#...no okay but this mr collins is kind of... cute... he's SO serious! he gives lizzy tiny flowers!

[leatherbookmark]

almost 20 minutes into the 2005 p&p and i’m in love with everyone in this club. especially mr bingley and i, too, would lose my mind at the mere thought of marrying such a wonderful mess

[bethhxrmon]

All I Ask of You Pt. 32

“No other road, no other way, no day but today” - “Another Day” from Rent

Pairing: Peter Parker x Female OC

Word Count: 2.9k

Summary: It’s kind of a sleepover

Warnings: My hand slipped so there’s some angst???

A/N: So I kept up today, but I really don’t think I’ll have a chapter go out next week. I’m super sorry about that, just please bear with me because this month is long as heck! As always, I love feedback and the masterlist is in my bio!

“Wait you wanna what now?” Ned asked, raising an eyebrow at Harper.

Harper sighed, “Okay, I’m just saying it would be super fun to pull an all-nighter with everyone.”

“But we’ve already been having a huge long-term sleepover, why do we need to stay up all night?” he shook his head.

Harper pursed their lips, “It boosts morale, and I barely know you and Peter. And you two barely know me. The only one who would probably not be surprised by all our shenanigans would be Annie.”

“Don’t overestimate me,” Annie piped up, stirring her lemonade with a straw, “Besides, it would be super fun!”

Peter chuckled, “You’re just saying that ‘cause you already pull all-nighters.”

“Actually, I’ve been sleeping a little bit more lately, not a whole lot, but it’s better,” she said, shrugging.

Harper nodded, “See? We already have one person who’s just gonna be up regardless. And it’s sounding like Peter’s game. So, Ned, what’re you gonna do?”

“Okay, fine, but shouldn’t this just happen naturally?”

“Maybe, but I don’t think any of us would do this very well naturally. No offense,” Harper replied.

“So, how’s it starting?”

Harper looked around the small kitchen, biting their lip in thought, “We could have a fire and roast marshmallows for a few hours.”

“No!” Annie exclaimed, “S-sorry, I just… I don’t do too well around smoke at the moment. I wouldn’t wanna screw everything up.”

Peter reached over, holding her hand, “Hey, it’s okay. We just won’t do that, we can do a lot of other stuff.”

“Exactly, that was just me pulling something out of my ass. No one said I had great ideas in the first place,” Harper pointed out with a small laugh, “We could watch some movies or something.”

“We could try to make some snacks too, make them s’mores themed or something,” Ned suggested.

Harper nodded, “Yeah! That’s brilliant, see, I should have you do the planning and stuff.”

“I mean, the real goal is to just stay up all night, right?” Peter asked, “That’s easy enough, Mr. Stark’s giving us all of tomorrow off.”

“Well, I’d hope so, I think if we work on that webbing fluid any longer I’m gonna bash my head into a wall,” Annie claimed, taking a sip of her drink.

Harper grinned, “Can’t say the same, the new suit’s coming along great. And I have Ned working on another possible idea, but it’s a little bit different than the original ideas.”

“It’s been awesome, I’ve also been working on an AI because Peter has one. It’s just a matter of making it compatible, which is a piece of cake,” Ned explained.

Over the couple of weeks they had been in the middle of the woods, so much had gotten done. Yet, there was also so much that still needed to be looked at. There was also the fact that Annie didn’t want to leave. Everything was so easy and calm. If something got to be too much for her, she had the time to work through it.

Still, that didn’t mean things were perfect. Annie was still petrified by the smell of smoke, and she still hadn’t quite explained what happened in that burning building in the first place. Quite frankly, she didn’t see a point in reliving it.

Except, her subconscious still loved to bring it up. Two therapy sessions didn’t fix all her problems. Not that Annie had expected such a miracle to happen. Though, she did figure out how to stop herself from throwing up and nearly passing out.

Breathing exercises were more helpful than she thought they were going to be. Actually, she ended up enjoying therapy more than she had originally counted on. It wasn’t like it was the highlight of her day or anything, but she didn’t hate it. In reality, it was her chance to realize whether or not her problems were that bad.

Much to her surprise, they sort of were.

“Anywho, aside from the suit, I’ve also just been noodling around with some new designs in general. You know, just some fun portfolio stuff. I doubt you’d wear anything like this to school. I mean, I would, but no one can really match my energy,” Harper added, passing Annie their sketchbook.

Annie took it, looking through the wildly colored suits and ball gowns, “This is awesome! I think I’d wear one of those dresses to a dance or something.”

“You serious? Yo, Peter, would you wear one of the matching suits?”

