#Backyard campout

[wisdomandroyalty]

Crafting the Ultimate Backyard Camping Experience

Embrace the magic of backyard campouts! 🏕️ Discover tips for an unforgettable outdoor adventure with cozy sleeping setups, delicious dining, and endless outdoor fun. Quality time under the stars awaits! #BackyardCamping #Outdoors #WizBlog #Lifestyle

Are you ready for a backyard campout? You’re definitely not alone! Every year, countless adventure enthusiasts flock to their favorite state parks and public campgrounds for some outdoor fun. Get your camping gear ready and join the joyful crowd! It’s a bummer that not everyone can experience this awesome type of camping. But fear not! Many folks and families opt for the delightful alternative of…

[lifeasaleowife]

Free E-Vite or Printable Backyard Campout Birthday Invitation: Personalize Yours for Free!

Create a backyard campout birthday party to remember starting w/ my beautiful, free customizable invitation! Simply add your info & print or send as an e-vite!

Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter MeWe TikTok This year is just flying by y’all. It’s already June, which means it’s time for my son’s birthday. He will be 12 this year (WHAT?! where did time go?), and he wants to have a campout in the backyard. No mess inside, not spending hundreds to rent a room in a loud venue, yes, please! I created a text-able invitation for his party, and today I’m…

[vintagecamping]

Dad sets up all the tents in the backyard for the Great American Backyard Campout

Oregon

1995

[cevansbrat0007]

Hey Britt!! Hope all is well

Was wondering what plans the Barber Brood has for Mother’s Day this year?? 🌸💕

Hi darling!

Of course our girl woke up to cards and flowers. But this year, Andy and the kids decided to step it up a notch by making a special video they called "Why Our Mama is the Best".

Directed by an ambitious Andrew Barber, it featured each of their children listing their top five favorite things about her. They spliced it together with various videos and pictures they'd taken from the previous year - everything from weekend snuggles, trips to the zoo, backyard campouts, cupcake capers, and so much more.

Sure the camera angles were a little wobbly. And the lighting might've been off depending on the location. Also, some of the photos featuring our girl were less than flattering.

But it was the best thing our girl had ever seen.

And just when she thought there was no way they could top that, her little family brought out a homemade cake as soon as the video was over. They'd worked so hard on it that afternoon, and had completely refused her help.

All in all, it was the best Mother's day our girl had ever had.

[ofstoriesandstardust]

the one where they go camping (b.r.b.)

a/n: i started sending thoughts about the one bed trope with @gretagerwigsmuse​ and it suddenly turned into a full-fledged fic. also, there’s a playlist for this fic!! this is probably a full-fledged disaster but idk i enjoyed it. 

summary: You spend your spring break camping with your friends from UVA. Cue the most awkward five days of your life when it turns out you and Bradley will have to share a bed. 

flight risk masterlist | UVA cast of characters

warnings: swearing, alcohol, one bed trope, cuddling, arguing, food mentions, there’s a knife but it’s only used in a cooking context, the word bitch is used in a derogatory context, canon death of a parent, body insecurity, reference to former toxic relationships, sunshine needs therapy, this is semi-researched and semi my imagination, man i sure do love those fucking commas

word count: 10,612

The sound of keys being tossed on the table catches your attention. You look up from your book, catching a glimpse of Bailey, pulling out a chair next to you. From across her is Madison with Bradley, who is pulling the chair out across from you. You squint in the sunlight, offering him a soft smile. 

"Hey Sunshine.” He says as he sits, tugging his backpack off his shoulders. 

“Hi.” 

“Any fun plans for spring break?” 

You pick up your bookmark, shutting it in the book and setting it on the table as you shake your head. “No, I’ll probably just hang out here. Sleep maybe.” 

Bailey’s head flies up from where she’s looking through her bag. “What?” 

You furrow your eyebrows. “What you do you mean what?”

She doesn’t get a chance to respond as Tommy approaches the table, Eli behind him dragging two other chairs from another table to where you’re sat in the courtyard. It’s a warmer than usual day for March, letting you study outside for the first time in months. 

“Are we discussing camping over here?” Tommy asks, sitting down between Bailey and Bradley. Eli wedges himself in between Tommy and Bradley, barely fitting in the group. 

Bailey nods absent-mindedly, still staring at you. “I thought you were coming camping with us.” 

“Oh- I didn’t-” You swallow, feeling the itch to pull the sleeves of your UVA sweatshirt down around your fingers. “I didn’t realize I was invited.” You mumble, cheeks going hot. 

“What do mean you didn’t realize you were invited? Madison and I discussed it like, six times in front of you.” 

You shrug. “I don’t have any gear to go camping. I’ve never actually even been camping.” 

“How have you never been camping?” Eli asks incredulously, eyes going wide. 

You shrug again. “I don’t know, we always did backyard campouts. My parents couldn’t really afford to take the time off of work.” 

“I still don’t understand why you didn’t think you’d be invited.” 

“I don’t know Bailey, it- it wasn’t an explicit invitation.” You stammer out, wanting to shrink down in your chair. “My parents always told me to never assume I’d been invited places or to invite myself to outings or trips. I didn’t want to assume I’d been invited and have nobody want me there.” 

The table falls silent at the words and you resist the urge to squirm. Madison grabs your wrist, forcing you to look at her as she says your name softly. “You’re invited. We want you there. You don’t need to worry about gear or anything; Tommy and I are already compiling all of our stuff.” 

“Okay.” You say softly, as she gives you a bright smile. 

“Cool beans, cool bean.” She says, punching a laugh out of both you and Bradley. 

“Didn’t you do Girl Scouts?” Eli asks, still frowning. “I’m still struggling to comphrend the fact that you’ve never been camping.” 

You shrug. “Yeah, but only for a few years when I was little. It just got expensive, especially cause my siblings had their own extracurriculars and whatever. Never really got to the age where we did the whole camping thing. Who’s all going on this trip?” 

“You, me, Bails, Mads, Eli and Bradley. I thought Kade would join us but he has to work.” Tommy responds. 

“What about Anna?” You ask, eyebrow raised. “Or Blake, I know he likes camping.” 

Tommy coughs awkwardly. “Yeah, well Blake is busy I think. Anna is going to Oregon to see her boyfriend.” 

“Oh, gotcha.” You glance at the time on your watch. “Anyways, I have to go to class.” 

“We’re leaving on Sunday at seven am sharp! Four days and five nights. Madison will pick you up. Bring clothes to swim cause we’re going to the lake.” Bailey says, pulling a notebook out of her bag. 

“Are you guys still camping at Lake Shenandoah? Why leave so early?” 

“Only gonna be there for five days. We have to maximize our time.” Madison says authoritatively, pulling her sunglasses down on to her face. 

“There can’t be that much to do.” You mutter as you stand up from the table.

“What was that?” 

“Nothing!”

-

Someone calls your name, making you turn. It’s Tommy, running out of the office you’d just walked past. “Hey Tommy.” You say, turning to face him. You have to look up to make eye contact with him, his lanky body towering over yours (and everyone else’s). 

“Hey, I’m glad I caught you. I wanted to talk to you about camping actually.” 

You raise an eyebrow, trying not to suck in your bottom lip to chew on it nervously. 

Did they not want you to go anymore? 

“So, we’ve done some preliminary packing and it turns out there’s not going to be enough room for Madison to drive you.” You swallow, waiting for the inevitable. 

Sorry, we just don’t have room. Maybe next time? 

He continues on however, not noticing your sudden panic. “Anyways, Bailey and Madison will be in Mads car together, but the only other person who’s car will fit all of us is Bradley’s, cause my truck will only fit two people and Eli refuses to drive his quote ‘nice, expensive car to a camp site’ so we’re left with Bradley’s. Anyways, are you cool to ride with him?” 

You nod, even though the thought of being in a car with Bradley for a whole hour feels like the worst idea. 

At least there would be other people? And, given the hierarchy of the friend group, you’d probably end up in the back. 

It would be fine. 

He smiles. “Great. Bradley has your address, right? He’ll pick you up at eight. Eli vetoed the leaving at seven thing.” 

“Oh great, a whole extra hour.” 

Tommy chuckles. “He was originally pushing for eleven.” 

“And that somehow got negotiated down to eight?” 

“Bailey threatened to key his car if he didn’t stop being difficult.” 

“Why do you hang out with him again?” 

“He’s cool.” 

“Yeah, remember when Bailey told you you were frat bro-adjacent? She was right.” You say, turning on your heel. 

“See you Sunday!″ He calls from behind you, smile clear in his tone.

-

You’re sitting out on your front porch, fiddling with your shoelaces nervously as you wait for Bradley. The sun is still rising, just peaking over the horizon. Your head is tucked up into your knees, admiring the sky when Bradley’s car emerges from around the corner. 

You lift your head, up, noticing it's just him in the vehicle as he parks in front of your house. “Where’s your annoying buddy?” You call as he steps out of the car, the door slamming shut behind him. 

He sighs, rounding the vehicle. “Oh boy do I have a story for you.” 

You give a half-laugh, standing up from the step as he walks up the sidewalk towards you. “What? What happened? What did I miss?” 

He shakes his head, not answering the question as he picks up the duffle bag that was siting by your feet. You double-check that the front door is locked and then follow him to the car, where he’s setting the bag in the back with his stuff. “Hop on in.” 

You pull the front passenger door open, sliding in the seat. “Can we stop and get road trip snacks?” 

He pauses from where he’s putting the key in the ignition to look at you. “It’s an hour drive.” 

You shrug, pulling your seatbelt on. “Well, you don't have to get anything but I’m hungry and didn’t eat breakfast. Plus, I love a good road trip snack.” 

He sighs, starting the car. “Yeah, I didn’t eat anything either. We can stop at McDonald’s, if you want.” 

“That works.” 

“Thank you for putting your seatbelt on, by the way.” He says, starting to pull out from your driveway.

“With this friend group, no one goes anywhere without it on.” 

“I know, but I DD for the frat parties and you would not believe how hard it is to get drunk frat boys to put their seat belts on.” 

You chuckle. “I could guess.” There’s a pause as you consider your next words. “You know, I always forget you’re in a frat because you don’t act like a typical frat bro.” 

He turn his head, half towards you, still keeping his eyes on the road. “Oh yeah? Why is that?” 

You shrug. “I don’t know. Frat bros are certain type of people like...” You trail off, searching for how to describe the guys he hang out with without also insulting the people he’s around so often. 

“Like Eli?” He asks, a smile growing on his face. 

“Yeah.” You breathe out, returning his smile. “Like Eli.” 

“I’m kind of annoyed at him at the moment, so you can talk shit, it’s okay. I know you don’t like him.” 

“Bailey doesn’t like him.” You correct. “I really don’t mind him. I know you guys are best buds. Why’re you annoyed?” 

He grumbles as the two of you pull into the McDonald’s parking lot. “I’m annoyed with all of them. You missed the packing disaster that happened last night, but to make a long story short, Tommy ended up having to drive and didn’t want to drive alone. It would’ve made sense for him to just come grab you and have the two of you drive in his truck since Eli and I live together, and I could’ve driven us but no, you were too far from Tommy’s and Eli wanted to hangout with Tommy and drive with him so somehow Eli ended up spending the night at Tommy’s and now we’re here.”

