrors in this world that most dismiss as fantasy. Monsters lurking in shadows that humanity is too ignorant and stubborn to look into. Every day, these monsters grow stronger, preparing for a war that we have no hope of winning as things are. Vampires."

"Vampires aren't real! You're insane!"

"You only want to believe that." Tangerine stopped in place at the top of the stairs, looking down on Rumor. "You and I are different. It is our fate to ward off these monsters before it is too late. Still, I am not a heartless man. If you'd rather cower with your tail between your legs, then I will send for someone to deliver you back to your parents. Where they send you from there is beyond my control. Climb these stairs, however, and I will guide you on the path to your destiny."

With that, Tangerine opened the door at the top of the stairs. Sunlight bled into the dreary garage and created a backlight behind him. "I await your decision."

He slammed the door shut behind him, leaving Rumor alone with his thoughts.

Palms shaking and heartbeat deafening his surroundings, his eyes locked on the staircase in front of him as if he was drawn in by gravity. On all accounts, agreeing to train his Hamon with Tangerine (whatever the hell that implied) was a bad idea. Not only had they literally just met, but being dragged off to a secluded island off the coast of another country without a word between them and then being slapped in the face made for a poor first impression. Even to a child like Rumor, it was obvious that behind flamboyant clothing and darkened lenses, there was something very wrong with his would-be tutor. It almost made him wonder whether or not he was one of the monsters that he had described.

What other choice did he have though? As much as he didn't want to admit it, Tangerine was right—his parents had abandoned him. Shipped him off to some stranger with little regard for how he was treated or when he would return. His mother hadn't even been awake to wish him safe travels. Would they even give him the time of day if he told them about what Tangerine's "summer camp" entailed, or would they be too busy trying to find another way to get rid of him?

He always had wished his life had been more exciting, and now he was getting that excitement whether he truly wanted it or not.

Swallowing hard, he followed Tangerine's path up the stairs.

~~~~~

ONE YEAR LATER...

The weather had cleared up, clouds parting to make way for the sun's rays. Rumor couldn't tell, however. All he noticed was the air around him grow a little warmer, the oppressive shadow cast by the giant pillar in front of him alleviating. Light peered in from the balcony some twenty meters above him and stung his eyes. Running his oily hand over his face, he sat up, using the little strength he felt he still had in him. Dizziness wracked over his body upon moving. His stomach growled.

How the hell had things come to this?

Rumor's first year on Air Supplena had been lax, with Tangerine spending the mornings and afternoons coaching him on various breathing techniques and basics of a martial art called Sendo, then spending the evenings lecturing him on whatever educational topic caught his fancy at the time. Breaks were few and far between and food was only offered in the mornings, though enough of it was served to keep him energized throughout the day. Rumor felt less like he had been sent to a summer camp and more like he had been warped into a kung-fu movie. Every morning he woke up half expecting to wax his car.

What he was not expecting was to be shoved into a shallow pool of oil 24 meters below surface level with a pillar as his only means of escape.

Sometime before being shoved in, while Rumor was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Tangerine had called it the Hell Climb Pillar. The name was an understatement. Were Rumor alive during its construction, he would've added a few more adjectives to the title to better sell its challenge. "Deadly," "horrible," "unfair," and "stupid" all seemed like easy candidates.

"You have been under my tutelage for a year now," Tangerine had told him. "Consider this your first test. Tales have been told of a man who conquered the Hell Climb Pillar with nary a day of training under his belt. You are more than prepared."

I'd wager that he wasn't only ten, Rumor had silently objected.

How long had he even been stuck at the bottom of the pit anyways? The only indication he had to go off of was that it was sunny when he started, then he heard rain hammer down on the ceiling a couple dozen meters above him, then the rain stopped and sun snuck in through the balcony to greet him once again. It must've been at least a few hours, if not a whole day.

It wasn't like he hadn't tried—the way out was painfully obvious. Oil gushed down the pillar from a series of pumps near the top, coating it in a thin film of the stuff. Of the many tidbits on Hamon that Tangerine had drilled into him over the course of a year, none were as strange to him as the various liquids that conducted Hamon well. Oil, blood, even soap.

"Laugh if you wish for a beating, Rumor," Tangerine had threatened when his disciple stifled back giggles, "but my uncle kept a thin layer of soap on his clothes at all times just to create Hamon-infused bubbles to fight with."

Rumor rubbed his cheek, reminded of how hard he had been slapped when he erupted into laughter at the word "bubbles."

In a strange way, he was grateful for being hit, because now he remembered that lesson as clear as day. Of all of the conductors, oil was the most adept, both for storing and channeling Hamon. With gallons of it cascading over the pillar like a waterfall, the way out was as simple as channeling Hamon through his fingers to stick to the oil and climbing up the pillar like a spider.

Easier said than done. On his last attempt, Rumor only got seven meters off the ground before running out of energy and losing his grip. Ever since then, he laid at the bottom of the oily pool and prayed that Tangerine would fish him out eventually.

The fresh rays of the sun gave him new determination. Standing up, he readied his breathing, feeling Hamon flow through his body in weak ripples. Light sparks crackled on the tips of his fingers as he redirected his energy towards them. Still warn out and slightly delirious, he cupped his hands and stuck his fingertips to the pillar. Kicking off the ground and reaching his hands up higher, he restarted his climb.

"I'm getting out of here," Rumor reassured himself as he gently rolled his hands, dragging them further up the pillar. "Even if I have to chain myself to the top, I'm getting out of here."

A vein burst on his forehead as he continued to climb. Sweat began to dribble over the oil he was covered in, rubbing into his eyes and blurring his vision. He squeezed his eyes shut. Not like he needed to see; muscle memory was all the sense he needed. Something tugged at his wrist as his fingertips drug his body up with him, but he couldn't bring himself to check what it was. Probably just exhaustion taking its course.

As he readied his left hand to trudge up the pillar again, a smooth surface brushed against his thumb. He snapped his eyes open. A foothold perhaps? A relived grin plastered itself on his face as he grabbed onto it before looking. When his eyes caught up with his hand, he furrowed his brow.

Rather than a foothold or crevasse, Rumor had grabbed onto what looked like a mix between a translucent chain link and a double helix strand.

He bit his cheek. What the hell was it supposed to be? Curious, he gave it a small tug. His opposite wrist yanked along with it, knocking him off balance. He careened a few meters down before the mystery object he had grabbed broke his fall, somehow securing him to the pillar. His wrist burned now, almost like someone was trying to rip his hand off, his knuckles white from grabbing onto whatever he could. Now he was sure that something was wrong. Twisting his head, he stared at his wrist.

Though he remained confused, it didn't take long for him to realize what was going on. Emerging from his wrist was that same chain, seemingly emerging from his blood vessels. No cuts or gaps had marred his skin, nor were there any lumps from where it ought to be emerging from—instead, The Chain looked like it had phased through him.

Color drained from Rumor's face as he recounted his lessons with Tangerine. No matter how hard he scratched his brain, he couldn't remember one that mentioned a chain coming out from a Hamon user's body. What was this? Was he manifesting it somehow?

It was best not to question it too much, because whatever it was, it was the only thing keeping him suspended several meters off the ground. He shifted his balance so that his weight was centered then refocused on his breathing. Some stray droplets of oil sprayed into his mouth as he did so. A year ago, he would've gagged at the slimy taste as it stuck to his tongue. Now, he was able to brush it aside and push through it, his attention dedicated to each inhale and exhale.

That familiar buzz on his fingertips returned but much weaker than before. Rumor groaned and slouched his shoulders, darting his eyes to his hands. What was wrong now? Golden sparks of Hamon energy still danced on his fingertips, still clinging tightly to The Chain, but it didn't reach the oil parallel to them. Instead, it spread along The Chain, channeling through it from both hands.

Incredible, Rumor pondered, this...whatever it is, it's conducting Hamon flawlessly. Could it be due to the oil from the pillar? Or maybe...

Before he could think up of anything else, The Chain skyrocketed up the pillar and drug him along with it. He shut his eyes and turned away as oil splashed in his face, his knees scraping against the stone pillar. The Chain carried him higher, thrusting him into the air above the pillar. Rumor opened his eyes again for just a moment, only to see himself fall face first onto the landing platform.

Tangerine, sitting beside where he landed on a chaise lounge, promptly dropped his jaw and the glass of wine in his hands.

"That...was amazing!" He lifted a dazed Rumor off the floor by his shoulders and beamed at him. "I've never seen anyone ascend the pillar like that. What's your secret? You simply must tell me."

Those words didn't reach Rumor, who processed them as a garbled mesh of noise spoken by a blurry outline of what might be his teacher. His head felt light, his stomach tied in knots. The only thing keeping him rooted in reality was the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed in and out, in and out, in and out...

He blinked a few times, Tangerine's outline solidifying. He was smiling—a first as far as Rumor was concerned—and holding him up by his shoulders. "What," Rumor staggered, "what was that?"

Tangerine's smile fell as he shoved Rumor onto the chaise lounge. "That's what I'd like to know. From what I saw, it was like you channeled your Hamon in a circle around the pillar, then..."

"No, that's not what I mean." Rumor lifted his wrist, dragging The Chain up with it. "What's this? This chain thing?"

Tangerine tilted his head to the side and removed his sunglasses. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you're asking me."

"This!" He waved his hand around for emphasis, wobbling The Chain back and forth. "This thing coming out of my wrist! What is it?"

"Rumor." Tangerine furrowed his brow. "There's nothing coming out of your wrist."

A cold wave of shock seized up Rumor's body. Tangerine was many things, but a liar was not one of them. He really couldn't see it.

Then, as if on command, The Chain reeled up back inside his wrist and vanished.

"Either way," Tangerine continued, "do you realize what this means? Rumor, you're the youngest person to ever complete the Hell Climb Pillar!"

Though his teacher—cold, stoic, borderline abusive Tangerine—was lauding his success and toasting to him with his shattered wine glass, Rumor couldn't bring himself to soak up the praise. It seemed that fate had blessed him with another special ability, one that was bizarre even amongst the bizarre.

~~~~~

NINE YEARS LATER...

During his first year of training, Rumor would often spend his brief break periods napping or aimlessly strolling around the island. After his first challenge against the Hell Climb Pillar, his breaks were spent restlessly trying to figure out what the hell The Chain was.

One thing that he was certain of was that it was unique to him. Air Supplena's library had a section dedicated to documents on Hamon users throughout the years, chronicling everyone from the originators of the craft to Tangerine's soap-wearing uncle to a British noble who mastered his Hamon within a week only to die months later on his honeymoon. Not one of them mentioned something even comparable to The Chain. If several centuries worth of Hamon masters couldn't muster up a way to conjure what he did by accident when he was only ten, then it couldn't be something that was learned. Not to mention that Tangerine couldn't even see the damn thing.

With time he learned some of its other properties. He could summon it on command, but only out of his wrists and ankles. After multiple attempts to try and summon it from other parts of his body (including his elbows, knees, and the inside of his mouth), he came to the conclusion that his wrists and ankles were the only parts of his body that they could come from. That stunt he had pulled on his first attempt at the Hell Climb Pillar wasn't inherent to The Chain, but rather a reaction from the Hamon flowing through it colliding with the oil dripping from the pillar. The individual strands could be separated from his body by either clapping his hands or clicking his heels. Its range, Rumor eventually decided, was incalculable, as it was capable of stretching across the entire island several times over, albeit very slowly. Perhaps the strangest quality of The Chain was its ability to transfer heat from one object to another, an ability that he had discovered by complete accident one frigid winter morning while training. Not like he was complaining; Tangerine had insisted that he train in nothing but his underwear that day.

That had been many years ago though. Age had mellowed his once heartless teacher considerably; when Rumor first arrived on Air Supplena, he would be whacked in the back of the head as punishment for failing a Sendo maneuver or answering a question incorrectly during their tutoring sessions. One time, he was even denied breakfast for sloppy handwriting, a mistake Rumor was sure to never repeat. That behavior faded with time, his slaps getting weaker, punishments less severe. Usually, Rumor could get away with just a lecture. Lack of punishment never dulled his fear of failure, though. Ten years of training, and Rumor still flinched whenever Tangerine would lowly exhale in the way he always did when he was disappointed.

Not like he had anything to be afraid of. Tangerine had not aged gracefully; his once youthful visage had melted away to a pruned old man with gray hair and frizzy mustache in only a few years. His once vibrant and gaudy attire had been traded in for a simple beige cloak and baggy pants held up by a particularly boring leather belt.

"Hamon will keep you young so long as you do not fall out of practice," he explained. "However, it does not last forever. I'd wager I'm old enough to be your..." he tapped his finger against his chin, "Rumor, how old are you now?"

"Eighteen, sir. My birthday is in a little over two months." Had Tangerine ever gotten him a birthday gift? Or even celebrated his birthday before? He couldn't remember.

"I'm old enough to be your grandfather." He chuckled, his laughter eventually trailing off into a low cough. "I was already in my fifties when I picked you up from the airport that day. I was quite the looker back then, wouldn't you agree?"

Rumor did not agree. He never found anyone to be particularly attractive, least of all his teacher. "Of course, sir," he said. "Shouldn't we go inside? You're bound to catch a cold if you stay out here for much longer."

Tangerine shook his head. "What I have to say won't take long." He sighed and gazed up at the sky. "Besides, I enjoy sitting under the starlight."

Exhaling slowly, Rumor followed his teacher's line of sight. A host of stars greeted him, dotting the sky to the point where he saw more twinkling white than he did the cold blue sky. A rare sight this time of year, when the gray clouds of January usually shielded the sky. It was still chilly though. Rumor didn't mind the cold—not when The Chain was wrapped around his torso and attached to the coals of the toasty fireplace waiting for them inside. He would've offered the same comfort to his teacher, but although he couldn't see The Chain, he could still feel it. Having it slither up his legs and wrap around his body would only irritate him.

"These last ten years," Tangerine continued, "I've watched you mature from a squeamish child to a proud warrior. There is nothing left for me to teach you. It's time." He stood up from his chair and moved it aside, revealing a wooden box underneath. Tangerine started to kneel down to pick it up, groaning and grunting as his knees cracked, before Rumor picked it up himself.

"Time for what?" He weighed the box in his hands. The box itself was much heavier than whatever was inside it, and even it didn't weight much. Rumor put his ear to the box and jostled it around a bit, hoping to find out what was inside. Something thumped from side to side; small, light, but not hollow.

He was interrupted when Tangerine put his hand on his shoulder. Rumor flinched away. No doubt he was about to be reprimanded and smacked. How careless of him to get carried away like that, shaking around a present like a child on Christmas Eve. "My apologies, Master."

"You've nothing to apologize for, Rumor," Tangerine reassured. "It is time for you to leave this island. Tomorrow, I'll send for a boat to take you to Venice. Where you go from there is up to you. I would come with you, but I'm in no condition to travel anymore. Your skill with Hamon is without rival, and you exhibit a talent for strategy on the battlefield. Not to mention that I've never seen nor heard of anyone conquer the Hell Climb Pillar on several occasions, let alone with a different strategy each time."

Rumor clenched his hands into fists and bit his lip. Of the eight times he had successfully conquered the Hell Climb Pillar, only one of them had been with Hamon alone. All of his other climbs had been the result of him experimenting with The Chain. It was no wonder that he hadn't seen anyone climb it in the ways he had. "Yes, sir."

"I have two tasks left for you to complete," Tangerine instructed. "The first is to track down the last of the vampire scum that still roams the Earth and eliminate them. Bring me their heads as a trophy, if you can manage."

"Of course, sir." Rumor lifted the box in front of him. "What's this for, then?"