Peter looked over Annie’s shoulder and shrugged, “I mean, I think so, I just… I don’t know, I don’t really like sticking out too much.”

“Okay, Peter, but you’re literally Spider-Man! One of the coolest dudes on the planet!” Ned exclaimed, “If you won’t wear one, I definitely will.”

Harper grinned, “Really?”

“Yeah, I’ve been watching you sketch them out, they’re fucking awesome!” Ned responded, “You should just make a cool hat to go with one of those and it would be, like, ten times cooler.”

“Oh jeez, I’ve been trying to figure out hats, but they haven’t been super high on my priority list. But, there’s still time.”

Peter looked at Harper, “You know we need that suit as soon as possible, right?”

“You do know that I would drive myself crazy working on one project at a time, right?” Harper retorted, “And like I said, I’ve got a couple ideas up my sleeve there too.”

The four teens kept talking about what they were working on until Annie saw her phone light up with an email notification. It could have been anything from one of her parents to a coupon from the Hershey’s Store. Still, she was going to err on the cautious side and check it anyways.

It was from Ms. Salazar and she quickly opened it on her phone. Only for it to be followed by her standing up from her chair and jumping up and down.

“This is awesome! You guys will never guess what happened!” Annie exclaimed, beaming.

Peter bit his lip, thinking, “Um… you got into an acting school?”

“Nope. But it is related to acting.”

Harper smirked, “You’re such a noob at this, let the best friend try. It’s got something to do with a future production, doesn’t it?”

“We’re doing Rent! Do you guys know how awesome that is?!” Annie asked, looking at the others.

Harper’s jaw dropped, “What do I have to do to be put in charge of costume design? Come on, I would make killer costumes and you know it!”

“I don’t know, but she did me a solid because I might have, maybe, possibly, blackmailed her before school got out? But it’s no biggie. I already know who I’m gonna audition for, but what about you guys?” Annie asked, looking at Ned and Peter.

Peter chuckled nervously, “I got enough of being in front of people. I think I could help publicize? Maybe, I mean, I really like working with cameras, actually.”

“If I don’t get a part this time, I’m gonna riot!” Ned exclaimed, “I wanna be Collins. His part’s awesome!”

Annie grinned, “That’s the spirit, my dude! I’m gonna audition for Mimi, and with this summer ahead of us, you can bet your ass I’m getting it.”

“Yeah, I saw the movie on Netflix when it was on there for, like, a month,” Ned explained.

Harper smirked, “Oh, you don’t even know all the good shit then. We gotta show him the actual full musical! It’s way better, trust me!”

“Yes! And we can get it totally legally, and it’ll be super awesome! Let’s do it tonight!” Annie suggested, smiling.

Peter shrugged, “I mean, I wanna see what character you’re gonna audition for. You’ll kill it though, you always do.”

“Oh shut it, you’ve only see me do one character where my main job was to fall for you. Which, I clearly didn’t have any trouble with.”

They didn’t have to do much convincing to get Tony to agree to letting all four teens stay in their cabin and have some pizza for the night. It was also easy enough to get a hold of the youtube video of the full-filmed version of Rent on Broadway.

Actually, Tony seemed more than happy to leave all of them so he could have a fancy dinner with Pepper. He claimed that it was just going to be boring adult stuff, but Annie could tell that those two were probably going to have a little bit too much fun. Especially with a day off planned for the next day. It was something that was none of her business, and she wasn’t about to make it her business either.

“Alrighty, who’s ready for one of the best musicals of all time?” asked Harper, “What? It’s fucking legendary, it covers AIDS, gay people, people who aren’t cis, and drug abuse. Larson was ahead of his time and his death is nothing short of an artistic tragedy.”

Annie sighed, nodding, “You’re right. Now let’s get this show on the road! We’ve got a ton of junk food that needs to be eaten and songs that need to be sung.”

“It’s always a sing-a-long with you, isn’t it?” Peter asked teasingly.

She quickly nodded, “Yep, glad you caught on, Babe.”

And it was definitely a sing-a-long. Not one where every pitch was hit perfectly, but one where there was a lot of energy. Especially with Harper and Annie getting into it, trying to pull off all the choreography.

Though, Ned got pretty into it at the parts he could remember well enough. Peter tried, but it was hard when he clearly didn’t know the lyrics. Annie had no trouble pretending like Peter was Roger. And it was all fun and games until the second act started.

“Maybe we could just call it good here,” Annie suggested, “Who needs to know how it ends anyways?”

Harper nodded, “I agree, I don’t wanna see the last part.”

