#Protein Powder College Station

[alfiehq]

hey, y’all! alfie’s deets are below the cut. let’s plot & play. love, ry. 🖤

(p.s. lmk if any headcanons conflict with what you’ve got plotted for your existing muses!)

basics

name: alfie armstrong.

age: 25.

date of birth: october 24, 1997.

gender: cis man.

pronouns: he, him.

orientation: identifies as queer/gay.

hometown: mercer hollow.

ethnicity: white (half-scottish, half-colombian).

nationality: american.

social class: upper-middle class (through his family).

religion: atheist, but raised christian.

languages spoken: fluent in english, some conversational spanish.

face claim: nico greetham.

around mercer hollow

connection to hope: childhood best friend & partner in crime.

evidence: his car’s tire tracks were found by the lake where hope’s body was dumped (this is private knowledge... for now)

occupation: bartender at the bear den.

family: his father owns the local tv news station, while his mother sits on town council and fundraises for local charities.

living arrangements: living the single life in a studio apartment downtown.

label: the former golden boy.

aesthetic: a half-full tub of vanilla protein powder, the cool burn of chilled tequila, dancing in public like no one is watching

personality

traits: abrasive, arrogant, assertive, protective, resolute, tactless.

mbti: estp.

astrology: scorpio sun, virgo moon, virgo rising.

moral alignment: definitely chaotic. typically somewhere between neutral and good. he acts as his conscience directs him with little regard for what others expect of him. he makes his own way and hates when people try to intimidate him or tell him what to do.

headcanons

if hope was mercer hollow’s golden girl, alfie was the town’s golden boy. he was the prom king to her queen, the student body vp to her president, and captain of the boys’ soccer team.

however, while hope was focused on her grades and pre-med aspirations, alfie was focused on partying. he burnt himself out in high school and chose, to his family’s dismay, not to attend college. did part of him envy hope for her drive and ambition???

he worked as a barista at black ridge for a few years then decided to switch it up and serve something stronger, mixing cocktails he’s perfectly designed to knock your socks off at the bear den, the local dive bar.

since hope’s disappearance, alfie’s shifts at the bar have gotten interesting, eavesdropping on the cops who come in for a night cap. it’s probably not ethical to secretly serve them doubles and lay on the charm in an attempt to pump them for information. but hope was his best friend. he deserves to know what they know.

when he’s not working, he’s either in the gym, on a hike in black ridge forest, fishing, or making the trek out to salem to hit the nightclubs.

alfie’s amused by his reputation for being a cocky, arrogant, dickhead, jerky, douchebag. nobody’s safe – he’ll bust the balls of anyone around him. he’s trolling more than anything, it’s a way to keep people from getting too close to knowing the “real” him.

he’s popular and well-known (albeit, not well-liked) around mercer hollow thanks to his high school glory days, daily thirst traps on social media, and for being the life of the party who’ll never say no to a keg stand.

his alpha-male persona is overcompensation for his fear he’ll never be loved for anything outside of what he accomplished in high school and his desire to live up to the armstrong name (being one of the most prominent in town aside from the mercer fam). he’s sometimes a bit too honest and direct. it takes him a while to trust someone but is fiercely loyal and protective of those he lets in. he clicks best with anyone down to have a good time and not take themselves so seriously.

[joshuasearing]

Monday 9th October 2023

Hey journal today has been ok I started the day off by getting up really early as I was going to the gym with a mate from work. So I got up a little late which meant I was going to be a little late. I started the day off by getting ready and also having some porridge and making my protein powder shake. After I was all ready I left to go to the bus stop. Before I left I checked when the next bus was. It said there was one in 7 minutes and another one in 9 minutes. So I walked to the bus stop. Then when crossing the road I saw this bus but it was a different number than I needed, I then realised it was a school bus. The bus let me cross the road then I slowly walked to the bus stop. The weird thing was the bus stopped for me at the bus stop he must of thought I was a kid. Anyways i shook my head to basically say I don’t need the bus. But yeah it just made me laugh that the bus stopped for me although I’m 19 years old and got a full time job. Anyways after I sat down at the bus stop I realised when I checked the app then buses disappeared of the app and they actually was not coming. It then proceeded to say the next bus is about 25 minutes. So decided to walk to the gym instead which took me about 40 minutes in total. When walking to the gym I heard so much school drama as I walked past loads of school and college students as it was that time of the morning. I also walked past my driving instructor as he was taking he’s kid to school. I then after a while finally got to the gym. Once I got to the gym I had to get a day pass through my phone. I struggled for like 10 minutes trying to get this day pass. Because at first my card said I had insufficient funds so this means I had to take money out of my savings so I could get the day pass. Then the next problem was it did not give me my pin to get in as I’ve been here before so it gives me the same pin, this means I had to tap forgot pin. Then I finally came in. Also I saw seb there which is a friend from when I went to college. He works there as a personal trainer. So I spoke to him a little bit and caught up with him a little bit. Also when in the gym I tried to hit 60kg bench loads of times but got so close so many times. I unfortunately did not get it though. Me and Morgan (friend from work) were at the gym for a good two hours together and we absolutely gave it are all. We did loads of different exercises and worked are ass off. After the gym I then waited at the bus station and got the bus home. Once I got home I had some food then ended up going to sleep for about 4 hours as I was absolutely exhausted. I then once I woke up started to feel very down. Then faith called me and I started to cry a little as she comforted me with how I was feeling. I have also played a little bit of games on my pc. So this has been my day so far speak to you later, bye!

[localizee]

You can find the right pre-workout, protein powder, creatine, fat burner, vitamins, supplements, and even smoothies to suit your individual needs.

[aggielandsupplementsusa]

Business Name: Aggieland Supplements

Street Address: 2418 Texas Ave S STE A

City: College Station

State: Texas

Zip Code: 77840

Country: USA

Business Phone: (979) 703-7685

Website: https://aggielandsupplements.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Aggieland-Supplements-102749661927018/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aggielandsupplements/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/aggielandsupplements/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc8HJD_WxKy8Wo4RG7oMbrQ/featured

Business Description: Vitamin & supplements store in College Station. Aggieland Supplements Has the best quality Vitamin & supplements, smoothies in College Station.

Google My Business CID URL: https://www.google.com/maps?cid=13576691742805861330

Business Hours: Sunday 11AM–6PM Monday 9AM–8PM Tuesday 9AM–8PM Wednesday 9AM–8PM Thursday 9AM–8PM Friday 9AM–8PM Saturday 10AM–6PM

Payment Methods: Cash Check Visa Master Discover Amex

Products: Vitamin & supplements store, Smoothies, preworkouts protein powder

Keywords: supplement store near me college station, creatine college station, smoothies college station, Vitamin & supplements store in College Station, Preworkout near me

Business/Company Establishment Year: 2014

Business Slogan: Aggieland Supplements College Station

Location:

Service Areas:

[yourfavewriteress]

check you out (part 1) | connor mcdavid

Teaser: “This is a grocery store, we really can’t control who comes in here.”

(i know i should be working on something else but sometimes i really can’t help what i come up with :/ )

Four Times Connor wanted to ask for your number + the one time he finally did

one.

“Please wait for assistance.”

You sighed, standing up straight at your post to move towards the waiting customer.

“Hi, how are you?” Smiling at customers had become second nature for you, having been working at the grocery store for almost a year. Although not a marvelous job, you got a weekly check that you had earned yourself and you were finally able to pay for your own bills without the help of your parents. 

“Good, you?” He responded.

“I’m doing okay, how can I help you today?”

“Do you know what aisle your pasta sauce is? I was looking for a bit and I didn’t see it.”

“Should be in aisle 7,” You directed. “Did you check there?”

“I think so, but I’m going to check again anyways since I now know where to actually look,” He let out a laugh before looking back at you. “Do you- Can I leave my stuff here while I go grab it? I’ll be five seconds.”

“Yeah, go ahead, I’ll watch them for you,” You smiled, nodding.

“Thanks,” He turned on his heel, quickly walking towards the aisle. You continued smiling at customers passing by, leaning against the machine. As he disappeared into the aisle, you looked over the items he was buying. Protein powder, a lot of healthy shit that you had never seen before, and literally one bag of candy (that was sugar free, btw). You laughed to yourself, wondering how disciplined this guy had to be to stick to whatever diet he was on.

A few seconds later, he re-emerged from the aisle and you took your time to study him as he walked. Clearly taller than most guys you’ve seen close up, he had to be at least six feet. In his jeans and hoodie, you could see the shape of his body, and judging by the diet, he most definitely took care of himself and his health. 

“Thank you,” He smiled when he finally reached you. “I don’t know how I missed it the first time but you’re a lifesaver.”

“No problem,” You nodded, walking back over to your post. You looked over all the customers in the self-checkout area, trying to find something to occupy your attention as you still had three hours left in the shift. When you looked back over to the right, you were surprised to see the man from before standing in front of the kiosk. 

“I feel like that annoying customer right now and I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure my machine just froze,” He said, scratching the back of his head. You peeked over to the machine he was using.

“If you think you’re annoying, you wouldn’t survive two minutes as a cashier,” You replied, walking with him to the machine. “Let’s take a look.”

He laughed in response, shaking his head. “I probably wouldn’t.”

Tapping a few buttons on the screen had no success, “What happened exactly?”

“I’m not really sure, I scanned everything, I put a $50 bill in there and I was just waiting for my change.”

“Okay,” You mumbled, pulling the key from your pocket to open the machine. He stood behind you as you worked to figure out the problem, or at least get his bill back to send him to another machine. When you crouched down to be eye-level with the cash acceptor, the man’s eye’s couldn’t help but travel over your body. Although covered in your uniform of the store shirt and black jeans, he saw enough that made him have to look away otherwise he was sure he would be seen as that creep customer that couldn’t keep his eyes in appropriate places. 

You felt his eyes on you, and while this wasn’t a rare occurrence with the many forward customers who shop at your local supermarket, his look (if he was even looking, as far as you were concerned) didn’t make you uncomfortable in the slightest. To be fair, you already had your chance to study him when he wasn’t looking. Making sure you weren’t still smiling at the thought of him checking you out, you looked back, your eyes immediately locking on his.

You paused as he let out a gentle smile, asking, “I broke it, didn’t I?”

You couldn’t help but laugh then, your head leaning on your forearm that was holding the machine to keep you from falling in your crouched position. “You didn’t break it, these machines have minds of their own, trust me. But, I just need to grab a different key to get this part open and then I can take care of you.”

He swallowed at that, and even though he knew it was in reference to his grocery order, he couldn’t help it when his eyes once again trailed over you as you stood up to walk towards a nearby door.

“Got it,” You smiled as you came back into view of him. He stepped aside to allow you to crouch down again. The man focused his eyes on his items on the belt in order to avoid being caught admiring you again red-handed. Really, he could feel blood rushing up his neck, and in other places. It was better for him to look away now before it was too late.

“Ah, here it is,” He heard you say before holding up his crumpled bill. “I’m pretty sure it just got jammed somehow after you put it in, wasn’t your fault.”

“I still feel bad for causing all this trouble,” He replied, biting his lip.

“It’s no trouble, it actually gives me something to do other than stand here like a statue,” You said, closing the machine and standing up.

He smiled then, although you didn’t see it. “I’m glad I can help, then.”

