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fiddlepickdouglas · 3 years

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Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 13 - Sketch/Ache

Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, so close yet so far, 3k

@trevor-wilson-covington is the bestie who makes these lovely edits, we stan supportive friends

WARNINGS: death mention

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12

October already? Looking at the work schedule posted on the wall, Willie ran a hand through his hair. The time really was just passing him by, huh? Another day over, he grabbed his skateboard and strapped on his helmet.

“Hey, Willie?” His manager, Kyle, called after him before he got through the back door.

“Yeah, man?” Willie turned to answer him.

“This Saturday we need some extra hands while we’ve got a group performing. Could you be there?”

“Totally, man,” he said, smiling with assurance before heading out into the street. Los Angeles was fresher than Vegas, at least for him. He loved the breeze from the ocean that swept in every evening and being near the water in general. There was so much more to do, as well, and he didn’t think he’d ever exhaust that list. Just the number of places to skate was constantly growing, without mentioning the rest. Of course, he had been hoping to do some of them with Alex by now, but that was easier said than done. Sunset Curve didn’t seem to be doing too many shows at the moment, and that was all he really had to track him with.

Stopping at an antiquated apartment building, he headed down a stairway into the basement and burst through the door.

“Guess who’s home!” he cried. Sheldon came pattering over with his ever-cheerful prrrp and rubbed against his leg. Kneeling to pet him, Willie chuckled. “Aww, I’m happy to see you, too.”

He immediately went over to the cat’s bowl and poured some food in, listening to Sheldon purr loudly as he ate his dinner. Willie grabbed some food for himself to snack on as he sat at his desk and looked at the unfinished drawing that had been left there early that morning. He’d begun covering his walls in sketches again, and this time he didn’t have to be afraid of everything being torn away. In fact, Willie couldn’t even believe he had convinced himself that his life was fine when staying with Caleb.

Things had changed entirely. Since his brief adventure out in the desert, Willie was fully independent. He owed most of it to Bessie, still, and he thought of that woman every day. She hadn’t left him any way to contact her, otherwise he’d want to send her a thank you card at least once a week. It even overshadowed the fact that he’d actually ridden in a plane with Harrison Ford.

Willie remembered how incredibly short the flight had been in comparison to the rest of his journey. Bessie had donated an old cat carrier that they strapped into the cabin for Sheldon while Willie joined Harrison in the cockpit. It was nothing like watching the man fly the Millenium Falcon, except that it felt like they had gone into lightspeed and landed not too long after taking off.

“You should be proud,” Harrison had told him. “You didn’t get sick.”

It had taken Willie until after they landed at the Santa Monica Airport to realize that he’d hardly spoken a word because he kept looking at him in pure shock at the reality of the man. His embarrassment must have appeared obvious, because Harrison Ford leaned down to look him in the eye.

“I’ve seen it a million times, don’t worry about it.” There was something sage about the resting expression on his face.

Chuckling in a flustered manner, Willie tried to think of the best way to thank him.

“Well, that was...that was really amazing, Mr., um...Mr. Ford. Thank you.”

The old actor smirked a little. Willie had seen a handful of actors come through the diner in Vegas before (at least, he’d been told they were famous, since he didn’t recognize most of them), and none of them were nearly as friendly.

“Willie, right?” Harrison had asked. It was enough to get him starstruck all over again, but he managed to nod. “Well, since I’ll never see you again, I’ll give you some advice.”

Willie listened intently.

“If you believe something is worth it, don’t quit. From what I already know about you, it doesn’t look like you do, so I have an extra piece of advice for you: planning and preparation is everything.”

Thinking back to when Bessie had scolded him about not riding the bus, Willie cowered inwardly. He couldn’t imagine how stupid he had sounded then.

“Do you know where you’re headed, kid? I can call a cab to take you anywhere you need.”

“How come you’re so nice?” Willie blurted. He hadn’t meant to.

Harrison Ford bowed his head, still smirking, and looked back up.

“I was twice your age before I really got anywhere. Now I’m just an old man who still does the job. Doesn’t mean I’m always nice, but sometimes….” He shrugged and gave him a wink.

Nodding, Willie had thanked him again. Harrison Ford held out a hand, which he shook with great enthusiasm before accepting the offer for the cab and saying goodbye. When he’d asked to go to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the cab driver had looked at him in confusion.

“You do?” the guy asked. Seeing the definitive nod from Willie in the back seat, he just looked resigned. “Okay.”

Shortly after being dropped off, Willie had realized why the cab driver had responded that way. Standing before Grauman’s Chinese Theater, the street was just another place covered in gum, surrounded by people dressed as other celebrities. He saw other people taking pictures with them, and saw that the ones all dressed up were being paid. Some young woman dressed as Marilyn Monroe was doing her best to catch his interest with a flirty pose and a wink. Awkwardly smiling, Willie turned away and went to explore that area of the city. It was a good thing he hadn’t owned a camera then.

Now, he had decided to get a cheap one, just to capture anything he found interesting when he saw it. He’d accumulated a handful of things in the past few months: the basement apartment, a mattress, his writing desk and chair, and his job at the record-store-slash-cafe, among other things. The fridge had already been in the room, which was a nice perk. It was cool enough that the owner of the building had been willing to rent to him even though he was still underage. Working at the record store was much better than both the diner and the hotel, although his hopes of having Alex or his friends chance to stop in were dwindling some.

For now, it was much like before he’d left Vegas, only without Caleb’s dark shadow constantly looming over him and a few more memories restored. And, of course, he could keep Sheldon with him. It was strange how meeting Alex and being at the Pearl already felt like a dream. Willie often had the thought that maybe he should move on and start planning out whatever he wanted now. Maybe Alex had just been the catalyst to get him out of a bad position and help him move forward.

Staring down presently at the drawing on his desk, Willie sighed. Alex’s smiling face (what he could remember of it) beamed up from the page. Sure, he could tell himself to be over it, but was he really? Sheldon began running about the apartment like he was being chased by an invisible foe, creating a distraction from Willie’s thoughts. After a while, he went to bed and lay awake replaying in his mind the last few moments he’d actually seen Alex. It was still so vivid. If it was no longer important, why could he recall it so well?

He watched as Alex stood up and held out a hand toward him. Taking it, he was impressed by the strength with which he was lifted off the surface of the observation deck. His mind returned to earlier that day when the situation had been reversed, and he wondered if Alex had felt the same exhilaration from that moment of closeness. He already missed the feeling of Alex’s fingers through his hair. Gaining his balance, he let go of Alex’s hand and a nervous giggle escaped as a bout of giddiness came over him.

“You alright there?” Alex teased, grinning.

Shaking his head, almost to clear it like an Etch-A-Sketch, Willie grinned back.

“I’m having a good time,” he told him.

The warm smile that spread across Alex’s face and the way his eyes lit up deserved to be captured forever. Willie was sure he could fill a thousand pages of sketches, even if they were all of that one expression.

“Me, too,” Alex said, eyes wandering all over Willie’s face.

Before Willie could blush too hard, he picked up his skateboard.

“I know some shortcuts that’ll get us back to the hotel pretty quickly,” he started, pressing the button for the elevator. He didn’t want to go back so fast, but he had to remember his early work day in the morning. Caleb always had some sort of laundry list on the days he didn’t immediately go in to work at the diner.

“You’ve been a good tour guide so far,” Alex said as they stepped into the elevator.

Casting a wistful look back at the splendid view of Las Vegas, Willie watched the doors shut. Once they got out to the street again, Willie looked up at the hat sitting on Alex’s head. Impulsively, he lifted it up and put it on backwards, grinning at Alex.

“How does it look?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Alex’s jaw hung open for a moment, his nervous smile betraying him.

“It looks good,” he said in a breathless manner. It was such a cute expression, Willie wished he could make it happen again.

Alex was wishing right then that he could keep a picture of Willie with the hat on. He usually didn’t let people just steal it off his head, but when the result was that handsome he wasn’t going to complain. He’d wait until they had reached the hotel to ask for it back.

“So,” Willie started saying. “Back to L.A. in the morning, huh?”

Ah yes, the feeling of being crushed by reality. Alex bowed his head. He wasn’t excited to address it.

“Uh, yeah,” he sighed. “You know, when I got here I was hoping to just get the gig over with and leave, but that...I kind of forgot about that.”

He glanced up at Willie, not sure how much he should go into detail about why he changed his tune.

“But then you met Sheldon and he was the coolest cat ever, right?” Willie teased.

A chuckle of genuine entertainment escaped his throat. Did Willie know how charming he was? Alex wished he knew how to tell him.

“Yep, it was definitely the cat,” he responded. “Although the owner isn’t too bad, either.”

He got a casual shrug in return.

“Well, I know I’m busy, but I could call you,” Willie offered.

Fear pinched everything in Alex’s chest. It almost made him stop in his tracks.

“God, I - ” he started awkwardly, forcing his body to keep moving. “I can’t. I seriously wish I could, but that’s just...not possible.”

He already hated the words the moment they’d been spoken. His parents suspected enough things about him and his activity with the guys in his band, but they would make his reality pure hell if they ever picked up the phone from a guy they’d never met who had shown as much interest in him as Willie. While he felt fine being open just about anywhere else, at home was where he remained most guarded.

Willie was looking at him with slight disappointment.

“That’s too bad, I guess,” he said. “At least I know I won’t be going anywhere for a while, so you know where to find me.”

It was the only consolation they could afford. Alex wanted to make plans right then and there.

“And what would we do if I did find you?” he asked, knowing he was prodding for signs that he wasn’t the only one with hopes. He tried to relax his stride to appear more casual.

“Lots of possibilities,” Willie told him. “I haven’t shown you my favorite museum, or seen you skate - ”

“Just putting it out there,” Alex interrupted, raising a hand. “I cannot skate.”

Willie blew a raspberry. “Maybe not now, man, but you will by the time I’m finished with you.”

The way he wiggled his eyebrows made Alex think of something much different than riding a skateboard. He cleared his throat nervously as he looked up at the street they were on. The hotel was already a block away.

“Whoa, how’d we get here so fast?” he wondered.

“I know my shortcuts,” Willie said proudly.

Unfortunately, he did. Alex wanted more time to figure out a way to see Willie in the future. There had to be a possibility in the future. His long legs could only go so slowly, however, and soon they were stopped outside the hotel doors.

“Are you gonna make it home okay?” Alex asked. “Wherever that is?”

“I’ll be fine,” Willie shrugged plainly. “It’s not too far.”

For a minute, they stood in awkward silence. Alex could feel his entire body burning to make some gesture that left Willie with the right impression. What would be too forward? A hug? A kiss on the cheek? He’d already checked off holding him and running his hand through Willie’s hair, so he wasn’t going to simply send him off with a hand wave or something.

“Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow before you guys go?” Willie said, smirking optimistically.

“Yeah, maybe,” Alex said, trying to return a smile with the same optimism.

“Oh,” Willie sputtered. He took off the hat and tried to place it back onto Alex’s head properly. It didn’t work, but Alex simply adjusted it into its comfortable backward position. His fingers twitched under the temptation to touch Willie’s hair again.

“One of these days…” he muttered.

“Hm?” Willie perked up curiously.

Oh, no, he’d said it out loud. Damn. There was no way he couldn’t follow up.

“Uh...one of these days I’ll be around here again,” he said, nodding to reassure himself. “I’ll come looking for you.”

Willie could only look up at him and smile.

“I…” Alex began to scratch the back of his neck, but forced his hand down into his pocket. It had to be said. “I definitely like you.”

He watched Willie’s face morph from surprise into a smile, and finally his trademark eyebrow raise.

“So do I,” Willie said, biting his lip.

They both giggled, now that their feelings were out there in the open. It only made Alex ache more to stay. Willie placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You take care, Alex,” he told him.

He nodded. “And you be safe, Willie.”

He got one more glance into those gorgeous brown eyes, longing to toss in a line and anchor himself in them. The dim lights from the street played off of the natural glimmer that was always present.

Feeling Willie’s hand slide off his shoulder and down his arm, Alex could’ve sworn there was a tiny squeeze he received at the end of his fingers before Willie let go and got onto his skateboard. He watched him leave until eventually he was staring out into the darkness all alone. Reluctantly, he headed back up to the hotel room.

Alex was lying awake in his bed, silent tears falling down his cheeks at the bitter memory. His last words to Willie had been powerless to protect him. What sort of sick and twisted universe would let that happen? He knew he had no control over those circumstances, but he still felt that if anyone died in a fire, it should be him. Willie had been too wonderful to deserve it.

Turning to his side, he still hated the sobs that wracked through his whole body months later. Most people would deem it pathetic to hurt this much over someone he’d barely known. It was strange, but it felt almost undeserved, like mourning as he did wasn’t allowed. What about the people that Willie had spent time with every day? How could Alex begin to fathom their pain? To them, his sorrow would appear as empty as if he were crying over Freddie Mercury. This hurt far more than when he’d cried over Freddie.

It didn’t help that he couldn’t tell his family. The guys had been okay at letting Alex have his space, but his parents kept making comments about his sudden upset over everything. They would only see death as something bittersweet, a “better place” to go for people who were doing the right things. Of course he was terrified of death - he wasn’t exactly considered worthy of anything good, by their standards. That only made the loss of Willie that much worse. He hadn’t bothered to explain himself to Abbey. He couldn’t put that emotional burden on her.

Before he could let his mind wander further into the dark, Alex tried to find something else for his brain to put on cycle. Oddly enough, it went back to singing for Julie’s mom at the hospital. The words immediately began to repeat in his mind: we all live in a yellow submarine…. It wasn’t a song that he truly loved, but it was catchy. It was the one Willie had suggested they do. Alex remembered how he’d imagined everyone in that room in their own world together, safe and free from worldly cares. Somewhere full of color and warmth and people could be happy as they were.

That’s all he truly wanted. Maybe he would have that with the band, and maybe he’d get away from his parents and finally be free from all of their pressure, and maybe one day he’d recover and find a guy like Willie again. He wasn’t sure what he really believed just yet, but there had to be something good worth holding onto. If it was just some stupid world where he and his friends lived in a yellow submarine, so be it.

#julie and the phantoms #jatp #fanfic #jatp fanfic #willex #alive au #sunset curve #alex mercer #willie #luke patterson #reggie peters #bobby wilson #julie molina #caleb covington #sheldon the cat #harrison ford #viva las vegas #sketch/ache #fiddlepickdouglas

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triviareads · 3 years

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Peccavi (In which the Bridgertons Talk About India)

1846

It had long since gotten dark by the time the family slowly traipsed into the drawing room at Bridgerton House. Dinner had ran overlong, perhaps due to the gaiety of the younger set, and the unwillingness of the older set to quash it, even as Aunt Sophie had quietly told them her and Benedict received a letter from Alexander, their son, who was now serving under Sir Hugh Gough somewhere in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. The pallor in Sophie’s expression and the dark shadows marring the skin under her eyes indicated nothing good, although none of the family had pressed further with all the children about.

But now, the younger, unmarried cousins had been chivvied off to bed, and Charlotte, along with the remaining family, eyed Sophie and Benedict with some trepidation.

“We didn’t want to say anything more in front of the children,” Aunt Sophie said at last, “but we received a letter from Alex, dated some months ago. He said, then, that they were preparing for war.”

Charlotte’s gaze flickered questioningly towards her husband Lord Clairmont, who looked unsurprised. But Charlotte could not help but shiver, faced with the sheer lack of knowledge her aunt, uncle, all of them, were in possession of, even as Alex was in danger, hurt, possibly dead an ocean away.

Charlotte’s mother spoke first.

“I’m sure he’ll be alright, Sophie. He is such a brave boy,” Kate said in soothing tones to her distraught sister-in-law. “He was always that way- brave, honorable, sensible- the first one in the family to enlist.”

“Besides,” Benedict added, in a seeming attempt to not only comfort his wife, but himself, “Alex is a commissioned officer. He certainly won’t be in the first line of defense. The native troops are there for that.”

“I know,” Sophie whispered. “But I cannot help but wonder- cannot help but think what could have changed since then-” she broke off, her breath hitching.

“Why is this happening?” Aunt Daphne asked quietly. “Why now?”

“I don’t know- well-” Sophie sniffed and unfolded the letter once more, “-He did mention some disagreement- infighting within the Punjab state, I think, but I could hardly make sense of it.”

“Their military is disordered, corrupt, according to Alex,” Benedict stated grimly. “They are a danger to all of them.”

“And so,” Uncle Michael sighed heavily, “It is up to our lot, as usual, to step in and keep the peace.” Michael had briefly been a colonial administrator under the Marquess of Hastings, during his tenure as Governor-General, in Madras.

“And the Company has its own interests too, Uncle,” Edmund added after a beat. “Is that not why they annexed the… Sindh Province, I think? Or what the war with the Chinese was about- the continued trade of opium?”

“Ghastly habit,” Aunt Lucy murmured.

“Free trade must prevail, my love,” Uncle Gregory, who had done rather well for himself by way of such investments, reminded his wife. “We are still Whigs.”

(Charlotte supposed free trade went hand-in-hand with the enormous profits the government was reaping off of this continued trade).

“There is… a greater purpose to all this,” Lord Geoffrey Findlay-Watt, cousin Caroline’s husband, said suddenly. He was generally a quiet man, jovial and happy to cede his share of attention onto others. This prompted everyone to look at him with rapt attention. What Geoffrey did for the Foreign Office was still a bit unclear, although they never really bothered to inquire further. For all all intents and purposes, Lord Geoffrey was merely a third son of a marquess who had become a part of the government bureaucracy.

“There has long been sentiment among certain elements within the government that Russia seeks to steal away our colonies in the east, especially India. They do this by invading much of Central Asia, slowly expanding their sphere of influence, cutting off our trade routes, port access, and such. The British government has a vested interest in preventing our crown jewel from falling into their hands.”

"Thus our efforts in Afghanistan and Sindh,” Lord Clairmont murmured.

Lord Geoffrey finished with, “A Russia-controlled India, indeed, a Russia-controlled Asia, would be nothing short of disastrous for the empire.”

“And so we make war instead,” Charlotte concluded from this little speech.

“We make war to make peace,” David corrected with the partisan fervency he had acquired after four years in the Commons as an MP of East Sussex.

Charlotte raised a brow at this statement. “You’ve been listening far too much to Palmerston,” she told David.