“Oh, come on, how bad could it be?” Peter questioned, “I’ve never seen this before, it’ll be fun!”

Annie frowned, “You don’t know what you’re getting into here.”

“I mean, she’s not wrong,” Ned said.

“Please?” Peter pleaded, looking at Annie with his sweet brown eyes.

Annie glared at him, “You’re lucky you’re cute. Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Of course, as anyone who has seen Rent before knows, the second act was short, but also filled with nothing but tears. There wasn’t a whole lot of singing along aside from a killer rendition of “Take Me Or Leave Me” from Annie and Harper, something they had definitely worked on a long time before.

Instead, Annie and Peter were cuddled up to each other, crying. While Harper and Ned sat in front of the screen, crying and then eventually hugging each other.

“Oh, thank fuck, I thought she was gonna die,” Peter commented, breathing a sigh of relief.

Annie nodded, “Yep, but I’m still not over Angel dying. I’ve never gotten over that, honestly.”

“Yeah, me neither. It’s bull, but I get it, but it’s still bull,” Harper said, wiping tears from their eyes.

Ned smiled a bit, “Yep, that’s why I wanna be Collins because I can be sad for the rest of the musical and it’s totally normal!”

“Depends on who Angel is… oh! What if Flash is Angel?” Annie murmured, getting up to pace around, “No, that wouldn’t be a thing. He’s too… transphobic for that? Yeah, that’s the word.”

Ned shook his head, “No, Flash would drop if he got Angel… I think he’d be Benny. But, I do know that you’d kill it as Mimi.”

“She reminds me a lot of Tina,” Peter said softly, looking at the ground.

“Yeah… yeah, she does, doesn’t she? Not that that’s why I’d try out as her for that, I mean, that’d be silly. That’s totally not a coping strategy I’d use.”

Harper got up on the couch, putting an arm around Annie, “If you did, that’s okay too. You said you were gonna do some kind of drama therapy thing. That would play right into it, right?”

“Maybe? I don’t know… just, maybe it would get me over all this stuff, you know?”

Peter looked at her, “That’s good. You should at least try to see what you can do. And I doubt it would be a bad thing either way.”

“It’s the only thing I can really think of, you know?”

Ned shrugged, “Maybe if you talked about what happened with Tina, that could help, right?”

“Maybe… I don’t know, that would be like reliving it, wouldn’t it?”

Peter frowned, “No different than most nights, right?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. The worst of the nightmares are way behind me. I don’t wake up screaming. I-I’m not reliving anything and I don’t want to.”

Harper rolled their eyes, “You’re being full of shit, Annie. We all literally know that’s not true.”

“Okay, you guys really wanna know what happened? Fine. I’ll tell you exactly what happened. I went up into that apartment like a dumbass, right? Of course, you all know that-”

“Annie, you don’t need to-”

Annie cut off Peter, “No, clearly I do because none of you seem to get it, okay? Okay, where was I? Oh, right, Tina was trapped, you wanna know why? Because I convinced her to speak up and to testify against Dar- that awful man. And he got angry and him and some other guys were around. A-at least I think that was the case. Because he already knew what you were doing, Peter. Okay? That was fucking scary! And I thought it was just some normal shit where I’d block some bullets and get everyone out safe and sound. But he had… he had some kind of bullet that… it went right through whatever I put up. So I was scared, okay? I-I didn’t know what to do, so I blew up an electrical outlet, a-and I got thrown so hard I passed out.”

“Seriously, if you don’t wanna talk-”

“No. You’re all pushing me to do it, have been since the whole thing happened. You don’t get to chicken out just because it’s too much to handle! So, where was I? Oh, right, I passed out. When I came to, the building was burning, a-and Tina was there… she must’ve lost a lot of blood by then. I-I couldn’t tell, I was just trying to get us out, but the building was collapsing and I couldn’t breathe. B-but I had to get her out. So I tried anyways. B-but it was too late and she was dead before I got her out. So forgive me for not being able to get over it. Forgive me for trying to keep you guys from all the shit I’ve been going through. Y-you know what, fuck it! I’ve been having all kinds of nightmares about it. I-I hate going to sleep because I can’t stop them. A-and I would keep throwing up and having panic attacks. Sorry for not being able to handle some of the shit I’ve been through.”

Annie held her face in her hands, trying to keep herself from crying. When she felt Peter reaching to pull her in, she put up a barrier to keep anyone from touching her.

Peter frowned, “Hey, you’re right… I don’t understand. But I can try to. I mean, y-you know about the whole deal with almost being crushed by a building, and my uncle… it takes time to get through. Even then, you don’t really get over it, but you try to.”

