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shewritestheblues · 5 years

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Old Thing Back (2)

Erik Killmonger x Reader

Erik runs into his old high school girlfriend and realizes how much love he still has for her.

Please Note: In this series, there was never a fight for the thrown between Erik and T’Challa. It’s all good between them. Erik became a Seal and used his pull to go to Wakanda in the hopes of just finding his family. Together, he and T’Challa founded the Wakandan Outreach Center in Oakland.

Thanks for the feedback and love. :) excuse any mistakes. enjoy.

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It had been weeks since you ran into Erik… or since he literally ran into you. Good thing you only went running on the weekends. That made it easier to avoid him if you spotted him again. But luckily, you didn’t. You purposely waited until about 9am to go running and you were sure that was why. If he was an early bird, he wouldn’t catch you.

The weekend at come to an end and you were successful yet again at not being run over by your past. You were ready to get back to work to be with your favorite mini humans. You had been a kindergarten teacher for five years and each year, you’d fall in love with your tribe of five year olds like they were your own. This year, your God Daughter, Bella was one of your students. You wouldn’t let Kelly enroll her into any other school. You practically demanded that little Bella be your student.

You had just picked up your daily Chai Tea Latte from the cafe near Kelly’s house and you were arriving at her home to pick Bella up for school. You were running behind. Your class would be taking a field trip today and you took it upon yourself to make lunches for each student.

As you pulled into Kelly’s driveway, she was rushing out the door with Bella, running late herself. She was called into work early this morning.

“Thank you so much for picking her up, girl. I needed this morning shift.” Kelly says, strapping Bella into her carseat.

“Not a problem. Bella is my baby too.” You smile at the toddler. “Ain’t that right baby girl?”

“Yes.” Bella was all smiles.

“Alright.” Kelly sighed. “You will be a good girl today on your trip.”

“I will, mommy.”

Kelly kisses Bella and closes her door. She waves at you and you pull off, going to school.

When you get there, the bus taking your class on their first ever field trip was there waiting. You get Bella and the lunches out of the car and rush over to find your other students and your teaching assistant, Liza getting settled. You do a headcount to make sure everyone is there before the bus heads to its destination.

“I’ve heard so much about this place and what they’ve done over the summer for kids.” your TA states.

“Hmm?” You were zoned out, enjoying your morning drink.

“The Outreach Center.”

“Oh yeah. Me too. When I heard they were opening this Early Child Development Studio, I knew I had to bring our babies to see what it’s about.”

“I wonder if the King of Wakanda will be there today.” Liza sticks her tongue out making you laugh.

“He is fine ain’t he?” you smirk. “I would not mind becoming a Queen for him.”

“Miss Y/N? Are we there yet?” a small voice from behind you asks you. It’s Tyler. He’s one of your busy body students. He doesn’t like sitting in one spot for too long and is always asking a lot of questions.

You smile at him. “Almost Tyler.” You stretch your neck over the driver's seat to get a good look at the road. “We’re a few blocks away.”

And in just a few minutes, the bus turns into a parking lot next to the building. Glowing blue letters sitting above large, glass doors reading, Wakandan Outreach Center.

“Okay boys and girls. We’re here. Is everyone listening?”

“Yes!” they all answer you.

“Great. We're going to be good guests here. We will stay in line and stay together. Today will be a very fun day. If any of you have to use the restroom, come to me or Miss. Liza and we will find the nearest restroom. Are you guys ready?”

“Yes, Miss. Y/N.”

One by one, the kids jumped off the bottom step of the bus. They made a single file line and followed you into the building with Liza behind them, carrying the lunches. You were met with a beautiful, tall woman in red. Her smile was as bright as the sun. Her presence was breathtaking and even the kids noticed her. You and them were in awe of this gorgeous woman.

“Hello, I’m Mia. You must be the kindergarten class that’s supposed to visit the new Studio today?”

“Yes.” you excitedly shake her hand. Which was amazingly smooth and warm. “I’m Y/N. This is Liza and these are our shining stars.” You turn to your students. “Class 104, this Mia.”

“Hi Mia.” their tiny voices rung out, echoing through the lobby.

“Hello Class 104. Nice to meet you all.” Mia turns to you again. “We’re excited to have you today. Unfortunately, our tour guide, Sasha won't be in today but our Director of Youth Development is here and he’s offered to show you guys around today.”

“Okay, that’s fine. Who is--”

Mia looks to her left. “Here he is now. Mr. Stevens.”

Her words shocked you like lightening. But the person she referred to as Mr. Stevens, made your heart sink into the pit of your belly.

“Good Morning.” his deep voice boomed in your ears. The smile on his face was just as bright as Mia’s. He reaches out to take the box of lunches from Liza. “Could you take this to the cafeteria, Mia?”

You took a few deep breaths, calming your nerves. How is this happening? Why is this happening? You look to Liza who is gazing at him. He reaches his hand out to Liza.

“Good morning. I’m Erik.”

She shakes his hand and her bright cheeks begin turning red. “Um, hi. I’m Liza.”

Erik turns to you with a smirk and his hand out. “Y/N.” he states your name so matter factly.

“Hi, Erik.”

Liza looks confused now. How did you two know each other? She thought.

The smile on Erik’s face was contagious and you couldn’t help but to smile too. Your cheeks going against you. Allegedly. You playfully roll your eyes and avoid meeting his eyes. Your eyes meet with one of your students, Jonathan. He bounces his little brows up at you and winks. You bite back the laughter that threatens to come out.

“Class 104, this is…” You turn back to Erik. “Do you prefer Mr. Erik or Mr. Stevens?”

Erik drags his tongue over his bottom lip, eyes trained on you. He's aware of your struggles. “Mr. Erik is fine.”

“Class… Mr. Erik.”

“Hi, Mr. Erik.” your class sings in unison.

“He’s going to be showing us around today. Are you guys and gals excited?”

“Yes!” the cheery five year olds jump and clap.

A small girl from the back of the group makes her way to the front. She introduces herself to Erik.

“Hi, Mr. Erik. I’m Melody. I’m the line leader, so you can just show me where to go and I’ll take it from here.”

She places her small hand into Erik, shocking him. He didn’t know five year olds could be so damn bold. But he smiled at her and decided he’d go along with it. He gives you a knowing look. You shake your head and look over to Liza, who is trying everything in her to hold back her laugh.

Melody snaps at her class. “Get in line. Me and Mr. Erik will lead the way.” Her class follows her demanding instructions. Erik begins walking with Melody down a large hallway. You watch in disbelief at how your young student took charge as the line began walking away from you. You and Liza catch eyes again and this time, snickers escape from the both of you.

“I can’t lie,” Liza began, “Melody has game. I respect it. She just took your man right under your nose.”

“My what!” your words coming out a bit louder than expected. You see Erik peak behind him to you and Liza. The two of you were trailing the line of jumping kids.

Liza cuts her eyes at you. “You can play stupid with these babies but you can’t play stupid with me Y/N. I peeped how y’all were looking at each other. All cheesy and shit.” Liza swayed her body adding emphasis on her words.

“That’s a bad word, Miss Liza.” Tyler barked.

“My apologies, Tyler.”

You and Liza bite back more laughter.

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Erik leads the class to two large doors with glowing blue lights and Wakandan symbols engraved on them. Early Childhood Development Studio. When Erik opened the doors, it was like a kindergarten teacher's dream classroom. It was neat with a modern decor style but still colorful to draw in a child's attention. The ceiling mimicked a dome with animated visuals playing on the tiles. Rows of white tables with small stability ball chairs. Each table paired with a collection of Crayola Crayons, Markers, Pencils and Erasers. In front of each seat, sat an iPad full of learning apps. To the right of the room, there’s a dry erase board and learning posters. To the left, shelves and shelves of children's books, neatly placed toys--Including a play kitchen, salon, tool boxes. There was an open space covered with a mat that would glow with the same blue color that was on the entry doors.

You and Liza were intrigued to say the least. Your students were in aw as well and being very vocal about it. Erik was pleased to see everyone approving of his design.

“As you can see here,” Erik began explaining, “each student would have their own iPad to stay up to date with the new learning apps that we are developing. We have plenty of utensils here for drawing and expression. The dome is designed for the children to gain an understanding of how the sky and the galaxy works.” he takes a step back to grab an iPad. He taps a few buttons and suddenly the room is darkened and stars and planets paint the ceiling. It’s so realistic that even you, for a second, thought that you were just casted into space. The children voiced their ohs and aws.

“Wow.” you mouthed, looking around you watching a meteorite pass by you.

Erik taps the iPad again and the ceiling goes back to normal. He walks over to the glowing mat, tapping on it and holographic visuals of a young woman with braids pop up. She jumps with joy.

“Hey Shuri, meet Class 104.”

“Hello class.” Shuri waves. The students are bouncing with excitement and wave back to Shuri.

“We have an experiment set up for you.” He tells the class. “Are you ready?”

“YES!” their screams bounce off the walls.

“They’re ready, Shuri.”

“Alright you little geniuses. Have you ever seen a volcano erupt?” Shuri asks as she walks over to a table.

You and Liza are completely mute. You couldn’t believe what your eyes were seeing. Is this real? Like live footage?

Shuri pours a liquid into the top of the volcano and it explodes a lava colored foam.

“Oh my gosh!” one kid yells out.

“My mama won’t believe this.” another says.

Erik laughs at the joyful reactions.

“There’s more where that came from when you guys come and see me later.” Shuri smiles.

“Thanks Shuri. I’ll let you know when we’re ready to come down.” Erik says.

She gives him a thumbs up and Erik taps the mat again and the hologram disappears.

“Erik!” you were stunned. “That was live?”

“Yes. We use holograms to do most of our communication. The mat is designed with vibranium, so it can’t be destroyed and we can use it for science experiments, communication, building blocks… I could go on but I’d rather show you over time.”

“Wow. This is perfect. More kids that come here and we’ll have hella little scientists running around Oakland.” Liza says.

“Why don’t we get them started.” Erik leads the children to the tables. Each of them picking a seat and tapping on the iPads. Erik gets each of them set up with a different app to explore their little brains.

You and Liza help with the set up and before you knew it, each student was in their own little world learning and actually enjoying it. You and Liza were probably enjoying the Studio more than the children.

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To reward your shining stars for being the amazing little learners they were, you and Liza figured that they should have some play time. This would be good for them to use up the rest of their energy before lunch, as well as give you and Liza a break.

As the children played with all of the high tech toys, Liza couldn’t help but to notice the set of eyes trained on you. She hid a knowing smile behind her water bottle as she pretended to take a sip and pretending even harder at listening to whatever you were talking about.

“Mhmm.” is all Liza offered to you.

Liza always has commentary to whatever topic you were babbling about so the lack there of caught your attention.

“Liza, are you listening to me?” you snapped with a bit of attitude.

Her eyes meet yours. “I’m not understanding how you are able to listen to you right now.”

“Excuse me?”

Liza scrunches her nose up. “You don’t sense the demon eyes glaring at you from across the room? Melody may have Mr. Erik,” she adds emphasis to his name, “wrapped around her little finger, but that man has been hawking you since we got here.”

You scoff. “No he hasn’t.” You look up and lock eyes with Erik. He’s sitting on the floor with Melody playing in his dreads like she’s his hairstylist. Just before you could react, Bella approaches you.

“God Mommy… I’m hungry.” she whines.

Saved by the Bella.

You look at your Apple Watch noticing that it’s just passed 11a.m. Lunch Time!

“Okay, baby girl. It’s lunch time anyways.”

Bella waste no time turning back to her fellow classmates and yells, “IT’S LUNCH TIME!”

The children go up on roars. It was adorable how thrilled they were about food. That’s something you could relate to on a soul level. The students line up with joy in their eyes. Erik walks toward you and Liza. Your heart begins picking up its pace.