Charlotte's father turned to her with an odd look on his face. “And how exactly would you know of Palmerston’s rhetoric?” Anthony asked.

“She’s been the audience of many of his speeches, sir,” her husband spoke up for her, glancing at her and adding with the air of an inside-joke, “both directly and otherwise.”

Ah yes, one of Palmerston’s favorite methods of opinion-collecting: Whisper some policy or idea in the formidable Lady Palmerston’s ear, and she would proceed to casually mention it in during a party and gauge all the reactions before returning to her husband with this valuable intelligence.

“Of course,” Simon mused, “Pam was always been inclined to take the… active approach.”

Anthony rolled his eyes. “Aggressive, you mean. Although if you asked him, he would admit only to being a loyal servant of the Queen and Country.”

Palmerston, Charlotte had always thought, was many things, but his only loyalty was to himself.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Simon said, “particularly when the Tories seem to shy away from any sort of conflict.”

It was Benedict who scoffed and said, “Whatever peace Peel and Aberdeen may profess to want, that does not discount the fact that we are at war, however far away it may be.”

“And now, soldiers like Alex will have to suffer for it, oceans away from their home,” Sophie concluded bitterly.

Charlotte’s brows furrowed. She understood the worry a mother felt for her son, but they had all known he was a soldier, hadn’t they? Hadn’t they known that war was perpetually on the horizon for a man in his profession?

(What was the old line from Horace as he spoke of war- ah, dulce et decorum est … she winced, suddenly recalling the second half of the stanza).

Then again, despite bearing two children herself, Charlotte often wondered why she did not possess the maternal instinct all her aunts naturally seemed to have in spades.

“Things could very well change, Aunt,” Oliver Crane was saying in soothing tones. “The conflict in these princely states could be resolved as quickly as they started. I have seen it with my own eyes. Many of them are merely quarreling over successions and such, and can be speedily appeased.”

Charlotte exchanged looks with her husband. If Lord Geoffrey’s work at the Foreign Office was generally a bit of a question-mark to the family, most of them had absolutely no idea what it was Oliver did. Charlotte knew a bit more than most of them, thanks to her husband. Brilliant, academic prize-winning Oliver had been introduced to the likes of Lord Geoffrey and Lord Palmerston before he had even graduated from Cambridge, and he had gone off to the East under mysterious circumstances, neither as a tourist nor as a soldier. (And Charlotte had her suspicions that his line of work was not precisely diplomatic in nature).

“Oh yes, I forgot you spent some time there, Oliver,” Sophie said. “Where is it that you were again? Anywhere near-” Sophie consulted the letter she was gripping onto, “-this Punjab?”

“Here and there,” Oliver replied vaguely. “I spent some time in Shimla near the end of my tour- I believe that is somewhat close.”

“Shimla?” Uncle Michael said suddenly, looking up from his whisky.

“Do you know of the place, Uncle?” Oliver asked.

A grin split across Michael’s handsome face. “I was there back in ‘22! This was, of course, when hardly any of our lot ventured there- just a group of civil servants like myself, or chaps looking for adventure. Now I hear it has become rather like Brighton.”

“I can attest to that,” Oliver said dryly. “The governor-general, all his attaches, and soldiers regularly summer there now, and of course, where the gentlemen go, the ladies follow. They have quite the merry time, from what I’ve seen.”

“Like a marriage mart in the tropics?” Kate asked smilingly, seemingly determined to bring some levity into their serious drawing room conversation and cheer up her sister-in-law.

“Yes, they now hold balls, concerts, picnics and all manner of diversions up there.”

Even Sophie could not could not hide her fascination with this notion of a little English city tucked away in the Himalayas.

“I remember when Shimla was not much more than the few odd cottages in the jungle, and villages around it,” Michael reminisced, closing his eyes as an almost-tranquil smile graced his lips. “There are those who liken it to England, because of the weather and such, but for me, there was nothing like it- the coolness of the hills even when the land around it would get blazing hot, the fiery sunsets and the long-moon nights, how you could stumble across some ledge high in the hills, and when you looked out, it felt as though you could see all the world before you.”

“It sounds beautiful,” Kate murmured, entranced- the entire room seemed to be. Only Aunt Francesca smiled indulgently up at her husband, as though he had recalled these tales a thousand times.

"And the people!” Michael went on. “Why, I have never met a more obliging race of people. Every morning, they would trudge up from the villages in the foothills, and perform their daily tasks. I remember one could not even take a carriage around the hills, so narrow were the paths, and instead, the ladies would sit in a jampan, a sort of sedan-chair, and four Native men would carry them ‘round. I have yet to meet more hard-working people than them.”

Sophie spoke after this little speech, sounding pained, “I find it curious how you could praise the same people who are currently waging war against us, against people like your nephew.” She looked at her brother-in-law, her moss-green eyes steely.

Before Michael could respond, Kate said quietly, “Come, Sophie, even you know that civilians and soldiers are not one and the same, even if they hail from the same lands.”

“Besides,” David said with confidence to his aunt, “They will not remain the enemy for long, soldier, civilian, or otherwise.”

“What will they be, then?” Charlotte could not help but ask her cousin. She looked around at all of them- Oliver, Geoffrey, Michael, David, her husband- all of them, caught up in the machinations of the Empire, and wondered what knowledge of the future they held.

Something glittered within David’s gaze when he replied. “One among ours.”

#bridgerton #kate sharma #michael stirling #sophie beckett #benedict bridgerton #benophie #kate sheffield #anthony bridgerton #alexander bridgerton #edmund bridgerton ii #bridgerton fanfiction #period accurate imperialism

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crystalwillow · 4 years

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Fixing A Broken Heart

Paring: Ethan x Casey w/ Bryce & Sienna. (a little bit of Bryce x Casey)

Tagging: @eleanorbloom @brycelahelalover

“Casey honey! It’s time to get up and ready for your new school!”

Casey opened her eyes, groaning groggily as she took in the light that flooded into her room through the cracks in her curtains. She yawned as she got up from under the covers, throwing the curtains open before opening her door, finding her mom smiling at her.

“Ready for breakfast honey pie?”

“Yeah.”

She followed her mom to the kitchen as she rubbed sleep from her eyes and took a seat at the table. She took her hair out and threw it back up in a messy bun, so it wasn’t in her face as she ate, smiling at her mom as she placed her favorite pop tarts and a slice of toast on the table in front of her.

“Thanks mom.”

“You’re welcome sweetie.” Her mom smiled as she kissed her forehead. “Now you remember what time the bus leaves, don’t you?”

“I do mum. 8:15am sharp from the stop just down the road.”

“Great! Don’t be late okay?”

“But I thought you were taking me today?”

“Oh Casey. I forgot to tell you last night. I have an interview this morning that starts at the same time as school does for you.”

“Oh...”

“I’m sorry honey. I know that I promised. Why don’t I buy us Chinese tonight as a treat?”

Casey thought her mothers words over for a brief moment, before settling her face into a happier expression.

“Yeah. Okay. You’ll remember the special noodles I like?”

“I could never forget after your freak out when you were 8 years old. You’d never let it go.”

The two shared a chuckle and a hug before Casey’s mom said goodbye and headed out the front door. After finishing her breakfast, Casey placed her plate in the sink and headed upstairs to grab a shower, get dressed and check her bag had everything she would need. At 8:05am she set off to the bus stop just down the road to wait for the bus to school. The ride was bumpy, loud and had an uneasy setting for Casey. Everyone was looking at her as if she was some type of extraterrestrial being. When the bus stopped outside the school stop, she was the last one off. She hugged herself as she walked towards the front doors of the school building. Anxiety and fear eating away at her. Not knowing where to go by herself she wandered the halls until she came across the one door she was looking for. The principal’s office. She knocked politely and waited to be called in.

“Come in!”

Casey opened the door and stuck her head in and met the principal’s face which changed into a friendly smile upon seeing her.

“Ah. You must be new.”

“Y-yes ma’am. My name i-is C-Casey. Va-Valentine.”

“Come in my sweet. There’s no need to be nervous.” The principal smiled at her warmly.

Swallowing harshly, Casey opened the door fully and stepped inside the office, closing the door behind her and sitting opposite the principal as she finished typing some things on her computer. As she waited, Casey looked around the office noting the name plaque on the principals desk. ‘Principal. B. Witherspoon’

Clearing her throat, principal Witherspoon smiled as Casey snapped her attention towards her.

“S-sorry.”

“For?”

“Looking around. I-it was rude of me.”

“Relax darling. It’s okay.” She offered Casey a kind smile which was half returned. After helping Casey sort her schedule, she walked her to her first class, knocking on the door, walking in and smiling at the teacher.

“Sorry for the interruption, Mr. Nelson. I have a new student for you.”

Casey stood behind the principal and nervously gave the teacher a wave.

“Thank you, principal Witherspoon.”

The principal smiled at Casey and gave her shoulder a quick rub. “You’ll be okay. Mr. Nelson is one of the best teachers we have at this school.”

Casey nodded and the principal left the classroom. Mr. Nelson introduced himself to Casey, and pointed her to a seat at the back of the room next to a boy with long-ish brown hair and glasses. His expression stoic, and eyes that were bluer than any ocean she had ever seen in her life so far. She was so mesmerized by the boy that she almost tripped over another students bag.

“Careful!” The boy who she was staring at exclaimed. Narrowly stopping the accident.

“Huh? Oh! Th-thank you.. um..”

“Don’t mention it.”

Casey took her seat and pulled out her notebook and pen. At the front of the class Mr. Nelson had minimized the PowerPoint and was looking at the class.

“Now. We will now take a few minutes to get to know our new classmate.”

“UM.. well uhhhh.” Casey stammered looking for words, and around the room panicked. She knew this would happen a lot to day, but introducing herself always made her nervous. She could feel a panic attack starting to bubble up inside of her, that’s when as if she was in some movie or a story her eyes met the boys ocean blue ones. They were full of kindness and patience as she stared into them, a small smile crept onto her face. As if she was giving him a silent thank you, he gave her a small and subtle nod. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Casey rose to her feet and smiled at the class.

“Well, my name is Casey Valentine. I’ve transferred here from a school in California. Uhhh, I live with my mum and our dog snowball.” At the mention of her dog’s name, her eyes went wide with horror. “Oh no! I forgot to feed snowball!”

Seeing the panic creeping onto her face, Mr. Nelson done his best to calm her down.

“Now it’s okay Casey. He’s going to be okay. It will be okay.”

Casey sat in her seat and slumped over on her desk as she tried to calm herself down. She knew deep down that he would be okay, but right now she feared she’d go home and find him dead. After that the day passed in a blur of introductions and hard work. When she returned home she called out to her mom but got no response. She looked around the whole house but there was no sign of her. Concluding that she was probably shopping, Casey headed to the kitchen, filling snowballs food and water bowls, crouching beside him as he ate the food enthusiastically.

“I’m so sorry I forgot to feed you this morning snow. It was careless of me.”

She stroked his fluffy coat for a few moments then headed to her room and started on her homework. After she had everything at her desk, she went to open her bedroom window and tie back her curtains. Casey was working hard on a math problem when her phone rang, a smile lit up her features when she saw the name of one of her best friends from back in California. She wasted no time in picking up the call, answering excitedly and with a new burst of energy.

“Sienna!”

“CASEY! I, well WE didn’t think you’d pick up.”

“We?”

“mhm! Bryce is here too!”

“Hey Cassie!”

“Hi Brycie!”

“UGHHHH CASEYYYYYYY. You know I don’t like you calling me thaaaattt!”

“But what fun is life if you can’t tease your friends every now and then?”

“... fine. I’ll let it slip this time. But only because I’m missing you”

“Hey! I miss her too you know!”

Casey chuckled as her two friends engaged in a playful fight on the other end of the line. The three chatted for hours as Casey done her homework, upon hearing the front door open and close again, Casey let out a sigh.

“Guys, I should go. I think my mum just come home.”

“AWWW. Do you really have to go?”

“Yes Bryce, I really have to go. But I’ll call you guys again at the weekend.”

“Awww...” Bryce sighed. Casey could practically hear the pout in his voice as Sienna spoke up

“We’ll look forward to your call! It’s not the same hanging out with out you. I hope we can do it again soon.”

“We definitely will you guys. I love you!”

“We love you too Casey!”

After saying a couple more goodbye’s Casey hung up and rushed down the stairs to the kitchen, following the smell of food.

“Mom? ... Mom!”

She ran over to her and hugged her from behind. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, feeling all of the leftover anxiety and fear from the day flood out of her body as she relaxed.

“Oh! Hey honey pie. How was school?” Her mom asked as she hugged Casey back just as tightly.

“It was okay. I had to introduce myself a lot and I was a little bit scared at first. But I met some friendly faces who helped me out, so I didn’t make myself seem like too much of a fool.”

“Aw, my little girl isn’t a fool. She couldn’t be even if she tried. Though she is extremely goofy at times.”

“Mooommmm.”

Her mom laughed and ruffled Casey’s hair playfully.

“Now, can you set the table and I’ll come over to sort out the dinner.”

The two sat at the dinner table together, smiling and laughing as Casey’s mom asked her what her favourite class is so far. She would of course say Mr. Nelson’s class. Of course when she was asked why she gave the obvious answer.

“Mom.. really? You know that I love biology!”

She wasn’t going to let her mom know that there was a cute boy in the class that she was attracted to in some magnetic way. It was similar to how she felt for her friend Bryce. It’s why she enjoyed teasing him so much. But the feeling towards this boy in her new biology class was somehow a stronger version of what she felt for Bryce. Dinner passed by happily and after rinsing the dishes and placing them in the dishwasher, Casey sat on the couch with her mom and they watched a movie together. After that, Casey was ready for bed. So she stood up and stretched out her limbs then smiled at her mom.

“I’m going to head to bed now. I’m exhausted after today.”

“Okay honey. Sleep well, see you tomorrow.”

“Night mom.”

“Goodnight Casey.”

--- That Weekend ---

Casey had just finished helping her mom put the groceries away when her phone pinged.

“Oh, mom. I promised Bryce and Sienna that I’d call this weekend. Is it okay if I go up and?”

“Of course. I’ll call you when dinner is ready.”

Thanking her mom and giving her a quick peck on the cheek, Casey ran upstairs to her bedroom and shut her door behind her. She hung her jacket up and put her shoes away before flopping on the bed on her stomach and sent Sienna a quick text.

Casey: Hey! Do you guys mind if I facetime you instead?

Sienna: We’d love that!

Casey: Cool, just give me a moment, I think snowball is outside my door!

She got up and opened her door, snowball walking in and jumping on her bed, making himself comfortable. Casey cuddled with him as she waited for Sienna to answer the call. After a couple of rings she picked up

“Bryce stop being so vein! It’s your hair! Casey isn’t going to care what you look like!”

“But I care what I look like Si!”

“Boys!” Sienna sighed with an eyeroll and Casey chuckled

“Hey there!”

“Casey! Hey!”

Sienna and Casey spoke between themselves whilst they waited for Bryce to stop messing with his hair. It took about 15 minutes but soon Bryce came into view of the camera, looking glum and annoyed.

“Awww, Brycie what’s wrong?” Casey asked.

“Shut up.” He pouted as he crossed his arms.

“You’re cute when you’re mad.”

There was a silence as Casey realized what she said after she had said it, turning beet red and giving a small and awkward cough, looking at snowball who now wanted to leave the room.

“One second guys. Snowball wants out.”

She got up and opened the door letting her dog go, before shutting it again and laying back on her bed. The awkwardness hung in the air for a little longer after Casey returned to her phone, before the slight tension was broke by Sienna’s dad coming up the stairs, calling out to her.

“Sienna sweetie? Are you up here?”

“In my room dad! I’m talking to Casey with Bryce”

“Ah darling. I’m going away on another long drive. I’ll be gone for about a week.”

“A week?!”

“... I know it’s difficult sweetheart but it’s all to help us out hey?”

Sienna sighs before hugging her dad tight and following him downstairs to say goodbye properly. Leaving Bryce and Casey alone for a few moments.

“Bryce?”

“Yeah?”

“Uh... for what it’s worth. Your bad hair day kind of suits you”

“...I- Thanks.”

They smiled at each other as Sienna came back and sat down. She took her phone from Bryce and smiled at Casey.

“Soooo...”

“So?... what?”

“Are you going to tell me more about this boy in your biology class?”

Casey blushed furiously as Sienna spoke in a teasing tone and Bryce tensed up a bit. Almost as if he was sensing competition. He looked at Sienna and then at the screen where Casey was still blushing brightly.

“Is everything okay with your dad Si?”

“Nu-uhh. We are not changing the subject Casey Valentine!”

“I have a question.” Bryce cut in. “Is he better looking than me?”

“What?”

“ooo, Bryce looking for the juicy gossip!”

Casey sighed and picked at her nails. “If you guys really want to know. Yes, he is cute. And kind. And misunderstood most of the time outside of class because of his brooding exterior but.. I’m his lab partner now and I’ve been getting to know him. He’s nice.”

“Ohmygosh” You like him!”

“No! I do not! I mean maybe I can see him being my first friend here on the East Coast... But other than that.. no!”

Casey blushed again and felt a pang of a feeling similar to guilt in her chest as she looked at Bryce’s expression.

“Bryce? Are you okay?” Casey asked, and Sienna turned to him.

“Do you feel alright? You’ve gone awfully pale...”

“I... I’m fine. I just, remembered that I need to run an errand before it gets too dark.” Bryce said and then left abruptly. Sienna and Casey shared a knowing look of sadness and understanding.

“He likes me as more than a friend, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah... It looks that way.”

Casey was about to speak again when she heard her mom calling up the stairs that dinner was ready. Turning back to the screen after calling back a quick okay, and smiled apologetically at Sienna.

“Sorry. I’ve gotta go. Mom just called for dinner.”

“Okay! Speak soon?”

“Definitely. Oh and Si?”

“Yeah?”

“When you see Bryce next, tell him to uh.. give me a call? I’d like to talk with him one on one.”

“Sure thing Case. Miss and love you!”

“Bye Si! Miss and love you too!”

The two girls waved goodbye to each other then hung up the call, and Casey put her phone to charge before heading downstairs. Her mom smiled at her as she entered the kitchen.

“How was the call with Sienna and Bryce.”

“It was good.” Casey sighed.

