#I get stressy eating around other people

[lauryn-order]

If I could give you one piece of advice, it would be to have a snack drawer in your bedroom.

[blonde-toddy]

Random and Not So Random thoughts while watching Bridgerton: Season 1, Episode 6

It has taken me a while to do this. But I write this shit down so....

I wonder if they got busy in that carriage.

Probably.

Ok Clyvedon! Y'all are definitely not in the square anymore.

Aww Mrs. Colson. You're so proper and ready to show off and he's just trying to break that back in.

Gahh that place.

Ok Simon, go off!

Aw we're really just diverting there.

You really don't want to know Hyacinth.

Eloise is not here for the shits.

Oh, Colin. You fucking idiot. The one time Violet and Anthony are in agreement.

Colin you happy, dumb boy.

Brothels though?

Colin has a point. He is older than Daphne.

To be fair Colin and Daphne are both getting okie doked.

You horny mfs. I love it.

"You are already Duchess of all this." Yes please.

Ooooh that flip and the way he patted at her hips. They are too good.

Aw Daphne is trying to be proper and Simon is like "fuck all that."

Your Graces.

Jeffries dgaf about this damn honeymoon.

Oh Daphne, she just wants to show you around without YOUR commentary.

Redecorating? Didn't she say she did a bunch of improvements?

"A perfect Duchess." Ok you shady bitch.

Yeah that nursery shit is coming back.

All dressed up and no where to go.

"You're so far away." He wants his WIFE!

They have no chill and the staff don't know how to react.

Mrs. Colson absolutely does not approve.

Girl he hates that place. Gut it!

This man and the way he takes off gloves. Good fucking gawd.

Their poor staff.

I swear I swear I swear that man man is living, breathing, dripping seduction.

Well shit take it outside then.

Queue the rain.

Yes. Remove the wet clothes. ALLUM!!!!!

He is the king of playin with it. And I fucking love it.

"Do you like this?" Fuck yes! Talk. To. Me.

I wonder how many orgasms this man has caused.

"Tell me what you want." Keep talking, yes.

And by "you" she meant that dick.

"Does that hurt?" No boo, it sure doesn't.

But your ignorance on the subject does. Him taking advantage of your ignorance also does.

I love love love Simon but I'm having a harder time with his evasion now that they're actively getting busy.

She's bound to figure it out though, right?

Ahh they're still hot af to me.

Oh shit they're still going.

That picnic. Omfg. Flippin that ass like.....

Head on a ladder?!?!?! Get you some Daphne. Oh sweet Simon....

Sex on a ladder too.

They're really like "fuck the staff." And the staff is like "haha, keep fuckin."

Don't go there Mrs. Colson....

Welp.

That shoe dropping. Gawd yes.

Daphne really went from knowing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to getting that Grade A like a beast.

Though Simon is obviously a withholder, the man is sexually attentive and attuned to her physical desires. He comes to please, indeed.

That tangle.

Ok, girl tell Rose your business.

I do love Rose. I want more of her.

"His physical inability to have children." Oh the sting of lies and ignorance.

"Difficult entanglement." Go head Rose.

Oh Colin, you fucked up lil buddy.

Hyacinth is a treasure.

I like that Violet does try to be supportive.

Penelope and her passive aggressive ass is saucy.

She's mad af.

The sisters do crack me up.

Penelope is dripping salt.

Oh Eloise. They really are putting you out there homie.

Awkward Marina.

Portia is mf hyped! She is all about that social climbing.

But she's gotta negotiate the bag before she pop tags on new Dresses.

Aw shit Marina caught Delacroix. Her French accent was a bit cartoonish.

Curious Eloise.

Oh children.

Oh poor oblivious Daphne. Simon, help your wife.

A fucking tie. Bitch they gotta kill them to eat them. Simon, again, help your wife. Tell your wife THINGS!

Y'all fucking dumb off all that sex and living in la la land apparently.

Well somebody liked his evil ass daddy.

Diplomatic Daphne.

Another sprinkle of kids....and pregnancy too.

I saw that longing look.

Aww she's worried he's hurt by being around children. If only you knew.

"I thought only of you." Really, mf?! As you keep up this lie.

She's so optimistic about her circumstances.

He's lucky he's beautiful. And that I pity him a bit. Because he's a motherfucker.

How did you get so lucky? Well you're lying to your wife and she doesn't know how sperm works sooooooo there's that.

What a beautiful expansive scene though.

Penelope is PISSED.

No belly yet.

Passive. Aggressive.

Oh this dinner is so awkward.

Portia you are not subtle at all.

Anthony is still CLEARLY not here for this engagement.

Oh is she about to snitch.

Well shit. She's kind of snitching.

Aww. He thinks your such a good friend, but hes got this.

You're sneaky and he's stupid.

Marina is hustling.

Eloping is always a grand idea. Colin you fucking dummy.

Marina is so relieved.

Aw where's Simon?

Sad Daphne is not a good look.

Grouchy workaholic Simon is not a good look either....but he does have a lot of responsibility in all fairness.

Mrs. Colson is so sick of Daphne.

Homegirl is just trying to find her footing. At least Rose stays supportive.

Have I said how much I love Rose?

Damn no one wants to talk to Daphne.

Aw she's befriended the pregnant lady with the screaming toddler.

I'm glad someone is finally explaining shit to Daphne. She can't grow if she don't know.

Too busy for his wife now......I'm not liking this vibe.

Aw she's trying to hash it out with Mrs. Colson.

Oooh she's looking for guidance about Simon.

He really hasn't told her shit about his life.

The power dynamic of their relationship is frustrating.

All this talk of being barren.....

She misses Simon's mama.

Strong seed got her thinking!

Penelope you sneaky, lying ass....what are you up to?

She has hope yet again. She about to expose her mother.

She ain't giving up.

Marina is damned and determined to marry Colin.

Oh Marina went there THERE.

You're gonna see your wife, Your Fucking Grace.

Stressy Simon is such a grouch.....but I'm not judging. I'm the same way.

But when they're affectionate, fuck.

He really just tossed her up on that desk like "Fuck work."

And he proceeded to fuckin work that mf thang.

How many people in the world are fucking like crazy right now because their significant others stay turned on by this show.

If I were not single, I would most definitely be pouncing on my partner ALL. THE. TIME.

Ok. Back to the show.

That was a mighty aggressive pull-out.

Relatable Simon. I too like foods after fucks.

Oh shit Daphne connecting the dots.

Rose out here saving the day like usual.

Well at least Daphne knows where babies come from now.

Everything is about to shatter, amrite?

She can't even hear a word he says. She feels so betrayed.

The piglet.

Dat ass though. And those shoulders.

Yeah that's gonna be a no tonight.

Oooh and now he wakes up without her.

She's fucking heartbroken.

The man she loves took away her choice with his deceit.

He allowed her to believe he was unable, not unwilling.

Would she have married him if he told the truth?

He was ready to die about the shit and still lied though.

All he ever had to do was tell her the whole fucking truth.

Everything this WOMAN knows about love and sex, she's learned from this man (and the real MVP Rose). He has literally taught her everything from the start of her sexual awakening. He knows better than anyone how ignorant she is regarding literally ANYTHING sexual in nature. I know he's insanely damaged, but this fucking hurts.

It's a unique feeling of unease and helplessness when you feel or realize you don't have agency over your own body.

An absence of the option to consent if you will.

I know this is a show, and I suppose it's doing its job because it's getting me deep into my thoughts and feelings. And I sure as a mf ENJOY THE FUCK out of watching them literally breathe in the same room with each other....among the many other things they do onscreen together. I guess I'm just heartbroken too. Shit. Plus y'all know I love tf out of my girl Daphne.

Ok back to the show again. This episode is fucking with my emotions.

Daphne is stewing!

But fuck if this isn't romantic as a mf.

These 2 fuck me up every time!

JPOLND - The End. That's this song. And this song is perfect.

Yes y'all! Rip them clothes off.

Daphne looks wild as hell. Carnal. She has a carnal look about her.

Ok bitch. Climb that mf tree then!

Is she anger-fucking him?!

Either way, he's loving it!!!

This song really is perfect.

Oh shit she's not letting up.

Fuck.

This shoe dropping?! Gawd NO!

She was literally like you took my choice so I took yours.

These fucking two.

He's hot with it for good reason for sure, but she is going in!

How the fuck could you think she knew how this worked when she didn't know what masturbation, let alone sex was until you got a hold of her?

YOU. PLAYED. ON. HER. IGNORANCE.

Maybe this conversation should have been had before y'all got naked.

They're both right in their own ways.

But they are absofuckinglutely wrong in so many of their own ways too.

He didn't ask for her pity and she didn't ask for his betrayal.

They are tearing me apart right now!

Big Sean said it best. "I guess drama makes for the best content."

I'm still rooting for them. I love growth and we still got 2 episodes left. They can't stay stuck like this, I'm sure.

Oh hey Whistledown.

Aww go to your friend.

Wtf is going on?

Are they all trying to kill me?

Aw fuck. Marina has been blasted by Whistledown. It's over.

Pure little Colin.

Oh Simon is heartbroken and Daphne.......she's desperate for a baby.

"Can the ends ever justify such wretched means?" That's a great question Whistledown. I'll have to get back to you on that.

I will close this with happiness because I refuse to accept this heartbreak.

[border-spam]

Leech Lord prompts: Hatred

Troy

He cannot fucking stand the makeup and costume team.

Can't.

He sits quietly with so much rage boiling in his abdomen as they scurry around him that he's started needing to remove the prosthetic for most pre-stream prep sessions

He told them it's so they could maneuverer easier, that he was sick of them catching on the sharp edges and jostling him as he'd wait in silence for an hour while they worked his face and body, but it's really because of how many times he's splintered an armrest or come far too close to just grabbing one of them when they won't.. shut.. up.

He hates himself for it more than anything because he knows damn well they aren't actually doing anything wrong. He used to do all his own makeup, all his own costume prep, but as years passed and his attention and time had to be stretched further across more responsibilities and daily tasks, Tyreen insisted they give up on running their own prep sessions and leave it to a group with more skill and far more efficiency than a man with one arm..

She was right. There is no argument, she was right, but God he wishes he'd never have to fucking see any of these people again instead of having to endure them daily, controlling his breathing while they swarm about like insects, applying accessories and fixing problems with how he looks.

They have to talk to each other, of course they do, how else can they do this job, but what they talk about? He hates it.

"No, go up a shade, his undereye is darker than yesterday."

"Need a green tone to cover the bruising, A-410m, no *dab* it on, don't smear, his skin's not great today"

"These need to come in another inch they're barely staying up, call in tailoring."

"Define the bridge harsher, yeah, makes him actually look masculine, stops the eyes looking as sunken too."

"This isn't working - it's just drawing attention to how flat this pec is, do we have any contouring shades we can lift the definition with? He's not balanced, right side’s smaller."

He loathes them, and they have no idea how close they come every day to finding out exactly how much.

Tyreen

There are exceptionally few in Tyreen's sphere of influence who can say no to her. Her followers absolutely do not. The sponsors, the business people, the grovelling off-planet mayors and politicians who travel to the Holy City to beg for her ear certainly don't either. Troy? Rarely, and she can usually muddle him enough afterwards with crocodile tears and gestures of care to get what she wants even when he denies her at first, but his Saints?

Some of his Saints... she wants to eat alive.

Ur-Aurum is the worst by far. He's impenetrable. Has been for near a decade, ever since they handed over their first $5k to him in his citrus scented dust-free luxury office on Promethea. She's not sure she's ever seen the little man look intimidated yet alone act it. A stony-faced, immaculately dressed and groomed business mogul who sacrificed any spark of joy he was born with for hard logic a long time ago, and who has no problem telling God Queen Calypso, Holy Mother of the Vault... no.

He's told her no more than any living person has, including her father. Threats don't work and never have, he's never so much raised an eyebrow at what she does to people in his presence. Manipulation doesn't work because for all her skill, he is so much smarter than she will ever be and he damn well knows it. He's untouchable, Solomon runs all of finance at her stupid fucking brother's decision, and reports to him, not her. He has no family, he has no friends, he's a self-contained fortress of a man she can only scream frustrations at when she's denied, when he shoots down a request for budgeting or vetos a new project she wants to push.

She's disarmed around him, powerless because of this horrible little gremlin, this weakling half her size and weight, and she hates him for it. Loathes him for being so strong without needing to hurt anyone, so dominating without saying a word. Solomon commands respect without a gun or threat or nightmarish cosmic power..

He's stronger than her. She hates him.

Seifa

-- Ur-Machina:// - Mechanica Dept - Internal Com --

U-M : Update immediately - why was 100Ur0B-na blocked with your sign off? That shipment was cleared through lead meetings, it was meant to touch dock 3 hours ago and we're only finding out it was cancelled now. No comms?-

U-C : No need for comms, Saint permission levels are equal, we don't need to send your side updates for every decision made here, remember? Calm down, from what I hear things are stressy enough down in your waste pit without you embarrassing yourself in front of your poor crew by throwing one of your little tantrums.-

U-M : Xan that's very interesting, really. So you without any warning whatsoever cancelled a high-security order that's going to end up causing a major project disruption, and you did this with who's authority? You need to go through Sol to redirect funding and you've left a hell of a messy paper trail here, very easy to follow... did he ok the budget for this new marketing venture?-

U-C : None of your concern, junker. The Holy Father clearly doesn't keep a tight enough grip on your kind's leashes if you don't know your place yet. Necessary channels and processes were followed. We're airtight, you can stop wringing your greasy hands together and put them to some use for once, do some actual work that doesn't involve spreading your legs for a change.-

U-M : Sorry Xan, some of that com text was garbled or something, shame! You should have your techs check out the connection on Marketing's side. Pinged Sol by the way! He's surprised, never heard of this request? I'd expect a call shortly. Honestly, considering who's shipment that was, I'm pretty shocked myself. Maybe I could send you some of my crew over some time, give your team a hand with double-checking data before you dig your own grave in the future!-

//File attached: 100Ur0B-na: Sec code GKT -Personal order- High prio

U-C : We'll have this resolved shortly, thank you for your time.-

U-M : Always got time for you, hun.-

Asks are Open!

(Amazing art from Sick Mick in source)

[footballxixstars]

Day 3 ~ Tyrone Mings

Grumpy Morning Heads

April 2020//30 Day Writing

Neither you or Tyrone were morning people. Both hated getting out of bed any time of the day let alone early in the morning but for some reason, you had to this morning. You couldn’t remember why you were up but there had to be a reason for your alarm to be going off. You quickly turned it off before rolling over and accidentally hitting Tyrone in the face. It seemed like it came with a lot of force as well. You kicked him in the leg before trying to go to sleep once again. Probably wouldn’t be the best idea considering your alarm did go off for some reason.

“Y/N” He moaned, pushing your arm away again. You just grumbled something in return that most likely couldn’t be understood but you couldn’t care. With a groan, you heard Tyrone get up and out of bed and go into the shower. Sighing you rolled over again keeping your eyes closed trying to catch a few more moments of sleep. Finally, after some time of just laying there, you got out of bed. It was very reluctant though. The first thing you did was go into the bathroom to brush your teeth and do some of your other business however Tyrone was still in there and in your way.

“Move Ty.” You said pushing Tyrone away from the sink. Why was he always in your way? Everywhere that you wanted to go he already seemed to be there just in your way. Tyrone looked at you in shock for a second before replying.

“No need to be so stressy,” Tyrone said walking past you. You just rolled your eyes and carried on doing what you were doing. You bit your tongue for a reply knowing that it wouldn’t do any good. Majority of your arguments occur in the morning when neither of you is in your best mindset. It’s always over pointless things as well. Tyrone walked out of the bathroom to go downstairs allowing you all of the space that you would need and then neither of you would argue with each other either. You moved around upstairs glaring at everything. Why did you have to get up so early?

“Want me to make you breakfast?” Tyrone asked when he saw you walking down the stairs. You didn’t answer him already being in too much of a mood because of this morning. It was his fault that you were in a mood with him. You didn’t exactly know why it was his fault but it just was. Walking into the kitchen you just gave him silence whilst grabbing some fruit and sitting down at the table. That would be enough for breakfast.

“Fine, I won’t whatever,” Tyrone said, rolling his eyes and making himself breakfast. He sat at the table and just began eating. The awkward silence was looming over both of you. You were sitting there eating fruit whilst Tyrone was eating his breakfast. The silence between the both of you was uncomfortable for the time being. You knew that it would all be fine. Once you have both woken up properly everything would be fine it’s just none of you are morning people. Especially you, and you do admit that sometimes you can get a bit moody and probably the one who initiates all of the arguments. When the time comes you’ll apologise and Tyrone will forgive you for being so moody and everything will be fine once again. It’s always fine in the end once you apologise.

MASTERLIST | MORE MINGS

[panickedforcefield]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE: MUN & MUSE

Fill out & Repost ♥ This meme definitely favors Canons more, but I hope OC's still can make it somehow work with their own lore and Lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multimuses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

Tagged by: @ifthearmorfits , @polyhexianchicken

Tagging: @raysofsinshine @eloquent-music @symphonicdemise @omicrontheicequeen @wild-at-spark @rebel-heart-icy-spark @knockoutsapprentice @kups-war-stories and anyone who wants to it^^

MY MUSE IS.   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless

* is your character popular in the fandom? YES/NO

* is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  WELL… / NO / IDK. (I mean, I really like the Bot)

* is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

* are they underrated?  YES / NO.

* were they relevant to the main story?  YES (Sorta??) / NO. (I am so sad about that. He deserved better)

* were they relevant to the main character?  YES (In a way. He was kind of a turning point) / NO

* are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO. (No idea)

* how’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL.

HOW STRICTLY DO YOU FOLLOW CANON?

That is quite hard to determine. I try to follow canon up to the point of where Kaon killed him. But the more I play and write him, the more new aspects he gets, the more things he experiences and the more off-canon he gets. But thats Character development.

SELL YOUR MUSE! (aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutual.)

This Truck can carry you anywhere you want to go! Just dont let him run out of fuel and Highgrade, don't abuse him and you have one of the loyalest souls in the Universe on your side. This scared and scarred Bot is build like a brick wall and even has some special abilities. I am not talking about his Magna Clamps, which lets him magnetize himself to different surfaces, I am not talking about his Outlier Ability to generate Forcefields!! I am talking about his empathy! This is one, maybe naive, Bot that can think about others viewpoints and where they come from, he is thinking about what he can do about it. This steady Bot can hold so much fuel, you won't believe it! He even always has some juice packs with him, that he offers others. He is the perfect guy to take with you for any occassions. Not bad looking, not as dumb as others perceive him to be and with a strive to show himself to others!