Not knowing what to respond, you moved on, “Okay, I’m going to have you pay at my station because I don’t want the same thing to happen again.” You restarted his machine and then reached for his water pack, to help move it back to his cart.

“No, no, it’s okay, I got it,” The man said, stepping closer to you to motion to the water. “You’ve done enough, literally.”

It was your turn to swallow as you got a whiff of his scent, which was hard to describe in any way besides manly. You know that scent that you think a true man has? It’s strong, but enticing. Clean, but also sweaty in a way. It was like a version of Old Spice but younger, and hotter (at least to you).

Taking a breath to soak in as much as you could without being a creep, you stepped back, “Okay, I’ll meet you up there then.”

You turned on your heel, your mind racing as you thought of how to compose yourself until he left the store.

Working in a place that had different people coming in everyday, you were used to the occasional smokeshow and having to not stare. You usually didn’t have to interact with said smokeshow, but you always had to be professional. This case was nothing different. No matter how hot this guy appeared today, or how nice he smelled, he was still a customer and you were still an employee. Get it together! you thought.

“Okay, here you go,” The man said, handing you his bill again.

“Thank you,” You replied, taking it and giving him his change. “Sorry about our machine, but I hope you have a good day.”

“Thanks, you, too,” He smiled. “It’s been a pleasure,” Trailing off, his eyes fell to your chest, “Y/N.”

Although his eyes prompted it, you didn’t allow your jaw to drop as you watched him, pushing his cart away with a smile still on his face.

You thought about him for the next hour, and when you finished wiping down your machines, you caught your reflection in the store window.

Your eyes locked on your name tag sitting on your chest. Why the hell does he get to know your name but you don’t get to know his?

two.

The next few weeks went by as uneventful as any other time in your life. You worked at the supermarket, and when you weren’t there, you were at your apartment, catching up on as many shows as you could with the free time. Until you had to return to your college classes, you were going to relax as much as possible.

“Hey, Y/N,” Your boss said, approaching your station. “Do you think you can stay until 10 tonight? Eva just called out.”

“Uhm, sure,” You shrugged, looking down at the time. “That’s fine.”

“Thank you, you’re the best,” He breathed. “Seriously, I can always count on you and I’ll never forget that.”

“I just like the extra money in my paycheck,” You joked. 

“I’m going to act like I didn’t hear that,” He began as he walked away, laughing.  

You shook you head, laughing as well. As you were still smiling, you could hear one of the machines start up, meaning that you finally had a customer after ten minutes of complete silence. The back profile seemed familiar, including the large container of protein powder in his cart. A few moments later, he looked over, smiling.

“Hi, Y/N,” He said.

You did your best to hide your blush as you smiled back, “Hey, how are you?” Not a big deal, you thought, he probably just remembers everyone’s name.

“Pretty good, how about you?”

“Same old,” You shrugged. “Try not to break the machine this time, though.”

He laughed, his head falling back on his shoulders, “Last time I checked, you told me the machine’s have minds of their own. I accept no responsibility.” 

He made a note in his head of the fact that you remembered him from your last encounter. It wasn’t the last time he was in the store, but it was the last time he saw you. Every time he stepped into the store since then, he searched for you near the registers and today was the first time in weeks he finally saw what, and who he wanted to see.

“I only said that because you looked scared, and I wanted to make you feel better.”

Better wasn’t the only thing you made him feel in your short encounter, and the man knew this as he replied, “How noble of you.”

You laughed at that, so much you didn’t catch the look of pure admiration he gave you as he studied your features from where he was standing.

“Yeah, someone has to do it, right?” You breathed.

He didn’t respond, but you saw him smiling as he shook his head at the machine.

three.

It was a pretty boring day. With only one other cashier in the store, it truly felt like you were in the middle of the woods. You leaned over onto your station, chin in your palm as you looked around the store in view. 

“Hi,” A voice broke you from your daze. You stood up straight looking over at the customer.

“Hi, can I help you with anything?” You asked.

“Not at the moment, but I’ll let you know,” He said as he walked over to a nearby machine.

You had every intention to lean back down in your spot, but as you peeked outside, your eye caught the sight of your favorite mystery customer. He was getting out of a nice white car, a car that made you mumble holy shit to yourself. Looking away quickly, you stood straight at your station. Since you couldn’t see the entrance and wouldn’t dare to look if you did, you didn’t know when exactly the mystery guy walked into the store. 

However, about 10 minutes later, he was walking into the self-checkout area.

“Hey,” He smiled as he approached the empty machine next to a slightly older man.

“Hi, nice to see you,” You smiled, as politely as possible. 

“You, too,” He smiled.

After a quick once over of him, you looked back to your monitor. At this point, his face had already been burned in your brain every time you came into the store. His voice burned into your memories, especially when it was saying your name, addressing you. Whoever the hell he was, he had an effect on you that forcibly kept him on your mind, no matter how minimal your encounters with him had been thus far. 

It was maybe a minute before you dragged your eyes up to look around. Spending a longer second on him, you could see the muscles he had clearly through his simple black tee. Snap out of it. You sighed, looking back at your monitor, even though you didn’t really want to. Why the hell was he so nice? Why the hell was he so hot?

“Excuse me, I need some help,” The man at the machine next to him called out. You nodded, moving towards him.

“How can I help?”

“I’m not sure how to do these tomatoes. They don’t have stickers.”

“Sure,” You replied, stepping closer to the screen to put them in. As he didn’t step back, you kept a safe distance, reaching around him. You did your best not to make a face signaling back the fuck up but that was only made harder by his stare that you could feel on the side of your neck.

“I see you here a lot, do you get a lot of hours?” He said in a teasing tone. 

“I get enough,” You responded through a polite one.

As you finished the tomatoes, you looked up at him, “Anything else?”

“What do I have to do to get your number?” He asked. “This has to count as, like, our fourth meeting.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t give my number out to customers,” You pursed your lips, eyes flickering back to the machine. “Anything with your items, though?”

“Make an exception for me,” He said, ignoring your redirection.

“No, I’m sorry. But, if that’s it with your items, I’m going to go back over there.” As you turned around to walk back over to your station, he grabbed your arm, halting your movements. It wasn’t a tight grip at all, but it was locked. You could cause a scene, scream and draw unnecessary attention, but you opted out. You still attempted to pull your arm free, getting more frustrated as he didn’t let up.

You turned, locking eyes with him, “Let me go.” Punctuation every word, you pointed to the cameras that you were only 20% sure were actually recording the encounter.

“Let me give you my number, then.”

Your eyes once again scanned the area that apparently had everyone looking everywhere but where you were basically being held against your will. You looked over at the mystery guy who was focused on bagging his items now, holding your eyes on him longer because you really didn’t know what to do and he did seem like your closest solution without drawing too much attention. If only you knew his name. Shit. 

“I said no already, seriously, stop,” You narrowed your eyes back at the man holding you, hiding the true fear you were feeling under your skin. “You do know that this is grounds to get you banned from this store, correct? Arrested, even?”

“Come on,” He jerked you slightly and you tried again to calmly remove his hand.

“Dude,” You heard suddenly. You looked over to see the mystery guy, who you could now call your hero, beside you, bags in hand and eyes trained on the man’s now tightened grip on your arm. “What are you doing?”

“We’re talking,” He responded, releasing you within seconds, especially after the mystery guy stepped closer. You stepped back, closer to the mystery guy unintentionally.

“That didn’t look like talking, man.”

“How about you worry about your own shit?” You rolled your eyes at that, walking back over to the station. You took a deep breath, rubbing the area that had already started to redden from his grip. You didn’t look up as the two men exchanged words or when the mystery guy came over.

“Are yo- Wait, is that your manager? Should I go get him?” You followed his pointer finger then looked back down at the monitor.

You shook your head, avoiding his eyes, “I’m fine, thank you though. I really appreciated that.”

“This is your place of work,” He said, slowly. “Are you sure you don’t want me to tell someone? Give a statement or something? That was insane.”

You nodded, “It’s fine. A guy with an ego as big as this store is not worth me stressing over.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice it before, though. Is your arm okay?“ His eyes trailed down and you shifted on your weight onto your other leg, looking down at the damage, but also to look somewhere else besides his eyes.

“I’ll be okay, I’ve suffered through worse,” You gently shrugged, looking back up at him. He was already watching you and you could see his shoulders slump.

“I’m sorry, again-”

“-You are not the one who should be apologizing,” You started. “This is a grocery store, we really can’t control who comes in here.”

“They should,” He raised his eyebrows. “For your safety.”

You were sure he meant “your” as all cashiers and not just you.

You paused for a moment, unsure of how to respond, going with, “Yeah.”

“I’m still sorry that he thought it was okay to put his hands on you,” He said. You nodded slowly and he smiled then, a light laugh escaping his lips. “I hope you have a safe rest of your shift, Y/N.”

As you held eye contact, your stomach did a flip at the thought of him saying your name. It was music to your ears, and also a slight boost to your ego.

“You know, it’s a little unfair that you know my name and I don’t know yours since we’ve talked multiple times at this point.”

Adjusting his bags to one hand, he held the other out to you, “I’m Connor.”

“Well, it’s nice to finally have a name to put to the face,” You responded, returning the handshake. You cursed yourself in your head for not double checking for sweat as your hands touched but he didn’t seem to mind, if there was. In fact, all Connor could think about was the fact that you basically just admitted to him that you had been thinking about him. Or, at least that’s what he hoped you meant because that would make him feel less weird for having thought about you so much. 

This was only the third time he had seen you and you were on his mind more than he ever expected. At this rate, Connor knew he was fucked. But, he didn’t know you were, too. He didn’t know anything about you, and that was the problem.

He thought about doing it then, putting himself out there to a complete stranger, even though you didn’t feel like a one to him. Just ask for her number, he thought. Then, he remembered the asshole you had both just dealt with and decided to leave it for now. Bad timing, he convinced himself.

“I’m sorry I don’t wear a name tag like you,” He joked.

You smiled, rolling your eyes, “Yeah, lucky you.”

“I’ll see you around,” Connor then replied. “Be safe.”

“I’ll try,” You sighed. “Bye, Connor.”

“Bye.”

Watching him as he walked off, you thought back to what had all just happened. You made a note to tell your supervisor when he got back from his lunch and of course, have that man banned from the store. You also started to mentally prepare yourself for your next encounter with Connor. Connor. Now you had a name to think about during the boring hours of work.

four.

“Fancy seeing you here.” You nearly jumped out of your skin as you walked through the parking lot of the supermarket. You had the early morning shift, which was usually a graveyard, and had hoped you wouldn’t have to work too hard.

Turning on your heel, you were surprised to see Connor getting out of his car. How the hell did I miss his car right in front of me? you thought as you looked down, double-checking your appearance subtly. You weren’t a slob, especially lately since you never knew who you would run in to. Who am I kidding? This is exactly what you wanted to happen. Maybe not early in the morning but beggars can’t be choosers, can they?

“Who goes to a supermarket at 7 am?” You asked, stopping with your hand on your hip. 

The sun was shining bright behind Connor, and you couldn’t see his eyes trail over you. You looked better than he even remembered. You were wearing blue jeans that were exactly your size and since you had classes the day before, your hair wasn’t a total mess. It was a simple look but still made Connor’s breath hitch as he stood in front of you.

Much to his despise, it had been over three months since he last ran into you at the store. On top of his practices in preparation for the upcoming hockey season, he had media interviews up to his neck as a young captain in the NHL. 