“Hey. So, I figured we could squeeze some time in to visit our labs after lunch before y’all have to go. That’s cool?” he asked mainly you.

You simply nodded your head. You snapped your neck at Liza when you heard her snickering. Of course Erik noticed and he gave you a very toothy smile. His dimples were on full display and you did the only thing you thought you could… run!

“Alright 104,” you step around Erik and Liza. “Mr. Erik here is going to take us to the cafeteria.”

Bella takes your hand into hers. She looks up at Erik. “Hurry Mr. Erik. I’m dying.”

“Let’s go.” he leads you, Liza and the class to the enormace cafeteria. You were impressed. It was like a mini airport in there. Multiple food options. You immediately set your mind on Stir Fry. Liza’s eyes were glued to the pizza.

Mia met all of you with the class’s lunches. As the children got settled in their seats. you and Liza handed out each lunch and watched as they dug in. You and Liza sat at the end of the table to keep a good eye on the kids. As you began eating your food, a large presence approached behind you. You hear a clearing of a throat. You look up and see Erik with sly smirk painted on his lips. His hands were behind his back.

“Do you ladies mind if I join you?” he asks.

“Nope. Y/N doesn’t mind at all if you join her.” she winks at you. She doesn’t care that you were shooting daggers at her. “My baby-loves need me anyway.”

She rises from her seat next to you and she joins the class. Erik takes ownshipship of her chair.

“I have something for you.” In his hands held a box of brand new AirPods.

“Erik… You really didn’t have to do that.”

Ignoring your protest. “I was expecting to give them to you weeks ago but I guess I scared you away from the park.”

The disappointment in his eyes made you feel bad. “Thank you…”

“You’ve been avoiding me.”

It was more of a statement than a question.

“No--No. It’s just… you have to admit, it was kinda weird. Ya’ know, with the way things were the last time we saw each other.” You found the courage to look in his eyes again. Guilt. Regret. “You were the last person I thought I’d see. A lot of feelings that I thought were dead, surfaced and I--.”

“I understand.” he bit the side of his cheek. He felt the awkwardness between you two when he ran into you. He couldn’t deny it if he wanted to.

“But, the universe has a funny way of doing things.” you added.

“Yeah… I’ve always lived with that regret though. I wish I would’ve said something. Ran after you. I don’t know.”

There was a beat of silence.

“Where did you go?” you finally spoke up.

“College... Naval Academy and MIT.”

“Damn, Erik. I knew you were smart but I didn’t know you were that smart to just go to college at 16.”

A low chuckle escapes his mouth. “Yeah, “he continued, “When I became a SEAL, I got curious. I knew I had family in Africa so I decided to go find them. When I got to the Wakanda… they uh, they accepted me with open arms. My uncle--”

“Wait, wait.” you interjected. “You’re Wakandan?”

“Yeah.” a sly smile crept onto his face. “T’Challa is my cousin.”

“WHAT THE FUCK!”

Your shock took over you. You had forgotten where you were and who you were with.

“Ohhhh, Ms. Y/N. That’s a bad word.” one of your students yelled out, bringing you back to reality.

You slap your hand over your mouth. “I am so sorry. I will not say it again. I promise.”

“You have to go in the time out chair, Ms. Y/N.”

You felt foolish for not keeping it together in front of your students. “I’m sorry guys, okay? Forgive me.”

Bella approached you. “I forgive you God Mommy.”

You rub her big puff on top of her head. “Thank You, Bella.”

“God Mommy?” Erik looks between the two of you.

“Yes. This is my GodDaughter who is also my student. This is Kelly’s daughter.”

“Kelly! Big mouth Kelly?”

“My mommy doesn’t have a big mouth.” Bella gathered Erik very nicely.

Erik throws his hands up in surrender. “My bad Miss Bella. She doesn't. I’m sorry.”

You send Bella back to sit with her class. You and Erik play catch up until lunch time was over. He took all of you to Shuri’s lab. Shuri showed the kids some of her gadgets. Before you knew it, it was time for you to load your class up on the school bus and take them back to school for them to be released to their parents. Strangely, you weren’t ready for the trip to be over. You internally told yourself that it wasn’t because of Erik but Liza made sure to constantly remind you that Erik was definitely the reason. You felt butterflies every time your eyes met his. It was like no time had been missed between you two. Yes, there was still an elephant in the room between you but this felt nice and if you had to be honest, that could wait. You liked the way he was making you feel.

You were doing your head count when Erik made his presence known just outside of the buses doors. You kindly asked Liza to make sure all of your students were counted for and you stepped off to talk to Erik… again.

He laid down a fly away from your bun. That took you by surprise.

“It was nice seeing you, Y/N. For real this time.”

“Same. I’m glad we were able to talk and things not be, ya’ know, weird.”

They exchange smiles before Erik spoke again.

“I know I’m shooting for the moon right now but I don’t want to miss this moment.”

You waited for him to continue.

“But um, I would like to link up with you again. Minus the work and students.”

He immediately noticed the look of uncertainty forming over your features. He was definitely shooting for the moon, you thought.

“I don’t know, Erik.”

“Hear me out. It’ll be just two old friends catching up and plus… I want to formally apologize for some things.” He slipped a folded piece of paper into your hands, making sure to allow his fingers to linger over yours. He looked you dead in the eye. “You don’t have to figure it out now. Just promise me that you’ll at least think about it, okay?”

A nod was all that you could produce as a reply.

He leaves you with a wink.

When you joined your class on the bus, Liza made kissy faces at you. You blew her off. Unfolding the paper revealed Erik’s phone number. You would think about it. It was the least you could do.

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You were arriving at Kelly’s to drop your God daughter off to her. Bella was great on her first field trip and you wanted to tell Kelly all about her growing little genius.

You relaxed back onto her couch, cuddling up with Bella. Kelly joined you two, thrilled to hear about their adventure. You went on and on about the Children’s studio, the amazing food and science labs. Kelly loved the futuristic things you were telling her. She wanted so badly to take a personal trip to the Outreach Center just for herself. She was a science lover and that was right up her alley.

“Oh my goodness, Bella baby. It sounds like you had so much fun today.” Kelly doted on her young daughter.

“I did, mommy. I even got to meet God Mommy’s boyfriend.”

Your head snapped to look at Bella like she had six heads.

“Her what!”

“Yeah. Mr. Erik.”

“Bella!”

“Mr. Erik huh?” Kelly looks at you with raised eyebrows. “Tell me more Bella.”

“He was nice. He let me and Melody do his hair. He took us all around and showed us a volcano.”

“That’s nice baby, but tell me. How do you know Mr. Erik is God Mommy’s boyfriend?”

“You’re going to listen to a five year old, Kelly?” you question.

“Hush up! Let the child talk.”

“Well,” Bella throws her hands up. “They were looking at each other like this.” She dramatically blinks her eyes and smiles really big.

You cover your face with your hands. You couldn’t believe your god daughter was throwing you under the bus like this. It really be your own people.

“Bella, why don’t you go change out of your school clothes and let me God Mommy talk.”

Bella runs upstairs to her room. You peak between your fingers to see if Kelly was looking at you. Of course she was with a devious smirk, waiting for you to spill the tea.

“Spill it bitch and don’t leave nothing out.”

You sit still in the hopes that you’ll disappear and she won’t press the issue anymore. But no luck. You were still very visible and your best friend was extremely patient. You pull yourself up on the couch.

“Fuck it. There’s no way out of this.” you say to yourself. “Mr. Erik is Erik Stevens.”

Kelly’s eyes damn near pops out of her head. “Erik fucking Stevens? You are lying to me.”

#Erik Stevens x black!reader #erik stevens x reader #Erik killmonger x Reader #Erik Killmonger #black panther fic #shaebewriting

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brettesims · 26 days

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Drink & Draw

Its been a vibe - can't lie lol (never do). The sun's shinin and I'm risin! I am so proud of myself for putting together this event. Seeing it build slowly but surely has been fulfilling and rewarding. I don't know what's next but I can't wait to see what the unknown holds in store.

~ B

#artbybrette #art #artist #illustrations #illustration #women #drawings #draw #events #drink and draw #oakland artists #sketchbok #fun #summer #summer aesthetic

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ridiculousn3sswrites · 5 years

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Cuffing Language

*Daveed Diggs x Reader

*Summary: Daveed and Reader have known each other since high school and he invites her to a clipping. concert in Oakland.

*Warnings: Alcohol, swearing. Let me know if I missed anything.

*A/N: This was supposed to be posted back in October when I went to the clipping. show in Oakland but oops.

Outfit

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When you first met Daveed Diggs, you were the coaches’ assistant for your high school track team. You were a junior looking to beef up your college applications, and you knew having something to do with sports would make you look at least a little bit impressive, even if you weren’t actually on the team. You tended to just fetch things the team needed, or note down things the coaches were supposed to but didn’t want to. It was pretty easy, and you actually kind of had fun with your job.

You were doing your thing, passing out water bottles to the runners, when you first interacted with him. Even though a lot of the runners didn’t really know you personally, they at least recognized you. “Hey, Diggs, heads up,” you called out to him. He turned, and you tossed the water bottle to him.

“Thanks,” he said, drawing it out just enough so you knew he was searching for your name.

“(Y/n),” you provided.

“(Y/n),” he repeated. “I’d introduce myself, but you already know my name.”

“Yup, it comes with the job. Impressive times, by the way.”

“Thanks. You’re the coaching assistant, right?” You nodded, wanting to keep this conversation going (you couldn’t help it, he was incredibly cute), but then the assistant coach yelled for you to pass out the waters before the team had to get back to practice.

“Work calls,” you explained with a sheepish smile, picking up the box of water bottles.

“We could talk after practice, if you want,” Daveed immediately offered, ducking his head with a shy smile as he waited for your response. In any other situation, you’d say he’d offered it a bit too quickly, but you didn’t want to get your hopes up like that.

“Yeah, that’d be nice.” With that, you went back to work before the assistant coach could yell at you again. You didn’t want to overthink things too much; after all, you barely knew the guy. Surely there were completely innocent reasons for him wanting to talk to you a bit after practice. You were the coaches’ assistant, so he probably just reasoned that you’d be around practice a lot so he might as well get on your good side.

Once practice was over and you’d done all the clean up that the coach asked you to, you found Daveed waiting for you on the bleachers. Adjusting your backpack strap over your shoulder, you walked up to him with a smile. Even if it wasn’t a romantic interest, you knew you’d enjoy spending time with him either way.

**********

The two of you ended up clicking instantly. You weren’t necessarily sure if it was in the romantic way or just in a friend way, but you always had a great time when you hung out. The two of you were almost inseparable for the rest of his senior year, but eventually the time came for him to head off to college. You were torn on his last day: you were insanely proud of him for going to Brown, but you were going to miss him more than you’d care to admit. With a promise to stay in touch, the two of you parted ways for the first time.

Fast forward all these years, and you’d actually kept that promise. While you stayed in the Bay for college and work, you watched as Daveed did his own thing all over the country. Whenever he came back to Oakland, you’d drop whatever to hang out with him, and he did the same if you happened to be wherever he was at the moment. It was kind of crazy how you were actually able to keep in touch and stay friends for all these years; there were even friendships you had from college that didn’t keep in touch as well as Daveed.

When Daveed told you clipping. was doing shows again and they were having one in Oakland, you made sure you got the day of and the next day off. You wanted to utilize the time you had with him, especially since you didn’t know when you’d see him next. You absolutely loved the fact that he was successful, and you were insanely proud of him, but sometimes you just missed having your friend around. You’d never complain about it, especially not to Daveed, it was just something you’d dealt with for years.