NOW THE OPPOSITE! (list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?)

Even if you think you know him, you don't. He learned that people judge what they see, so he tries to be perfect n their eyes, helpful and polite. Its a mask. He seldomly lets someone get past behind those masks anymore. He is very unsure of himself, very easily guided along with pretty words. But if he likes you and calls you a friend even behind his mask, he would lay down everything for you, which is a nice point for him but an even bigger one against him. He is a drunk, his frame needing way more fuel than other mechs of the same build.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE?

To be honest. The first time I saw Teebs in any comic was in the Wrecker-series. And he was just a guy breaking into a situation and smiling that warm smile of his at a friend in need. There was no judgement and no pity there, just a very happy and warm smile. This was the moment I wanted to see more of him. And then I kept on reading. And I was getting more and more desperate to see more about Trailbreaker/Trailcutter. And the more I saw and read up on, the more my heart sank. This was a bot struggling with himself, but smiling for others, being there for others. Someone who wants so depseratly to change and even making true friends along the way after all the shit he had to went through, only to be cut down way before his time, way before anyone could breach all of his walls. And I was crying for him. My heart broken. He deserved so much more, I kept thinking.

It took maybe a few days and a few talks with a friend before I found the courage to really do it, to RP him.

WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION

The Teebs in itself is keeping my attention. The many different layers his char gets the more i play him. And the different people I interact with. Gosh, people. I couldn't do it without you. I love the reactions, I love all the little snippets, I love rereading threads or just mentions. It keeps me going and it keeps my love up. Its awesome.

SOME MORE PERSONAL QUESTIONS FOR THE MUN.

do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO.

* do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO.

* do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO.  

* do you think a lot about your muse during the day? YES (Very very much so.) / NO.

* are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO. (I dont know. I wish I could say yes, but I think im making to many mistakes. But I try to get better.)

* are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO. (Most of the time)

* are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO. (No comment)

DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL?

If it's constructive. Constructive Criticism is all well and can only get me to better my writing or to face things I didnt think about before. If its just flames, I delete it right away. Really, just comming in to tell me they hate my portrayal is nothing you do. Flames are used to roast my marshmallows, enough said.

DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER?  

YES!!! Yes, I love those! I can't get enough of those, because really, you can only wrap your brain around issues and questions and HC for so long before you get stuck. Those questions keep my brain and imagination in the loop and I have so much fun to think about those, to come up with reasonings.

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?  

Eh, I mean. Normally people tell me why they think different. There can be quite some good discussions stemming from that, but mostly, we are humans with different ways of life and different experiences. So naturally we will see some things differently. My Muse is following my own way though, so it all makes sense to me and fits the puzzle in my head.

IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT?

I would ask myself why they would read what I wrirte then. They can just unfollow me if they hate what I do. You can't cater to every whim. You can't play nice with everyone. But really, if you hate my Muse, why coming back to my Blog then? You have your own opinion and thats all great. So, it really doesnt face me to be honest. As long as it doesnt blow up to hate against me or all people liking what I do.

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN?  

I hope so, but I know or imagine that I am not. I have my problems, my work and time zones to work through. But I dont want to let those get in the way of nice interactions. I am a scatterbrain, I sometimes forget threads. Its not because I dont want to continue, but because my RL is getting really stressy or something is eating my brain capacity. I love my time on tumblr and try to be open minded and nice to everyone. I hope that gets across^^ So, all in all, I want to be an easygoing Mun. And I love others getting in contact with me about everything.

[snexy-the-snail]

~If you're stressy and depressy riase your hand~

A wonderful marvel prompt! My ask box is always open for requests!!! ^♡^))

Peter hated it when his spider powers dialed everything up to like eleven. It was impossible to focus and the constant thrum of danger was pricking the back of his mind constantly. He all but sprinted out of the school when the last bell rang. He wanted out, he wanted his mentor to tuck him away from all the stupidly loud noises.

He didn't hesitate to pop a pill into his mouth when he got up to the penthouse of the tower. He bit down hard, the familiar taste of blue raspberry flooding his mouth. Technically he was supposed to swallow the pill but he honestly could wait, everything was just so loud and out of place.

"Jarvis, Mr.stark in his lab right?" He calls out to the AI as he starts shrinking, none to bothered with it. He was so used to the feeling by now it was actually a comfort. It meant that everything was going to be alright. Sure it wasn't normal but it helped with his issues so it was perfect.

"No. Sir is currently at a press conference in China."

Peter pauses in surprise at that, he felt mildly betrayed he hadn't gotten that information earlier before he turned himself into a bite sized snacks. He groans softly and fiddles with his web shooters aiming it at the ceiling, Mr.Stark would totally flip if he stayed on the ground like this, so he shot a web at the ceiling and started hauling himself up. The pounding in his head was getting unbearable and annoying. He would take almost anyone at this point.

"Great, perfect." He hisses sarcastically to himself shooting another web to swing more to the counter. Maybe he could get Mrs.potts to tuck him away, he was pretty desperate at the moment truthfully. Man tumblr would have a field day with this.

"I just want to be in a nice quite tum, is that too much to ask?" He whines hanging from his web, trying to judge how many swings it would take to get to the counter. He grumbles unhappily hating just everything at the moment. He was mad at his mentor for not being there, and slightly mad at Mrs.Potts as well.

He lets a small huff of disappointment out staring at the counter longingly, he really needed to start carrying the reverse pill as well so he didn't get stuck like this. He frowns and kicks his feet back and forth just waiting in general to figure out what he wanted to do, he didn't even notice Bucky entering the room

"...what's wrong webs?" Bucky asks slowly not sure what he walked in on. Peter seemed pretty damn angry about something another weird thing he was small, he never got to see the kid so tiny.

He was very surprised to see Peter awkwardly swing around until he was facing him. He shifts slightly as the kid stares at him intently before sighing dramatically.

"Everything is to loud, Mr.Stark isn't here and I ran out of the other pills."

Alright so the kid was just having a tough time, he wasn't sure why that meant he was small but he was going to roll with the punches. He personally didn't know the web slinging vigilante very well but Tony was very fond of the kid.

"Is there..anything I can do?" He asks slowly not exactly sure what to do with the web slinging hero. He didn't really try to interact with many of the people in the tower, he didn't want to come across as rude when he wasn't sure how to answer something and stayed quite.

He wasn't prepared for the kid's look of utter relief at his offer. He wasn't sure what the small child would want but he would do his best to make him happy, anything to get on Tony's good side.

"There is something, but it's kinda super weird and I don't usually ask people because it makes them uncomfortable but I'm just so stressed with school and my spidey sense is driving me nuts today you know-"

Bucky honestly was going to ask what it was but the kid was on a roll already taking a deep breath to finish his long winded story.

"You probably don't, anyway sense Mr.Stark isn't here can you eat me?"

Bucky wasn't sure he heard the kid correctly. He wasn't exactly sure why the hell the kid would want to be eaten but who was he to judge? Maybe he just misheard? Probably.

"Eat..you? I heard that correctly right?" He asks slowly wanting to be sure. The kid nods eagerly clinging onto his strang of web or fishing wire. Whatever it was keeping the hyperactive ball of sunshine in the air.

"Yep! Well Mr.Stark likes to refer to it as hiding away but yeah." Peter continued. He hadn't seen Bucky around a lot but he was at the tower and he was Steve's friend which automatically made him trustworthy. At this point he didnt care who it was, hell he'd even go to Sam at this point. Judging by the winter soldier's face however it probably wouldn't  be happening if he didnt hype it up.

"Okay okay, it sounds crazy, I get it, but it'll seriously help me out! And it helps you too, Mr.Stark says it's oddly calming having someone so close, plus it's safe for both of us." He says smiling slyly.

"How..is eating someone safe?...and Stark does it?" Bucky asks slowly, Peter relaxing a bit. If he was questioning it that meant it was being considered.

"Well sense I'm smaller my molecules are tightly packed, plus I'm like too dense to digest, oh oh and as a safeguard Mr.Stark put a chemical in the pill so the acids wont hurt me." Peter says with a tight grin. Wow his head was really pounding now. He had no idea what caused his over sensitivity but it was a bitch and be wanted it gone. Instantly.

"Please Mr.Winter soldier Barnes sir, I..it helps a lot with my senses, please." He begs before the man could even open his mouth to respond. He didn't care if he sounded like a pouty kid he wanted to be hidden the frick away right now. The world was to loud and he hated it.

He was fully expecting a no when the silence went on, be squirmed uncomfortably on his web strand just wanting a decision to be made out loud.

"...how..how do we do this?"

Oh frick yes.

Peter grins widely practically vibrating with excitement. He was finally going to be able to rest. He never had anyone else hide him away so he wasn't exactly sure, Mr.Stark just went for it really.

"Okay, so like obviously I'm going to need to be in your mouth, then all you have to do is swallow and bam mission accomplished." Peter says with a grin, gratefully climbing onto the man's hand when it was offered. He wondered what Mr.Stark would think about this, it was kinda their special thing.

He steadies himself as Bucky brings his hand to his face, a bit too fast but Peter could manage that, and hesitantly opened his mouth like he was doing something wrong. Peter didnt waste a second before eagerly crawling into the soldier's mouth, marveling at how much chillier it was compared to his mentor.

"Woah you're a lil cold, that's kinda awesome." He says with a small smile. He laughs slightly and shifts a bit so he would be laying down, it would make it a lot easier for Bucky, none to bothered by the slick muscle pressing against his front. It was more of a comfort than anything now.

"Tumblr would so freak if I took pictures now." He whispers to himself, grinning widely when Bucky closed his mouth slowly. It was dark sure but he got used to it by now besides he didnt have much time to focus on the missing light, Bucky apparently realized he needed to slick him up for the trip down and was rolling him around. It was slightly rougher than Mr.Stark but still gentle, he never once hit any teeth, and the cool muscle slid over him multiple times leaving him coated in salvia soon enough. He laughs slightly and pushes blindly at the slick muscle after a few minutes of being licked and rolled around.

"I'm good!" He calls out grinning widely. He could hear every shaky breath the man took, he was obviously nervous but Peter didnt blame him, it wasnt exactly normal to swallow another person whole. His cheeks hurt with how much he was smiling but he couldn't help it, this was just so ridiculously relaxing for him.

"Send me down Mr.Bucky winter soldier sir!" He says doing a mock salute even if he knew it wouldn't be seen.

"Ah yis." Peter says to himself when he started slightly back, Bucky tilting his head which meant the swallow would be coming very soon. He grins and lays flat not wanting to hurt the man even if it would've been completely accidental.

A loud swallow and he was already up to his hips in the threat, tense muscles rippling over him preparing for the next swallow. It was slightly more hesitant but another swallow pulled him down fully and he was sliding slowly down to the core of the Winter Soldier.

While it wasn't extreme cold Bucky was a lot colder on the inside than he expected, certainly not the 90 degrees he was used to in his mentor. He didnt have a lot of time to ponder it before he was squeezed into his final destination. Bucky was definitely tense, the muscles nowhere near being relaxed, more like a sheet pulled really tight, so he did the logical thing and started pressing into the mess of tightness.

"Don't be so tense, it's fine! Seriously I'm fine!" He calls out pressing his hands deep into the muscle, not surprised at all when he sunk a few inches. He gathered Bucky wasnt exactly a talker, but that was fine, Mr.Stark went to meetings a lot with him 'hidden away' so he didnt get to talk to his mentor a lot during those days.

"And..stark..he's alright with this?"

Woah Bucky's voice was a lot gruffer than Mr.Stark's, it seemed to bounce around a little more than his too. Man he'd have to keep a journal on what avenger had what type of stomach.

"Yeah he'll be fine with this, we do it all the time no worries." Peter says waving dismissively before going back to kneading the tense muscles, thankfully the winter soldier seemed to be relaxing so the knots were slowly untensing leaving soft chilly muscles instead. They sat in silence for a moment before Peter's phone buzzed.

"Oh...I am so fucked." Peter whispers looking at the message his mentor had sent. One thing was for sure they'd having a nice little chat when Mr.Stark returned.

Peter hoped Bucky could hide because there was going to be an intense game of hide and seek in a little bit.

((Up next is some Good old Good omens vore-))

[arthachbroin]

So, TFW you find a ship ask meme and decide to fill it out for Brona/Emet anyway because you’re that starved for ship talk. Most of it’ll go below the cut! (source)

ULTIMATE SHIP MEME!

General:

Rate the Ship -   Awful | Ew | No pics pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OTP to rule all other OTPs

How long will they last? - A long time, one hopes!

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - Brona started crushing the moment Emet showed up after Il Mheg, and by the time Mt. Gulg rolled around she was hopelessly in love. Emet had a lot more issues to work through, and even if he found himself attracted to her, there was the whole “Kore” thing to deal with and also the tempering. But the feelings were there, if complicated, and it was only after he (hopefully) comes back that he was truly able to reciprocate entirely.

How was their first kiss? - It was right before the conversation at the Ladder, and pretty desperate and passionate and full of pent-up want and need on both ends, though for different reasons. Their second was a lot softer and sadder, and halfway a goodbye.

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Emet, because Brona is a bit insecure at times and probably wouldn’t think he’d say yes, so Emet would do it and then Brona would cry and say yes.

Who is the best man/men? - Lahabrea I MEAN UH. Aside from him I can’t think of anyone on Emet’s end, so possibly Urianger? He’s who Brona is closest to in the Scions. Or Bran, male WoL friendo!

Who is the bridesmaid(s)? - WoL friend Lulu, probably, and the rest of the lady WoLs in Brona’s squad. Any of the girl Scions who want in, too. Probably Ryne!

Who did the most planning? - Emet, because he’s into that kind of thing and he wants to spoil the shit out of Brona, and he’s also probably a little bit controlling in a harmless way?

Who stressed the most? - Emet is definitely a bit nervous, but Brona and her insecurities probably end up screaming internally until it actually happens.

How fancy was the ceremony? - Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.

Not crazy over the top, no, but you try telling me that Emet wouldn’t go at least a little ham. He’s ridiculously theatrical and a former emperor several times over, after all. If he wants to spoil his wife he’s going to. Brona’s a little flustered, but appreciates it.

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - Well, I mean, Elidibus probably. 

Sex:

Who is on top? - Brona, most of the time. Emet likes to let others take the lead, but sometimes he’ll take his turn because she deserves to be spoiled sometimes. 

Who is the one to instigate things? - Both of them, they’re horrible.

How healthy is their sex life? - Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now

They’re not constantly at it, no, but...pretty often. Very healthy sex life, they enjoy it and it’s nice for both of them.

How kinky are they? - Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head

Not aggressively Weird, but oooh definitely a bit kinky. Emet is very experienced and very much one for experimenting and Brona, though she hasn’t done much before in comparison, is very interested in trying things.

How long do they normally last? - I DON’T KNOW HOW SEX WORKS I DON’T KNOW HOW TO ANSWER THIS ONE.

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - Oh yes, Emet likes to make sure Brona is happy and satisfied, and Brona’s used to making sure her partners are satisfied before she is, so together they end up pretty even.

How rough are they in bed? - Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.

They don’t get that crazy rough, but they are both definitely at least a little rough together. Emet doesn’t like it that violent, but he does like it a bit rough, and Brona...finds she’s pretty good at delivering, and she enjoys it.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? - No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.

They’re awful. Terrible. Brona’s insecurities and the fact that she almost lost him forever just after falling for him, and Emet being--- well, with everything he’s dealt with, they’re both more than a little clingy and affectionate with one another.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - Two, twins, once everything is over for good and they have the time and space--- it’s an accident, though, and they panic a little because of more than a few reasons, but Brona wants to be a mom so badly and they keep them. Their names are Morgan (the girl) and Gawain (the boy).

How many children will they adopt? - None officially, but they’re fussy with their friends’ kids, definitey.

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Emet, because Brona’s very good at bribing him.

Who is the stricter parent? - Brona by a little bit, they both have a bad habit of spoiling their kids rotten because they’re just so overwhelmed with love and the fact that they have babies.

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Emet is far more overprotective because babies with baby souls, but Brona’s fussy, too. Though Emet is also more likely to enable Shenanigans.

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - Brona definitely is better at remembering little things like that.

Who is the more loved parent? - Oh, the twins adore both their parents, but Emet just a little more sometimes because he’s more of an enabler for the crazy stuff.

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? - Brona. We don’t trust Emet doing that kind of thing, he’s not allowed to start up with other parents, he would be the worst.

Who cried the most at graduation? - Both of them would be messes.

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Brona, if just because Emet is 50/50 chance that he’s in trouble with them.

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? - Brona, mostly because Emet is used to either not eating, Creating food for himself, or not cooking because Emperor. Not that he doesn’t know how, he’s just used to not and would forget.

Who is the most picky in their food choice? - Emet does trend towards being a little more picky, but both of them aren’t that bad.

Who does the grocery shopping? - Brona, for sure.

How often do they bake desserts? - Often! Emet is very much a sweet tooth, and Brona would happily oblige.

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - Well, my heacanon is that Emet only really eats seafood meat-wise, no red meat or poultry (don’t ask why, it’s just one of Those hcs), so he’s a bit picky there, but otherwise both of them are pretty much in the middle.

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Emet, definitely. He likes big grand romantic gestures.

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Emet, again. Spoil Brona rotten, that’s his modus operandi.

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidentally while cooking? - Neither one of them are that bad.

Chores:

Who cleans the room? - Brona, probably, Emet can be a little lazy sometimes.

Who is really against chores? - Emet. Why bother??? He can just snap the mess away, come on, does he haaaave to? Also he’s definitely a little used to other people doing them.

Who cleans up after the pets? - Most of Brona’s pets are seedkin, so she keeps them taken care of, but if they get anything else that’s on Emet so they’re his responsibility, dang it.

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Emet, definitely, the lazy butt.

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - Neither one of them are really stressy about guests, mostly.

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Emet because he’s a nosy little shit, too.

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Emet, oh my god, he’s horrible, he loves long hot baths, the shit. He enjoys the finer things in life because it takes the edge off, and that includes hot baths.

Who takes the dog out for a walk? - They don’t have any pets that require walkies, really, but Emet loves cute shit so he’ll probably spoil Brona’s friends’ pets if they let him.

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - Brona isn’t crazy into the holidays, but Emet hasn’t celebrated Eorzean holidays before, and he gets a kick out of them, so he’s definitely very much the one that gets into it.