“Only good?”

“Well... me and Sienna kinda found out Bryce likes me when I told them about the boy in my bio class. He acted jealous and then made up this excuse about an errand before bolting off. It’s not like I’m even interested in the boy in bio that way. I only know his first name and that he’s passionate about bio like I am.”

Casey’s mom sighed and placed her hands around Casey’s.

“Listen. Boys are just as complex as girls. But you’re too young to be having boy drama Casey Valentine.” She booped her daughters nose and ruffled her hair, earning a small giggle from Casey before they dug into their meal.

After that night, the next few weeks went past in a blur. Casey heard from Sienna frequently but never heard a word from Bryce. Not one text or call for ages. Until one day she finally had enough of his avoidance game. She was at lunch by herself, and knowing he would most likely be in class, she dialed her old schools number. The scowl on her face was unmissable but she kept her tone level as possible as she spoke to the receptionist that answered.

“Hello, Greenfield Middle School. How may I help you?”

“Hi. It’s Casey Valentine. I’m a former student. I um. I would like to get a very angry message to Bryce Lahela in Mrs. Smith’s homeroom. Can somebody please tell him he is a big headed bitch with an overinflated ego, and he needs to just talk to me.”

“Woah. Sweetheart. You were a very sweet student here. Are things okay at your new school?”

“Things here are fine. I just want my friend to stop being mad at me just because he thinks I like another boy. I’ve wanted to talk with him about it for weeks now. But he’s ignoring me and it’s starting to effect my grades.”

“Okay well um.. We’ll get that message to him.”

Just then Casey froze as Ethan sat with her, opening his lunch box and pulling out his sandwich.

“Thank you. And um... I am so sorry for the harsh language.”

“It’s okay Casey. Goodbye now.”

“Bye.”

Sighing she hung up and placed her elbows on the table, resting her chin in her hands as she stared straight ahead. Ethan swallowed his food and took a sip of his drink, looking straight at Casey as he done so. He could practically see the gears in her brain working. “Are you okay?” He asked, but Casey was zoned out and could barely hear him. It wasn’t until the bell rang and brought her back to the present moment that she noticed Ethan was still sitting there. Looking at her as if he was studying a plant or something. “What?” she asked, and Ethan simply shrugged, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

“I guess I’ll see you in last period.”

“Uhhhh, right.” Casey tried to smile but it didn’t reach her eyes. It seemed pained and forced. She headed to her math class, trying her best to concentrate but her mind kept coming back to Bryce and figuring out he saw her as more than a friend, and somehow it hurt even more that he was ignoring her. Because deep down, she knew she kinda liked him back. She zoned out as she thought about what it would feel like to have his lips press softly against her own. It wasn’t until she heard the teacher shouting her name that she realized how far she had zoned out. Blushing, she snapped her attention back to the front of the class.

“Yes Miss?”

“What’s the answer to question 8c?”

Casey looked down at her text book and read the question, then set a determined look on her face as she turned her gaze back to the teacher at the front of the class. Giving her best smile, she cleared her throat to speak up.

“Of course Miss.The answer is t-“

But she was cut off by another student blurting out the answer. The teacher looking in their direction visibly annoyed.

“Is that what you were going to say Casey?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Pay attention to my class from now on okay?”

Casey gave a nod and the rest of the day dragged by. Even in last period she didn’t smile or engage with the practical properly. Ethan tried getting her to focus, but she just wasn’t in the mood. There was a point where Mr. Nelson had to send another female student to get her from the bathroom. When she returned, she sat in her seat next to Ethan but kept her head down. She had been crying. The one thing she never done at school, because it made her look ‘weak’ and like a perfect target for the popular people because she’s already showing she’s broken. At the end of the day when the school bell rang. She grabbed her bag, stuffing her things inside and rushed out the door and to the bus stop as fast as possible. When her bus arrived she jumped on and secured a seat at the back. Upon getting home, snowball greeted her at the door, but all she could manage to do was stroke his head as she shut the front door before running to her room, shutting the door behind her with a loud bang. Usually she was sad that her mom’s new job finished late, but today she was thankful. She had so many tears left to get out that she just laid on her bed and let them fall. As she was crying her phone rang, “Not the greatest timing Si.” she muttered as she rolled over and fished through her bag to get it out. Her eyebrows raised a little when she saw Bryce’s name across the screen, yet she didn’t answer because she didn’t need him to hear the brokenness in her voice right now. She left it to ring but suddenly this boy was relentless in his attempts at trying to contact her. She knew she should answer, but she just couldn’t. Crying was all she could do right now.

--- In California ---

“Come on pick up. Please pick up.”

Bryce paced in Sienna’s room as he waited for Casey to answer her phone. Sienna was sitting at her desk doing homework, or at least she was trying. Bryce had been pacing for about 5 minutes when she had finally had enough.

“Bryce could you please just sit down.”

“I can’t Sienna. She’s not answering. What if she’s in danger? What if she’s hurt somewhere. What if she’s... with him...” Bryce said, swallowing hard as he spoke his last words.

“Bryce.” Sienna sighed and got to her feet. “I’m sure she’s fine. She’s probably having dinner or time with her mom. You know she’s three hours ahead of us now.”

“I know it’s just..... I really like her Si and I’m scared I’ve lost her to someone else.”

“Well.. Have you thought about the third possibility here?”

“Third possibility?”

“Yeah. That she’s ignoring you to show you how it’s felt for her these past few weeks. She’s usually so bubbly. But every phone call I’ve had with her recently.. she’s sounded deflated and not like the Casey we know and love so much.”

“Oh God. What if I broke her? She probably hates me now! I should never have stormed off like that when- Oh God.”

Bryce sat on Sienna’s bed, his hands now trembling as he dug his fingers into his hair and pulled. A mix of anger, guilt and sadness in his chest. “GODDAMNIT!” he said harshly through clenched teeth. Sienna sat next to him, placing a comforting hand on his back. In that moment he broke too. He let himself fall into Sienna shoulder as he sobbed. He said some words as he sobbed but she couldn’t make them out. Sienna was stroking Bryce’s arm as her bedroom door opened slowly and her mom popped her head in.

“Si? I heard a shout is everything o- Oh! What’s happened?”

“Just some girl trouble.”

“... This is about Casey isn’t it?”

Sienna looked at her mom shocked for a moment before looking at her sorrowfully and giving a small nod. Her mom came into the room and pulled up a chair near Bryce and Sienna.

“Look. I may be old. But I’ve seen the way you look at that girl Bryce. So what’s happened? Did she reject you? Has she got a boyfriend at her new school? What’s up?”

Bryce hiccupped as he tried to calm himself down to speak but it didn’t work. Every time he got ready to speak, emotion overwhelmed him again.

“Casey is sort of crushing on this boy in her bio class. She won’t openly admit it. But what she has admitted is that she likes Bryce back. Only she’s giving him a taste of his own medicine because the last time they spoke, Bryce got jealous when she told us about this boy and stormed off. He hasn’t tried contacting her until tonight when she’s tried reaching out constantly. The only reason he’s snapped back to reality, is because she called the school office today and asked for a message to be passed on.”

“I see. Well, Bryce, maybe just wait it out? She’ll call you back. I’m sure she’s just a mess at the minute and doesn’t want you to hear her broken. I done a similar thing when I was your ages and had the attention of two very attractive boys.”

“Really? Mom, how come you’ve never told me this?!”

“Because I was saving the story. But it’s how I met your father. I fell in love with him and those boys ran home to nurse their wounded egos after being chewed out by your dad for showing me disrespect by fighting over me.”

Bryce sniffled and sat up straight, looking at Sienna’s mom with bright red circles around his eyes. Sienna handed him a tissue.

“Thanks Si.” He blew his nose and cleared his throat before speaking to Sienna’s mom.

“So what you’re saying is, if I want any chance of dating Casey I have to not fight over her with another guy like she’s a prize?”

“Exactly my sweet. Girls hate being treated like they’re some trophy prize in a race. They just want love, loyalty, respect and to get to know you. The real you that’s inside here.” Sienna’s mom patted her chest over her heart with a kind smile as she looked back at Bryce. “Treat her like the beautiful human she is and never lose track of the fact she’s just that. Human. Not a trophy.”

Bryce sniffled again and gave Sienna’s mom a grateful smile and a small nod.

“Thank you, Mrs. Trinh. I’ll remember that.”

“You better. Otherwise I’ll whoop your ass.”

The three laughed together and shared a hug, Sienna’s mom then leaving and heading back downstairs. Bryce looked at Sienna and gave a shy smile, eyeing the shoulder of her shirt.

“Sorry about soaking your shoulder.”

“It’s okay. You feel better now?”

“Much.” He smiled.

“Then I’m doing my job of being a friend well.”

“Are you kidding Si? You’re the best friend a guy like me could ask for!”

“Aw Bryce! You’ve gone all soft!”

Sienna carried on teasing him for a little while before her mom called them for dinner, and they rushed down the stairs. The aroma’s of another amazing homecooked meal hitting their nostrils before they were even half way to the dining room.

--- Back On The East Coast ---

Hours had passed since Casey had gotten in and cried herself to sleep as she waited for her mom to get home. Ignoring phone calls from Bryce. Since then she had been woken up, had dinner and spent some time with her mom. She now sat in her room at her laptop as she watched some videos on the internet. It was late but she couldn’t sleep. Everything was becoming too much. She paused her video and picked up her phone from her desk, taking it off charge. Her hand shook hesitantly over Bryce’s number before just pressing call. Finding herself immediately pacing the length of her room back and forth until he picked up.

“Casey! I uh mean.. Casey. Hey.”

She wanted to giggle at him. Hearing his voice after so long brought a smile to her face and renewed her energy.

“H-hey Bryce.” She spoke shyly down the phone. “Are you okay?”

“Ye- I- ... No. I’m not. I’m not okay at all.”

“Why? What’s wrong? Did you fail your math test again?”

Bryce let out a small chuckle as a soft smile spread itself on his features. She still had a sense of humor like his Casey always had. ... His Casey. He smiled even more at the thought of calling her that.

“...um Bryce? Are you still there? ... Hello?”

He snapped back to reality and cleared his throat.

“Hi. Yes, I’m still here hon- Casey.”

Damn it Bryce. Control yourself, she’s not your girlfriend yet. Casey smiled and continued talking.

“I’ve missed you Bryce.”

“I.. you have?”

“yes. I’ve hated every part of the last few weeks. At first Ethan helped me out a little. But-”

“Ethan?”

“Oh. Right. I never told you guys his name. The boy from my biology class. His name’s Ethan.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“If it helps. He doesn’t do relationships you know. He doesn’t want the distraction and I don’t even think he likes me back. So you have no competition. If that’s what this has been about.” Casey said and she stopped pacing and sat on her bed.

“Competition? I-, Yeah you’re right. I guess I did see him as competition.”

“Well you can relax. Okay Brycie?”

“Heh. I didn’t notice how much I missed you calling me that until now.”

“Sooo. Are we...”

“Yeah. We’re good.”

“Woop!”

Bryce chuckled at Casey, wishing he could hug her. He let out a long sigh, a clear indication that something was wrong, which immediately made Casey frown.

“What’s wrong, Bryce? Seriously. You’ve never sounded so glum.”

“I’ve never gone so long without being able to give you a hug.”

“... Our hugs. They were never just hugs were they?”

“What do you-”

“Bryce, come on. We’re both smart kids. Those hugs were more to you weren’t they?”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line until Bryce let out another sigh. But this one sounded a little different.

“Yeah... they did. They were um... They were my way of saying that I like you more than you’ll ever know.”

Now it was Casey’s turn to be silent as she processed his words. He sounded so sure. Almost as if he wanted to say a different four letter L word, but wouldn’t. She could understand why. They were still young, how could they know what love actually is? That’s what older generations would say anyway. “You’re only 14, you wouldn’t know the meaning of love if it hit you in the face!” She let out a small laugh at the subtle obscenity of her thoughts, forgetting she was on the phone until she heard Bryce’s hesitant voice again.

“Um, Casey...”

“Ah! Hoooo. Don’t scare me like that!” She whined and Bryce chuckled.

“You zoned out huh?”

“... yeah.”

“Look. When can I see you again. I miss you so much! Sienna does too but-”

“I get it Bryce. You want to hug me again.”

“... yeah. I do.”

“There’s always the summer.”

“But... that’s ages away and I.. Well uh-”

He sounds so shy and different. Maybe his voice has broken a little bit? Casey didn’t know for sure, but his tone did sound a little deeper. They spoke for a little while longer before Casey started yawning, sleep quickly wanting to take over her body.

“Getting tired huh?”

“... mmm, yeah.”

“Then I shall let Sleeping Beauty go and get her Beauty sleep. Even though she looks beautiful with bags under her eyes too.”

“UM. RUDE!”

“Only being truthful...”

They laughed together, the sound genuine and full. Then they said their goodbyes and hung up, both going to bed to get what sleep they could. Glad they had gotten over the bump in their relationship at last.

The months passed by and suddenly spring break had arrived. Casey was waiting out the front of the school for her mom to come and pick her up when a figure stopped beside her. She was watching a video Sienna had sent her of Bryce doing something real goofy, so she didn’t speak or look up to greet whoever it was until the video finished.

“Oh, Ethan. Hi”

“Hey. Uh...”

She could see he was nervous, so she locked and bagged her phone then gave him a friendly smile.

“How can I help? Did I accidently keep your pen again?”

“No. Nothing like that.” He chuckled. Casey froze. It was the first time she had heard him chuckle so genuinely.

“...Oh. so uh, what’s up?”

“This is going to sound so stupid. But um. My dad is going to be working late and I’ve locked myself out of the house. Would it be okay if I uh.. came to yours until he could pick me up? I would ask someone else but you’re actually the only person I consider, a friend.”

Casey looked up as she saw a car, her mom smiled and waved at her through the window. Casey smiled and waved back, then turned her attention back to Ethan.

“Let me just ask my mom. It should be okay, but I wouldn’t want to do anything wrong.”

“Yeah. Sure.” He smiled at her and she walked to the car, opening the trunk and throwing her bag in before opening the passenger side door, sticking her head in.

“Hey mom? Ethan’s locked himself out of his house. Could he come home with us until his dad can pick him up later?”

“Sure honey.”

“Thanks mom.”

She stood up straight and called out to him, he walked over and got in the back as Casey secured her front seat and turned on the radio, singing along to the pop songs all the way home. When they got inside, snowball raced towards Casey almost knocking her over.

“Hey boy!” she exclaimed as she crouched down and ruffled his furry coat as he licked her face. “Oh! I’ve missed you too buddy! Did you have a good day?”

Snowball woofed excitedly and Casey grinned back, pretending to understand, talking back in between each woof. Her mom made her way to the kitchen as Ethan stood by the now closed door awkwardly.

“An adventure?! Into space? ... No way! You’ll have to take me next time. I’d love to see your rocket ship!” She giggled as snowball jumped on her, giving her a hug before walking off to find Casey’s mom. She stood up and turned to Ethan, still smiling.

“Is that-?”

“That’s snowball yeah.”

“He seems very.... Energetic.”

Casey threw her head back a little as she laughed and nodded. “He is. But he’s such a lovely dog.”

She was about to suggest going upstairs when Ethan’s stomach interrupted the unspoken thought as it grumbled loudly.

“Would you like a snack? We have plenty of supplies.”

“Oh. No. I couldn’t take your food. I’m only taking shelter here until I can go home.”

At that moment Ethan’s phone pinged. His face fell as he read the message.

“Ethan.. what is it?”

“My dad.. He um. Won’t be able to get me until the morning. Where am I going to go now?”

“You can stay in our guest room. Or we could have a sleepover in the living room.”

“A sleepover? That’s ridiculous.” He said, trying to hide the tiny smile that was creeping onto his features. He didn’t want to admit he actually liked the idea.

“It’s not. Look, let’s ask mom if you can stay the night and then we can decide on sleeping arrangements.” Casey went to the kitchen in search of her mom.

“Mom?!”

“In here honey pie!”

She followed the sound to the living room and sat next to her mom on the couch, looking at her with a smile.

“What’s up?”

“Could Ethan stay tonight? His dad can’t pick him up until the morning now.”

“Oh honey, of course! We can’t just throw him onto the streets!”

“Thanks mom. If we wanted to. Would it be okay to sleep in here?”

Her mom gave her a smile and squeezed her arm gently. “Of course.”

She hugged her mom and returned to Ethan, a light bouncy energy about her as she smiled from ear to ear. “It’s okay for you to stay. Now let’s get you something to eat.” She said, grabbing his wrist and pulling him to the kitchen as she ignored his protests. “What would you like? Something sweet? Savory?” She turned to him as she closed a cupboard.

“C-could I have a grilled cheese?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

Casey grabbed the bread and made two grilled cheese sandwiches then handed Ethan his.

“Let’s go upstairs!”

“Um. Okay.”

Ethan followed her hesitantly and they enter her room, Casey closing the door behind him.

“Um shouldn’t you-?”

“What? Leave it open? No. My mom trusts me and besides even if we were older, we’re just friends. We wouldn’t be engaging in that kind of activity.” She sat on her bed and patted the spot next to her, gesturing for Ethan to sit down. He hesitated then sat on the floor. Casey gave him a look, but he just shrugged. They ate their food then Casey took the plates to the kitchen and washed them up before returning to her room and climbing back on her bed.

“Are you seriously studying right now?”

“Yes. Studying is imperative if you want good grades and I want good grades so..”

“You can be such a killjoy Ethan.”

He wished he had a witty comment ready to fire at her, but he didn’t so he just smiled before going back to his book. Casey was flipping through TV channels when her phone rang. She looked at the screen and smiled before answering it. Normally she would put it to her ear, but it was a facetime call, so she held it in the air, earning a weird look from Ethan as she pressed accept.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why are you looking at me like that?”

“I-”

“Casey?” someone said on the call

She shook her head and then smiled at the screen.

“Hey Sienna!”

“Am I still a ghost to you on these things?” Bryce joked as he poked his head in the corner of the screen.

“No Bryce. You’re not. But, if you aren’t on screen when I look, I’m always going to assume that Si is alone.”

Bryce rolled his eyes good naturedly then disappeared again.

“Where are you guys anyway?”

“We’re in Target. We’re choosing snacks for the picnic tomorrow.”