When the day came, you couldn’t help the excitement that engulfed you. You danced around your apartment, blasting clipping. on the speakers as you went about the process. You’d already had your outfit picked out - with a backup just in case - for days, but as you were getting dressed you couldn’t help but second guess what you wanted to wear. After an hour of going through that mess, you finally decided to just wear the first outfit you’d picked out - a velvet slip dress and black thigh-high boots, with a black leather jacket in case you all decided to go out after the show. Once you dealt with that entire mess, you still had to put on your makeup and style your hair.

A quick Lyft ride over to the venue later and you found yourself on the upper balcony with a drink in hand, looking down over the stage. You recognized a few of Daveed’s other friends around the balcony, but you didn’t really know them well enough to hang out with them. You watched the DJ set, enjoying watching the DJ go through his box of records. You were bobbing along with the music when you heard a familiar voice behind you. “Am I going crazy or did (y/n) finally get a few days off work to come hang?”

When you turned, you couldn’t help your wide smile. Standing there, drink in his hand, was Daveed’s best friend, Rafa. Finally, someone you could hang out with during the show. “Rafa! Shit dude, how long has it been?” You said, immediately walking up and wrapping him in a hug as well as you could without spilling either of your drinks.

“Does Diggs know you came out?” Rafa asked, releasing you from the hug. Rafa had been just as busy as Daveed, and you missed hanging out with him just as much. When it was you and the boys, you always had a ton of fun just screwing around and doing whatever. The last time you had the opportunity to just hang out as a group was nearly a year ago.

“Of course, man, who do you think invited me?” you joked. “Speaking of Diggs, have you seen him yet?”

“Yeah, he’s doing his rounds.” With that, Rafa took your hand to drag you to, you assumed, wherever Daveed was. Sure enough, you spotted Daveed over the crowd. He had that bright smile that you always loved, a second later throwing his head back in laughter at whatever the people talking to him just said. You could feel the little goofy smile growing on your face at the sight of him, and Rafa didn’t miss it. “You still got that little crush on Diggs?”

“Man, shut up,” you laughed.

“I’ll take that as a yes then,” Rafa teased but dropped the subject. You and Rafa stood off to the side for a bit, waiting for Diggs to finish his conversation. The two of you caught up a bit, talking about your respective work and personal lives. You insisted Rafa should let you watch his dog when he needed a sitter, but for some reason Rafa wasn’t down for it. While you were having this little playful argument, Daveed spotted the two of you. He excused himself from his conversation, making a beeline towards his two best friends.

Before you could argue further about Rafa letting you dogsit Mia, you were lifted off your feet and spun around in a hug. “Daveed, put me down!” you laughed, trying not to get too lost in the feel of being in his arms. It’d really been too long since the last time you’d seen him.

“(Y/n)! Look at you! Wow, babe, you look amazing,” Daveed said when he put you down, holding your hand to twirl you once.

“Babe?” you questioned his word choice with a raised brow. You could immediately see him get a bit shy, looking down and then focusing his attention on Rafa.

“I heard you say it too, Diggs,” Rafa decided to jump in on the teasing. You could have sworn you heard Daveed swear lightly under his breath. He was cornered.

“You know, that’s some cuffing language right there,” you added.

“Is it?” Daveed asked, replacing his shy smile with a small smirk. He figured he couldn’t win arguing he hadn’t called you babe, but he could bring you down that road with him. You rolled your eyes, trying to ignore the heat rushing to your face at his not-so-subtle flirtation. “You look really nice, (y/n). I mean it.”

“Thanks, Diggs, you don’t look too bad yourself.” You ducked your head, trying to avoid seeing whatever his reaction would be. Rafa looked between the two of you before clearing his throat, drawing the attention back to him.

“So are y’all finally gonna get together or what?” Rafa asked bluntly. Immediately you and Daveed started stuttering out excuses and denials, much to Rafa’s pleasure. It wasn’t until you saw the wicked smirk on Rafael’s face that you finally realized he was just fucking with you guys. Once the realization hit you, you couldn’t help but throw up your middle finger in his direction, which he of course found hilarious.

“So, plots?” You asked, trying to change the topic. You really didn’t need Rafael spilling about the crush you’d had on Diggs since high school, even though you were pretty sure you didn’t do that good of a job of hiding it. If you guys started talking about plans for after the concert, you were sure you’d be able to get Rafael to stop talking about the whole thing. Well, for now at least.

“I vote we do drinks at (y/n)’s place,” Daveed immediately offered.

“Sounds good to me,” Rafael agreed.

“Wait, excuse me?” You asked, taken off guard by the offering of your place.

“Hey, you asked for plots, we gave them,” Daveed laughed. “Two out of three, we’re doing drinks at your place.”

“We’re gonna have to stop somewhere then, all I have at my place is like two beers and a bottle of wine,” you complained. Your complaints were only half-hearted; you were going to agree to whatever plans they suggested, even though you didn’t have anything in your place to really have a night of drinking. Sure, everyone going to your place wasn’t ideal, but you’d deal with it to be able to hang out with your friends again.

“I’ll cover the alcohol then,” Rafael offered. “We can stop by my place, I know I have some stuff.”

“Why don’t we just go to your place then?”

“No, we already agreed on your place,” Daveed said, shaking his finger. Before anything else could be said, someone came up to Daveed and tapped him on the shoulder before whispering something to him. You could see the flash of worry cross Daveed’s face, and you and Rafael shared a look. The person left your group, and you gave Daveed a questioning look. “One of the openers got sick, so I need to go with the guys to see what we’re gonna do about it.”

“Shit, yeah, go deal with that. Just find us after the show,” you told him.

“Yeah, man, I’ll keep an eye on (y/n),” Rafael joked, throwing an arm around your shoulders. You missed the look that crossed Daveed’s face when he did that, but Rafa didn’t. Once again Rafa had that wicked smile on his face, but this time you had no idea why. Before you could question it, Daveed already began making his way to wherever the openers were at.

**********

As the night continued, you really enjoyed yourself. The DJ ended up playing a double set while Daveed and them tried to figure out what to do, but you liked having the chance to really catch up with Rafa while everything was going on. The second clipping. was on the stage, though, your attention was completely on them. You loved watching Daveed perform: the way the normally shy man was completely in his element made you feel something you couldn’t quite name. It was a mixture of immense pride and attraction, but you couldn’t say that last part out loud.

When the show finally finished, it was already nearing midnight. You silently praised your past self for taking the next day off too, knowing that if you hadn’t, you would’ve had to call in sick instead. With the way the three of you got when you were together, you weren’t expecting to go to sleep until the sun was up. You and Rafa chilled by the bar while Diggs did his final rounds, talking to some fans and other people he knew, talking about the plans for the rest of the night. As far as the two of you were concerned, you’d get some food, get the booze from Rafa’s place, and then head back to your place to really catch up.

As soon as Daveed was done, he herded you and Rafa into the hired car they had for him. You teased him about having that ‘movie money’ now, being too good for that ride share and public transport lifestyle you lived. He took it all in stride, even when Rafa jumped in like he wasn’t getting that Nickelodeon money. The three of you actually followed the plan, getting pizza from a local place and then picking up the alcohol. When Rafa ran out to get the liquor, you and Daveed sat in the car, alone for the first time all night. “You know I’m just teasing, right?” You asked, suddenly feeling bad about your money jokes.

“Yeah, (y/n), I know. So, what’s new in your life? You got a little boyfriend now or something exciting?” Daveed asked, redirecting the conversation.

“Nah, work keeps me busy these days. I’m trying to convince Rafa to let me dog sit Mia and that’s the most exciting thing going on now.” You laughed, though you couldn’t help but internally question Diggs choice of conversation. “How about you? Don’t act like I don’t see you running around with that one girl on your Instagram. What’s going on there?”

You didn’t mean to make it sound accusatory, but it sure came out that way. It was like you were accusing him of running around behind your back, even if you meant for it to be a joke. You knew exactly who ‘that one girl’ was, but you didn’t want to make it seem too obvious you were keeping tabs on him. As far as you knew, they were together but not publicly. It wasn’t like you saw Diggs often enough to actually meet his girlfriend if they weren’t public. You were brought out of your thoughts when Daveed laughed. It wasn’t that full-bodied laughter that you loved, rather a smaller, more nervous one. “Yeah, nah, that’s Emmy. She’s a good friend, but I don’t really see her like that.”

You nodded, not sure where to go with the conversation from here. While you and Daveed had a friendship where comfortable silences happened, this wasn’t one of them. You never really found yourself at a complete loss for words before. Before the quiet could turn unbearable, it was broken by the sound of Rafa smacking his hand on the roof of the car. “Diggs, unlock this shit! It’s cold out here!”

From Rafa’s, the three of you headed back to your place. As soon as you were through the door, you opened the pizza box Daveed was carrying and stole a slice, ignoring the protests from the guys.

The night continued about as chill as you could be hanging out with your friends. The three of you caught up, even though it was more like you were catching up with what was going on in Daveed and Rafa’s lives than they were with each other. As you all told stories, you knew your voices were getting louder until it reached the point of everyone trying to talk over one another. It wasn’t like anyone was arguing or anything - you all just got loud when you were together, and adding in drinks didn’t help make the situation any quieter.

It was around three in the morning when you all decided to call it a night. Out of the three of you, you were definitely doing the best. While you tried to figure out what to do to get the boys home, you looked over at Daveed and Rafa on the couch. Diggs looked like he was all of three seconds away from passing out where he sat, while Rafa was talking to him, definitely more aware than his friend. You didn’t think Diggs would be okay on his own, so you figured you’d just let him crash on your couch for the night.

“Hey, Rafa,” you called out, getting the man’s attention. He looked up and nodded at you. “Are you good if I call a Lyft for you? Like you think you’ll be able to make it to your place and not die or mess up my rating?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. What’re you gonna do about Diggs though?” Rafa asked, tilting his head towards the other man.

“I’m thinking he’ll just sleep it off here,” you told him. “He seems pretty gone.”

“I’m still right here,” Daveed said, raising his hand slightly. “I can hear what y’all are saying.”

“Yeah but you’re like half asleep already,” you said. “Unless you wanna head back to wherever you’re staying.”

“Nah, I’m good here,” he said, leaning his head back to rest it on the back of the couch. “I’m ready to sleep.”

You rolled your eyes before turning your attention back to Rafa. “Alright, when do you wanna head out?”

“Whenever you order the car for me,” Rafa told you. You nodded, already loading up the Lyft app so you could get him a ride home. As soon as you confirmed his driver, Rafa started grabbing his things, even though he didn’t bring much to begin with. Once he was near you, though, that’s when he took the opportunity to pull you into a conversation. Rafa took one last look at Diggs to make sure he wasn’t paying attention before he started talking. “Trying to get me out of here so you can have Diggs to yourself, huh?”

“What’re you talking about?” You asked, trying to ignore the heat you immediately felt in your face.

“I get it, you can’t make your move while I’m around,” he continued his teasing. Well, you thought it was teasing. You sure hoped it was teasing. “Just make sure you kids are safe. We don’t need little Diggs babies running around.”

“How long until your ride gets here again?” You asked, looking at your phone. The driver was still five minutes away. It was meant to be a joke, but if you actually had to put up with Rafa’s incessant teasing for five more minutes, you might just lose it. He was the only one you’d actually admitted your crush to, and he was really pushing it tonight. “Man can you chill it?” You asked, stealing a look at Daveed.

“Chill, he’s practically asleep. He’s not paying attention to us.” Rafa laughed at your pained look, trying to get you to look back at him. “Listen, I’m just messing with you, dude. But if you and Diggs end up together or something, I’m rooting for you.”