What are their goals for the relationship? - Mutual healing from their traumas, and just...enjoy the time they have with each other. Show one another they’re loved and cherished for who they are, that they deserve to be loved.

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? - Emet, no question.

Who plays the most pranks? - They love teasing each other with little silly things, so both of them, and they’re equally likely to start it. 

[seriestrash]

TJ and Friends

○ ◎ ONE SHOT ◎ ○

Summary: This is about TJ with his friends giving them a little backstory whilst also showing a few instances where he talks about Cyrus. 

Read on Ao3

Word Count: 8305

Note: This one shot begins right after Buffy tried out for the boys basketball team.

After a pretty draining tryouts, the newly appointed captain of the basketball team retreats home for some downtime. TJ lets himself into his apartment knowing his mom wouldn't be home. TJ sets his backpack down on the kitchen counter and picks up the little post-it note left on the edge in a clearly visible spot so TJ would notice it once he arrived. The note reads;

‘Working late tonight but can’t wait to hear about tryouts in the morning. There’s a plate of dinner for you to heat up in the fridge, love mom’. 

TJ smiles to himself for a moment that she always signs her notes off with ‘mom’ even though it was just the two of them and therefore no one else to mistake as the sender of the note. 

With a hand on his stomach, TJ wanders over to the refrigerator to have a look at what was on the menu for the evening. TJ is disappointed to find a half eaten plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. The basketball captain lets out a heavy sigh and calls out loudly, “Reed, are you here?” 

“In your room.” His voice bellows from down the hall. 

“Did you eat half of my dinner?” TJ grumpily closes the fridge and sulks down the hall towards his room. 

“I was hungry.” Reed chuckles. 

“Dude?” TJ gives him an unimpressed look once he reaches his bedroom door. The younger blonde is sitting on TJ’s floor, his gaze focused on the small TV set as he plays the xbox hooked up to it. 

“Dude.” Reed mimics TJ’s tone. “I left you half.” 

“Gee thanks, Reed, that’s so generous of you to leave me half of my own dinner.” TJ says sarcastically. 

“You’re welcome.” Reed jokes.

“You know my mom gave you that key for emergencies?” TJ scoffs as he still hovers in the doorway.

“I was bored,” Reed says as he sits the game controller in his lap and finally meets TJ’s gaze, “That seemed like an emergency to me.”

“Don’t you have anyone else you can annoy?” TJ exaggerates an eye roll. “Like Lester?”

Reed smirks, “He’s grounded.” 

“What’d he do this time?” TJ asks with no inkling of surprise about his friends punishment. 

“I don’t even know.” Reed offers up a shrug with a light laugh. “Want next round?” 

TJ thinks about the math homework he had been avoiding for two days and is conflicted for a second before ultimately accepting the controller and taking a seat beside Reed on the floor. The two sit with their backs resting against TJ’s bed. 

“You seem extra stressy today.” Reed readjusts his position to a comfier one now that he was viewing the game instead of playing. 

“I had tryouts today for the team.” TJ shakes his head at his friend. 

“Oh crap, I completely forgot.” Reed laughs. 

“You weren’t concerned at how long it took me to get home from school?” TJ asks rhetorically. 

“How’d tryouts go, captain?” Reed mockingly salutes TJ to which the taller boy elbows him in response, all the while keeping his eyes fixated on his small television screen as he plays his turn. 

“Everyone is pretty hopeless,” TJ grunts, “And get this right, a girl tried out for the team.” 

“Why would she try out for the boys basketball team?” Reed scrunches his face in confusion. 

“Jefferson doesn’t have a girls team.” TJ explains. 

“Was she any good?” Reed questions.

“That’s besides the point.” TJ lets out a frustrated breath once he loses his turn. 

“Why?” Reed reclaims the controller for another go. 

“She’s a girl.” TJ offers up weakly. 

“You scared she’s going to be better than you?” Reed teases. 

“As if.” TJ rolls his eyes but there was some truth behind Reed’s quip. “It’s just embarrassing having a girl on the team.” 

“Not if she’s good.” Reed says.

“I don't know. I just don’t want her on the team.” TJ says huffily knowing he had no real basis for his argument. 

“Is she cute?” Reed asks. “Sorry dumb question,” He adds with a laugh. “I forgot you don’t exactly care about that kind of thing.” 

“You know that’s not how it works right?” TJ frowns. 

“I know.” Reed says a little nicer. 

“You haven't told anyone, have you?” TJ asks quietly. “Not even Lester?”

“No way.” Reed says firmly and he puts his controller down to look at TJ so he knew he was being genuine, “I told you, I got your back no matter what.” 

TJ nods slightly and shakes off the heaviness of the moment. “My turn.” TJ changes the subject as the pair were very rarely in-depth feelings sharing kind of friends and their discussion about TJ maybe being gay a few weeks ago had filled their sappy talk quota for a while. 

“Fine.” Reed gives up the controller. “Hey, you got any savings from the gym?” 

“A little why?” TJ questions. 

“To order pizza.” Reed says with a cheesy grin. 

“What about half of my meatloaf you already ate?” TJ asks. 

“It was not good, that’s why I only ate half.” Reed holds back his laugh. 

“I’m going to tell my mom you said that.” TJ laughs. 

“She won't believe you.” Reed says confidently, “Tess loves me.” 

“That’s only because she doesn’t know half of the crap you get up to these days.” TJ scoffs. 

“Hey, what our parents don’t know won't kill them.” Reed smirks devilishly. 

TJ quickly comes to terms with the fact that he’d have to use part of his latest paycheck for pizza as Reed was unlikely to let the idea go. TJ jokes that for a rich boy, Reed is often spending TJ’s hard earned money to to which Reed rolls his eyes and assures TJ he’s good for it.

Reed was TJ’s oldest friend.The two met when TJ was nine and Reed was eight. TJ had just started to get into dirt biking and they met at a popular riding spot. Reed had been doing it since he was much younger and was a great help for the beginner. The two were fast friends and have only gotten closer since. In fact, there was one point in time where the two almost became stepbrothers. TJ’s mom, Tess was engaged to Reed’s dad, Michael but she called it off because Michael’s all consuming work schedule was a really big issue within their relationship. Michael became quite bitter about the breakup and for sometime after he banned Reed from seeing TJ but thankfully he eventually dropped his anger towards TJ and let his son see him again. Although her relationship ended with his father, Tess is still quite motherly to Reed, hence the spare key and complete comfort Reed feels being in their apartment alone.

Shortly after they first connected, Reed introduced TJ to Lester whom he knew from school. Both Lester and Reed go to Lincoln Academy which is a private school across town, one that goes from kindergarten right through until high school. Upon introducing Lester to TJ, the three instantly clicked as a group. Lester tends to be the quietest of the three even though he’s the oldest, he’s shy around new people but when it came to TJ and Reed he showed a lot more personality. The three earn a reputation as being mischievous at times, often causing Tess great grief and trouble for Reed with his dad. Regardless of their reputation though, they were TJ’s best friends. Sure he had his basketball friends at school but he misses having Reed and Lester around during his daily schedule and is at time envious they get to go to school together, even if they wore dorky uniforms, although he’d never admit that out loud. 

-

A day after the Jefferson Middle School’s first basketball game of the season, TJ is out front of The Red Rooster flipping through a rack of records whilst Reed and Lester were inside looking at others when he’s approached by Buffy. Buffy very maturally tries to reason with TJ but he blows her off completely resulting in some heated words from Buffy before she storms off.

It’s only a second later that Reed and Lester exit The Red Rooster and both catch a glimpse of Buffy as she storms away.

“What was all that about?” Reed questions.

“That was Buffy.” TJ rolls his eyes.

“Oh damn.” Lester laughs, “She is not what I was expecting.” By now Reed had caught Lester up on the issue whilst they were at school together.

“We could hear her yelling at you from inside,” Reed appears amused. 

“Well she’s officially on the team and officially a pain in the neck.” TJ huffs.

“She’s got personality, I like her.” Reed smirks. 

"Well you’re both annoying so it’s like a match made in heaven.” TJ replies snippily and Lester laughs halfheartedly.

Reed chuckles through a sarcastic, “Ooo,” before TJ rolls his eyes and walks away.

“Don’t be like that.” Reed says as he and Lester chase after TJ. 

“You’re not taking my Buffy problem seriously.” TJ folds his arms.

“If you really don’t want her on the team you’re going to have to convince her not to be.” Reed says. 

“How am I supposed to do that?” TJ asks. “I already told her to quit.” 

“I don’t know, don’t pass her the ball?” Reed suggests, “I’m sure she’ll quit eventually.” 

-

A few weeks later TJ is shooting hoops at the court by his apartment building to let off some steam. After another failed algebra test he’s being forced to start tutoring sessions with Buffy of all people. TJ grumpily makes a shot, the ball connects with the edge of the hoop and bounces backwards. 

“And I thought you were supposed to be good at this?” Reed catches the rebound, Lester is a step behind him chuckling. 

“I’m too angry.” TJ huffs as he catches the ball Reed bounced back towards him.

“What’s rubbing you the wrong way?” Lester questions. 

“My stupid math teacher is making me get a tutor because I failed a couple of dumb tests.” TJ folds his arms, “Maybe if he wasn’t so boring I wouldn’t fall asleep in his class and I’d actually pass.” 

“Who’s the unlucky student that gets to tutor you?” Reed questions. 

“Driscoll.” TJ says with a look of distaste.

Reed stifles a laugh, “Now I get the whole broody basketballer mood.” 

“Buffy?” Lester questions, “That poor girl you’ve been tormenting on your team?” 

“I’m not tormenting her.” TJ looks offended. 

“She’s met you, that’s torture enough.” Reed jokes and Lester playfully smacks his chest in amusement. 

“My charming personality doesn’t seem to be enough to repel you two losers.” TJ rolls his eyes before lobbing the basketball towards his friends. It hits them both on a shoulder each as they failed at their attempted swerves to dodge it. 

“Why don’t you just get a different student to tutor you?” Lester questions. 

TJ remains quiet about all the other tutors he’s already gone through. He had been silent about his tutoring history until today. “There’s no one else.” TJ shrugs. “My teacher says it has to be Buffy.”

“Tough break.” Reed coaxes his head, “You want to go for a ride, maybe take your mind off of it?”

“Can’t.” TJ sighs, “I have to think of a way to get Buffy to agree to the stupid tutoring sessions so I’m not kicked off the team.” 

“Good luck with that.” Lester says with a grimace. 

“Keep me posted.” Reed gives TJ’s shoulder a pat as they part ways. 

-

The following afternoon TJ walks into Lester’s house after Lester’s younger sister Kylie let’s him in.

“They’re in the basement.” Kylie says with little emotion before leaving TJ on his own.

“Okay thanks..” TJ says to himself before he turns towards the basement and trots down the stairs. Lester’s basement was a nice setup, it wasn’t quite as flash as Reed’s mansion of a home but Lester’s living situation was definitely a good few steps up from TJ’s tiny apparent he shared with his mom. 

“Hey.” Lester greets TJ, he and Reed both sit on a couch in the middle of the basement. 

“Hey.” TJ says as he takes a seat in the free armchair adjacent to them both. “So Buffy agreed to tutor me.”

“How’d you manage that?” Lester questions.

“I agreed to pass her the ball.” TJ releases a defeated sigh.

“That’s it?” Reed laughs, “She has to teach your dumb ass and all you have to do is pass her the ball?”

“Dude?” TJ gives his friend an unamused look.

“I’m just kidding.” Reed dismisses TJ’s sensitivity towards the joke.

“Passing her the ball is a gateway into her wanting to stay on the team.” TJ folds his arms.

“Yeah but it also means that you get to stay on the team.” Lester highlights.

“You guys were the ones that encouraged me to try and make her quit.” TJ says defensively. 

“Yeah but now you need her help with something so you have to adapt.” Lester shrugs.

“I guess.” TJ sinks into the chair with a sulky expression. “There was one other condition she had..” TJ was mumbly as he said this but there was a hint of a smile that crossed his face. 

“Yeah?” Reed points a raised brow at TJ out of confusion more than curiosity.

“She made me get her friend a muffin.” TJ says. 

“Like buy a muffin?” Reed tries to make sense of it all.

“No, we have these muffins in the cafeteria he just always misses out on one.” TJ explains. 

“He can’t get his own muffin?” Reed laughs. 

“That was my reaction,” TJ laughs too but then softens, “I think he’s just too polite to cut in line.

“So you cut in and got him the muffin?” Lester questions stoically, clearly not enthralled by the muffin tale. 

“Kind of,” TJ shrugs, “I guess it doesn't really matter.” 

“Well he got a muffin and you got yourself a tutor.” Reed slaps his knee, “Things are looking up.”

-

TJ begins tutoring with Buffy and much like his behaviour with the past tutors he’s burnt through, TJ shows her little respect, all to deflect from his struggles to actually make sense of what she’s saying.

In a strange twist of fate TJ winds up on the swings with Cyrus where the pair swing away their ‘stuff’. A nice moment is interrupted when Buffy finds them together and then suggests TJ might have a learning disability. TJ already thinking so little of himself, receives this poorly and storms off again. 

On his walk home, TJ bumps into Reed who was riding his push bike. Reed hops off and pushes his bike as he walks alongside TJ. 

“Hey.” TJ mumbles his greeting. 

“Hey..” Reed furrows his brows at TJ’s off mood. 

“What are you doing?” TJ asks with little effort to fake being interested in an actual answer. 

“Just hanging out.” Reed answers, “...Is something up, man?” 

“Tutoring sucks and Buffy is the worst.” TJ huffs.

“What else is new?” Reed forces a soft laugh to make light of things but it falls flat with TJ. 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” TJ shrugs. 

“Cool.” Reed nods and the two walk in silence for a moment. 

Finally TJ speaks up, “Hey you remember when we were kids and we used to hang out at the park and we’d do the underdog trick on the swings?” 

Reed looks like he was searching his memory vault before an uncertain kind of realisation crosses his face, “Is that where you duck under whilst the other one swings high?” 

“Yeah, that’s it.” TJ says with a nod. 

“Yeah, I remember, all the kids would do it.” Reed smiles, “Wow, I had totally forgotten about that.” 

“Me too.” TJ smiles to himself. “Until today..”

“Any reason you bring it up now?” Reed questions. 

“Nah.. Just thinking about it.” TJ brushes it off, the swing session with Cyrus had made him feel better and he didn’t want Reed making fun of it.

“Okay...” Reed nods. “So I have an idea about your Buffy problem.” 

“Oh yeah?” TJ questions. 

“If she’s not working as your tutor, why don’t you just get her to do your homework instead?” Reed proposes. 

“Like she’d ever agree to that.” TJ scoffs.  

“Find a way to convince her..” 

-

After Reed’s suggestion, TJ - with Cyrus unknowingly assisting - managed to convince Buffy to do his homework. Although it was his intent to not pass her the ball during the game his teammates started to turn against him and he had no choice. 

After the teams win, TJ lazes around his bedroom with Lester and Reed, snacks polluting the floor in front of the xbox set up. 

“Who’s Cyrus?” Reed - who’s over by the desk - asks. 

TJ’s attention snaps from the game up towards Reed as Cyrus’s name was surprising to hear coming from present company. 

“What?” TJ asks with a confused expression. 

“Cyrus, he’s invited you to his bar mitzvah?” Reed waves the invite he had picked up from TJ’s desk around. 

“Oh, he’s Buffy’s friend.” TJ says casually. 

“Muffin boy?” Reed asks with an amused grin and Lester chuckles. 

“Let’s not call him that...” TJ frowns. 

“So you and Cyrus are friends now?” Lester questions. 

“Yeah are we missing something?” Reed presses, “You’re not on good terms with Buffy - his friend - but muffin boy is inviting you to his birthday?” 

“Yep.” TJ shrugs casually, “Cyrus was actually the one who helped me solve my homework issue with Buffy.. Although he doesn’t really know what part he played in that...” 

“Is the party going to be fun?” Lester asks. 

“Think you can get a couple of plus ones?” Reed seconds the idea after picking up on what Lester was suggesting.

“You don’t even know Cyrus and it’s invite only.” TJ shuts down the idea quickly. 

“Lame.” Both Reed and Lester say in unison causing them all to chuckle.

- 

After Cyrus’s crazy bar mitzvah party, TJ notifies his mom that he’ll be staying at Reed’s house as it was only a couple minute walk from the party venue. Once there, TJ walks past Reed’s father Michael taking a business call in the kitchen, the two exchange a silent wave and TJ continues towards the theatre room knowing that’s where he’d find the guys. It was pretty late but not uncommon for Michael to still be working, after all, that is why TJ’s mother called off their engagement but TJ still had a wave of sympathy for his friend, although Reed avoids all sorts of family talk, TJ knew he was lonely at home. 

Once in the theatre room, TJ finds Lester has already fallen asleep on one of the reclining chairs but Reed was awake and watching a movie with the volume turned down low.

TJ sets himself down on the seat beside Reed and the boys lower their voices to whispers as TJ starts to share how great the party was. He left out details like the fortuneteller confirming his learning disability or Buffy roasting him but he did share a tale of Cyrus and some fancy apple cider.

-

After TJ’s suspension from the team and some encouraging words from Cyrus he tells Mr. Coleman about his dyscalculia and his suspension is lifted. TJ also couldn’t help himself and rubbed his good fortune in Buffy’s face all the while he let slip about his manipulation into getting her to do his homework and coming clean about it got Buffy suspended instead which TJ was unapologetic for. 

As TJ preps for his first game back, Lester and Reed keep him company. TJ explains what had gone down, he even opened up about his dyscalculia with them which Reed and Lester quickly deduced they shouldn’t give TJ a hard time about. TJ goes on to express that he kind of felt bad for getting Buffy suspended too, she was moving away soon and he really ruined that for her. TJ also stressed that he felt guilty for saying something that would probably cause a fight between Cyrus and Buffy. 

“Why do you care if they’re fighting?” Reed questions. 

“Just because I don’t like Buffy doesn’t mean I need to go ruining her friendships with everyone else right before she moves away...”

-

School has wrapped up for the day and TJ was surprised to find Lester and Reed waiting out front. The two were still dressed in their school uniforms and they explained that they had ditched last period, that was hard to do at their private school so TJ suspects they’d both get in trouble for it. 

“Hey, TJ!” A voice calls from some distance away. TJ peels his gaze from his friends and points it over in the direction his name was called. TJ spots Jonah approaching at a quick paced walk with a basketball gripped in his hands, which was odd to TJ because Jonah was a frisbee boy.