“You guys better not have too much fun without me.”

“How could we? You and Bryce together were the fun.”

“Which means.” Bryce said as he came back into view, arms full of chips and other delicious looking snacks. “We will only ever have half the fun whilst you’re gone.”

Casey smiled at that. She was so thankful for them. Most people would have given up contact like this by now if their friend had moved as far away from them as Casey had from Sienna and Bryce. But almost every day like clockwork, there they were. Calling her, facetiming, being there with jokes and ready to help her study when she needed it. Their bond and friendship was pure and true. It just felt right. Bryce and Casey didn’t know if they were going to try at being more than just friends, but they knew they seriously liked each other, and it showed. In the past few weeks, they had gotten comfortable with sharing light hearted flirty jokes. She was talking to them about what she was probably going to be doing over spring break without them when Ethan waved to get her attention.

“One second guys.”

She kept the camera on herself and looked at Ethan.

“What’s up?”

“I can’t figure out the answer to this math question. Could you help quick?” Ethan asked

Casey smiled and moved from her bed next to Ethan on the floor. Looking at the question.

She looked at the equation but the longer she looked the more stumped she started to feel. She read the full question over and over but the equation that needed to be answered left her at a loss for thought, let alone a loss for words.

“I... I don’t know.”

“Ugh. This is stupid!” Ethan exclaimed and slammed the book shut, taking off his glasses and rubbing his hands over his face.

“Well why don’t you put the books away and come say hi to my friends from my old school?”

“Because they’re exactly that. You’re friends. I don’t do friendships. Well... unless it’s you. Everyone else at school is dumb.”

Casey chuckled at him and shook her head. She’d forgotten her phone was angled at her, meaning Sienna and Bryce could probably see him anyway.

“Is that Ethan?” Sienna said, their attention snapped to Casey’s phone to find Sienna smiling at them. Bryce was doing his best to look friendly, but Casey could see he was kinda jealous that she had another guy friend. Casey smiled at the screen and ruffled Ethan’s hair as she nodded. He scowled at her but she just grinned, it took him a while, but he clicked.

“You done that on purpose!” he exclaimed

“Yup. This is Ethan. The least approachable 14 year old you’ll ever know.”

“I am not unapproachable.”

“Are to.”

“Then why do you approach me?”

“I don’t. If I remember correctly, you’re the one who seeks me out a lunch sometimes. And if we’re ever in the same hall. You come to me.”

“Well yeah. Because we have biology together. If you don’t want a walking partner, I’ll stop.”

“Uh-huh.” She gave him a knowing look and the four carried on talking for another hour before Casey had to hang up and put her phone on charge. They moved to Casey’s bed and put on some medical TV show Ethan liked. He was super engrossed, but Casey felt tired and didn’t want her eyes to strain more than necessary so rolled on her side, facing away from Ethan and closed her eyes. She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew her mom was standing in her doorway, calling her name.

“Casey. Casey!”

Casey jolted awake but didn’t sit up fast enough, and ended up rolling off the bed. As she landed the was a yelp of pain and Ethan lent over to look down at her.

“Are you okay?”

“I hit my head.”

“Here.” Ethan held his hand out and helped her up. She laid back on her bed, tears stinging her eyes.

“I’m sorry poppet. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Her mom said, coming in and sitting on the edge of the bed. “I only came to ask what you kids would like for dinner. I’m ordering Indian.”

“Same as always please mom. Chicken Korma, rice and naan. Also extra poppadum’s for snacking on later.”

Ethan looked at her with his mouth agape.

“You do that too?”

“Do what?” Casey asked

“Get poppadum’s for snacking on.”

“Yeah. Why?”

“I do that. I thought I was alone.”

“You’re never really alone.”

He smiled before giving Casey’s mom his order and she left to order it. When it arrived they sat around the dining table talking about school, how work went for Casey’s mom, and Ethan told them a bit about what it was like for him growing up on the east coast so far. After dinner, Casey and Ethan moved sleeping supplies to the living room. Casey told spooky stories, and Ethan tried his best to keep a stoic expression at all of them, though internally, he admitted to himself that some of them were scaring the shit out of him.

After that night, Casey and Ethan were inseparable. They done almost everything together. If he wasn’t at Casey’s house to study after school, they were at his. They had started hanging out every lunchtime and despite the weird looks everyone gave them, they smiled and laughed as they carried on with their conversations. When summer break came round, Ethan was at Casey’s to say goodbye as she was going back to California to see Bryce and Sienna for 3 weeks. They were some of the most boring weeks he had experienced in a while. He didn’t notice how happy he was to have her as a friend until she had left. When she came back, she stopped at his house to give him a gift and say hi. Soon the months had turned into years and they were in the last stretch of their senior year. Ethan developed feelings of attraction to Casey as they got older, but had to restrain himself from taking action on them, because on her 15th birthday, she started a relationship with Bryce. They were happy together despite the hardships the distance brought them. They made an effort to see each other in person as much as they could. But by halfway through senior year, Bryce wasn’t feeling as enthusiastic about things as he had been. One day he called Casey. She answered happily but by the end of the call, she couldn’t focus on anything. She laid in the middle of her bed, cuddling a pillow as tears stung her eyes, her heart continued to shatter, and his words echoed in her head.

“Casey... I don’t think this is going to work much longer. We either need to be just friends or just go our own ways.”

She was broken. She really loved Bryce, and he loved her back. At least that’s what she thought. But after that call, doubt after doubt came into her mind. Her tears were hot and stung her eyes. She didn’t leave her room that night and the next few days she completely skipped school. She couldn’t see anyone, and she didn’t want anyone to see her. How could Bryce do this to her? She wanted so badly to ask Sienna if he’d been acting differently at all, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead, she ignored every message and incoming call she got. The furthest she moved was to use the toilet or get a drink. She hated what she was feeling. She cried, day and night all alone in her room until finally one night when she was in the middle of what felt like her millionth time crying, her door creaked open and a head popped in.

“I’m fine mom. I’ll go back to school Monday, just like I promised.”

“Casey... I’m not your mother.”

She looked at the door and saw Ethan standing there, he had pushed the door wide open and was holding a bag.

“What’s in the bag.”

“Everything needed to help you feel better.”

“I’m not going to feel better Ethan. I’m broken. No tape, bandage, glue or amount of chocolate is going to fix me. I loved.. no I love him.”

Ethan sighed. He’d been talking with Sienna through Pictagram DM’s, and the two were sharing mutual feelings of disgust and horror at the videos and pictures taken secretly that Sienna was sending. He didn’t love Casey anymore. If he ever did at all. He was acting like the perfect stereotypical jock. He’d dumped Casey and gotten together with the bleach blonde barbie looking cheerleader. It was so cliché that it made Ethan sick. She didn’t deserve this kind of treatment. Bryce had sworn to Ethan he would never break Casey’s heart. Yet here she was, in bed, skipping school and looking more disheveled than a well-used mop, crying over a boy who broke her heart and no longer loved her back. Ethan stepped in the room and closed the door, walking over and sitting on her bed next to her.

“You’re right. You’re not going to feel better with just chocolates, a hug or two and cheesy rom-com movies. Not even trash talking him is going to help you fully heal from the pain you’re feeling. But I’m here for you Casey. Always have been. Always will be. Sienna too. She’s planning to come and see you as soon as possible.”

Casey brought her gaze to Ethan’s face and his heart panged in his chest at how red and swollen her eyes were. He controlled the rage he felt inside towards Bryce and smiled at her kindly, she couldn’t manage a smile back, but she did sit up and crawl into his lap. This is what she had needed, hugs from her best friend on the east coast. She had gotten a few from her mom, though they didn’t feel as comfortable as Ethan’s did. He grabbed her blanket and wrapped it round her shoulders before continuing the hug. He didn’t know how he was going to do it, but he had just given himself the job of fixing a broken heart.

Monday came quicker than Casey would have liked. She pulled herself out of bed and got ready for school, practicing her game face in the mirror but there was no point. She was sad. The kind of sad you can’t hide no matter how much you smile, scowl or keep a neutral expression. Sighing, she grabbed her bag and headed downstairs, opening the front door to head out only to be met with a smiling Ethan.

“Ready?” he asked as she looked at him perplexed

“No.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

He grabbed her hand and together they walked to school. He would have linked their arms but that felt too joyous. It was something they done as they walked along happily before breaking out into a skip. And there was no way he was going to let her stubbornness make them late. Holding her hand felt like the only option left, though as they neared the front of the school, Ethan acted as though he was dragging Casey behind him.

“I really don’t want to be here.” She whined.

Perfect. She was helping his case and unintentionally too. There wouldn’t be gossip and rumors today surrounding Ethan and Casey’s relationship status with each other. The day was tough. Everyone was asking where she had been, if it was true she’d been dumped and if she was with Ethan now or still single. Ethan fielded all the questions like he was her personal press secretary, and protected her like her bodyguard all day. They were sitting together at lunch when a familiar looking bleach blonde caught Ethan’s eye. Halting his conversation with Casey briefly, he looked at his phone. He went onto his messages with Sienna, silently cursing under his breath when his suspicions were ultimately confirmed. He thought she went to the same school as Bryce. He was typing out a message when he heard Casey scoff loudly.

“Ugh. What is she doing here?”

“Who?” Ethan asked, stopping typing for a minute and looking up from his phone.

“Melissia Haywood. I thought I got rid of her when I left Cali.”

“You.. know her?”

“Yeah. She’s the reason I moved here. She bullied me the whole way through school, until one day, I couldn’t take it anymore and made a scene until mom agreed to let me move.”

“Uh.. then I guess you should h-” he was cut off by Melissia’s voice as she stopped in front of Casey “hear it from me.” he mumbled but Casey didn’t hear him finish speaking over the volume of the other girls voice.

“Casey!” she shrilled

“What do you want?” Casey said monotonously as she took a sip of her water.

“Well I came here to say thank you.”

“To whom?”

“To you of course. Silly.”

“Why me?”

“Because you dumped Bryce so he could be happy with me. Finally!”

In that moment everything and everyone else froze around her as she zeroed in on Melissia’s smug face. Every emotion that had started to even out, came flooding back with full force, only this time it felt 100 times more painful. Bryce had dumped her for Melissia? Why the fuck would he do that? He knew what she had done to Casey. He was even there most times to help her back on her feet again. Now he had dumped her and gotten together in a relationship with the bleach blonde whore. She rose to her feet and tackled Melissia to the floor. Punching, kicking, spitting, hair pulling. Anything she could do to hurt Melissia. A crowd was around them instantly, cheering Casey on when they saw that she had the clear advantage. Ethan tried pulling Casey off Melissia, but her legs were hooked around the girl beneath her tight. He got her off finally with the help of a teacher and took her inside to their classroom.

Back in the courtyard Melissia was laying on the ground, bloody, her hair a mess and some bruises already forming on her skin. Teachers worked to disperse the crowd and get them to classrooms. Casey sat in the classroom fuming. You could almost see the steam coming from her ears. Ethan wanted to hug her, but he didn’t want his contact to be unwanted.

“Do you need a hug?”

“No, Ethan. I don’t. I need to punch that whores face in until she can no longer see and needs a thousand surgeries to reconstruct it!”

“Why don’t I just get you a punching bag instead?”

“Is it going to be her face?”

“No... Not exactly. But we could stick a picture of her face on it.”

The anger now left her body and was replaced by hurt as she started crying. Yeah, she needed that hug now. Ethan opened his arms and she ran into them. Locking her hands round his torso and sobbing loudly into his chest.

“WHHYYYYYYYY. WHY WOULD HE DO THIS TO MEEEE?” she cried loudly, gripping onto his jacket tightly. Ethan wanted to tell her it was okay, that everything was going to be fine. But he knew that wouldn’t help Casey right now. All he could do was rub her back soothingly and whisper “I’m here” as they waited for someone to come and get them. They sat waiting and Casey’s cries eventually subsided into hiccups. The room was quiet but then her phone rang. She’d know the number anywhere, it was Bryce. The first time he’d called in a while, but she just ignored it. “Who is it?” Ethan asked when it just kept ringing. “Him.” She snarled, arms crossed and still ignoring the call, but Ethan picked up.

“Casey what the FUCK were yo-”

“No. You listen here you heartbreaking piece of scum! Casey had every right to do what she just done. Do you know how many nights she’s spent crying. Not just to sleep. But EVERY. FUCKING. HOUR. Of the day. Do you know how hurt she is but still can’t bring herself to throw away her Christmas sweater that matched yours. Do you even care that you’ve broken her to the point where she saw that violence was the answer?! Let me answer that for you Bryce Lahela. No. You don’t. because if you did you wouldn’t have broken up with her. You would have loved her for who she is. Like you did in the beginning and your feelings for her would never had changed. But now you’re at the age where all that matters is sex and drinking and partying until late. You no longer care about Casey do you? ... DO YOU!”

“I-”

“You know that Casey doesn’t want to do any of that yet. You know. And instead of respecting that and loving her.. you’d rather break her and date a whore. So have a great life with Melissia, Bryce. Because once she’s done having her fun with you. Cheats and walks out the door. Casey is not going to be there to take you back. Because I won’t let her make that mistake again. So lose this number. Unfollow her accounts. And never, I mean never, bother her again.”

Ethan didn’t even wait for a reply, he just angrily hung up the phone and placed it back on the table. Fury was blazing in his eyes, and for the first time Casey saw it. He was doing this because he loved her. She was in no shape to be jumping into another relationship right now, but she sat staring at him thinking that maybe, one day. Maybe she could ask Ethan to go on a date.

After the incident, the rest of school passed by in a blur and soon they had graduated. It was hard for Casey, but Ethan was there everyday with whatever it was she needed. Hugs, pizza rolls, trash talking sessions, help with catching up or homework. And it all paid off when they stood on their school field in their graduation gowns and caps. That night Ethan and his dad were at Casey’s for dinner. The mood was bright and cheerful, Ethan smiled at Casey as she was smiling her first genuine smile in months.

“I can’t believe I done it!” she exclaimed as she gave her mom a hug.

“I can. I always believed you would.” Ethan smiled.

“Aw, thanks.” Casey blushed.

“So, what are you kiddo’s doing during your gap year?” Ethan’s dad asked

“Well, we done a lot of talking and deciding and then rethinking that decision. But.. we’ve decided to go backpacking around Europe.” Casey explained as she looked at Ethan who nodded enthusiastically.

“We still want to be doctors, but we thought that a break would be good to reset the mood. And give Casey time to heal as best as she can from what’s happened.”

Casey’s mom smiled at the two. “Promise me you’ll look after my little girl.”

“Of course, Ms. Valentine, I’ll always look after her. For the rest of her life. She’s stuck with me, whether she likes it or not.” Casey scrunched up her nose as Ethan ruffled her hair with a low chuckle.

“Get oooofffff.” She whined as she pushed his arm away.

They all enjoyed a buffet style dinner that night and Ethan said goodbye to his dad, deciding to stay the night with Casey in the living room. After they had showered and gotten ready for bed, They settled down on the inflatable air beds and Casey laughed.

“What?”

“Nothing. I’m just remembering the first night we done this. You seemed so uneasy, but now look at you. Asking to stay the night and saying goodbye to your dad like a big boy.”

“I am a big boy Case. I just graduated senior year, in case you didn’t notice.”

The two laughed together as the TV spoke quietly in the background. The laughing subsided and they looked at each other. There was something dancing in Ethan’s eyes. It almost seemed as though he had a question, but was afraid to ask it.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Casey asked

“Hrm?” Ethan hummed, turning his attention back to Casey

“You look troubled.”

Ethan sighed heavily. “I just keep thinking about how I wish you didn’t have to go through something so scummy. And how I wish I knew how long it was going to take for the healing process to work because I just..”

“You, what?... Ethan.”

“I want to take you on a date. I wish I could just ask you to be my girlfriend because I want to love you so bad.”

“Ethan, I...”

“No. It’s okay. I just needed to say how I feel.”

“How about tomorrow?”

“What?”

“A date. Tomorrow. Me, you, something lowkey.”

“...Seriously? Are you being serious?” Ethan smiled brightly as he sat up looking at Casey.

“Yeah. After all. You’ve been doing a great job at fixing my broken heart, I wouldn’t want you to stop and.... I sort of like you too.”

Ethan let out a little scream and rolled onto the floor, crawling over to Casey and hugging her.

“You have no idea how happy I feel right now.”

“I may not. But I can see it on your face.”

“Can I give you a kiss?”

Casey thought for a moment. Was she ready for something like that again? After a while she came to a conclusion.

“Sure. But just a peck.”

Ethan smiled at her and pecked her lips. “You don’t have to say it yet Case, but I love you, and I’m never going to stop fixing your broken heart. Even when it’s not broken anymore.”

#choices stories you play #pixelberry studios #playchoices #pixelberry open heart #dr sienna trinh #dr bryce lahela #dr ethan ramsey #ethan x casey #bryce x casey #sienna trinh #bryce lahela #ethan ramsey #bryce lahela fanfiction #ethan ramsey fanfiction #open heart fanfiction #choices fanfiction

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likesomekindofcheese · 4 years

Text

It’s a helluva town (Joe Mazzello x fem! Brazilian! Reader oneshot)

A/N: This was requested by @johndeaconlover. Here, Joe Mazzello introduces his Brazilian girlfriend to the American metropolis of New York City.

Genres: fluff!

Word Count: 2075

Warnings: lack of editing, other than some swearing and a hint of mentions of sex, none really.

“Start Spreading the neeeeeeeewwwwwwws, I’m leaving todaaayyyyy!”

Liza Minelli’s croon was honeying its way out your eardrum and you knew if it weren’t for the claustrophobic plane, someone else’s would too.

“We are all a…”

Joe turned his head to yours with an eyebrow wiggle and a grin on the BAM.

You mouthed “a great big part of it!”

“New! York!”

“New! York! New! YOOOOOOOOOOOOORK!”

The plane was so close to landing. It was not a long plane ride from the place you met, but Sao Paolo and New York City were a long way away.

You tapped anxiously, peering out the window for any sight of the Statue of Liberty. But you were in the middle seat with Joe in the aisle. The desired window seat was taken by a businesswoman in a blue suit and an eye mask who needed the plane trip for a mask, so mouthing along to your NYC playlist had to do to kill time.