“Nothing’s gonna happen, man. I’ve been into him since high school, if anything would’ve happened, don’t you think it would’ve happened by now?” You asked, keeping your voice low.

“Trust me, (y/n), there are some things you don’t know about him,” Rafa replied. Before you could ask what he meant, your phone lit up with the notification that your driver was approaching soon.

“Alright, I’ll walk you down to the car,” you said, trying to ignore his vagueness. “Diggs, you cool to stay here if I walk Rafa down?”

Rather than actually answering, Diggs just mumbled something as he proceeded to curl in on himself a little bit. You rolled your eyes and grabbed your keys, nodding to Rafa for the two of you to leave. Getting Rafa into the Lyft with a promise to text you when he was back didn’t take long, and before you knew it, you were back up in your apartment. Diggs was passed out on the couch, but you felt bad looking at him trying to fit his entire body on the small couch. You walked over and shoved his shoulder. “C’mon, Diggs, let’s get you to bed.”

“‘M fine here,” Daveed groaned, slowly blinking awake.

“No, you’re not. You can sleep in my bed and I’ll take the couch,” you said, pulling him to his feet. He stumbled a bit, and you struggled to support him. “C’mon, just walk with me.”

Daveed seemed to be just aware enough to help you out, walking with you as you led him to your room. You helped him to your bed, content to just let him pass out while you went back to clean up before falling asleep on the couch. “Wait,” Daveed called just as you turned to leave.

“Yeah?” You asked, going to stand beside him. Daveed surprised you by tugging you down to lay in bed next to him. “Do you need something?”

“Nah, I just missed you,” Diggs mumbled, pulling you into his hold. If you weren’t sobered up before, you definitely were now. “I don’t like being away from you, never did.”

“Yeah, Diggs, I missed you too,” you said, biting back your hopes and figuring this was platonic.

“No, like, I really missed you. I wanted you with me, sleeping with me like this.” With that, Diggs cuddled himself further into you, which was a little ridiculous considering the size difference. “I kept thinkin’ you’d finally found some guy to keep you busy cuz I was too slow to say anything.”

“What’re you talking about?” You finally decided to ask him. He was half asleep and drunk, and you knew you could actually talk about this tomorrow, but a drunk Diggs was a brutally honest Diggs. You knew that from experience.

“I don’t want you with Rafa or some other dude-“

“Wait, Rafa?” You couldn’t help but cut him off. You were pretty sure you’d never shown any interest in Rafa, especially since you weren’t attracted to him.

“Yeah, didn’t like the way he had his arm around you. I thought he was gonna make a move on my girl to get me to do something like he said he would,” Diggs whined, pressing his face to the crook of your neck. “Can’t even say you’re my girl, but I want you to be.”

“Daveed, you don’t know what you’re saying,” you tried arguing with him, even though you didn’t do anything to stop the physical contact.

“No, I do. I’ve wanted you to be my girl for a while now.”

“Diggs, go to sleep and we’ll talk about this in the morning when you’re sober, okay?”

Daveed hummed his agreement, but once you moved to get up, he pulled you close once again. “Stay with me, please.”

You wanted to argue, but you knew you couldn’t deny him. So instead, you relaxed into his hold and responded in a near whisper that you weren’t even sure he heard. “I’ll stay.”

**********

When you woke up the next morning, you were immediately aware of the solid weight of Daveed’s arm around your waist. You were still cuddled with him, his chest pressed against your back as he nearly curled around you in his sleep. His breaths were still deep, so you knew he was still out. You moved slowly, trying your hardest not to wake him up. Once you were out of his hold, you made your way to the kitchen, figuring food would help ease the conversation the two of you needed to have.

You were brewing coffee when Daveed finally walked out of your room. You pushed a mug in his direction, and he took it with a grateful smile. “So, you’re awake. You remember anything from last night?”

“I remember pizza and drinks but not much after I started falling asleep,” Daveed admitted. “I kinda remember Rafa leaving?”

“Alright, well that makes this a little bit more difficult,” you said, looking down at your own mug. You decided to turn to your fridge, looking for something to make as you tried to figure out your next words. Once you found something, you turned back around to find Daveed staring at you expectantly.

“Makes what a little bit more difficult?”

“Alright, well, last night you said some stuff when I was putting you to bed. You probably don’t remember, but I feel like we still gotta talk about it,” you explained.

“What did I say?” Daveed asked. If he wasn’t nervous before, he definitely was now. He was avoiding eye contact now, his coffee suddenly becoming the most interesting thing in the world.

“Well, first it started out with you saying you missed me-”

“Yeah, you’re one of my best friends, of course I missed you.”

“Yeah, but do you tell all your friends you want them to be your girl? And you’ve wanted them to be your girl for a while?” You asked. You were even kind of shocked by how forward that was. You were expecting to dance around the subject for a little while until Diggs finally dragged it out of you, but here you were, addressing the issue fully in the form of a half-joke.

“What?”

“You heard what I said.”

“(Y/n), I’m so sorry,” he said after a pause. You felt your heart break a little at the apology. Of course he didn’t mean it; he was drunk, tired, and just saying things. Checking the time on your phone, you wondered how long you could stand this before it wouldn’t be considered rude to ask him to leave. “I didn’t mean to tell you-”

“Yeah, I kinda figured,” you interrupted him.

“Like that,” he continued anyways. Now it was your turn to pause.

“Wait, what?”

“I mean, I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while now, I just didn’t expect it to be like that. You know, so this wouldn’t happen,” he explained. “Yeah, I like you, and I want you to be my girl. I just really hope this doesn’t make things different.”

“Diggs, no matter what this changes things at least a little,” you started. You could feel the heat rising in your face, the change in conversation not something you’d expected. You’d wanted this to happen since high school, and now that it was, it was kind of unbelievable. “But I’d like to be your girl, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“It’s not going to be easy, especially since we’re both so busy.”

“I know what I’m getting into. I’ve known you for how many years now?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Daveed said with a small smile. “Am I allowed to stay for food?”

“Yes, you’re allowed to stay,” you told him, trying not to let him see your own smile. “I think we should talk more about all of this anyways.”

“As long as you’re my girl, I’m fine with whatever we need to talk about,” Daveed said, walking over to you and bringing you into a hug. You stayed there for a second, enjoying the feeling. You didn’t know exactly what the two of you would talk about, but you had a feeling it would involve a lot more cuffing language.

**********

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nahimjustfeelingit-writes · 5 years

Text

Imagine:

Readers long time crush, Erik Stevens, knocks on her door dressed as a pizza delivery stripper and he doesn’t realize he has the wrong address until it’s too late.

I’m telling y’all now this is funny 🤣🤣 I couldn’t stop smiling and laughing while writing this. Erik is Hoe Erik okurrr.

She popped her ass in her kitchen to the Jersey Club Mix playlist she had on loop all day. It was her off day too. Y/N decided to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies for her gifted cookie jar she received for her birthday. It had the words “Scorpio’s Winning” on it. A particular beat had her twirling her spatula in the air, throwing her ass in a circle with her tongue sticking out.

“Aye!!! This my shit! I miss my Jersey fam.”

Chuckling, Y/N adds the chocolate chunks. She was a traveling Chef who was born and raised in Jersey but moved to Annapolis, MD for her college education. Currently, she was living in Boston with a cozy bakery. She had dreams of opening Bakeries across the east coast.

Dreams her long time crush that she met way back in Annapolis, MD told her to pursue. The thought of him still made her shiver. He was so young at the time, around twenty one. She would always see him in her neighborhood running in the early mornings with his Navy sweatshirt on and matching sweat pants. From there it extended to them hanging out for drinks and getting to know eachother. He would talk about his early life in Oakland, CA, his accent swooning her. Flirtatious, full of life, an ego big enough to make everyone in a room feel small, and lets not for get all around fine as HELL.

She missed him a lot, and honestly, he was one of the reasons why she even moved to Boston. He always talked about becoming an Engineer once he furthered his career in the Navy turned Military man. He was so mature for his age, most of the young niggas chasing after her still acted like they were eighteen. Nah, Erik had an old soul. Women older than him couldn’t believe he was only twenty one.

“Erik Stevens,” she blushed while molding her cookies on a tray lined with parchment paper. Her belly growled, a tiny frown of frustration on her face. She didn’t cook a damn thing and cookies would not be the meal of the night today. There were a few cups of spicy noodles in her cabinet she could hook up a ramen dish with veggies and egg. Once the cookies were in the oven, Y/N washes her hands, heading to take a quick shower. Once there, she stripped out of her t-shirt, the only thing on anyway.

The shower water spilled over her back and hair, her eyes closed and a satisfied sigh escaping her mouth. Tonight’s agenda: eat a bowl of vanilla ice cream with some cookies, sit on the couch with a glass of wine and read her fan fiction favorites. Smut was a number one but she started up with some Angst and now she was even more hooked on that. She could read a nice scary one tonight. Fully clean and skin smooth from the oil she applied in the shower, Y/N leaves the bathroom completely naked, walking out to check her cookies.

They were just about finished, having her entire place smelling like a bakery in the early morning. She rubs her hands together, squealing like the fat girl she was. Y/N’s motto was: love what you have and fuck whatever others thought. She’s tall and thick. 5’10 with a lot of curves to match. A Stallion. Pulling out her good wine glass, Y/N pours a generous glass of white wine, taking a small sip with a soothing hum.

“I’m about to have a good ass night,” she talks to herself. In the middle of shaking her hips within her toasty kitchen, a knock comes to her door. She raises a single brow, smacking her lips from her wine.

“Not tonight, fuck that,” she rolls her eyes, walking out of her kitchen and to her bedroom, the knocks came again but harder. She walked to the door, staring through the peep hole at a man’s back with a pizza box in hand. Scrunching her face with confusion, Y/N talks loud enough for the pizza guy to hear.

“I didn’t order any pizza, sir,” she says politely.

“You sure? Address said apartment 3B.”

His voice. Why did it sound so familiar?

“Well, apartment 3A didn’t order anything. But since you’re so persistent you can leave the box and I’ll take it for free.” She laughs loudly, causing the man on the other side of the door to laugh. He sounded good and she didn’t even see his face. Y/N was looking through that hole again, trying to catch this man but his back was still turned. Was he hiding?

“Is this some kind of joke?” She spoke with an attitude.

“Why don’t you open the door and see,” he challenged.

“Now why would I be dumb enough to do that?”

“This pizza hot and ready like little Caesar’s open the door, Baby girl.”

Just like a trap, she see’s a box of pizza open and sizzling, two toned and veiny arms with fingers perfectly manicured and thick stretching out while holding open the pizza to her. Her mouth watered.

“Damn, that does look good.” It was a legit box of pizza and he looked official with the uniform and all.

“Mhm, had to hold back from stealing a piece myself,” he started making sounds of satisfaction, drawing her in each time his deep yet raspy voice let out a mmm and a so good.

“Fuck it.” She was ready to open the door, unlocking it but before she could unhook the chain she stopped quickly, forgetting about her nudity.

“You good?” He chuckles.

“You out here about to have me show you my birthday suit!!!” She could hear him get close to the door.

“Birthday suit, huh?” The fact that she could smell him from behind the door...damn. He smelled so fucking good.

“Birthday suits are better then pajamas.”

She blushes, biting her lip.

“Can you give me a second?” She softly closes the door, quickly rushing to her room to retrieve her robe. It was gonna be a grab and go. He was giving it away for free so oh well. Wrapped in silk, Y/N rushes back to the door, finally opening it and coming face to face with-

“Free Pizza.” He held his arms out wide, dazzling smile on his face. The smile she remembers. The same pouty lips, unruly eyebrows, long lashes, dark eyes, and deep dimples. Her stupefied expression made him blink twice rapidly, the same look shaping his face as well.

“Y/N?!!!!” He finally spoke.