“So the short version is our friends are pains in the asses?”  

He chuckles, turning to look at you as he pulls into the drive-thru line. “Pretty much. What do you want?” 

-

You shift in your seat, trying to get a better look at the place as Bradley pulls into the driveway. “Bailey and Madison did good.” 

“How the fuck did they beat us here?” 

You pull your gaze from the small but cozy-looking cabin, to where Bradley’s eyeing the other cars in the driveway. Sure enough, there’s Tommy’s truck and Madison’s white Chevrolet SUV that somehow always felt larger than necessary. You shrug. “I don’t know, we did stop for McDonald’s.” 

“Yeah, but when have you ever known our friends to leave on time?” 

You tilt your head in acknowledgement of his question. “True.” 

The two of you climb out of the car, Bradley grabbing the bags out of the back as you trek up the driveway. The front door opens before you can even knock, revealing a grinning Bailey. 

“You guys finally made it! Bradley, the boys are upstairs, if you wanna take y’alls stuff up there.” She grabs your wrist, already moving you towards the kitchen. “Let me give you the full tour.”

The cabin is two-stories, with a small kitchen and a dining table just big enough to fit all six of you. She shows you the back area of the house from the French doors in the kitchen, where there’s a wonderful lake view and a fire pit. There's a smaller living room, with a loveseat and a recliner in front of a fireplace. She takes you up the stairs, where you realize with a sinking heart that there’s only three bedrooms. 

“So this is the master, which is mine and Madison’s, because Madison planned the trip and I found this place. That’s Eli and Tommy’s room down the hall, with the two twin beds. Which means...” 

“I’ll be sharing a bed with Bradley.” You sigh. The bed isn’t very big, a double if you had to guess. 

Fuck. 

You turn slightly, shooting Bailey a look. “You did this on purpose.” You whisper as the boys emerge from the room down the hall. 

She sighs shaking her head. “No, we weren’t expecting Eli to be such a pain in the ass about the sleeping arrangements.” 

You raise an eyebrow, doubting her words. “Really?” 

“Yeah, really Bailey?” Madison asks, appearing over Bailey’s shoulder. “He’s the reason we’re in a cabin and not camping camping.” 

“There’s dirt!” Eli shrieks as Bradley wedges himself in the doorway, realizing what the three of you are discussing. He gives you a brief glance, offering you a nervous smile. 

“We’ll make it work. Only four nights right?”

-

You glance up from your book but quickly pull your attention back down once you catch sight of Bradley in nothing but his boxers.  

He was trying to kill you, you were convinced of it. 

Your eyes remained firmly planted on the page, even though they aren’t absorbing any of the words, becoming a blurry mess as you focus really hard on not looking back up to see practically naked Bradley. He flops down on the bed, only shifting up to turn the lights off, flooding the room in pitch-black darkness. 

“Goodnight Sunshine.” He mutters, rolling over on the bed to have his back facing you. 

“Hey, I was reading!” You protest, fumbling on your side of the bed for the switch to your lamp. 

“Stop studying, we’re on spring break.” He says, hand blindly reaching out to grab the book out of your hand. He rolls over to put it on his nightstand with a rather loud thump. 

You gape at the faint outline of his figure, barely illuminated by the light under the crack of the door. “You’re a pain in my ass. I won’t even know where I stopped. ” 

“Yes, you will, because you always write in your books. Go to sleep.” 

You huff, but comply, setting the pen you are in fact holding on your nightstand and pulling the covers over you as you roll to have your back face his. You shut your eyes, listening to the only sound in the house of Tommy washing the dishes downstairs. 

It’s not long after that the light downstairs and in the hallway gets shut off, Tommy being the last one up and apparently going to bed for the night. The room does become pitch-black, the house falling silent. 

You aren’t sure how long you lay there, eyes squeezed shut as sleep continuously escapes you. 

All of the sudden, Bradley lets out a loud snore, causing you to jump. You shift up, looking over to him. As your eyes have adjusted to the dark, you see the faint outline of his chest rising and falling continuously. You let out a soft groan, palms of your hands reaching up to press themselves into your eyes. 

It was going to be a long night. 

-

The first thing you realize when you wake up is the fact that you’re abnormally warm. 

It’s March and you’re in a cabin in the middle of the woods. For as much as you had all played with thermostat the night before when the darkness had settled in, and with it the colder temperatures, you hadn’t gotten it to be very warm in the cabin before giving up and going to bed for the night. 

The second thing you register is that there’s a steady weight across your stomach and something tangled in your legs. You slowly let your eyes open, taking in the sunlight filtering in through the blinds, the sound of the coffee maker on downstairs. Tommy must be awake already. 

You turn your head slightly, following the arm thrown around your center. The steady weight is connect to the person next to you who’s...

oh shit. 

You wince, realizing what’s happening. 

Bradley-the-human-furnace-Bradshaw is cuddling you. 

Worse yet, you think he’s still asleep, which means he isn’t conscious of what he’s doing. At all. 

That’s what you tell yourself as you begin to panic, unsure of what to do. Did you wake him up? Did you tell him to get off of you?

You had to admit that it was nice, the way he was holding you. The way his arms around you made you feel protected. Safe. It felt a little like being home, if you were honest. 

You’d never felt that before. 

You take a deep breath to center yourself, remembering that you and Bradley weren’t even friends. You were just two people who knew each other because of a mutual friend group. You were just two people who’d been invited on this camping trip and got stuck sharing a bed together. 

It meant nothing. He didn’t mean anything by it. 

He stirs, shifting slightly on the bed. You quickly turn your head, trying to ignore the way he’d looked with the golden rays dancing on his skin, squeezing your eyes shut. 

Maybe you could pretend you were still asleep and the two of you would never have to talk about this and could pretend it never happened. 

Yeah, that was a good plan. 

He shifts, arm tightening around your middle as he rolls closer. You can practically feel his breath on the crook of your neck. “Morning Sunshine.” 

The words take your breath clean from your throat as you tense, willing yourself to be very still. Maybe he thinks you’re still asleep. 

“I know you’re not asleep.” The smile is clear in his voice and you move your head a little, looking back at him, swallowing when you realize how close he is. How good he looks in the morning. 

“Hi.” You whisper. 

“Hey.” He says, but then pulls his arm back, untangling his legs from yours. You instantly feel cold. “Sorry about that. I’ve been told I’m a cuddler in my sleep. Probably should’ve warned you.” 

“It’s fine.” You say, the words physically painful to squeeze out. He sits up, comforter falling around his hips to reveal his naked chest that is bathed in golden sunlight. You turn back around, squeezing your eyes shut once more at the sight of him. 

“What are we doing today, do you remember?” 

“Um.” You swallow, throat scratchy. “I think we’re going hiking I think Madison said.”

Behind you, you can feel him move off the bed, his weight disappearing. You can hear him move around the room, walking to where his bag is sat and unzipping it. “Sounds good. I’m gonna get changed. See you downstairs.” 

“Yeah.” 

You hold your breath until you hear the bedroom door click shut, and then begin to count backwards from 20 by 2s as you try to regulate your breathing. 

Then you sit up, not bothering to grab clothes to change into as you dart out of the room and down the hall, grabbing Bailey’s arm as she steps out of her room. Her eyes scan your face, searching for a sign of something being wrong. 

“What? Is everything okay?” She asks. The two of you are squeezed in the doorway as Madison stands on the other side in the room, listening to the conversation. 

“I woke up to Bradley cuddling me.” You mumble, eyes flickering to the door of Tommy’s room opening. 

Her frown changes to a smile, growing wider. “Oh yeah? And then what? You two finally bang it out? Have sleepy, cuddly sex?” 

You shoot her a look. “Fuck off that, will you?”

Madison snickers, causing you to also toss her a withering look. 

“Whatcha girls talking about over there?” Eli calls, Bradley appearing over his shoulder. 

“The stick up your ass.” Bailey calls back, grabbing your wrist and pulling you into the room, slamming the door shut behind you. 

“Smooth, B.” Madison mutters. 

Bailey ignores Madison, turning to face you with her hands on her hips. “Tell me everything. Now.” 

You faceplant on the bed with a groan. “There’s nothing to tell. I woke up to him cuddling me in his sleep and then he said ‘Sorry, I’m a cuddler in my sleep’ and then got up and left.”

The words are muffled into the comforter of the bed as your legs dangle off the side. It goes quiet in the room and you almost wonder if they didn’t hear you. Finally, you lift your had, pushing yourself into a seated position as you bring your legs to sit criss-cross. 

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to be normal around him now. He literally wears nothing but his underwear to bed. I just have to look at him like that after he cuddled me in his sleep and somehow be normal?” 

“So don’t.” Bailey says with a simple shrug. “Grow a pair and tell him. Tell him that you have a huge raging crush on him and then bang it out and become the world’s cutest couple so the rest of us can stop doing this dance with the two of you.” 

“You don’t have to sleep with him, like that.” Madison adds, sitting down on the bed. “But you should tell him how you feel about him.” 

You groan again, moving to face-plant once more into the comforter but Madison’s hand shoots out, keeping you upright. “He doesn’t like me back, I told you that.” 

“You’re the only one who thinks that.” Madison says firmly, giving you a little push so you’re upright. 

“Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.” Bailey says flatly with an eyebrow raised. 

“It’s not denial, Bails. He doesn’t like me like that. I don’t even think he’s sees us as friends. I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m annoying.” 

She snorts, rolling her eyes. “You’re impossible.” She says, turning around to the door. 

“Will one of you switch rooms with me, please?” You beg, turning to Madison first, knowing that if anyone will switch with you, it will be her. Her eyes flicker over to Bailey, who shakes her head. 

“Do you honestly think any of the other guys would’ve accidentally cuddled you in their sleep?” 

You shrug. “I don’t know, he did say this is normal for him.” 

Bailey sighs, taking another step back closer to the door. “I don’t think he’s the only one making excuses.” 

“What does that mean?” 

She ignores the question, hand on the doorknob. “Give it one more night and if you’re still uncomfortable, you and I will switch.” She opens the door, slipping out into the hallway. 

Madison squeezes your shoulder. “Tommy just made us a pot of coffee. Do you want me to pour you a cup while you get dressed?” 

You look down, realizing you’re still in pajamas. “Yeah, that’d be great.” 

She nods standing up from the bed, as you fall backwards on the bed, the heels of your hands once again coming to press into your eyes. 

You were so screwed. 

-

You squint, the bright sun overhead filtering in through the trees as the sounds of your friends yelling at each other causes the birds to fly away from the treetops. 

“I told you, we’re lost!” Bailey shouts, throwing her hands up in frustration. “And it’s all your fault, because you ignored Madison and said you knew where you were going!” 

“I do know where we’re going! I’ve made this hike a hundred times!” Eli shouts back. 

“Okay, both of you, cut it out. Bickering isn’t going to change the fact that we’re standing on the edge of a cliff.” Tommy said, wedging himself between Bailey and Eli. 

“I’ll push him off the edge of the cliff.” Bailey says, hands moving to her hips a she stares daggers down at Eli. 

“You’re a bitch.” Eli shoots, causing Bradley’s head to fly up from where he’s watching you kick a rock. 