“Who’s that?” Lester questions as it wasn’t any of TJ’s basketball friends that he and Reed had met before. 

“Is that Cyrus?” Reed asks. 

“No, that’s Jonah.” TJ scrunches his face up. 

“Who’s Jonah?” Reed wonders. 

TJ hushes his friends just as Jonah reaches them. 

“Hey, I’m glad I caught you before you left.” Jonah lets out a heavy breath as he was lightly puffed, he sends a shy smile to the two strangers TJ was with. 

“Ah, hey..” TJ gives him a weak smile, the only interaction they had had prior to this was during Jonah’s panic attack. 

“I brought this for you to sign.” Jonah holds the basketball out for TJ. 

“You starting a fan club for the basketball team or something?” TJ pricks up a brow. 

Jonah laughs softly and endearingly says, “That’s more Cyrus’s thing.” TJ could feel Reed’s side stare burning holes in him but he pretends he doesn’t notice and Jonah continues, “The ball is for Buffy. I’m helping Cyrus and Andi put together a time capsule full of Buffy’s memories so she has something to take with her when she leaves, I thought it would be nice if she had a memento from the team. See,” Jonah says twirling the ball in his hands, “the whole team has signed- Well, the whole team excluding you.”

“It’s for Buffy.” Reed says with a knowing look and it earns another shy smile from Jonah. 

“Ignore him, that’s what I usually do.” TJ says with an exaggerated grin. 

“So, do you want to sign it?” Jonah pulls a sharpie from his pocket and holds it out. 

“Are you sure that’s even a good idea?” TJ questions, “Buffy isn’t exactly my biggest fan.”

“Understatement of the year...” Jonah laughs nervously. “Signing could be like a grape vine to Buffy before she leaves, so things between you aren’t on the worst of terms?” Jonah suggests. 

“Do you mean olive branch?” Lester sports a confused look. 

“Yeah but I hate olives.” Jonah chuckles and both Lester and Reed exchange a perplexed expression, almost wanting to laugh at Jonah but it was so random they were at a loss for words.

“What do you say?” Jonah grins widely at TJ. 

“Okay.” TJ nods sheepishly and signs his name to the ball. 

After Jonah leaves, Reed and Lester lightly tease TJ about signing the ball. Joking that he’s gone soft and mushy. TJ shrugs it off and insists he’s happy Buffy is leaving for good.

-

After Buffy moves away TJ found it easier to be Cyrus’s friend. They’d often chat in the halls at school and they’d text a little. So when Cyrus had a problem with P.E. TJ was happy to jump at the chance to help. 

After the somersault victory, TJ and Cyrus part ways. TJ meets Lester and Reed at the movie theatre and before the previews began TJ was retelling the events of the day. 

Lester expressed an interest in seeing Cyrus’s list of easy things he couldn’t do but TJ refused knowing he and Reed only wanted to make fun of it. As a ‘boo hoo’ to TJ for being no fun his friends start throwing popcorn at him, with both Lester and Reed on either side of him TJ got quite annoyed by this and snaps at his friends.  ”Calm down, Kippen.” Reed’s laughter halts abruptly, a hint of annoyance in his tone, “We’re just having some fun.” 

”At the expense of me.” TJ grumbles. 

“Okay, well, we’re not making fun of you.” Reed scoffs. 

“Right, you’re just making fun of my friend.” TJ looks away with an irritated expression. 

“Lighten up, TJ.” Lester pats his friend on the shoulder, “We were just messing around.” 

“Fine.” TJ shrugs and the lights in the theatre dim as the previews begin, “I just don’t appreciate you making fun of, underdog’s list.” TJ adds with a whisper. 

“Underdog?” Lester questions and another movie goer shushes him. 

The nickname wasn’t something TJ avoided using around other people but in his present company it felt like a slip up. “Just a nickname,” TJ shrugs it off quietly. 

Reed points a raised brow in TJ’s direction although the cinemas was too dark for TJ to notice. Reed thought about TJ brining up the underdog swing game a few months back and questions if TJ’s friendship with Cyrus was something more than he originally thought. 

“Cute.” Lester chuckles.  

The same movie goer from before speaks up again, this time louder, “Would you kids quite down please?” 

“Chill old man, the movie hasn’t even started yet.” Reed calls back and TJ gives him a firm shove in the arm to cut it out. 

“What?” Reed asks defensively. 

“Just stop.” TJ keeps his voice low. 

“Alright, mom.” Reed laughs obnoxiously and other people in the theatre were starting to get annoyed too. 

TJ bites his tongue although he really wanted to snap at Reed for saying that but TJ remains quiet because he knew Reed was purposely trying to stir him up. Reed knew TJ hated it when he called him mom, like he was being bossy or controlling which at times TJ would have to be because Reed often got carried away.

Another woman leans forward and she looks annoyed but politely asks them to stop talking as she was trying to watch the trailers. TJ felt embarrassed by his friends misbehaving apologises to the lady and assures her they’ll stop. Reed seems annoyed by TJ and sulks back in his seat. They watched the movie quietly, the mood definitely off between them all. 

Once the end credits rolls they exit the theatre but the mood doesn’t lighten up. Things still seemed tense, specifically between Reed and TJ but Lester wasn’t at all oblivious to it. 

“So, who wants to grab a bite to eat before we head back to mine?” Lester speaks up as they walk. 

“I think I might just go home.” TJ kicks a rock as he passes it.

“We’re supposed to be playing the new video games I got for my birthday?” Lester points out. 

“I just remembered I told my mom I’d be home for dinner.” TJ dips his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. 

“If you don’t want to hang out with us, TJ, you don’t have to lie.” Reed says almost casually. “Your mom is working tonight.” 

“What, are you stalking her now or something?” TJ retorts defensively. 

“No, she said so yesterday when I was over for dinner.” Reed glares, “What, are you lying now or something?” Reed mimics TJ’s defensive tone.

“Guys, chill.” Lester looks uncomfortable by the blow up. 

“It’s not my fault, Kippen is such a stick in the mud today.” Reed rolls his eyes. 

“Honestly, what is your problem, Reed?” TJ stops in his tracks, annoyed by his friends attitude, “Is this because I told you to shut up during the previews?” 

“Yeah, actually it is.” Reed scoffs, “But it’s not just today, you’ve been constantly riding Lester and me every time we hang out.” 

Lester shifts uncomfortably on his feet, “He’s not wrong, last weekend when we went bowling you were a bit of a buzz kill.” 

“You guys were messing around in a different lane.” TJ states. 

“So?” Reed shrugs, “We were just having a bit of fun.” 

“We got kicked out, just like I said we would.” TJ sighs.

“Who cares?” Reed still looks like he’s in disbelief almost that TJ was arguing the way he was. “Maybe we took it a little too far but you’ve done the exact same thing with us in the past.” 

“Exactly.” TJ folds his arms, “In the past.”

“So now we can’t have fun anymore?” Reed asks. 

“We don’t have to be public nuisances to have fun.” TJ states. 

“See, stick in the mud.” Reed looks to Lester as he motions to TJ.  

“I apologise for being self-aware.” TJ says sarcastically. “I’ll be sure to act like more of a jerk when I’m around you so you know I’m having fun.” 

“You’re doing a great job right now.” Reed smirks patronisingly. 

“Grow up, Reed.” TJ rolls his eyes. 

“Sorry we can’t all be as mature and ‘self-aware’ as you,” Reed says in a mocking tone. “You’ve changed ever since you started hanging out with your little boyfriend, Cyrus.” Reed states.

“Dude, that’s not a cool joke.” Lester hits Reed’s chest lightly. 

“Who said I was joking?” Reed holds TJ’s eye contact as he said it and confusion registers on Lesters face as he reads TJ’s hurt expression.  

TJ wanted to drop everything and run away. Reed’s comment basically outed TJ to Lester and that kind of betrayal - from Reed of all people - hurt TJ in a way that levelled with how it felt when TJ’s dad left him and his mom. 

“You sound jealous.” TJ tries to hold his own although the hurt he felt was written all over his face.

“Of muffin boy?” Reed scoffs. 

TJ wanted to say something just as hurtful back, he wanted to call Reed a clingy friend and throw his distant workaholic father in his face but he doesn’t, instead he weakly says, “Forget it. I’m going home,” before quickly making an exit.

- 

The Monday morning following TJ and Reed’s big blowup, TJ is driven to school by his mother. Once parked, TJ remains in the passenger seat not wanting to get out. Tess tries to ask her son what is wrong but he insists everything is alright although he makes no effort to leave the car. Even though Tess has to get to work she doesn’t rush her son.

Out the windshield, TJ spots Cyrus standing out front of the school with Andi and more surprisingly, Buffy. Confusion hits TJ as Buffy had been gone for two months now. Then it was as if Cyrus had sensed TJ staring in their direction because he turned his head around and makes eye contact, sending a cheerful wave over in response. TJ sheepishly returns the gesture.

“He looks familiar.” Tess says although she didn’t know why he looked familiar.

“That’s my friend Cyrus.” TJ says with a small smile. 

“Oh of course! You went to his bar mitzvah party,” Tess recalls, “I remember his face from the sweatshirt.” Tess coos and TJ was suddenly feeling embarrassed.

“Well I better get going, mom...” TJ says picking up his backpack and Tess wishes her son a good day at school.

Cyrus is already approaching the vehicle when TJ closes the car door behind himself.

“Hey, TJ.” Cyrus greets him enthusiastically and sends a happy wave to TJ‘s mother as she pulled out of her parking space. TJ can’t help but smile at this as Cyrus had never even met his mother before but there he was waving like they were on a first name basis.

“Hey, underdog.” he smiles and for a moment TJ had forgotten about his fight with Reed and the awful feeling it had left him with. “Call me crazy but did I just see you standing with Buffy before?”

“She surprised me and Andi yesterday, isn’t that great?” Cyrus beams. 

“Yeah, sure,” TJ laughs, “How long is she here for?”

“That’s the best part,” Cyrus bounces on his toes, bursting with excitement, “She’s back for good!” 

“No way..” TJ says in a state of disbelief and just like that TJ’s bad mood returned. Not because he didn’t want Buffy to be here, TJ was actually happy for her and for Cyrus to have his friend back, TJ’s mood was triggered by the idea that his friendship with Cyrus would have to revert back to the way it was before Buffy moved away which was still nice but harder for them as Buffy didn’t approve of them hanging out. The idea that he might have lost Reed, Lester and Cyrus all in a couple of days was too much for TJ.

“Is something wrong?” Cyrus questions after noticing TJ's expression drop, “I know Buffy isn’t your best friend or anything but I thought you were past the whole hating her thing...” 

“It’s not that.” TJ shakes his head, “Don’t worry about it.”

"Ah hello, have you met me?” Cyrus laughs, “Worrying is my specialty. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” TJ says honestly. What was he supposed to say to Cyrus? “I had a fight with my best friends because they’re whining about me being a better person?” Or “I’m super upset because my closest friend outed me to our best friend and he did it by making a joke about you and me being boyfriends?”

“I can’t force you to talk,” Cyrus holds TJ’s eye contact, “But if you do want to, I’m here.” 

"Thanks.” TJ breaks their eye contact and goes mumbly. 

“So did you want to come say hi to Buffy before homeroom?” Cyrus tries to change the subject to make TJ more comfortable.

“Did you forget the part where she hates my guts?” TJ laughs nervously.

“She doesn’t hate you.” Cyrus says unconvincingly.

“She’s got a right to.” TJ states. “I got her kicked off the team right before she moved away, among other things...”

“Your apology to time capsule Buffy was sincere. I know you’re sorry.” Cyrus says firmly, “Maybe it’s time you express that to the real Buffy?

“I don’t think she’s is going to listen to me.” TJ chews on the inside of his cheek anxiously. 

“If she won't listen then you might have to show her instead.”

“I’m going be a great sport during her first game back.” TJ nods in agreement.  “All her games actually.” TJ adds the last sentiment quickly and Cyrus smiles. TJ mirrors the grin and was quietly optimistic about the Cyrus side of his worries and that was enough to distract him from Reed and Lester for now.

-

Since Buffy’s return, her and TJ have finally made up, TJ would even go as far as calling her a friend now. That whole chapter of his life being over made TJ feel lighter now that he wasn’t hiding behind the image he was previously trying to portray. The only thing bothering TJ these days was his distance with Reed and Lester. TJ hadn’t spoken to either of the boys since their blowup out front of the movie theatre. 

TJ sits on the worn down bench by the basketball court near his apartment building. He’s extra mopey about his strained friendship today as he knew Reed’s birthday was tomorrow and the two of them along with Lester always spent it together, even if it was just something small after school. TJ was just about to head inside when he spots Reed approaching and it takes him by surprise. 

“Hey.” Reed says sheepishly as he nears. 

“What are you doing here?” TJ questions and not in a hotheaded manner but a surprised one. 

“Your mom invited me over for dinner for an early birthday celebration... ” Reed stops a few steps in front of where TJ sits, “I guess you haven’t told her I was a jerk the last time we hung out..” 

“You showed up so I guess you didn’t tell her either.” TJ looks away as he speaks. 

“TJ, I’m so sorry.” Reed says sincerely although it looked like he was struggling to actually form the words to say. 

“For which part?” TJ asks. “For making fun of my friend? For calling me boring or for practically outing me to Lester?” 

“For all of it.” Reed frowns, “Especially the Lester part. That’s the shittiest thing I have ever done in my entire life.” 

“No argument here.” TJ folds his arms and still avoids eye contact. 

“I wasn’t purposely trying to out you,” Reed says honestly, “But that’s exactly what I did and I am so sorry. I was trying to go for the thing I knew would hurt you most.” 

“Well it worked.” TJ mumbles. 

“TJ, I’m really sorry.” Reed’s frown deepens. 

“I want to know why you wanted to hurt me so bad?” TJ finally snaps his head back to Reed, “Was it because I don’t want to be a public nuisance? Because I’m trying to be better?”

“You've been my best friend for the longest time,” Reed says, “We’ve been in the same sort of routine forever and it just felt like you were growing out it, out of me and Lester.” 

“It’s not like I think you and Lester are bad people?” TJ furrows his brows. 

“I know.” Reed nods, “Maybe seeing you be more responsible made me insecure about myself...”

“Doing what you did, outing me,” TJ wore a look of such pain on his face, “Doing that for any reason is a really horrible thing to do, but doing it because you’re angry I’m being nicer? That’s just- I don’t even know.” TJ lets out a frustrated breath. 

“I know.” Reed says firmly as he holds TJ’s upset stare. “I wanted to hurt you because I was hurt. It’s stupid and no excuse.” 

TJ furrows his brows, “I’m sorry if I made you feel like I was trying to act better than you or something-” 

“TJ, please do not apologise.” Reed holds his palms out to stop TJ. “I was upset because I was jealous. You said it yourself,” Reed grows sheepish, “I’m jealous of muffin boy,” Reed watches TJ’s unimpressed expression so he softens and corrects himself, “I was jealous of Cyrus.”

“Why?” TJ seems lightly confused.

“Because you’re supposed to be my best friend.” Reed says and feels dorky for it, “I mean I knew you were changing, I could see it, like how happy you were about passing your math test last month, just little things like that. I didn’t really understand why but I knew Cyrus had something to do with it and at the movies I just snapped. It felt like I was being replaced or something..” Reed lets out a nervous laugh. 

“Reed?” TJ coaxes his head like he couldn’t believe his friend felt that way. 

“It’s embarrassing, I know.” Reed shakes his head. 

“It’s not.” TJ says nicely before admitting, “I’ve always been jealous that you and Lester go to the same school. I’v always felt left out.”

“Really?” Reed seems surprised and TJ nods. 

 “I like Cyrus. He’s a good person and was great friend to me when I didn’t deserve it but you’re my best friend, Reed, you and Lester.” TJ says firmly, “It was you that came over my house everyday for three months after my dad left, it was you that took the blame when I broke my moms crystal vase playing basketball in the house. It’s always been us, you me and Lester. We even went through chicken pox together, remember?”

“Lester wanted to call us the pox pals.” Reed laughs quietly. 

“It was lame.” TJ shakes his head with a laugh. “You, me and Lester have always been best friends but you and me? Reed we were quite literally almost brothers... How could you ever think I was replacing you?” 

Reed just shrugs, “I don’t know.” 

“You were the first and only person I told about being gay.” TJ grows vulnerable again. 

“And I went and broke your trust.” Reed hates himself. “I’m awful, I know. I’ve been beating myself up about it this whole time, I’ve been too embarrassed to come over and apologise.” Reed says, “I’m been scared you’d not even speak to me.” 

“What made you come over now?” TJ questions. 

“I was hungry.” Reed shrugs jokingly and TJ lets a laugh slip. “Do you ever think you’ll be able to forgive me?” Reed softens when he questions.

“You really hurt me.” TJ says, “But not being friends this whole time hurt me just as much... So yeah, I think I can forgive you.”

Reed looks relieved and his mouth curls into a smile. “So I can stay for dinner?” 

TJ rolls his head forward with a laugh, “Yes you can stay for dinner.” 

So the trust might take a little while to build back up but for the most part TJ was happy to mend things with Reed. 

A day after reconciling with Reed, TJ spoke to Lester whom was unsure how to approach things after the incident at the theatre. Reed had also been avoiding Lester in that time as he didn’t want to discuss TJ’s sexuality anymore than he already did when he made the backhanded comment that outed him. So understandably, Lester was confused about everything and unsure if he should say something to TJ or not. 

TJ officially comes out to Lester and the older boys is really supportive and it brings the two closer together. The fight between TJ and Reed might have been unwarranted and horrible but it did bring the three friends closer together whilst adding a new level of maturity to their friendship. The boys used to avoid the in-depth talks about their feelings and what not but now it was more of an open and safe space to share what’s on each other their minds.

-

A few months later summer is a few days from ending and TJ is out biking with Reed and Lester. By now TJ and Reed’s friendship was completely mended and their strained trust issues were in the past. 

The three of them are having a water break when Reed pulls out his phone and shows TJ and Lester a video his cousin had sent him of someone shooting a watermelon in slow motion. The two others express how ‘cool’ it look when it exploded but TJ’s attention fades quickly after he notices he has a notification on his phone from Buffy.  Whilst Lester and Reed are watching the video again TJ opens a snapchat from Buffy where Cyrus is present in the background speaking in his ridiculous fake British accent, “I’m actually going to commit murder in a second.” Buffy says and the snap ends with Cyrus’s frowning. TJ chuckles to himself and Reed and Lester give him a look like they want an explanation. 