It was Erik Stevens in the flesh.

“What the fuck?” She whispers.

Erik Stevens is a damn pizza delivery guy?!!! After all these years this nigga was selling pizzas? She expected him to be a Doctor in Engineering living in a bomb ass condo with a bad bitch that he fucked every day. A bad bitch she wished she was.

“What. The. Absolute. FUCK.” She spoke again but louder. The music blasting a floor above her couldn’t match how loud she just yelled. Erik almost drops the pizza box. He catches it in time with swift reflexes.

“Nice to see you too, Y/N,” he looks her over, nodding his head with a slight smirk, “You look the fuck good girl. Almost had me dropping this box of pizza. Had a nigga trumped.”

“Ha,” she was light headed. Erik Stevens the damn Pizza guy. She was so shocked. This was a real awkward moment.

“Erik,” she starts before shaking her head. She couldn’t even put into words what she wanted to say to him in that moment.

“Something burning?” He sniffs the air.

“MY COOKIES!!!!!” She rushes into her apartment, leaving the door open while Erik slips inside. He was just as confused and shocked as she was. Box still in hand, Erik walks through her living room, taking in anything he could about the Y/N he missed out on. Still the same after all these years. Back in her presence, Erik watches with humor as she curses about her burnt cookies.

“I CANT BELIEVE-“ she stops mid rant, looking over her shoulder at Erik.

“You left your door opened,” he points to the door. Y/N just stood there looking at him while the burnt tray of cookies and an oven mit were in her other hand.

“Y/N, stop staring at me like that.” Erik shakes his head away from her, tossing the pizza box on the counter, “You got pizza now so why not eat that instead?” His voice has a teasing edge to it.

“Are you aware that I am so speechless right now!” She placed the tray of cookies on the stove, “I mean...ERIK!!!!!”

He laughs, removing his uniform hat to reveal short dreads. She damn near fainted.

“I’m aware, I ain’t expect to come here and see you looking the way you do. Just as fine, just ass...thick.”

He really says that after all these years. He could have said that to her years ago back in Annapolis, MD.

“Oh my God,” Y/N dramatically clutches her chest, “Aint no way this is happening to me tonight.”

“Oh yeah, it’s happening,” Erik bit his lip at her, “you look...”

They both laugh. Damn, what a reunion.

“Can I get you anything? She started opening cabinets, talking so fast she barely breathed.

“Coffee? Water? Juice? Some wine? Something stronger? Oh shit! My bad I forgot you’re working- speaking of work I never saw you as the pizza delivery guy type, I mean, not tryna down play you or anything you just seemed like you had bigger plans, much bigger plans-“

She turns, eyes almost leaving her sockets, standing before her in a male thong with a black bow tie around his neck and a body that would knock you on your back, was Erik Stevens the pizza delivery guy turned stripper.

“WHAT THE HELL?!!!” She yells out. This man was oiled down and everything. He steps around the kitchen island, eyes low and dangerous, lips turned up into a sly smirk, body on POINT.

“You serious?” She laughs nervously. What was this? She had to be fucking dreaming. Right off the back he just strips down, ready to seduce her. This man was wild.

“Somebody come wake my ass up!!!” She yells while pinching her forearm.

“Ain’t no dream here, babygirl, you look like you hungry for something else and I got that shit for you.”

Trapped, Y/N was in between the counter and a whole man. She could feel his dick on her thigh. This was quick. He was about business with this male stripper mess.

“LAWD!” She yells, looking anywhere but at him.

So, this man is a male stripper?! She kept thinking on a loop.

“Don’t act like that now you know you want this Y/N. You’ve been wanting this for a while.”

“You knew about that?!!!” She couldn’t believe this man was in a damn thong. What in the hell.

“Erik you gotta cut me some slack this is not how I planned our reunion would be like!”

His hands were on her waist now, lips close to her ear.

“Let’s make it a good reunion then, let a nigga put his nuts in your face.” He laughs and you gasp in pure shock.

“Did you-“ you blink at him like he was an extra terrestrial.

Out of no where he starts grinding on you, no music playing just his hips moving. What kind of stripper shit is this?

“No music?!” You laugh out loud.

“Play something then, Y/N,” he steps away while she walks backward to her phone on the kitchen counter. He wanted to do this, okay. She could play along and have a little fun. Laugh about it with his ass later. Y/N thought to pull up her ass shaking playlist but she didn’t see Erik as the type of stripper to put on a show to twerk hip hop. Finally, Y/N pulls up her slow jam playlist, settling for some Ginuwine. So Anxious starts playing, a big ass smile on Y/N’s face. She was trying her hardest not to be goofy about this shit but clearly, Erik didn’t care that he was at the wrong house. He had to have known this wasn’t the place for him to be.

“Well,” she sits on her couch, “Give me a show then, Stevens.”

Erik walks towards her, eyes low and body making her bite her lip. Erik stands before her, his dick in her face and Y/N’s eyes zeroing in on the big target. The minute he started grinding in her face, muscles moving in conjunction with his seductive hip rolling, she was ready to pull out her money.

“Shit, I forgot my money.”

She felt like she was back at her sisters bachelorette party all over again. The stripper there had her in a damn fantasy world. She gave him all her damn money.

“Don’t worry about all that, Y/N. Think of it as a little gift from your long time crush.” His dazzling smile made her blush from her cheeks down to her neck.

“Well can I at least touch you?”

Erik props his leg up on the couch, dick almost smacking her in her face with his excessive grinding and moaning. Jesus.

“Girl if you don’t enjoy your damn self.” He laughs when Y/N reaches out to drag her shaking fingers down his abs.

“JESUS.” She says through clenched teeth.

A loud thud from above her followed up by cheering and laughter caught her attention. Y/N put two and two together, a small smile creeping up her face.

“Looks like your supposed to be in 4B not 3B.”

Erik raises a single brow, “At least you’re keeping me with a hard dick until I get up there.” His hands were on the back of the couch now, his chest and abs in Y/N’s face while her hands rubbed his ass all the way around to his thighs. The song switched out to Pretty Ricky- Grind with me.

Out of no where, Erik picks Y/N up from the couch, seating himself and placing her in his lap. Erik lifted his hips from the couch, rolling them up into her naked crotch, causing her to bounce. This was torture. This was going to end up being a fuck session not a strip session.

“Okay, Erik, I think I’ve had my fun,” she was flushed and horny.

“Nah, lets keep going, baby girl.” His eyes with those lashes...she couldn’t look at him anymore.

“What made you become a stripper-WHAT!”

Erik lifts her legs to his shoulders, grinding into her like he was fucking her. She knew at this point her entire pussy was out for him to see.

“Stop asking questions,” he grabs her ass, squeezing it firmly while his hard dick rolled from her ass to her pussy.

“Erik this is fucking wild!!!” Y/N would have a laugh and maybe a cum or two later from this moment. Who was answering her prayers? Who out there besides Erik knew of the big crush she had on this gorgeous man. Erik didn’t even know she lived in Boston. This was some fate type of shit. His lips on her neck brought her back to reality.

“Don’t kiss on my neck like that unless you plan on fucking me!!!!” Y/N had no filter at this point. Erik was like a celebrity crush. Imagine being brought on stage by your favorite male artist and he’s grinding on you and making you feel special, THATS what this felt like.

“You wanna fuck?” He looked at her genuinely serious.

“Uh-“ he cuts her off.

“I mean, for you I can make that happen.”

Now she was wondering if he was a male escort. This man here...

“Erik...I’m telling you now...I know my pussy is all out there and it’s whatever but can you PLEASE STOP TEASING ME!!!”

Y/N lifts from Erik’s lap, pausing her music. Erik throws his head back, a booming laughter escaping his mouth while his muscles bounced in tune with his fit of chuckling. Y/N had to bite the inside of her cheek to calm her laugh.

“Aight cut that shit out I wanna be serious for a second.”

Before she could speak, Erik’s phone goes off. Groaning, he lifts from the couch, tucking one of his nuts back in place in that damn thong. Y/N had to put a fist to her mouth to control herself.

That thang is hanging! She thought salaciously.

“Yeah, this Daddy Kill, babygirl.” He smiles into the phone, gold slugs gleaming, “apartment 4B?”

He looks over at Y/N, both of them silently laughing. Erik clutched his ribs from the pain of laughter.

“Sorry for the late timing, sweetheart, I’ll be there real soon. Nah, keep the drinks going and make sure y’all ready and horny cuz ima put on a real good show,” Erik laughs with a bite of his lip, “Y’all some freaky bitches, aight bye.”

Y/N’s mouth fell open from hearing a Erik reader to those women as bitches. Without a flicker of care, Erik hangs up.

“So wassup, Y/N?” Erik walks further into her kitchen, “you said you got some strong shit, how about Hennessy? I need some extra energy for the 15 women upstairs.”

Y/N makes his drink while a thong wearing Erik stands before her, glistening and chiseled.

“Here you go,” she hands him his drink, “now tell me what made you become a damn stripper? And what else do you do? Cus you talking about sex is extra.”

Erik smiles with a shake of his head, “I am indeed a male entertainer, still working on my Engineering doctorate but after doing some experimenting online with live cam and all that I got a lot of hits. So now I do my own thing on the side. I strip, do live cam, have regular submissives.”

“You must make a lot of damn money to do this shit,” Y/N makes a drink for herself.

“I do, it’s a business on the side, Y/N,” Erik was overly humored, “You knocking the way I make my money, ma?”

“No!! No I just... I would have never expected this,” she shakes her head, “Are you in a relationship?”

Erik kisses his teeth, “Nah, single and I wanna keep it that way for a while.”

“Damn, I’m tryna shoot my shot and you just blocking me,” Y/N laughed, half way joking and half way serious. If they were together he wouldn’t be doing this anymore for other women, just her.

“You ain’t shoot your shot before what’s so different now? Is it cus my dick in your face?”

“No, it’s cuz I thought I would never see you again.”

Erik walks over to her, picking her up and sitting her on the kitchen counter. He plays her music again, grabbing her arms to place around his neck, moving her from side to side. She pouted, giving in to his antics.

“You make me sick,” she looks him in the eye, “you should probably go-AHHH!”

Erik picks Y/N up, bouncing her on his still hard dick. She was dripping on this man, he played entirely too much.

“Alright cut it out!!” She swatted at him, Erik putting her down with a smile.”

“Y/N, I missed you,” he chuckles, “You right, let me get up out of here.”

Erik walks away, picking up his fake pizza uniform, putting it on. Y/N runs her hands over her hair and adjusts her robe, heart still fluttering and legs wobbly. She walks over to the pizza, hovering her hand over it and noticing it was cold.

“Don’t worry about that, it’s just a gimmick.”

“Too bad. You sure you don’t want any money for your excellent services?” Y/N joked.

“Ha, I told you I’m good girl.”

Fully dressed, Erik finished off his Henny, grabbing his hat to put on and the box of pizza from the counter. Erik walked over to Y/N, grabbing her chin and placing a soft and lingering kiss on her cheek.

“You gonna miss me, Y/N? I promise to come back and see you since you’re in Boston now. We got a lot of catching up to do girl.”

Her heart skipped about two beats.

“You better.” Y/N rolls her eyes.

“Sorry I gotta leave you like this, but I can’t miss out on my money.”

Fuck them bitches upstairs, she seethed to herself.

“It’s cool, you’re just gonna make it up to me when I see you next time.”

Erik pulls out his phone, “give me your number.” He was telling more so than asking. Y/N gives him her digits, Erik storing it in his phone and saving it.

Y/N walks Erik to the door, the further they went the more she dreaded it. Opening the door, Erik walks out, turning to give her a tight hug and that same lingering kiss but to her forehead this time. He was really driving her crazy. Erik wasn’t going to make this crush thing easy. A fun night turned into a boring one.