It was fair, your boyfriend, Joe, had indulged you in making and listening to a Brazil playlist when you both went over to Sao Paolo to meet your family. Now it was time you saw some of his countries in his favorite city. The city that defined the country of America, even! Every superhero movie, every nineties rom-com, every movie seemed to take place in that mythical, large empire of a town that was both the best and the worst place to be in the world.

As the plane began to tilt to land, the next song popped up from one of Joe’s guilty pleasure musicals.

“New York New Yoooork, a helluva town!”

People began unbuckling their seatbelts and your view from the window was blocked.

“New York, New York, a helluva town

The Bronx is up, but the Battery's down

The people ride in a hole in the groun'

New York, New York, it's a helluva town!”

“C’mon, Y/N! Got your stuff!?” Joe asked, his toes and feet were tapping away as if he had too much coffee.

“Got everything!” you assured him, pointing up to where your carryon was stored.

You both raced down the airport, large and neverending. The lyrics to that song were still ringing in your ears and those same emotions with it.

Finally, you hopped on the elevator and made your way up, up, up. People were already everywhere. You even noticed a gay couple kissing boldly while riding the escalator down. Buildings and skyscrapers loomed over your head, far taller than your hand could reach, was New York such a place?

“Y/N, I keep forgetting all those words you taught me, what’s the word for sorry?”

“Desculpe, Joe! And it’s okay! It’s not your home tongue.”

“Desculpe! But you’re a wizard at English and it’s not fair my Portuguese is crap,” he said with his hand reaching for yours.

This was the thing with Joe. Despite everything that could have kept you apart, from a city, an ocean, and even a language, you loved each other and wanted to learn everything about the other, and nothing would change that.

Even if it meant a taxi nearly drove right at you, which it did.

You hopped to the sidewalk with a scream. You had been so transfixed by the buildings you were nearly hit.

“Are you alright, dear?”

“Yes, I am! Obrigaga!”

“Obrigada! Dammit, Obrigado!” Joe corrected, switching to what he was supposed to say as a man.

You giggled and assured him it was alright with a kiss on the cheek.

People, people were everywhere. Subways were packed. You clutched onto your purse and backpack nervously, you knew there were thieves that would take advantage of travelers. Joe kept his arm around you. It was a little too public, but you felt safe and that was all that mattered to him.

On the ride, you both agreed you would go to Times Square and get food before settling into the hotel. You had insisted. Times Square was the beating heart of this nightmarish fairy tale and you needed to see it was real. Then finally, here it was. Times Square had a hundred screens in front of you, ads for movies and Broadway shows. There were large department stores with entire music videos showing off their fabulous clothes in front of you. The bright red sign for Coca Cola would alter to become a moving ad for the latest Broadway show. People dressed up as Elmo or Micky Mouse but in rather filthy character costumes lined up all around the area. You clutched Joe’s warm hand and felt your mouth drop a little.

Joe is so happy; everything is perfect at this moment. He flat out takes you to a place empty of people and spins you around. You squeal in happiness, feeling the air rush through you and your hands clutching together. But though the colors and wind swished around you, there was still Joe, clear and in the center of it all.

You had paused, a little breathless. But the wind picked up and you were shivering.“It’s so cold here! How do you not freeze?” you ask, walking away from the little area.“Like this” Joe responds, placing two arms around you.

You nodded and smiled, then leaned over and pecked him chastely. The thought of one bold troublemaker yelling something about a couple kissing made your heart freeze a little.

By the time it was over, you were breathless and laughing very, very hard at all the other tourists with phones, just as excited. Both of you smiled and kissed in again once you had walked away. You both stopped at a small pizzeria. Joe kept insisting that the smaller, local places were the diamonds in the rough people forgot. The pizza itself was so warm it made your nose run a little and you had to use a napkin as a handkerchief.

“Am I being rude?” you asked demurely, looking to see if any other diner would judge you.

“No, this is rude!” Joe said, he took two extra straws, placing them slightly up his nose.

“Look, I’m a Walrus!” he joked.

You giggled so much you had to catch yourself to breathe. Then you both finished the cheese pizza slices, peeling off the extra melted cheese from the plate and feeling a little sleepy with travel and grease.

As you both passed by the street where your hotel would be, you noticed all of the shops you had passed by. There were more cafes than you could count. Taxies were slowly going through the traffic like big, yellow turtles. But the clothes shops were the most fascinating.

There were shops you had seen in malls and then there were upscale New York shops. Joe had promised he wouldn’t take you to someplace that was unsafe or dirty (or if you did wander off, he would protect you)Those shops, which you could tell were always yellow or white inside their walls. They had tall crystal chandeliers inside, glittering and tinkering. Soft music played in bits when you passed them. You asked Joe to let you pause and admire them for a little bit

But the most spectacular of all were the clothes! Purses as smooth as cream dangled from a mannequins fragile arm. Blouses the color of the ocean bedecked white, blank bodies. But most of all were the dresses. Dresses for jobs, picnics, bars, nice parties, weddings, dinner, meeting celebrities, and other even more glamorous events than you could imagine.

You paused especially in front of one window displaying the most beautiful gown you had ever seen. It was for the evening with one roman strap draped across the shoulder with diamonds attaching it. The waist was a little cinched and the skirt gently fell down in ripples that would reveal its true size if you twirled around, with layers puffing out around you.

The best part was the color, it was a rich, royal purple.“It’s so beautiful.” You cooed with eyes wide. You walked over and tried to align your reflection with the display to see what you would look like wearing it.

“I think so too. I love the color.” Joe agreed, scanning over it.

Your head whipped around, snapped from the dream.

“What is your favorite color, Joe? I can’t believe all these months I never asked!” you cried.

Joe nodded with a little laugh and went “purple!”

“Me too!”

You began laughing and high fiving him.

“I never knew!”

You both headed to the hotel and checked in. Your feet ached. You both had ordered Chinese, ate it while watching trashy tv, and then crashed into the bed, falling deep asleep.

The next day, Joe promised a slew of adventures. Sightseeing, museums, dinner.

But that involved lines. And maps. And subways. And people.

Numerous people. More people than you ever thought possible. It was annoying to have crowds squished up next to you as you sat. It was annoying to get a front view of a stranger’s rear end as they held onto the handle on the ceiling as you sat. It was annoying to sit with a couple arguing and duck as a shoe flew past your head in an argument. And it was especially annoying that a whole family took over one cab and kept yelling “selfie!”

Yet Joe was there, nodding patiently and holding your hand. “That’s New York.”

First, there were Rainbow Bagels. They were so warm they brunt your fingers and almost too pretty to eat. Like every hyperactive child’s dream. But you scrapped butter on it and ate it, and Joe made jokes about finding the gold at the end and almost swallowed his whole bagel to find it.

Then there was the Museum of the Moving Image. There was a line. You both waited out in the cold, huddled together, watching the ’94 World Cup on your phone while sharing headphones. Joe kept swearing and cheering at the tiny Brazilians bringing victory much to the cynical amusement of the other people in line and those passing by.

Looking into the museum, he knew just as much as the guides. It was filled with large white walls, and Joe saw an exhibit for Jim Henson and almost ran there. He nearly had his face pressed against the glass where the Big Bird puppet was kept. He pointed and smiled at everything like a child at Disney.

And so did you.

As you passed, you realized that the cacophony had its own music. From the sound of a saxophone accepting coins in a hat to the honks of cars. Visually, it was cacophony too. But beautiful. You noticed a rainbow painting on a building with a punching fist on it and it seemed as grand as any Botticelli.

As you both sat in the subway, dead tired from all the activity, you listened to Rumors by Fleetwood Mac.

Joe poked his head around, turning right and left slowly. There were only a small family and a businessman who hopped off at the last spot.

Now the subway picked up again you were alone.

He looked at you with a wide grin and skipped on your phone to “The Chain.”

“Joe?” you squeaked nervously.

He began to hum along and do air guitars. Then you both were singing at the top of the lungs:

“You would never break the chaiiin!” You both wiggled and did little dances in your seat, sometimes shifting a bit in your seat to the beat. You smiled so wide. You loved this man so much.

But right when it skipped to “Oh Daddy”, Joe was so deep amid his jam session he did not account for the group of teenagers hopping on and staring through their long bangs and frowning braces.

You tapped his shoulder and he looked and then stopped immediately.

But when you got back, you changed into PJs and laughed between laying on the bed, holding each other and exchanging kisses.

“Well, what do you think?” he asked, he pulled you down onto his chest. One warm hand was wandering on your thigh, teasing promises for later.

“Expensive, crazy, tiring.”

“Baby, you’re not wrong” Joe agreed smugly.

“But…beautiful, exciting. Magical and just…American, I guess” you sigh. You lay a hand next to your head to gently touch his chest.

Then you give him a glance and smile, getting closer to a kiss, adding “just like you. But you’re better.”

“I’m glad,” he said, sealing it.

#joe mazzello #joe mazzelo x reader #joe mazzello x you #joe mazzello fluff #joe mazzello imagine #carriewrites #johndeaconlover #bohrap cast #bohrap cast fanfiction #joe mazzello fanfiction #joe mazzello oneshot

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glare0322 · 4 years

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sooo i was rereading overlord protocol (cause of quarantine) and completely forgot about shelby’s nightmares of wing dying and how alone she felt. i thought, hey what if those nightmares never stopped and one thing led to another ending in this short story being created...

✇ ✇ ✇

length; 1,760 words

pairing; wingelby (but shing or unconventional tactics is the better ship name don’t at me)

✇ ✇ ✇

The darkness dripped into an all-too familiar scene. Slow crashing of the waves against their wooden boat, the night sky painted with deep blues swirled into blacks dotted with glimmering stars, the overbearing salty smell of the ocean, the nightlife making their unique sounds all around them. His dark eyes catching the light of the sky, a peaceful smile that only grew whenever he caught yet another glimpse towards her, the white amulet standing out against the otherwise dusky scene.

Shelby loathed it all. The terror had driven her to despise this picture perfect setting.

A sigh escaped into the air before the most unpleasant moment unrolled. On cue, he reached for her hand gazing out onto the skyline as he did. Shelby gripped onto his hand tight, trying to conjure all the strength she had to maintain a solid grip he could not break from. Maybe just maybe if she held on, the story would play out differently. Tears were already finding their way onto her redden checks as her cloudy sapphire eyes looked up to him.

He was so content which made her already torn state more apparent. She should be grinning just like him, but that was impossible under these circumstances. "My mother used to tell me stories of the sea," he started as Shelby silently mumbled the familiar sentence. "Simple Chinese folklore you could find in any children's book, yet the way she told them never ceased to bring the characters out of the pages and into life."

Her heart ached as she realized the final outcome would still be inevitable even if she had a grip of steel. The evidence was piling up by the second: past experiences never changing, the destination, and worse of all were his words. Shelby could site his calm-toned sentences from having heard them rattle in her head for days on end before. So when the final sentence was delivered, her blood ran cold. "She would have loved to meet you," she said in sync with him, matching every detail of his sentence expect for the tone. While he had spoke a sentence laced with love only allowing a small pane of sadness to shine through, her rendition was much more somber.

The warmth that came from his hands was gone almost as quick as she dove into the deep ocean to follow him. She kicked as hard as her legs willed her, making sure to never let him out of her sight. Her lungs burned with the need for air along with her muscles now screaming from exhaustion. She could not give up, not yet. However, no matter how much she willed, he was disappearing into the shadows far too quickly for her to catch up with him.

"Wing!" she screamed allowing the water to entrap her lungs. Shelby reached for his hand and felt a small snap as he descended far beyond her reach, never to be seen again. She did not have any air and the water now clogging her airway only intensified the pain. Pushing through the overwhelming discomfort, Shelby made her way back to the surface and soon found herself back where their boat should have been.

As usual, the wooden boat was long gone and unable to comfort her crushing loneliness. This time, the loneliness came with an even more frightening moment. Sitting in her tightly closed hand was Wing's amulet from his mother. The white comma shaped charm stood out like a sore thumb against the pitch black water.

Why did she have it?

Shelby never got a hold of it. The scene usually went that he disappeared leaving her completely isolated, but this time differed. The amulet that sat in her hand spoke two messages to her. The first comforted her. Shelby's frantic mind jumbled together that maybe it was a sign of hope; that he would always be there for her. Yet as the thoughts arranged themselves the true meaning presented itself clear as day.

Wing would be gone and no matter what she did, it would stay that way. There was no saving him.

The tears returned as she slowly drifted with nothing but a reminder of her failure. Soon they turned from silent tears to full sobs as the loneliness set in like usual, only this time it was amplified by the amulet.

✇ ✇ ✇

Shelby woke with a start, immediately sitting up in her bed. Her irregular, quick breaths filled the room, over powering her roommates soft snores from across. Just as they were present in her nightmare, the hot, heavy tears were now tumbling onto her gray bed comforter making their arrival onto it present with small temporary stains. She swallowed hard as she tried to slow her rapid breathing, yet was unsuccessful.

'Just as I was in saving Wing' she thought trying to wipe away the tears before they overtook her bed sheets. Her eyes, still lingering with tears, drifted over to her Blackbox and slowly she reached for it. The time read 5:47 A.M. and she slumped into bed. There was way she was going back to sleep, so she was left there to wallow in her feelings of abandonment and failure. Shelby hastily thought of something to escape her feelings for a little longer. She knew that they were allowed to leave their rooms in a couple of minutes and Shelby already had a destination in mind.

As she got out of her bed, Laura's almost quite snores once again reigned over the room. Shelby gazed over to her roommate and a comforting smile found its way to her face.

A textbook for Advanced Villainy Studies sat open in her lap with one of her freckled hands rested on the pages along with her Blackbox, now with a black screen, sitting right beside it. As she made her way towards their bathroom, Shelby thought of Laura and Otto's most recent project: a secret channel just for them to talk on. It would take a genius to accomplish it, so it was a good thing there were two geniuses working on it. Both of them knew if they were successful, there was no possibility to keep it hidden for longer than a week.

The painful memories of her nightmares began to catch up with her as she quickly turned into the bathroom with her uniform in hand. When Shelby caught a glimpse at herself in their mirror, her gloomy feelings only worsened. Her messy blonde hair now being accompanied with puffy eyes and streaks along her cheeks where her tears were still carefully gliding down.

As if it were any morning, she got her uniform on and brushed out her bed head. Leaving the bathroom, she grabbed her Blackbox and headed straight for the door.

The sound of water from the waterfall in the accommodation area immediately sent her back to her previous terrors in the ocean. The strong emotions haunted her as she stepped out into the hallway to take her to the huge cavern that was accommodation area seven.

✇ ✇ ✇

The LED light in the room strained her eyes, just a little as Shelby stepped into the room full of equipment for training. Her hand traced the seem of the punching bag before she got into a ready stance. Just like she had done many times over, her fist collided with the bag swinging it back just a little.

The loneliness, sadness, and fear had finally reached her and there was no possible way of outrunning them now. She concentrated on her blows to the bag as if it was her nightmares that she was beating instead of the punching bag.

She wanted them to stop pestering her. The previous emotions swirled into anger as her punches became faster with more power behind them.

The peaceful look he gave her as he told his story and eventually his final line.

Another strong hit to the bag.

The chilling water engulfing the both of them and soon taking him away from her reach.

One more powerful swing at the equipment.

And that stupid amulet taunting her failure.

As she went to deliver another hit, a hand cut in front her causing her to punch that person's palm rather than her target. Her breath hitched as she prepared to tell off the person for getting in her way. However, once her fiery blue eyes met his she recoiled back a little.

"Your poor technique caused these," Wing told her mentioning her bloody, scraped knuckles that she had not even noticed. Shelby has been so focused on her nightmare that she had neglected the pain now coursing through her hands.

"Guess Ms. Leon is not going to be happy her best student is suffering an injury that will effect her results on the test today," she joked trying to distract him from her distant state, or her tear stained cheeks.

Although a small smile found its way to his face, his eyes still were serious and full of concern. "Shelby, what happened?"

How could she answer? There would be no way to convey her hidden pain and concerns of her terrifying nightmares to him. The overbearing loneliness she felt after he disappeared or fears now surrounding that pendent hanging from his neck. Her nightmares have now ruined something she has to see every day; it's mockery from her night terrors carrying over to real life.

"Well..." she began as her eyes trailed down to the floor. While looking at the floor she noticed him still holding her scraped hand with the same determination she had in her nightmares. Along with this, she became aware of the warmth from his hands and remembered how in the boat it disappeared right before he left. Anticipation built up as she waited for it to leave, just like it always did.

But it didn't. He was still there, patiently waiting her response to his question.

She felt that loneliness lift off her shoulders along with all the worries she had been escaping from all night and this morning. Shelby felt able to breathe normally, felt her senses return, and more importantly felt trust in the fact Wing was going nowhere.

Well until some psychopathic villain with a most likely well deserved grudge against the school came again.

"Come on big guy, I'll tell you as you bandage up my knuckles." Shelby let a smile along with a giddy feeling overtake her as she held onto his hand and led them out of the room.

#hive #h.i.v.e.#wing fanchu #shelby trinity #shing #unconventional tactics #oopsie its a lil angsty #they could stab me and i’d say thanks #wingelby #winglby

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lemonadeswift · 5 years

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Hey, can you do a drabble with Luca & Chris surprising Seb on his birthday? (Or the other way round if that's what inspires you?!)

Luca Age 3: Birthday Surprise

A/N: sorry this was supposed to be written so long ago but school got in the way! Hope you enjoy it anyway! ❤️❤️❤️ @katiew1973

“Papa!” Luca said. He ran into the room on short legs and Chris turned to grin at him. Having a child was the best choice he ever made he loved being a dad. Luca’s little smile lit up his entire day. Today though, things were about to get even more exciting. It was Sebastian’s birthday and on top of that they’d been paired with a baby girl who was ready for adoption. She had a congenital heart defect and had been born prematurely before being put up for adoption. She was absolutely adorable and everything they’d been hoping for and more. She’d be ready to come home in the next three weeks and he’d be sharing the news with Sebastian and Luca tonight as an extra part of the birthday surprise.

“Look!” Luca held up a drawing of a pirate ship with stick figures and a scribble that Chris thought was supposed to be a parrot maybe, it was red, blue, and yellow and had an eye and was on the stick pirates shoulder so that’s what he was assuming. Above the pirate and the ship and ocean was a rainbow, and above that amid a litany of glitter hearts and stars were the words “Happy Birthday Daddy!” With the B, capital D, Y’s and one of the p’s written backwards. They were still working on writing. But it was still beautiful and Chris told Luca so.