You, of course, had resumed classes and worked less hours at the supermarket to keep academics as your main priority. Having only three shifts a week seemed small, but you were stressed and the semester wasn’t even halfway done. When did professors stop giving students a few weeks before killing them with assignments?

“Someone who has a tight schedule,” He smiled, walking until he was by your side. Nodding to the store, “Opening shift?”

“Unfortunately,” You sighed, nodding. 

“Well, at least you’ll be awake for the rest of the day,” He said.

“Thinking like that is the only way I convince myself to get up,” You laughed.

“How have you been?” He slyly slowed his stride as you walked towards the entrance together to prolong your conversation, hoping you weren’t running late for your shift. You noticed, and continued at his speed, biting your lip to stop from smiling.

“Pretty good, tired,” You shrugged. “How about you?”

“Same,” He laughed, putting his hands in his pockets. “How long have you been working here?”

“Like a year and a half,” You answered. “It’s close to where I live.”

“Hm,” He hummed.

“Close enough that I could walk if I wanted to,” You said. “But, also driving is an option, I guess. Not that that’s important or anything, or that you even needed that much detail.”

If it wasn’t for him standing next to you, you would have pinched yourself for how awkward you were being. You weren’t used to talking to an attractive guy this early in the morning. Or, at all.

“No, it makes sense,” He replied, laughing. “I was just asking because I feel like I would have noticed you before we met.”

“Notice me?”

He looked down at you, a smile still on his lips, “Yeah, I would definitely remember you.”

“My first memory of you is when you broke our machine,” You teased.

He rolled his eyes, “I didn’t break it, it did that to itself,” He defended. 

“Sure,” You nodded sarcastically.

“Anyway,” He sighed dramatically, letting out a laugh after. “I think that’s when I first saw you, too.”

“Now, I finally know your name,” You said as you finally reached the entrance.

“You do,” Connor responded, smiling. 

As you entered the store, you couldn’t miss your boss already waving you over with a wide smile on his face. Furrowing your eyebrows, you looked back at Connor to say bye but he moved to speak at the same time.

“We-”

“Ca-” You both froze, and you blushed under his eye. He smiled again, “You can go first.”

“No, I think you should go because I was just going to say that my boss is waving me over like a crazy person.”

Connor turned around to your nod, and you watched your boss furrow his eyebrows before Connor looked back at you.

“I was just going to say I hope you have a good shift, if I don’t see you before I leave the store.” That wasn’t at all what Connor wanted to say but he knew you had to go. And, he’d much rather ask you out when your boss wasn’t watching less than 20 feet away.

“Oh, thank you,” You smiled, oblivious to his failed attempt. “Have a good day, with whatever crazy thing has you here at 7 am.”

He laughed, “I’ll see you around.”

and, one.

Finally free, you thought as you adjusted your bag on your shoulder. You had just finished your shift, the day finally reaching 5 pm. You were on your way out of the store, waving bye to your coworkers on the registers when you saw Connor bagging items near the exit.

You noticed he was practically done and simply gathering his things together to walk out and you thought about speeding by him as sly as you could, hoping to avoid an encounter when you were sure you looked as drained as you felt. However, before you could even make a decision, he looked over, eyes locking on yours.

He smiled, brightly, “Y/N, hey!”

“Hi, Connor,” You smiled, laughing lightly at his excitement.

“How are you? Are you just now getting off?” He looked down at his watch.

“Yeah, I’ve been here for a few hours,” You replied. “More protein shakes?”

He laughed, “I’m actually good on those. I had to restock on my unhealthy stuff this time.”

“I’m surprised,” You said. He grabbed his bags, motioning to the exit. This is it, he thought. Connor heart rate quickened as he quickly went over what he wanted to say in his head.

“No one eats healthy all the time,” He said as you both walked towards the exit. “Did you drive today?”

“I did, actually. I knew I was going to be too lazy to walk after eight hours,” You admitted. “And, it’s been getting dark a lot earlier.”

“Smart,” He smirked. 

“I haven’t seen you in awhile,” You commented after a few moments. “Awhile,” meaning a little over two months. 

“I’ve actually been out of town for a few weeks,” He said. “But, I did have a question for you, so I’m happy I caught you today.”

“About the store?” After it came out of your mouth, you realized how truly stupid you sounded. Obviously not.

“No, not really,” He said, looking down at you briefly. 

“What’s up?” You asked him. At this point, you had reached his car in the parking lot, your car only a few spots down. He set his bags on the ground, slightly fumbling around to find what you thought were his keys.

You watched him, and held in your smile when he finally found them, letting out a slight breath of relief. He looked over at you, and you were caught red-handed. You weren’t sure what reaction you expected, but blushing and shaking his head was not one of them.

“Give me a sec,” He mumbled as he pressed a button on his key to open the trunk of his car. You looked over the part of the clean interior that was visible to you, admiring it.

“This is a really nice car,” You said as he placed his bags in the trunk.

“Thank you,” He said, reaching up to close it. “Can I walk you to yours?”

“Sure,” You felt your heart rate pick up as he locked his car again. “It’s just right here.”

“So, you can absolutely say no, I can take it,” He started, and you couldn’t tell if he was still blushing from a few moments ago, or maybe it was just the reflection of the headlights of passing cars. “Would it be okay if I asked for your number?”

You had enough self control in the moment to keep your jaw from falling, or your face from turning as bright as firetruck, but your words were always another thing. “You want my number?”

“Yeah,” He laughed softly. 

“Why?” The word came out of your mouth before you could stop it. You also couldn’t stop the blush then, taking a breath to push your hair out of your face, nervously. “Sorry, I mean, uhm, what-, why-”

“-Our sixty second conversations kinda have me hooked,” He explained. “And, I’d really like to take you out sometime, but obviously I wanted to work my way to that since we don’t know each other and I get that this might be weird. And, maybe you get this a lot working here.” He was beginning to ramble so he stopped, staring into your eyes to hopefully communicate that he really wasn’t some weirdo. Just a guy super into you, even though he barely knew anything besides your name and your laugh. And, so far, also your corny but admirable digs at him. 

He couldn’t help but smile when he was around you, and he really couldn’t help but want to see you outside of the store. He wanted to get to know you, and spend more time with you. He knew there had to be a lot more to you than your job.

“This does happen sometimes,” You nodded. “Usually, older, perverted guys. The occasional young guy with a big ego, really depends on the day.”

“I hope I don’t fit into either of those categories,” He laughed. “I really don’t want to overstep or make you feel weird.”

“You haven’t,” You responded quickly. “It’s okay, do you have your phone on you?”

He smiled then, reaching into his pocket before pulling out his phone. Unlocking it, he handed it to you and watched as you typed away. 

Holy shit, he thought again. It was the first time that he was ever really nervous to ask a girl for her number and he almost expected you to reject him. Already be in a relationship, or just simply not be interested. He expected the worst, just like you did.

You hoped he couldn’t see the shaking that you felt in your fingers as you created a contact for yourself in his phone. Once you were finished, you looked up to find him already watching you. Blushing, you held his phone out to him, “There you go, that’s me.”

He took his phone back, smile widening after he looked down at the screen. “Thank you.”

“I guess I’ll talk to you soon?” You suggested, finally unlocking your car.

“Definitely, I’ll text you later tonight,” He responded, stepping back a few steps.

“Okay,” You grinned, opening the door. He nodded before a smile appeared on his face as he walked backwards towards his car.

“Bye, Y/N.”

“Bye, Connor,” You responded as you slid into your car. Closing the door, you let out a breath as you kept your eyes forward to start the car.

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[oh-obrien]

Inscrutable {1}

Inscrutable: Impossible to Understand or Interpret 

Relationships: Stiles Stilinski x Original Female Character

Word Count: 5,611  6,683

Warnings: None 

Author’s Note: My first Stiles fic!! I’m super excited to share this series with y’all, especially being new to the Dylan O’Brien / Teen Wolf Fandom. Send me an ask or message me if you want to be tagged!

THIS PART OF INSCRUTABLE HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH MORE CONTENT AND HAS ALSO BEEN EDITED MORE THROUGHLY!

Finley Mannulv carefully scooped a second heaping spoon full of protein powder into her shaker bottle, hoping that the drink would give her a well-earned boost of energy for her first class of the semester. Knocking the scooper on the side of the bottle, she watched as some of the white powder stuck to the sides of the clear-blue plastic of the bottle, the rest forming a thick layer on top of the water. Finley dropped the plastic scooper back into the container and a small cloud of powder puffed out of the top, accumulating on the black fabric of her t-shirt. She hugged the protein powder container to her chest and closed it tightly before she tucked it back into her locker, wiping off what had gotten on her shirt afterwards.

Moving her bottle off of the bench in front of her locker, Finley kneeled on the wooden bench and let out a deep sigh looking into her messy locker. “Dad would have a hemorrhage,” she mumbled to herself before pulling out her dirty clothes from conditioning that morning. She made sure her number, eleven, had been printed on each piece of clothing before she clipped them on to her laundry clip and dumped them into the bin that their coach had brought in earlier. She made sure her clothes for practice later that night, along with her pinnies, were in her locker before deciding it looked clean enough for the time being.

She had never been the neatest, a controlled chaos being the easiest for her to navigate more often than not. The same philosophy also held true for any living space or locker she had prior to starting college. As soon as she made a space spotless, she suddenly couldn’t find anything she needed, and it just fell back into some sort of disarray a couple of days later anyway. A little bit of mess made her spaces feel more comfortable, more lived in.   

Finley pulled one of her many school provided hoodies off of a hook inside her locker and slipped the white fabric over her head. She looked down at the American University logo that had settled in the middle of her torso, the reality still not fully sinking in that she’d be spending the next four years of her life at the university. Her junior year of high school Finley had verbally committed to the University, contingent on the fact that she produced favorable grades through her senior year and also kept up her performance on the lacrosse field. Now, nearly two years later, she had just finished her first pre-class conditioning session and was in the process of getting ready to attend her first class of her college experience.

Finley just shook her head, not needing to be reminded about how quickly her life seemed to be blowing by, and tucked some of the extra fabric of her hoodie up under itself so she could prove she did, in fact, have on shorts. Her hair, which had mostly dried during team breakfast, got pulled out of the back of her hoodie and settled in messy, half damp auburn strands on her back.

“What do you have going on this morning?” Finley asked Cameron, one of the other freshmen on the team, who had been filling up her own shaker bottle at the water station when Finley approached.

Cameron screwed the top of her bottle on tight and looked down at the unmixed powder that had been pushed down when she had poured the water in. “Caramel,” Cameron replied as she started shaking the container, “it’s good. My go to in high school.” Finley nodded and started filling up her own bottle, the fresh water pushing the powder down into the small amount of water that Finley already had in the bottle.

Finley made note of the flavor as she watched the bottle’s water level rise. “I need to order a few more, vanilla and cookies and cream get old after a couple weeks, but they’re all I brought with me.” She flipped the switch on the water fountain, turning the water flow off. “My brother stole a few containers for himself before he left for school so I’m low on my stock.”   

Cameron took a long sip of her drink before tilting the bottle towards Finley in some sort of ‘cheers’ motion, “I’ll drink to that one. See you tonight.” Finley offered a smile in acknowledgement as she screwed the top to her own bottle back on tightly.