“Cyrus got back from London last night and he’s been using this terrible fake British accent and it’s driving Buffy insane.” TJ laughs. “Which is strangely still satisfying for me even though we’re all friends now.” 

“Give us a listen then?” Reed motions with his hand. 

TJ goes into his text thread with Cyrus and opens the video Cyrus had sent to all his friends last night informing them he had landed. TJ was the only person that expressed how funny he found the accent so Cyrus had sent more video messages since, thus meaning TJ had a few to show to Reed and Lester who also seem to find it amusing. 

“It’s definitely funny but I'm with Buffy, I’d probably snap too if he was speaking like that constantly.” Lester chuckles. 

“So Cyrus is a funny guy?” Reed questions. 

“He’s hilarious.” TJ says with a lot of enthusiasm. “But he’s like funny without trying to be funny kind of funny, you know?” 

"Totally.” Reed says with a smirk resting on his face. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” TJ asks defensively. 

“I’m not looking at you like anything.” Reed says with a cute shrug and he and Lester exchange a knowing glance with one another. 

TJ shyly puts his phone away and Reed nudges him with his elbow before saying, “I’m sorry for being a jerk about you changing. I like this TJ, you’re happier.” 

Even thought that was a really wonderful thing for TJ to hear and they had gotten better at the sappy talks, unexpected kind declarations were still a little hard to accept so TJ clears his throat and suggests they get back to biking. 

-

Final bell for the day had rung and TJ was hanging out front of school with Lester and Reed when their conversation is interrupted by TJ’s phone ringing. TJ smiles at Cyrus’s caller I.D. and steps to the side to answer it.

“Hey, underdog.” TJ greets him happily, “What’s up?”

“I was calling to ask if you wanted to maybe help me hang posters for Buffy’s  tryouts?” Cyrus asks, “If you’ve left already that’s-“

“I’ll help.” TJ cuts in. “Where are you now?”

“I’m walking out of the library, I just finished copying a few of the smaller posters. Ow, ow..” Cyrus winces.

“Everything okay?” TJ lets out a nervous chuckle.

“Dance class has left me with immense muscle pain.” Cyrus complains.

“Since when are you in dance class?” TJ questions.

“It’s a long story, I was failing P.E. and needed an alternative but I think I’ve made a mistake.” Cyrus frowns to himself.

“You could have come to me for help before dropping P.E.” TJ states.

“You any good at dancing?” Cyrus asks.

“You’re on your own there.” TJ laughs and Cyrus does too.

“Ouch, don’t make me laugh, it hurts.” Cyrus says.

“I’ll meet you by admin in a second.” TJ says with a smile before hanging up.

“So, what was that about?” Reed asks with a smirk and TJ hadn’t realised his two friends were watching him the whole time.

“So I have to go help hang posters for Buffy’s basketball tryouts.” TJ awkwardly announces to Lester and Reed.

“Um weren’t we supposed to hang out?” Reed questions.

“We would have only been doing nothing at my house.” TJ shrugs his shoulder, “I’m still trying to make amends with Buffy.”

“Sure... You’re ditching us for, Buffy.” Reed folds his arms knowingly. “So that was Buffy on the phone asking for help?”

“You’re not mad at me for ditching are you?” TJ asks seriously. 

“Admit you have a crush on Cyrus and I’ll let it go.” Reed lowers his voice and smirks. 

“What?” TJ laughs nervously, “I do not..” 

“TJ, who are you kidding?” Lester coaxes his head with a smile. 

“Is it that obvious?” TJ frowns. 

“Yeah only for like the entire summer.” Lester chuckles. “Cyrus did this in London, Cyrus did that” he playfully imitates.

TJ pouts huffily. 

“You better go, I’d hate for you to keep underdog waiting.” Reed smirks. 

TJ frowns knowing this was a whole new thing for them to tease him about, even in a friendly way. TJ was just upset because it meant he finally had to address his feelings for Cyrus out loud. 

- 

A couple weeks later the three boys were lying around Lester’s basement enjoying the air conditioning on this hot day. They were all being social, just not with each other. Each of the teens sat on their phones. TJ texts Cyrus back and forth about his canoeing escapades, laughing out loud with every new message. 

“You going to let us in on the joke?” Reed grumbles. 

“Huh?” TJ peels his stare away from his phone for a moment. 

“Dude you’ve been giggling for the last twenty minutes.” Reed says. 

“I have not been- giggling.” TJ says defensively but with a hint of embarrassment. 

"Let me guess, it’s Cyrus?” Reed asks knowingly and Lester smiles knowing he was right. 

“He's canoeing.” TJ shrugs one shoulder. 

“So are we ever going to meet Cyrus?” Reed questions. 

“You talk about him enough, I feel like we know him.” Lester adds. “We even helped eat the muffins he baked you last week.”

“I’m still not happy about that.” TJ frowns. 

“I am, they were delicious.” Reed laughs as he pats his stomach, “Blueberry macadamia, who would’ve thought?”

TJ shakes his head with a smile. 

“But seriously,” Reed says, “When are we going to meet Cyrus?” 

“Never.” TJ folds his arms. 

“Why not?” Reed looks offended. “Are you embarrassed by us or something?” 

“Yep.” TJ pops the P. “I know one of you will say something teasingly to me and Cyrus will get suspicious about my feelings and then never talk to me again.” 

“That’s a little dramatic.” Lester laughs. 

“Is it though?” TJ asks seriously 

“Come on, TJ?” Reed pouts his bottom lip. 

“Fine.” TJ lets out a defeated breath, “But you guys have to promise you’ll be on your best behaviour?” 

“We’ll be a couple of saints.” Reed exaggerates an innocent smile. 

“Okay, I’ll ask him to hang out on Saturday..” TJ nods still a little reluctantly, “Any ideas on what we should do?” 

“Does Cyrus like dirt biking?” Lester questions. 

TJ tosses his head from side to side, “Probably not...” 

“Let’s do that anyway.” Reed insists, “It will totally make you look cool in front of him.” 

“Yeah cause I totally care about that.” TJ says in a mocking way and folds his arms and Lester and Reed wear amused expressions. 

“So dirt biking on Saturday?” Reed smirks. 

“Yes.” TJ lets out a heavy sigh knowing they both see right through him. 

[mysteryartisticwriter]

Reality (2) // Colin Ritman X Reader

A/N: I’m really glad you guys like the first part! I was a bit hesitant because I didn’t know if it was good enough or not but thanks for all the notes and feedback!! I’m pretty sure I’m gonna make this into a full mini series.

REQUESTS ARE OPEN BTW

Requested: Yes

Warnings: Just some profanity and swears

PART 1  PART 3

Not my gif!! (Please tell me if you, the owner, would like me to take the gif down!)

“We’ve met before?”

“N-no..?” You stuttered in front of your idol. Your twin brother looked between the two of you, confused. But Colin shrugged the event off and placed his cigar back between his lips, thinking it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

“This is my latest.” Colin fixed his gaze back onto his computer screen. His computer showed a title screen of a colorful game with the title ‘Nozedyve’. For some reason, you’ve felt like this has happened to you. In your mind, some small memories of this moment flowed back to you.

“Colin was introducing me to his new game. It’s called—” Stefan was about to tell you, but you interrupted him, weirdly already knowing the game and it’s title.

“‘Nozedyve’?” You leaned over and got closer to the computer screen. Colin and Stefan glanced at each other before looking over to you. You couldn’t help but blush and turn red when Colin stared at you. 

“Yeah...that’s right?” Colin seemed confused, it was as if this whole thing was replaying to him. Like he’s already lived this moment once before.

The title screen scrolled down to a transition to a sprite game of a mini man falling through a few buildings while dodging some clothes on clothing line. You looked at the game, still in amazement but your mind was telling you that you’ve already seen this before. 

Colin started to play the game as an example, switching glances between you and the game. Colin knew he’s seen you before from somewhere. He couldn’t forget someone who had such as beautiful face as yours. Wait what, He thought.

Just when Colin looked back at the computer screen, the game started to glitch before it crashed completely, changing to a white screen. Colin cursed before pressing some buttons to fix the game. Although, you knew this was going to happen, it was like switch that turned on.

“What’s that?” Mr. Thakur asked.

“Buffer error.” You explained. All three of the men turned to look at you.

“T-The eyeball sprites overran the v-video memory.” You shyly lowered your head a bit and explained what happened to the game.

“How did you know that?” Stefan questioned.

“I-I just did.” You said, quietly. Mr. Thakur complimented your knowledge on what happened to the game and told Colin what you were there for. But Colin wasn’t listening one bit, he knows he’s seen you before.

Stefan led you to Mr. Thakur’s office and Colin followed from behind. You showed them the demo of your game and started playing as an example, like Colin did with his game before. You explained the game detail from detail as Stefan and Mr. Thakur seemed to have their eyes glued to the screen in interest.

“See, it’s a like an adventure game. You choose the path.” Just as you explained it, one of the characters, Pax, showed up on screen. Two choices of ‘deny or worship Pax’ displayed on the screen, marking a choice point in the game.

“Don’t worship him. He’s the ‘Thief of Destiny’.” The platinum blonde told you. You turned your gaze to him in surprise.

“You’ve read ‘Bandersnatch’?” You asked him. He nodded.

“Jerome F. Davies. Visionary.” Colin gave you a small smile, which you mirrored.

“Isn’t he that bloke who cut his wife’s head off?” Mr. Thakur asked.

“That is what people tend to focus on, yes.” Colin answered.

You asked the game developer which ending he had gotten at the end of the book, to which he responded in saying ‘all of them’. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. Stefan switched glances between the two of you and shook his head, not liking the looks you gave each other.

Suddenly, Mr. Thakur took the small game controller from your hands and moved the joy stick to go to ‘worship Pax’ and pressed the red button next to it. The screen flashed from black to white saying the words ‘OUT OF RANGE’. Mr. Thakur looked at it in confusion.

“W-what? What’s happened?” He asked.

“Well, I-I haven’t programmed that pathway yet.” You informed him.

After putting the controller on the desk, Mr. Thakur made a proposition for you. He said that you could write the game there at Tuckersoft and he would have a team work with you, Colin and Stefan included as well. While making your decision, your mind switched back and forth from yes to no.

Yes // No

“No.” Your smile quickly turned into a frown once you realized what you had said. You wanted to accept the invitation, but something forced you refuse it. Now, you had to explain why you said no.

There was an awkward silence before you tried to explain your words. You told them that if you had a team with you and let people in, it would get a bit ‘stressy’, to which Mr. Thakur was confused by. You didn’t want to let people in otherwise the full game wouldn’t have the spark you wanted it to have at the end of it’s development. 

You wanted to add all these kinds of paths and choices, much like in the book. But Mr. Thakur didn’t seem to comprehend what you were trying to explain. Colin nodded, understandingly.

“I get it. The girl’s a crafts woman. She’s a lone woodsman, I’m the same.” He said, as he threw a small rubber band ball into the air and caught it.

“Yeah but—“ Mr. Thakur tried to give reason on his part before being interrupted by Colin once more.

“It’s like a saying. Teams are fine for things like action titles but when it’s concept based,” Colin pointed over to you and gave you a wary smile. “A bit of madness is what you need. And that works best when it’s one mind.” Stefan glanced between you and Colin but nodded in agreement.

Hesitantly, Mr. Thakur allowed you to write the game in your own, but only if you were able to finish the full game by the twelfth of September, no later than that. You agreed to the date and your new boss held out his hand to shake with you. You looked between Mr. Thakur and his hand then shook it firmly.

A few minutes later, you, your brother and Colin exited the office and went back to Colin’s desk. The developer sat in his chair and leaned back, raising his feet on the desk. Stefan sat in his desk on the left.

“Why didn’t you want to work with a team?” He questioned, tilting his head to the side.

“L-like I said. I need to be on my own for this, Stefan. It’s better so I can finish it the way I want it.” You say, and he reluctantly agreed.

Stefan knows how much creating a game can get to people and he didn’t want you to shut yourself in completely on the game. Colin saw the worry on his friend’s face and turned to you.

“What do you listen to?” The blonde asked. You stared at him with confusion and he repeated what he had asked before.

“Oh music! Uh...Thompson Twins mainly.” You informed him.

“Grab a pen.”

~A FEW MONTHS LATER~

It had been a few months since your first meeting with Tuckersoft’s creator and all you have been doing since then was work on the game. Visits to your therapist, Dr. Haynes, weren’t often as before, since you’ve come out to her about how you thought your mother’s death was your fault. But how you also thought how you hated your dad for it to, he had some of the blame. 

Nowadays, you barely go out, eat or even talk to anyone. Stefan and your father were quite worried about you, knowing that this routine wasn’t healthy for you. You didn’t care, your main focus was of finish this game, no matter what the cost.

Although, there was another thought on your mind.

The platinum blonde famous Tuckersoft game developer, Colin Ritman. It was strange how he kept reappearing in your thoughts over and over again. It was as if he was the only thing on your mind other than ‘Bandersnatch’.

Since the first day you met him, and he gave you a small list of some new music he wanted you to listen to, you couldn’t help but think of him more than usual.

Your emotions for the man was confusing. You didn’t know if you liked him or admired him anymore. And to you, there was a big difference between the two. You admired Colin for his games, you admired his appearance and you admired his work ethic.

Except now, you like almost everything about him. You like the way he’s so calm about everything, you like the way he just immediately accepted you, you liked the way he would push up his thin framed glasses up between his eyes and you liked the way he would give a real, genuine smile to you.

That smile will be the death of me, you thought to yourself.

You shook the thoughts out of your head and immediately replaced them with your focus on the game. Today was the same routine you had everyday, wake up, take the pills, don’t or do eat breakfast (whichever one you felt in the mood for), work the game for most of the day, then go to bed. This cycle repeated over and over again until you finally finished the game. At the most right now, you were a little more than halfway through it.

You continued to type and work on your small computer on top of your desk until you heard a knock at the door. You paid no attention to it and kept working. Neither the sound of your door opening made you turn around.

“(Y/n)?” A voice said. It was your brother.

“I brought you some tea, dad made it.” Your brother set the mug of tea on top of a colored notebook you had laying next to you. You saw him out of the corner of your eye that he was about to leave before he stopped and turned around.

“Hey, I’m going out to the café in town for some lunch. Maybe you fancy tagging along? Dad’s out working but he allowed us to use his car.” Stefan offered to you. You shook your head.

“No, I’m alright. Thanks.” You denied, your eyes still painted onto the screen.

“You didn’t have any breakfast this morning. Left me and dad to have an awkward talk.” He tried to joke.

“Stefan. I’m fine.” You felt yourself starting to get a bit agitated from the disruption of your work.

“(Y/n), I’m worried about you. I know how important this is to you and I know how hard you’re trying on this, trust me, I’ve been there. But this isn’t healthy at all! You’re not eating, you’re barley sleeping, you don’t even go out anymore! I miss my sister.”

As he talked, you didn’t pay any thought to him as you tried to run your game once you added in the newest path. But unfortunately, the screen, halfway through displaying the title page, glitched into a white screen saying the words ‘OUT OF MEMORY’. You were confused for a moment, then turned annoyed.

“(Y/n). Talk to me.” You tried to fix the problem but nothing was working.

“(Y/n).” Your brother pressed on.

Your (e/c) eyes flicked back and forth on the screen and your frustration grew. With your brother trying to talk to you and the game glitching so much, you knew you had to get rid of one of them.

Throw tea over computer // Shout at Stefan

“Dammit, (Y/n) I can’t help you if you just sit there and don’t speak!” Stefan scolded you.

“Stefan! Just fuck off!” You spat at your twin, getting up from your chair so fast that it fell to the ground. Stefan’s face switched from anger to hurt in a matter of seconds. It was rare that you or Stefan would get mad at each other, let alone yell at one another. Immediately, you tried to apologize for your actions.

“I-I’m sorry. I-I...I-I’m just...I’m just stressed and...” You trailed off, not knowing how else you could explain why you yelled at him. You didn’t want to yell at him, but it was like an impulse. Like something made you do it.

“Get your coat. We’re going out for lunch together.” Your brother demanded.

“S-Stefan...I need to finish this...” You tried to explain, hoping he would forget about the whole situation.

“And we’ll go in the car.” His voice still just as stern as before. You quickly changed into a dark green jumper, dark blue jeans and grabbed your dirty, yellow coat.

After getting into your dad’s car with Stefan in the driver’s seat and you in the passenger side, he quickly turned the car on and started to drive into town. You fell asleep once Stefan turned on the radio, playing one of his favorite songs ‘Making Plans for Nigel’.

You felt the car come to a stop and slowly opened your eyes to face Stefan. He glanced at you before fully turning off the car.

“We’re here.” He told you. Your twin got out of his side of the car and walked over to your side just as you came out.

However, once you got out of the car, you noticed the sign outside of the building. Your brother had taken you to Dr. Haynes’ office.

“T-This is Dr. Haynes’ place.” You said, confused. Stefan nodded.

“As your older brother—“

“By two minutes.” He rolled his eyes as if to say ‘whatever’.

“As your brother, I want to make sure that you’re alright. I know you don’t like coming here. Bloody hell, even I used to hate coming here but I think this is what you need. What’s best for you is to tell and come out to someone about your feelings instead of just bottling them up inside.” Stefan tried to explain to you.

You looked around at your surroundings while he talked and noticed that Colin was turning a corner, glancing at you before continuing to walk. His lips held that familiar cigar he always had. Your mind was telling you to listen to your brother while your body was telling you to follow your idol.

Visit Dr. Haynes // Follow Colin

Hesitantly, you switched gazes between Stefan and Colin before finally leaving your spot to go and follow Colin.

“(Y/n), come back.” Stefan begged. You kept walking.

“(Y/n)!”

You paid no mind to your twin from behind and ran up to catch up to Colin. You called out to him and he turned around, taking his roll-up out of his mouth. You greeted him before looking at his attire.

He was wearing a black suit jacket, decorated with pins and buttons, with a blue collared shirt underneath and a white shirt underneath that one. You couldn’t help but find him very attractive by the suit coat he was wearing.

“How’s ‘Bandersnatch’ going?” Colin asked, giving you a small, but genuine smile.

“Not good. Not good...I’m just...lost.” You confessed to him, your voice growing a bit quiet. Colin gave you a comforting smile.

“You’re in the hole.” Your idol confirmed, turning around and started to walk again. He gestured for you to follow as well.