“Bye, stupid,” she shoved him.

“Bye, girl.” Erik walks away and up the steps, turning to look over his shoulder from time to time with a smile on his face.

“Pick that lip up,” he teases.

“They don’t deserve your body!!!” Y/N yells after him.

“YOU SO STINGY!!” He yells back, Y/N closing her door behind her with a huge grin on her face.

It only took a few seconds before she heard the door opening, Erik giving the ladies his intro.

“Pizza delivery for 4B, right?”

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houseofvans · 6 years

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ART SCHOOL | IN SESSION WITH ROB SATO

From vibrant rainbows to familiar yet alien landscapes occupied by strange beings, LA based artist Rob Sato’s works are filled with creative energy in a loose minimalistic style. From watercolor, digital medium to acrylics and oil, Rob’s artworks and illustrations have been shown in various galleries from Giant Robot 2 to the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, where recently his original paintings for a comic called 442 were exhibited. We’re excited to chat with Rob about his work, his various collaborations and what he’s got coming up for the rest of the year. Take the Leap!

Photographs courtesy of the artist.

Introduce yourself Hello, my name is Rob Sato. I’m an artist, illustrator, and writer. Something people might not know about me is that I was a kid I was so fanatical about the Oakland A’s that when they lost in the World Series I threw a tantrum so big that I destroyed my bedroom and after that I felt so stupid I quit following baseball. Also, I’m told I have maybe one of the great poop stories of the world. It can only be related in person, so ask me about it sometime if we ever meet.

How would you describe your work and style? Eclectic? Kaleidoscopic? I’ve never had a concise answer to this question. I tend not to pin myself down because I think if I did, I’d stop making things.

Art is my outlet for the cryptic and obscure as well as the gushing spillover of foolish idealism and wild fantasy. It’s the only place I’ve ever found where you can healthily play with unhealthy thoughts, where you can explore undefined emotions, things that lurk out in the corners of consciousness that may be embarrassing or uncontrollable.

I love to make entertainment and decorative work, things that tend to be obvious, that communicate very clearly and reveal all their cards, but I also love to make work that hides things, that actively resists easy understanding or recognition and risks being super personal or unrelatable and strange. This can make things difficult, especially in the ongoing deterioration of attention spans, but I can’t help but pursue things outside of a pop sensibility and logical thought. I have to be, much of the time, in mental wildernesses. It’s hard to get there, hard to be there, and hard to come back, but it keeps me going.

Tell us about how you really started getting into art, and how that turned into what you do now? Was it something you always intended to pursue? I’ve drawn every single day for as long as I can remember. I never really thought about it. It just seems to be what I do. It’s how I have fun, how I solve problems, how I think. I’ve wanted to pursue other things like make movies or write books, but I always find myself drawing. Before I know it, it’s time for bed again.

When you are working on a new piece or upcoming exhibition or show? What��s your process like? What themes do you find yourself taking on? I explode. I used to plan things in a very directed way, but lately I’ve just let my brains spill out everywhere. I make a ton of drawings and paintings, and try my best to be fearless and open. Most of it produces failure after failure, but it shows me what might be worth building on, plus many exciting surprises reveal themselves in the process. As a show nears I start seeing what things fit together, what needs to be edited out, and how it all might form a cohesive exhibition. Sometimes the subject matter is the glue that makes everything stick, other times it’s the aesthetics. Alongside the explosion I usually have 2 or 3 pieces going at any given time that I’ve had long term plans for. These pieces can take take months or even years.

Thematically I’m all over the place. War and peace, realism and surrealism, grim realities and escapism, sober observations and dumb jokes.

What are some of your go-to art making materials? Are there mediums you want to explore that you’ve yet to get your hands on? I feel pretty comfortable with anything you can use to make a mark on a piece of paper. I’ve mainly used watercolor and various drawing tools for the past several years. I’m been having fun with acrylics and oils again, and I’ve started to play around with photography a little. I’ve had ideas for sculpture and film for years that I’d really like to finally get to. What I really want to get my hands on is more time.

Where do you find inspiration? What kind of things or people inspire what you make? Watching someone pick their nose listening to headphones and singing softly to themselves in line at the grocery store. Just watching my cat live her weird life. Even though the final artwork may not really show it, these places are usually where my ideas originate. Art has also been a place where I can put memories that have some abstract need to be recorded.

I made this series of drawings called “Bad Hands”, which started out with me laughing at these dumb hands I was drawing with academically incorrect anatomy. Abandoning correctness felt so good. In the process it triggered a memory from High School. I had been forbidden from drawing in one of my classes, so I was contorting my hands into different shapes at my desk to amuse myself. There was a hysteria over gang activity in the school at the time and the teacher freaked out thinking I was throwing gang signs and I ended up getting sent to detention.

At detention I was talking with a friend and made fun of the teacher for her mistake. A kid who was in a gang overheard and then HE misunderstood and thought I was making fun of gangs or something. On my way home from school he and a couple dudes punched and kicked me for a bit while I tried and failed to explain. I think it’s funny.

So embedded in that piece is this tumbling series of misunderstandings, these multiple layers of hands being perceived as bad, speaking in an absurd language that communicates different things to different people. I know people aren’t going to see all those layers in the final piece, but that’s where it comes from and I hope it at least sparks some thoughts about talking with our hands, and where else can you follow this kind of train of thought except in art?

I get inspired by artists who seem to approach art as an intuitive discovery process rather than a pursuit of mastery, that play is one of the more important aspects of making things. My wife, Ako, has been a huge influence on me in this respect. She’s continuously playing with various materials around her at any given time and finding out what she can do with them. Everywhere she goes she abandons a nest made of fresh creations she’s manifested out of mud, string, packaging, plants, uneaten rice, her used drinking straw, lint and whatever else was within her reach

You’ve done a lot of collaborations with companies, museums and art galleries. Do you have a favorite collaboration, and what about the collaboration do you enjoy the most? I’ve recently been collaborating with Tiny Splendor, an indie publisher and printer who have studios in LA and Oakland. It’s been really great working with them, Cynthia Navarro in LA on risographs, and with Max Stadnik, who runs the print shop in Oakland.

Max has been returning to lithography, my favorite traditional printing medium, and he printed a piece of mine inspired by mushrooms called “Growerings". It’s a full 5 color print, which means it took five separate plates and each print had to go through the press 5 times. It turned out more beautifully than I could have hoped for. Litho is a super difficult but also very fun process and the results are so rich.

I think I particularly love this collaboration because the image fits the medium so well, and the combination of the two elevates the final piece of work, When it works, the artwork and the print become more than just an image on a piece of paper. It’s more alive in some undefinable way.

Since we’re called Art School, we always ask the artists to give us their favorite art tip? Never force the thing you think you want, you’ll probably miss out on the really interesting thing that’s happening. Also, don’t drink too much coffee. I have trouble taking both of these pieces of my own advice every day.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not making stuff? How do you chill out? I read and run. I love coffee and I love gossip and talking nonsense with friends. Also, I cannot stop watching Terrace House.

What is the last art show that you went to? What artists should folks keep an eye out for? I recently went to the Velveteria in LA’s Chinatown, which is one man’s collection of paintings on velvet. A very entertaining and very fucked up experience. I went to a life drawing session at Subliminal Projects and got to draw surrounded by Chad Kouri’s fun abstracts. I’m actually typing this interview inside an art show right now.

I’m here at my wife, Ako Castuera’s, show “Soil” at the Weingart Gallery at Occidental College. We’re here feeding worms. She sculpted this beautiful ceramic vermiculture composter for the show. It’s a grand temple for worms. The show is an act of gratitude for the exchange we have with the soil which provides the clay for ceramics, and for the worms who turn decay into healthy earth to grow new life in.

She sculpted a menagerie of creatures out of the worm poop that also populate the show. Super fun. Speaking of Ako and Subliminal, her show there with Hellen Jo and Kris Chau this past December was one of those once-in-a-lifetime powerhouse gathering of forces. That may have been the best show I’ve ever seen.

What advice would you give someone thinking about following in your footsteps? What’s something you learned that you want to pass along to art making newbies. Don’t listen to advice if it is extremely quotable. Pay no attention to it especially if it accompanies a photo of a famous artist and fits perfectly into an instagram post. If it’s easy to remember then it’s probably empty, crap inspiration. Those things are entertainments and not words to live by.

If you’re interested in making art you’ll keep making it. It takes day in, day out patience and exploration and mutation to discover how you really work, not some idea of how an artist works.

Sometimes it will be very hard, sometimes it will be so breathtakingly easy you think that your problems have been solved forever. Neither situation ever lasts, but cultivate and nurture your curiosity and what you love, and you’ll find ways to make it through the rough times and keep on making things one way or another.

Who are some of your favorite artists to follow and/or see in a show? Lately I’ve been really enjoying the work of Nathaniel Russell whose work makes this great space where funny, grounded matter-of-factness and sweet nothingness sit comfortably together. His drawing also reminds me of Ben Shahn, my all-time favorite drawer.

I really like Amy Bennet’s oils, these intimate studies of isolation in suburbia where mundanity overlaps with quiet drama and melancholy. Her work obliquely reminds me of Edwin Ushiro’s work, though his stuff is the opposite of melancholic. He captures almost incidental but haunted moments from growing up in Hawaii and infuses them with warmth, and it’s in a style influenced in a super personal way by animation. It reminds me of Satoshi Kon’s movies in its well observed, slice-of-life elements. Edwin’s sketchbooks are a treasure too. Esther Pearl Watson’s recent autobiographical paintings, Hellen Jo’s latest badass watercolors, Amber Wellman’s funny, playful oil paintings, and Matthew Palladino’s watercolors are also favorites.

Megan Whitmarsh’s work is some of my favorite to see in person. Her installation with Jade Gordon at the Hammer’s “Made In LA “ show was maybe the funnest work I’ve ever seen and interacted with. I went to see the Ai Wei Wei show at the Marciano Foundation, which I thought was impressive in scale and execution but still somehow lame, but I stumbled on a Mike Kelley installation/ video piece I’d never seen before in the upstairs collection and loved it so much, but I can’t remember the name of it at the moment.

It’s 2 videos shown side by side of the same guy wearing a cape singing almost the same song simultaneously, but each version has different words at different points. It’s a love song but one version is more bitter and mean and one is sickly sweet. Anyway, highly recommended!

What do you have coming up the rest of the year that you can share with us? For just a few more days there’s a show up at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center with a bunch of my original paintings for a comic I illustrated about the 442, the Japanese American Army unit of World War II. Plus it has some personal work about Japanese American Incarceration and images from my family’s experience in the concentration camps. My grandfather was incarcerated in the Arkansas camps, and he was a soldier in the 442.

Next up, I’m in a slew of group shows all happening within a few weeks of each other this month. Poor scheduling on my part as usual, but it’s nice to be invited to so many. I just sent off my piece to the “Seeing Red” show curated by Jeff Hamada of the BOOOOOOOM art and culture blog. That show will be at Thinkspace in LA. Giant Robot has been kind enough to host another solo show for me in September.

I’ve been busy experimenting with some more 3d stuff that pushes the more narrative side of my work which I hope to show there. We’ll see how the experiments turn out. I’ve also been working on a ton of prints and ideas for books. This year I want to focus on working in print, making zines and comics, and writing a lot more.

FOLLOW ROB | INSTAGRAM | WEBSITE | SHOP

#Art #Vans #Vans Art #Rob Sato #Art School #painting #interview

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decadesofpain · 4 years

Text

Flashback - The Beginning of the Most Unfortunate Family

Andromache Katz and Stone Oakland head off on Stone’s Victory Tour and a conversation ensues in the dining car of the train.