“Hey!” He shouts. “Uh uh, we don’t talk about women like that.” 

“Don’t bother Bradshaw, I take pride in being called a bitch. “ Bailey says smugly. 

“Oh, of course you do.” Eli snarks, rolling his eyes. 

“Where the fuck is Madison going?” You mutter, watching her disappear off the trail and into the bushes. 

“The right way probably.” Bradley mutters back. 

“Should we follow her?” 

He tilts his head in consideration of your question. “We could. Or, hear me out-” He says, holding his hands out. “-we could go back to the cabin and play cards.” 

You bite your lip, nervous about the prospect of being all alone with him since this morning, but one look back to Tommy keeping Bailey and Eli form ripping each other’s throats out is enough to have you nodding. 

“Done deal, Bradshaw. Lead the way.” 

The two of you walk down the path from which you came, the shouting and bickering of your friends slowly tapering off into the distance. It’s quiet for a minute as you follow his footsteps, crunching over the leaves and dirt along the trail. 

“So... you excited about graduating?” 

He shrugs, pulling back to fall in step with you. “Kind of. This trip is making it all sort of real for me you know? This is the last time it’ll ever be like this.”

“Any grand post-grad plans?” 

“I’m enlisting.” Your head flies up at the words. 

“You- wait, you really are?” 

He nods, offering you nervous smile. “Yeah, I sent in my paperwork the morning I came to pick you up. I’ll have a better idea in a little while of where I’ll be going in a few weeks, but it’s happening, pretty much straight away.” 

“Wow.” You mutter. 

On the one hand, you’re thrilled for Bradley to get everything he's ever wanted. For as long as you known him, the Navy was the dream. Everything he’s worked for would soon be coming into fruition for him. 

On the other hand, you’re terrified. Terrified you may never hear from him again, that Bradley Bradshaw may become nothing more than a memory to everybody who’s ever known or loved him. 

Because that was it, wasn’t it?

To know Bradley Bradshaw was to love him. 

And maybe that didn’t scare you as much as it should’ve, the thought that you might be in love with this boy. 

But what did scare you was what could happen to one of the kindest human beings you’d ever met. 

He catches your look, reaching out to gently nudge your shoulder. “Hey now, don’t worry Sunshine. I’ll be as safe as can be.” You offer him a smile, nodding. “So what about you? Going anywhere fun for the summer? Tom and Bailey mentioned something about you going to D.C.?”  

You shake your head. “Nah, nowhere fun. The D.C. trip kind of fell through and I couldn’t really afford it to begin with. I decided to renew the lease on my house with my roommate. I’ll just be working. Maybe doing research if my proposal gets approved.” 

His face brightens. “Hey, that’s great Sunshine! You get paid for that?” 

You nod. “Through the school, yeah. And that’s if they accept me.” 

“I have no doubt in my mind that they will.” He sighs, looking at you before biting his lip. “Hey Sunshine, about this morning, if I made you uncomfortable or-”

You shake your head. “No! No, I-” You cut yourself off, unsure of what to say to assure him that it wasn’t him, it was you. 

“I just wanted to apologize in case I made you uncomfortable. That’s the last thing I would want to do.” 

You take a shuddering breath at how kind he is, the way it makes your heart do silly little things, like want to reach over and kiss him, before you can bring yourself to respond. “Nope, you’re all good Bradshaw.” You say, forcing a smile. 

And you'd make it be good. 

-

“Sunshine, what are you doing?” 

You look up from where you’re setting up the pillows to Bradley, who’s just walked through the door. He’s wearing sweatpants tonight (albeit still no shirt) but you’re grateful nonetheless because maybe with pants on you’ll be able to maintain some semblance of normality around him. 

Kind of.

“Sunshine?” He asks again and you shake your head, looking back down at the decorative pillows you’d grabbed from the loveseat earlier. 

“I’m building a pillow wall. So that way we, you know, both get our own side of the bed, and there’s no accidental cuddling or anything.” 

He clears his throat awkwardly, an unusual blush rising on his cheeks. “Sunshine, I told you I was sorry about that.” 

You shrug. “And I told you it was fine. But problem solved.” 

Really, truly, honestly - it was boundary for you and you alone. You were afraid that if you woke up one more time to him cuddling you in nothing but his underwear, you do something stupid. Like kiss him or tell him about your stupid crush on him. 

Still, his jaw tenses, his hand twitching at his side. The two of you stand in awkward silence for a minute before he finally sighs. “Okay. Whatever you want.”

He walks the few paces towards the bed and then climbs in, pulling the covers all the way up to his chin, leaving you to get the lights. You sigh, walking towards the door and flicking them off. You walk around the bed to climb in on your side, curling up all the way at the very edge of the bed. 

The tension hangs in the room, his body stiff. You wait for him to tell you goodnight like he had the night before but he says nothing. 

It’s not long that the two of you are laying there before a loud cheer erupts from downstairs. 

Your friends had long passed the line between tipsy into drunk and both you and Bradley had tapped out when they started creeping into drunkenly obnoxious territory. 

“What the fuck are they doing down there?’ You ask, shifting slightly to look back towards the door. 

He grunts.

“Sorry.” You whisper, turning back around. “Good night Bradley.” 

“Night.” 

-

When Bradley wakes up, you’re all too aware of it, having tossed and turned all night long. You were surprised he didn’t kick you out of the bed from how much you had rolled around, although you’d tried to sit very still for as long as possible. 

At one point you even went to the bathroom just to sit so as not to bother him. Unfortunately, Eli came in not long after to puke so the reprieve was short-lived. 

A quick glance at the digital clock on the nightstand next to you tells you it’s only 6:10 am, far too early for Bradley to be up, and much less any of your friends who are definitely going to have hangovers. You shift slightly, watching as he sits up, pulling the comforter off of him. 

He gently pushes himself off the bed and softly pads towards the door, shutting it behind him with a gentle click. You hold your breath, waiting for him to return to the room, thinking he’s just peeing, but it’s only when you realize it’s 6:31 am that he’s not coming back. 

You groan, rolling back over as an ache settles in your chest. 

Maybe now you’d finally be able to get some sleep. 

-

When you’re awoken again, it’s to the sound of the door opening and someone saying your name. You groan, rolling over to the offender. You’re greeted by the sight of Bailey standing there with the door wide open. 

“Good. You’re alive.” 

“The fuck do you want?” You say through a yawn, a quick glance to the clock showing you it’s 11:17 am. 

“Everyone minus Madison is downstairs eating breakfast and then we’re all going to the lake.” 

“Where’s Madison?” You ask, not moving from the bed. 

“Violently hungover. Eli quote ‘puked and rallied’, but Tommy and I can hold our alcohol. We also had way less to drink than the other two.” 

You hum, but still make no move to get off the bed. She nods her head towards the downstairs. “C’mon, up and at ‘em.” 

“Can’t I join you guys later? I didn’t sleep very good last night.” 

Her eyes skim over the pillows next to you. “I can imagine, what with the great pillow wall of Lake Shenandoah. That Bradshaw’s idea?” 

“Mine.” 

She blows out a breath. “Explains why he was up at the ass crack of dawn. Even beat Tommy up. C’mon, he made sure we saved you some breakfast and a cup of coffee.” 

With a final groan, you push yourself off the bed and follow her into the hallway and down the stairs. The boys grin at the sight of you, Bradley even offering you a small smile over the rim of his coffee cup. 

“Hey sleeping beauty, thanks for joining us here in the land of the living.” Tommy teases. 

“Good afternoon.” Eli says, a smirk on his face. Your eyes flicker to the time on the oven (11:21 am) and then back to Eli’s face. 

“Fuck off, it’s not even noon yet.” 

“Practically could be.” 

“Good morning.” Bradley says softly as you approach the stove, picking up the coffee cup that’s sitting next to him. “Here, I save you the last cup of coffee although I wasn’t sure what you liked in it. And I made sure we saved you some breakfast: eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns. There’s also toast.” 

You don’t even have the heart to tell him that Bailey had already told you all of this, what with the way he’s looking at you so genuinely, so earnestly. “Thank you Bradley, really.”

Tommy clears his throat, standing up from the table. “Alright well, I’m ready to go down to the lake, if everybody else is.” There’s muttered agreement, your friends moving from their various places in the space. 

“You’ll come down and join us when you’re ready, right?” Bradley says, a little concern filtering into his tone. You muster up a smile, hands wrapping tighter around the coffee mug. 

“Will do Bradshaw.” 

You watch them from the window for the next hour, puttering around the kitchen as you clean up the dishes from breakfast. It’s the least you can do considering everyone else cooked. 

You were definitely not stalling, suddenly nervous to go outside to the lake in a bathing suit with all the boys, knowing they’d be looking at you. 

You still couldn’t forget the way Noah’s eyes had roamed over your body, saying it might be a little too much. 

That you were a little too much. 

You shake your head, squeezing your eyes shut as you braced yourself against the counter. 

You didn’t do that anymore. You hadn’t done that in months. They were your friends and they’d never make you feel small or uncomfortable or-

ugly. unwanted.

You’d packed both bathing suits you own, one more risqué than the other. Both were one-pieces, easy to cover-up in, but the words you ex-boyfriend had said to you about the one that showed off your chest and had an open back lingered in your mind, reassuring you that the simple suit was the much better option. 

You pull your hair back, sighing as you try to work up the nerve to go downstairs and outside. 

“Hey.” 

You turn, seeing Madison in the doorway. “Hey. You don’t look as awful as I thought you would.” 

She shrugs, leaning up against the doorway. “I think if I went outside, I’d throw up. But other than that, I’m definitely feeling better than I was at 9 am. Cute suit.” 

You look down, adjusting the strap of the blue-green clothing. “Thanks.” 

“I still like the red one better though.” 

“Yeah?” You ask, your teeth catching your bottom lip. 

She nods. “Yeah, I like the back on it and I think the color suits you a lot more.” 

“Should I change?” You ask, turning back around to look at yourself in the mirror. 

She shrugs. “Up to you. I’m going back to my cave of darkness.” 

You sigh, turning back towards your room to change into the other suit. 

You’d packed shorts and a t-shirt to go over the suit in case you did get insecure (you knew you would) and well- no one said you had to get in the lake, right?

You groan as you pause at the doors, suddenly wanting to turn around, go back to the bedroom, slip under the covers and hide. 

Because Bailey was Bailey. She had always reminded how pretty you were even when you couldn’t see it. 

And Tommy was Tommy. He saw you as a little sister, someone he could goof around with and build Legos with. 

And Eli could choke. 

But Bradley? 

It was important to you what Bradley thought of you. Especially in a bathing suit, because apparently you were twelve again, wanting the approval of the boys at the pool party.

You sigh as you slip out the French doors and out across the grass to where the group is located. Tommy’s a ways out, disappearing beneath the waves with every passing moment, brunette curls sticking his face. Bailey and Eli are stood on the edge of the shore, bickering. 

And there’s Bradley, sat in a camping chair, beer in hand. 

“Hey.” 

He looks up at you, face squinting from the bright sun overhead. “Hey. Why aren’t you changed?” 