She held the top tight with her index and middle fingers and shook the bottle vigorously, watching the spring ball bounce around inside as the drink mixed. After she made sure her drink had been properly mixed, she took a long sip, swiping her tongue over her teeth to remove the film that stuck to them from the protein powder. “I’ll see you tonight!” She waved to Savanna, her locker-room neighbor, and adjusted the straps of her designated ‘class’ backpack on her shoulders.

When she had helped to move her brother into college a few weeks prior, she had made fun of him for taking his ‘Notre Dame Football’ backpack with him everywhere. But, to his defense, he had been gifted quite a lot of gear by the university prior to even getting to college and he had also used a similar backpack throughout his senior year of high school. Now though, Finley looked at herself in one of the mirrors and snorted, realizing she was now in the same position. Team sneakers were on her feet, team shorts her choice attire of pants and an ‘AU Lacrosse’ hoodie topped off her outfit with the matching t-shirt underneath.

“Good luck with your first day of classes!” Savanna offered Finley an excited smile. Finley nodded in thanks while she picked up her lacrosse bag with her free hand, she needed to bring it back to her dorm to tighten the pocket of her stick, and bringing the bag to class with her was a better option than having to travel back to the locker room after her class just to pick it up.

“This entire year will go a lot faster than you think it will now, the countdown to graduation in four years really starts now.” Jayden, a junior, added. Finley nodded as she grabbed her lacrosse stick and gripped it in the same hand as her bag, off to officially start her first day of college.

She received the opportunity to move on to the American University campus two weeks early, along with the other athletes who attended the school. The two-week period seemed to allow her, and the other freshmen athletes, a cushion to comfortably adjust to college life and the campus itself. It felt like it gave her a leg up on the other freshmen, she already looked, and felt, comfortable on campus that was a huge part of adjusting to college life and she already had it in the bag.

In her two weeks already on campus, Finley had been able to find where all of her classes would be, as well as settle into a routine. Six o’clock morning workouts, seven fifteen shower, seven-thirty team breakfast. After breakfast she knew her classes started at eight-forty-five or eight-fifteen depending on the day.

Taking all early classes would allow her plenty of time to nap in the afternoon if she felt like she needed to before attending evening practices. On the days when she didn’t feel like sleeping a little extra, it would allow extra time for homework and studying. Her brother had settled into a similar routine at Notre Dame, although a little busier because football was in season at the university, but it was comforting to know her twin was in a similar mindset.

At eight-thirty Finley stepped out of the William I Jacobs Recreational Complex, the sun had finally risen within the timeframe she had been inside the facility. The early mornings would begin to get old near mid-terms, but for now the early start felt somewhat refreshing, she was already awake and nearly three hours into her day while most of the other students had probably just woken up.

Despite her classes being in the first time block of the day, Finley noticed that campus had already started to bustle with activity. Students who were excited, nervous, and overwhelmed for their first day of classes were all on the way to the multiple academic buildings. Some were chatting in small groups, others walked alone with headphones in, and she even noticed a few couples holding hands. Must be nice.

The late-August morning air had a slight chill to it and Finley felt the hair on her legs stand up when a breeze passed. The morning air seemed easier to breathe than the stuffy August afternoon air she had been practicing in for the past two weeks during two-a-days. Her first class for the day was Introduction to Law, a class she didn’t feel all that excited for.

Finley liked to think she had a solid knowledge of the basis of the legal system. Thanks to her parents, of course. Her father’s current job title read ‘Director of the Central Intelligence Agency’ on various news channels when he would give interviews, and her mom had once worked for the Department of Homeland Security, she felt well versed in the basics of the law. However, Finley had also accepted that fact that she couldn’t use her father’s government position and the stories he had told her to get out of introduction level classes for her major.

However, Finley had been able to use many of the dual enrollment and advanced placement classes to get out of many of her core curriculum classes. She only had two freshman level classes to take this semester and would then be fully immersed into the classes for both of her majors, and with her starting out on campus as a sophomore, she would be able to register for what she needed next semester rather than getting stuck with the leftover dregs for classes.

Carefully reaching back to put her protein shake in her left backpack pocket, Finley pulled her phone out of the waistband of her Nike shorts and saw a text from her twin brother. Cian was a freshman quarterback at Notre Dame and hoped to start a couple games in the upcoming season and be named the permeant starter his sophomore year.

“You cheating on the field yet?” Finley snorted reading the text message over to herself a couple more times before trying to think of a witty response, she felt too tired to think of one, her brain not being awake enough to muster a proper insult.

“It’s not cheating when it’s my natural athletic ability. Same goes to you man.” She responded before tucking her phone back into her waistband before scaling the steps to the academic building her first class took place in.

Entering the old building Finley inhaled the stuffy air before trying to remember which way she went to find her classroom last week. The strong smell of mold and sheetrock made her sneeze and she realized that she would need to take one of her ‘allergy pills’ every morning to be sure none of the buildings would bother her going forward. After deciding to take the hallway to her left she quickly found the room she had located once before and pushed the door open with her elbow. She stepped into the lecture style room and saw a few students already inside the tiered room, scrolling through their phones or laptops.

Surveying the room, she noticed plenty of prime seat options and opted to climb the stairs and slide into the first seat closest to the middle aisle in the third row. She grabbed her protein shake out of its pocket and settled it on the table in front of her along with her water bottle. Finley set her lacrosse bag on the floor, tucking it up against the end of the table that spanned her whole half of the row, making sure nobody would be able to trip over it. She stood her stick up next to her bag before sitting down and pulling one of her headphones out.

Scrolling through her team’s group chat she followed along with dinner plans and made a mental note to remember to go after practice later that night, their coach stressed team bonding, and team meals fell under that umbrella. Finley would look up every time the door opened, and her classmates started to trickle in. So far only one other girl had settled into Finley’s row, on the complete opposite end from her.

At eight-forty a middle-aged man entered the room and started logging into the computer, no materials with him other than his reusable water bottle and cell phone. Finley assumed he had to be the professor and nodded before looking back down at her phone. Something about him just felt off, but she couldn’t pinpoint what the ‘offness’ he gave off was.

A couple minutes later she heard someone move past the girl at the end of the row, mumbling a ‘sorry’ as they slipped behind her chair. The footsteps indicated they were most likely a male, and as they got closer Finley got a whiff of their body scent. It could only be described as ‘boy’. The cologne and deodorant he had on clashed and the smell of the two mixing with his normal scent made Finley sneeze. Fantastic.

She heard the stranger get closer and closer until his erratic heartbeat settled right next to her, he also smelled like some type of medication, something with amphetamine in it. “Hey,” his voice distracted her while she was in the middle of typing out a message to her brother, trying to concentrate on the message she had been through the fog that was this boy’s natural scent. She hoped he would leave after she didn’t acknowledge him, but after he didn’t leave after a few seconds Finley caved.

She looked up and noticed the boy had dark hair and soft brown eyes, his facial expression definitely gave away his anxiety about his first day. His thumbs were hooked into the straps on his backpack while he rocked on the balls of his feet. “This seat free?” He asked while pointing at the chair next to where Finley sat. She gave him a quick once over and noted how he nervously chewed on his bottom lip, his cheeks getting a little bit red as his heartbeat quickened, his nerves only growing.

He was nervous, and kind of cute, he could stay. Finley nodded and pulled her other headphone out, “yeah.” She didn’t understand why he had to sit right next to her when there were plenty of other seats free that weren’t near anyone. There were also a few seats two away from her but decided not to point it out.

He wore a loose red and black open flannel shirt that contrasted the fitted white tee he had on underneath; his spindly muscles visible through the material. His legs sported a pair of dark jeans and he had a black leather belt tight around his waist. To anyone else he would smell like old spice deodorant and fabric softener if they were sitting this close to him. However, Finley smelled the anxiety that seeped out of his pores.

“Some boy just sat next to me,” Finley sent her brother.

“He reeks of anxiety,” she added, wrinkling her nose and trying not to sneeze again after she had sent it. She went to slip her right headphone back in but instead felt the boy next to her stealing a nervous glance at her. Finley knew he considered saying something to her and instead opted to unplug her headphones and slip them into her school bag in a messy tangle of wires.

“I’m Stiles! I’m from California!” He offered Finley a nervous smile after his more than awkward introduction, his heart beating ever faster than after he sat down. Did he know introductions didn’t have to be so formal and forced?

Before Finley mustered a response to Stiles’ introduction, she watched his eyes trail to her lacrosse stick that peeked over the top of the table. “Oh woah! You play lacrosse here?” She looked down at her hoodie which had ‘American University Lacrosse’ printed on it, to make sure she pulled on the hoodie she thought she did before leaving the locker room. Maybe he thought it could be her boyfriend’s? But American didn’t have an NCAA men’s lacrosse team, they only had a club men’s lacrosse team.

Holy shit, Finley thought to herself, he also had too much energy. “I’m Finley. I’m from the D.C. area,” she replied slowly. “And yes, I do play lacrosse here,” she could have ended her introduction there, but her dad telling her to be ‘diplomatic’ with her classmates the night before flashed across her mind. “You’re familiar?” She added after the fact.

He nodded enthusiastically, “I played in high school! I’m also playing on the club team here, since we don’t have a varsity men’s team and all. I also probably wouldn’t have been asked to play on a varsity team if there was one.” He reached back to scratch the back of his neck nervously. Maybe he wasn’t so bad, just nervous about being across the country. Or maybe he had ADHD, just like one of her and Cian’s younger cousins.

With a nod at his response Finley turned back to her phone and saw another text from her brother. “The downfalls of being supernatural. Suck it up Fins.” She rolled her eyes at his response and tried to think of something to snap back at him when Stiles’ voice caught her attention again

“So, are you a Justice and Law major also?” Finley could feel his eyes on the side of her face. “Wait no!” He cut her answer off before she could even begin. “This class is for my Legal Studies Major!” He had decided to double major, that had to mean he was pretty smart, right?

Taking another sip of her protein shake to prevent herself from sighing, Finley turned her chair so she faced him this time. “Accounting and Legal Studies.” She saw Stiles ready to ask another question and felt thankful when she instead heard the professor’s voice carry a full ‘good morning’ through the room. 

Her eyes turned to the man at the front of the room as she pulled her legs up on to the chair she sat in, with her legs ‘criss-cross-applesauce’ on the plush material. She felt herself start to swivel back and forth as the professor started his introduction but avoided the urge. “I’m Robert,” their professor seemed to run a very informal classroom. He wore dark jeans and a polo shirt, an unzipped American University hoodie over it.

All of high school Finley’s teachers had spent time telling their classes, ‘this will never fly in college!’ However, that statement quickly had seemed to becoming false as one of the classes for the next day had already been cancelled and the Professor had sent them an email that just stated, ‘read the syllabus, ask any questions in out class on Thursday.’ Mix that message with this professor’s relaxed attitude, casual dress and lack of materials and Finley really believed that her high school teachers had just been trying to scare the students into listening.

“If you’re not here for Introduction to Law, you’re in the wrong place,” he leaned against the table at the front of the room. Finley watched as a few students stood and left the room, they all had their eyes on pieces of paper which most liked contained their schedules. “Anyone else?” Robert gave others the ability to leave if they needed. After he received no response to his question, he pushed himself off the table and clapped his hands together. “Fantastic!”

“Seems nice so far,” Stiles mumbled from his place next to Finley who tried not to show her annoyance with him. She just simply nodded in response and continued watching their professor, still slowly turning back and forth in her chair.