"Open it."

Rumor slid the lid off and tucked it underneath the box. Inside were two items: a long, orange scarf and a small black notebook.

"That scarf is specially made," Tangerine explained as his student took out the objects and examined them. "It is woven from Satiporoja beetles, so it will conduct 100% of your Hamon even without a conductor. And, since you'll be out on your own for the first time, I figured you might desire a journal to document your experiences in."

"I'll treasure them always," Rumor said, wrapping the scarf around his neck. "What is the second task you wanted me to complete, sir?"

Tangerine hobbled back over to his chair and sat down. "Will you watch the stars with me one last time before you leave?"

~~~~~

IN THE PRESENT...

Four months on his own, and Rumor had just killed someone for the first time in his life.

It hadn't been intentional, of course. All he was trying to do was remove Sting's mask; how was he supposed to know that it would cause his head to explode? He wasn't a murderer. Even if he was, he only ever resorted to violence against evil. Vampires and other creatures whose entire existence was violent and malicious. While Sting wasn't inhuman, he was still a monster. All the Masqueraders were. They attacked fellow Stand users without warning or reason and refused to so much as consider a more peaceful resolution. Violent, killing machines; no different than the vampires he had been engineered to destroy.

If it hadn't been torn off and crushed to a bloody mess, Rumor would've considered delivering Sting's head to Tangerine as a trophy.

The fact that a man laid dead by his hand near a known tourist attraction was no longer of any concern to him. Rumor was more worried about finding his way back to the café where he left Cab. On his way to the belfry, he had only focused on the path The Chain lead him on, not bothering to note the path he took or any other landmarks he passed. For once in his life, he wished that Cab and his compass-head was with him to offer up some direction.

"So, um," Michelle stuttered, eyes still wide from seeing Sting's face rip clean from his head, "what was up there at the top of the Belfry?"

"Well, it is a belfry," Rumor bluntly responded. "So, bells."

"That's it? Nothing else?"

"What, aside from the masked lunatic trying to kill me?"

Michelle huffed out her nose and folded her arms. "You know what I mean."

A small chuckle rumbled in Rumor's belly. "If you're expecting some grand cathedral or hidden passageway, then I'm sorry to disappoint. There was a certain beauty to it though, as if decades of industrialized tourism all but stopped once you reached the room. Not to mention that the view. You could behold the entire city from there. Honestly, if I had the time, I'm confident in saying that I could locate where we stashed Cab away from up there."

"Oui, I'd bet," Michelle responded. "Sounds like a good place to watch the sunset, right? Then maybe watch the stars afterwards."

Rumor felt his heart clench. He hadn't watched the stars since the night he left home. It wasn't out of a distaste for it, far from it, but clouds followed him from place to place no matter where he went and he was often fast asleep by the time they parted. Truly, his last day at Air Supplena must have been preordained. The only day of clear skies for an entire month, and it was when he bid farewell to his teacher? Fate always did have a tendency to favor him after all. Now if only it could point him in the direction of a vampire.

For only a moment, he worried if Tangerine would think him a failure for not finding one already.

"Don't be ridiculous," he responded to Michelle. "The windows are too narrow to see the sky from."

[travelingtheusa]

NEW YORK

8 Sep 2020 (Tue) – We spent yesterday getting ready to move.  We drove to the lawyer’s office in Port Jefferson to sign a temporary Power of Attorney for Travis.  Since we won’t be here for the closing on his house, we are giving him authority to sign for us.  That was debacle!  First, the secretary asked for ID with a picture and our address on it.  We gave her our New York driver licenses.  They have our Texas mailing address on them.  She said that was no good.  She then instructed us to send her copies of our passports.  When we got back home, I did that.  She said Paul’s passport said New York but mine said New Jersey.  I had to explain that there is no residential address on a passport; that the states are where we were born.  She then asked for a Costco card or some other ID that had a picture and New York address on it.  When we couldn’t provide any, she mumbled something about having to do a tax form for Texas.  We are certainly hopeful that Travis & Sam don’t have to pay taxes to Texas!

     After the lawyer’s office, we drove into Port Jefferson and had lunch at one of the many restaurants in this charming port town.  The waiter gave us the menus, stated that he was the only one working today, and he would come when called.  The tables were set up outside on the parking lot.  There were about 6 tables he had to serve.  The service was very slow but the meal was good.

     We invited Caiden to come over for dinner. He enjoyed it.  Unfortunately, we got a message saying my nephew’s funeral will be on Saturday.  We were expecting it to take place next Saturday.  We were going to camp in PA for a week, then drive to Rhode Island/Massachusetts.   Now, we had to call campgrounds and move things around.  Fortunately, we were able to get 5 days at a Navy campground in Newport, RI, as well as move the days we were going to PA.  Whew.  Otherwise, we would have lost our deposit at the PA campground.

6 Sep 2020 (Sun) – It’s been a busy week.  Kenny went to the clinic and had his arm looked at.  The doctor said he has a second degree burn but didn’t do anything with the injury.  Just told him to keep it clean and dry.

     I started physical therapy on my Achilles tendon.  I went for therapy on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.  They start with heat and stimulation, then I do some exercises, and it ends with ice and stimulation.  They also do some ultrasound.  The place is big and it kind of feels like an assembly line operation. Oh, well.  I won’t be there for long.

     Miranda’s car had the thermostat and rheostat replaced as well as three coils in the engine.  It cost $900. Our next door neighbor, Dave, owns an auto body shop and did the work for us.  We brought the car back to Miranda and Kenny and told them that’s it. No more money will be spent on that car. Dave suggested we put it in a lot, douse it in gasoline, and set it on fire.  It’s basically shot.

     We took Caiden and went over Susan & Bill’s house on Saturday.  It was our last swim for the summer.  He had a great time.  We are all a little sad to see the season end.  Earlier in the week, Susan and I went to West Hampton for lunch. They recently renovated the town and she wanted to look it over.  It was very new looking.  

     After church today, we went over Travis & Sam’s.  Today is Travis’ 39th birthday.  We enjoyed a barbecue and ice cream cake.  We gave him a storage device with all our photo albums scanned on it. Hope he likes it.

 30 Aug 2020 (Sun) – We went to church this morning.  Attendance is still sparse but the way the pews are chained off, it’s probably for the best.  After church, we stopped at Bagel Boss for bagels.  The deli counter had 6 people on line and the bagel line only had 1 person so I opted for the bagel line.  What. A.  Mistake.  The girl who waited on me was so new that she had to ask another worker what a rye and garlic bagel looked like.  She was sooooooo slow that everyone in the deli line not only went through but several people after where I would have been had I gotten on that line.  Serves me right for being in a hurry.

     After church, we drove to Travis & Sam’s, stopping at a couple of furniture stores on the way to look for new recliners.  We are limited by the size of the space that the recliners would fit into. The kids are growing fast.  The baby is such a happy little guy.  Big smiles and laughs all the time.  Paul and I picked up KFC chicken for dinner.  It was a nice visit.

     Miranda borrowed the truck at 7:30 to go pick Kenny up at work.  Their car is not working right now.  There is some kind of blockage in the cooling system.  Caiden and I played a few games.  When Kenny got home, Miranda changed the dressing on his arm from the scalding he took yesterday.  He has a very large blister and a lot of redness on his arm.  Miranda and I convinced him to go to the clinic tomorrow.  He probably should have the blister drained and get put on an antibiotic.  

 29 Aug 2020 (Sat) – We went to church today to attend a memorial service for June Wertz, a friend of ours.  Her husband, Bob, invited us to join their travel club some years ago.  One of the members of their club had passed away just before the small group was going to camp out at Wildwood State Park.  They invited us to take his camping spot. During the 8-10 years we camped with them, it was always on Long Island.  The members were all up in years and didn’t go off-Island to camp.  It was a fun group and I wish we could have known them in their younger, traveling days.  At any rate, we certainly enjoyed the time we spent with Bob & June and the rest of them.

     Miranda and Kenny had a serious incident yesterday.  They were at KFC when they noticed smoke coming from the engine. They popped the hood, looked around, and opened the radiator cap.  Both of them were scalded, Kenny pretty badly.  They are monitoring his condition to determine whether his burns are bad enough to seek medical help.

 28 Aug 2020 (Fri) – I drove to Ronkonkoma to visit with my cousin, Claude, today.  He has been experiencing medical issues for a while now.  He has gone from 220 lbs. to 175 lbs.  He is looking old and sick.  I fear for his well-being.  I visited for about an hour then the nurse came in to see him so I left.

     Paul spent the day repairing the steps to the back deck.  He poured some concrete at the base a few days ago and had Caiden put his name, date, and footprint in it.  

 27 Aug 2020 (Thu) – I drove out to Southampton today.  It was almost an hour and a half drive.  When I arrived for my 10:30 a.m. appointment, the receptionist told me I was scheduled for 11:30 a.m.  The dentist didn’t get me in until almost 12 noon.  I was seeing him for a consultation.  He is an endodontist who specializes in root canals and oral surgery. He didn’t see anything that needs immediate attention.  Furthermore, he said that he conforms to the recommendations of the American Dental Association and doesn’t believe that metal in the mouth or root canals are inherently bad.  He suggested that I leave everything as it is unless I am in pain.  It was a disappointing consult.

      I stopped at CVS to pick up my prescriptions from the dermatologist, the neurologist to get copies of the test results for my records, and at Shop Rite for some groceries.  I got home in time to put everything away and turn around to make my 4:00 p.m. appointment for physical therapy.  That was also a somewhat disappointing experience.  I was brought in, asked a bunch of questions by someone who said she was a physical therapist, and advised that I would get some exercises to do. Today’s appointment was just heat and stimulation.  An aide put the electrodes on my foot and wrapped it in a hot towel.  She said the therapist would be in to turn on the stim. After 15 minutes, I flagged down a passing therapist to see if she could find the gal that was supposed to turn my stim on.  After 5 minutes, she came in and said she thought the aide would turn it on.  They seemed very disorganized and uncommunicative.   I am scheduled for physical therapy 3 days next week.  We’ll see how that goes.

     When I came out of the office, I crossed the street to pick up a few things at Best Market that I didn’t get at ShopRite.  It was a full day of running around.  Whew!

 26 Aug 2020 (Wed) – I went to the dermatologist this morning.  The oncologist told me that the chemo can cause skin cancer and to get a skin exam once a year.  So, here I am at my one-year check.  The exam went well and I was given a clean bill of health.

     At 1:50 p.m. I went to see the orthopedist that I was referred to by the podiatrist.  I have an interstitial tear in the Achilles heel fiber, not the tendon.  There are three ways to handle it – by physical therapy, by surgery, or by an experimental program that takes your blood, mixes platelets with it then injects it in the injury site.  Insurance will not cover the cost.  I opted for physical therapy.  He gave me a script and I made an appointment with a nearby therapist.

     We went out for dinner to Texas Roadhouse.  The food was good.  We forgot our leftovers.  That must happen at least half the time we plan to take leftovers home. Aaaarrgh!  

 25 Aug 2020 (Tue) – No doctors today!   I ordered dulse flakes from Amazon.  Travis called to ask for help.  He was turned down for a rental because a credit report stated they had been late on their last 8 mortgage payments.  This is incorrect.  I went on the webpage and saw that their payments were on time.  Samantha called Equifax to correct the report but was told they only reported what the mortgage company gave them.  She called the mortgage company and was told Equifax had to correct the record.  A big, fat bureaucratic run around!

    I spent a good part of the day on the phone with the mortgage company trying to get a letter that simply stated that their payments have been on time all year.  The last agent I spoke with told me they are restricted in free-form correspondence because of a contract they have with USAA.  They can only send certain forms.  He did offer to send a transaction record that showed all payments were made.  Unfortunately, it does not say the payments were on time.  

    In the meantime, I was trying to get an appointment with the dentist and getting a refill for Paul for a medication.  I finally landed an appointment with the dentist for Monday and the doctor’s office placed the refill order directly with CVS.  I did get to finish burning one box of records. Only 5 more to go!

     Travis called later and told me he offered to pay one year’s rent up front and was waiting for the rental agent’s reply.  He’s got a job offer and the new boss said he would look into putting the money up until Travis sold the house.  If he does that, Travis better give this guy 110%.  He doesn’t know Travis from a stranger on the street and is willing to put up $23,000?  We will see.

     Miranda and Kenny went out tonight.  I offered to watch Caiden so they could have a date night out somewhere. It isn't much but I’m sure they haven’t had a chance for private time since this whole COVID-thing started. Kenny’s mother and grandmother are keeping their distance and they have no other childcare set up.  

 24 Aug 2020 (Mon) – We went food shopping this morning.  I did laundry in the house.  At 1:45 p.m., I left for an appointment with the biological dentist in Manhasset.  On the way there, the office called to say the dentist was running late and to come in at 4 p.m.  So I detoured and stopped at Sherry’s Market in Babylon.  I wanted to pick up some barley grass juice powder and dulse flakes. They did not have the dulse.  The clerk said I might find it in Wild by Nature down the road in West Islip.  So I drove down John Street and into the strip mall.  They had dulse granules but no flakes.  Not sure if that was OK, I didn’t buy it.

     Finally, it was time to stop dawdling and drive to the dentist.  I got there at 3:50 p.m. and called the office to let them know I was there.  They told me to come right up.  I didn’t wait 10 minutes (BIG difference from last visit) and was shown into the exam room. The first dentist, Dr. Golden, popped in while Dr. Blum was reviewing my 3D scan.  They discussed my case and what they recommended I do.  Then they sent the money gal in.  She described the procedure they would use – do a root canal on two teeth and put in ceramic posts with a bridge.  Giving me a discount on the bridge, it would only cost $12,000. I could buy a frickin’ car for that much money!!!  I told her I would think about it and left.

     I called my sister to see if I could get in to see her biological dentist.  She gave me his number but the office was closed. I’ll have to call them tomorrow.

 23 Aug 2020 (Sun) – We went to church this morning.  Everyone is still wearing masks and the pews are roped off to keep people distanced from one another.  After church, we gathered up most of the stuff we have been collecting for the yard sale and brought it back to the church.  They are trying to have an outdoor thrift shop sale on the front lawn. We don’t know how that’s going to work. It was all clothes they had outside and anyone shopping would lift the clothes to look at them.  Now they’ve been touched.  What next?

     At 3 p.m. we drove to our friend’s house, Bob.  He used to be my brother’s father-in-law (before they got divorced). Bob managed an A&P store in the day and he catered many parties.  Any time he’s making a meal, it’s worth going.  He’s a great cook.  He made ribs, roast potatoes, and corn on the cob.  We had a very nice visit.

 22 Aug 2020 (Sat) – We gathered up Caiden and drove to my sister’s house. Susan is celebrating her 65th birthday today.  As expected, Caiden never wanted to get out of the pool.  Our brothers, Dennis and Chris, also came to the party.  We gave Denis some old baseball cards we found in the back room during our clearing out maneuvers.  He seemed to be pleased with the gift (his birthday is next week).  It was a fun day.

 21 Aug 2020 (Fri) – We went to the Oconee Diner for lunch then took a ride to Target to get a few things.  We picked up some clothes for Caiden and ourselves.  After we returned home, we spent the rest of the day cleaning out the back room.  I burned more military records.   Thirty-one years of military history – GONE!  Up in smoke!  I was surprised to see that I had every pay record I ever got during my service.  

 20 Aug 2020 (Thu) – It was a confusing day at the cardiologist. First, Paul went to the office for a 9 a.m. appointment only to be turned away.  They said he had an appointment at 3:45 and I had one at 2:30 p.m. When he got home and told me, I stated that the office had called yesterday and confirmed the 9 a.m. time. I also had my appointment time entered in my calendar as 2:15 p.m.  Just as we were perplexing over these times, the doctor’s office called to say he was called to the hospital and they had to reschedule our appointments.  We managed to get us in at 11:30 and 11:45 respectively. That ensured we got in together.