You glance down at the t-shirt from your high school with the word S E N I O R S spelled out like the Friends logo. “Oh, I did, but I figured the lake might be cold...”

You can’t help but let your eyes roam over his body, the way his tan skin looks in the sunlight of the day. Where his once-wet curls are slowly drying, curling more than usual, especially around the nape of his neck. You can’t help but wonder what it would feel like to reach out and run your fingers through them. 

“It’s not that cold, honestly.” 

You nod absentmindedly, watching as Tommy swims closer to shore. You bite your lip as Tommy hoists himself up on the deck that sits out over the lake. 

These were your friends, but even you weren’t blind to the fact that they were all a great-looking group of people. And they’d never make you feel small. But it was hard not to feel insecure standing next to guys and girls who got everyone they wanted, Bradley included. 

“You coming back out Bradshaw?” Tommy calls. He looks up to you, pulling his sunglasses off. 

“Depends. You gonna join us?” 

You blow out a breath. “Yeah, I guess I could come sit for a little while.” 

The two of you head down towards the dock, as you try to remind yourself that it doesn’t matter what Bradley Bradshaw thinks of you in a bathing suit. You woke up to him cuddling you the other day; how could it get any worse?

You follow him down towards the lack, the grass beneath your feet tickling slightly. 

Memories of summers spent in your back yard, running through the hose with your siblings, flash through your brain. The nostalgic ache for the familiar itch of grass on your bare legs and laughter settles in your chest as you watch Bradley cannon ball into the lake with Eli.  

You swallow as Bailey tugs your arm, dragging you further on to the deck. “C’mon, get in the water with me.” 

“Um-” You say, eyes flickering back over to the boys, Tommy diving into the water and popping up next to Eli and Bradley. “What if they say something about-”

You cut yourself off, unable to bring yourself to say the words, but you know she understands anyways. 

She raises an eyebrow, giving you an unimpressed look. “I’ll cut their dicks off if they do.” 

The words punch a laugh out of you, some of your nerves going with it. You had known Bailey long enough to know that that was a threat she’d follow through on. 

You shake your head, already reaching to pull your shirt off. “Okay, okay.” You pull your shorts off, walking further down the deck with Bailey by your side as the boys attention drifts to you. 

It takes everything in you not to shrink back as you watch Bradley’s eyes go wide. Eli catches the moment, whispering something only him and Tommy can hear, causing Bradley to punch his shoulder before tipping his head back into the water. 

Your mouth suddenly tastes sour, your self-consciousness rising through your stomach and up into your throat as you near the edge of the deck, realizing they’re all watching you. 

It almost makes you want to turn around and go back into the house, but you don’t get a chance as Bailey is grabbing your hand. “On the count of three, okay?” 

“Wait-”

“One.”

“No, Bailey-” 

“Two.” 

“I don’t want to-”

“Three!” She shouts, leaving you with no choice but to jump with her for fear of being tugged off the deck if you didn't.

The water is cold against your skin as you preemptively scrunch up your face, hoping to keep the water out of your eyes. 

You gasp for breath you break the surface, hair already clinging to your back as you blink, searching for your friends. 

A splash of water catches your attention, causing you to turn your head. It’s Bailey, popping up after you. “That was fun.” 

“For one of us.” 

She lets out a little laugh, offering you a shrug. It’s quiet for a minute as the two of you try to catch your breath before she nods towards the boys, signaling to head over to them. “Thanks for joining us on this trip.” 

You nod as the two of you move towards the boys. “Thanks for inviting me.” 

“We’re happy to have you here.” 

-

A few hours later, you watch the sun begin to set in the distance, the orange hues settling across the lake in ripples. You take a deep breath as you admire the view, the distant conversation not even distracting you. 

Until there’s a particularly loud splash of water. 

You turn, spotting Eli swim away from Bailey as fast as he can. 

Bradley floats over to you as you watch Bailey try to shove Eli under the water as she catches up to him. “Hey, your strap is all twisted.” He says, pointing to the top of your suit. 

You look down, realizing it’s twisted all the way to the back. “Oh shit. Do you think you could untwist it for me? I don’t think I’ll be able to get it.” 

He nods, swimming a little bit closer to reach out for your shoulder. “It’s a nice suit, by the way.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah, the color looks good on you.” He says, pulling away and offering you a small smirk.

You think your cheeks are as red as the suit adorning your body. 

-

You pad down the stairs, wet hair falling over your shoulder where the water seeps into your UVA t-shirt. Bradley’s alone in the kitchen, cooking dinner. He looks up at the noise, smiling at the sight of you. “Hey.” 

“Smells good.” You say, walking further into the kitchen. He nods. 

“Yeah, I wanted to do something a little bit more involved for dinner tonight since I’m pretty sure I’m the only one in our friend group who can actually cook besides Madison and she’s still hungover.” 

“You want help?” 

“Actually, yeah, could you help me cut the bell peppers? It would really speed things along.” You nod, taking the knife from him, even though you have no idea what the proper way way to slice a bell pepper is.

It couldn’t be that hard, right?

You stand there, examining the vegetable in your hand as you debate the best way to approach this, desperately wanting to not fuck it up. 

“You know what you’re doing there?” He asks, eyebrows raised. You point the knife at him. 

“Hey, I might not have the cooking skills of Madison but I think I can figure out how to cut a bell pepper.” 

There’s a pause as he stares at you. “You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?” 

“Absolutely not.” 

He chuckles, shaking his head. “Here, I’ll show you.” His voice is void of a condescending tone, which you appreciate. 

He takes one of your hands, curling your fingers inward. “See, you always want to have your fingers curled inward, otherwise you run the risk of chopping your fingers off.” You nod as he takes the hand, setting it on the bell pepper while the other hand guides the hand the knife is in. “You’re just gonna cut the bottom and top off like this.” He says, demonstrating the movements. 

His skin feels warm against yours as you desperately try not to lean into him, his chest pressed against your back. “Where’d you learn how to cook Bradshaw?” 

The question is meant to be teasing but your tone ends up being more genuine as you feel him chuckle, chest vibrating. “My Mom. She always made me help her cook growing up. It was a way for us to bond. Food kind of brought us together, I guess.” 

“She sounds like she’s a great woman.” You whisper, tilting your head just enough to look in his yes. 

A flash of pain crosses his face, even as he returns your smile. “She was.” he says softly. “I wish you could’ve met her. She would’ve loved you.” 

You swallow, realizing how close the two of you are. How vulnerable he’s being and how much you just want to reach up and-

He clears his throat, ducking his head. “Anyways, um, you just cut the inside pieces of like this and then cut it into slices.” 

You nod, blinking at the sudden change in tone and body language, the wya he had rushed walking you through the second half of the process. “Alright, thanks.” 

He gives you a small smile, stepping out of your space. “No problem.” 

The two of you work alongside each other, the only sound coming from Bradley humming to the ABBA songs playing from the small speaker in the corner of the kitchen. As you cut the bell peppers, you think about the way Bradley hasn’t called you Sunshine since before “the great wall of Lake Shenandoah” as Bailey insisted on calling it, the way he’d made sure to keep his distance. 

In an effort to keep yourself under control, you’d somehow managed to make things worse.

Yet, he’d still saved you breakfast and was teaching you how to cut bell peppers. The kindness in his eyes whenever he looked at you made your chest ache, and honestly all you wanted to do was to make things not be weird. 

“Hey, do you think you could-” 

“Bradley, I’m sorry I made things weird or like- awkward between us.” 

He pauses from where he’s fiddling with he stove, eyes going wide. “What?”

You sigh, gaze dropping down to the knife sitting on the cutting board. “I’m sorry if my- my stupid pillow wall made things weird between us.” 

He shrugs, turning back to the stove. “We’re good.” 

“We’re not good. You haven’t called me Sunshine since before our walk back to the cabin yesterday after the failed hike and I don’t know- it feels a little strange.” 

He huffs out a breath, keeping his back turned to you. “Fine, Sunshine, there we go, easy fix. Can you please get the sour cream and cheese from the fridge?” 

You comply, setting the food on the counter before you walk over to him, standing next to him in front of the tiny stove space. “Bradley-” 

He sighs, keeping his eyes trained firmly on the cooking chicken and veggies. “Sunshine, I just- The last thing I ever want to do is make you feel uncomfortable. I know it’s not any of my business, but I know Noah wasn’t-” He pauses, jabbing at the mixture in the pan. “I know Noah wasn’t good to you and the last thing I want to do to is put you in a position to feel like you have to put up with a man who makes you uncomfortable for the sake of your friends, like you did with him.” 

Despite yourself, you let out a little laugh. “Bradley, what?” 

“It’s not funny.” 

“I mean, it is, honestly. It’s laughable because you and Noah aren’t even in the same stratosphere of human beings-” He shoots you a look, cutting off the laughter bubbling out of you. “Oh, Bradley, c’mon I’m serious. You’re actually a good person, not like him who was just born as an asshole.”

“Sunshine, I’m serious.” 

You feel like you forget how to breathe with the way he’s looking at you, suddenly ignoring the cooking food. 

“Okay, I-” You pause, trying to take a deep breath. “Bradley, I didn’t keep him around because of my friends.”

“Yeah? Not even after he dumped you and broke your heart?” He asks, frowning.

You bite your lip, looking down to the browning veggies. “I- Yeah, okay I did. But I- if you made me uncomfortable, especially like he did, I never would’ve agreed to come on this trip, much less share a bed with you.”

He turns the stove off wordlessly, pulling the food as he sets it to the side before turning to look you in the eye. “You promise?” 

You sigh, stepping forward to rest your hands on his biceps. “I promise.” 

-

You can hear the laughter echo from the cabin, all the way by the French doors as you slip out, Madison offering you a thumbs up and Bailey and Tommy giving you all-knowing grins. 

You roll your eyes, pulling your jacket around you tighter as you lightly pad down the steps and across the grass to the fire pit where Eli and Bradley sit. You can hear the low mutter of their conversation as you approach, almost making you second-guess yourself. 

“Sorry, am I interrupting?” 

Both boys turn in their chairs to face you. Eli offers you a small smile, shaking his head. “Not at all Sunshine.” His voice is teasing, the nickname sounding strange coming from someone who wasn’t Bradley. “I was just headed back inside.” 

You nod, taking Eli’s place next to Bradley as he passes by you, walking back towards the cabin. Bradley doesn’t say anything, just kicks his feet up to sit on the edge of the fire pit. The only sounds come from the birds above and the crackling of the fire in front of you. 

“You know what I like about us?” 

You hum, eyes still watching the flames dance in front of you. 

“I like that no matter what, we can always sit in silence together and it not weird or awkward, it’s just comfortable. I can just be.” 

You lift your head to smile at him. There’s another pause as he opens another beer from the cooler by his feet. 

“Can I ask you a question?” 

He nods, taking a sip of his drink. “Anything, Sunshine.” 

“Why are you so fond of Eli?” 

He raises an eyebrow, tilting his head at the question, and lets out a little chuckle, almost nervous. “I’m gonna tell you a story, Sunshine, and it’s not one that I tell very many people.” 

You nod, keeping eye contact with him. “I’m listening.” 