“In the what?” You asked, confused once more.

“You’re in a fight with your own head, love.” Suddenly, it made perfect sense.

“Yes! Yes! That’s exactly it!” You felt slightly better knowing the cause of your actions. But it didn’t really feel like that’s what it was all.

“You got anywhere to be later?” Colin questioned, his eyes still focused on the pavement in front of him.

Your mind flashed back to when you yelled at Stefan. You still felt bad about the situation, but you felt the need to get a bit better before coming home.

“Er...w-well..no.” You said as you passed by a streetlight.

“Come with me.” He told you, walking a bit faster. You nodded and followed along.

While walking over to his flat building, the game developer couldn’t help himself but have his eyes trailed over to you. The last time Colin had seen you was when you had your first meeting at Tuckersoft, and you were a bit more bubbly, still shy but healthy. Although to him, you were still as beautiful as he had seen you before.

He noticed the small bags under your eyes from the lack of sleep you’ve had. Colin felt himself get slightly worried, he did want to help you, but your state was a bit worse than he’d thought.

When Stefan talked to him about your mental and physical state at work, he didn’t really believe his friend at first, but now Colin was a firm believer. He just hopes his chances are a bit more likely to work than Stefan’s.

A/N: Part 3 will be coming out soon! I’m working on it as well as a few other requests I got!

TAGGED:

@creativedogs​

[gingerlexi2897]

This past weekend, one of my dearest friends married the love of her life. Emily and I have been friends since we both started at the same private school in 5th grade and have remained friends no matter how far apart distance wise we’ve been. She’s one of the wisest, kindest people I know and she can talk circles around me about all things pertaining to classics. She’s stuck with me for the past 12 years, which is saying something since she saw me at some of my worst times. It was so easy to celebrate her and her new husband on Saturday because they’re the kind of people who constantly make you smile, and they feed us popsicles.

One of the coolest parts of the day, (and that’s saying something because there was a taco bar and buffalo dip (if you’re looking for ideas, taco bars. just saying)) was having the opportunity to see people I hadn’t see in years. I sat there at a table surrounded by people I had gone to middle and high school with and I realized not only had I missed these people but also that no matter what paths we had taken we had all seemed to end up in the same boat. We’ve all finished our undergrads and find ourselves in the real world attempting to make friends and figure out what we’re doing with our lives. Yes some of us have jobs or post-graduate plans, but that doesn’t mean your life it all nice and dandy. You can dream and idealize about what your life will be like when you finish college, but the truth is, you have no idea. No matter how hard it may be at the time, we all agreed that in a lot of ways, college is easy. Friends are handed to you on a silver platter. You don’t have to have the answer to questions about who you are and what you’re doing and no one judges you for it. Eating a weird mix of foods because it’s what you had left in your fridge counts as culinary expertise and mac and cheese counts as dinner and dessert. No matter how much I complained about college and all the times I hated it while I was there, I miss it. There genuinely is no other time like it.

As we sat there talking about college and high school we all seemed to be saying the same things about what we loved and what we regretted during those times. So like the nice organized person I am, I made a list. Really this is more for me than it is for you. It’s for me to remind myself of these things when I feel myself getting panicky or stressy. It’s to remind myself that I’m sure as heck not the only one who feels this way. So here it is, The Things I Need to Tell Myself Everyday.

Stop caring about what people think so much. Yes, you’ve heard it said a million times before, but it’s true. Every single person at that table said that they wished they hadn’t cared so much about what everyone else at school had thought of them and would have done the things they were scared to. They wished they hadn’t just rushed home the minute the bell rang and would have invested more into the relationships they had with the people around them. They wished they had been more of who they are instead of trying to hide it to be “more likable”.

Be ballsy. Talk to that person. Send that text. Invite them out to lunch. The worst they can say is “no” but they could also say yes and you never know what might come from that.

Let go of the bitterness. When I left private school I was mad. I was mad at people there for stupid things and I was mad at the school itself for what I had believed it had done to me. Yes, all of those things I thought may have been true at the time, but it has been 8 years since I left and none of those things matter anymore. The truth is we are all different than we were in 9th grade and you never know what friendships you might reopen because you’ve allowed your perception of this person to change.

That Harry Potter birthday party you threw in middle school and were embarrassed about for the longest time just may be the awesome birthday party people remember. Ok so this one is super specific to me but it’s true. For years I was embarrassed about what people thought of me or remembered me by because of the parties I had had when I was in middle and high school (yes it’s stupid I know but my brain really likes to latch on to specific moments to torment me about) but what I found out this weekend is that those embarrassing moments for me maybe some people’s favourite memories involving you. Whether it’s the handmade wands you gave out as party favours or Corey yelling “DO YOU RECANT” at what I can’t even remember, you never know what people hold on to.

And most importantly, reach out. Follow up. If you say you want to get together, don’t just say it and never act on it. Call that friend. Ask about that job interview. Get coffee. It may be slightly awkward at first but it never hurts to be a decent human being and genuinely care about the wellbeing of others.

Actually the real most important one: God always has you. He is ALWAYS there and he doesn’t care if you have a job in your degree field and make tons of money or if you work part-time and live with your parents. He loves you so much and in the end, he’s all that really matters, so why aren’t we living for him?

So here’s to you, the ones who have been through it all with me. Thank you for continuing to make me look at myself and desire to be a better person and thank you for all the years of friendship we’ve been through and hopefully the many more we have to come.

Lexi

The Things I Need to Tell Myself Everyday This past weekend, one of my dearest friends married the love of her life. Emily and I have been friends since we both started at the same private school in 5th grade and have remained friends no matter how far apart distance wise we've been.

[islareeveswriting]

A/N Just something really short and sweet for Valentine’s day because I couldn’t help myself and I miss these two a lot. I haven’t proofed it properly, but hope you enjoy nontheless. Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you!!

“So what are you and Rae doing today?” Harry looked up slightly as Niall asked the question. They’d grunted sleepily when Niall had come into the kitchen, Harry already sat at the table shirtless and waiting for his coffee to wake him up. It hadn’t worked yet, but Niall seemed chirpier as he turned to face Harry from the steaming, brewing mug of tea on the counter behind him.  

“I’ll be getting some sleep, don’t know about her.” Harry told Niall groggily, bleary eyed and puffy cheeked. In case it wasn’t already obvious Harry was shattered, he yawned for effect.

“Oh dear, trouble in paradise is it?” Niall questioned teasingly, knowing that wouldn’t be the case. Niall did fold his arms across his bare chest though, reminding Harry that even, but maybe especially, he wouldn’t get away with upsetting Rae. Not if Niall had anything to do with it.

“No, she’s just got an exam so she’s stressing and was up late revising, I didn’t get a lot of sleep.” Harry explained, sitting back in his chair and lifting his mug to take another mouthful of the black coffee. It wouldn’t be enough to give him the wake up he really needed though.

“Oh I see.” Niall nodded, understanding. If Rae had been a hard worker in first year, another word entirely was needed for how she was approaching second year. She even put her third year housemates to shame ninety percent of the time. “It is Valentine’s Day though mate, you should probably wind some flowers into that plan of sleeping somewhere.” Niall pointed out. Harry knew, but it was never something he or Rae had really gone in for. Their first Valentine’s Day together had gone past largely unnoticed had it not been for the waitress in their local cafe who asked them if they were on a Valentine’s date when they’d gone in for coffee and pastries.

“Alright, when were you worried about romance?” Harry asked with a smirk.

“I’m not, but Rae might be, she is a girl after all, don’t they all love that shit?” Niall sneered, only humouring Harry more. Despite the good looks and sparkling eyes and Irish charm, Niall was not a romantic, at all. The last girl he’d dated had been horrified when Niall had admitted the flowers he’d given her had been stolen from Rae’s room half an hour before their date because Niall had forgotten all about it. And that was just one story in a long list of un-romantic mishaps when it came to Niall’s lovelife.

“Honestly,” Harry sighed. “Rae is so taken up by this exam at the moment, she probably hasn’t even realised the sun has come up, let alone that it’s Valentine's day.” Harry explained, and it wasn’t a lie. Rae had been in her revising bubble for two days now, and though she spent most of her time in Harry’s room, it often felt like she wasn’t really there, or at least that Harry may as well not have been.

“I hope you’re right.” Niall warned, turning back to his tea. Harry groaned to himself then. He’d always been one of those, ‘I don’t need a special day to spoil my girlfriend’ kind of people. However, if nothing else Niall’s words made him think about when the last time that he had done something nice and out of the blue for her. If he was honest he couldn’t remember, but he could remember how Rae had come home with chocolate for him when he was stressed, picked up some Lemsip when he had a cold two weeks ago, met him after his lecture because he’d forgotten something for his catch up with his dissertation mentor.

Maybe Harry did need an excuse after all. He hated himself for that, but at the same time, maybe it was better than nothing at all. And he had an idea.

Harry stood from the table and traipsed back upstairs, Niall forgotten in the kitchen, eating whatever sugary cereal had been on offer in Tesco that week. When he got to his room, Rae was still bent over his desk, oblivious to him being back in the room, scrawling over pages and leafing through text books like her life depended on it. Of course Harry knew exactly what depended on it, and he hated how much pressure she put on herself to not have to leave Brighton after her degree.

“I’m just gonna pop out for a bit.” Harry told Rae, pulling on a sweatshirt from the box at the end of his bed and searching around for his jeans in the same spot.

“Am I annoying you?” Rae asked, though didn’t lift her head from the book she was scanning. Obviously she found what she was looking for because Harry saw her finger quickly point at something on the page, before she started writing frantically on the notebook again.

“No, why would you think that?” Harry asked as he stepped into his jeans, pulling them up over the clean boxers he’d put on that morning. Harry stood still for a minute, staring at the back of Rae’s head waiting for her to say something. For a few moments Harry wondered if she’d even heard him, but then she looked over her shoulder at him.

“Because I’m being a stressy pain in the arse at the moment.” Rae laughed and Harry shook his head, stepping closer to her.

“No you’re not it’s fine,” Harry told her, bending to kiss the top of her head. Rae relaxed for a second, but it wasn’t long before she was tensed up again and eyeing her books. “I won’t be long.” Harry told her and Rae nodded, turning back in the chair to look down at her books as Harry escaped the room.

Rae sighed to herself once the door was shut, distracted by the gaping feeling that she was being a rubbish girlfriend. Harry said he understood, it was fine, it would be done soon and they could cuddle in bed as much as they wanted then, but even so Rae felt guilty. It always felt like he went over and above for her, yet she was more often than not stressing over exams or photos or something university related.

At that moment, she really did have to revise though. Her exam was two days away, and she did not know enough, or at least she thought she didn’t. So she pushed her guilt aside as best she could and drowned herself back in her books.

Rae didn’t know how long had passed, when she surfaced again at the sound of the doorbell. It woke her from her dream like, study state that she’d been in since Harry left. She had no intention of leaving the desk though, she was just a little more aware of the world around her again.

“Rae can you get the door.” Rae heard Niall call and she groaned loudly, leaning back on her chair.

“I’m studying.” Rae shouted back, moving to relax again, thinking about grabbing a blanket as she was already out of the zone, she may as well make the most of it and her thick cable knit sweater and jeans, just weren’t quite cutting it in keeping her warm.  

“I’m naked.” Niall called back to her again.

“Eugh, you’re so annoying.” Rae cried as she stood from the chair and pulled Harry’s door open. She trotted down the first flight of stairs, and then the second, pausing halfway down catching Niall sat on the sofa in the living room, fully clothed and working his way through a family pack of Walkers crisps. “You’re not naked.” Rae reprimanded. Niall turned to her and grinned brightly.

“And now you’re not studying.” He pointed out with the same impish grin. Rae just rolled her eyes and finished her journey down the stairs to open the door. She was taken back a little by Harry stood on the other side a little rosy cheeked from the cold February air.

“Oh hey, did you forget your key.” Rae smiled, stepping aside. Harry cleared his throat and shook his head not moving from his spot.

“No, I’m here to pick you up.” Rae frowned at him and stepped back into his line of vision from behind the door. Rae had an amused, confused look on her face as she tilted her head to one side. “For our date.”

“What date?” Rae laughed, shaking her head at Harry, completely at a loss for what he was talking about. She knew she was being a bad girlfriend at the moment, but she wouldn’t have forgotten if they’d made plans to do something that Harry would feel worthy of calling a date.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten,” Harry winked with a smirk, making Rae giggle more.“You agreed to go out with me on Valentines day remember?” Harry urged, leading her in the direction he was going. Rae continued to giggle and nodded her head at him.

“Oh yes, I remember.” Rae conceded.

“These are for you.” Harry announced, pulling a beautiful bunch of flowers from behind him. Untraditional in his choice of blooming daffodils, bright yellow freesias and a scattering of gypsophila to break it up a bit. Rae smiled, taking them from him and sniffing in the fresh scent, always a lover of fresh and beautiful flowers. Though no one had ever bought her flowers before, even Harry. “Are you ready?” He asked with wide eyes and a bright smile.

“Harry I’ve got-”

“You’ve got to come out with me and forget about your exam for an hour.” Harry interrupted, his eyes turning stern and his smile falling to a hard line that told Rae there was no arguing. She sighed, her shoulders rising and falling with it. “Trust me, you need a break.” Harry told her a little softer, stepping forward, breaking the nervous first date act and taking hand. Rae sighed again, giving in despite her better judgement. Apart from anything else, getting out of the else was tempting and getting out of the house with Harry was too good to say no too.

“Ok, let me just find some shoes.” Rae told Harry with a soft smile that didn’t even nearly match the bright grin she got in response to her agreement. Rae turned from the door, slipping on the black leather chelsea boots that were soft from wear and grabbing her winter coat. She joined Harry on the doorstep again and took his hand, closing the door behind her with her other one.  “So where are we going.” Rae asked.

“A surprise.” Harry told her with a smile. Rae didn’t ask any more questions but followed his step away from the house in the direction of wherever they were going.

As had always been the way with Harry and Rae, conversation came easily, even without talk of university which Harry tried to steer the chat away from. All he wanted, just for a couple of hours, was for Rae to completely forget about her exam and about university and about the fear she carried of not getting a first and having to go straight back to Australia. Of course, it didn’t always sit nicely with Harry. The thought of Rae being so far away buried a black hole into Harry that opened up every so often and threatened to suck him in. Living in the present had always been hard for Harry and it fed his anxiety no end. However, there was a part of his mind that couldn’t see a future with our Rae’s hand in his, so he just chose to focus on that instead.

“The pavillion.” Rae chirped as they rounded the corner, past Pinocchio’s into the gardens. They were still suffering from the onslaught of winter and the bleak day didn’t help, but the place still made Rae smile with memories of what this place meant for her and Harry.

“Yep, remember when you bought me ice cream?” Harry asked, as if either of them would forget it.

“Of course I remember, I was pretty nervous.” Rae admitted with a grin, peeking up to Harry as she did so.

“Rae O’Brien, nervous? I don’t believe it.” Harry scoffed, but Rae just laughed, because she had been nervous. She’d never felt nervous around him before or since, he stilled her mostly, but that one time she had been and she’d never really been able to pinpoint why.

“It’s true, I thought you’d tell me to get lost, Niall had hyped this up as being your place for you time.” Rae explained as best as she could.

“I’m glad you came.” Harry told her with a smile.

“Same.”

“Well we’re not sitting on a bench in the cold today.” Harry told her, leading her down the path towards the large domed building.  “They’ve got a special exhibition on for Valentines day, all about love and romance and stuff, thought it might be good seeing as we’ve still never been inside.” Harry told and Rae’s smile seemed to get bigger with every word.

“Sounds perfect.” Rae told him honestly.

Inside was both exactly as Rae had imagined and different all at once. Of course it was regal and stunning and breathtaking, the way she’d known it would be and she wished she had her camera on her. The exhibition Harry had been talking about was in a smaller part of the building, its week long stint, meaning it was contained to only two rooms. It was pretty much silent and Harry and Rae respected that, wandering around the place hand in hand quietly. They stopped at each painting admiring them and occasionally pointing things out to one another.

Harry enjoyed the quiet, and found himself stepping back a little so he could watch Rae as she took in the art. There were some great paintings on display, but none of them matched her. She was his muse, and has glorious as any art work he’d ever seen. He’d rather look at her than all the portraits in the world.

It was as they stopped in front of Claude Monet’s ‘Camille (The Woman in the Green Dress)’ that Harry decided to pipe up.

“That’s his wife.” Harry whispered, dipping his head to Rae a little.

“Really? I didn’t know that.” Rae admitted, tilting her head to look at the painting a little harder.

“He painted her quite a bit.” Harry told her. Rae just nodded, continuing to inspect the work. “I’ve been thinking,” Harry started, still whispering, but clearly his throat a little before he continued. “You’ve take loads of photos of me, but I’ve never painted you.” Harry told her and Rae twisted her head to look at him.

“There’s that sketch you did that time.” Rae reminded him, the small pencil drawing in his notebook something she loved.

“Yeah but that was quick and rushed, I’d like to paint you properly.” Harry explained to her, their eyes caught on one another now, Rae’s neck strained to look up at Harry.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’d like you to sit for me.” Harry told her, with wide honest eyes.

“Want to paint me like one of your french girls?” Rae smirked with a wink and Harry couldn’t help but let the chuckle leave his mouth.

“It can be my valentine’s gift.”

“So you do want to paint me like one of your french girls?” Rae quipped and Harry laughed again, shaking his head and pulling her hand a little to keep them moving around the room, away from the people behind them.

“Not quite like that no, I’ve got an idea though.” Harry said, letting go of her hand and wrapping the now free arm over her shoulder.

“You’ve been thinking about this for a while huh?” Rae smiled, cocking her head to look at him again.

“Yeah a little while.” Harry admitted unabashed. “So what do you think?”

“I’d like to.” Rae told him with a smile, which Harry reciprocated.

They left pretty quickly after that, Harry deciding they’d get the bus home to save time. Rae giggled at his emphatic enthusiasm that had bubbled up after her agreement. She wondered if he was worried she’d say no, knowing Harry he probably had been, but she didn’t ask. Harry tried to explain his idea to Rae as they travelled, Harry fidgety with excitement, Rae giggling as he bumbled over words, losing himself in his creative thoughts.

All the lights were off when they got home and Rae was silently grateful. They didn’t turn any on as they took the stairs back up to Harry’s room. The heating had clicked on though and Rae shivered, content as the change in temperature moved through her.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Harry asked as he shut the bedroom door behind them.