     The doctor was prompt and entertaining.  He checked us both over.  Reviewed our bloodwork and tests and declared us in good health.  My cholesterol is a little elevated so he wants to see me back in 3 months.  If the numbers are still up, he will put me on a drug (he thinks).

     We drove over to Travis & Sam’s tonight for dinner.  Turned out we had to buy the dinner (surprise!).  We stopped at Chili’s and picked up 6 meals then drove to Trap’s where we enjoyed our dinner together.  Travis got a job offer at a construction company in North Carolina. They will also help them to get into a rental home.  It sounds very good.

 19 Aug 2020 (Wed) – I went to a biological dentist today to get an assessment of all the dental work in my mouth.  I have been reading several books about alternative medicine.  One book by Dr. Simon Yu states that disease is the result of 4 causes.  The three top causes are dental problems, heavy metals, and parasites.  It was 2 hours before the dentist came in to see me and we spent an hour talking about the research and alternatives.  She sent me to get a 3D x-ray to see if there are any infections in my mouth.  Although there was no “pathology,” she did identify 4 incomplete root canals.  She recommended I see the surgeon in the office. I made an appointment for Monday.

     On the way home, I stopped by Sherry’s Market, a health food store in Babylon. It was expensive!

 18 Aug 2020 (Tue) – I went to the neurologist this morning to get all the electrodes disconnected.  I tried to schedule a follow up visit with the doctor but his earliest appointment is October.  How do you discuss what they found with all these tests?  

     I drove to East Islip to the podiatrist’s office to pick up a copy of the MRI report stating I have an interstitial tear in my right foot.  The receptionist offered to call the radiology office to see if I could get a copy of the MRI pictures.  Then I walked over to their office and got the disk.

     Paul spent the day working around the yard.  I spent the day burning files.  I have so many military files to burn.  How in the world did I get so many in my possession???

 17 Aug 2020 (Mon) – I went to the neurologist this morning and was wired up for a 24-hour EEG.  They attached 23 electrodes to my head and 3 to my chest.  I have to wear a machine to register brain activity for 24 hours. All this just to reassure Paul that I am OK and can go hiking in the woods again.

     When I got home, Paul went food shopping.  I was NOT going out with all the wires hanging off my head.  When he got back, we had lunch, then went to work on getting rid of old files and boxes.  I have tons of old military books and material that has to be burned.  It can’t just be thrown in the garbage.  I sat in front of the fire pit for 2 hours and only got through 1 box.  I have 5 more to go.  

     Ford called to say they replaced the fuel pump on the truck and everything seems to be alright.  I took the rental car, drove Paul to Sayville Ford to drop him off, drove to Islip Airport to drop off the rental car where Paul picked me up and we drove back home.

 16 Aug 2020 (Sun) – We borrowed Kenny’s truck and drove to church this morning. It rained all day.  We spent most of the day inside watching TV or working on the computer.

 15 Aug 2020 (Sat) – Spent the day working around the property.  Kenny went to work at 4 and I went into the house to watch Caiden.  He came out to the camper and had dinner with us, then we went back inside and I gave him a bath.  We had a pillow fight and played with his transformers.  He finally went to bed at 9 p.m.  I think that is too late for a 6 year old but his parents are night owls and I guess he’s becoming one also.

 14 Aug 2020 (Fri) – The tech from Sayville Ford called and said the diagnostics was telling him the truck needs a fuel pump.  No amount of arguing that the last service station messed something up. We finally authorized the part. Maybe they can get to it on Monday. Ugh.  

     Miranda’s truck was finished at 4 p.m.  Turned out to be the alternator.  I was going to take the rental car since we have no vehicle but I let her take the truck to Philly given the cruddy condition of her truck. We weren’t sure it would make it there and back.  It really is on its last legs.

     We were supposed to ride out to Indian Island to join the Long Islanders for camping this weekend.  Since we don’t have the truck to pull the camper, we will miss the campout.  This was very disappointing.

 13 Aug 2020 (Thu) – Miranda’s car suddenly gave up the ghost today.  It was clicking, wouldn’t start, and all kind of diagnostic warnings were flashing on her dashboard.  She was able to drop it off at the service station.  This is really bad timing because she is preparing to go to Philly this weekend to coordinate a concert for her camp.   We looked around and was able to reserve a rental car just in case the car isn’t back tomorrow.

     Paul and I rode our bicycles to Best Buy this afternoon.  It’s been giving me trouble and there’s some kind of program on there that we didn’t load in but keeps trying to update drivers.  I had them take it off.  They were very understaffed and the tech wasn’t really interested in working with me on anything else.  I had wanted help in getting videos off the computer.  I’ll have to wait until things get back to normal.

     Paul took an Uber to the cardiologist this afternoon for a stress test.  They injected him with something and then put him in an MRI machine.  He said it was quick and easy.

 12 Aug 2020 (Wed) – It was a quiet day all around.  Paul picked up the truck.  Not only was it making the humming noise, but the dashboard was lighting up like a Christmas tree!  Low fuel pressure!  Low engine pressure!  The service station told us they couldn’t find anything wrong and the noise was gone. Boy, were they wrong.  Paul called Sayville Ford and we were able to get it into the service bay today.  Hope they didn’t break the engine.  L

 11 Aug 2020 (Tue) – I went to the radiologist today for an MRI of my right foot. We worked around the property, cleaning out old files and boxes.  Sent out for pizza for dinner.

 10 Aug 2020 (Mon) – Paul brought the truck back to the service station this morning. They kept the truck and dropped him off back at home.  At 1 p.m. I went to the doctor for an echo cardiogram.  I had to borrow Miranda’s car to get there and back.

     We called the service station at 3:30 p.m.  The tech told us that they had to call a friend at Ford to ask about the fuel pump.  The guy told them they had to replace the entire assembly, not just the fuel pump. Paul was annoyed!  I think we will have to make sure in the future that (1) only Ford does the work and, (2) that the mechanic is a certified diesel mechanic. Hopefully, we will get the truck back tomorrow.  They were going to send out for the item, which will cost us over $400.  This is after already being charged $170 to put the fuel pump on before they broke it.

 9 Aug 2020 (Sun) – We went to church this morning.  I think it was the most people we’ve seen there since we came back.  Everyone is still wearing masks and there are seats roped off.  Hand sanitizer stations have been set up around the building.   They announce that the thrift shop will open for 2 hours on Sunday afternoon in an outdoor setting.  That means folks attending the service will be asked to help bring things outside and set up, then take it back downstairs when done.  I hope it works.  The thrift shop is a major revenue source for the church and it has really been hurt with the closure.

     After church, we went to the Clamside Bar & Grill at the East Islip Marina. The waitress was soooooo slow. Paul ordered Belgian waffles and they came out cold.  My food was lukewarm.  He sent his waffles back.  The next service was also cool.  Paul wound up not eating his meal.  It was a disappointing experience and we probably won’t go back there for a while.

 8 Aug 2020 (Sat) – We gathered up Caiden and drove to Sue & Bill’s for the day.  The day started out overcast but the clouds soon cleared away and we had a delightful day in the pool.

 7 Aug 2020 (Fri) – I went to the neurologist this morning.  The first test was a Neurotrax.  It was a cognitive test to see if I’ve had any brain damage from the TGA back in March.  Following that, I had an EEG.  A technician glues 23 nodes to your head and then has you sit in a chair with your eyes closed most of the time.  He flashes a light on your closed eyes, then says “Open Your Eyes” for like 30 seconds then close them again.  Weird.

     Paul has been working hard in the yard, cleaning up after the storm.   The oblivious neighbor did a stupid thing.  A tree in his yard came down into our yard. It was straddling the fence with the root ball in the neighbor’s yard and the tree branches supporting the tree in our yard.  The neighbor brought his chain saw out and cut the tree.  No longer balanced between the tree branches and the root ball, the tree crushed our fence.  

     I went to the podiatrist today to check out the painful lump on my Achilles tendon. The doctor took an x-ray and said I have a bone spur that could be causing the problem.  She also criticized my flip flops, saying I needed more support for my feet.  She gave me some heel inserts to wear in a closed shoe.  She also sent me to the radiologist to get an MRI.  I made an appointment for Tuesday.  

6 Aug 2020 (Thu) – Paul brought the truck to the service station to get it inspected.  When he got back, he complained that he could hear a humming from the fuel pump.  That happened to us once before.  A non-qualified mechanic had tried to mount the fuel pump on the rail and broke it.  Apparently, a certified diesel mechanic needs to do the job.  Paul called and was told to bring the truck back in on Monday.

     We brought Bonnie to the vet at 2 p.m.  The ultrasound shows she has some abnormal liver issues.  The vet wants to do a biopsy but Bonnie has to get a blood test first to see if she has a clotting factor.  If so, then she can have the biopsy.  If not, then we can’t do it.

 5 Aug 2020 (Wed) – I had a check with the nurse at the cardiologist’s office today.  They wanted to check and make sure there were no problems with the loop recorder.  She said I had a bit of a reaction to the medical tape but everything looked OK.  I should just let the tape fall off when it wants.

     After the doctor, I brought some containers to Travis.  He is now in contract on his house and beginning to pack things up.  I brought him 9 containers.  Then I drove to Sayville and met my sister, Susan, and her daughter, Shay, for lunch at Cornucopia.  It is a kind of health food supermarket with a great deli counter where we all ordered lunch.  We then sat outside to enjoy our meal.  Following that, we took a walk along Main Street, looking in the shop windows. When we came upon an India shop, we went in.  Susan & Bill follow the religion of Ashananda and the shop owner had been to one of their meetings out in the Hamptons.  She spoke for a while with the clerks (the shop owner wasn’t there).

     We went over Trap’s tonight to sign the contract for the sale of their house. Since we are listed as co-owners on the house, we have to sign the contract as well.  While there, Trap dug out the chain saw for Paul.

 4 August 2020 (Tue) – Things have been so busy and technology has been so challenging that I have not been able to keep up with the blog.  I have an appointment with Best Buy on the 13th. Hopefully, that will get things back on the road.

    Let’s see. I have been to the cardiologist and had an internal cardiac monitor (ICM) installed in my chest.  It is a device that tracks heart activity and at night, when I am sleeping, it uploads the day’s activities to the doctor’s office. It’s been 5 days and the site still itches like crazy.  Ugh.

    I had to go to the lab and get a COVID test before getting the ICM installed. The nurse stuck a Cutip so far up my nose that my eyes teared.  And I had an earache for the rest of the day.  That dam thing was painful!  I will not do that again.

     We took Caiden to Sue & Bill’s last Wednesday.  Their daughter, Shay, and her boyfriend, Pat, are up from South Carolina. We all swam and munched on delicious vegan foods.  It was fun.

     I went to the doctor’s office to see what is wrong with my heel.  The PA saw me (the doctor was busy).  He thinks I have a cyst on my Achilles tendon and referred me to a podiatrist.

      Miranda was back in Pennsylvania this weekend so we watched Caiden a good part of the time when Kenny wasn’t working.

     We got to visit with Travis & Sam yesterday.  The baby is walking pretty good now.  He’s always so happy.  He immediately lights up when he sees you and waves his little hand hello.  Trap got an offer on the house and we signed the contract with the realtor.  He’s a little freaked out.  They have now signed a contract to sell their house.  They have to be out in a month.  They want to move to South Carolina but neither of them has a job or a place to stay.  In addition, they’re not going to be able to keep as much of the money from the sale of the house that they had counted on.  The realtor gets $16,400 alone!  Wow!

     Today, Paul had an appointment with the dentist.  This was a follow up to checkups we had two weeks ago where the dentist found a cavity.  He went in to day to get it filled.  Afterward, we went to WalMart to pick up a few items.  Later in the day, Tropical Storm Isaias blew through.  Another tree from the neighbor’s yard came down across our fence.  Also, one of our trees came down and landed on the deck.  It just missed the roof and back doors.  This was dejavu!  Same thing happened last year when we were here.  Paul will have to dig out the chain saw.  The entire neighborhood is digging out.  Two trees went down on Saxon Avenue, the next block over, and the road was closed.  Thousands of people were without power.  We lost power on and off all day long but not for very long.  Our neighbor a few doors down had a tree go down and take all his electrical lines with it.  The fire department came and cut up the tree and pulled it out into the road.

 25 July 2020 (Sat) – We went to Nicky’s on the Bay for lunch.  The tables were spaced apart.  Lots of them were out on the deck.  All the wait staff was wearing face masks.  Our waitress was very slow and unsure about herself.  She might have been new.  While we were eating, a waitress came running through the restaurant asking if there was a doctor, an EMT, or a nurse in the place. Apparently, something happened at the marine fuel site out on the deck.  We couldn’t see what happened but an ambulance did roll up.

     The cost of the meal was very high.  It don’t know if it is because Nicky’s is a seasonal place and is trying to make its money during the summer or if they jacked the prices up because they can’t have as many people in the place. Either way, it was over $60 for a wrap and a sandwich.  Ouch!

 24 July 2020 (Fri) – Finally!  A day with no doctors.  Whew!  Paul got up early and took the truck to WalMart to get an oil change.  He said it looks like WalMart is going out of business.  The shelves are all half stocked.  If you stop to think about it, they get most of their products from China. The pandemic has affected shipments worldwide.  In addition, the U.S. is angry with China for keeping the Coronavirus a secret and has instituted sanctions against them.  WalMart must really be hurting.

     After Paul got home, we went to Home Depot to get a container.  One of our two batteries went bad and Paul bought two new ones.  Now he wants a container to put them in to keep the area more organized.  Home Depot didn’t have much of a selection at all. On the way out, we stopped by the tile area and picked out a tile to do a backsplash in the bathroom.  We couldn’t decide, so we picked up three samples to see which we would like best.

     When I was entering the costs into the budget, Paul discovered that WalMart charged him for the oil that he actually provided.  So he got in the truck and drove back to WalMart to get his $12.47 refunded.

     Miranda is teaching in Pennsylvania again this weekend.  They took Caiden into Queens to stay with his grandmother. Kenny borrows his mother’s car so Miranda can take their car.  I will miss Caiden.

 23 July 2020 (Thu) – Today was my visit with the oncologist.  It was so disheartening!  My appointment was at 4:15 p.m.  I checked in then after a brief wait, a tech brought me into an exam room and took my vitals.  Thank goodness; no blood draw.  Then I went upstairs and checked in with the receptionist.  I waited about a half hour before the doctor’s admin assistant came and led me to the exam room. I sat there for another half hour before the nurse came in and went over my case.  He spent a lot of time complaining about patients calling and asking for visits or pain medication when they should be going to their primary care physicians.  Then he asked me who my PCP was.  I felt like it was some kind of criticism.  Was I supposed to be going to a different doctor?

     The nurse left and it was another 20 minutes before the doctor came in wearing a face mask and a full face shield.  He seemed detached and didn’t really hear my complaints.  He said the medication sometimes causes blisters on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet.  Was I having any of those?  He also said the medication can cause AFIB and that the cardiologist should check me for that.  It seems like every visit to the oncologist results in him telling me something else that can happen with this chemo therapy.  He seemed preoccupied and in a hurry to get out.  I felt like I got the bum’s rush.  I came home and started crying.  Which is kind of stupid because the CT scan shows that I am responding to the medication very well.  All the lymph nodes are continuing to shrink.  So what’s my problem?