Robert picked up a piece of blue chalk and started writing on the chalkboard. “Since we’re in a freshman class I’ll do the whole introduction thing!” He scraped a few more words on to the board. “So, give us your name, where you’re from, you major, and I guess a fun fact about you or some shit like that.”

Oh, so it would be this kind of class. He pointed at the student who occupied the very first seat in the front row and prompted them to introduce themselves. Finley listened as others introduced themselves mentally taking note of who seemed to give off anxiety and those who were confident going into the first day. Most of the room stank of anxiety, but Finley tried to ignore the smell. She took frequent, small sips of her protein shake to fill her nostrils with the scent of vanilla instead of anxiety. After the boy in the row next to her, David, introduced himself she watched Robert’s eyes flicker over to her.

Mentally groaning, Finley pulled the protein shake bottle away from her lips. “Hi, I’m Finley Mannulv. I’m-”

“Wait. Hold on,” Finley audibly groaned when her professor cut her off. Why did professors or teachers always have to do this? Especially in D.C. didn’t they get the kids of government officials, congressmen, ambassadors, anyone else with a title seemingly ‘important’ to the function of the country and the world, all the time.

“Yes, Mannulv as in Maxwell Mannulv Director of the CIA’s daughter,” she finished for him while rolling her eyes. “Now that we addressed the elephant in the room I’m moving on. I’m here for an education just like everyone else.” She saw Stiles’ jaw open slightly next to her and shook her head. Fantastic, already off to a great first day. “Anyway, I’m from around D.C., originally from New York though, but I’m sure you knew that already,” she glared at her professor. “But I’m an Accounting and Legal Studies major and I’m on the lacrosse team.”

Robert narrowed his eyes at Finley who just offered him a lopsided smirk in response. “And no, my dad didn’t get me in here. I had at 35 on the ACT and a 1550 on the SAT.” She wasn’t going to let him intimidate her.

Robert smiled through clenched teeth, “so nice to have a student with such close ties to the legal system in the class.” He turned to Stiles. “And you?”

Finley coughed when she smelled his anxiety grow even stronger, did this boy ever relax? “Umm hey,” he awkwardly waved around the room. “I’m Stiles Stilinski, I’m from Beacon Hills in California, and I’m a Justice and Law and Legal Studies double major. Umm-” he hesitated, “a fun fact? I’m on the men’s club lacrosse team here.” Stiles took in a deep breath of air after he finished speaking. Finley allowed herself to breath after that and noticed that the air of anxiety around him decreased greatly. She had more important things than Stiles’ anxiety to worry about right now though.

Finley made sure Robert no longer looked in their direction before pulling her phone out. “There’s a guy in my class from Beacon Hills!” She quickly typed out in the group chat she had with her dad and brother knowing they would be interested in the information.

“Is it anxiety boy?” Cian replied.

At the same time her dad sent, “Is he one of us?”

“Yes and no!” She quickly sent. She followed it by saying, “his first name is Styles? I don’t even know if that’s how it’s spelled and I didn’t catch his last name but it started with like Still.” Finley wasn’t sure if that was how he spelled it but that’s how it had been pronounced. Hopefully it would be enough for her dad to work with.

“Just pay attention in class. I’ll send a few messages out and see what I can find.” Maxwell replied while his son answered with “Who the hell names their kid Styles?” Finley locked her phone and slid it face down on to the table in front of her with the ringer turned off.

Still having heard most of the introductions of her fellow classmates, Finley tuned back into class while watching the boy who sat next to her closely.

He definitely seemed human, another supernatural tended to be incredibly easy for Finley to sense, her father had been training her how to do it from a young age. He also didn’t smell like he had recently been in contact with any other supernatural creatures, maybe that was because he had just moved into college? If he lived in Beacon Hills he had to know about all the supernaturals there, especially after Scott McCall managed to somehow chase most of the hunters out of town and create a ‘supernatural sanctuary’ of sorts.

Finley felt a migraine creeping into the back of her head and knew she had to stop stressing about this Styles boy before she wouldn’t be able to make it through the rest of the day. Instead she focused on Robert as he began speaking about what the class would entail.

“As you all know this is an introduction to law class.” No shit, Finley rolled her eyes and took another long sip from her protein shake. “Let me start with this question. Is anyone here somewhat comfortable with the legal process?”

Finley’s hand shot up with absolutely no hesitation and she gave Robert a fake smile, as if she asked him to challenge her. She watched as Stiles’ hand slowly raised from his place next to her and her suspicion of the boy only continued to increase.

Robert looked at Stiles with shock, his hand coming up to point at the pair. “Now I know about Ms. Mannulv’s legal background of sorts. But what about you Mr.,” he trailed off forgetting his last name.

“Stilinski,” he filled in the missing word. Finley would need to remember that as best she could. “And my dad’s the Sheriff of our town back home. I also had an FBI internship for part of the summer.” Finley almost choked on her shake and had to cough again to cover it up, her eyes widening.

“Are you okay Ms. Mannulv?” Finley held a hand up at Robert’s question and nodded for him to continue. She set the shake down in front of her and her fingers were itching to pick up her phone to text her dad and brother with the update, but she knew she needed to wait.

Robert walked back to the computer and pressed a button that had a projector screen coming down from inside the ceiling. “Well, since you two are so comfortable with the basis of law already,” Finley watched as the screen lit up. The words ‘Partner Based Case Study and Mock Trial’ were written across a PowerPoint slide. “You can be our first pair for this semester!”

Finley actually choked on her protein shake this time and spiraled into a coughing fit. She quickly reached out for her metal water bottle and unscrewed the top taking a long sip to clear her airway. “Sorry, practice this morning has me wiped out, especially with the air being cool.” She let the ice water coat her suddenly dry throat. That had been a total lie, her body easily adjusted to the change in air that morning, but it would need to be a good cover for now.

She felt Stiles’ eyes on her and carefully listened for his heartbeat. After detecting a quicker than normal resting heartbeat again she realized he felt just as anxious about this assignment as she did. Maybe they would be able to pull it off.

“So now that we all realize this is a case-based class, if the rest of you would like to partner up with someone else in the class we can go through the syllabus after.” Finley watched as other students started talking with one another, trying to make compatible pairs for their projects. She took the opportunity to open her laptop and pull up the syllabus, also grabbing her phone.

“His dad’s the sheriff.” She quickly sent in the group chat before flicking her ringer back on and turning it all the way down so she would feel the phone vibrate.

Finley quickly made herself come to peace with the fact that she would have to talk to this Stiles boy more often than she originally intended to and turned to face him. “So, this just took an interesting turn.” She offered him a small smile, taking note of the indifferent expression on his face, but she did note that his heartbeat had slowed slightly.

Stiles nodded then looked over to Finley again, his eyes were soft and carried some hints of nervousness, but a genuine smile spread across his face. “Definitely not what I expected to say the least. But I think we’re both pretty experienced so we should be a great team.”

“Definitely,” Finley suddenly decided the rings on her fingers were interesting and started spinning them. “I wasn’t a huge partner work person most of my life, but this should be an easy introduction.”

Stiles snorted out a small laugh and his smile grew, “seems like all I’ve done the past few years is group work.” He shook his head slightly, “this should be a nice transition into college though. A little calmer than life back home.”

Robert clapped his hands to get the attention of his class, waiting for the room to fall silent before speaking. “Hope everyone has a partner,” he walked over to the computer and pulled up an excel spreadsheet. “So, we have Mannulv and Stilinski to start us off.” He typed their last names in and looked up. “Who’s next?”

Finley tuned out after that and picked her phone up off her thigh.

“Stilinski?” Her dad had asked. After replying with a simple ‘yes’, Finley looked to see the spreadsheet almost completely filled out.

Robert filled in the remaining rows and turned the PowerPoint back on. Finley quickly read the ‘Types of Cases’ slide and immediately had her mind set on completing the murder case with the added mental state determination element and wanted to argue on the state’s side.

She turned to Stiles whose eyes still traveled across the slide and waited until he finished reading it and also looked over to her before speaking. “Four?” She asked him, making sure she had the case number right.

“I mean, since you knew what you wanted that quickly,” he shrugged, “sure.” After agreeing on the case, Finley tuned back into the instructions Robert read to the class off another slide.

“So! With that being said after discussing with your partner which case and side you would like to argue for,” he flicked back to the slide. “I would like one of you to raise your hand and let me know.” He leaned back on to the desk.

Finley made eye contact with Stiles again and raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead,” he laughed lightly, giving Finley the go ahead to lock their case in. She quickly raised her hand and watched as Robert raised his eyebrows at her.

“Ms. Mannulv, Mr. Stilinski. That was awfully quick.” He crossed his arms over his chest while speaking.

Finley shook her head with a small smile. “We’re experienced right?” She didn’t wait for the professor’s answer before continuing, “by those standards we should know what we want then. The homicide case, which I’m assuming is actually murder charges, with the mental state element, state’s side.”

Robert smiles after hearing her choice and nodded. “Now as most of you will find out, your case is based on real life cases!” Robert’s voice filled the room, cutting off other student’s conversations. “Which will be expressed in the email I send to those working on each individual case after class. Some cases are closed, others are cold. Cold cases are much harder to work with,” he turned to Finley with a smirk. “After I take down which case, you’re doing you’re free to leave!”

“Thank god,” Finley began putting everything back into her backpack and zipping it up. She watched as Stiles did the same, standing up afterwards and looking over to Finley expectantly.

He watched as she tucked her empty protein shake bottle into the side of her backpack, and she also did the same with her water bottle on the opposite side. She reached down to pick up her lacrosse bag and her stick. She seemed to have everything under control, but should he offer to help her anyway?

Stiles nervously scratched the back of his neck before speaking, “do you umm need, I mean want, do you want help?” He asked her. She stood up straight again, her phone in one hand and her lacrosse bag and stick in the other, a soft smile on her lips.

“I’m okay,” she shook her head. “I mean I’ve been doing it for years now, but I really do appreciate the offer.” Stiles noticed her blue eyes were softer now as they made their way down the middle stairs of the room and out the door. Maybe she wasn’t as cold as she gave off in class.

He wasn’t sure if she had class after this or not, but he knew they finished their class about half an hour early and had been interested in making new friends at college. Lydia told him he should get to know people early on and establish a couple friendships he could see lasting past college. “You’ve played for a while now?” He asked her as they walked outside of the building and into the warming morning air.

“Me?” She laughed a little bit. “Started in second grade, haven’t stopped since. Always wanted to play with the boys though like my brother did.” She shrugged. She didn’t seem to give off the ‘girly’ attitude that Lydia and Allison had through out high school. Finley didn’t ‘dress to impress’ like they had and clearly went for comfort and functionality.

Stiles laughed lightly, “I mean, I didn’t get a ton of playing time in high school, but the pushing and shoving was fun sometimes, especially if I had a little pent up frustration.” The pair stopped once they were outside the building and Finley dropped her bag and stick. She sat down on the top stair of the staircase and looked up to Stiles motioning for him to sit.

He dropped his backpack next to both of hers before sitting next to her. “What brought you all the way out here though?” She asked. “I mean California is across the country and all.”