( @stoneoakland )

His eye hurt. Which was a ridiculous statement of it's own, provided there was absolutely no eye there. His stylist had insisted that Stone should keep an eye patch on, even if his new fake eye was already in, yet he argued relentlessly, refusing to do just that. So, soon enough, he was left int he train's carriage all by himself, surrounded by food, yet annoyed by the whole situation. He didn't want to be here, he didn't want to travel around the Districts and tell everyone just how amazing the Capitol was for letting him slaughter so many innocent kids.

It hurt. Being back in the Capitol, in the Tower, remembering being here just a year ago with her other half, now being on the train to begin Stone’s Victory Tour, thinking about how close she had come to bring her love home, and then Electra, Electra snuffing out the flame of the only person in the world Andy cared about, and in turn Andy’s flame as well. Andy looked up realizing she was now in the dining car and not remembering the walk from her room. Grief did that to you, put your mind and body on autopilot just to get you through each passing day. She knew she should be happy for Stone. She was, it just was bitter sweet.

Sitting down at the head of the table she didn’t look at him. She couldn’t look at him. A silence fell, interrupted only by Andy pouring herself a glass of water. “How’s your eye feeling?” She asked softly, still not looking at him.

At first, Stone didn't even hear when the door to the carriage opened up, allowing his mentor in. he could count the amount of times he had genuinely interacted with her since his Games on his single hand, but it wasn't something that he was regretting. After his own victory, his time was spent recovering, and, once it was possible, at home, with his parents and his sister. Yet even the new home didn't feel like actual home; his father continuously complained that it was too far away from everything else, and that his morning walk to work took him way too long. Granted, he didn't have to work, with his son now being a Victor, but it was something that Flint still liked to do. There were times when he still took Stone to the forest, and the two of them worked, in silence and peace, understanding one another without a single word. Stone didn't jump when Andy spoke up, instead looking over. He could've complained to her, told her that it hurt, that it was weird to have something foreign stuck in his head. But he saw the way she was acting, and suddenly, complaining was the last thing on his mind. "It's taking to get used to it." He brushed it off, trying to act simple, casual, as if they weren't discussing an outcome of something brutal. "Although, I'll probably have to go and find our Stylist and apologize to them." Stone added, picking up one of the intricate treats that were provided to them. "It's weird being on this train and not feeling like I'm travelling into my death."

Andy glanced at Stone out the corner of her eye but looked away when she saw he was already looking at her. When Andy had won she was a sad and scared little girl. She had with drawn into herself for two years following her Games before compartmentalizing everything, only letting her guard down when she was with her other half. Now she felt like a scared and sad little girl all over again.

She nodded “I’m sure it will take some time.” She acknowledged. She couldn’t imagine what Stone must have felt like, ever if the Capitol had ‘replaced’ his eye, it wasn’t the same and it didn’t undo the trauma done to him. She looked over at him at the mention of their Stylist “What? Why? What did you do?” She asked, concern bringing to build. Andy didn’t feel like eating, yet again, so she instead just sipped her water. She wanted to make a comment that Stone didn’t know he wasn’t heading to his death but she didn’t make it. “It never gets less weird.” She muttered. “Have you read over your speech notes for Twelve yet?”

She was very obviously avoiding looking at him, and in a way, Stone wasn't surprised. He wouldn't be surprised if she was still recovering after her own Games- being pushed into this horror at such a young age never help. Hell, he was getting close to 16, and he still couldn't sleep without the fear of nightmares. "I hope so. I can sorta see with it." It was the most bizarre thing, to see just through one eye when he first woke up. To be told that it was gone for good, and that he should be proud; that he should wear a scar of his victory with joy and pride. That day was the first time he had cussed out the Capitol's doctors. "It's alright, I'll apologize." He paused, taking a bite of the treat. "I snapped at them when they suggested to wear an eye patch as a fashion statement." He hated it, and it made him look weird. It was an even more constant reminder that he was half blind. Picking up an empty plate, he placed a couple appetizers onto it and moved the plate in front of Andy. She might have been just drinking water, but he wanted her to eat. "I have. What a joy it's going to be to praise the Capitol for letting me murder kids in exchange for a house." Stone couldn't help but reply sarcastically.

She managed an attempt at a smile but there was clear pain and sadness in her dulled eyes. “That’s really great, Stone. I’m glad you’re starting to be able to see with it.” She tried to make it clear that was hearing him and paying attention but her mind kept trying to go places she didn’t want to go. Andy scoffed, “No, apologize. Fuck them, I’ll handle them if they try to give you any more grief.” Her smile slowly deflated, Andy chewed her bottom lip as she looked at the plate of food Stone had placed in front of her. She couldn’t look at him, her knee bounced. Drawing in a slow deep breath through her nose she swallowed and reached for what looked to be some kind of spinach puff and took a small bite before chewing and swallowing. A clawing panic in her chest began building as Stone made a sarcastic but dangerous remark. Her eyes darted around as she leaned in towards the male “You can’t talk like that. We’re never alone.”

"It's best they can offer." Stone merely shrugged. Obviously, it could have been better to keep both eyes. But the right one had been damaged so badly, there was no point in even trying to restore it. Waking up and seeing only half of the world was a terrifying experience; yet not as terrifying as the nightmares that soon followed. So Stone continued to observe his mentor- someone who'd be his colleague soon- and simply wondered, whether the nightmares she had endured were the same, or whether they were worse. "It's fine. I can't blame them for thinking it's all down to fashion. But picturing people ripping their eyes out for the sake of fashion is terrifying." He added, picking up another appetizer and eating. She was eating too, and that was a good start. Although, it all soon came to a halt at his words, and he couldn't help but raise his brows. "So what? I'm not telling lies. I murdered those who were trying to protect themselves and survive, and got a house in return." To say it was a brutal way to explain the situation would have been an understatement. "Or do you want me to go around, praising Capitol for destroying lives?"

Andy gave a small nod as she push her fingers back through her blonde hair, pushing her butt length hair off to one side. "They owe you that much." She said simply but knowing the Capitol could never replace or pay off the things it took from Victors. Nothing they did or said would bring back the only thing that ever mattered to her. She could feel the intensity of Stone's gaze but didn't ask what he thinking about despite wanting to. Andy grimaced at the mental image of Capitolites gouging their own eyes out for fashion. "They'd probably be the first ones to do it too." Setting the spinach puff back down on the plate she looked at him, trying to convey to him the seriousness of the situation and what she was saying. "If it keeps them from hurting you or your family, yes. You have to do what you need to to protect those you love." Andy had never believed that it was by accident that her love had been Reaped. She thought it had been a message sent to her 'Don't get too comfortable, you aren't untouchable.' Something to reminder her that the Capitol now owned her, that they had always owned her.

Stone laughed, then, as she mentioned the Capitol owing him anything. It was a silly thought on its own; even he knew he had gotten away fairly lightly. "Why don't you tell that to them?" He asked, a little annoyed. He wasn't annoyed at her, however; it was the odd pain that was making him a little more temperamental than he typically was. "Then they should do it. It's quite the experience." Stone added sarcastically. To feel the hit, to lose the sight was overwhelming; granted, none of those Capitolites would experience it the very same way that he did. Still, it was oddly pleasing to know that they'd be stupid enough to do it. But then, his appetite was gone, and he frowned, his jaw clenching. It was terrifying to think that his family would suffer because of him. But they were safe, they were living in his house in the Victors' village, and he would rather listen to their complaints of how further away they were from everyone else, than see anything else happen. "But they'll do that no matter what I say, won't they?"

Andy frowned at Stone laughing and his suggestion. She looked down at her plate and didn't say anything in response to his comment about telling the Capitol what they owed Stone. She knew she shouldn't take it personally but it was hard not to currently. "I can't even imagine..." She told him softly. Andy had nearly drowned in the finale of her Games but for the most part, she got out rather unscathed physically besides being weak from lack of food and dehydrated. She knew how lucky she had been all things considered. Watching Stone's eye be destroyed had been hard to watch but Andy hadn't looked away. Stone deserved to have someone watch what he was put through and not just turn a blind eye and let him deal with it on his own. Andy stared at the plate of food before her in silence before nodding her head yes. She wasn't going to lie to Stone about it. "But the more trouble they think you are, the more negative attention you bring to those you love."

"You don't have to. You went through your own horrors." Stone insisted. Despite his own trauma still so fresh in his head, he knew that no Victor got out of their arena without any injuries. And if they weren't physical, then they were definitely psychological. Nevertheless, without really thinking, his hand went up to his right eye socket, around which the small scars still remained. Most were gone, all taken care of by the doctors after he was brought out of the Arena; that, along with the rest of the injuries, seemed to be almost too easy to take care of. "Then it's up to them no matter what I say, isn't it? The next argument's going to be that every Victor can be trouble. No matter what I say, I can be trouble. I'm sure you've seen that come true before." He insisted.

Andy chewed her bottom lip at Stone's words. She had been a mere child when she had gone in the Arena but when she came out, though she was a child by years, her soul was aged and scarred. She shrugged her shoulders. "Everyone's experience isn't comparable." She watched as he brought a hand to his eye socket. She wondered if it hurt more than he admitted, she had to imagine it did. She stayed quiet after his question and statement, mind drifting back to her love. "Yes...I have." She admitted softly.

"Yeah." Stone merely nodded. It had been months, but he still wasn't ready to talk about any of it, even with someone who had gone through similar horrors. He couldn't think about the kids he killed, and the kids he had seen die, not when he was still out and about, alive, even if missing pieces of himself. "So we're doomed either way." He responded, his tone still dark as the signs of the first approaching district began to show. "We're almost there. Best I go and find the stylist to fix me up, right? So everyone thinks I'm loving this." And yet, he couldn't help but let sarcasm be painfully evident in his tone as he rose from his chair.

#94 #Stone #Flashback #The Beginning of the Most Unfortunate Family

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somethingusefulfromflorida · 5 years

Text

What We Make for Ourselves

A story set soon after the events of Terminator: Dark Fate

Oakland, 2021

Sarah Connor’s knuckles were white as she maneuvered her jeep down the residential streets at highway speeds. She and Dani were cutting it close as is, having spent the last year preparing their plan to storm the no-name tech startup in Silicon Valley that would soon create Legion. She’d stopped Judgement Day once before, and she was sure she could do it again, but there was one last detour she needed to make in case their plan didn’t pan out. Someone she wanted to warn.

She’d never thought about visiting him before. She figured it would do no good, serve no purpose other than reopen old wounds. Until recently, she didn’t even know where he lived, but with Judgement Day drawing nearer she decided to take initiative. It didn’t take long to track him down; you’d be amazed how much you can find about a person on Google in a few minutes with just their full name. By sheer coincidence, he lived in the Bay Area, so she waited until they were already headed up for their mission to squeeze in time for her little visit. Might as well kill two birds with one stone.

Dani sat idly in the passenger seat, cradling a small manila envelope stuffed to the brim with building schematics. Grace hadn’t given them much to work with in terms of intel besides a company name and a short window for when the grid was supposed to go down, but somehow they’d managed to find the right data cache and download the floor plan for the server farm that would soon host the Legion software; Skynet by any other name still reeked of shit.

Dani would rather be at the motel finalizing their game plan than out in the open so Sarah could wax sentimental for no good reason. This outing was tactically dangerous, as they both had warrants for their arrest, Dani by ICE, Sarah by every intelligence community in the western world. A couple of fake driver’s licenses and Milwaukee accents would do little to hide their identities once the feds got back on their trail.

Sarah slowed the jeep to a crawl as she rounded the final corner onto a dead end street that butted right up against MacArthur Freeway. She parked on the curb between two houses, no doubt to the chagrin of their tenants, but immediately she knew she wouldn’t be there for long.