 22 July 2020 (Wed) – I went to the Good Sam Sleep Center this morning.  I had to sit in the parking lot and call the office to tell them I was waiting.  They called me when the previous patient was done.  When I walked into the doctor’s office after checking in, he excused himself and began to dictate the results of his visit with the previous patient. He stated the patient’s name, the issue, and his diagnosis, all in front of me.  Hasn’t he been briefed on this whole patient privacy thing?  I thought that I should probably step out of the room but with the whole COVID thing, they don’t want people wandering around unsupervised.  When he was done, I told him that I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in 15 years. The cardiologist recommended I do a sleep study because poor sleep can affect heart function and weight.  The doctor said we probably wouldn’t find anything but said he would do the study anyway.  How encouraging is that???

 21 July 2020 (Tue) – I went to the eye doctor today.  I arrived at 9:30 a.m.  When I checked in, I found my appointment was for 10:45 a.m.  It looks like I made the appointment while we were in Alabama and my calendar recorded the appointment as central time, not eastern time.  So the clerk sent me to sit out in my car till it was my turn or the doctor became available sooner.  They called me at 9:50 to come in and brought me right to a test station where they blew air into my eye.  Then she took me to an exam room where I sat for over a half hour.  The doctor came in, put drops in my eyes, and said I am developing glaucoma.  Come back in six months.  Then he was gone.  No discussion, no explanation, no anything.  I complained about some eye discharge and irritation so he prescribed an ointment to put in my eye at bedtime but, again, no explanation or discussion of what the problem is.  It was a very annoying visit.  The doctor was very dismissive.

     Paul put together a 3-minute video of upstate New York.  I posted it on You Tube then contacted SMART with the link. They posted it on the website next to the description of our New York caravan.  

     I went in at 4 p.m. to keep an eye on Caiden while Miranda went to the store. Paul is still grousing about yesterday’s argument.  I have to find a way to get him to lighten up.  Ugh.

 20 July 2020 (Mon) – I had a CT Scan with contrast today.  I dropped off a urine sample for Sheba at the vet, then drove to Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  I checked in at the front desk and asked if my doctor or his nurse was available to see me.  The receptionist said she would contact Dr. Rodriguez and see what he said.  I then went into the imaging area and had the CT scan. That’s such a weird test.  They inject an iodine based solution and it gives a flushed, very warm feeling in the back of the throat and in the crotch. It feels like I wet myself.  The test isn’t very long and I was out of the machine within 10 minutes.

     I returned to the front desk to see about the doctor.  The receptionist said Dr. Rodriguez would change my telehealth appointment for Thursday to an in-person appointment or I could see someone in triage today.  I said I would meet with the doctor on Thursday.

     I got home to find Paul working around the RV.  He was installing a switch for the water pump in the bathroom.  The switch on the main panel stopped working some time ago and Paul installed a switch down in the basement.  That has turned out to be somewhat inconvenient so he moved the switch up into the bathroom.  That should work better for when we have to use the onboard tank for fresh water.

     While we were outside, Paul and Miranda got into a nasty fight.  That was very upsetting for me.  Then we left and went over Travis’ house to help him with some projects.  He has finally gotten an offer for his house and the inspector will be over on Thursday. He wants to clear up a few little things before the inspector arrives.  Paul and Travis worked on repairing a leak in the kitchen sink and on the thermostat for his burner.  I played with the boys then we all enjoyed a meal that Sam prepared.  It was a pleasant evening.

 19 July 2020 (Sun) – We didn’t think Caiden would be able to sit for an hour in church with a mask on so we didn’t go.  At 11:30 a.m. we drove to the Bayside Clam Bar for brunch.  Afterward, we walked along the boardwalk and looked at all the boats in the marina.  There was a dog at one end that the owner let go down on a little spit of sand.  Caiden climbed down and followed the dog around. We took his shoes off so he could step in the water.  The dog was an older black lab and very friendly.  Her name was Sandy.

      After our meal and walk, we returned to the house and I watched Caiden while Paul worked around the house and yard.  Kenny got home at 7:30 p.m.

 18 July 2020 (Sat) – We got Caiden at 10:30 a.m. and then drove to Sue & Bill’s house in the Hamptons for a day of swimming in the pool and barbecuing. Despite the fact that I put sunscreen on Caiden twice, he still burned.  So did I. His mother will never let me take him to the beach again.  Aaarrgghh!

     After we got back, I stayed with Caiden until his father came home at 10:30 p.m.

 17 July 2020 (Fri) – We both went to the dentist today.  The chairs in the office were taped off to ensure adequate spacing between patients.  It only left 4 chairs to use.  The secretary took our temperature and went through a checklist (like the tech did yesterday).  Then we had our teeth cleaned and xrays taken.  I got an excellent rating; Paul has a cavity and has to come back to get it filled.

     We went over Trap’s to visit.  We picked up dinner at Chili’s and brought it to the house.  Travis was working on painting the counter top in the upstairs bathroom.  They are trying everything they can think of to sell their house.  They’ve had lots of lookers but no buyers.  The real estate market is so hot today, I can’t figure out why the house hasn’t gone.  His in-laws put their house on the market and the first visitor bought the house for $5,000 more than they were asking.  The only stipulation was that they had to be out in 30 days.

     Miranda’s cat was showing some kind of neurological issue today.  It was walking against the side of cabinets like its left side was weak and it couldn’t stand by itself.  Miranda contacted us while at Trap’s and asked about bringing her cat, Liath, to the vet.  We hurried home to help but the vet said it was not life threatening and to wait until Monday to bring her in.  Miranda was concerned because she is leaving tonight for Pennsylvania and will not be back until late Sunday.  I promised to keep an eye on the cat.

 16 July 2020 (Thu) – We both went to the cardiologist today.  I was doing a follow-up to my “incident” in March. Paul went because he has hypertension and should be seen by a cardiologist.

     When we arrived, we were met at the door by a tech who asked us a bunch of questions about where we’ve been and who we’ve been near.  He took our temperature and then let us pass.  We walked in and was processed by a clerk.  Then we were brought back to the exam room.  The PA came in, went over our medical histories, took our blood pressure, and did EKGs on both of us.

     Then the doctor came in.  I liked him instantly.  He is young – in his late 20s/early 30s.  He was upbeat and very friendly, touching elbows as a form of hello.  He thinks I had a TIA and felt the neurologist was wrong to think I had a TGA.  He recommended I get an EEG, an ambulatory EEG, and have a loop recorder inserted in my chest.  He feels it is possible that I have atrial fibrillation (AFib) and the recorder will measure my heartbeat and send messages to the office.  I would wear it for 3 or 4 years!  I said I had to check that one with my oncologist.

      Then it was Paul’s turn.  The doctor referred him for a nuclear stress test.  He also recommended that Paul resume taking the baby aspirin every day (he stopped a year ago because of a medical report that said baby aspirin didn’t help to prevent strokes.  

 15 July 2020 (Wed) – We worked around the RV until 11:30 a.m. then we took Sheba to the vet.  It was over an hour in which the vet’s office displayed confusion and chaos.  First, I called to say we were outside for our appointment.  About 20 minutes later, one of the vets came out to gather information then went inside. Ten minutes later he came out to get Sheba.  Again, the office was not able to get through to my phone and the vet came out to tell me to call them.  I called and spoke with Dr. Thode.  She took blood and gave Sheba shots.  Dr. Thode also said the blood results were back for Bonnie.  She has round worm and a low liver value.  She prescribed medicine for the worms and recommended an ultrasound for the liver.  After waiting 10 minutes, I called the office to see what was happening.  They were just finishing up and would send Sheba out. The vet brought Sheba out, went over the highlights of her exam, and said the office would call to get payment. After another 15 or 20 minutes, I called to make the payment.  The clerk took my card number three times because the machine wasn’t working properly. Then the vet tech came out with the paperwork.  Paul asked about the medicine for Bonnie.  They forgot it so she went back in to get it.  She brought it out but stated they had forgotten to charge us for the medicine so I had to call again to give the credit card number.  They brought the receipt out along with the stuff to get a urine sample from Sheba.  We left but I got a phone call about 10 minutes later saying they forgot to charge us for the bloodwork they did on Sheba so I had to call back again and give the card number again.  What a debacle!

     Late this afternoon, Caiden came knocking on the door.  He came in and played for a while then I made dinner for the three of us. He ate a small part of his meal but seemed to enjoy it.  I brought the left overs into the house for Miranda and Kenny, or to keep and reheat for Caiden tomorrow.

 14 July 2020 (Tue) – I had an appointment with the neurologist this morning. This was the same doctor that found the tumor in my mother’s brain 36 years ago.  He has gotten very personable over the years.  I liked him very much.  He said the incident I experienced in March was most likely Transient Global Amnesia (TGA).  Just to be careful, he recommended three different tests but stated that he doesn’t expect to find anything.  Apparently, a TGA can happen at any time and never happen again.  Or, it can happen again once or multiple times.  If it happens many times then you would have to get checked for seizure activity in the brain.  Luckily, I have not had any problems since that one time.

     I played with Caiden a little tonight.  We didn’t get much time together but it was still fun.  He loves battle sequences.

 13 July 2020 (Mon) – We took Bonnie to the vet this morning.  She needed a refill on her flea and tick medicine. She got a checkup and a couple of shots. It was so weird.  When we arrived, we called the office and were instructed to stay in the truck.  After about 20 minutes, a vet tech came out.  He took down Bonnie’s information and reason for her visit then went back inside. He came back about 10 minutes later and took her inside.  We sat in the car until the doctor called.  We discussed our concerns and what the doctor found and recommended. Five minutes later, the clerk called to get our credit card number for the bill.  A whopping $950!!!  After about another 15 minutes, Bonnie was brought back out to us.  Then we waited ANOTHER 15 minutes for the clerk to bring out medicine and the bill.  What a pain in the butt.  And we will have to do it again with Sheba.

     Kenny was off of work today, so Caiden stayed in the house nursing his sunburn and playing with his parents.  Paul worked around the yard and I did paperwork.

 12 July 2020 (Sun) – We went to church this morning.  They just reopened after holding services digitally on You Tube and FaceBook for months.  There were about 30 people in church.  We had to wear our masks the entire time and still try to maintain 6’ distance from each other.  They didn’t pass the collection plate.  Instead, it sat in the back of the church and the minister asked everyone to drop their donation in the plate when they left.

     After church, Paul and I drove to the Clamside Bar & Grill at the East Islip Marina. We both enjoyed a salad.  The day was lovely – sunny, but not too hot, with a soft, balmy breeze blowing in off the water.  The sun glittering on the bay was beautiful.

       When we came home, I gathered up Caiden and he and I went to Heckscher State Park. I figured the beach would be closed but we could walk along the shore, throw stones in the water, build sand castles, and wiggle our toes in the water.  Boy, was I surprised to find the beach open, complete with lifeguards. There were many people on the beach and in the water but they still were all keeping a decent distance between each other.  The water was so warm; like a bathtub.  There was lots of wave action and a delightful breeze kept the heat away.  I did not have a bathing suit so I stood on the shore with my feet in the water, getting splashed well up the legs. Caiden went in and had a great time. Unfortunately, I forgot to put sunscreen on him and he got burned.  His mother yelled at me.  

     When we left the beach, I stopped at Carvel and got Caiden some ice cream.  The perfect end to a perfect day.

 11 July 2020 (Sat) – Paul worked in the yard most of the day.  I entertained Caiden a good part of the day.  At 4:30 pm, we went over Travis’ house.  We shared a salad and pizza then spent two hours playing with Noah and Hudson.  The baby is on the verge of walking.  He has very good balance.

 10 July 2020 (Fri) – It was an overcast day with rain on and off. Tropical Storm Fay was pummeling the Jersey coast today but we didn’t get it too badly.  Paul and I went shopping at PetCo for pet food and ShopRite for some groceries.  Boy. Was the grocery store crowded! And we forgot to bring our own bags so the cashier charged us for 3 bags.  Glad we didn’t buy a lot.

     Caiden wanted to come into the trailer so badly today but the weather was lousy and I wasn’t going to put Bonnie out.  Caiden came out and we stood outside in the drizzle talking for about an hour.  Later, I went into the house and we played for about 2 hours.

 9 July 2020 (Thu) – We packed up and left Newburgh at 10:45 am.  It took almost 4 hours to drive down to Long Island. We were surprised with all the traffic on the road.  We came through the boroughs and had traffic and construction that caused us to creep along through congested spots.    

      Caiden was so happy to see us!  He ran out and gave me a hug, then ran back to the porch to watch us park the rig in the driveway.  When Paul had the RV positioned well, I had Caiden help finish the set up by pushing buttons to open the slides.  After we were set up, we visited for a bit and watched him swimming in his little pool. After dinner, I took Caiden to Carvel and picked up ice cream for him and Miranda (Kenny was working and Paul and I are on a diet).  We brought it back home and they enjoyed the treat out on the back deck.

 8 July 2020 (Wed) – Just hung around the campground most of the day.  We did run out to fuel the truck and get ready for tomorrow’s move.

 7 July 2020 (Tue) – We visited with the sales manager here at the campground. We had interviewed him last year and reconfirmed the amenities and costs.  The nightly fee actually went down.  He also promised to coordinate a bus tour into New York City for us.  He offered to pick up our order for bagels and juice and even stated he could arrange a catered meal right here in the campground.

     We came back and did laundry then just hung out for the day.

 6 July 2020 (Mon) – We started out for West Point but would up sidetracked to the Historic Huguenot District.  It was two blocks of old stone houses built in the late 1600s/early 1700s by early French settlers.  The visitor’s center was closed and none of the buildings were open.  We walked up and down the street, admiring the architecture from the street.

     We then continued on to the West Point Military Academy.  The visitor’s center was closed, as well as the tour operations office.  There was no one to ask anything of.  The day was a loss in that regard.    

 5 July 2020 (Sun) – We drove over to the Mohonk Mountain House today.  Thought we’d check them out for the farewell dinner and then take a hike around the area.  Unfortunately, they now have a gatehouse to control access to the place.  They have us a brochure to look at and a telephone number to call but wouldn’t let us go in.  

     Then we drove by another restaurant but they were closed.  No signs on the door.  We couldn’t tell if they were just closed or if they had gone out of business. Cross them off the list.

     We made a quick stop at the grocery store so Paul could pick up milk for his coffee then returned to the campground.  We got to enjoy another campfire tonight.  Two in a row. Wow.!

     We drove into Newburgh and took a stroll on the Walkway Over the Hudson.  It was an old railroad trestle over the Hudson River built back in the late 1800s.  It was repurposed into a level concrete walkway that stretched for more than a mile and a third.  We walked out to the middle, took a selfie, and walked back.  The day was lovely.  There were lots of people on the bridge – strolling, biking, walking the dog. Almost everyone obeyed the signs and wore a mask.  Some people didn’t.  It was very warm and my mask was wet from sweat by the time we finished our walk. It was a good time.

     We drove to the FDR National Historic Site to look over the presidential library and home.  The visitor’s center was closed.

 4 July 2020 (Sat) – We were going to drive to the Mohonk Mountain House today but stayed in the campground instead.  We had a small BBQ and sat before a delightful campfire.  The campground is pretty full with lots of kids. Bonnie is barking at bicycles, skaters, and walkers.  The staff came by yesterday passing out flyers about the pool.  It was going to be open today from 10 to 4.  They were having people sign up for a one-hour block of time.  The pool is limited to 25 people but they were thinking they wouldn’t be able to do that and still have people maintain their distance.  We didn’t sign up.  It seemed better to leave the time slots to the kids.  Normally, they would spend the whole day in the pool.  This is like a tease.  But I suppose it’s better than nothing.

 3 July 2020 (Fri) – Things have been quiet.  We have been running around trying to line up restaurants for the caravan next year.  We are now at the KOA in Newburgh for a week.  