You almost think he whispers “I know.” under his breath before he sighs, shifting to rest his arms on his knees. “When I came to UVA, I was in a pretty dark place. I’d just-” He cuts himself off, mouth beginning to frown. “I’d just been dealing with a lot of family issues and personal stuff. Which is vague, I know. Um- to save you the pain of listening to my issues, I can sum it up with the fact that my Mom had just died, just before my senior year. I was alone and on my own and I knew it. But uhm- there was that kid on the first day of Spanish 1, my partner for the icebreakers. And I didn’t want to share or really even talk to this kid, but there was just- No matter how upset I was, he just- man Sunshine he just kept making me laugh.” 

He pauses as he takes a sip of his beer. “Those are the best kinds of friendships.” You whisper. 

He nods. “They are. They’re my favorite kind. But-” He says, tilting his head again in acknowledgement of his words. “I get that he’s not like that with everyone. We gelled from the very beginning and I’ve never thought twice about him. His family has welcomed me into their home and their vacations, into their lives and love. He’s always had my back, no questions asked. But he’s a dick to a lot of people and I do know that.” He takes a deep breath, shifting on his chair. “He’s a dick to you, and I know that.”

You shift on your chair, suddenly uncomfortable with the way this conversation is going. “I didn’t mean to make this about how he treats me-”

Bradley shakes his head, cutting you off. “It’s not a justification but- Eli’s family, they come from old money. And I mean like, old money. And the way he was raised- the sheer competition to be better, always better, it bleeds into who he is as an adult. He likes people who can challenge him—I think it’s why he keeps going back to Bailey despite all the bickering—but I think in all the worst ways possible, you remind him of his sister. Younger and yet somehow always better. Always destined for more.” 

Your cheeks warm at his words, watching him lean back in his chair. “He’s a good person at his core. He knows when people are in need and he does his best to help them. But—and again, this isn’t to excuse or justify it—it doesn’t change the fact that you’re brilliant Sunshine. You have the whole world at your feet and we all know it. And for whatever Eli ends up doing, he knows that you will do more.”

-

You rub your lips together as you snap the lid on the chapstick shut. You take one last look at yourself in the mirror, your UVA sweatshirt pulled on with a pair of old sweats before flicking the light off. 

You move to open the door, to head back downstairs and outside to join all your friends at the fire pit , when you hear the door down the hall open, the sound of Eli and Bradley arguing following it. 

“-Bradshaw, all I’m saying is that, if you were to have feelings for her, I think you should go for it.” 

You furrow your eyebrows, stepping closer to the door. You felt a bit bad, eavesdropping on their conversation, but the thought Bradley might have a crush on some girl made your stomach churn in the worst ways. 

He wasn’t yours to lose and yet- 

Your train of thought is cut off by the sound of Bradley groaning, his footsteps stopping at the top of the stairs. “Where the fuck is this even coming from, Eli?” 

Eli’s footsteps stop and you hear him sigh. “She’s really good for you Bradley.”

“Okay?” 

“I just think you’d be better off admitting that you have feelings for your Sunshine. Even just to yourself.” 

Your entire body freezes. 

“I don’t like her like that!” Bradley exclaims and you swear your heart stops beating for a minute. 

Distantly, you realize they must think you’re outside with the group, or they’d never be having this conversation with you near. 

“You’re fucking impossible Bradley, you know that? Sunshine is halfway in love with you and you won’t even entertain the possibility of it?” 

“Entertain it? I don’t like her like that. She’s my friend.”

Eli snorts. “Sure, keep fucking tell yourself that Bradshaw. Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.” 

The words trigger a memory, words Bailey had said to you at the very beginning of the trip. 

Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt. 

Horror and embarrassment floods over you as you realize they had set you up. They’d taken your crush on Bradley and had set you up.

The whole trip had been a set up. 

“It’s not denial. I honestly don’t even know if I’d classify her as my friend. I’d say she’s probably more Tommy’s friend than anything.” He says the words so casually, yet you’d been around him long enough to recognize the defensive tone hidden in his words. 

Still, it makes your entire body go cold as you realized you’d been right all along. 

Eli sighs, and then there’s a long pause between them as your heart beats rapidly in your chest, tears pricking at your eyes. 

“Whatever Bradshaw, it’ll be your loss when she’s the one who got away.” 

Bradley splutters but he follows Eli’s footsteps down the stairs. 

You strain your ears for the sound of the French door shutting before you let yourself breath, mind whirring at what had just happened. 

Part of you desperately wants you to believe that this hadn’t been a set-up, something done to embarrass you. That your friends wanted you here, not what they thought you could be for Bradley. 

Part of you wonders if it had all been a joke, a gotcha moment while they laugh at your humiliation. 

You become more horrified as you play the trip back in your head, realizing it wasn’t that Bradley hadn’t wanted to make you uncomfortable.

He didn’t want you to get the wrong idea. 

You begin to feel empty as the words play on repeat in your head, realizing that without a doubt, no matter what you felt for him, Bradley Bradshaw felt nothing for you. 

-

You hear the door to the bedroom open some hours later as you squeeze your eyes shut, clutching the comforter around you tighter as if it can protect you. 

After overhearing Eli and Bradley’s conversation, you had gone back to your room, slipping under the covers as you suppressed your tears. You hadn’t want them to come back into the house and find you in the state you were in. 

Eventually, the emotion had left you, just leaving you emotionally exhausted while unable to sleep. 

“Sunshine?” Comes the whispered voice of Bradley as light floods the room. “You awake?” 

You measure your breathing and he must buy it, because he shuts the door, slipping into the bed next to you, smelling distantly of campfire. 

You resist a shudder, almost instinctively wanting to lean into the smell and roll over and cuddle him. Let him pull you close like he did that first morning. Let him run his fingers through your hair and tell your everything will be okay. 

It’s quiet in the room as you beg sleep to come to you, yet it is painfully out of your reach. Your brain won’t stop replaying the words from earlier, how Bradley had said we’re just friends, but really if anything, she’s Tommy’s friend.

You hear the sheets move as Bradley shifts, rolling from his side to his back. The movement pulls you from your thoughts, forcing you to steady your breath, as you will yourself to be still. “Are you awake?” His voice is barely a whisper, not wanting to wake you if you’re asleep.You can’t be sure, but you almost think you hear his head move to face your back. You bite your lip, wanting to ignore him, but it’s his soft “Sunshine?” that makes your resolve crumble. 

“Yeah.” You finally whisper back. 

“You wanna go look at the stars?” He asks in the same quiet tone. You finally turn, almost rolling over on to his hand that’s splayed out on the sheets. He is looking at you, you note. 

“Yeah.”

You aren’t sure what you’re doing, knowing what was said that night, but there’s some part of you that’s aching to be closer to him. To reassure yourself that you were still friends and maybe, just maybe, there was a sliver of a chance. 

And that was the part that was winning out. 

“Grab a jacket.” He whispers as you slip your shoes on. You slip the jacket around your shoulders, bracing yourself for the cold you know you’ll be stepping out into. You are both quiet walking down the stairs, catching sight of the lights on under both sets of doors. He gently opens the door, holding it open for you. “After you.”

You snort, stepping out into the chilly air of the night. “And they say chivalry is dead.” 

“You wanna go for a walk by the lake?” He asks, shutting the door behind you. 

“Yeah, sure, why not.” 

The night is quiet, the stars twinkling overhead as the two of you walk. 

“Orion was my favorite constellation growing up, probably because it was the only one I could recognize.”

You’re not sure why you’re sharing the information with him, knowing you originally told yourself you’d keep your distance from him. 

He smiles at you. “It was one of the first ones I learned in Boy Scouts.”

“You seem the Boy Scouts type.” 

He snorts. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.” 

You shrug one of your shoulders. “It’s just a neutral thing, I think.” 

He nods. “Hey, thanks for coming with us on the trip. It was fun to have you around.” 

You swallow at the words, wanting to tell him he was a liar and he knew it. 

Instead you shrug again. “You know me, just happy to be invited.” 

“I think it’s good for me to be surrounded by good people you know? Especially before I leave in a few months.” 

You hum, not trusting your voice. 

Good people. He meant Tommy. Tommy and Madison. Tommy and Madison and Bailey. Tommy and Madison and Bailey and yes, even Eli. 

You wouldn’t make the mistake of thinking he meant you. 

“Can I admit something?” he says, voice suddenly small. It catches your attention, causing you to look up at him. 

“Of course.” You whisper, stopping to watch him. 

“Is it weird to admit that I’m scared?” He asks, voice a little breathless. 

“Scared... of me?” You ask, furrowing your eyebrows.

“No. No!″ He almost shouts, holding his hands out. “God no, never of you. I’m- It’s gonna sound so stupid.”

“It won’t.” You say firmly. 

“I’m terrified of my future. I- I know I was the one who choose it but- what if I’m not good enough? What if-” He ducks his head, sucking in a breath. “What if this is it? What if this is the best I’m ever gonna get?” 

The wind feels knocked from your chest as you stumble forward, reaching out for him. “Bradley.” You whisper, taking his hand. “Bradley, no.” 

His shrugs, eyes watering. “I’m just scared.” 

You offer him a sad smile squeezing his hand. “I think- I think it’s okay to be scared. You’re doing something scary! Going after your dreams is the most terrifying thing in the world, but if you didn’t, if you never knew, you’d always wonder what if.” 

He sucks in a breath through his teeth, not meeting your eye. “Thanks Sunshine.” 

“Bradley, you deserve the whole world. You are going to accomplish so much and the rest of us are just lucky to know you and your greatness. We’re all better for knowing you.” 

He lets out a choked chuckle, pulling you into a hug before you can even protest. His grip is tight around you and you hesitantly reach up, wrapping your arms around his larger frame. 

You frown into his jacket as you stand there, knowing in your heart that no matter how Bradley Bradshaw feels about you, you will always love him. 

[bayoubodycount]

Title: Good Friends & Cold Drinks

Rated: T

Word count: 1,463

Relationships: Lestat + Armand, Lestat/Louis, Armand/Daniel, past Lestat/Antoinette Brown, past Armand/Bianca Solderini

Characters: Lestat, Armand, Nico the Mastiff

Warnings: Mild under age drinking

Tags: Human AU, 1968, Bi boys, coming out to friends, BBQ, soda pop, backyard camping, endless summer nights

Summary: Best friends Lestat and Armand had split ways for the summer of 1968, each with romantic prospects. As the second year of college approaches, a backyard barbecue and campout is the perfect way for them to reconnect, catch up on who fooled around with who, and swap a few scandalous secrets.

For @valenfangs VamPride 2024 Day #22

Word prompt: Coca Cola in a Glass Bottle

[corvinscastle]

Random head canons for a whole bunch of fandoms! Enjoy my rambling

-Batim

Sammy’s middle name is francis i dont know where i got this idea from or why but yea Samuel Francis Lawrence

Jack Fain is part Russian again dunno where thos came from but i thought it fit

Alison is part Estonian

Susie is Irish

Sammy is French and no i will not elaborate on that

Jack fain wally franks norman polk and henry stein were all raised by single mothers and i dont know why

-Creepypasta/Marble hornets

Brian is constantly getting his hands stuck in pickle jars and Tim has to help him

Jeff was a leash kid

Pre marble hornets(still havent finished no spoilers pls) Tim and Brian would have backyard campouts completely with tents sleeping bags and marshmallows

Sally is really good at pranks???