“It’s been awhile, but I kinda get it. At least, that whole feeling of being alone,” Harper started.

Annie looked at Harper, “Is this about your parents sucking?”

“Well, more about them literally not giving a shit about me. Remember the Stark Expo? Well, my parents are super rich, so we went. We went a lot, actually. And of all the days we could’ve gone. We went on that one night when all hell broke loose. So… I freaked because before I could figure out something was happening, my parents ran off. Scared of dying I guess… well, so am I. This one family picked me up in the middle of it. I never figured out who they were, but I remember the kid had an Iron Man mask on,” they finished, tears brimming in their eyes.

Peter’s jaw dropped, “I think that was my aunt and uncle! You had longer hair.”

“Holy shit, really?!” Harper exclaimed, smiling a bit.

He nodded, “Y-yeah, I think so!”

Ned looked up and the others, “I don’t know if this really fits, but my dad was abusive… it was a long time ago, so I don’t remember much of it. But sometimes I get really anxious at weird things and I wonder if it had to do with him. My mom won’t talk about him at all, which is probably for the best, but it really makes me think sometimes.”

Annie got rid of the barrier, tears streaming down her face as she found herself in the middle of a group hug. It felt like a wave of pressure was lifted from her shoulders.

“Sorry, I-I shouldn’t have snapped like that… just… sorry,” Annie murmured.

Harper chuckled, “It’d take a lot more than that to get rid of any of us. You’re good, I think we all kinda needed this.”

Taglist: @flushings-here / @parkerpuffwrites / @gaypanda / @twilightparker / @ganseysblues / @lionsfandomsandbearsohmy / @ijustdontknowsometimes / @moonstruckholland / @lcy-thot / @dolphinsarecuteandstuff / @buzzinglee

[voiceactinguk]