 30 Jun 2020 (Tue) – We pulled stakes at 9:25 am.  It was a white knuckle exercise in getting out of our site. Paul had to ask the guy behind us to move then he backed up the RV to get out.  Trees and other RVs and yard “stuff” in the area made it impossible to pull out from our pull-through site.  Paul did it perfectly!  He is so good in moving our big monster.  It’s almost like it’s an extension of his physical being.  Just imagine maneuvering 54’ of truck and trailer.  I can’t do it!

     We arrived at Shadowbrook RV Resort at a little past 11:30 am (it was a very short drive).  This campground only has 18 campsites for transients.  Again, we’ve been undone by the seasonal campers.  After set up, we drove to four separate campgrounds and all gave the same answer – no room at the inn!  The last campground we stopped at recommended the KOA up on Route 20. We’ll try them tomorrow.

     We drove by the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  They are on a limited opening.  I left a business card and someone will call me back.  I also sent emails to the tour director for the NY Capitol in Albany and the USS Slater.  Communications continue with other venues as well.

 29 Jun 2020 (Mon) – We drove to another campground this morning to check it out.  It turned out to only have 4 available campsites for transients.  The rest are filled with seasonals.  Too bad.  It was a really nice campground right on Saratoga Lake.

     On the way back to the campground, we refueled for tomorrow’s trip and picked up chicken and water.  Bonnie has diarrhea again.  It just seems to be something that she’s going to go through on a regular basis no matter what we give her.

 28 Jun 2020 (Sun) – We left Ticonderoga at 9:20 a.m.  It rained a little in the three hours it took us to arrive at Adventure Bound RV Resorts & Campground.  The campsite we got was very tight while Paul had to maneuver around a parked van, trees, and lawn decorations.  This campground, although very large (over 300 campsites), would not suit our group and many campers are seasonal.  The RV next to us hasn’t been moved in years.

     As soon as we were set up, we headed out.  First stop was at Chili’s for lunch.  We both had a grilled chicken salad.  Tummies full, we drove to four different campgrounds.  Two wouldn’t fit the group, one had no one in the office, and the other took our phone number to give to the owner.  It was not a very productive day.  Hope things get better tomorrow.

     On the way back to the campground, we stopped at Hannaford to pick up groceries. It was a nice supermarket.  Why can’t we get any of these grocery stores on Long Island?

 27 Jun 2020 (Sat) – It was a light day.  We just hung out around the campground today.  I made some calls and updated the files on what we’ve collected so far.  The poor wifi service here is maddening!  Even the cell service is poor.  I’m glad we won’t be staying here as a group but I worry the other campground might be just as bad.  After all, we are now in the mountains.

 26 Jun 2020 (Fri) – We drove into Lake Placid today.  It is a small town.  The Olympics Museum was closed.  We decided to have the group explore the museum then go out about the town on their own.  There is a lot to see in this little tourist town.  

     We then drove to Whiteface Mountain.  We wanted to drive up the Veterans Memorial Highway to the peak.  Unfortunately, it was $25 per car to drive up.  I thought that was too much money to go up there and find everything closed (not that there is that much up there to see other than the view).  We turned around and left.  

     Right next to the entrance for Whiteface Mountain is Santa’s North Pole Workshop. We came up here twice with the kids when they were little.  The workshop is still there with the post office that will send off a letter or postcard with the North Pole return address.  The park was also closed.

     We drove to Ausable Chasm, the Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks.  It was beautiful.  We spoke with the sales manager and got information on a walking tour, float trip, and lunch at the center.  It will be a nice touch for the group.  Up the hill right next to the chasm center is the Underground RR Museum.  It is in a beautiful old stone building.  It was closed but a woman stepped out of the building to speak with us.  The cost to explore the museum is free and the place is very small.  Guess we’ll have the group break up into smaller groups to tour the museum.

     We also checked out two other campgrounds.  The KOA seems like the best option at this point.  It would have been nice to stay at the North Pole Hundred Acre Woods Campground but they don’t take groups of more than six rigs.  Oh, pooh!

     After we got back to the campground, we did the laundry.  

 25 Jun 2020 (Thu) – Well, we learned today why a scouting trip is so important. We left 1000 Islands CG and headed out to Ticonderoga, 170 miles away.  The GPS in the truck tried to route us though Canada.  It would have added 100 miles to our trip!  Instead, we followed the route on my phone.  The trip went through Adirondack Park.  We saw mountains but the elevation never got much over 2,000’.  The roads were narrow and winding and the driving was slow but we got here safe and sound.  The scenery is beautiful with occasional glimpses of the lakes and rivers beside the road.

     It turns out that this campground does not have enough campsites for our group – they are mostly for seasonal campers.  Paul went through a list and found an alternative campground.  In fact, he changed two campgrounds for one and we now have another stop on our itinerary.

    After set up, we drove to Brookwood RV Resort and interviewed the owner for a possible stay there.  They are a very popular campground and she suggested we get our reservations in ASAP. The only thing we don’t like is that we wouldn’t all be together.  Everyone would be spread around the campground.

     We drove down the road to another campground owned by the U.S. Forest Service but it was closed.  We then drove into the town of Ticonderoga.  The Star Trek Museum and Fort Ticonderoga were both closed due to the pandemic.  We walked into a luncheonette across the street from the Star Trek Museum to see about a lunch for the group.  Our group could go to the museum at 10, go to lunch at 11 (it’s a little early but that’s what they want), then take a tour of the fort. The other option is to wait on lunch until 2 pm, which is kind of late.  I don’t like either option.

     As we were driving around, we spotted an old stone chapel in a graveyard.  We parked and went in to explore it.  It reminded me of the Viking church on display in DisneyWorld.

 24 Jun 2020 (Wed) – We drove over to Alexandria Bay this morning.  We stopped at U.S. Boat Tours which I had emailed to ask about a tour of the Singer and Boldt Castles.  We checked at the window to find out what time the shuttles and tours ran.  After getting the times, we decided to have the group go to the Boldt Castle at 10 a.m., come back to town, wander the shops, and have lunch.  At 2 p.m., we’ll have everyone come back and take the tour to the Singer Castle.

     Afterward, we drove around the area, checking out different places.  We also drove over to Wellesly Island and looked at the state parks and golf courses there.  We also stopped by the ice cream shoppe in front of the campground to find out about an ice cream social.  They sell 3-gallon containers of ice cream for $45.  The lady suggested butter pecan as an older person’s favorite flavor.

 23 Jun 2020 (Tue) – We packed up and left Stow at 9:15 a.m.  The drive was easy but took almost 4 hours.  When we arrived, the office was closed (we had checked in online), and a note on the door told campers to proceed to their assigned site.  After set up, we left a message for the campground manager asking for a meeting.

     We drove to Clayton where Main Street was under construction and closed to traffic. We had seen a delightful hotel with a restaurant years ago that boasted the original Thousand Islands dressing had been invented there.  Unfortunately, the restaurant went out of business.  We spoke with a manager at Bella’s.  The restaurant was pleasant but she said they did not want to have a large group in to dine during their peak season.  She preferred to cater a meal of assorted wraps, salads and desert and suggested we eat at the Antique Boating Museum.

     We drove past both the Thousand Islands Museum and the Antique Boating Museum. They were both closed.  I sent emails asking about admission and meals. This is becoming very frustrating. Many of the businesses that I have sent emails to have not answered.

     When we got back to the campground, we met with the campground camp host.  Whe was very chatty and gave us lots of information about the area.  I have to follow up with an email so she can share it with the owner.

 22 Jun 2020 (Mon) – We drove to Seneca Falls today, noting the mileage to various areas along the way.  Everything we wanted to see was closed.  The National Women’s Hall of Fame, although the name was displayed on the front of the building on Main Street, is no longer there.  A woman in the visitor center told us it was relocated to a mill across the bridge but the coronavirus had stopped the set-up and opening of the center in its new location.  We drove over and saw that it will be 3 stories high and promises to be a good stop. There is also a National Women’s Rights Museum on Main Street and a couple of houses around Seneca Falls that people could tour if they wanted.

     Waterloo, birthplace of Memorial Day, is next to Seneca Falls.  There is an American Civil War Museum and memorial graveyard in town.  I think it would be appropriate to include it in our itinerary but Paul thinks it is too much.  If so, we will certainly have to suggest it as a stop on their own.

     We stopped at Ventosa Vineyards to see about a group lunch after the Seneca Falls tour.  There is a lovely deck area outside overlooking the lake.  The woman we spoke with suggested we send an email to the catering manager.

     We then stopped at Belhurst Castle.  They have a very attractive stone room with an intimate setting for lunch that also looks out at the lake.  The man we spoke with gave us a menu and suggested we coordinate with the catering manager.  I sent emails out to both managers.

 21 Jun 2020 (Sun) – We packed up and left Bath at 9:50 a.m.  It was only 95 miles to Red’s Twilight on the Erie RV Resort in Macedon, near Rochester.  We arrived about noon.  The office was closed.  Our registration packet was sitting on a table.  As we were preparing to drive to our campsite, the owner pulled up and led us to our place.  She was very friendly and gladly agreed to meet with us later.

     After set up, we cased the campground while walking the dog (it was too hot to let Sheba out – 90 degrees!) then went to the office and sat down with Barb. She said they would give us 10 percent off for military discount.  We were all sitting around the table with our masks on and it got very hot.  I was sweating like crazy.  I sure was glad when the meeting was over.

    We drove into Rochester to the George Eastman Museum.  It was closed.  We then drove to The Strong Museum of Play.  That was also closed.  It is a very large museum and looks like it will be fun.  We then drove to a restaurant recommended by Barb.  It was too far from The Strong to have people walk to it so we will have lunch in the museum then explore the museum.  There is a restaurant inside.

     On the way back to the campground, we stopped at Wegmans Supermarket.  What a huge store!  It had to be the largest supermarket we’ve ever been in.  And it was neat and clean and attractive. Everyone in the store was wearing a mask and the staff was actively wiping things down and making sure everything was sanitized.  

 20 Jun 2020 (Sat) – We drove to the Finger Lakes Boating Museum to meet the Administration Assistant and see the wine cellar where they host catered meals.  It is a lovely room and we are sure the group would like it.  We would probably have the tour of the museum first (there are 3 floors in the museum) then go to the bottom floor for a lunch.  

     After meeting with Nancy Wightman, we drove back to the KOA to meet with the Office Manager.  We sat outside at a picnic table, all in our masks, and discussed what they could offer the caravan next year.  Elaine is pregnant and will be out on maternity leave for a while.  This could cause a problem with coordination but we will see how it shakes out.

     While driving out and about, we stopped at a nearby fish hatchery.  It was closed but they had an observation pool with three kinds of trout in it – brown trout, brook trout, and rainbow trout.  What is weird is that the brook trout is the only native species to the area, yet the hatchery doesn’t raise them – only the other two species.

     We drove around to check out some other places.  There is a VA Center and National Cemetery a couple of miles down the road.  We rode around the cemetery looking at the gravestones.  We also gathered information about other services in the area – RV dealers, hospital, clinic, vets, foodstore, etc.

     We had a campfire tonight.  There is nothing more intoxicating that the smell of a campfire.

 19 Jun 2020 (Fri) – We packed up and left Chautauqua at 9:30.  The weather was good and the drive was pleasant.  We arrived at the Bath-Hammondsport KOA around noon.  They had sent an email asking us to pre-register/check-in.  I did that.  When we arrived, Paul stayed in the truck while I went in.  The clerk confirmed our information and gave us our map and paperwork. This is a lovely campground.  We have been here before and am sure the caravan will enjoy the place.

     We drove around town, trying to find a restaurant to have a welcome dinner in. The three restaurants we chose were all too small and two of them were still closed.  The thirde, the Stone Timber Inn, does catering.  We took the chef’s card and left.  On the way back to the campground, we stopped at an American Legion post and took a look at their hall.  We asked about renting the hall and the bartender gave us the rental agent’s phone number along with the commander’s number.  

     The campground is working hard to ensure people are having a good time, despite the spacing restriction from the coronavirus.  They delivered a packet to make s’mores with.  Folks were invited to make s’mores and post pictures on the facebook page. They also gave us free firewood. It made a delightful fire.  They also had a cornhole contest where people who had the game in their rig wee encouraged to play and report their results.

 18 Jun 2020 (Thu) – We went to the office at 9:30 a.m. to speak with the campground owner.  The doors were locked.  Some guy came out in to the hall, looked at us at the door then went back into his office. How rude!  I then called the office and the owner answered.  We sat at the table outside on the deck and interviewed the guy about the facilities and what he would do for the group. Satisfied, we told him we would send a check and wanted to leave him a book.  He said he was in his office.  When we told him the door was locked, he laughed and said he forgot to open it then stepped out and took the book.

    We drove 20 minutes to the Grape Discovery Center to see what it looked like.  It was closed.  We parked and walked around, peeking in the windows.  It looks like it would be a nice experience for our group next year, so we will include it in the itinerary.

     We found a laundromat in a house (ah, country life).  We put the clothes in the washer then drove to a Mazza’s Winery and had a flight of wines.  Then we returned to the laundromat house and put the clothes in the dryer.  We walked around the town of Mayville while our clothes tumbled.

     After we collected the clothes, we drove to Jamestown to check out the Lucy-Desi Museum and the National Comedy Center.  Unfortunately, they, too, were both closed because of the pandemic. This situation is going to make it hard to develop a budget for the caravan.

     Paul located a WalMart and we did some food shopping.  We are starting a diet and needed to pick up all the right kinds of foods.  I just planned 4 days and the frig is chocked full.  I will not be able to shop a week at a time, that’s for sure.

     The check-in time for this campground is 6 p.m. (check-out is 5 p.m.).  We’ve never seen such a late time for check-in. We asked if the owner would put that aside for us when our group comes next year.  

 17 Jun 2020 (Wed) – We left Marblehead, Ohio, at 8:20 a.m.  It was a long drive today so we left early.  The drive was over 4 hours and took us along the lakeshore of Lake Erie, through Pennsylvania and into New York.  The campground looks like it was a KOA at one time. Our campsite is a pull through with a concrete surface.  The campground is on Chautauqua Lake.  The pool, the store, and all group centered places are closed due to the pandemic. You have to wear a mask in the office.

     After set up, we drove into Mayville to meet with the operations manager of the Chautauqua Belle paddlewheeler.  He was a young man who seemed to be coordinating a group tour for the first time. We went over is suggested schedule and agreed on an itinerary.  He will draw up a contract and send it to us.

     Then we drove down the road to the Chautauqua Institution.  It is one of the stops on the itinerary Mike put together and we wanted to look at it.  It’s not very clear why we should take a tour of the place.  It seems like a private community with very lovely homes on the lake. The roads are very narrow and seem to wind aimlessly around the neighborhood.  There is a beautiful old hotel where he suggested we have lunch. We wanted to get some information about the place but the visitor’s center was closed.  I’ll have to send an email.

     We drove to Jamestown and picked up food at Pet Smart.  Then Paul drove up the other side of the lake to the center where the interstate crossed the lake.  We got back to the campground at 5 p.m.

[alwaysa-winner]

STATS:

Name: Magdalena Rey McQueen Age: 16 Orientation: Heterosexual Status: Single Career Choice: U.S. Soccer Team Recruit Birthdate: August 19

Bio:

Magdalena never used her real name. She only went by Maddie. She’d had another name before she’d been adopted. Maddie’s biological parents hadn’t been able to afford to care for her and had given her away when she was four. Lightning and Francesco had taken her in as foster parents and she’d quickly become attached to her Dad and Papa and had asked for a new name when they officially adopted her. She loved sports and threw herself into any team she could get on. She spoke to her birth parents regularly and even visited twice a month. They’d tried to get her back but Maddie couldn’t see herself living with anyone else but her family. She was a McQueen and she loved her Dad and Papa dearly.