EJ acts like an older brother figure to the younger pastas(Sally for example)

-Scott pilgrim

Lucas has two moms

Kyle and Ken have a younger sister named Kylie

Matthew has a single mom and a younger sister

[rosterafamilyaskau]

Campfire Crash

"Come ON, Trip, how hard can it be!"

Xelia was gathering twigs, setting them up in a tent shape on the grass. The girls were having a backyard campout that they had begged their mothers ALL DAY to get permission for. They had a tent and sleeping bags and everything.

"If you do it, we could make s'mores," the girl teased in her sing-song voice.

"Don't do it, didn't mother say no fires," Zerina pointed out. "We'll get in super big trouble!"

Trip hesitated, a half-formed fireball in her throat. She wanted to make Xelia happy, but Zerina was right. They'd get in trouble.

In that perfect moment, a moth flew past her face.

Trip squeaked and huffed a breath out instinctively. A tiny fireball flew onto the sticks, lighting them.

"There, see? Was that so hard," Xelia smirked in satisfaction.

"Xelia? It's spreading," Zerina pointed out.

The grass around the campfire was smoking, some of the grass underneath and surrounding starting to burn.

"Trip? Can you maybe, I dunno, ABSORB FIRE BACK INTO YOURSELF?!"

"I'M NOT A SALAMANDER!"

"YOU CAN BREATHE FIRE, CAN'T YOU!"

"NOT BRING IT BACK INTO MYSELF!"

"WON'T YOU TWO BE QUIET AND GET THE HOSE!"

The two younger girls stopped yelling at each other and looked at Zerina. She never raised her voice.

"GET AWAY FROM THERE!"

The three girls looked back at the house and saw Kamylla scrambling for the hose. Busted.

The three scrambled away from the burning grass as the hose went on. After a few seconds, the campfire was nothing more than a rough circle of blackened grass and black sticks.

"Do you three have ANY idea what you could've done?!"

"Trip lit it!"

"Xelia told me to!"

"That's enough, you two," Kamylla's eyes were narrowed. It looked like she'd just woken up. It was about 10:00 in the night, after all.

"You could've gotten hurt, or worse! Also, the house could've burned down, you could've damaged the neighbor's property and we would've had to pay for it. We can't afford that!"

The girls' heads were lowered, staring at the ground.

"You know what, I think this was a mistake," Kamylla sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Who's idea was this?"

Trip and Zerina pointed at Xelia.

"Xelia, you're grounded for a week. Also, start packing this stuff up. I'm putting an end to this."

"Kammy, please no!"

"We won't do it again!"

"Moooommmmm, nooooooo!"

"Now."

Zerina and Trip gave her pleading looks that almost won her over. Xelia stomped back towards the tent. When the other two went, Kamylla called her younger daughter over.

Xelia returned, her red hair obscuring her face. Kamylla knew the blue eyes would be full of guilt and betrayal. She felt horrible when she saw her daughter trembling. Her daughters had been dealt a rough hand with past homes.

"Look, Xelia," Kamylla had gotten down on one knee and tucked a finger under her younger daughter's chin, lifting her face to peer into the sky blue eyes.

"We said no fires for a reason. I was upset because I love you three. And you know what that means?"

"...That you'll never let anything happen to us?"

"Exactly. And when I saw that fire, I was so afraid... That you would..." She didn't finish the sentence.

But the girl saw the look in her mother's eyes and knew exactly what she meant.

Xelia flung her arms around her mother's neck. "I'm sorry, mom, I won't do it again!"

"I know you won't. Now go help your cousin and sister."

Xelia received a pat on the head and she scampered back to help her sister and cousin tie up the sleeping bags.

Kamylla stood back up and watched them. Even if they were a handful, she wouldn't give up life with the girls for the world.

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Fortunato Durutti Marinetti

Beginning with 2020’s Desire, a self-released cassette, Toronto-based, Turin-born Daniel Colussi, has explored his “poetic jazz rock” (Colussi’s own apt coinage) across three releases under the moniker Fortunato Durutti Marinetti. The instrumentals flow and waver: now flashes of synthesizer keys or strings; now an inquisitive, lightly warped guitar line — the music floats then jumps but never rushes. His vocals — and lyrics — recall stated 1970s influences like Lou Reed or a spoken-word Robert Wyatt, but also Leonard Cohen or, more contemporarily, Destroyer’s Dan Bejar. Alex Johnson found Colussi’s latest release, Eight Waves In Search Of An Ocean, “engrossing — although not always comfortably…a record that rewards the delayering effect of multiple listens.”

Gary Zhexi Zhang — “The Tourist”

Zhang’s documentary ostensibly tells the story of Ali Sultan Issa, who led Zanzibar’s independence from Britain in 1963. Issa is a totally fascinating and complicated Zelig-like figure who seemed to be present for every revolutionary moment in the middle of the century. He hung out with Castro, Mao and also the CIA. I can’t believe how effectively and delicately Zhang is able to tell what a massive story about empire is — de-colonization, the optimism of mid-twentieth century socialist movements and the brutal 80s neoliberal response. This film also introduced me to the song “Super Snooper”by 1970s Italo disco crew La Bionda.

Annette Peacock — Unsung Heroine

A 12-minute doc on Annette Peacock circa 2000, as she recorded with a string quartet in Oslo for ECM. It’s not the most celebrated era of her career, but An Acrobat’s Heart is an interesting album of smoldering baroque torch songs. There’s great-to-see footage of her walking around Oslo in leather pants and also, it’s great to hear her speaking voice, which has that classic US drawl of an artist who’s lived through decades of chaos.

DJ Voices — Hemlock Nights @ Honcho Campout 2023

When NYC’s DJ Voices came to Toronto last summer my crew and I danced our asses off all night long. It was a good night and I’m glad it happened.

Lou Sheppard with Pamela Hart — Rights Of Passage

A beautiful, smart record that uses the metaphor of a river’s legal right to flow (riparian rights) to talk about property vs. public space, control of and access to resources and forms of enclosure. The record is also about queerness, and how queerness is or is not permitted to exist within particular defined spaces. This record is technically a sister artifact to Lou’s video/sound installation at the Art Gallery of York University, but it works totally well on its own as a gorgeous LP.

Ed Gray — Different Drummer : Elvin Jones

1979 documentary on Elvin Jones — a weird period for him. I think like most people, I know him primarily through his 1960s albums with John Coltrane. This doc has beautiful footage of Elvin hanging out with his family in the backyard as well as him in the studio describing his relationship to the cymbals in terms of different colors — chromesthesia. I also like his sleazy late 70s style — white leather loafers, a mesh shirt and a cigarette dangling as he absolutely shreds on his kit.

Elvis Presley — Unchained Melody (Rapid City June 21, 1977)

An insane document of Elvis in the very final throes of his imperial era. His banter is barely intelligible. Coca Cola cups scattered everywhere. Everyone in the band is sweaty and hairy. Wide bellbottoms all around. A middle-aged stagehand (who Elvis refers to as “son”) awkwardly holds the mic up to Elvis. Rising out of all this confusion, Elvis begins an extremely personal rendition of this Righteous Brothers song. There are pregnant pauses, as if he loses his place in the song, and there is no consistent tempo until the band kicks in, at which point all of Rapid City levitates into outer space. And two months later, Elvis was dead.

The Invisible Committee — The Coming Insurrection

In his Dusted review of my album, Alex Johnson singled out the words and language in my song “Smash Your Head Against The Wall.” When I think back to writing that song, I think of reading The Invisible Committee’s The Coming Insurrection. Their language is totally polemic and fiery and outrageous, but purposely and with intent. Oftentimes they’re playing with that caricatured idea of “the radical left.” Not everyone appreciates this approach: apparently it freaked out US neocon broadcaster Glenn Beck enough that he warned his followers about this book’s evil. My copy has many underlined passages that I return to again and again for guidance and inspiration.

Bruford — Back To The Beginning (Rock Goes To College, March 17th, 1979)

Annette Peacock’s second appearance on this list — too much? In this performance she casually strolls into the Bruford zone to provide some female levity to this otherwise brutally nervous and sweaty prog rock crew. There’s a strong argument that this song sucks because it suffers from that thing of prog/jazz virtuosos trying to play basic heavy rock and failing because they’re too good. But I think it’s awesome, especially when Annette lets her raincoat theatrically drop to the floor to indicate that she has officially assumed control of the proceedings.

Joni Mitchell — In France They Kiss On Main Street (Santa Barbara Bowl, 1979)

I like this era because it captures Joni just as she’s really alienating the majority of her audience by desecrating her folk-rock legacy via fully embracing smoothed out jazz fusion tones. She’s playing with a squad of absolute rippers: Metheny, Pastorius, Lyle Mays, Michael Brecker and Don Alias. Everyone is at the top of their game; everyone is in the zone. I like this ferocious live version of this song better than the studio version.

Tindersticks — The Ballad of Tindersticks (2 Meter Sessions, June 7, 1997)

For me Tindersticks are a deep well of inspiration, to which I can continually return for sustenance, guidance and nourishing refreshment. I love it all: the early baroque albums, the mid period soul albums, the soundtracks, the solo records. I think their last record was phenomenal. They are masters of subtly adjusting their songwriting as a way of unlocking vast new territories to explore. They make it all their own. I pick this particular clip because I like how the entire band is sweating profusely.

[izbizwiz]

I am from strawberry laces and fighting our demons (malnutrition)

From bonding and “hey, you’re that girl from tiktok!”

From branching out and reaching in

Finding solace and comfort in what’s new

I am from recovery isn’t linear

But its not an uphill battle anymore

I don’t cry in every mirror, but some days i do

I am from myfitnesspal and failed goals

That never should’ve been made in the first place

I am from quiz nights and lads night out

From flat movie time and socks on the fire alarm

I am from cafe visits and buses

From shots of vodka and walks on the beach

But before then,

I was from texas

I was from the hill country and sunsets

From cicadas and smores

I am from keep austin weird and live music

From high school theater and international baccalaureate

I was from syrup fingers and the blob

From backyard campouts and high ropes courses

From literary larping camp and college courses

I was from chocolate smudged on lips and tankinis

I was from cotillion and future problem solvers

I am from all these places at once

My home is not just where i’m from

But where i am

And where i’m going

Home is not a place, it’s people

Home is where the heart is, to be cliche

Even if that heart is split between a million places and times.

[hunty627]

Here are even more episode titles for Little Einsteins: New Missions.

The ultimate great sky race! Rocket was gonna compete in the biggest great sky race ever and try and win the bouncy castle trophy, but Big Jet is gonna cheat. Will Rocket be a good sport and defend his titles as champion? Only time will tell. Featuring the art “A shower below the summit” by Katsushika Hokusai and the music “Flight of the bumblebee” by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov.

Star struck. The team and I were having a campout in June’s backyard. We were using June’s telescope to look at the stars. When suddenly, a star fell from the sky and got stuck to my shirt. Star explained she was going to have a playdate on Pluto with Saturn’s ring, music robot and the Meeps. So, we volunteered to help star get back to outer space. Can we get her home safely? Find out next time. Featuring the art “The Tree of Life” by Gustav Klimt & the music “Symphony Number 9 in E Minor: From the New World, Largo” by Antonin Dvorak.