Stiles carefully thought over his answer, he didn’t want to give away too much about exactly why he had left Beacon Hills. He hoped he didn’t have to open that part of his life up to anyone new so quickly. “Umm, I’m looking to work in the FBI after college, so thought it would be a good place to go to school.” That part held true. “That and my girlfriend is at MIT, we’re close enough to visit when one of us has time.” Right being close to Lydia had also been part of the original plan.

Stiles had been so busy in the past week he had hardly been able to talk to Lydia, or any of his other friends from back home for that matter. Diving across the country had him absolutely exhausted, mixed with the stress of moving in and trying to get settled pretty quickly it had taken up the remainder of his energy. He felt guilty, but he also realized that the lack of communication would sometimes be the consequence of a long-distance relationship.

He watched as Finley reached back to pick up her water bottle and unscrewed the cap, taking a long sip. “Oh god that must be stressful,” she cleared her throat. “I’m only like half an hour from home at most, and I never had time for relationships. That and I think any boy I brought home would be scared of my dad.”

Stiles gave her a curious look and raised his eyebrow, urging her to continue on her thought. “You said he worked for the CIA or something right?”

“Yep, he does. Head honcho of the CIA.” She grabbed the edge of her hoodie and quickly pulled it over her head, resting it across her lap once it came off. “Sorry I started to get warm. But sorry if I acted like kind of a dick in class, I don’t like people questioning my intelligence because of my dad’s position in government.”

Stiles could understand where that frustration could be coming from. He had often used his father’s position as Sheriff to his advantage but had never really experienced the negative consequences that his position could have brought as everyone respected his dad. “I think we’ll be a pretty great team though.” He looked over to Finley who swung her water bottle back and forth between her legs, his eyes momentarily focusing on the object.

“I think we’ll be the best team that guy has ever seen!” She smiled. “I’ll make sure of it.”

A silence fell between the pair and Stiles closed his eyes and allowed his face to tilt up into the morning sun, it’s warmth quickly spreading out across his body. He opened his eyes when he heard one of Finley’s bags being opened. She shoved her hoodie into her lacrosse bag and put her water bottle back into the open side pocket on her other backpack.

She huffed and closed the bag again, standing up. “I need to get to my next class soon,” she offered. “If you want to get lunch and stat looking over our case if we have the materials in time that could work. Here-” She held her phone out to him. “I usually eat at the gym with my team, but I know a couple good places off campus that the meal plan covers if you’d want to do that?”

Right. She grew up around here of course she would know what to eat in the area. “I get finished at 12:20 but after that would work for me.” Stiles hoped their schedules would line up.

“Oh yeah same,” Finley watched as Stiles typed his number into her phone. “I have all early classes, easiest option for me.” She took her phone back before picking all her things up. “I’ll text you after my class gets out!”

“Sounds good!” Stiles threw his backpack over his shoulder before waving goodbye to Finley who went the opposite direction from him. She seemed nice enough, maybe this would be the beginning of his life settling into a new normal.

Finley returned the wave with the hand she gripped her phone in before making her way down the stairs and off to her next class, financial accounting. She flipped her phone over in her hand and unlocked it, looking through texts her dad and brother had sent her.

“Best friends with McCall for years now, human part of his pack basically.” Fantastic, Finley groaned audibly after reading the message her dad sent. She finds a nice boy and he’s best friends with Scott McCall and has a girlfriend.

Finley felt her phone vibrate and looked down to see a message from her brother this time. “Well at least McCall is intelligent unlike some of the others we’ve worked with.” That held true.

Finley sighed deeply as she pushed open the door to the business building, why would she be getting herself wrapped up with a guy from Beacon Hills?

[meatismurderbutalsodelicious]

BBC Afternoon TV Chicken Curry (Circa 1981)

Chicken curry with chutney and plain yogurt over rice

I’ve been making this recipe since I was 16. 

Growing up in Ireland in a single-parent household, I picked up the cooking bug pretty early on. Mostly I had enjoyed watching my grandmother cook, and on the weekends, my mother.

Our grandparents, our mother’s parents, helped raise my siblings and I when we lived in the Greater Los Angeles area in the mid-1970s, before 1977 when we up and moved to Dublin, Ireland where my mother’s family originated.

Even back then, TV was the afternoon babysitter, and despite having only a whopping four stations to watch—BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV and RTE—we managed to be well-entertained and informed.

My older brother, Alan, and I attended St. Paul’s College in Raheny, Dublin. An all-boys school run by Vincentian priests, it was all very Harry Potter with the uniforms and blazers and school crests, but decidedly less magical.

At the time, the Irish Republic required secondary (high) school students to attend a particular number of school hours per year, and to make the quota, we had a half-day on Wednesdays. If memory serves, we were let off class at the odd time of 1:10 p.m.

I’d go home, make lunch and watch the women’s afternoon programs on BBC1 or ITV. Now, back in the day, there was an afternoon chat show that a cute, portly blond middle-aged fellow with a beard used to co-host. And almost every Wednesday, the show would have a cooking segment and that’s where I learned this recipe. 

Now, this is a particularly British curry; in that, long before chicken tikka masala became the number one dish for British soccer hooligans, this was considered an authentic “curry”. But, as I matured and my experience and palate broadened, I realized this was less an authentic Indian curry and more some weird amalgam of ingredients from every South Asian and South East Asian country the Brits ever colonized.

But I learned to make it, and it’s become a staple of my family meal repertoire, alongside French Toast, and pancakes. If Mom roasted a chicken for Sunday dinner, then a chicken curry was on the dinner menu for Monday. 

Despite being raised in Ireland, our mother insisted we recognize and acknowledge our US roots. So, while we lived in Ireland we celebrated Thanksgiving every year and this recipe became part of family post-Thanksgiving ritual that went on for many years. (Imagine my surprise when I learned a few years back that the mother of the protagonist in “Bridget Jones Diary”—the books and films I’ve neither read nor seen—had her own post-Christmas Turkey curry buffet!)

Roast chicken. We’ve all been there; we’ve all got at least one chicken breast, a leg and a thigh just waiting there to be turned into chicken salad or a dry sandwich. This is where this recipe comes in to save the day.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of Ghee (Indian clarified butter) or 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.

1 large onion, diced

1 small birds eye red chili or a 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes (this is to your taste, so add as much or as little as you desire)

1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger root

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 tablespoon curry powder

1/2 cup of raisins

4 cloves of garlic

1 cinnamon stick

4 to 5 green cardamon seeds

1 teaspoon black pepper corns

1/2 cup of roasted of unsalted peanuts or cashews, ground up in a food processor (or two large tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter).

Juice of one fresh lemon

1/2 a tart apple (Granny Smith)

1 can of coconut milk (full fat, or why bother?)

1 can low sodium chicken or veggie broth

A pound of cooked chicken, preferably breast and thighs

1/2 cup of frozen peas

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

OK, in a Dutch Oven or a nice broad and deep wok or pan, sauté the onions, raisins, garlic, peppercorns, chili, cardamon in the ghee or butter/oil mixture. I use one medium size birds eye red chili that I halve or quarter, piercing the skin to let the oils free. You want to cook the vegetables until they are glistening and beginning to caramelize. The raisins should begin to plump.

If they absorb too much of the oil, just add more, then mix in and sauté the crushed spices. Keep an eye on the pan, you want the spices to begin to brown, but you don’t want them to burn. When the onions are browned and the raisins begin to bloat, add the juice of one whole lemon, grate in the fresh ginger and then shred at least half of the apple's flesh into the mix. 

Before you add the liquid, you will want to remove the cinnamon stick. Add the coconut milk.

Now, add the same amount of chicken or vegetable broth, I use the coconut milk can to make sure it’s an equal measure. If it's too runny, then add a cup of creamy plain yogurt, if it’s too thick, a cup of water. Add in two tablespoons of peanut butter. The ketchup goes in last to bring out the sweetness and color. Lower the temperature to a nice simmer, stirring occasionally.

Now, break out the protein. We had a roast chicken earlier in the week and had a breast, a leg and thigh leftover. No need to be polite, just shred the meat with your hands.

Now, fold in the chicken until every last piece is submerged and coated. This chicken is cooked, so now you don’t want it to become rubbery. Set the heat on the stove to as low as it can go, so that the curry is slightly simmering.

Now, when I get to this stage, this is where I begin to work on rice, which should only take about 20 minutes to cook. Take the time to stir in your two tablespoons of ketchup, this is for acidity and sweetness. Finally, fold in the peas and the finely chopped cilantro in the last five minutes of cooking. This adds brightness and color to the dish.

If you’re going to go all “authentic”, use basmati rice, but Jasmine works just as well as long as you rinse it well before you boil it to get rid of the excess starch. This ensures firm, separate grains that are not sticky.

[vitabenedetta-blog]

Recipe Eats

Lets be honest, as fun as it is to go out and enjoy a nice meal and some fancy drinks with friends, this can get expensive (especially as college students). Many times as students we resort to ordering Jimmy John’s and spending our spare cash when we are tight on time. College is hectic. Between classes, work, family obligations, sleep, exercise, and trying to have a life, grocery shopping and cooking homemade meals is usually put on the backburner. 

Thankfully, grocery shopping and meal prepping can be quick and easy with my guide to recipe eats. Being prepared before a trip to the grocery store will save you time and prevent you from mindlessly buying food that will just go bad later on in the week. Also, never go to the grocery store hungry. You will be tempted to put everything and anything under the sun in that cart of yours. I promise, it is a disaster waiting to happen for your credit card.

Every weekend I do a clean sweep of my refrigerator and freezer. I get rid of things that have accumulated throughout the week (leftover Topper’s) and certain ingredients that I am choosing not to consume (sugar). I take out a pencil and paper and write down my grocery list the old fashioned way, based on the meals I want to make for the week. Having roommates in college means sharing a tiny refrigerator. Cleaning and restocking every weekend ensures you are not wasting space with uneaten food and only buying ingredients that you plan on eating that week. I highly recommend buying meal containers on Amazon that take up the least amount of space to easily store cooked food in the refrigerator. 

Here Are Some Of My Grocery Staples

PRODUCE 

My favorite place to buy produce is Costco. The big packs of fruits and veggies will last you all week so that you will not have to make multiple trips to the store; however, I purchase my bananas and avocados at Kwik Trip since they tend to go bad fast. The awesome thing about this time of year is being able to take advantage of the farmer’s market. You can always find ingredients such as lettuce mix, strawberries and sweet potatoes at the market for cheap! 

Broccoli 

Romaine 

Lemons 

Strawberries 

Bananas 

Blueberries 

Raspberries 

Sweet Potatoes 

Avocados 

Brussel Sprouts

DAIRY 

In my house, dairy is kept to a minimum. If I do purchase dairy I am extremely cautious about sourcing. Dairy has been linked to inflammation and breakouts and overall always upsets my stomach. Instead of cow’s milk, I find dairy products that are made with almond milk; however, this is completely a personal preference. I enjoy going to Whole Foods to purchase my non-dairy products. 

Almond Milk (New Barn)

Cheese (Kite Hill) Yogurt (Kite Hill) 

Ice Cream Probiotics (Good Belly) 

Ghee Butter 

PROTEIN 

Unless going out for a burger and fries with friends, I choose not to consume red meat, so you will never find it in my refrigerator. I do not have anything against red meat, I am just one of those weird texture people. I gravitate toward turkey-based meats. 