Maddie was easily the less troublesome child. She was always athletic and had begged from an early age to attend any and every class she could. Francesco had only forced her to cut back on classes when he couldn’t keep up with her schedule. She’d ultimately decided to keep soccer and track. She would wake up with her Dad and Dante every morning and go running.  She would help her Uncle Mater out whenever she had free time too. She was so attached to him that she didn’t care if they just moved tires around as long as she spent time with him. She threw herself into her sports. She planned on being the best. She was determined to help her birth parents on her own without asking her parents for money. She was good at sports so that’s what she focused on.

She wasn’t great at staying out of trouble though. She had an issue with injustice and constantly sat in detention with her siblings for standing up for others. She had to learn to hold her tongue in high school though. She needed to play in every game to get scouted. She was determined to do this all on her own no matter how much her parents offered to help. She was easily the best player on the team. She scored the most goals and dragged her team to nationals every year. She was the MVP and she was on top of the world when she was offered to join the national team reserves once she graduated high school. All she had to do was keep her grades up.

She wasn’t too on board with Lightning’s decision to send them to Walt but she could understand the reasoning. Having 6 kids in detention every day for a week was pretty bad. She left with her Papa to Italy for one last summer before school started and she dedicated her summers to the national team’s camp. She hadn’t even processed what happened to her Dad before they were flying back to America.

The three months had been hell and all of their hobbies had gone out the window. The space their Dad left behind was vast and Maddie thought that they wouldn’t make it without him. The day he’d woken up again was practically a holiday to the McQueens. Lightning had even scolded her for missing practices. He wanted her to succeed no matter what. Maddie’s love for the sport renewed and now all she had to deal with was surviving Walt with her siblings.

PERSONALITY:

Maddie knew what it was like to be on the bottom. Before she’d been adopted, life had been rough so isn’t kind to those who were cruel. She is tenacious, lively, friendly, and a defender. She is also hard-headed, narrow-minded, self-conscious, and unforgiving. She works hard for her goals and is more than helpful at home. She’s very attached to her Dad and Papa. She’s very careful not to hurt their feelings when it comes to her birth parents. Though they’ve always encouraged her to know them if that’s what she wanted. She was very grateful for how her life had turned out.

CONNECTIONS:

The Crophoppers: Ah, her Uncle Dusty and his children! They were the best honestly and she loved hearing all their stories about where they’ve been. It was interesting to hear how they could move around so much and be so well-adjusted. She looked forward to their visits.

The Carreras: Aunt Sarah was the best Aunt ever not that she’d ever tell any other aunt that but it was true. Sarah was an inspiration and it was hard not to love her. Her cousins were always around up until they moved away but their childhoods had been great and she was glad she shared those wonderful memories with them.

Santiago Lopez: Maddie wasn’t sure what to think of this boy. He was cocky and she wanted to kick him in the shin every time he talked to her but he was also a good athlete. So, she let him help her but that was it. She wasn’t prideful and always took the opportunity to learn. It didn’t hurt that he was cute.

[youngerdrgrey]

for the different headcanon questions you reblogged can you please do Charley and Remy?

for both? all the questions? holy ish

(it’s a lot of questions so this took a while)

1. What are three Netflix shows that they’ve rated five stars?

Charley doesn’t watch a lot of TV, personally. For her, though, House of Cards, OITNB, and Master of None. She almost watched 13 Reasons Why with all the outrage and praise, but Micah told her she wasn’t allowed to talk to him about it if she saw it, so she didn’t bother.

Remy watches the Marvel shows. Luke Cage is a favorite because it’s nice to see an honest man trying to do good when given the opportunity. He liked Jessica Jones, and he likes it a bit more now that he’s re-watching with Charley. He loves Black Mirror, but apparently that’s not Real Netflix so take it how you will.

2. Where do they prefer to read? On the sofa, in bed, at a table, on the porch, in a cafe?

Remy mostly reads in bed.

Charley usually only reads on vacations, so she’s figuring out where she likes to read that’s not a plane, or a car service. Vi’s swing is a nice place to read. But most of what she reads are paperwork, so her desk is pretty high up there.

3. Do they like to play games? What kind of games: video, card, board? What are some of their favorites?

Charley loves Scrabble; she still has Words With Friends on her phone and has her ongoing war with Nova. She likes card games, even though she tries not to put too much stock into games of chance.

Remy loves a good card game. He can hold his own in chess and Scrabble, but he’s honestly more of a dominoes guy.

4. What’s their food weakness? What food can they never turn down?

Charley’s got the sweet tooth of a grandma. She could snag a few caramel candies, and it’s over. Living in LA with Rocky’s home cooking also gave her a huge weakness for fresh tortillas and some good carnitas. She’s had to call to double check the recipe since she moved.

Remy loves desserts. Usually crunchy ones, like cookies, but if the crust has enough of a bite to it, then he’ll take a slice of cheesecake too.

5. Do they prefer movies or TV shows? Why?

Charley technically prefers TV, but she doesn’t have a lot of time to commit to characters. Movies make it easier because she only needs to put in a few hours.

Remy is a TV man though. He likes having other people’s stories in his life.

6. What holiday is their favorite? Which is their least favorite?

Remy’s not a big holiday person anymore. He likes Halloween because of the candy and the costumes. Fall’s a good time for the whole community to come together, and the mazes people make? Amazing. But fall means winter, and Christmas has been rough the last few years. Their old anniversary isn’t a good day either.

Charley loves Thanksgiving. She loves the food and crafting new traditions, and it’s always been one of the worst holidays to have as a no technology holiday because of how long food takes, but it also brings out the best games and conversations. She can’t wait for it this year down South.

7. What’s their diet like? Are they vegetarian, vegan? Do they have any food allergies that make them have a special diet?

Charley tries to lead a healthy life, so she tries to bring in as many vegetables and fruits as she can. Morning smoothies that follow up her coffee.

Remy keeps it pretty simple though.

8. What sort of toys did they play with as a child?

Charley had this little science kit when she was a kid. She wasn’t even good at it, but it’s one of the only gifts she got from Nova (that was actually from Nova, and not one of the ones Daddy wrote Nova’s name on), so she loved it.

Remy used to play with a lot of cars and trucks in the driveway. Take them on adventures.

9. How often do they go grocery shopping? Do they tend to do one large trip, or smaller ones throughout the week?

Charley shops weekly for her fresh stuff and larger, bulk buys for non-perishables. She still buys too much food for just her and Micah sometimes. There used to always be extra people in the house from her friends to his, then they had the whole family at Vi’s, so really only worrying about feeding two people is a little weird now.

Remy does daily/weekly shopping when he needs stuff on his way in.

10. Do they eat breakfast? What’s a typical breakfast look like for them?

They have pretty similar breakfasts honestly. A little omelette, or scramble, if they’re home with some toast and coffee. Sometimes, she has a smoothie. If they’re out, pancakes and waffles are great. Charley loves a good breakfast potato dish.

11. Do they like going to museums? What type of museums do they like to go to? Art, science, historical; interactive, quiet, a mix?

Charley doesn’t really like museums that much. They’re nice and educational, which she appreciates, but sometimes, they can be a little too big and overwhelming. Art museums have never really made much sense to her, but Nova would choose to go there when she got to choose the family activity.

Remy likes historical museums and specific science ones that reinforce stuff he can share with his students. He sends them to museums sometimes for extra credit. They’ve got to find him and explain one of the exhibits.

12. How do they organize their books? Alphabetical by author, by title? By size, color, date published? Is there any rhyme or reason?

idk

13. Have they ever been do Disney World/Land, or any other amusement park? What do they prefer to do at them: go on the rides, play the games, eat the food?

Charley plays the games and goes on the rides, for sure. She used to take Micah twice a year to Disneyland, and they became passholders for one year when Micah was taking Davis’ time on the road especially hard. 

Remy went to Disney World once. It was nice, but the food was expensive, and the best part of it was getting back to the hotel and taking the ears off.

14. How do they eat their popcorn? What do they put on it?

Gotta get kettlecorn.

15. When do they pay their bills? As soon as the bill comes in? At the last moment? Or are most of their bills automatically taken out of their account?

Charley has auto-pay for bills. She checks back in to make sure they went through right, but she doesn’t have a lot of extra mental energy for that.

Remy pays bills when they come in, but he does them himself.

16. What time do they normally go to bed? How many hours of sleep do they usually need to function in the morning?

Remy’s out by eleven at the latest. Charley stays awake until she finishes what she needs to do. She used to try to stay up later than Micah, but he’s on a different level now that he’s in full teenage mode.

17. Do they have cable, or do they rely mostly on Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services?

Charley is all streaming services now. Remy still has cable.

18. What is their preferred weather? What would be a perfect weather day?

Charley’s down for a good high-seventies with a light breeze and California sun. The kind of day where you can settle up by the window in a blanket and talk over your morning coffee until it’s cold at the bottom of the mug.

Remy prefers rainy days, sun hiding, the sort of day when you have to coax a little life back into the plants and you have no excuse but to stay in. Not as much anymore, but he’s coming back round to enjoying the quiet ones without feeling lonely at the same time.

19. Are they more of a snacker throughout the day, or they eat three meals and call it a day?

Remy snacks. Teaching gives him a weird schedule, so having snacks to complement the melas helps.

Charley eats three times a day, thanks to reminders and Darla scheduling lunch most of the time.

20. Have they ever had an imaginary friend?

Yah

21. What were they a part of in high school/college, if they went? Were they a part of any clubs, did they play any sports? What clique would they have been considered a part of?

(gonna pass on this one bc that’s a lot)

22. Do they have a favorite restaurant? How often do they go to it, and what’s their usual order?

Remy goes to the same diner every Wednesday for their breakfast special. Charley’s favorite restaurant at this point is Vi’s kitchen.

23. How do they prefer to watch movies? In the theater, on a streaming site, from an owned DVD/digital download, rented from somewhere?

Charley loves movie theaters. The ritual is nice. Remy watches in theaters for the reactions of the group.

24. Do they watch any sports? What are they a fan of, and what teams do they root for? Do they watch the games/matches on TV or do they try to be there for some in person? Do they just catch the highlights on their phone later on?

Remy loves baseball, watches basketball enough to get by, thinks college football is a good way to spend his time. He catches highlights on his phone most of the time, or he gets his info from Prosper the next day at the High Yellow.

Charley mostly only followed basketball, and it’ll be interesting to not be at home games this year.

25. What do they prefer to do in the summertime? Do they like going to the beach, do they prefer camping, staying in the city? Do they like to stay indoors and away from the heat?

Summers in LA were sweltering, and Charley would opt to spend a lot of it indoors. Summers down South aren’t any better on that front. She’s only out as much as she is now because she can’t exactly get some of the renovations done hiding out in her office.

Remy works well in the heat, though. He wanders into the city a little. Meets some of the tourists.

[paullrud]

It’s your favorite Answer All Anon again!!!!! Answer all the Unusual Asks PLZZZ?

hey AAA :) glad to see you back on my page. hope you like these answers. sorry it’s late, yet again. ✦ nova

1. spotify, soundcloud, or pandora? soundcloud. every. single. time.

2. is your room messy or clean? a little bit of both. one corner of my room is just a mountain of clothing, but my bed and closet are super neat.

3. what color are your eyes? brown, like chocolate.

4. do you like your name? why? no. and i ellect to not have my name on here, that’s why i have an alias of “nova”

5. what is your relationship status? single. i cried in the car on my way home from work for that exact reason last night. i kept thinking, “will i ever be good enough for someone to love me?”

6. describe your personality in 3 words or less. humorous, depressed, intro/extrovert

7. what color hair do you have? it used to be all sorts of colors, different every month. but, i went corporate and dyed it back to my original color.

8. what kind of car do you drive? color? black 2017 toyota corolla. used to have a matte black 4-door jeep wrangler, but my mother took it away from me for the terms of “responsibility” and “immature nature”

9. where do you shop? anthropologie and urban outfitters, mostly, because i work at urban. sometimes lf (only when their 70% off sale is going on), dover street market, kith and off-white.

10. how would you describe your style? total hypebae. i love streetwear, my influences are virgil abloh and heron preston when it comes to style and what clothing i wear.

11. favorite social media account that’s a hard one because i’m really not sure what you mean? if it’s a person, i don’t have one. if it’s an app, twitter, most definitely.

12. what size bed do you have? full size!

13. any siblings? one sister. hate her.

14. if you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why? like i said before in the other ask ^.^ france. nantes for the spring and summer, paris for the winter and fall. i fell in love with paris when i went for the first time with my friend (who i like, by the way) when he invited me.

15. favorite snapchat filter? do not have a snapchat, so i can’t say.

16. favorite makeup brand(s) i don’t wear makeup a lot, but anatasia for the brows. most definitely. my favorite perfume though is viktor and rolf, flowerbomb.

17. how many times a week do you shower? winter and fall is 4 to 5 times a week. spring and summer is 5 to 8 times a week.

18. favorite tv show? if it’s not “the office”…… i send it back!

19. shoe size? 8 to 9, depending on the company.

20. how tall are you? 5 feet, 1 inch ^.^

21. sandals or sneakers? i hate feet, so sneakers

22. do you go to the gym? god, no.

23. describe your dream date running errands then cooking a meal together. sounds lame, but to me that really is the most domesticated thing you can do with someone you love.

24. how much money do you have in your wallet at the moment? i’m all cashless, baby.

25. what color socks are you wearing? navy blue with little red hearts on them.

26. how many pillows do you sleep with? 2, but they suck so i’m going to get 2 new ones, when i get my paycheck.

27. do you have a job? what do you do? yes, i have 2 actually. i work in retail for both (cole haan and urban outfitters)

28. how many friends do you have? i have a lot of accquaintences, but only 4 to 5 people i call my true friends. my ride or dies, if you will.

29. what’s the worst thing you have ever done? probably steal. i was a huge kleptomaniac back in my early teens.

30. what’s your favorite candle scent? vanilla or the green one from febreeze (i forgot what the scent is named)

31. 3 favorite boy names everett, cole, aspen (+bonus scott)

32. 3 favorite girl names alex, denise, elle

33. favorite actor? tom holland or sebastian stan. don’t make me choose!

34. favorite actress? zoe saldana by a landslide.

35. who is your celebrity crush? i really don’t have one! i admire celebrities for their acting and charity work.

36. favorite movie? a tie between captain america: the winter soldier and scott pilgrim vs the world.

37. do you read a lot? what’s your favorite book? i don’t read a lot, but when i do they are mostly about real life events and autobiographies.

38. money or brains? why not money and brains

39. do you have a nickname? what is it? my real name, yes. but for now, let’s keep with nova.

40. how many times have you been to the hospital? too many times to count, if i’m being honest. always for my depression or suicide attempts.

41. top 10 favorite songs in NO particular order, btw! – lover is a day by cuco – it’s strange by louis the child – in your head (rl grime edit) by g jones – ucla (heimanu remix) by rl grime – flicker by porter robinson – pursuit (jawns remix) by gesaffelstein – the wave (louis the child remix) by elohim – hi this is flume (whole ep) by flume – you’re on by madeon – luv by whipped cream

42. do you take medications daily? yes.