Leo’s birthday lasagna. It was Leo’s birthday. Everyone was celebrating, and I suggested we should have marshmallow lasagna. So, I went to collect the ingredients and make it while everyone has fun at the party. I didn’t mind missing out on some of the fun, I promised Leo I wouldn’t let him down. Will I be able to make the marshmallow lasagna for him? Find out soon. Featuring the art “Haystacks at the End of Summer, Morning Effect” by Claude Monet and the music “Rondeau” by Jean-Joseph Mouret.

Kids to the rescue! Rocket and Big Jet were going to be racing in an all out grudge match in the all around the USA race. But Big Jet cheated by blowing a bubble and sending Rocket away to a cave! Can Leo, Annie, Quincy and June rescue him before the race starts? Only time will tell. Featuring the art “Tiger in a tropical storm” and “the merry jesters” by Henri Rousseau and the music “Peer Gynt suite number 1: In the hall of the mountain king” by Edvard Grieg.

Annie’s kitty catastrophe! The Little Einsteins and I were watching cute cat videos on the web when suddenly Big Jet flew in. And he had teamed up with the same witch from “brothers and sisters to the rescue” and she used her wand to change Annie into a cat! Can we get the wand and change Annie back into a girl? Only time will tell. Featuring the art “On the River Greta” by John Atkinson Grimshaw and the German folk art and the music “Symphony number 5″ by Ludwig von Beethoven.

Annie and August’s musical playdate. Annie has planned a musical playdate with her favorite mermaid friend, August. But she couldn’t find her. August was looking for Annie too. Will Annie rely on her big brother and her friends to help her find August? Featuring the music “the can can” by Jacques Offenbach.

The around the world Easter egg hunt. The Little Einsteins were celebrating Easter and they were going to go on an Easter egg hunt all around the world. They were determined to fill Rocket’s Easter basket all the way to the top. But they had to hurry or that sneaky Big Jet will try and eat all the eggs for himself! Will the team find all the eggs before Big Jet does? Find out soon. Featuring the art “Fabergé Eggs” and the music “Aida” by Giuseppe Verdi.

The broken buttons. Rocket was taking a nap when Dee Dee snuck on board him while he was sleeping. When she saw the buttons on his dashboard, she couldn’t resist herself and began to playfully push them. Rocket woke with a start and felt himself changing like crazy! Then all of a sudden…some of Rocket’s buttons broke off! The bug buttons, the animal buttons, the construction vehicle buttons, the fire rescue buttons, the accelerando button, the high and low buttons, the clapper catcher button, the submarine button, the pogo bouncer button, the train button, the flying button, and even the super fast button! Ellie promised to help Rocket find all his missing buttons. Will she find them all in time so Rocket can get back to doing all the things he loves to do? Only time will tell.

The lonely vampire girl. The team was going a Halloween carnival and they were going trick or treating to famous buildings. But I had gotten word that there vampire girl who was named Flandre Scarlet. She sounded scary, but she’s actually very nice. She’s got colorful wings and she’s really cute too. But she’s also rather lonely. Nobody wanted to play with her and most of her toys broke. Will the team cheer her up by taking her trick or treating and going to the Halloween carnival? Find out next time. Featuring the art “The scream” by Edvard Munch and music “Peer Gynt suite number 1: in the hall of the mountain king” by Edvard Grieg.

The missing marshmallows! The team was going camping. We were going to roast marshmallows and make s’mores to eat for our campout dessert, when Big Jet swooped in and took my bag of marshmallows! He was gonna all of the marshmallows for himself? Can the Little Einsteins save the marshmallows in time before Big Jet eats them? Find out soon.

Annie, Amanda and the ice fairy. The Little Einsteins were playing in the snow, when Amanda & Annie saw a cute ice fairy named Cirno. She has the power to make snow and ice. When suddenly Big Jet and his cronies flew in and kidnapped Cirno! They were going to take her to the volcano known as Mount Vesuvius and melt her! Will the team rescue Cirno in time for the ice sculpture competition at the winter festival? Only time will tell.

Leo and the lost city. Leo was feeling sad because he lost his photo album, where he keeps all his pictures, even his baby pictures. He wanted to know where it is. Big Jet let him know he didn’t take it. Then the Little Einsteins met Dora and she told them that it’s at the lost city. Can they find it so Leo can be very happy again? And if they succeed, will Dora become an honorary team member? Only time will tell.

[peakyblinders1919]

Intolerable

Steve and fem!reader feedback appreciated. 2.6k, best friends reader and Robin, boyfriend Steve, Scoops, a death elevator, sarcastic jokes and innuendos when high

You thought all those stories your boyfriend told you- by the fire on quiet summer nights, in the dark curled up in each other's arms when he couldn’t sleep and you strained to keep your eyes open for him- were just that. 

Stories. Embellished.

You had no choice but to question the reality of them when you found yourself falling countless stories below the surface of Starcourt mall, in a service elevator that seemed to be damned. You clutched onto Steve, fingers leaving little crescents on the inside of his bicep. 

“What the fuck!”

Not sure who threw the question out so haphazardly, it was masked by the screams of the kids around you. You wouldn’t have been here without Erica, the Sinclair too young to be exposed to something like this, and Dustin, with that loveable toothless smile, who insisted you all follow the clues like a roadmap. The clues heard from a Russian communication Dustin had picked up when he was with you and Steve in the break room of Scoops Ahoy. The clues, translated by Robin, your twin in what felt like a tacky Halloween costume, a sailor cap, red ascot, knee-high socks, and all, sharing a speechless look with you silently asking “what the fuck have we gotten ourselves into.”

Maybe instead of focusing on the fact that you were becoming sick to your stomach, hurtling towards what could be your untimely doom, you focused on something that could bring a smile to your face.

You knew Robin before you knew any of the others, growing up down the street from the quirky girl. Robin, who when she was only six and you were new to the neighborhood, showed you down to her secret spot by the pond and taught you how to catch frogs. There was something about girls who disliked skirts and frogs and muddy converse that bonded them for life. You skinned knees together and shared blankets under the stars during backyard campouts. You took, and failed, your driving tests together, cried over unrequited 7th-grade crushes, studied for Mrs. Click’s seemingly impossible tests. You went to every football and basketball game on Friday nights or Saturday afternoons, not because you enjoyed superficial high school events like that, you could care less, but you were there for Robin, marching around in that silly outfit with the band. The only thing that made sense was to work together slinging ice cream cones to preteens during the summer of ‘85; if you had to work to make some extra cash for your college dreams after high school, why not work with your best friend?

There was nothing to complain about- except the uniform. You and Robin made ice cream sundaes with extra sprinkles, laughed at the customers, took bets on which were one a first date, the hardest thing you’d ever do was peel bananas by hand.

Then he showed up and changed everything.

Steve Harrington.

The name falling from lips like royalty, one didn’t go to, much less graduate, from Hawkins High without knowing the name and reputation that came with it. Those games you went to; Robin was playing clarinet with the band, you were in the last row of bleachers, alone, and Steve Harrington was making the winning basket. Your studying was well rewarded as you and Robin passed Click’s class while Steve celebrated with his buddies three rows back that at least he got a D+ this time.

You didn’t believe in love at first sight, but he made you believe in love at second glance.

Robin was less than pleased when he handed in his paperwork, more when he showed up at your next shift together supporting a white sailor’s hat with Ahoy embroidered on it in blue. She was cooler than you, and had a stronger exterior that was tougher to break than yours. She slung insults, the word “dingus” at him, and teased him constantly about his failed attempts with the ladies, all while scooping strawberry ice cream into cones. You, on the other hand, were a bit warmer, caring less about cliques and reputations and things that didn’t matter outside of school. He caught on quickly, that you were willing to entertain his conversations at the very least, and there was something unexplainable about the way his hair was perfectly swooped and kept under the silly hat but didn’t make him look silly in the least. There was an unexplainable way the blue of his short-sleeved uniform pulled at his upper arms which could convince you the uniforms weren’t as terrible an idea as you originally thought. His presence meant you all had to rotate breaks, leaving you and Steve together most days while Robin sulked in the back, keeping score of all the times he struck out.

And suddenly the tally marks just stopped. There was more laughter flowing into the breakroom from the front counter, sickly sweet smiles, intimate little gestures as he guided you out of the way with a hand on your arm or your back, his one-liners used on you during your shared breaks, and the tally marks stopped. 

And Robin became  victim to her two best friends dating.

You couldn’t believe it either, how it all just fell into place, but it was more believable than this.

“Sorry.” Your apology came a little too late, marks that would turn blue in time left on Steve’s arm, his eyes full of concern on you, and all was quiet again. Loosening your grip but not letting go of the boy next to you completely, out of comfort, you realized the elevator wasn’t falling anymore.

“Where the hell are we?”

No one had an answer that made sense.It didn’t take long to calm down, only to realize you were trapped in a Russian elevator. Sure, you were safe Steve reassured you, all of you. And that’s what mattered. You were safe.

For now. 

Sitting against a box next to Steve, head on his shoulder as you waited, you realized no one knew how long you’d all be stuck there.

“So it’s all real? The demo- whatevers and Dustin’s demodog-”

“His name was Dart!” he says defensively.

“And the upside down, saving Hawkins, the kids, that’s all true?”

Steven only nodded.

With no time to let the truth sink in, you had company. Everything happened in a blur; hiding for the Russian workers, Steve using the mysterious green capsule to hold open the door, him heroically shuffling everyone out of the elevator to safety, the strain in your voice as you called for him to join you just before the capsule broke behind him. 

It was awkward running while holding hands but the events back there left you needy, desperate, and scared, a wicked combination that resulted in you refusing to let go of Steve’s hand. It seemed you were the only one taken aback by this, holding your breath around every close call, squishing into impossible contortions to hide in small places.

It wasn’t until you all miraculously made it to the control room, locked off from the Russians, that you released the breath you were holding in. Well, you thought you were alone. A sudden feeling of dizziness hit you, everyone staring speechless at the Russian guard. You and Steve shared a look, staying close to him, you pulling Dustin and Erica closer to you on instinct even though your arms felt like jello, your legs like led. It was time for Robin to jump to the rescue, impressing you yet again with her quick thinking and coherent Russian. But it wasn’t enough, eyes locked in on the Russian’s right hand, moving inch by inch to the weapon on his belt. You knew Steve had seen it at the same, your protests coming out in squeaked before he was throwing himself at the guard. You watched with helplessness as the Russain’s fist connected with Steve’s jaw. And then, through squinted eyes, you saw Steven standing victorious. 

“Don’t you dare do that again,” you scolded before hugging him to your chest tightly, every breath in and out of your lungs shaky and raw. He nodded, kissed you on your hairline, and made sure you were ok. “I…I’m confused, Steve. Fucking confused.”

“Yeah, it’s a lot to get used to.”

“Then your not going to believe this.”

Watching in horror, fingers interlaced with Steve’s, your eyes fell on the experiment in the room. A portal. A vortex. A black hole, glowing red, leading to the unknown. 

The Upsidedown.