Boca Burgers

Lean Ground Turkey 

Tuna 

Eggs 

Turkey Bacon 

GRAINS

If you know one thing about me, it’s probably that I cannot get enough of carbohydrates. I basically grew up on bread and pasta. Unfortunately as my metabolism has slowed down, this habit also did. I still love grains. Everything in moderation! 

Banza Pasta (made with chickpeas) 

Sourdough Bread 

Perfect Bars 

Granola 

Oats

Siete Tortilla Chips 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Hu Chocolate Bars 

Georgia Grinders Almond Butter 

Protein Powder Cacao Powder

After an inside look at my grocery list and refrigerator, we can begin the meal prep. Here are some of my favorite recipe eats for the school year! You can always double the recipes to share with roommates or family. 

BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES 

These are a perfect dessert for chocoholics and pair well with dairy free ice cream. You can even make ice cream sandwiches! 

Ingredients:

-2/3 cup oats, blended to flour 

-2 tbsp. peanut butter 

-1tbsp. flax seed 

-1 tbsp. maple syrup 

-1 banana, mashed 

-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 

-Pinch of sea salt 

-1/4 cup dark chocolate chips 

Recipe: 

1) Blend oats, about 20 seconds 

2) Combine all ingredients 

3) Scoop onto cookie sheet, 1 tbsp. size, make round shape 

4) Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes 

5) Dip into melted chocolate and sprinkle with sea salt 

SMOKED SALMON TOAST 

Toast is my go-to lunch. It takes the least amount of time for when I am running between classes and homework. It is also the best for using up just about any ingredient in your refrigerator. 

Ingredients: 

-Slice of sourdough bread 

-Kite Hill cheese spread 

-Avocado

-Smoked Salmon (Aldi) 

-Egg 

-Everything But The Bagel seasoning (Trader Joes) 

Recipe: 

1) Toast sourdough bread 

2) Cook egg over easy on stovetop with butter 

3) Mash avocado 

4) Combine all ingredients on toast 

BANZA BOWL 

This bowl is a great pasta alternative, with a variety of flavors that cures my Noodles and Company cravings! 

Ingredients: 

-Banza pasta 

-Zucchini 

-Turkey meatballs 

-Kite Hill cheese spread 

-Mushrooms 

-Tahini 

-Tomato basil sauce (Trader Joes) 

Recipe: 

1) Cook pasta 

2) Spiral zucchini 

3) Cook spiraled zucchini in microwave with butter for about 2 minutes 

4) Cook mushrooms on stovetop

5) Microwave turkey meatballs for 2 minutes

6) Once pasta is cooked, combine with desired amount of tomato basil sauce 

7) Combine all ingredients in bowl 

8) Top with cheese spread 

9) Drizzle with tahini 

BUDDAH BOWL WITH JALAPEÑO TAHINI DRESSING 

It is like Chipotle but in your kitchen and much cheaper. 

Ingredients: 

-Avocado

-Olives 

-Turkey burger

-Limes

-Lettuce mix 

-Cilantro 

-Goat cheese 

-Zucchini 

Jalapeño Tahini Dressing:

-1/4 cup Tahini 

-1 seedless jalapeño 

-Lemon 

-Salt 

-Almond milk 

Recipe: 

1) Cook turkey burger on stove top 

2) Spiral zucchini 

3) Cook spiraled zucchini in microwave with butter for about 2 minutes 

4) Combine lettuce mix, cooked zucchini, cilantro 

5) Slice avocado 

6) Place cooked turkey burger, lime, avocado, olives, and goat cheese on top of greens 

7) Drizzle dressing 

SWEET STRAWBERRY TOAST 

This breakfast is perfect for that weekend morning sweet tooth without having to drive to Denny’s. 

Ingredients: 

-Sourdough bread 

-Strawberries 

-Honey 

-Cinnamon 

-Probiotic yogurt (coyo) 

-Almond butter 

Recipe: 

1) Toast bread 

2) Spread almond butter 

3) Add sliced strawberries 

4) Top with honey, cinnamon, and a spoonful of probiotic yogurt 

ACAI BOWL 

A refreshing combination for a hot summer day! 

Ingredients: 

-Frozen strawberries 

-Fresh strawberries

-Frozen bananas 

-Frozen pineapple 

-Sweetener 

-Almond milk 

-Vanilla protein powder 

-Almond butter 

-Honey

-Coconut shreds 

-Granola 

-Chia seeds 

Recipe: 

1) Blend frozen strawberries, bananas, and pineapple in a blender with sweetener, almond milk, vanilla protein powder, almond butter, and honey 

2) Pour into a bowl 

3) Top with fresh strawberries, honey, coconut shreds, granola, and chia seeds 

SWEET POTATO PANCAKES 

The perfect mixture of savory and sweet for the indecisive. This recipe is even Whole30 approved! 

Ingredients: 

-Sweet potato 

-Banana, mashed 

-2 eggs 

-Butter 

-Probiotic yogurt (coyo) 

-Almond butter 

-Honey 

-Cinnamon 

Recipe: 

1) Cook sweet potato in microwave for 4 minutes 

2) Mash sweet potato with fork 

3) Combine mashed sweet potato, mashed banana, and 2 eggs in a bowl 

4) Cook over a griddle with butter 

5) Top with almond butter, probiotic yogurt, honey, and cinnamon

MAC AND NO CHEESE 

The dairy free alternative for a mac n’ cheese lover. I mean we do live in Wisconsin people.

Ingredients: 

-Banza pasta 

-1 tbsp. nutritional yeast 

-1/3 cup cashews 

-1/3 cup roasted butternut squash 

-Lemon -1/4 cup water 

-Salt 

Recipe: 

1) Cook pasta 

2) Blend all sauce ingredients together slowly, adding in water until desired consistency reached 

3) Pour sauce over pasta and heat 

Finale 

I hope my grocery list and recipes help you break the staying-in stigma. Cooking is a great date idea, especially paired with a glass of wine and a movie! It is also a peaceful study break and a way to get your body up and moving from your couch on a Sunday. These recipes are easy! Trust me, I am not a whiz in the kitchen. I stick to simple recipes made with the least amount of ingredients that taste awesome and make me feel great. 

Next time you pick up processed foods at a gas station or on campus at school, turn it around and look at the list of ingredients. You will be surprised by how many ingredients you have never heard of and most likely cannot even pronounce. What we are choosing to put in our bodies matters and affects the way we feel, behave, and perform each and every day. Remember, you do not have to be perfect. No one is. Perfection is boring, but be different by caring about yourself. I cannot wait to see you recreate my recipes. 

Please make sure to send me pictures or tag me on social media. 

Instagram: @vitabenedetta 

Facebook: @ViBenedetta 

Twitter: @ViBenedetta Tell me. 

Do you prefer to stay in and cook meals or go out? Comment below.

[thedefinitionofbts]

In Your Eyes

Pairings: Jeon Jungkook x Reader ft. the rest of BTS

Genre: Fluff, Comedy, Drabble

Words: 2.5K

Description: Jungkook is not adept at interacting with girls, especially not ones he’s been crushing on for years. 

A/N: Because I really needed this after all the Jungkook angst. 

“Doing 10 more reps is not going to make you feel any better you know.”

Jungkook grunts, before placing the weight back on the rack. 

“You’ve been at it for hours. Take a break man.” Seokjin takes another sip from his water bottle, using the towel draped over his shoulder to wipe the trickle of sweat that’s started to run down from his forehead.

It had only been a couple of weeks ago that Seokjin started dragging the younger male along with him to the gym. He thought it’d take more convincing, but the mention of girls being attracted to fit guys was all it took to get Jungkook off the couch he’s been playing video games on for the past few months. He didn’t expect Jungkook to become this obsessed with weight training, didn’t think the nerd had it in him, but boy was he wrong. 

“I’m this close to hitting my goal body fat percentage.” Jungkook sits up from the bench and grabs his usual blend of protein powder and mineral water, biceps twitching as he lifts the bottle to pour the liquid down his throat.

“Don’t tell me you’re already treating this like gaming stats.”

“You need to have goals in your life.” 

“What’s the point? You don’t even take shirtless post-workout selfies.” Seokjin turns to face the mirror and begins stretching, admiring his self-proclaimed perfect face in the process. “And if you think your newly developed muscles are going to just translate over to your nonexistent social skills, I have some bad news for you bro.” 

“I just want to see improvement ok?” Jungkook defends, walking over to the next station. 

“You seriously think I don’t know the real reason you’re pushing yourself so hard?” Seokjin glances over to eye the sweaty boy who’s now moved on to legs. “You literally hid behind a bush when you saw her walking towards you last week.”

“I was still in my sweaty gym clothes!” Jungkook exclaims, as if it could pass as an excuse. 

“And what about the time you kept laughing after everything she said, even when it wasn’t meant to be funny?

“I was nervous.”

“When are you not when you’re around her?”

Jungkook doesn’t have a response to that. He knows Seokjin knows. There’s no point in hiding the fact that he’s harbored a crush on you since he saw you walking down the halls for the first time in high school.

“Do you want me to just talk to her for you?”

“What the hell? No!” Jungkook snaps back. “I mean, what would you even say?”

“Umm, hey Y/N, I have a friend who’s a couple years younger than both you and I. You know that kid who’s super awkward around new people and especially you because he’s had a huge crush on you for years now. So…you interested in going on a date with him?” Seokjin cracks up, unrestrained windshield wiper laugh reverberating through the gym making some annoyed heads turn.

“Fuck off” Jungkook mutters, rolling his eyes.

“Hey, I’m just trying to help.”

“Remind me why we’re friends?”

“Because I’m in the same year as her, and you kept asking me for updates when I left for college and you were still stuck in high school.”

Jungkook groans, he knew that decision would come back to haunt him, but he just couldn’t help himself back then could he?

 …

 “Dude” Taehyung sighs. “Just ask her out. The worst she can say is no.” He proceeds to pick up his controller after stuffing a hand full of chips into his mouth, talking mid-chew with eyes still glued to the screen.

“I can’t. It’ll crush every dream I’ve ever had.” Jungkook tilts his head up and squeezes his eyes shut. “And not in that way! You know what I mean!” He quickly adds before Taehyung’s eccentric mind can run off to god knows where. 

“You’re acting like her rejecting you is the end of the world.” The older male huffs, leaning back on the couch the two of them were huddled on. 

“It is!” Jungkook cries, burying his face in his hands.  

Taehyung shakes his head. “You’re so whipped. Just look at yourself. Training your ass off with Seokjin, wearing clothes you used to hate just because you think she might like guys who dress fancy.” Taehyung stops playing and turns to Jungkook. “Name brands were always my thing.”

“I borrowed that weird patterned shirt one time!” Jungkook exasperates, recalling how hideous he thought it was; yet still forcing himself to throw it on despite it not being his preferred style. “You’re never going to let it go are you?”

“It was Gucci!” Taehyung exasperates, making a clearly offended face.

 …

 “The way you literally choke on your words every time you try to say hi to her, does not match all of this.” Jimin gestures towards Jungkook’s perfectly proportioned body.

“What?” Jungkook crossed his arms defensively, making his practically see through white button up crinkle near the chest area.  

Jimin huffs a shortened laugh. “In case you actually don’t own a mirror-which sometimes I question if you do, you’re fucking hot.” Jimin’s voice echoes throughout the empty dance studio. He’s stopped stretching his legs and has begun examining his own hair in the mirror, running a hand through his soft locks and making sure they look on point like always.