“Oh Luca! Look at that, it’s beautiful. Daddy is going to love it!”

“Because you said he was a pirate now!”

“Yes, he is playing a pirate in his new movie. You’re right. I bet he’s gonna love it, do you want me to put it with the gifts?”

“Yes please,” Luca said, Chris bent down to pick him up, sweeping him into his arms and kissing his cheek before letting him back down. Luca laughed happily,

“Papa! You’re so silly!”

“I’m silly? Why am I silly?”

“Because you are!” Luca laughed harder. Chris didn’t know what was so funny but he’d amuse the kid.

“Whatever you say, do you want to help me make daddy’s cake?”

“I thought grandma was going to make it,”

“She is, she’s making one for the celebration tomorrow, but we are gonna celebrate tonight too,” tomorrow’s celebration was more a “congrats on the baby/baby shower” celebration than birthday but neither one of them knew that yet.

“Okay,” Luca agreed going to grab his stool from under the table that he’d pull up to the counter during cooking endeavors. They proceeded to make a rich and moist vanilla sponge cake with homemade strawberry frosting. He let Luca help with writing the words “happy birthday” in red frosting across the cake and again a few letters were backwards, but it was made with love. As Chris turned to begin cleaning Luca got it into his own mind that the cake wasn’t decorated enough yet and grabbed some sprinkles from the cabinet. He opened the bottle with little fuss and then proceeded to dump the entire thing on the cake. Chris turned around after he’d finished cleaning. His eyes widening at the rainbow sprinkle mess that had just been made of the cake. Luca was grinning happily though as he took a spook and spread the sprinkles out. Smearing the lettering they’d just done in the process. After a moment of shock Chris couldn’t help but reach down and ruffle Luca’s hair.

“Next time ask first okay bud?” He told him. Luca looked up, confused,

“The sprinkles?” Chris clarified”

“Oh, okay, sorry papa.”

“It’s okay love,” Chris reassured him. After the cake was finished they covered it with tin foil and set it to rest at the back of the counter. It was now time to wrap presents. Chris had gotten a few things for Sebastian. The most notable a new phone since the dumbass, (lovable dumbass of course) had dropped his in the toilet for the third time in the past two years. The second and third gifts were clothing items that he’d seen Sebastian eyeing but in the end Sebastian had talked himself out of buying them. Saying it was ridiculous to spend that much on a shirt and blazer. The first was a corduroy blazer in a soft slate grayish blue. It matched Sebastian’s eyes and it was embroidered with white roses on the lapels. It was PRADA, and had been a pretty penny but Chris didn’t mind. The second item was a soft silk dress shirt in a dark Burgundy, Sebastian had been attracted to the patterns on the brown and tan buttons along with the feel of the fabric. It was quite simple but Chris knew Sebastian would look absolutely dashing in it whatever he decided to wear it with. The fourth item was the adoption papers, they were in and envelope underneath a white box that held a soft pink baby bear with a white heart nose, “baby girl” had been embroidered on its chest and Chris hoped Sebastian would end up connecting the gift before looking at the papers. Luca had gotten Sebastian two things. The first was a nice silk tie. The fabric was nice, Chinese silk, but the pattern was quite atrocious if Chris did say so himself. It had been the one Luca had insisted on though and he knew Sebastian would wear it no matter what. So he’d bought it. It was a lime green and blue tie with Japanese style tattoo embroidered art on it, the waves were varying shades of blue, green and grey while the koi fish jumping from them were purple, aqua, and yellow. The second gift Luca had picked out was a drone. Something that both he and Sebastian could build and play with together. With help, Luca managed to wrap his two gifts while Chris wrapped his two. Taking the third one into his room to wrap in secret while Luca went down stairs and played. It was nearing 4:45 when the doorbell sounded through the house and Luca’s footsteps came bounding up the stairs. Sebastian must have forgotten his house keys since he was ringing the doorbell.

“Daddy’s home!” Luca whisper shouted as he ran into the room.

“I know! Let’s go say hi!” Chris said as he hurried out of the room with Luca.

“Shh Dodger, no,” Luca patted the dog on his head as he bounced around excitedly at the door. Chris was the one to open it to reveal Sebastian. Sebastian smiled sheepishly,

“Forgot my house keys,” he said, Luca just grinned. Throwing himself at Sebastian with full force,

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!” He shouted. Sebastian jumped a little startled. In all honesty he’d forgotten it was his birthday until this exact moment. After Chris had mentioned it that morning it had flown from his mind. He hauled Luca up into his arms with a grin and kissed him on the cheek,

“Oh thank you bean,” he kissed his forehead before finally letting him squirm down.

“Can we do presents?” Luca asked. Chris smiled, nodding an okay and Luca was off again.

“Daddy! Come on!” He called behind him. Dodger scampered after him as well. Chris took a moment to grab Sebastian’s wrist to pull him into a kiss before he could follow Luca. Sebastian hummed into Chris’s lips.

“Happy Birthday Baby,” Chris said, their heads close. A quiet moment between them.

“Thank you,” Sebastian said. A grin on his face that caused his eyes to crinkle. 40 looked damn good on him, Chris thought.

“DADDY!” Luca called again. Sebastian gave a light chuckle. “We should go,” he said, grabbing Chris’s hand and leading him to the living room.

Luca sat on the couch, the small pile presents around him. Sebastian’s eyes widened. There were six presents in total. It was as if it was Christmas. He’d never gotten this many presents for a birthday. Luca was grinning as he held out a crudely wrapped slim box to him.

“Open mine first!!!” Sebastian smiled sweetly as he sat down next to Luca taking the present, Chris taking the other side of Luca. He began to tear the insanely taped paper off slowly.

“Faster!” Luca said with a roll of his eyes. Sebastian laughed, finally just ripping off the paper to reveal the box.

“You got me a box! I love it!” He leaned over to hug Luca who was laughing,

“No daddy! You’re so silly! Open the box!” He continued to giggle,

“Oh! Okay, that makes sense,” Sebastian opened the box to reveal the loud looking tie. His eyebrows rose as he looked at Chris with a quirk of his lips,

“Do you like it?” Luca asked impatiently, Sebastian plastered on a wide grin, because of course he loved it, his little boy had picked it out for him,

“I love it! It’s gonna be my new favorite tie, I’m going to wear it to the movie premiere I’m going to next week,” Chris’s eyes widened at that one but he shrugged to himself, Luca jumped into Sebastian’s lap and hugged him tightly,

“I give you one more,” Luca said, detangling himself from Sebastian’s hold and push the second bigger gift onto his lap. This time Sebastian opened it faster, his eyes lighting up at what he saw,

“Oh Luca, I love it so much! We’re gonna have so much fun with this. It’s a drone! It’s just like your remote control Hummer but it flies!” Luca giggled and plonked into Sebastian’s lap. Sebastian smiled down at him, he ruffled his hair and bent down enough to kiss his cheek,

“Thank you buddy, I love my gifts!”

“YAY! Now it’s Papa’s turn!”

“What about your artwork?” Chris asked him. Luca’s eyes widened.

“I almost forgets!” Luca jumped off the couch and ran to the kitchen. He grabbed the artwork from where it was on the table and then ran back. Quick, clomping sounds as he put too much weight into his steps get closer to the living room. Luca jumped back onto Sebastian who gave a loud “oomph” at the sudden weight hitting him full force.

“Here!” Luca holds up the picture to Sebastian and Sebastian takes it. On the page is a human figure with arms coming out of their head. It’s clearly a pirate on a boat with a rainbow behind him. At the bottom “happy birthday daddy ❤️” was crudely written in Luca’s hand. Sebastian beamed over at a smiling Luca.

“Oh wow! I love it! You are so talented bean! This is amazing! Is that me?”

“Yes! You a pirate!”

“I’m a pirate? Is that a parrot on my shoulder?”

“Yes!” Luca exclaims. Clapping. Happy that his dad understood.

“Oh I love it so much!” He kissed Luca’s cheek again. “I’m going to hang it in my trailer at work!”

Luca giggled as he slid off Sebastian’s lap.

“Papa go!!!”

“Okay, papa’s turn.”

Sebastian smiled over at Chris who was now waiting with gifts in his hands. He handed Sebastian two shiny black boxes that were tied together with a silver ribbon first, Sebastian gently pulled the ribbon away before opening the boxes, he gasped a little when he saw the first thing, the PRADA blazer was pressed and folded neatly in the box.

“You didn’t!”

“Hey, you’ll look amazing in it, even if you only wear it once,” Sebastian couldn’t help but grin as his hands fingered the embroidered roses on the lapels.

“Daddyyy.... hurry up!” Luca said. Sebastian laughed as he finally closed the first box, moving onto the second.

“Wow,” Sebastian said as he pulled the shirt out of the box, holding it up and getting the full effect of the way the light danced off the silky fabric.

“Do you like it?” Chris asked nervously,

“I love it.” Sebastian smiled. Before he could say anymore Luca was shoving a smaller box into his lap.

“Okay okay,” He said, folding back up the shirt and taking the small box. “Would you like to help me?” He asked the eager looking boy. He smiled as he barely got the sentence out before Luca’s little hands were tearing at the paper excitedly.

“Daddy! Look!” It was a new iPhone. Sebastian couldn’t help but laugh as he turned the box around.

“Thanks babe,” he said to Chris. Chris just grinned as he smiled goofily. “Well you wouldn’t have gotten one yourself for another week or two if I hadn’t gotten it for you now,”

“Hey it’s not my fault I’m busy,” Chris just rolled his eyes back at Sebastian.

“But it is your fault that you refuse to just buy one online,”

“Hey some people still like to go to stores for things!” Sebastian said back.

Luca immediately took an interest in the phone and had unboxed it and began tapping on it.

“Daddy it won’t turn on.”

“Oh No you don’t, that’s Daddy’s phone, I’ve gotta set it up first anyway!” Luca made a distressed little whining sound when Sebastian took it out of his hands. His little bottom lip sticking out as he looked up at Sebastian.

“Hey, no none of that, you have a kindle,”

“But I drops it.”

“Yes, the screen is a little cracked but you can still use it just fine for now.” Luca continued to pout. Sebastian only smiled at him. Coming closer to the pouting toddler on the couch with squirming fingers.

“Hey, no pouting. It’s my birthday. Only happy faces!” He then tickled Luca’s sides. Poking him in the tummy lightly and making him squirm and laugh.

“Daddy!” Luca shrieked. Sebastian leaned down and kissed his forehead again before he let him wiggle out of his arms.

“I’ve got one more for you,” Chris said, he had left and returned with one last box and an envelope. He held them out to Sebastian and Sebastian raised an eyebrow. The box wasn't wrapped like the others and the envelope was an odd wrapping choice. Chris was smiling though. "Open the box first," he told him.

Sebastian did as asked. Slowly taking the lid off the plain white box. He carefully removed the tissue paper. Luca hanging over his arm and peering curiously on, the paper removed to reveal a tiny soft pink bear. The bear read "Baby Girl" Sebastian furrowed his brows together at first he was very confused. Chris stood there waiting for him to get it with a wide grin on his face. Suddenly, Sebastian's face changed and he dropped the bear back into his lap. His hands coming to cup his mouth, eyes wide.

"Oh my god," he said. His voice coming out high pitched. Chris grinned wider if it was possible. "No way..." Chris nodded rapidly as he came forward kneeling down in front of where Sebastian was sitting and taking his hands.

"Oh my god..." He said again, "Are you serious? A baby girl? When? How long have you known?!"

"About two weeks now. She's so little Seb, she just got out of the NICU, she's got a congenital heart defect and she's with foster parents right now. But she doesn't have anyone. She doesn't even have a name. Her mom left the hospital in the middle of the night with a note terminating her parental rights. She didn't even look at the baby or name them before running away. She was a drug addict but.... But the social worker called and told me she had this little baby who would be perfect for us, and oh my god, she's so beautiful... We get to meet her and take her home next week." Sebastian's eyes widened again.

"NEXT WEEK?!" He practically shrieked.

"Yes, it's okay, don't freak out, I've already started the nursery. It's my old office, I'm gonna move my stuff to the basement for now."

"Oh my god..." Sebastian was still overwhelmed. He leaned in and hugged Chris. Chris hugged him back tightly.

"A baby girl... A daughter..."

"Daddy, Daddy... Daddyyyyyy!!!!” Luca was smacking Sebastian lightly trying to get his attention. Finally Sebastian looked over at him, wiping his eyes,

"Daddy whats wrong?" Sebastian reached forward picking up Luca and setting him on his lap.

"Oh my sweet boy, nothings wrong, you're gonna be a big brother!"

"What?" Luca looked very confused. His little mouth pulled into a frown.

"Well, you know how we adopted you when you were a baby? There's another baby girl just like you who needs parents to love her and take care of her and they have chosen us to be those parents! Remember when that lady who was a social worker came and you had to clean your room and answer questions about how Papa and I took care of you?" Luca nodded.

"That was to see if we were fit to bring another baby into our family, and we passed! We're going to get another baby, you're going to be a big brother!"

"Big bwother... I get a little sister?"

"Yeah buddy. You get a little sister..."

Luca threw his hands up in the air in excitement, "Yay! I'm gonna be a big bwother!!!"

"Yes you are,"

Luca threw himself into both Sebastian and Chris’s holds. They both hugged him tightly ruffling his hair.

“Daddy can I draw her a picture and can she have Luna?” Luna was a stuffed bat that Luca had gotten when he was a baby and had been a favorite of his up until recently when he’d asked to put the bat in the keepsake box.

“Of course you can draw her a picture I bet she’d like it. And you’re so sweet to want to share your toys. She might be a little young for the toy at first but you can share her later.” Chris told him.

“Okay!” Luca pushes off of them and ran out of the room presumably to go start on a drawing.

“We have to go shopping. We have to get things for her. She’s going to be here next week! How do we even take care of her. I know nothing about heart defects, what if we mess up?!” Suddenly Sebastian began breathing rapidly on the verge of hyperventilating.

“Hey, Hey, it’s okay... calm down. We can do this. We have each other they promised me it was a very manageable condition with proper care and they said the care was pretty simple. They’ll show us before we get her.” Chris ran his hands up and down his arms to soothe him.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m crying and freaking out. Really, I’m so excited. This is... this is a dream. This whole thing. You, Luca, this family... God... I really am... so happy.” Chris hugged him tightly and Sebastian held onto him. They pulled away enough to press their foreheads together.

“I hope I didn’t freak you out too much, I thought this would be a good birthday surprise,”

“It is, it is, I promise. Thank you...”

“Happy birthday baby...” Sebastian melted into the soft kiss Chris placed into his lips. When he pulled away Chris’s breath was taken out of him. Sebastian’s big blue eyes stared back into his. His face was slightly flushed and he looked beyond gorgeous, a soft glow basked over his face from the window behind Chris making him look otherworldly.

“Can’t wait to get you alone tonight.” Sebastian said quietly between them. Chris’s soft grin turned wild and hungry in a split second as he remembered the other gift he’d bought for them to try out.

“Oh really?” Chris asked in mock surprise. Sebastian smirked back at him, he took Chris’s hand and guided it into the waistband of his pants. Chris’s eyes widened as he felt the lacy texture of panties meet his fingers. He tried to get a full grab of Sebastian’s crotch but Sebastian was pulling his hand out before he could and Chris was left hanging on a gasp.

“But it’s not my birthday.”

“I know, but I know how much you like them anyway. And I’m also becoming fond of them. Even in everyday life. Hence why I’m wearing them now.” Chris groaned. That was so hot. Sebastian was SO hot.

“I love you,”

“I love you too sweetheart....”

“Let’s finish celebrating with family time so we can get to some grown up time later...” Chris grinned again. This time grasping one of Sebastian’s asscheeks over his clothes and giving it a little smack. Sebastian let out a tiny shriek before laughing at himself and calling out to Luca.

“Luc! It’s time for cake. Do you want some!”

“Caaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkkeeeeeee!!!!!” Luca ran into the room screaming a moment later. He jumped back into Sebastian who caught him and kissed his forehead.

“Happy birthday Daddy! I wuv you...”

“I love you too bean... so much!”

#luca evans #ymmly series

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starryeyes-oneshots · 6 years

Text

whiskey on ice : part four

[this is the second last part guys!!! I hope you enjoy this part ! If you need to catch up or are looking for the previous parts, you can find part one here ; part two here ; and part three here ]

***

The season of Christmas couldn't come fast enough for both Taylor and Joe. Everything was decorated to the nines in Taylor's apartment: the tree was up in the living room, twinkle-light filled garland surrounded every inch that was available - even in her bedroom. While they absolutely loved spending their days together in New York, time spent at home with family was extremely high on the priority list for both of them. The rest of November carried along smoothly, with many Saturday coffee dates, burning toast for breakfast on Sunday mornings, hanging around at home with Taylor's cats. Something as so simple as grocery shopping felt fun and exciting when they did it together. Everything felt intoxicatingly exciting: due to the pure fact that they were together and everything felt right.

The musical production at Taylor's elementary school was the real kick off to Christmas. The show went much smoother than Taylor had originally thought; she was especially thankful that all of the children were on time, dressed up and ready to go. From what she could tell, the audience filled with parents were thoroughly impressed that all of those small children could be lead to sing songs and perform little dances - even to the exact beat. While Taylor was up at the front conducting the students, Joe sat back in the sea of spectators, recording little clips of Taylor doing what she loved to do best: being with children and teaching music. Her love for music radiated from her, every inch so saturated in passion for what made her heart extremely happy.

An inordinate feeling of complete and utter joy for his girl came over Joe as he intently observed her behaviour and movements throughout the show and as it eventually drew to a close. That was his girl, his Taylor. Despite only being an official couple for a month and a half now, his admiration for her was unimaginable. The way he felt when she looked at him with her sparkling blue eyes was something he had never thought he could ever feel with anyone. Her laugh was infectious, her smile lit up any room she walked into: no matter how big or how small. The way she carried herself with such grace and affection for everyone around her had always been something Joe felt like he couldn't get enough of. She was an ocean of endless elegance, beauty and resiliency to anything life decided to throw at her.