43. what is your skin type? dry… smh.

44. what is your biggest fear? being kidnapped and sold on the black market.

45. how many kids do you want? zero.

46. what’s your go to hair style? space buns!

47. what type of house do you live in? (big, small, etc) medium-ish

48. who is your role model? my friends. they’re older than me (by a couple years) and they’re doing exceedingly well for their age.

49. what was the last compliment you recieved? “i like your dress!”

50. what was the last text you sent? “thankssssss.”

51. how old were you when you found out santa wasn’t real? sadly, 10 or 11. smh, my mother really let me believe in a lie for 10 years.

52. what is your dream car? maserati SUV.

53. opinion on smoking? don’t like it. but, i’m a hypocrite because i juul.

54. do you go to college? yes!

55. what is your dream job? definitely NOT what i’m doing right now. probably working at the refinery 29 office in los angeles, doing something with the fashion department.

56. would you rather live in rural areas or the suburbs? i love the city but when it comes down to it, my ideal place would be rural… me and my husband secluded on a goat farm in nantes, france? amazing.

57. do you take shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels? yes. if you don’t, then what’s the point of going to a hotel?

58. do you have freckles? no :( i wish.

59. do you smile for pictures? yes, but a tightlipped smile.

60. how many pictures do you have on your phone? 24,680

61. have you ever peed in the woods? yes, on a camping trip.

62. do you still watch cartoons? yes, futurama, archer and bob’s burgers!

63. do you prefer chicken nuggets from wendy’s or mcdonalds? never had wendy’s! never had mcdonald’s!

64. favorite dipping sauce? the honey mustard from wings over… *watering mouth pursues*

65. what do you wear to bed? al-natural, baby.

66. have you ever won a spelling bee? no. sadly.

67. what are your hobbies? i have my own clothing line and i really love photography, drawing and painting. also i make music ^.^

68. can you draw? cc: 67th question.

69. do you play an instrument? piano.

70. what was the last concert you saw? louis the child at governor’s ball ^.^

71. tea or coffee? coffee.

72. starbucks or dunkin donuts? that vanilla bean creme frappucino ^.^

73. do you want to get married? yes. of course.

74. what is your crush’s first and last intial? s.p.

75. are you going to change your last name when you get married?maybe… we’ll see.

76. what color looks best on you? black.

77. do you miss anyone right now? s.p.

78. do you sleep with your door open or closed? closed.

79. do you believe in ghosts? yes.

80. what is your biggest pet peeve? stupidity.

81. last person you called s.p.

82. favorite ice cream flavor? ben and jerry’s milk and cookies :)

83. regular oreos or golden oreos? regular, always and forever.

84. chocolate or rainbow sprinkles? rainbow! it’s happiness in sprinkles

85. what shirt are you wearing? a red one :)

86. what is your phone background? porter robinson ^.^

87. are you outgoing or shy? little bit of coloumn a… little bit of coloumn b…

88. do you like it when people play with your hair? yes, only if i’m comfortable with you.

89. do you like your neighbors? the right one yes, the left one no.

90. do you wash your face? at night? in the morning? no, only in the shower :)

91. have you ever been high? yes, not a pleasant experience.

92. have you ever been drunk? yes… also not a pleasant experience.

93. last thing you ate? homemade macaroni and cheese

94. favorite lyrics right now any lyric from “lover is a day” by cuco

95. summer or winter? winter !

96. day or night? night !

97. dark, milk or white chocolate? i do not like chocolate ! yuck !

98. favorite month? april :)

99. what is your zodiac sign virgo 

100. who was the last person you cried in front of? my coworker :(

[andysandfordcomedy]

Becoming the Cigarette Kingpin of Military School

My sixth and seventh grade years were spent at Lyman Ward Military Academy in Camp Hill, Alabama. I feel I should clarify that I was not much of a troublemaker before military school; more of a quiet, weirdo only child. I was, however, terrible at school and a burden on my poor mother. That still doesn’t explain me going to military school, but my mom has said she was worried about me not having any male influence in my life...so what better way to achieve that than sending me to an all boys boarding school (grades 6-12) where everyone was jackin off and fighting all day? I don’t blame her now: she was in a tough spot. She couldn’t know that I’d come out worse than I came in.

Transferring to military school in sixth grade was honestly terrifying. I’d never had older kids and adults screaming in my face before. I’d never had to call a teenager “sir.” I had never been called “scrub” instead of my name (standard for all newbs). I’d never gotten into the kind of fights that don’t get broken up, and now all these things were my life. It weighed on my eleven year old “husky” frame. My saving grace was that I never cried. I had been through a good bit of trauma in my life by then and felt all cried out. Eventually, I learned that you don’t have to be able to beat everybody up: you just have to be willing to fight anyone that’s giving you shit. So that’s what I did. Occasionally, I got my ass handed to me by some bigger, older kid, and then realized it’s not so bad. I don’t endorse military school, but it did teach me how to take a beating, and I think every kid should learn that from somewhere (not their parents, though).

The punishment for most indiscretions was push ups (usually 15 for anything minor). I was always spacing out and messing up, so I had to do pushups all the time. After a while, pushups didn’t bother me. I could do push ups all day long it seemed, and I hardly feared punishment by the end of sixth grade. I was like Gene Wilder in Stir Crazy: unfazed. 

By the start of seventh grade, I knew my way around the joint, so to speak. I was no longer a “scrub” and had risen to the meaningless rank of corporal. I had a summer growth spurt and was a little less pudgy. I also had kissed a girl over summer break and probably had a little confidence boost from that. I was no longer scared of being there, just bored. That’s when I started spending my leisure time smoking in the woods with other bad kids. Not weed: cigarettes. Hurricane Opal had recently swept through and left a lot of felled trees. Climbing felled trees and smoking cigarettes was our easiest means of rebellion. Sometimes we’d collect tobacco from cigarette butts and smoke it out of a corncob pipe (ewww). I don’t even think we liked it, it was just something to do that we weren’t supposed to be doing. 

You could visit home every other weekend if you weren’t in trouble. One weekend I visited home and brought a kid with me named Warren. Warren was a bad egg. He was only 12 but had already done time on the farm (Juvenile chain gang) for breaking & entering. We had nothing to do but cause trouble. We were roaming through a bowling alley parking lot near my house, and there’s this old Trans Am parked with 2 cartons of cigarettes in the passenger seat. Warren jiggles the handle and sees that it’s locked. I start turning and walking away thinking “oh well, we tried,” when I hear glass shatter. Warren had picked up a brick, smashed the window, and grabbed the cigs. We had to run through backyards filled with brier bushes. Got all cut up, but we had the cigarettes.

We knew we’d be searched, so we smuggled the cigarettes back into school by packing them into boxes of Little Debbie Oatmeal Creampies and gluing the box back with model glue, so it looked like they’d never been open. Warren only wanted a couple packs for himself, and I decided I would go into the cigarette business and sell the rest. Packs went for $15 dollars, and you could get single cigarettes for $1 a piece. A lot of kids got money every week ($20 usually), but the only thing to spend money on was the Canteen, which had better tasting food and some arcade games. Most kids would rather spend that money on cigarettes and take their chances with the mess hall chow. 

In order to get rid of the cigarettes, I needed help from my roommate, Cox. We went by last names, and unfortunately for him, his was Cox. You could imagine some of the unimaginative nicknames (smelly Cox, dirty Cox, Cox sucker). To say he was made fun of was an understatement, and it didn’t help that he was a big ol’ wimp about everything. But, alas, business was booming and we had nearly sold all of the cigarettes except for 3 packs. Then, one night, we get called out into the hall along with everybody else for a surprise inspection. I knew the packs were not well hidden, and sure enough, the platoon sergeant comes out of our room juggling the 3 packs and says, “are these yours?” I had to say yes, and he told everyone in our platoon to drop down and do pushups, except for me and Cox. Everyone was pissed at us, which is what they wanted. They knew that a group of boys would get together and do a blanket party on us. A blanket party was where 3 or 4 cadets would put soap bars in socks, sneak into your room, and wail on you. It had never happened to me, but I knew it hurt. 

After everyone was done doing pushups for us, we all went back to our rooms. Cox is freaking out because we both know there was going to be a blanket party. So we devised a plan: We would stay up and hide in our lockers while our beds were stuffed with towels etc. to make it look like we were in bed (I’d seen Ferris Beuller’s Day Off). Then, when the blanket party came in, we would jump out and defend ourselves with the metal bar from our locker that was normally used to hang clothes. Knowing Cox’s reputation, I kept telling him, “you better not bail on me, dude. If I have to fight by myself I’ll come beat your ass after they beat mine.” He kept reassuring me, “I’m not pussin’ out dude. No way.” Finally around 2am, we hear a quiet commotion. It was a group of 4 kids making their way down the hall, ready to bumrush our room. They bust in, head straight for Cox’s bed, and start beating on a buncha towels. As I jump out of my locker, Cox comes full steam, screaming Braveheart style, and clocks one of the kids in the back of the head with the metal bar. That kid drops like a sack of laundry, and all the other kids scatter, frightened. We dragged a semi-conscious kid outside of our door and left him there, along with 3 gym socks loaded with soap bars. We went to sleep, and I dunno what exactly happened to the kid, but he wasn’t there in the morning.

There was a retired Army Captain who lived in the Berrics with us cadets who condoned these blanket parties. Saw it as cadets policing themselves. There’s no doubt he had to deal with this kid, but he couldn’t say anything about it. When I saw him in the mess hall the next morning for breakfast, I smiled and said, “mornin, Captain.” He grumbled back, “mornin, Sandford” and, in that moment, I felt like the most untouchable 12 year old in all of Camp Hill, Alabama. 

[justtwentyonewriters]

Goner (4)//Josh Dun Fanfiction

Pt. 1 

Pt. 2 

Pt. 3 

Xx

               I was about to apologize for the small intermission. Had some stuff to take care of, you know. Josh shifted his arm on screen, although it was dark in his room you saw the dark lines contrast against his pale skin. You couldn’t tell if it was an honest mistake letting the viewers see it—or if he had full intention. You bit your lip, this would be the last one you watched today. Your mother said you weren’t sick, no fever, no puking. So you’d be going to school the next day, unless some objective evidence came up. God you wished that there was some sort of objective evidence to come up. Then I realized—these are all recorded. It doesn’t matter if I take 2 minutes, or 20 between each—as long as they’re done and ready for tomorrow. He recorded this the night before he tried killing himself. You felt your stomach lurch at that thought. So at this point in our story—I am bitchboy and faggot—thanks to Cos and Urie. Funny, two people who hate one another find a mutual interest in me. Who would’a thought. You watched as Josh grinned a little, shaking his head as he continued. This next one will blow your mind as well. One of my only friends in that hellhole I called school—Ms. Williams, would you like to hear part one of your story?

               Hayley. As in Hayley Williams? She couldn’t have done anything—the two were best friends since he got there. You saw them hanging out all the time. Laughing and hanging out like friends who had known each other for a lifetime.

               I should thank you though—you were probably the first person to take me under their wing. So, thank you for the good times. And to everyone else, yes this is a bit of a timejump back. Remember my second day at school?

Xx

               Josh groaned internally—the school was still beyond new to him. So he had no idea where he was going, nor the exact location of his locker. So doing what any socially awkward teenager would do—he managed to make himself lost looking, rather than asking for help. He was so focused on the locker numbers in fact that he didn’t even notice the girl standing right in front of him—talking to her friend against the lockers.

               So needless to say, a distracted Josh bumped into a distracted Hayley and sent both falling to the floor.

               “I am so sorry!” Josh apologized, scooping up the girls belongings as quickly as he could. Leaving his on the floor for now. “I wasn’t paying attention, and are you okay?” He asked, finally looking up at the girl. Right as his eyes met her face he smiled—he could see himself being friends with her. Her hair was varying shades of orange and yellow—it reminded him of a campfire. Occasions he only got to experience one or twice in the summer while camping with friends.

               “It’s okay. Just, watch where you’re going next time.” Hayley laughed, reaching around to pick up his stuff. “Here, your stuff—and are you new here? I can’t say I’ve seen many other people with flamingo hair around this place.” She laughed, gesturing towards Josh’s hair.

               “I am new, yes. Just started yesterday. Which is kind of why I bumped into you. I was too focused on the lockers and didn’t see the fire-hair in front of me.” He grinned, heart slamming widely inside of his chest. He was never the greatest at talking to new people.

               “What locker number are you? I could probably help you find it?” With that, the two went off. Hayley’s friend bidding her goodbye with a wink as she went to class—leaving the two in search of locker 182. “This is your locker my boy.” Hayley gestured toward the gray locker sitting in front of them. “I can’t help you with the combination though—that’s your thing.” She laughed.

Xx

               You sat in shock—pausing the video as you sat there, mind going back to that day.

               “Hey! Did you manage to finish the bio homework last night?” You asked Hayley, who was pushing her bag into her locker. “I swear, it was almost the death of me.” You had known Hayley for a few years prior—the two of you meeting in freshman year, both sitting awkwardly along the side of the freshman orientation. Somehow the two of you connected over mutual awkwardness.

               “Barely. I don’t see why I’m still in the class—I just don’t understand it anymore. Ever since Mrs. Pyle left, I’ve been doing worse and worse. Probably because this new guy talks at a million words a minute.” She growled. Even though her heart called out for music, she was still pretty keen on getting good grades—and when something got in the way of her and an A, watch out.

               “Please don’t drop the class. I need someone there with me.” You gave her a small pout, expression brightening when an idea hit. “You can borrow my notes after class—catch up on what you couldn’t hear from him. I go through the textbook as he drones on anyway.” She was just about to answer when a guy walked into her—sending them both to the floor.

               That was the first time you met Josh..the two of them were hitting on each other so much you decided to leave them to it. You hadn’t even thought of it at the time. You took a deep breathe before hitting play again—hoping any other random memories like this wouldn’t hurt any worse.

Xx          

               “So what class do you have first?” Hayley asked, leaning against the locker with her English book in her arms.

               “Uh, English with Mrs. B.” Josh read off the schedule he was provided—looking into his locker for the proper book. “I’m guessing you have the same class, or just love reading textbooks on your free time.” He joked, pulling out his textbook and binder.

               “I do, and so does my friend Y/N, the one I was talking with earlier. You can sit with us, we have an extra spot at our table.”

               And that’s how it all started, you were my best friend—showed me around school. Introduced me to your other friends. You made me feel like moving would turn out to be a good thing in the end. Too bad that didn’t last—but like I said, that’s another story for another time. This was to give some background for later. So, consider this one 2.5. Since it wasn’t a full story. I’ll see you at number 4.

               You squeezed your eyes shut, reminding yourself of the promise you made yourself. But like Josh just said—it wasn’t a full story, so technically you could watch one more before stopping without breaking your promise to yourself. With a deep breath, and curiosity taking over common sense you clicked on the 4th file—watching as his face popped up on your screen once more.

               Now, as I should have promised. A full story. Can the captain of the basketball team please step forward—don’t be shy. Nobody will see you, its all just me recording in my room. Which you should remember pretty well—we spent a bit of time here. Right Tyler?

               Tyler, like the kid that gave you his number? Asked if you were alright? You pushed your laptop to the side and dove toward your laundry basked—sifting through the clothes until you found the jeans that you were wearing. Grabbing the paper you pulled open your phone and sent a quick text.

What do you know about these recordings? You’re on them. –Y/N

               In less than a minute a response came through.

I’ll explain tomorrow—you’re going to be at school right? Meet me at the front gates after school. Can’t talk now. –Tyler