“No I want to.” Rae told with a smile, already facing him.

“Ok, can you take your top and bra off?” Harry asked suddenly shy. Rae giggled and raised an eyebrow, as she began to lift her jumper over her head. . “No Rae, not like a french girl.” Harry told her sternly, but only making her laugh more. As Rae continued to shed clothes, Harry grabbed the stool he used to paint from and placed it near her. “Ok if you sit there.” Harry instructed once Rae was topless. It was intimate and Harry did have to swallow on nothing for a second, but he was working now so he pushed it away.

Rae did as she was told, taking a seat and bowing her head as Harry walked around her. She jumped a little as she felt Harry’s hands in her hair, but relaxed quickly. She could feel his fingers working deftly through her thick, black mane. She kept her head bowed, eyes looking down at her lap. It was as a petal floated down and made home on her thigh that Rae frowned to herself. Harry hadn’t mentioned flowers.

“You putting flowers in my hair?” Rae asked, and Harry simply hummed a positive sound, clearly concentrating on making the arrangement he could see in his mind's eye come to life.

“Ok,” Harry breathed and Rae lifted her head with that, watching as Harry moved around the room to get his chair. He set it behind her, the easel and a piece of paper next to be moved. Harry sat on his chair getting comfortable and setting himself up. “Good,” Rae could hear the smile on his face as he looked at her from behind. “Can you turn your head to the side slightly? Look over your shoulder at me.” Harry requested and Rae obeyed, but Harry stood to move her a little more, tilting her head to get the desired angles. “Will that be comfortable?” Harry asked once he was happy and Rae simply nodded. “Ok let’s do this.”

Harry sat back on his chair, rolling his shoulders and looking for a few moments before beginning. The room was silent, peacefully so. The only sound was their soft breathing and Harry’s brush against the paper and in the paint. They’d been intimate in so many ways, but this felt different, intimate in a completely different, but somehow, more intense way.

Rae was completely still while Harry painted, looking down at the floor as he worked. He shoulders rose and feel slightly as she breathed but that was it. It made Harry’s work easier, but he wasn’t worried about that. Even as he concentrated hard on what he was doing, he was taken aback by the woman before him. Every inch of her was perfect, the way her waist curved into her hips, the freckles the dotted the tops of her arms and the scar on her shoulder blade from barbed wire. Harry loved and admired it all and it all made its way onto the paper, but he couldn’t do her justice.

In his eyes the piece was going well. It looked how he’d imagined it when he’d had the idea few nights ago as Rae had arranged the flowers now wilting on his desk. She’d glowed in the afternoon light that fell through his windows and smile as she put the flowers in a pint glass that would serve as a vase.

“Ok.” Harry breathed as he finished, putting one last stroke into her hair on the canvas before sitting back and setting down his paint. “I’m done.” He announced. Looking at his watch an hour and a half had passed, though it felt like no time at all. Silence had held them mostly throughout and Harry hadn’t felt so peaceful in a long time. Judging by the soft smile on Rae face as she turned and stood from the stool, she felt the same. Rae joined him at his side, her hand resting on her shoulder as she stood and looked over the painting.

“Wow,” Rae breathed, Harry smiling up at the real thing beside him. “Harry, I don’t, I’m a bit lost for words.” Rae sighed a laugh, eyes raking his work. “It’s really good.” Rae beamed still entirely in awe. Harry simply smiled at her response still soaking her in. H “You happy with it? Is it how you imagined?”

“Better.” Harry admitted, both finally drawn from their transe. “You sat really well, thank you.” Harry smiled standing from his chair. Rae stepped back so he could unpeg the paper from the easel.

“That’s ok.” Rae smiled. “What are you going to call it?” Rae asked, taking steps to join Harry. He didn’t say anything, but Rae peered over his shoulder as Harry picked up his pen. It was the pen he used to sign his work, date it and name it. It was the only thing Rae had seen the pen used for and it was home in his a hole of its own in his desk organiser. Harry flipped the piece over, content it was dry enough and wrote the date at the top of the page before writing it’s name underneath.

Rae Aisling O’Brien. (Forever Valentine).

[breakmyreddieheart]

(Please Don’t) Say Anything - Ch3

 Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven

++ Accompanying Playlist ++

Summary: It’s the last days of high school and the Losers are soon to be leaving for university, moving to different parts of the country. Richie is trying to figure out how to tell Eddie how he feels about him, but only ends up making things worse and needs to figure out how to apologize. Bev has a cunning plan, and Richie Tozier gets extra…

Setting: Derry, ME - the summer of 1995

Pairings: Reddie (main), Stenborough (on the side) also Bev is dating a girl and Ben and Mike are just wholesome individuals right now

Words: 1.5k

Warnings: one stressy Kaspbrak

A/N: Do you like angst? Cause I’ve got some good angst for you here. Real melodramatic, like. 

---

Eddie hadn’t felt right all evening.

While he tried to carry on as normal, the concept of Richie moving to New York permeated every thought and left him feeling cold and anxious. As concerning a revelation as this was, he was simultaneously reeling from the realisation of the extent of his feelings for Richie.

He had always had a soft-spot for the Trashmouth. Growing up, Bill had been one of the only people that Eddie was close with; though he was a few months older, Eddie looked up to Bill like the big brother he didn’t have. His relationship with Richie, however, was different; he was more like the annoying little brother Eddie had never really asked for, but was lumped with all the same.

After that summer back in 88′ - the summer which galvanised friendships, yet sat inaccessible on the edge of each of the loser’s memories - he had begun to see Richie differently. While he was loud and obnoxious with everybody, Eddie couldn’t help but notice that Richie seemed to focus a lot of his jokes on him. It made him feel special in a way he couldn’t quite comprehend or explain. Growing up, Bill had been his closest and most loyal friend - he looked up to Bill in many ways - but he never gave Eddie the same feeling of nervous warmth that he felt when Richie talked about this cute cheeks or ruffled his hair.

As the years went by, he had spent more and more time with Richie; many nights studying together or just reading comics on Eddie’s bed and talking about dumb shit. He noticed an ever-increasing list of things that he came to adore; the way his eyes lit up when he talked about his favourite comic book plots, the raspy quality of his voice from smoking an unreasonable amount of cigarettes from such a young age, how he stuck his tongue out when he concentrated on writing new script ideas. Only at the thought of not having Richie in his daily life did he truly begin to appreciate how much the Trashmouth meant to him - and how utterly, ridiculously in love he was.

How had he not seen this sooner!? How had his brain failed to register this important detail??

Except it had. Subconsciously. As he sat in the midst of the Loser’s festivities, he pondered his reasons for choosing the University of California. Sure, it was a good school - but there were plenty of good medical schools in the East. Sure, he hated Derry and how the town seemed to smell like hate and decay - but did he really have to move to the opposite end of the country to get away from it? And sure, his Mother was frustratingly overbearing - but he didn’t have to move more than a few hours away to really get a good sense of freedom.

No, he was moving to California for Richie Tozier, and only now did that realisation begin to set in. Now, when it was too late to change his mind without raising far too many questions and causing way too much trouble.

“...Eddie?”

But what if he just--

“...Eddie!” Bill yelled as he was waving a hand in front of Eddie’s face, causing him to jump back to reality. “You haven’t had any p-puh-pizza yet. It’s nearly all g-go-hn.”

“Oh...um, I’m not really hungry...” he replied, his stomach churning a little at the thought of food.

“Is everything okay?” Stan asked. He and Bill were knelt either side of the armchair in which Eddie was sat, eyebrows furrowed in concern. Ben and Mike sat across the room playing Mortal Kombat while Richie and Bev were nowhere to be seen.

“You’ve been d-distant all e-eve-ning,” Bill spoke from the other side. The situation felt like a very polite interrogation. The last thing Eddie wanted to do right now was talk about it.

“I’m fine guys, just...I’m just thinking about stuff I guess” he replied, staring at his knees as he spoke.

“Stuff?” Stan scoffed, “Any specific stuff? You know you can talk to us right?”

“Sure, I just don’t want to talk about it right now, okay?” Eddie stood up and went to grab a beer, finding them all empty. He huffed in frustration, he should have just gotten over himself and accepted the one Richie offered him.

“Is it about R-Ruh-Richie?” Bill asked, him and Stan both standing now.

Eddie’s face reddened with annoyance, had Bill told Stan about their conversation??

“No! I don’t want to talk about it okay!?” He raised his voice, clenching his fists at his side as he spoke, tears beginning to burn in the corners of his eyes.

“There’s no need to be like that Eddie, we’re just concerned,” Stan said as if they weren’t the ones pressing Eddie for information. “Richie’s out front with Bev having a smoke, it’s safe to talk.”

Eddie shot a look at Bill feeling a little betrayed. He was only just realising these feelings for himself, he didn’t want it becoming gossip amongst the rest of the Losers.

“Look, I’m just gonna go home” he huffed, grabbing his bag from the armchair. “I’m tired, I have a headache, my mom’s gonna be pissy cause I’m out late, and I really don’t appreciate you jumping to conclusions about what I’m thinking.”

Bill and Stan paused, looking somewhat shocked at the outburst. Eddie pushed past and headed for the back door.

“So you’re not sneaking out the back to avoid Tozier, then?” Stan said pointedly. Bill elbowed him in the side and followed Eddie out onto the back porch.

“E-Eddie, wait up!”

“I can’t believe you told Stan!” Eddie snapped, spinning round to face Bill before beginning to pace the porch, gesticulating as he spoke. “What part of ‘don’t tell the other Losers’ didn’t you get? I trusted you with this Bill!”

“He’s my b-b-boyfriend, Eddie. We tell each other everything.” Bill said, sitting on the bench under the kitchen window. “I’m s-suh-sorry, I didn’t m-mean to u-u-u-upset you.”

Eddie noticed Bill’s stuttering was worse when he was feeling anxious. He huffed a little, still pacing, before moving to sit down next to his friend on the bench.

“I think he’s moving to New York,” he said after a pause, his right heel still tapping involuntarily. “I thought he’d be going to California. That’s why I applied there.”

“I figured,” Bill said matter-of-factly. Eddie felt frustrated but probably more appreciative of how well Bill knew him. “I didn’t think a-a-anyone knew where Richie was guh-going? He’s been keeping it p-pretty quiet.”

“He mentioned to Bev about living with her when she moves...” he said, staring at the floor, the tapping of his heel intensifying.

“Oh, that? I’m sure he was just joking!” Bill insisted, squeezing Eddie’s shoulder. “You know how he is, you can’t take half of what he says seriously.”

“I guess... but don’t you think he would have made a bigger deal of it if he knew we were moving to California together?” He waited for a response from Bill but the pause in conversation confirmed that he had made a valid point that Bill couldn’t refute.

“You should talk to him,” Bill said, leaning forward so that Eddie couldn’t help but look at him. Eddie made to argue but Bill raised a hand to stop him. “I know you don’t w-wuh-want to tell him how you fee-f-feel, but you need to say something or you’re just going to t-tie yourself up in kn-nuh-nots.”

Eddie sighed, knowing Bill was right.

“Fine, but not tonight. I really do have a headache and I just want to go to bed.”

“Okay, but don’t l-let this eat you up. I’m here for you, you k-kn-now that,” Bill smiled, “me and Stan.”

Eddie crossed his arms and gave Bill a look, but broke it with a smile and went to hug his friend. Bill hugged him back tightly, giving his shoulders a reassuring squeeze.

“Thanks buddy,” Eddie smiled, breaking the hug and relaxing his shoulders a little.

While he knew Bill was right, he couldn’t help but wonder how he could talk to Richie without giving his feelings away; the last thing he wanted to do was ruin their friendship before leaving Derry. He would try and talk to him, but not tonight. Not while he was feeling so worked up.

“Get home safe,” Bill waved as Eddie made to leave via the side of the house.

“Laters, ‘gaters!” Eddie called, waving back.

“Wh-while, ‘dile!”

Eddie smiled as he walked around the house, checking to see if Richie was still out front. Seeing the way was clear, he made for home at a fast pace, smile faltering as his worries wrapped themselves around his shoulders again.

This was going to be difficult. 

- End of Chapter 3 -

A/N: Sorry for the short filler-y chapter, this scene ended up being a lot longer than intended and would be too long if I added the next bit too. So I’ll get this out there for now, more soon! Bright side, y’all be getting seven chapters in total now!

Taglist: @richietoaster | @vimra | @wildcardtrip-blog | @starstruck-stargazing  | @noxatn  | @mysterious-fish  | @imnot-reddieforthis  | @fragilenights  | @justanothetfangirl | @tyrror

Send me a message if you want to be on the tag list for Chapter 4!

[froggy-s-thought-s]

#1 - 4/5/2021

Sup so I wanted to make a side blog so that i can talk about my day and what not because i dont want to talk about it on my main blog but i love to talk with people so I’ll be posting little updates like this one here and some other stuff like note taking or talking about whatever I want to talk about.

Today’s been okay; i woke up at 7:30am which was an hour before when my alarm is meant to go off and it’s like that because i have school tomorrow and i wake up at 5:30 so i have time to mentally prepare and such. It turns out my alarm was actually set for PM so i fixed it for tomorrow and I went back to sleep because i was still tired and I had a headache (which i could have fixed with a cup of water but i, again, was exhausted).

i got woken up around 9:40 i think? (i dont really remember) by my dad because i had an orthodontist appointment at.. a... time??? I (it was at like 10:30 i think) and then i got ready, went to the ortho’s offic got my wires off because i have braces and i needed to get a cleaning, i went home for a little while to which i put my bands in for like half and hour to an hour long because my teef hurt.

at around 11:30 i left for the dentist because i needed to get my teeth cleaned.. yknow.. the whole point of this excursion- and my teeth got picked at for what felt like an hour but was probably closer to only half an hour; and then the dentist who was working on me told me i need to brush my teeth more which made me kinda mad because i DO brush my teeth enough- i do it after everytime i eat but like oh well i didnt brush before i went because i didnt eat (still havent because im meant to wait an hour before eating or drinking and i got back at 1:11 and its probably safe to eat but ehhh.. and she also told me to floss which is acceptable because i never floss unless i feel like i have to which should be everyday but its usually just like every month or so which is bad ik but like.. eh

so anyway- im home now and i want to waste away my last day of spring break maybe i’ll watch the Han Solo movie and start the Rebels series because my brother got me into Star Wars and i really like it or maybe i’ll rewatch some of the Clone wars series? or maybe i’ll go the classic route and rewatch something MCU? because i was in the MCU fandom before the Star Wars one and i Hype fixated on Star Wars for a while but now im just kinda in two fandoms which has never happened to me before and im not sure if i like it.

i really like The Falcon and Winter Soldier series so far; i enjoy the framing, the characters and i love how its not all just nods to past works and filled to the brim with easter eggs (haha easter eggs) like how the movies are and dont get me wrong i love that kind of fast pase action but sometimes you just gotta stroll down a dirt road surrounded by flowers as your new rival rolls past you in a jeep(?).

Im probably going to post art or something here if i ever feel like i want to post art here; maybe this’ll be a little vent/updates thing and a little bit a fandom because i tie fandom into my everyday life because yeah!

I have another ortho appointment at 4:05 to get my wires back in and im prolly gonna be doing something else today so i’ll probably edit this later if i remember!! until then imma bounce

--

Edit 1 : i’ve just got back and i started crying, i had lunch at 2:20 pm and all i had was some bread, cheese-itz and diet dr pepper which isnt too bad considering how ive accidently missed lunch several times before but i also got back from the Ortho and now i straight up dont want to talk which isnt much of a vibe but here we are.

i wanna sit on a voice chat with one of my friends and sit in silence but the person i wanna do that with isnt here rn and she hasnt for the whole week cause its spring break and its making me stressy and i dont like it, i think im going to watch something i’ve watched before to comfort myself; maybe the Prequal movies again? thats only about 6-7 hours right?? as long as i dont get distracted it will only be about 12 ish once i finish when i account for being distracted and dinner...

that actually sounds really nice, imma go rewatch the entire prequal serise!! i feel a bit better already and i havent even started :)

--

Edit 2 : I watched episode one and gave up on finishing episode two so i started watching the 2003 Clone Wars show which is pretty good so far! my friend got back and Im much calmer now.

[thetravellingvagrant]

Day 1: Glasgow-London - In Which I Ride Three Too Many Buses

I was awake before my ludicrously early alarm even had a chance to punch my ears in all to buggery with its obnoxiously soothing little wake-up ditty. Sam had – rather selfishly I felt – had a flare up of hay fever symptoms in the night and subsequentially had honked both her and myself awake a fairly generous length of time before we were supposed to be.

Desperately trying not to go into a grump before even the Pre-Vagrancy had properly begun, I decided to think of my premature arousal as me having beaten my alarm by a clear twenty minutes (which is actually loads. Step you game up, alarm, you fucking loser) and hoisted myself into a no less bleary eyed but now substantially more vertical mess of hair and unhappiness.

Thanks to Sam's...enthusiasm for over-preparation (which some people more calloused than I might describe as withering anality, but not me, because I'm a good and supportive boyfriend and not one of you has the stones to say otherwise) we left her flat with an  unnecessarily long time buffer to play with before our Megabus to London was due to depart at 7:00am. At the very least it did seem that travelling with Sam would be a pretty effective prophylactic against the first-day-curse.

And so, after a quick detour to take some bin-bags out, we were officially ready for adventure

To Adventure! (Not pictured: Peru)

We made the brief journey to Hyndland train station, literally screaming with laughter over how much time we had to spare, though as we began our ascent to the platform, Sam stopped in her tracks. To be honest, I thought she was ironically killing time, because we had so much of it to spare that she felt entirely comfortable making a mockery of it on a conceptual level. I was, however, as the sharper readers out there may already have figured out, wrong about that.

“...I've forgotten my lunch”

I blinked and sighed. I slinked, or blighed- whichever one reads better in text (slinked I think...)- and, without speaking, spun on my heels and headed back flatwards, annoyed to have to backtrack carrying the heavy backpack that I was, but also quietly vindicated that we didn't get up early for no good reason and secretly overjoyed to have not been the first one of us to have fucked up in any sort of significant way.

Sam hopped back up to her flat to collect her food while I sat outside, pretending to be okay with the situation. A few minutes later, she reappeared, visibly distressed.

“I can't find it!”

...It was a bright orange Sainsbury's carrier bag, which- owing to the fact that she had definitely had it in her hands moments before leaving- would presumably have been placed in a very noticeable location. How on earth could she not find it? Slinking again, I stood up to venture inside for a poke around of my own. As I did, however, a thought hit me.