[AUDIO DRAMA] Can't Buy Me

Can't Buy Me is a contemporary audio drama series (hosted and released as a podcast). There will be at least three seasons, releasing episodes biweekly once we begin airing with two or three months in between seasons. If you are chosen for a role, you are expected to commit to at least three seasons. This will be my first production, but I intend to take it seriously and hope you do so as well. It is currently unpaid; however, a Patreon will be set up, as well as the option to donate to the production. Any donations will be properly distributed as payment for all work. Savannah Cole, 17, is known for her black hoodies, overachieving tendencies, and disdain for all things "social" aside from her two best friends, the cutest lesbian couple at school: Caitlyn Day and Rae Collins. They know all her secrets, including how troubled she is and the reason she wears those hoodies, and push her to widen her social circle and finally find love. Popular rich kid, Aaron Wayne, is known as a player as well as a bad boy after getting kicked out of private school and a quick stint in juvie. Most people love him for his money, good looks, and skills on the soccer field. But when he looks to his future, all he sees is a black hole and the threat of not graduating. When he convinces Savannah to tutor him, he expects to raise his GPA just enough so that he can stay on the team and walk in a cap and gown. Nothing more. But when they sit down at the library for a tutoring session and he notices the biggest secret she hides under that hoodie, he takes an interest in her. Soon, he finds himself falling for the only girl that may be even more trouble than he is, no matter how much she hides it. Savannah and Aaron find themselves in the chaotic midst of the high school social scene, financial woes, falling in love for the first time, and facing the biggest question of their lives: what comes after graduation? Note: The story is set in Cedar Grove (fictional town), VA so accents are expected to be American/Southern American (subtle Southern accent). RAE, 17, FEMALE Rae Collins is mostly quiet, semi-serious, and compassionate. She classifies herself as "casually" goth, pretends to be a vampire, and always dyes her blonde hair black. She was in the closet until she was a sophomore, and while her parents took a while to accept her, they came around. Her family has always been supportive, but they expect a lot of her as she is the eldest sister and is supposed to be a good role model for her sister in sophomore year, Sadie. She's Christian but also not the kind of person to try to force her beliefs on others; she believes in being a "good Christian", and while she attends parties, she rarely drinks as her mother is ten years sober, and she doesn't want to fall into the pit that her mother was in while she was a child. She loves Caitlyn but struggles to believe that Caitlyn actually loves her back, despite being together for three years. LINES: You have a reputation, too, you know. Weird, quiet, overachieving teacher's pet. Bitch. Prude. Have you told your parents yet? Hey, maybe there's hope someday. For you. College and all that. CODY, 17, MALE Cody James is supposedly Aaron's best friend, and while he is part of his inner circle, he's a little superficial and doesn't have so much depth. His long time girlfriend, Jess, is his world, but he doesn't look much past the traditional high school, athletic scholarship, well-paying job and white picket fence life. He always throws the parties, skates by with his grades, and dominates the soccer field, but he has a supportive family and can be self-involved. He isn't a big fan of anyone who doesn't party, resists change, and secretly has a thing for Caitlyn, despite his loyalty to his girlfriend. LINES: Dude, you have to get your shit together. For the team. How are we supposed to win state championship without our best striker? There's a party at my place tomorrow night. You should come, Caitlyn. You and your girl, I mean. Look, Savannah's a bitch and a prude, but she has straight A's. Suck it up. ANDREW, 17, MALE Andrew White is close to Aaron and Cody, though he prefers to spend his time with his girlfriend, Lana, than deal with Cody's superficiality. He pretends to be all for the team to stay in Cody's good graces, but he prefers people with more substance. He is the only person Aaron trusts to talk to about real stuff, though even he doesn't know about all of it. He's dedicated and prefers to listen than talk, and he's an amazing artist that wants to go to art school. Soccer is fun for him, and school comes easy, but art is his passion. He doesn't show off, except to Lana, who he often describes as his dream girl. LINES: Lana says Rae is really nice, so if Savannah is friends with her, she can't be that bad. Don't listen to Cody. I love you, Lana. Someday, we'll go to UCLA and be away from all this nonsense. Until then, we just have to keep the peace. JESS, 17, FEMALE Jessica Roland, known as Jess, is Cody's girlfriend. She's a pretty sweetheart with a little bit of spunk, but she doesn't have much as much depth as she would like. Sheltered by her parents and quickly becoming Cody's girlfriend in eighth grade, she hasn't had a lot of real world experience. All she knows is Cedar Grove, and she wants to travel the world. While she would love to do that with Cody by her side, she can't see a future with him as much as she tries. LINES: Savannah? Please, she's so... weird. And so are her friends. Like, Caitlyn and Rae are cute together, but they're all really weird. Me and Cody, Andrew and Lana, Aaron and every other girl at school. Senior year is gonna rock. WILL COLE, 30S, MALE Mr. Cole (Will), Savannah's father, is firm but fair. He grew up in poverty and wishes he could provide for his family more; he works at two jobs with long hours, but he tries to spend as much time with his family as he can, which usually means breakfast time only. He cares about his family, but he isn't home often, and he's quite sleep-deprived. He keeps working, though. LINES: Are you okay, Savannah? You know you can talk to me about anything. Boys! Settle down. ANDREA COLE, 30'S, FEMALE Mrs. Cole (Andrea), Savannah's mother, is often running after her two young boys when she isn't waitressing part-time. She didn't go to college, but she desperately wants her daughter to. She's kind and supportive and keeps their family together, even when disaster strikes. She never lets them give up, even when she wants to herself. LINES: Sweetie, listen, if you need anything, just ask. Will, it's okay. We'll make it. We always do. ELIZABETH WAYNE, 30'S, FEMALE Mrs. Wayne (Elizabeth or Liz) came from a broken home and quickly followed in her alcoholic mother's footsteps. Marry rich, have children, and do what's expected of her with a smile and slip off with vodka later. She's emotionally abusive to her son, Aaron, due to her lack of respect from him and her absolute lack of empathy. She's materialistic and doesn't care about anyone but herself. LINES: You're a spoiled brat who can't do anything himself. What has gotten into you? Is it this... this girl? I knew her mother in high school, you know, and she had a real stick up her ass. Stay away from that whore and her family; you don't want to hurt this family's reputation. RICHARD WAYNE, 30'S, MALE Mr. Wayne (Richard) works in mergers and acquisitions, and he is often away on business trips. While he remains faithful to his wife and family, it is purely out of his desire to keep a solid reputation. He has high expectations for his wife and son, and when his son can't meet them, he lashes out. He keeps his anger inside, letting it turn into competition in business or cruelty towards his own family. LINE: We have given you everything you've ever wanted. Show some appreciation for the people who raised you. Be a man for once in your life. AUDITIONING To audition, please email cantbuymeadpodcast@gmail.com the lines in mp3 format titled charactername_lines.mp3 and include, either in a .txt file or in the body of the email your name, the part(s) you are auditioning for (you can audition for as many parts as you'd like), and your contact information. Please note that the main meeting place for all people cast in the audio drama will be a Discord server, so be sure to sign up if you haven't already. Deadline is September 18th, 2018; this may be extended to the 21st if too many roles are left. http://dlvr.it/QkBG51 www.voiceacting.space