               You sighed, knowing tomorrow was going to feel like forever. So you continued on watching the recording—seeing what information you could get about the jock.

               Here’s a surprise for everyone, Tyler and I were actually pretty close friends. Yeah, the guy who shoved me into lockers every other day was one of my best friends for a bit there. Well until his reputation was at risk. But we’ll get to that.

Xx

               One thing the town knew about the Dun family, was that they went to church each and every Sunday. They would go, meet with other families who shared the same belief, listen to the word of the lord then come home. A usual tradition—which Josh didn’t complain about. Considering there was a boy there. A bit younger than him by about a year, but seemed to have some of the same interests.

               “Hey, you’re that kid from school. Jay is it?” The guy asked, looking confident, but if you looked into his eyes you could tell he was terrified.

               “Josh, and that’s me. You’re that bigshot from school Tyler aren’t you? The basketball team captain, dating the girl that everyone swoons over.” He laughed, leaning back against the wooden pew. Letting his head rest against the top. Though he didn’t mind coming to church, he wished it started later in the day. Waking up at 6 in the morning on a weekend wasn’t his cup of tea.

               “I’m nothing special, even though everyone seems to think I am. Just your usual guy who needs something to get him to college.” Tyler laughed—which started a conversation between the two. A conversation about their respective families, what they aspired for their futures, what classes they took, what Josh thought of the new school, and Tyler’s warnings about people who to talk to and who to avoid. It started a tradition between the two. Every Sunday when their families arrived they would sit next to each other and talk about how the week went, and try to make plans to hang out (After a couple of weeks anyway).

               “Uh, are you busy after this? It would be sick if we could hang out. You’re a pretty cool dude.” Josh smiled over at his newfound friend, who rolled his eyes upward. Thinking about if he had any plans later in that day. “It wouldn’t be right after church, like both of us would need to change and figure out where we’d want to hang out if we do.” Josh began rambling, getting cut off by Tyler.

               “I’d like that. Sounds like a sick as frick time.” He laughed, blushing slightly when an older woman from the pew across from them got angry at him using inappropriate language in the house of the lord. “So where would you want to hang out, my place or yours?” Tyler whispered as the priest began walking in front of everyone.

               “Uh mine? I don’t know the neighborhood very well. I live on 51st ave, house 789.” Josh whispered back, casting a sideways look to Tyler. Who’s face lit right up.

               “You live almost directly across from me.” He laughed—only to get shushed by the people around him.

Xx

               It was 2 hours since church had let out, and Josh was shaking in both excitement and fear. He grew really fond of having Tyler to talk to these past few weeks—though it didn’t help his argument about not being gay when the first person he invited over to his house was male.

               “You’re way too nervous for this. Calm down or mom is going to think it’s your boyfriend coming over.” Josh’s sister, Ashley laughed—watching as the older male paced back and forth in his room. Eyes wide. Josh opened his mouth to make a comeback, but was cut off by the doorbell ringing.

               “Josh, your friend is here.” His mother called, causing the boy to make a beeline for the front door. “Come on in Tyler, he should be down any minute—oh Josh. That was fast.” She laughed, letting the younger boy in.

               “Thank you Mrs. Dun.” He smiled, looking over at Josh. “So, where to?” Josh nodded toward his room. Quickly telling his mom that they would be hanging out, and to call them for dinner.

               “Oh before you go, Tyler—is there anything you don’t like food wise. If you’re staying for dinner.” Mrs. Dun asked, watching as the younger boy turned, smiling softly at her.

               “If it’s okay with you I’ll stay, and I don’t really like bannanas, any other food I’ll happily eat though.” He smiled, watching as Josh’s mom smiled and rolled her eyes. Commenting on how the two were so close already that they disliked the same foods. “You don’t like them either?” Tyler asked, following Josh to his room.

               “Nope. They’re like yellow devils.” Josh laughed, flopping onto his bed, “Sit wherever you like. I actually cleaned it so there are places to sit.” Tyler chose the chair by Josh’s desk—which had been the surface where most of the stuff on the floor had been piled.

               “You play drums?” Tyler asked, after a moment of silence. Josh merely nodded in response, face turning red for an unknown reason. “That’s sick. I play piano and think I can sing.” He laughed. “We should totally start a band one day.” And that’s what sparked their friendship.

               Everything was going great for the first bit, wouldn’t you say Tyler? It started out as us hanging out on weekends, and slowly turned into us talking to each other in the hallway. Well until your buddies on the basketball team started calling you a faggot for hanging around me. You just couldn’t handle that, could you?

               Josh went to talk to Tyler, a smile on his face as he saw one of his best friends standing in the hall.

               “Hey Ty!” Josh called, only to get a scowl in return. “What’s up, did I do something?” The boy asked, confused as to why he was receiving such a negative response.

               “Get lost faggot.” The younger boy growled, receiving some laughs from the rest of the basketball team. When Josh didn’t move, Tyler turned, grabbing his arm and pulling him against the lockers. When his back collided with the cold metal surface—it did more than just physical harm. “Are you a bit hard on hearing? Get. Fucking. Lost.” Tyler snapped, shoving Josh in the opposite directions. “I don’t have time for your dick sucking ways.”

               That’s what happened folks. I went from having a best friend who used to play music with me in my basement to being told I was too gay to be around him. Then Brendon used that as fuel to his fire. Telling everyone about the time I apparently sucked Tyler off.

               “Guys!” You heard Brendon run over to where your group was standing, talking about what happened on the latest episode of Supernatural. “You will never guess what I heard!”

               “What now Urie?” Hayley groaned, she obviously had some sort of insight on what he was about to say. Whereas you were clueless.

               “I heard that a certain Mr. Dun sucked off our schools basketball captain at Cos’s party last Friday.” You raised an eyebrow, you never took Josh to be the party type—or Tyler to be the gay (or bisexual, since he was dating Jenna) type. “Can you all believe it?”

               You wanted to throw up, considering you had thought you seen some truth in the statement at the time. You bit your lip hard, squeezing your eyes shut. Almost as if it could make you travel back in time and stand up for the poor boy.

[devouer]

unusual asks: 1-100,,,,, All of them,,,,,

Spotify, SoundCloud, or Pandora?

spotify!!!

is your room messy or clean?

clean usually, although it’s weird right now with moving back home and getting rid of pretty much everything I owned before this year

what color are your eyes?

dark brown!

do you like your name? why?

i like elma ling but not elma very much just because of the flow + because my host family used it to differentiate me from my host sister emma so I associate it with warmth and familiarity + it’s cute and reflects my heritage?? idk I feel like it fits me well enough

what is your relationship status?

marrying @katsudaddy and adopting our dog cranberry and our cat sock and living in a cozy apartment together

no but rly im single but so involved in my friendships that like... honestly I put no difference in commitment between them and romantic relationships

describe your personality in 3 words or less

grateful, I think, more than anything! I hear things like sincere and mature pretty often too, but I think love and thankfulness define my perspective towards others more than anything

what color hair do you have?

dark brown

what kind of car do you drive? color?

I don’t drive

where do you shop?

a lot of MUJI and uniqlo ngl + a bit of zara/h&m + school apparel + thrifting

how would you describe your style?

minimalist but dreamy? kind of a mix of european and asian styles

favorite social media account

instagram probably! I use tumblr and snapchat quite a bit too

what size bed do you have?

I mean, I had a twin in france + at school, but here I have a full which makes me very sad it’s too big for one person so I’m trying to switch rooms/beds with my brother

any siblings?

my brother, who’s 13! I also have five host siblings even if they’re not my real family :’)

if you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why?

honestly, considering the languages I know right now, I’d want to live on the west coast of france – there’s nowhere I feel more at home in terms of the people and lifestyle, and I love the way the light endures in the evening and the delicate beauty of patchwork cities and gardens... I’d love to live for some time in Russia, China, and Japan for language acquisition, though!

favorite snapchat filter?

I never use the filters omg but hm I love when @katsudaddy sends me bunny filter snaps she is cute

favorite makeup brand(s)

colourpop is the bomb! + nuxe, la roche posay, and the body shop are good for skin and beauty things that aren’t makeup

how many times a week do you shower?

probably around 5

favorite tv show?

YURI ON ICE

shoe size?

36 EU/6 U.S.

how tall are you?

5′2″!

sandals or sneakers?

sneakers!

do you go to the gym?

I work out regularly, but not at the gym bc it was too expensive in france >:( I’ll probably start going now that I’m back, though!

describe your dream date

picnic and museum or exploring tbh... or going to the sea at a quiet hour... anything rly what matters is the other person!!

how much money do you have in your wallet at the moment?

around $40 I think

what color socks are you wearing?

not wearing socks atm, but was wearing grey socks earlier!

how many pillows do you sleep with?

one usually

do you have a job? what do you do?

I’m camp counseling this summer!

how many friends do you have?

probably a good dozen, although I have around 4-5 really close friends!

whats the worst thing you have ever done?

clarify worst

whats your favorite candle scent?

LAVENDER I LOVE EVERYTHING LAVENDER it reminds me of home and early autumn in the loire and the fields of provence and my favorite honey :’)

3 favorite boy names

remi, alexeï, antonin

3 favorite girl names

irene, tereza, kiyoko

favorite actor?

the 12 year old in me is still hopelessly in love with orlando bloom

favorite actress?

katherine reber class of 2017

who is your celebrity crush?

nathan chen......................

favorite movie?

i rly love amélie!

do you read a lot? whats your favorite book?

i read a decent amount, but used to read all the time before hs! my favorite book is The Unbearable Lightness of Being by milan kundera!

money or brains?

um brains lmao I don’t like having many physical possessions

do you have a nickname? what is it?

elmy, elm tree, elmdog, soup dumpling, soup, xiao long bao, red bean, elma ling was a sort of nickname that became my normal name, french bitch

how many times have you been to the hospital?

none lmao

top 10 favorite songs

rachmaninoff piano concerto no. 2 (esp. the second movement!)

rach 3

rachmaninoff ave maria from “vespers” (can you tell that rachmaninoff is my total comfort music)

debussy arabesque no. 1

theme for a taiwanese woman in lime green by devendra banhart

immobile by cliché

you only live once by the strokes

chosen by blood orange

astor piazolla tangata

getting to know you by spazzkid

do you take any medications daily?

nope

what is your skin type? (oily, dry, etc)

normal-ish? i have acne which is annoying but it’s been getting a lot better since I’ve come back I’m convinced bretagne water was just really bad for my skin

what is your biggest fear?

losing my ability to learn with the ease needed to continually better my understanding of the world and others (lest the progress of time bypass my ability to view the flow) and thus have unsatisfiable ambition and love

how many kids do you want?

none rly

whats your go to hair style?

half-back, sometimes french braided

what type of house do you live in? (big, small, etc)

decent-sized family home, but I can’t wait to get out and live in an apartment I rly hate having space idk

who is your role model?

MY TEACHERS especially my physics and french teachers I rly adore them and could never express my gratitude for the dedication of their lives to my growth

what was the last compliment you received?

friends’ parents saying they believe I’ll do great things in the future and wishing me good luck at uni :’)

what was the last text you sent?

“OH MY GOD TOO FAR”

how old were you when you found out santa wasn’t real?

idk little me was caught between knowing better and remaining purposely ignorant out of a nostalgia for wonder in total unknowing of infancy so

what is your dream car?

i literally don’t ever want a car of my own

opinion on smoking?

very harmful, never something i’d try... like, I have a lot of friends/classmates who smoke and I’d never judge their characters from that, but idk I think it’s a rly bad habit

do you go to college?

yep, uchicago!

what is your dream job?

i’d love to be a journalist or writer with international involvement but idk really! I’m very flexible when considering my future!

would you rather live in rural areas or the suburbs?

RURAL AREA like anywhere but the suburbs tbh like a city would be ideal, but at least in a rural area, I could have a thoreau-esque retreat

do you take shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels?

no i never use them

do you have freckles?

yes i have so many spots on my skin idk it just pigments very easily

do you smile for pictures?

i do now (even though i prefer candids by a long shot) but i would refuse to when i was very little maybe until i was like 6-7

how many pictures do you have on your phone?

7133 

have you ever peed in the woods?

so many times lmao i hike i have no qualms

do you still watch cartoons?

.........does yuri on ice count

do you prefer chicken nuggets from Wendy’s or McDonalds?

idek the difference

Favorite dipping sauce?

curry sauce!!!

what do you wear to bed?

if it’s cold i bundle up in sweatpants + a patagonia, but if it’s decently warm, i just wear underwear

have you ever won a spelling bee?

no

what are your hobbies?

piano, painting, picking up new languages bc i’m a loser, organ, photography, hiking, teaching english from time to time + writing + editing

can you draw?

decently ehhh

do you play an instrument?

piano, violin, and organ!

what was the last concert you saw?

probably the marriage of figaro at the prague opera if that counts lmao..... i don’t go to non-classical concerts idk

tea or coffee?

tea usually, but I love a good espresso

Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts?

neither

do you want to get married?

@katsudaddy and I are already married

what is your crush’s first and last initial?

CB

KIDDING lmao no i’m not really into anyone romantically right now

are you going to change your last name when you get married?

depends on what sounds nicest tbh... I don’t like the sonority of my last name much so...yeah probably

what color looks best on you?

deep red looks nice, but I prefer wearing neutrals + greens/blues

do you miss anyone right now?

my family (host fam)

do you sleep with your door open or closed?

closed, but i used to leave my balcony doors open sometimes in france

do you believe in ghosts?

no

what is your biggest pet peeve?

PHONES OUT DURING MEALS

last person you called`

my dad

favorite ice cream flavor?

hmm I had a honey-almond gelato near marseille that I rly liked!!

regular oreos or golden oreos?

i don’t even remember what they taste like

chocolate or rainbow sprinkles?

rainbow bc they’re gay

what shirt are you wearing?

white t-shirt with a loose denim dress on top

what is your phone background?

aljkdfsh fanart of yuuri kissing viktor on the head... very cute

are you outgoing or shy?

honestly i think the best way to describe me would be intense? like, i rly swing between extremes with this depending upon where I direct my energy, so like... idk I’m naturally quite private but come off as outgoing bc I put up that front in public events when I have to

do you like it when people play with your hair?

ppl don’t rly play with my hair but I like playing with others’!!

do you like your neighbors?

idk the neighbors in PA or even in France, but at school, I lived with my classmates and teachers, and I loved the majority!!!

do you wash your face? at night? in the morning?

both!!!!

have you ever been high?

nooooo

have you ever been drunk?

yes, but I stay pretty in control

last thing you ate?

strawberries!

favorite lyrics right now

idk I don’t really think I have any! the sonority of music has always been a lot more moving to me than the lyrics

summer or winter?

summer, but the dawn of spring is my favorite time of year

day or night?

the last hours of day in the northern summers where the sky will be light almost until midnight

dark, milk, or white chocolate?

DARK like 85%-95% is good

favorite month?

maybe march or april... it depends on the weather each year!

what is your zodiac sign

taurus but idk it’s Very inaccurate for me (like i constantly crave change and take initiative to throw myself into uncomfortable and new situations, and I eschew material possession... at least i’m rly loyal though?) tbh my chinese zodiac (dragon) is much closer to my personality

who was the last person you cried in front of?

dave, my physics teacher :( I was thanking him one last time for showing me a way of surviving, u know? like there’s so much love and passion in what he does and idk I always worry about losing spark and so it’s like... idk he reminds me that there is always life in love if that makes any sense