He knew this was where she wanted to be: teaching music to children, filing through piles of potential songs to use in the winter and spring productions each year, spending hours marking note identification quizzes and coming up with new lesson plans each day to keep her kids engaged and having fun. She absolutely loved nothing more than being with those children.

After the show had ended, he patiently waited for her in her classroom, pacing around and looking at everything on the walls and bulletin boards that Taylor had put up. Posters of several instruments, fun ways to remember how many beats were assigned to each type of note and rest, not to mention a picture on her desk that he couldn't ignore. In the white frame was a photo of the two of them sitting together outside in one of the parks he had shown her on her birthday a few days ago. The snow was falling around them, Taylor's head rested on his shoulder and Joe's arm was around her. The two were overlooking one of the ponds that had froze over with a thin layer of ice, the bright moonlight shining above them. He couldn't help but crack a smile at the very fond but lovely night they shared. The British man looked up from the photo and realized it had been nearly an hour and Taylor was no where to be found. He figured that she had a lot to do and many places to be, however it wasn't before long until she arrived in the room: pleasantly surprised that he had waited for her.

"I'm your ride home, remember?" He chuckled, handing her the bouquet of flowers before shoving his hands into the pockets of his dark jeans. Joe had dropped her off a few hours before the show, taking that time to buy the flowers and roam around the small neighbourhood corrugated around the elementary school.

Taylor blushes, bringing the bouquet near her face to smell the beautiful flowers, "You really didn't have to get me these, you know? You should be congratulating the kids, Joe." She spoke seriously, grabbing her coat before slipping it on and picking up her bag from the desk chair.

"Oh Tay, if all of those parents could've seen all of the work you put into this show....they would be beyond amazed. You need to give yourself more credit, love." Joe reassured her, resting his hand on the small of her back as he lead her out of the classroom and out to the car.

Taylor nodded slowly, looking down at her feet as they walked, "Now it's officially Christmas!" She squeals, thrilled that the local school districts were now off until the new year.

"That it is, babe." Joe laughs, opening the passenger door of his car up for her, waiting for her to get in before shutting it and walking around to the other side to climb in himself.

The following afternoon, both Taylor and Joe had flown home to spend time with their families just before Christmas. Even though they would be back in New York the night of the twenty-fifth, the couples' parents were beyond ecstatic to have their children home for the holidays. No amount of text messages, FaceTime calls or sending each other silly gifs and drawings could come even close to being in the same room. There was no denying that the couple missed each other more than anything while they were home, and couldn't wait to be back in New York.

Taylor sighed as she dropped her bags down on the floor in the entrance of her apartment, exhausted from being around her overprotective and overbearing parents. As much as she loved seeing everyone again after months of being away, her time alone in New York was much appreciated. She could be her own person here without fearing the feel of being judged by her parents or snoopy family relatives. It was refreshing to be back.

The young woman took her luggage to the bedroom and shut the door, too unmotivated to deal with it now. She was itching to see her man. The second the call connected and showed up on Joe's phone, he picked up.

"You're home, love!" He smiles, his voice beaming into the phone.

Taylor giggled, flopping down on the couch and staring proudly at her Christmas tree, "I only have one bottle of wine in the fridge, so can you pick some up?"

"Of course. Anything else we need for our little Christmas?" He asked, grabbing his coat to throw on and Taylor's gift that sat on the table by the door. He couldn't wait for her to open it and see the look on her face. It was something simple, but something special: the perfect kind of present for his girl.

"No, I don't think so." She says softly, looking around the main living area of her apartment, "Just you."

Joe nods, "I'm on my way." He smiles, heading down to his car in the underground parking garage, "I'll see you in a bit."

Taylor smiled and hung up the phone, tossing it beside her on the couch before getting up to take the Chinese food out of the paper takeout bag and spreading it out on the counter. She didn't have enough time or energy to cook a proper Christmas dinner, leading to both of them settling happily for takeout after a week of big home cooked meals.

Nearly twenty minutes later a knock on the door echoed through the apartment, startling Taylor slightly during her speed clean of the living room and kitchen. It was a bit of a mess to say the least.

"Come in!" She called, wiping down the coffee table with a piece of paper towel and some cleaner, standing up straight once she wasn't the only person in the room, "Hi!" Taylor giggled, dropping the paper towel and coming over to Joe, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing several soft kisses to his lips: all of which he gladly reciprocated.

"'m missed you." Joe whispers near her ear, his face buried in her golden hair that cascaded down her back. He gently set down the bag of liquor and her gift before giving her a proper hug, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her hips close to his body: missing her physical proximity the most.

Taylor nods slowly, deeply breathing in the familiar scent of his cologne, "I missed you too." She mumbled softly, her fingers gently clenching onto the cotton shirt he was wearing.

Their embrace lasted longer than one usually would, both of them pulling away from one another after a few minutes. Taylor pushed her hair out of her face, a smile engulfing it, "I'm so happy you're here." She grins, adjusting her shirt that had ridden up her abdomen during their hug: exposing a band of bare skin between the shirt and the leggings she was wearing.

Joe smiles, kissing her softly once more before picking up his bags to bring them into the kitchen and removing his coat, "That was the longest week of my life. I forgot how naggy my parents are." He laughs, setting the two bottles of wine in the fridge and throwing away the plastic bag.

Taylor smiles softly, crossing her arms loosely and resting them against her flat abdomen, following him into the kitchen, "Did you tell them about me?" She asked curiously, her voice soft and extremely gentle: something he loved most about her. She had several moments of pure innocency that he never took for granted.

He turned his head to look directly into her bright blue eyes, "Of course I did." Joe nods, dishing up plates filled with Chinese food for the both of them, "Did you think I wouldn't have?"

"No, no." Taylor shakes her head, taking her plate from him once it was ready and pouring herself a glass of the wine she had in the fridge, "I just thought...that maybe you would've kept it a secret for a bit longer. I told my parents about you." She explains, "They are now dying to meet this mysterious man I've found myself needing to be around."

Joe smirks at his girl, grabbing a beer from the fridge for himself and carrying his plate into the living room to sit down on the couch, "I'm pretty sure my parents have already fallen in love with you ten times over." He laughs, digging into his meal.

"What did you say?" Taylor asked, sitting down beside him with her plate in her lap and her glass of wine on the table beside her.

Joe shrugs, "I just told them the truth...and they're ready to meet you so I mean.. I guess we're taking a trip to London, hm?"

"I've always wanted to go to London!" Taylor comments, clearly very excited at the idea of travelling across the Atlantic Ocean to meet his family.

"I'll take you to London...if you take me to your Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania." He takes a swig of his cold beer, downing more of the Chinese food.

Taylor laughs, shaking her head softly, "It's just a bunch of trees-"

"With bugs on them!" Joe adds, remembering what she had told him about her childhood job the night they met.

She nods, setting down her plate of food and picking up the wine glass, "Yes with the bugs on them. I'm not sure who's doing it now....definitely not me."

After dinner was finished and both Joe and Taylor had finished their first drink of the night, Joe got up from the couch and went over to the tree to pick up his gift for Taylor, "It wouldn't be Christmas without presents." He smiles, sitting back down beside her and handing her the delicate box.

Taylor covered her mouth with her hands, a surprised face hidden underneath and a gasp escaping her lips, "I didn't think we were doing this today?"

The British man laughs, "After all, it is Christmas, baby. Please open your gift."

Taylor nods, carefully unwrapping the box and setting the paper onto the coffee table before opening the box to reveal a silver pendant necklace with the letter 'j' engraved on the front, "Joe!" She squeals softly, "It's beautiful! Oh my goodness...I love it!"

"Here, I'll help you put it on." He smiles, watching her take the necklace out of the box before handing it to him. He undid the clasp, waiting for her to hold her hair up so he could wrap it around her neck and secure it.

"Joe... I..I absolutely love this." She says softly, holding the pendant around her neck and staring at it in utter awe.

He presses a soft kiss to her lips and smiles brightly, "I'm glad you love it. I couldn't wait to see the look on your face."

"Now it's time for your present!" Taylor beams, practically jumping up from the couch to grab his wrapped gift. She set it in his lap, taking her place back on the couch and watching his face change once the wrapping paper had been discarded onto the floor.

"Tay..this...this is amazing." He grins, nearly at a loss for words as he stared at the CD disc in front of him.

"It's all of the songs that make me think of you and us when I listen them," She explains, "I know it's cheesy, but you love cheesy and you're always listening to my favourite songs with me. So I figured I could give you a set of your own."

Joe stares at his gift for a few moments, a huge smile on his face, "I love it so much, thank you, lovely."

As the night progressed, the Christmas movies kept playing and the wine glasses kept refilling. Joe had stopped just after a couple beers, but Taylor kept wanting to drink her wine: clearly stressed from the last several weeks with work and the holidays. It wasn't a secret to Joe that she was clearly a light-weight and was already pretty piss-ass drunk. He knew that neither of them had places to be tomorrow or people to see, so letting her sleep in to try and combat her hangover wouldn't be an issue.

"Taylor, love." Joe says softly, moving to help her to sit up from leaning against his chest, "I think it's time to get you to bed."

She stirs with a groan before reluctantly sitting up on the couch: her hair tussled and cheeks bright red from the lack of water she had consumed, "I don't wanna." Taylor mumbles, a slight whine at the end of her sentence.

Joe sighs, standing in front of the couch before reaching out to take Taylor's hands and attempting to help her up, "Come on, baby."

"Can...you..carry me....." She slips up on her words, slurring them on the warm air in the room.

He smiles softly, wrapping one arm around her back and the other under her legs before lifting her up bridal style, listening to Taylor's rambling.

"Joe?" Taylor slurs, her eyes half closed as she felt Joe carrying her into the bedroom at the end of the hallway in her apartment.

He yawns, pushing open Taylor's bedroom door and gently laying her down on the white duvet of her bed, "Yes, sunshine?"

"I love you so much. I love you I love you I love you." Taylor says quite clearly, surprising for how intoxicated she was.

A part of him wanted to believe every word that she was saying, because he too felt the exact same way about her. He had fallen in love with her and was undeniably in love with her. Every time he looked at her, it was like the first time all over again: in that dive bar on the east side, Taylor in a little black dress where he introduced her to his favourite drink - whiskey on ice. The other part of him knew all too well that she was no where near sober, enjoying her wine a bit too much in the last few hours to allow her head to think or speak clearly.

Before Joe could respond, his girl had dozed off on top of her blankets and sheets, curled up in a ball with her hair covering her face. He carefully got her in between the white sheets, before pulling up the duvet over her small body: clothed in just a pair of black leggings and a deep blue knitted sweater. Joe didn't want to run the risk of waking her up, figuring she would be comfortable enough in the clothes she had on.

Once he went back into the main room to shut the lights off and clean up a little, Joe tiptoed quietly into Taylor's room, climbing into the other side of her bed before quickly falling asleep.

The next morning, Taylor stirred in her bed as she slowly began to wake up from her deep sleep. She scrunched her nose and screwed her eyes shut, stretching her arms and coming to realize how big of a pulsating headache she had made for herself.

She turned her head to the other side of the bed, where it was made up and Taylor had no idea if Joe had slept with her or left her apartment all together. Sitting up in the bed, Taylor blinked several times to get used to the light that was coming in through the window. The young woman emerged from the dark hallway in the same clothes she had on yesterday, her hair all over the place and her makeup smudged from sleeping.

"Good morning, beautiful!" Joe smiles gently, standing at the stove as he watched over the pan with scrambled eggs cooking in it, "Did you sleep well?"

Taylor furrowed her eyebrows, pleasantly surprised that he was still here after her night of too many glasses of wine, "What happened last night? Did we...oh god..please don't tell me we did it and I don't remember. I want to remember that." She mumbles, her eyes wide as she touched her cheeks with her hands and looked at Joe with a terrified look on her face.

Joe chuckles, turning off the burner and moving the pan to a cool area on the stove, "No, we didn't do that." He assured her with a shake of his head, "But you were pretty talkative last night before you passed out in your bed."

She comes closer to the where Joe was in the kitchen, sitting down on one of the bar stools across the island from him, "Oh lord what did I say?"

Joe blushed softly, looking down at the pan before moving the eggs onto a plate for Taylor, "You might have said once or twice...or four times that you love me."

Her eyes stayed as wide as they could be, red filling in on her cheeks, "Well that's slightly...um...did you say anything after?"

He shook his head, sliding the plate of eggs towards Taylor, "You passed out before I could say anything."

Taylor nods, "Well um...I wasn't lying."

Joe beams, grinning from ear to ear as he heard her words echo through the room, "You weren't?"

"I love you Joe." She nods, evidently dead serious about what she was saying, "That's one thing that I'm sure of."

"I'm sure that I love you too, Taylor." Joe smiles at her brightly, wondering how it could get better than this.

#taylor swift fanfiction #taylor joe fanfiction #taylor swift #whiskey on ice #au #jaylor #toe

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eclecticpatrolsweets · 3 years

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Fog strange talk Season 3 ——Jinjiang City 2020 Top7

(Language: English;Shooting: American group;Released in: USA, worldwide)

preface

The city was swept by high temperature, and there were two pairs of mandarin ducks, who migrated for a long time to build their nests and settle down in a warm place. One was unable to bear the high temperature and fell, dying on the concrete floor. One opened its wings to block the hot sun for his partner. The male struggled and died soon. It was a long way and a spare dream. The mandarin ducks did not eat or drink, and rested beside their husband.

Mandarin ducks are amorous, not to mention people in the city.

Top7

It was another beautiful morning, and Sheng continued sleeping in bed. He had not worked for a long time.

I interviewed with several companies before, but they were not optimistic about my previous work experience. Even though he had operated projects with tens of millions of assets, the working technology of higher enterprises was not acceptable in small cities in this backward city near the river.

Sheng was not discouraged. He needed sleep more than ever, like a hibernating frog.

Reluctantly, he got up, dressed and went downstairs to Suming's coffee shop.

"It's been a long time since I had my coffee." Su Ming saw or came to the store, very happy to meet him.

"Quite a long time. I don't have a job, so I can spend more when I work."

'A good young man who cares for his family!

"Praise makes me feel excited and happy!"

Su Ming made the coffee and handed it to Sheng, who asked, "How is your business here?"

"There are definitely fewer people consuming these days."

"Yes, all idle so long, did you go to the injection?" The coffee is steaming up.

"Yes, you don't want to tell me you have a problem with the injection, do you?"

"Return true be such, not be to inform me to give an injection, go for the first time, did not have a needle, changed other hospital for the second time, the trouble of the bosom after finishing is more, beard hard grow, resemble wild grass same."

"How was the traditional Chinese medicine hospital?"

"It was like witchcraft. My stomach stopped hurting for the first two days and MY body gained strength. Then I burned my face with the medicine I was prescribed.

"If you go to bed earlier, your endocrine system is good and you don't get as many breakouts."

"You introduced a man, Wei Dongshuai, who suffers from severe insomnia."

"He thinks you're mysterious, and he doesn't believe in all this nonsense about curses and vampires."

'And yet he believed in God!

"People always have some sustenance, such as you save every ticket, no one in Jinjiang City will save every ticket for going out in the past ten years."

"There are habits, or hobbies, for a reason. For him, in a car is a kind of luxury, so he keep the good in every each ticket, we get together, together to do the plane, arrive together, each process is pleasant, so I would like him keep each ticket, rather than from direct throw away a long time ago. Many years later, when I look at the tickets again, I feel a little bit of memories and feelings. It's nice."

"Wei Dongshuai is more realistic."

"Does he still come into your shop often?"

"Recently, he delivered goods to the mountain. He got up early to buy vegetables in the morning market, and delivered vegetables up the mountain. He ran around in the morning and afternoon to provide more ingredients and goods to the mountain. I haven't seen him for months."

"He's got a lot of nerve serving on the mountain. I think you need to tell him that vampires in the mountains are no better than people."

"He won't listen."

"Also! Man's destiny depends on his ability to see reality clearly. What is reality? What can be touched, what can be felt, what can be recorded by scientific instruments is reality, which is simply how it exists in the environment -- why don't you think about going up the hill to deliver coffee?"

"I want to live to be old! How are things going?"

"Suddenly want to have a person to accompany in the side, miss a person, carefully think about it, not miss anyone. I don't know what it's like to be alone and frustrated after suddenly leaving. I'm used to being alone."

"Stop relying on unworthy people and figure out how to improve yourself in the future. You're coming out of your bad heart."

"Sounds like you know a lot. Your parents taught you that?"

"Vested interests are still vested interests! It's important to find the right person!"

"So do I! Nobody talks to zombies, and I'm suddenly silent, because I don't talk to dead people

. I think I should be careful wei Dongshuai, strong body will make demons and ghosts appetite big open, really become a living dead, it has no human nature."

"He was totally focused on the good life ahead of him, and people on the hill never gave credit."

"I feel privileged and lucky to have known such a clever friend!" Sheng sipped his delicious coffee.

At night, Xiao Yang stood at the door of the white bar. When he saw Sheng coming, he smiled and said, "I knew you would come soon, but I didn't expect how soon. Impressive!"

"I am kind and do not want to use the life of others to continue my youth, nor do I want to use the clever blood of others to make my thinking clear and write great works. I prefer the living to the ghosts, as long as they do what I say. In the field, for a long time I eulogized life. Life doesn't come easily. Why did I kill so much?" He pressed the ocean against the wall and said softly.

"I don't like the way you smell, but the way you act! Enjoy your food." Xiao Yang gently stroked Sheng's cheek. He could feel sheng's skin improving.

"The more I want you to hunt with me."

"I'm sure it will. There aren't too many special guests tonight. Would you like me to have dinner with you?"

"My pleasure!

Xiao Yang and rise sitting at the bar, rise can't wait to pick up a big cup of "drink" purr drink.

The corners of his mouth were stained with bright red water. Xiao Yang wiped her lips with her forefinger, sucked the stained fingers, and closed her eyes to enjoy the sweetness.

"You're like a guy who hasn't eaten in years. Xiao Yang laughed.

"When I was a kid, I was weird. Once I started eating, I would forget everything. Food has a very powerful attraction for me."

"Believe me, when the thing you need most is no longer scarce, you don't have a strong urge to acquire it, and you savor the pleasure of things more slowly and carefully!"

"That, of course, is the point of hunting." Sheng is very happy.