The next phase of the plan was put into place, and when Steve decided to be a hero ago, holding out the Russians with his force, you jumped to his side when he asked for help.

“Y/N, go with them,” he insisted, eyes glazing over the young ones.

“Hell no. I’m not leaving you.”

Robin was next to you, her added strength coming too soon before everything went black.

You woke with a few memories you couldn’t be sure were fully yours, gaps in time that led you to your current position. It was hard to move, impossible even, something pressing heavily on your chest, making it grader to breathe but when you did it left a dull ache of pain in your ribcage. The room was sterile, cold, and unwelcoming, all steel walls and floor and nothingness. There was the odd smell of blood, the lights blinding you as you blinked.

“Robin?” You called, eyes landing on her converse first. 

“Y/N! Thank god, you're awake.”

“Awake?” It took time to come to your senses, but when you did the pain was heavy on you. “Did I have a nice nap?” It made you both laugh, body shaking from the response, and that slight movement made you feel the strain of another body on your right, arm pressed up against someone else’s. “Robin?” Voice laced with concern now, mouth dry, you continued on- “Are we tied together?”

“Never been closer.”

“And Steve?”

Her silence was enough of an answer for you, the heavy weight of the mysterious body next to you belonging to your unconscious boyfriend.

“Is he…”

“Unconcious. Has been for hours. Your lucky you can’t see him.”

“Well is he *alive*?”

“He’s breathing.”

“Steve, babe, Steve, HEY!”

“Hey, would you stop yelling?”

“Oh my fucking god, Steve, Steven Harrington, thank goodness you're awake.”

“What time is it?”

“Shhh. Hey, are you okay?”

“My ears are ringing, and I can’t really breathe, my eye feels like it's about to pop out of my skull-”

“Well I hope your pretty eyes stay in your pretty skull,” you chuckled, knowing without looking how Robin’s eyes were rolling around her skull at your comment, but your best friend knew better than anyone that your fatal flaw, if you had to have one, was using humor in a time of duress.

“Baby?”

“Mmhmm.”

“But you know, apart from that, I’m good. I’m tied up to my girlfriend, I can’t complain, though I wished the first time we did this I had hoped we’d be able to see each other baby.”

Robin cleared her throat. “Ew. I’m here too dingus. The good thing is, they’re calling you a doctor.”

And so came Steve’s sarcastic responses, quick and witty even at this moment. Your voices filled the void, the silence, making comments to make each other laugh, even smile a little bit. You three had devised an idea to cut yourself free using the scissors on the table across the room. The plan left all three of you on the floor, laughing about Click’s class, basketball games in high school, and how nothing back then was important. What was important now was your three, together. Steve admitted he wished he knew back that, knew that none of it mattered, what everybody always told you should matter didn’t. 

It was his last comment to his monologue- “What’s mattered most was finding you”- that left you wiggling against them both, straining your muscles, your fingers reaching as far as they could until your pinkie rested wrapped around his. For a few minutes, it all seemed normal, Robin pretending to gag at you and Steve’s somewhat public display of affection for one another, the two of you pressed together. Normal. Until the Russians returned and only the sound of Steve screaming filled your ears, a needle sunk into your neck, and its effects worked fast.

“Something’s wrong.” Steve’s voice sang through the room like a giggle. You and Robin laughed as well, your best friend admitting that she liked it.

“Are we fucking high? It feels like we’re fucking high. Is Munson here? Is this one of his cruel Dungeon and dragons thingy?” You all laughed until your company was back again. Asking dumb questions.

“Where do you work?”

“Scoops. Scoops ahoy.”

“Lies.”

“Yeah, like I’m wearing this sailor costume for shits and giggles.” You spat at the Russain, big and burly and hairy, standing in front of you, the others in army uniform, the doctor, all scattered around you three.

“Shut up.” The Russian growled.

“Hey, don’t tell my girlfriend to shut up. Only I get to do that.”

“No, you don’t sweetheart.”

“You get one more chance. Where do you work?”

“Hey, we don’t know how to say it in Russian but ice cream, gelato, Scoops Ahoy. What don’t you idiots understand? We scoop ice cream for a living.”

For a second, you thought they had believed you this time, but who you assumed to be the leader gave a signal, a nod, and the doctor had picked up a new tool.

“What’s that shiny toy?” The pliers came into view, and you could tell they were being used for something very dangerous as Steve began to panic.

“Hey, HEY! Whatever it is your doing to my handsome boy over there, don’t let it be his hands. Please not his hands, I need those. I love those hands.”

“Yeah, yeah, listen to her. She’s the one in charge, you know. The one who wears the pants in the relationship, or rather the panties-”

“Steven Harrington!”

“Sorry, I’m sorry babe,” he giggled again. “I’m just trying to-”

“Now is not the time to talk about what’s under my skirt, kapese? They don’t want to hear it, c’mon guys, you want to hear about it?” The men looked at you and shrugged. Steve screamed again. You felt your heart race as you heard the sheer panic in his voice, a man who was crowned a hero didn’t scare easily. 

“Please, please. Not him. Whatever it is your doing to him, do to me.”

“They’re going to rip off my nail,” Steve explained matter-of-factly, as if he wasn’t scared at all.

“No, no, rip off my nails. Anything. You’ve already bruised and broken his pretty, kissable face, give him a break. You're going to kill him. What kind of doctor are you, trying to kill your fucking patients instead of saving him? You won’t get away with this. Dustin and Hopper are going to come in and your Commie asses will be shit out of luck.”

 A beat of silence fell over everyone.

You could practically hear the smile dripping from Steve’s busted lip. “Yeah, that’s my girlfriend. God, I love you, baby.”

“I love you too Stevie. You got all your digits still? I’mma need them after this.”

“They’re here and they’re all yours.”

The Russians shared a look of confusion, Robin mirroring them. “Yeah, I know. It’s like this lovely romantic shit every day, you try working with them.”

“Ah, Robs, we’re not that bad, are we?”

“Absolutely intolerable.”

[vintagecamping]

Backyard campout!

California

1933

[navysealunsealed]

Town Events

1.) Above And Beyond or Hartsville Beer Festival 2.) Chalk It Up or Sweet Saturday 3.) Chopping Block or We React Night 4.) Classic Cash or Skateland 5.) Dart Drop or Slippery When Wet 6.) Enchanted Island or Prestwood Co-Ed Sports 7.) Field Days or Stir Crazy 8.) Get Vertical or Lawton Park 9.) Go Green or Shh! Bid2win 10.) Got Mud or Prestwood Party Boats 11.) Harvest Moon or Rocketcity 12.) Jump Zone or The Crypt 13.) Laser Blitz or Prestwood Lake 14.) League Of Fire or The Vault 15.) Let's Get Together or Yoga Works 16.) Planet Granite or Win Or Die 17.) Split Happens or Ghost Whisper 18.) The Book Box or Breakout Clinic 19.) Get High or Kalmia Gardens 20.) Heart Orchard or Runners Ranch 21.) Smokey Hill River Festival or Turning Earth 22.) Behind The Curtain or Hartsville Night Out 23.) Hartsville Rodeo Company or Lady Godiva 24.) Happy Tails or The Pit Stop 25.) Sweet Meadows Farm & Orchard or The Great Campout 26.) Let's Go Fly A Kite or Lonely Hearts Club 27.) On The Same Page or Backyard Bonfire 28.) Treasure's Untold or Skeet It Up 29.) Slasher Night or Dark Skies 30.) Dutch Hollow or The Big Slope 31.) Warefare or The Best Lures 32.) Starlite or Enchanted Island 33.) Harvest Moon or Urban Garden 34.) Run-A-Muck or Aqua Dawg 35.) Jeffries Creek or Zachary's Basement

[harlow-jackson]

Optional Task 416

Hartsville's Town Events this or that! If you don't know what something is check the Events Tumblr. 1.) Above And Beyond or Hartsville Beer Festival 2.) Chalk It Up or Sweet Saturday 3.) Chopping Block or We React Night 4.) Classic Cash or Skateland 5.) Dart Drop or Slippery When Wet 6.) Enchanted Island or Prestwood Co-Ed Sports 7.) Field Days or Stir Crazy 8.) Get Vertical or Lawton Park 9.) Go Green or Shh! Bid2win 10.) Got Mud or Prestwood Party Boats 11.) Harvest Moon or Rocketcity 12.) Jump Zone or The Crypt 13.) Laser Blitz or Prestwood Lake 14.) League Of Fire or The Vault 15.) Let's Get Together or Yoga Works 16.) Planet Granite or Win Or Die 17.) Split Happens or Ghost Whisper 18.) The Book Box or Breakout Clinic 19.) Get High or Kalmia Gardens 20.) Heart Orchard or Runners Ranch 21.) Smokey Hill River Festival or Turning Earth 22.) Behind The Curtain or Hartsville Night Out 23.) Hartsville Rodeo Company or Lady Godiva 24.) Happy Tails or The Pit Stop 25.) Sweet Meadows Farm & Orchard or The Great Campout 26.) Let's Go Fly A Kite or Lonely Hearts Club 27.) On The Same Page or Backyard Bonfire 28.) Treasure's Untold or Skeet It Up 29.) Slasher Night or Dark Skies 30.) Dutch Hollow or The Big Slope 31.) Warefare or The Best Lures 32.) Starlite or Enchanted Island 33.) Harvest Moon or Urban Garden 34.) Run-A-Muck or Aqua Dawg 35.) Jeffries Creek or Zachary's Basement

[rykeranders]

Hartsville's Town Events this or that.

Optional Task 416 - January 24,2023 1.) Above And Beyond or Hartsville Beer Festival 2.) Chalk It Up or Sweet Saturday 3.) Chopping Block or We React Night 4.) Classic Cash or Skateland 5.) Dart Drop or Slippery When Wet 6.) Enchanted Island or Prestwood Co-Ed Sports 7.) Field Days or Stir Crazy 8.) Get Vertical or Lawton Park 9.) Go Green or Shh! Bid2win 10.) Got Mud or Prestwood Party Boats 11.) Harvest Moon or Rocketcity 12.) Jump Zone or The Crypt 13.) Laser Blitz or Prestwood Lake 14.) League Of Fire or The Vault 15.) Let's Get Together or Yoga Works 16.) Planet Granite or Win Or Die 17.) Split Happens or Ghost Whisper 18.) The Book Box or Breakout Clinic 19.) Get High or Kalmia Gardens 20.) Heart Orchard or Runners Ranch 21.) Smokey Hill River Festival or Turning Earth 22.) Behind The Curtain or Hartsville Night Out 23.) Hartsville Rodeo Company or Lady Godiva 24.) Happy Tails or The Pit Stop 25.) Sweet Meadows Farm & Orchard or The Great Campout 26.) Let's Go Fly A Kite or Lonely Hearts Club 27.) On The Same Page or Backyard Bonfire 28.) Treasure's Untold or Skeet It Up 29.) Slasher Night or Dark Skies 30.) Dutch Hollow or The Big Slope 31.) Warefare or The Best Lures 32.) Starlite or Enchanted Island 33.) Harvest Moon or Urban Garden 34.) Run-A-Muck or Aqua Dawg 35.) Jeffries Creek or Zachary's Basement