“Did you...” I mused, “Did you, uh...when we took the bins out...” I motioned to the trash can, by which I was sitting. A moment passed. Sam Slinked, except without the sighing part – if only they had a word for that – and without speaking, lifted the huge, perforated, leaking bag of trash from the bin into which she had placed it minutes earlier, rooted around a little and with an almost exactly equal mixture of triumph and defeat, which I have never seen before and venture that I never will again, hoisted her bright orange Sainsbury's bag full of food from its stinking tomb. It seemed that Sam would be instrumental in my avoiding the first day curse, after all. By transferring it all to herself instead. To be honest, I was still fine with that, being the supportive and good boyfriend that I absolutely am.

With one train now missed, but still ample(-ish) time, we boarded the next available one, trash meal in hand (Sam's hand, that is- I want to stress that my food did not go in a bin) and finally, were away, but like, for real this time.

We proceeded to Buchanan bus station with ease, being the seasoned travellers that we both undeniably are- and found ourselves eagerly awaiting out cramped, uncomfortable carriage to London a full 17 minutes before it was due to depart. Smashed it, lad.

It was hot. Even at 7am the heat was unpleasant and irritating. This, compounded by our lack of sleep, heavy bags and our being surrounded by irritating and unpleasant Megabus passengers meant that grumpiness was very much the order of the day.

We waited in as orderly a queue as I think it is possible to do while waiting for a Megabus as our poverty-chariot sat idling for 20 minutes beyond its scheduled departure time. While the rest of us witless dullards waited in what was very clearly the correct (and only) queue, however, a couple, who I can really only describe as fat Nikki Sixx (a phrase I have stolen wholesale, from a friend, but will not be crediting) and his child bride defied this most basic piece of bus-etiquette like the true mavericks they were and began a second, auxiliary queue, slightly round the corner from us, in which they were the premiere members.

The rest of us, being British and therefore spineless in the face of low-level conflict remained quiet and privately seethed over the sheer gall of this undeniably brazen act. Finally, however, we were allowed to board and Fat Nikki Sixx and his jailbait queen were summarily informed by the stout, smelly driver to join the very back of the actual queue. A hero's move and one that was met with an audible cheer from the crowd. Or rather, one person in the crowd. Sam. It was Sam. Boy she hated those people. With that little victory in our pockets, we took the available seats least likely to make Sam vomit into a carrier bag during the journey and were finally London-bound.

Our first bus journey of the day was remarkably uneventful- Aside from a young woman managing to lock herself in the bus toilet and screaming at the top of her lungs “HELP. HELP, I'M TRAPPED IN THE TOILET” before managing to unlock the door for herself, literally seconds later- an episode which I missed due to having headphones in, but am told by Sam, was very funny, not much of any note happened at all. No drunk Scottish person being ejected at Preston despite the fact it was still before 10am, no African woman who had booked a ticket for the wrong day, though still inexplicably expected to be allowed on board. Nothing. I listened to podcasts and watched films for the duration and Sam ate her bag of trash like a little raccoon and that was it.

We soon arrived in London and upon stepping foot of the bus, immediately realised how good its air conditioning had been. It was literally like opening an oven door. While on fire. That bit was a little less literal.  It was very hot though; something like 34 degrees, which, if you're interested was actually 3 degrees hotter than the Amazon rain-forest was, that day.

We lugged our shit from Victoria coach station to the nearby Sainsbury's for the evening's rations and a little ice-lolly and back to the station to catch our second bus of the day, to Gatwick Airport. This round-trip took less than twenty minutes, but was enough to reduce me to the most disgusting, sweatiest, unhappiest mess I have ever been (and people who know me will tell you, that is an incredibly low bar for me to have to limbo under). If I had even a little moisture left in my body, I would definitely have been weeping it out.

Pictured: A happy, dry man.

An agonisingly uncomfortable 25 minutes later, though, and we were aboard bus number 2, literally (not literally) flying towards Gatwick. The AC on this bus – and I know this is a boring thing to write about. Write your own sweet travel blog if you don't like it – was truly top notch,. I honestly felt the majority of the journey feeling a little chilly, if anything. I could probably quite comfortably  have put a hoodie on. I didn't; that would have been ludicrous, obviously, but I could have. I stress again, start your own travel blog if you don't like this bit.

After a lot longer than you would expect it would take to drive to an airport with the name of the city you are currently in, in its own name, we arrived; tired, bedraggled and in desperate need of dinner and a sleep. We stepped back into the unpleasant idiot-furnace that was the world outside and headed towards our final bus of the day: the airport shuttle to our travelodge.

We (I) found the right stop and waited in the blazing, horrible heat. After a brief interlude in which Sam, who can be...a bit stressy, insisted we get on the wrong bus because it was there and she didn't want to miss it, despite it going to the wrong Travelodge, we boarded the /correct/ bus  and undertook the arduous four minute journey which cost us both that many pounds per ticket, which obviously I was utterly thrilled over, because I hate money and always wish I had less of it,

Now, utterly befuckled on a frankly cosmic level, we dragged ourselves through the doors of the lodge, to the horrified gasps of the other guests. Fifteen hours after we had started and around a stone lighter each in sweat, we had arrived. I don't think anyone has ever been as pleased to step foot inside a travelodge as I was at that point and honestly? I don't think anyone ever will be, again. I was so happy that I nearly didn't even care about how much that fucking shuttle bus had cost and everything.

Any notion of pride or class entirely gone, now (a slightly bigger drop for Sam than for me), we did what apparently just comes naturally to vagrants and sat, in bed, in our pants, eating sandwiches in bed , while watching absolute garbage on a woefully underspecced laptop. At least it seemed like that bit would be the same as travelling alone.

[3wishes-rpg]

Adjustments and Dumplings

HEY GUYS I WROTE A THING. It’s a little thing, but I’ve been wanting to explore Hongyu and Meilan’s relationship a bit more, and this has been knocking around in my head for a week or so. I’ve also wanted to write it up for @indecentpause as a little pick-me-up. I’m imagining this occurs some time after Hongyu, Xun, and Meilan go to Jianyu and Yuhan’s clinic, as I imagine they stay there for a bit before going off to find the other warriors.

Also just putting this out there: HONGYU IS SUCH A GOOD MOM. <3 

Hongyu wasn’t entirely expecting to find Meilan on the roof of the clinic. When they had noticed she wasn’t in her room, there had been a brief moment of panic, but the fact that there weren’t signs of a struggle and that her blanket was missing suggested that she had left on her own and hadn’t gone far. Hongyu had volunteered to comb upstairs, and decided, just to be thorough, to check the roof as well, pushing back the thoughts that perhaps their priestess had truly left on her own, perhaps with the intention of not coming back.

It was a cool night, and Meilan had wrapped herself up tightly in her blanket, even going so far as to pull the blanket up over her head like a hood. She sat on a ledge, her gaze directed upwards, illuminated by dim moonlight and the lights from the surrounding buildings. Hongyu had planned to quietly head back downstairs and let everyone know where she was without disturbing her, but whether through some ability to sense her warriors or just the sense that someone was watching her, Meilan turned in her direction. Hongyu flinched. Well, caught.

Hongyu smiled, and emerged fully onto the roof. “Here you are. We’ve been looking for you.”

Meilan started a little, but quickly relaxed when she saw who it was. She smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make everyone worry. I just…needed to be alone for a bit.”

“Okay, I can go, then. We just wanted to make sure you were safe.” Hongyu turned to do just that, planning to let Meilan have her privacy.

“Wait,” Meilan’s voice was quiet, almost timid. “Would you stay with me? For a few minutes?”

She didn’t need to be asked twice. “Of course,” Hongyu said, and moved to sit beside her, propping herself back on her hands and gazing up at the sky. For several long moments, they didn’t speak, quietly watching the stars together. “So,” Hongyu said, breaking the silence, “Why are you up here?”

There was a little movement under the blanket that Hongyu interpreted as a shrug. “The stars are nice. I don’t get to watch them often, you know. There’s too many lights back home. It’s not much better at school either. But I like watching them, when I get the chance. They’re kinda comforting. Like, everything can be wild and crazy and upside down, but the stars are still there. It’s…it’s nice.”

Hongyu turned to look at her. Reflected in the light, she could see the beginnings of tears welling up in Meilan’s eyes. “Hey, is everything okay?” she asked gently.

Meilan nodded. “Yeah, it’s fine.”

Hongyu slid closer to Meilan and put her arm around her. The girl let herself be pulled close, leaning her head on Hongyu’s shoulder. “You know, when Xun says everything’s fine and then she goes off by herself, that’s usually my big clue that everything’s not fine.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Meilan murmured.

Hongyu frowned. “Has someone bothered you?” She asked, a little afraid of the response.

Meilan lifted her head and shook it vigorously. “Oh, no! Everyone’s been very kind. Jianyu’s been a lot of help, and I like helping him out in the clinic, and Yuhan’s a lot of fun to spend time with, and you and Xun are really helping me with getting around. And I’m really appreciative of how everyone’s helping me figure this out, and I’m glad we’re all able to work together. It’s just…”

“Just…?”

Meilan laid her head back on Hongyu’s shoulder. “I miss home.” She sniffled, letting out a sigh. “It’s funny, y’know? I’ve always wanted to have an adventure like this, to end up in another world, do amazing things, be more than my boring, stressy life, but now that I’m actually doing it, I keep thinking about home. I think about the shows I’m missing, and how am I going to catch up with classwork. I wonder about if my parents are wondering where I am. I’m not even that worried about telling them about my awful test score anymore. I’m missing the silliest things, like cupcakes, and Dr. Bannister getting all red-faced and upset over people stealing from cardiology’s supply closet, and listening to Lily and Yolo fight over whose turn it is to do dishes. Stupid, silly things…”

Hongyu heard the cracking in Meilan’s voice as she trailed off. “Oh, no, no,” She said gently, pulling Meilan into a hug. The girl shook as she sobbed quietly against her chest. “It’s not stupid, or silly, not at all,” she murmured, “It’s okay. It’s okay to be homesick. Everyone understands how hard this is for you, to be so far away from home. We’re all here for you. You’re not alone. You’re not alone, Meilan.”

She held her, whispering quiet words of reassurance until Meilan’s sobs quieted. She stayed curled up against Hongyu for a while, her breathing punctuated by an occasional sniffle. Eventually, she pulled away from Hongyu’s chest, wiping a tear away. “Thanks,” she said, her voice shaky, “I…I guess I needed a good cry. I don’t want everyone to worry about me, and I don’t want them to think I’m unhappy being here, because I’m not! But…I still miss home.”

Hongyu gave her an encouraging smile, catching a stray tear with her thumb. “No one would blame you for that, I’m sure of it. I’m sure any of us would feel the same way in your position. But you’re strong, Meilan, stronger than you think. We’ll all get through this together.”

Meilan nodded, leaning her head back on Hongyu’s shoulder. They sat in silence for some time until Meilan spoke. “You know, I’ve been keeping track of how long I’ve been here. Tonight was supposed to be dumpling night.”

“Dumpling night?”

“It’s something Lily kinda came up with. When I arrived at school, I was homesick then, too. I told her how much I missed making dumplings with my grandmother, and she got the rest of the flat together to make them with me.” Hongyu could feel Meilan smiling against her at the memory. “She even found most of the ingredients. We started a tradition of doing it once a month, because everyone liked them so much. I wonder if they miss me.”

Hongyu shook her head in bemusement. “Oh Meilan, they’re your friends. Of course they’d miss you. Don’t worry, maybe we can find some way to get a message to them. I’m sure there’s a way!”

“Thanks…I hope so.”

Hongyu thought for a moment at what Meilan had said, suddenly struck with an idea. “Say, what goes into those dumplings you mentioned?”

Meilan shrugged. “Not a lot. Dumpling wrappers, of course, and ground pork, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, some spices, shepherd’s purse if you can get it, but we’ve been using cabbage since it’s hard to find shepherd’s purse at school.”

Hongyu smiled broadly. “You know, I was expecting some sort of strange ingredients that only exist in your world, but I think those are all things we can get here, or at least something that might pass. What do you say we get Yuhan and go out to the market tomorrow and pick up the ingredients, and you can show all of us how to make them for dinner tomorrow night?”

Meilan sat up and looked at Hongyu, her eyes brightening. “Really? You really mean that? We could do it?” Hongyu nodded. “Oh, I would love that! Thank you so much!” She threw her arms around Hongyu’s neck in an enthusiastic hug, causing her to rock back slightly at the unexpected force.

Hongyu laughed softly at the girl’s sudden change. “To be fair, at least between Xun and I, Xun’s probably going to be the one that’s better at making them, but you know I’ll give it a try! At the very least I can help with the eating.” She pulled Meilan’s blanket back onto her shoulders, the sudden movement having caused it to slip off. “Do you think you’re ready to come back downstairs?”

Meilan nodded, smiling. “I think so. Thank you.”

Hongyu smiled, and helped her to her feet. “Come on, everyone’s waiting for you.”

[blondeswithbackpacks]

Brussels (take 2)

I Have just spent an hour typing up every detail of our trip so far and lost it all to a Google search so please forgive if this isn’t very good - I don’t have the energy! We made it! We awoke bright and early for our 4 am start and made it to the coach station with plenty of time to spare. After an emotional goodbye (for some parties more than others…) we boarded the rather swanky coach. We made it to London Victoria after a relatively painless journey considering we hit London just at the start of rush hour. Since we had left home about 4 hours earlier, we were both ready for the toilet by this point. We headed into the coach station in search of the rest room only to find that they charged 30p. Despite having plenty of euros, we didn’t have a British coin between us so we went for plan B and wandered to the Starbucks round the corner. We didn’t even make it through the door before seeing the big ‘Out of Order’ sign on the single toilet door. Never mind, London is full of cafés so we headed over towards the train station where we found a Nero’s with the exact same sign on the door. By this point we were starting to think we were part of some “mass toilet conspiracy” and doubt the future success of the trip. Luckily, we found some free and fully functioning toilets within the station just in time to prevent a full on existential crisis. With voided bladders, we bravely set off to catch the underground from Victoria and made it to the platform with only minor difficulty finding the entrance. There we watched three trains come and go before squeezing onto the fourth much to the annoyance of all around as we took up the space of about 5 people with all our baggage. We travelled four stops in this sardine can, arriving at Kings Cross - St Pancras with plenty of time to grab the second breakfast our stomachs were growling for. Having gone through security, waited for a bit and got on the Eurostar, we found ourselves sat just across from the grumpy man that, through the whole process, we had managed to annoy by getting in his way several times. Thankfully, he was your typical Brit and said nothing, just gave the odd disapproving look. After a couple of hours dozing, we found ourselves in a surprisingly hot (27°C) Brussels. From the station in the south, we had a rather sweaty half hour walk across to our hostel in the centre. We found it without trouble and managed to navigate our way around the roadworks and across the canal. We were the first to check into our dorm of 6 so chose the two single beds separate from the others. We were settling in nicely when our 4 Chilean room mates burst into the room to find me brushing my teeth the opposite side of the room to the bathroom. I offered an awkward wave, waited for them to move out the way a bit and then hurdled their bags to get to the sink. In my typical clumsy way, I then spilled everything from my overstuffed wash bag across the floor. They didn't seem to care but they weren't really the friendliest - not the best first experience of room mates but never mind! Refreshed from a brief sit down and change of clothes, we headed out into the sunshine to explore the city. We found our way to the "Grand Place", a beautiful square in the centre of Brussels where you find the town hall and other important buildings. It was heaving with tourists but we were still able to appreciate the gold decoration and intricate detail on all of the buildings. We then wondered through some little streets to the "Manneken Pis" which translates from Dutch as 'little-man pee' and sums it up very literally since it is a statue of a boy peeing into a fountain. Strangely, when I asked my grandparents about Brussels, this was the only thing they recommended seeing... We then wandered around for a little longer until we were, again, hungry so we stopped in a supermarket and picked up some food. Back at the hostel, we were pleased to find the kitchen empty despite the hostel being quite big and having no other eating/cooking facilities. We cooked a nice stir-fry and felt rather satisfied with ourselves for a successful first day of the backpacker lifestyle. After trying to socialise in the hostel bar for a little while, we went back to the room to watch a film. I was shattered so crashed out on the bed, face first, at about 8pm. I slept fairly well until 1:30 when our lovely roommates stumbled into the room. They bashed around for a bit then went to bed and I thought that was that but a few hours later I woke up to a chorus of 3 of them snoring at what was, in hindsight, an impressively loud volume. This was interjected only but the occasional banging of the fourth one on the bed above her in an attempt to put an end to snoring, to no avail. Hattie and I both dozed until 9am when we had planned to get up and I was a lot less worried about trying to be quiet than had our roomies been more considerate. We got ready - hairdryer and all - had breakfast then went off to catch the open top, hop on hop off bus. We found the central station - the start of the tour - with no problems but then struggled to find the stop. After a bit of stressiness, we grabbed a coffee to calm down and asked for directions to the stop which was just round the corner from where we had been looking. We hopped on the bus, plugged our headphones in and listened to commentary of all the sights we saw. About half an hour in we hopped off at the Atomium, an incredible building based on an iron crystal that was built for the World Expo. It was amazing to see in person as it was much larger than I had been expecting. Right next to the Atomium was Mini-Europe, a model village in tribute to the EU... Both of us felt the irony as we chose to go in. I was a little sceptical at first about how good it would be but I have to say it was really worth a visit. It was interesting seeing these well known buildings so near each other and comparing the size and style of them. My highlights were the mini Sacré-Cœur and the mini Houses of Parliament complete with tiny Brexit and Bremain campaigners. Having seen all the major buildings in Europe and even witnessed the eruption of Vesuvius in the space of a couple of hours, we hopped back on the bus to go to the Belgian Chocolate village. It was a great little museum with a chocolate kitchen in the middle that filled the whole place with the wonderful smell of chocolate. We were given truffles and I graciously ate both as Hattie couldn't and I must admit they were really good. We then walked back to the hostel to get our step count up for the day - no, I'm not a fitbitter but Hattie's phone keeps praising us for our activity level. We ate the leftovers from yesterday for dinner and had a relaxed evening in the hostel with another little wander around the surrounding area. I'm surprised by how quickly we've settled in and how natural it all feels. I wasn't expecting much from Brussels and although it took a while to get a feel for it with all its different areas, it's been a great start to our trip and I'm excited for what's to come. Next stop Rotterdam!