"Your body is not suitable for outdoor sports, a strong body is the prerequisite for hunting, I smell a smell of antibiotics on your body, what's wrong with you?" Xiao Yang wondered.

"Well, I shouldn't have kept it from you, but I was kidnapped some time ago. I was tied up and had jars of blood drawn. The needle wasn't clean and I had some symptoms.

"I used to work in a hospital, and the antibiotic smell was really bad, and I was worried about what that stuff would do to you when it got into your body. How is it now?"

"Many of the symptoms subsided, but strange things kept coming up in his neck and chest."

"They're knots, and your collar can't hide them. You are not supposed to come back so quickly. You are supposed to recover so well that when the bad men see your vigorous body, no one will dare to lay a hand on you."

"I have come back to do some business that I must leave at once, and it must be done beforehand to avoid future accidents."

"You are a very cautious man! Did you ever think that something unusual was done to make you think that Jingang City was not a trap?"

"I didn't expect it. I trusted Jingangseong too much."

"Then keep trusting. How soon will you leave?"

"Vinyl was my manager, and they killed him right after I got back, so I didn't have to go back. I was there."

"Vinyl is your reserve food?"

"I can't wait to taste him," he said with a smile as he leaned close to xiao Yang.

Xiao Yang pursed his lips, making him look more boyish. "I'll give you mine," he said.

Sheng was puzzled. "You don't? Or have I offended you?"

"You are a gentleman, giving to those who need it most." Xiao Yang said, embrace Sheng's neck, put the mouth of the cup to Sheng's lips, poured milk to Sheng. Drop by drop, the red "drink" slides down the side of the glass into the deep mouth full of hunger and thirst, full of male hormone confusion.

Xiao Yang sniffed the aroma remaining on her lips, her face acting very erratic.

"Even Vinyl doesn't do that."

"This is the kind of skill we should have. Skilled skills build character. I wonder how you can live with Vinyl. It's always weird when you get older, or when you don't, or when you're suddenly young."

"It wasn't that I had the skills, it was that he wanted to be with me, and I was so grateful to him that he was there when I needed him most, and he was gone when I forgot him."

"You're lucky! Vinyl saw you change your youth?"

"He is very dear to me, and he likes me very much when I am young."

"There was a big event before, a writer was killed, there was a young man pretending to be a middle-aged writer flute, alerted the officials, you are flute?"

"Yes! I'm standing in front of you alive."

"The officials want your blood, and the hunters will do their bidding."

"I've found out why the kidnapper took my blood."

"I'm sorry you didn't give Vinyl a chance."

"He has a mind of his own, and as someone who loves him, I should respect that. When I got back, the Vinyl items mailed to me were missing a lot of winter clothes, and they needed more care."

"It's cold here in the winter, and you don't see anybody in the next spring."

#fog strange talk season 3 ——jinjiang city 2020 #my writing #writing #chinese horror story #jinjiang city 2020 #American Horror Story season 10 remake serialized #american horror story

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eternallysunshine · 3 years

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My history with Kdramas, Kpop and Korean television entertainment

I am posting blog posts from my old wordpress to Tumblr because I want to keep my fangirling to this awesome fan loving Tumblr viewers.

Posted from May 13, 2020:

Back in the undergraduate days, I had a lot of free time to watch television and be online besides working at my fulltime job. My social night life was starting to windle down as I got tired of going out to meet people. Internet was a very slow back in the mid 2000s and it was sometimes a headache to wait for videos or music to download. Watching a PBS channel at night was my go to past time to view international shows and movies.

I don't remember exactly what day it was (probably was a weekend), while that evening I was waiting for an international movie to come on the local PBS channel, an Asian show came on. It was a bunch of young people wearing traditional Asian and modern clothes . The acting was a bit stiff but the storyline was actually kinda cute and funny. I rooted for the two main leads to get along and be a good couple.

This show was called Princess Hours also known as Goong. The main actress, named Yoon Eun-hye, made her character lovable and funny. I was won over...

********************************************************************

I had forgot to mention this but I guess I better before I keep going with this story.Back in the first years of college, I had a lot of time to do many creative things. Many hours were spent at my friend's house who loved Japanese mangas, anime, and video games. She was the first person to introduce me to Asian culture. I don't remember how many Japanese anime we watched or Japanese music we listened to but it was enough to make me fall in love with this culture. I binged watched anime, bought some bootleg dvds from eBay and also tried to save money to buy manga, which was kinda hard to find and expensive. I practiced my anime drawing skills during this period and even tried to learn Japanese.

Through my journey of discovering Japanese arts and entertainment, I somehow came across Korean soap operas. I watched a Japanese dorama called Hana Yori Dango/ Boys over Flowers.

This show was called Princess Hours also known as Goong. The main actress, named Yoon Eun-hye, made her character lovable and funny. I was won over...

******************************************************************** Then I found Goong and that's where my story starts. Somehow, I stumbled across My Name is Kim Sam-Soon while looking for korean dramas. I found many websites that would download video files that I had to convert to mp4 or avi just so I can watch subtitled versions of Asian soap operas. So many hours were spent online to have my fill of Asian soap operas. There were so many and there was no way I was gonna have time to watch them all.Through this kdrama journey, the one thing that stood out to me was some of the soundtracks of the shows. My Name is Kim Sam-Soon had the Clazziquai song "She is", Coffee Prince had Tearliner's "Ocean Voyage", and Que Sera, Sera had W&Whale song' "Midnight". I loved the OST of these shows. They were so modern for that time and not using the same style of soundtracks as other kdramas. I found radio stations that played international music as well as on Napster and Limewire. Lots of hours were devoted to streaming music for my curious ears. I explored Japanese pop such as Ayumi Hamasaki, Namie Amuro and Utada Hikaru . As for Korean pop music I listened to S.E.S. , Baby V.O.X., Lee Hyori, Rain, Shinhwa, Clazziquai, BoA, Son Dam-bi, BigBang, SS501, Super Junior and 2NE1, and probably others I can't think on the top of my head.Through this exploration of music, I got introduced to popular actors/actresses and also to variety shows like X-Man and We Got Married. We Got Married became a show that my partner and I loved to watch.

By 2010, I had slowed down my jpop and kpop listening because I had focused more on getting back into offline world like getting a job after being abroad for a couple of months and socializing with friends and family. I also did not listen to it as much because around that time, accessibility to Asian music and shows were only programmed for paid cable;something I did not have.

Over the years, technology became more accessible as were international shows. I found DramaFever and Viki, both apps that listed Asian dramas. I had my fill of dramas to watch, and there were so many, but so little time. I started to be more mindful of what I watch, whether it's American or anything international. I make time to watch it only if the series really truly interests me enough for 16 to 26 episodes. (It's different for the Chinese dramas, since they are wayyyy longer).

That's journey into Asian shows in a nutshell. It's already 2020 and the most current drama I am keeping up with is The King: Eternal Monarch on Netflix. I'm a fan of both Lee Min-ho and Kim Go-Eun so am glad they were paired up for this drama.Now back to my regular tv watching programming. ;)

youtube

#Youtube #kpop #kdramas #jdramas #doramas #japaneseanime #asianentertainment #koreanpop #japanesepop #oldblogpost #dramahistory #ilovekdramas

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sueboohscorner · 7 years

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OUTLANDER S3 EP 9: "The Doldrums"

So here we are folks, only FOUR....yes...FOUR more episodes before the dreaded Droughtlander strikes again. I pause for a quiet moment of reflection on this. Know this...if you think Jamie and Claire will see Scotland again in the near future, you, my friend will be disappointed. It's going to be a LONG time coming if at all.

First thing....the theme song has changed some! It has the same initial opening music but then the imagery changes and you get a more tropical touch to the music! Love it!

We left off last episode with the abduction of Young Ian (and the treasure!) from the island. This episode Jamie and Claire are in France and get the help of Jamie's cousin Jared. Jamie will be employed aboard the Artemis as supercargo. Funny name, but all ship terms are weird. It just means he will be the one in charge of all the cargo aboard the ship. Jamie is going with Claire, Fergus, Mr. Willoughby (Yi Tien Cho) and two other men, Hayes and Lesley who know Jamie from Ardsmuir prison. Jared tells Jamie that they have checked the log books and the only ship from that day flying a Portuguese flag was the Bruja. They are headed to Jamaica and if Young Ian, being a young healthy lad behaves himself, he will survive the journey and most likely be sold for at least 30 pounds in the West Indies. Awesome. Jared makes sure to point out that winter is almost upon them and the sea will most likely be a little rough. Oh...even more awesome for poor sea sick prone Jamie.

As Jared leaves, Claire inquires about Jenny and Ian. Jamie tells her that they still think they are all on their way in France, so they have no idea yet. However Jamie is sending them a letter to explain what happened to Young Ian and what they are trying to do about it. Hmmmm...would love to be a fly on the wall when THAT letter arrives and Jenny reads it! Jamie turns to Claire and reiterates about her belonging with him, however, if she indeed wishes to return he will take her to the stones himself. Claire says there is something more important right now and that is finding Young Ian.

Jamie and Claire are on board and Claire watches all these men say hello to Jamie and also touch the post nearby with a horseshoe. Claire tries to soothe Jamie by telling him to look at the horizon. He says it isn't his stomach right now, but the sight of Scotland fading away in the distance. "We shall not set foot on her shores again without Young Ian." Jamie tells Claire.

Of course, Fergus appears as they are now far enough away and surprises them with Marsali. Apparently they were "handfasted" which means they are married. Jamie is fuming and drags off Fergus and asks if he has "bedded the lass" yet and Fergus says no. To which Jamie yells out as he turns away that it is not yet binding. Marsali is a huge bitch like her mom. She calls Claire a "hoor" but Fergus tells her not to speak to Milady that way. She also tells Jamie that if he makes her disembark and go home, she will tell everyone that she and Fergus have already slept together. Jamie decides that Fergus is not to touch Marsali, so he and Fergus will be in one room and Marsali and Claire are in another. The women are less than pleased.

As Jamie and Claire head to go below, Claire looks at him and says “We’ve been apart for 20 years and you want me to room with her?” “I’m obliged to protect her virtue,” replies Jamie. “Mine as well, it seems,” Claire snaps. When Claire stalks off in a huff, an almost-seasick Jamie notes sarcastically, "Now I am gonna be sick."

Jamie's seasickness finally sets in and Claire brings him some ginger tea. Before knowing what it was at first, he asks what God awful stuff was she going to put in him. She hands him a cup and he sips it. Claire looks around and sees a trunk and asks what it was. Jamie replies that it is something Fergus brought from Lallybroch. She opens it to find their clothes from Paris and his tartan in there also. She was surprised that he held onto those and said he could have sold them. Jamie just answers "Sell them? Memories of you? Never."

With Jamie feeling seasick, Claire is dining alone with the captain. That is fine, as it is she he wanted to speak to anyway. He tries to convince Claire that men that are alone on the sea for a long time tend to get very superstitious and for her to respect that.

Claire of course has to argue some and mentions the horseshoe. The captain replies that it doesn't matter if he believes that touching a piece of iron will bring good luck, but these men do and that they also believe that someone on board had not. Claire replies that "Believing something doesn’t make it real," and the captain retorts, "On this ship, it does."

Down below Jamie is doing a fair job at trying not to be sick as he discusses Marsali with Fergus. Fergus uses some words about his love for Marsali is akin to him breathing and other romantic stuff. Jamie says he won't bless the union because Fergus has not been honest completely with Marsali in regards to the other women he has been with.

A little while later, Jamie is vomiting his brains out. His door to his room is part way open and Mr. Willoughby comes in and warns Jamie he cannot continue on this path as it can cause serious injury to certain parts of the body, including the twisting of the testicles in which case the only cure is removal. He reassures Jamie he has a cure for the seasickness.

The next morning, Jamie is feeling much better and Claire is amazed and says it must be that ginger tea she has been giving him. Jamie goes off to do something and Claire is walking and sees Mr. Willoughby using water from a bucket with a Chinese brush to write Chinese characters on the deck floor. She kindly asks what it is he is doing. He tells her it is part of his life story and when she asks about it, he says he cannot share his story yet.

Claire walks in to Jamie's room to find Mr. Willoughby putting needles into Jamie's face. She chastises Jamie for not telling her the real reason he was feeling better. Jamie admits that their relationship has been on rocky ground and he didn't want to upset her and adds I didn’t want you to see it as more proof you didn’t belong here." Claire gingerly takes Jamie's face in her hands and says that yes, her return has been hard with struggle and turmoil, but it has never been the question of her not loving him.

Jamie realizes that the ship is not moving and they rush up to the deck. Apparantly the wind has stopped and they are temporarily stuck where they are. Of course, Jamie forgot about the needles in his face and the Captain and other crew give him the strangest looks. Mr. Willoughby tries to explain and Claire says she knows of acupuncture.

Days turn to weeks and the crew are now looking for their "Jonah" the one who didn't touch the horseshoe in the beginning of the voyage. This person, when found will simply be tossed over into the water. Most of the barrels of water have spoiled due to water in the bilge and rations are cut in half. There has been no rain either.

The Jonah is believed to be one of Jamie's men from Ardsmuir. He wasn't seen touching the horseshoe and he doesn't remember if he did or not. Suddenly there is an uproar and Jamie and Claire rush out to the deck to see what is going on. The man is up on the mast, sitting and drinking while the crew below is telling him to jump. Jamie climbs up and tries to reason with the man. He reminds him of Ardsmuir and it was "them against us" and that is the situation now. The man moves to act as to jump, but eventually gives in to Jamie and grabs Jamie's hand.

He slips and Jamie has to hold the man and try to swing him to the rigging which eventually succeeds. When they come down, the ship's crew tries to grab for the man and Jamie and his followers stand in the way.

Meanwhile, Mr. Willoughby looks out at the ocean and sees a pelican flying low. Apparently, this means something and before a full out brawl happens over yonder, he rings the bell to get everyone's attention. He announces his real name and tells everyone a story of how he was chosen even at a young age to be great and was eventually chosen to be employed by the Emperor's second wife. However, to have that job meant one had to become a eunuch to do so. He says he fell in love with "woman" and Claire thought he meant the wife of the Emperor, but he tells her no, ALL WOMAN. He goes on to describe a way a woman smells and certain body parts feel in a most descriptive way with metaphors using fruit. He continues saying that he loved women too much and had to flee his homeland. He ended up in a place where most women are disgusting (Chinese bathed a hell of alot more) and not even a prostitute wanted to lie with him.

Sad, Yi Ten Cho, steps onto the edge of the ship and throws his life's story away into.....WIND.

Yes, the wind has returned and along with that rain. The men are happy and now there is no Jonah.

We finally get a Jamie and Claire sex scene, but it is a quickie. However the part right after and the words Jamie uses to describe Claire's gray hair like a piece of moonlight....beautiful.

Claire replies with a smile that if he were to say such things in the 20th century, he would be The King of Men. Big grin on my face as that is a little easter egg for us book fans as Jamie is indeed the King of Men!

At night, Jamie and Claire are alone on deck and are looking at a full moon. Jamie says something about the man in the moon and Claire goes on to say that just before she left her time, they had put men on the moon and sent back pictures. It is very barren and rocky and the dark marks we see are the craters she tells Jamie. She says a small quote from Goodnight Moon and says she used to read that every night to Bree and that their daughter had it memorized even before she knew how to read.

She mentions Bree always slept with her stuffed bunny toys...."She loved rabbits", Claire says, her eyes filling with emotion. Jamie asks "Do you miss her." "Terribly" Claire says as Jamie holds her tighter.

Bad luck is to come again. This time as a British Man of War is signaling them (by shooting at them) to stop and prepare to be boarded. The captain thinks that they will want men, but when a VERY young man comes aboard and introduces himself as the Captain, and then explains that he is probably the 4th captain by now, everyone is wondering what is going on. The man asks if they have a physician on board and eyes turn to Claire. In the captain's quarters, the man explains there has been an outbreak and they have lost many men....most of the crew actually. Claire chastises him for even coming aboard because he could endanger everyone on the Artemis. She asks him what the symptoms are. The young captain tells her that it starts with pain in the gut, high fever, and the blazing s**ts. Claire asks if there is a rash on the stomach and he confirms that yes there is. She agrees to go aboard to look and Jamie is not too happy.

Out in the hall, he says it is too dangerous, but Claire says it is Typhoid Fever, but not as Jamie and them know it. It hasn't been "discovered" yet. She has been innoculated against it, so she cannot get it. She reminds Jamie that she swore an oath to help save and preserve life when she became a doctor. Jamie looks at her and says that he knows there is no talking her out of it. However, he is not taking his eyes off that ship until she returns.

Claire goes over to the British ship and I can't even imagine the smell of the vomit and feces, etc in that space below! Claire even has to cover her nose and mouth. She verifies what it is and back above tells the captain what needs to be done and that she is willing to help stay a bit longer to help get them organized. She gets a man to get others to bring the sick to the upper deck and she is escorted to Mr. Murphy, the cook to discuss boiling water. He is giving her a hard time when there is a sudden jerk and the ship is moving. Claire rushes up to the deck and confronts the captain about why they are moving. He tells her that she is needed and that they too are headed for Jamaica and have sent word that they assure her safe return upon arrival there.

Claire is speechless and looks toward the Artemis as it is getting smaller and she has to be wondering if and when she will see her husband again. Until next episode......

So, I have seen mixed reviews. I believe the show only people out there were pleased, however, they are rolling their eyes over Jamie and Claire being separated again. Don't worry, it won't be nearly as long, but a little more dangerous. For us book people, some of us are getting very upset to the disregard of Diana's work, So, we don't get a trained pelican to fish for us now? There was no horseshoe thing. There was no Jonah. Mr. Willoughby's speech, though still intact, isn't supposed to happen until Jamaica. To me, they have been changing Claire and Jamie too much also. Claire is never so overbearing and rude at times. Jamie has dreams of Brianna as well as looking at a picture or two SO much it becomes worn around the edges. He yearns to meet his daughter. He seems so distant from that.

Anyway....what are your thoughts??? Thanks for reading!

#Outlander #Outlander Starz #Outlander Season 3 #Outlander (TV series)#Jamie Fraser #Claire Fraser #Mr. Willoughby #Yi Tien Cho #Cesar Domboy #Fergus Fraser #Marsali

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