There he was

Right across the street, piling a small mountain of boxes into the back of an old pickup truck. Sarah didn’t dare take her eyes off him, even for a second, lest he disappear back into the void that was her memory. She hadn’t seen him in almost forty years, had almost forgotten his face, but all at once everything came flooding back. Good memories and bad, of the last normal day she ever lived. The day her best friend and mother were murdered by a machine, the day she went from an English major waiting tables to make ends meet to a soldier hellbent on stopping the end of the world. That was a lifetime ago, but here he was in front of her, younger now than ever before. She couldn’t help but stare, drinking in his face, memorizing every line, every curve. A man, probably his father, popped the truck’s hood and called to him as he checked the engine.

“Kyle, I’m topping her off with oil, but you need to remember to get gas before you hit the highway.”

“I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it, we’re not done loading my crap yet.”

Kyle Reese gingerly set down a duffel bag stuffed with unfolded clothes, and threw open the passenger side door. He was getting ready for his first semester at school, and packing his truck was proving to be the hardest part of the transition. “It’s like playing Tetris,” he quipped as he rearranged a few boxes, trying to will more space out of thin air.

He was taller than Sarah remembered. This Kyle had had an unremarkable childhood and never missed a meal, he was a far cry from the malnourished guerrilla she knew. Seeing him, this ghost from her past, living a normal life in a future she never thought she’d see, it was almost too much. She only turned away from him once she began to feel tears well up in her eyes. This encounter brought back too many painful memories, but pain, he once told her, can be controlled.

Just disconnect it.

His dad disappeared back into the house, and was soon replaced by three boys around Kyle’s age, carrying even more boxes.

“Why you got so much shit, Reese?” asked a short black kid with glasses.

“Because I’m trying to make things are hard as possible for you guys, that’s why.”

An tall Asian kid propped his box on the trucks roof so he could free his hands. “I’m really gonna miss you, man.” He walked over to Kyle and scooped him in for an awkward bear hug. Kyle tried not to laugh as he was lifted off his feet.

The kid with the glasses punched him playfully on the shoulder once the hugger finally put him down. “Hate to see you go, Reese. You know, it’s never too late to drop out and stay home.”

“Tempting, but I’m already balls deep in student loans. I might as well actually be a student for a while, otherwise they’d just be loans.”

“Things will never be the same without him,” cried a kid with a buzz cut, dramatically splaying himself out on the truck’s hood. “Poor kid, he was so young!”

“I’m not dying guys, I’ll see you in a few months, I’m coming home for Thanksgiving.”

“I can still hear his voice.”

Sarah didn’t bother stepping out of the jeep, but turned to face the small crowd of high schoolers, legs dangling out the missing driver’s side door. Dani followed her gaze across the street as she stowed the envelope in the glove compartment.

“That’s the friend you were talking about? He’s younger than I am.”

“I knew him, another him, from another time. Things have changed a lot since then.”

Kyle’s mom came bounding out the front door and embraced her son in an even more awkward hug than his friend’s.

“My little Kyle, heading out to college, paying bills. When’d you get so old? You’re not allowed to be an adult yet, you were still in preschool last week.”

“Mo-o-om,” Kyle complained with a smile. Only two of his friends laughed. “You didn’t act like this when Derek left for school.”

“Sure I did, every year, and I’ll do the same for you because I like embarrassing you in front of your friends. Now everyone come together. Marc, Andy, Sawyer, stand next to Kyle, I want to get a picture.”

“You already took a ton of pictures.”

“And I’m gonna take a ton more before you leave, now stand there and smile.”

They all huddled together against his truck, and she kept directing them like she was making Christmas cards at Sears. “Okay, now let’s have a funny one, everyone make a face. Great. Now let me get some with two of you at a time; Marc you’re first.”

Marc, the kid with the buzz cut, took this as an opportunity to force an exit. “Hey, Mrs. Reese, why don’t you go get his dad, and I’ll take a photo of all three of you. A family portrait, wouldn’t that be nice, Kyle?”

“Oh, I can’t think of anything better.”

She smirked, taking their hint. “I’ll be right back,” she said as she disappeared back into the house, calling her husband’s name.

“Quick, help me pack everything now and I’ll be gone before she gets back,” Kyle joked once she was out of earshot.

Three of the four boys began stuffing thing into the passenger side, well after it was full to capacity, but the bespectacled Sawyer stood back by himself for a few moments. Sarah’s eyes were still locked on Kyle, but Sawyer’s eyes were locked on her.

“Hey,” he called to his friends. “What’s wrong with this picture?”

“What’s up?”

“There’s an old lady staring at you, Reese. She’s been staring for like five minutes.”

Kyle looked over at Sarah, and she immediately turned away.

“Good for her,” he said without a second thought. He continued with the task at hand, trying to force an uncooperative shoe box into the space beneath the passenger seat.

“Isn’t that creepy?”

“Not really, she’s just some lady, she’s not hurting anyone.”

“You ever heard of stranger danger? She’s giving you the bedroom eyes, you’re gonna wind up in her windowless van.”

“Dude, shut up, she can probably hear you. Besides, that’s a jeep, it’s got nothing but windows, I’ll be fine.” Kyle turned back to Sarah who was trying to keep herself busy by reading the warranty sticker on the windshield. Dani nudged her to let her know Kyle was looking, and when she turned back to him, he smiled at her and waved.

Sawyer punched him on the shoulder again, less playfully this time. “Stranger. Danger. Windowless van. It’s your funeral, Reese.”

“Shut the fuck up, man. She’s probably a friend of my mom’s or something.”

With that, Sarah emerged from the jeep and walked over to the boys. Dani also stepped out so she could have a better look, but remained on the far side of the street. Sawyer tried to motion for his friends to head back towards the house, but none of them moved as Sarah stopped a few feet short of the curb.

“Kyle Reese?” She didn’t mean for it to come out as a question, but she couldn’t believe it was truly him.

“Never heard of him,” Sawyer said at the exact same moment Kyle responded “yes.” A third punch, not playful at all.

“It’s really good to see you, Kyle.”

“Um, yeah, it’s good to see you too. How, uh, how have you been?”

“You can stop pretending like you know me. You don’t.”

“Okay, cause I was gonna say… Can I help you? What’s up?” This woman was at least a decade older than his mom, and her face wasn’t familiar at all. He had thought that maybe she was an old babysitter of his, or he’d seen her at church or something, but he was now drawing a complete blank.

“I’m actually here to help you, Kyle. You see, there’s a storm coming. Something big, something bad, and I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to stop it.”

Kyle’s friends had backed into his yard, but he remained where he was on the curb. As she took a step closer to him, a gear in the back of his mind began turning, and he got the feeling that he had seen her before, but still couldn’t place where.

She told him a date and a list of cities to avoid, suggesting he head out into the desert and stay there. Andy inched his way towards Kyle and gingerly grabbed his shoulder. “C’mon man, I think your mom’s calling us, we should head back inside.”

Sarah stared into his soul with such intensity that he was a deer in the headlights, unable to move. She reached into a jacket pocket and pulled out another manila envelope, thinner than Dani’s, and handed it to him. His friends shook their heads, silently imploring him not to take it, but he did anyway.

Dani, seeing that the handoff was complete, beat the hood of the jeep to call Sarah back over. “We’re burning daylight, we should head out. Andale.”

“Just a second,” Sarah cried over her shoulder. She turned back to Kyle, who was holding the envelope out at arm’s length like it could explode at any moment. “I don’t have time to explain everything right now, but it’s really important that you trust me on this, Kyle. Your future is at stake. I don’t have a lot of people left I still care about, but you’re one of them. Have courage in the dark times to come. I’ll try to help you with what you must soon face, but just know that the future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves. You must be stronger than you imagine you can be. You must survive.”

She turned and walked away, climbing back into her jeep without another word. The engine roared to life, and she and Dani sped away, returning to the mission at hand, leaving the four cowering boys in their wake.

“The fuck was that?” Sawyer finally managed. “I mean, what the fuck was that about? What kind of shady ass drug dealer shit was that? Do not open that envelope, it could be a bomb or anthrax or something.”

“Dude, that was sketchy as hell,” Marc said, his voice wavering with adrenaline. “You need to tell your parents.”

“Who was she?” Andy asked, clutching his chest.

“I don’t know,” Kyle answered, tearing open the envelope before his friends had time to yell anything coherent. Inside was a long handwritten note which he’d accidentally torn in half. He had no time to read it before his parents came bounding back out of the house for their last family photo. The four friends broke apart and pretended like they had been loading the car this whole time; Kyle’s dad could tell they were hiding something, but didn’t want to ask what.

Kyle balled up the note in one hand and unceremoniously tossed it into the open window of his truck. He’d read it later and give his friends the full report, but he didn’t want his parents to know a thing, not yet at least. They took their photos, said their goodbyes, shared more hugs, and finally got all of his stuff wedged in such a way that nothing would fall out, and he hit the road just in time to get stuck in rush hour traffic.

He unwadded the note and barely made it through the first line before he froze.

“My name is Sarah Connor,” it read.

Sarah Connor. THE Sarah Connor.

He’d heard her name a few times over the years. She was a domestic terrorist wanted for blowing up a computer company back in the 90s. They called her the Cyberdyne Bomber, and her name was up there with the likes of Ted Kaczynski and Timothy McVeigh. She’d been in the news recently because she was finally caught at the US-Mexico border trying to sneak back across. She’d apparently killed a ton of guards and stolen a police helicopter, then crashed it into a dam or something like that. Kyle hadn’t kept up with the news with quite the same intensity as his parents.

He realized now that that’s where he knew her face from…

“Holy shit.”

He pulled off at the first exit he came to and parked at a gas station so he could read the whole thing in peace. He’d heard that she was a crazy person, the news said she was schizophrenic, that she believed there were evil aliens robots trying to take over the world. Her note was legible, to say the least, but no less fantastical than the news made her out to be.

The end of the world was coming, fire and fury would rain down from the heavens, machines would rise up against man to exterminate all life on Earth. And here he was, stuck in the middle of it all. She claimed she knew him in a past life, one of his past lives apparently, or a future life, it didn’t make a lot of sense. Something to do with time travel, with a rogue AI called Skynet, but it’s also called Legion, but then only recently? She was trying to stop the end of the world, but didn’t know if she’d be successful, and just wanted to give him a heads up so he didn’t die like four billion others.

He’d lived through several end-of-the-world prophecies since he was a kid, but he’d never given them much thought. June 6, 2006, 666, Biblical Revelations, nothing happened. May 21, 2011, the rapture, nothing happened. December 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar, nothing happened. And now Connor was convinced that the world was going to end later this month, but for real this time, and wanted him specifically to know about it.

Why had a domestic terrorist singled him out like this? Was he in danger? Was his family? He considered calling the police, the FBI, the crime stoppers hotline, anything, but he wasn’t sure what he’d even say. At the bottom of the note was a cellphone number with too many digits, obviously international, and he typed it into his phone almost without thinking. He couldn’t stop himself from doing it anymore than he could force himself to call the police. He was on autopilot, fight or flight mode, and he had apparently chosen fight.

It rang once, twice, then connected with no greeting. He could hear the wind whipping by on the other side, a car on the highway. With caution, he threw out a feeble “hello,” secretly hoping she wouldn’t be there and he could pretend none of this had happened.

“Talk to me, Reese.”

Fuck. “Is this really Sarah Connor?”

“Yes, Kyle. It is.”

“What’s going on?”

“Did you read my note or not?”

“None of that’s… it’s not… But that’s all BS… Isn’t it?” He sounded unconvinced, one way or the other.

So, Sarah had some convincing to do.

“Kyle, listen to me very carefully…”

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