The door to the studio opens and a sleepy Hoseok walks in. “All I heard is ‘you’re fucking hot’, and I don’t want to know the context.” He says as he drops his bag and begins changing into more comfortable shoes.  

“Hobi! You’re late.” Jimin accuses.  

“I worked an overnight shift.” The older male responds, letting out a long exhale before starting his routine warm-up.

“I see you’re back to Timberlands” Hoseok comments as he eyes Jungkook’s boots, clearly remembering Namjoon’s comment on how the boy is recently changing up his sense of fashion.

“I-I never moved on from them,” Jungkook says feeling a bit embarrassed as he looks down at his favorite pair of shoes. He knew he was going to be in the dance studio all day, so there was no need to dress to impress because he wouldn’t be seeing anyone (especially not you) except Hoseok and Jimin.

“He only dresses up when there’s a chance to run into you know who.” Jimin blurts out, causing the youngest male to run up and tackle him.

“Who? Y/N?” Hoseok asks raising a brow, interest sparked for the first time since he got out of bed today.

“Yeah, he thinks it’ll get her to notice him.”

“Hyung!” Jungkook whines.

“Hey, I wasn’t finished yet. I was about to add how unnecessary it is when you look good in everything anyways.“ Jimin flashes him an angelic smile, making Jungkook loosen his hold on him.  

“Oh, so that’s why you’ve been acting so weird lately.” Hoseok comes to realization. “Can’t blame you though, she’s really pretty and like what, 3 years older?”

“Almost 4” Jimin corrects.

Jungkook feels like he wants to crawl into a hole and never come out. Why were his friends like this? God, he shouldn’t have been so obvious about his crush on you, but he was never good at hiding his true feelings, especially not when his hyungs were all so observant. 

 …

  “Namjoon?” Jungkook begins to ask. “You think you could help me, uh, compose a song or something?”

Namjoon glances up from his laptop. “Yeah, sure. But can I ask why you suddenly want to do something I’ve been trying to spark your interest in for ages?”

“Oh no reason, just I, uh, wanted to, I mean…I-I like music?” Jungkook mentally curses for being so non-covert.

Namjoon chuckles lightly. “You want to write a song for Y/N right?” Namjoon grins, hitting the target and getting straight to the point.

“I-I….yeah…I guess that’s what I was considering.” Jungkook admits.

“Of course I’ll help, but you should probably allow her to get to know you before gifting her a random love song.” Namjoon laughs again. “That might just scare her off.”

“Y-yeah, I’m working on that.” Jungkook knows he’s hopeless. He’ll never gather the courage to actually talk to you, not when he’s barely able to look you in the eye when he’s attempting to just say hi. “I’m just bad at expressing my feelings or just talking to girls in general.”

Namjoon smiles warmly, dimples forming on the sides of his cheeks. “Honestly though, the best way is to just be yourself.” He encourages. “I’m sure she’ll find a lot of things about you to be charming.”

  …

  Jungkook’s never been one to strike up random conversations with strangers, but he figures Yoongi was just giving him a chance to practice honing his social skills. That is, until he sees you walking into the coffee shop. He immediately diverts his eyes, training his gaze onto the cars passing by outside and hoping that you’re not actually walking towards their table.

Yoongi didn’t mention who the person joining you guys was, and he prays his horrible instincts are being their normal horrible selves and that you won’t-

“Yoongi!”

This can’t be happening.

“Y/N!” Jungkook can practically see the signature half-smile plastered on Yoongi’s face, but no, he refuses to turn and acknowledge the reality of the situation.

No, this is not happening. Maybe if he closes his eyes-

“You’re Jungkook, right?” He hears the sweet melody of a females voice drift to his ears.

Fuck.

“H-h-hi” Jungkook says, clearing his throat and shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“Glad you could make it, Y/N.” Yoongi says, smiling as if nothing was wrong, and pretending like this was the most natural situation he could’ve thrown the youngster in, and not purposefully set up at all. “I wanted to officially introduce the two of you. I know you’ve already met, but-”

Yoongi’s phone vibrates before he can finish. Jungkook watches intently as the male looks down and checks the message. “Oh, looks like Namjoon janked up the microwave again. I gotta go fix that shit before the guy starves or burns down the apartment trying to cook.” Yoongi puts on a fake sad face.

Yoongi can’t be leaving. Jungkook’s eyes widen in horror.

“You guys don’t mind if I head out right?”

Jungkook opens his mouth to protest but you reply before he has the chance to.

“Oh yeah, you go ahead. We’ll be fine.” You smile at Jungkook who glances at you shyly before fixing his large doe-eyes back on the empty table in front of him.

Yoongi sighs. “The guy has an IQ of a genius, but he’s a total klutz.”

Jungkook hears you laugh, but he’s sweating so much he wonders why the fucking AC in the shop feels like it’s turned off when it’s actually on full blast.  

 …

 “So you’re a college freshman now, right?” You turn to Jungkook after Yoongi leaves, trying to focus on creating a lighter mood. You’ve always known he was the extremely introverted type, someone who takes a while to open up.

“Y-yeah, starting soon, classes starting-” You giggle at the way he squeezes his eyes shut and mutters something under his breathe when his sentence doesn’t come out coherently.

“Hey, well congrats on surviving high school.” You still remember seeing him in the hallways back then, the scrawny kid who would look away every time you waved at him. You had asked Seokjin about it, but the older male just said he was a shy one. Seeing him act the same way now was utterly endearing, and you liked how his sweet personality hasn’t changed despite the noticeable transformation in his physique.

“High school, yeah.” Jungkook mutters. “Y-you’re uh, almost done with college right?” Jungkook winces at the way the pitch of his voice gradually got higher as he finished that last sentence. Because puberty still likes to pay him random visits now and then.  

You giggle again. “Yup, I’m in my last year, but I’ll be attending grad school at the same university.”

Jungkook’s eyebrows lift in surprise. “T-that means you’ll still be here…”

“Mmm-hm” You hum in confirmation. “So if you ever need help with school, hit me up.”

“Y-you’d do that?”

“Of course. We’ve known each other long enough.” You reply nonchalantly.

“Hehe, y-yeah. Known each other…”

“You know, on the outside you look like the type of guy who would just fuck a girl and leave, but on the inside you’re like super nerdy and a complete jokester with your friends. Am I right?” You give him a knowing look.

Jungkook’s jaw drops.

“Sorry, I should’ve been more refined with that statement. I guess what I’m trying to say is, you totally seem like the type who’s super soft but hides under a hardened shell.” You watch as an astonished expression washes over his face. “It’s the vibe you always given off.”

You still remember the days he was always dressed in a hoodie too big for him or that white shirt he must either continuously wash or own several of the same kind. You briefly wonder why he’s recently stopped sporting the style that you’ve grown to associate him with.

“Always?” He wonders how long you’ve been analyzing him to come up with such an accurate portrayal. He’s usually misunderstood.

“Yeah, ever since I first saw you back in high school. And I totally thought you hated me or something.” You chuckle, recalling how he seemed to avoid you at all costs. “You don’t actually… hate me right?” You slowly lift your eyes to meet his, waiting for a response.

“No!” Jungkook answers quicker than his reflexes can even allow. “Y/N, I’ve actually liked you since high school. Like, like-like. And I’m just so nervous around you and super socially awkward in general, and I didn’t want to come off weird and shit. Uh, fuck.” He blurts out, finally revealing his feelings that he’s kept hidden from you for so long. It’s the most embarrassing thing he’s done to date, and he swears he’ll hide away from society for good after this day. “Haha, wow, I can’t believe I just said that.” He bites his bottom lip, feeling his cheeks blossom into the darkest shade of rose that’s physically possible.

You feel your heart skip a beat as his confession, a feeling that gradually spreads as a soothing warmth throughout your chest. “A-actually, I have too.” You admit, voice soft and shy, much like his is 90% of the time.

Jungkook is speechless at that moment, just gaping at you for what feels like an eternity because this obviously can’t be real.

“W-what?” Jungkook feels like he’s in a dream. How was this possible? There’s no way you could’ve just admitted that you’ve had a crush on him too, and since fucking high school. This can’t be real. This can’t.

“Jungkook, I’ve liked you since then too.” You repeat, firmer this time because he looks like he’s in a daze. 

Jungkook has to swallow before replying because he’s still in the most shocked state he ever been in. “R-really?”

You nod, eyes gazing into his with a sincere resolve.

“Shit. I can’t believe. Wow.” Jungkook doesn’t know what to do with himself in that moment, but he’s so fucking relieved he feels like someone just transported him to heaven. This was actually real. “Wait, d-does that mean you’ll, uh… go out-”

“Yes, Jungkook.” You smile tenderly. “The answer is yes.”

...

[theaggielandsupplements]

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[shitsha]

ahh your art is so fantastic! I would love to know more about your human au :3c

I’ll die for you.

Basically everyone went to the same college, earth gems are the ones that are successful in academia, Moon gems either drop out or like got a job before even graduating. It’s literally just because the gem cave looks a school lmao also um gems that got pulverized are just studying aboard now so nobody dies

Here’s some hc I got

. The diamonds are siblings. Yellow is the oldest and bort is the youngest, dia has a bad case of middle child complex. Dia runs the family pet store/animal shelter, bort and yellow help out sometimes, but they always just end up playing w the dogs.

.Bortz likes to meal prep for the fam, yellow thinks it’s cute but they secretly throws them away, dia eats everything bortz made but Lowkey hates it, bc like McDonald’s good or whatever you know.

. Yellow and padpa go to local arcade to bully teens and children at dance dance revolution

. Padpa has a gaming YouTube channel, they upload like twice a month but all their videos get a lot views bc uhhhh padpa hot?

. Ok phos time! Phos and lapis are siblings, and phos like to idolize lapis. So um they think lapis is like super cool, so they got surgeries to look more like lapis.

.lapis is the one that got phos into computer science and phos worked really hard to get into the same college lapis went to. But then lapis went to jail, for like some cyber crimes, like I love lapis so much and they are def a scammer, and phos just kinda stopped going school.

.shinsha hc time!!! This is gonna be long I think about them a lot lmao. First off I wanna apologize for my fellow shinsha stans for hc them as a mathematician…but I promise i have legit reasonings. Like they are so lonely and what they do hurt other ppl but also it’s useful in a way? Idk it makes sense in head also I am a clown that loves to project you know!!!

. Shinsha is unironically a monster energy drink fan, they have all their merch and stuff like I love shinsha but they cannot dress themselves AT ALL. Their wardrobe is literally just a bunch of over sized gas station t shirts and bike shorts. They don’t even own socks(this is canon).

.shinsha is a TA they don’t got an office hour, they made all their students talk in them via e-mails only. And they are the type to just reply “ok” in an e-mail.

. Shinsha hasn’t eaten cooked food since freshman year, they live off of protein powder and instant coffee mixture and vending machine foods

[itsjaybullme]

The Muscle Behind Appalachian State's Football Program

Tim Cowie

If you think of anything when you hear the words “Appalachian State football,” it’s probably that wild game in 2007 against Michigan. In case you don’t remember, here’s a quick refresher: The App State Mountaineers—hailing from the NCAA’s lower rung of Division I football, the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)—traveled to the Big House in Ann Arbor, MI, and, in front of more than 109,000 fans, shocked the fifth-ranked Wolverines with a thrilling 34–32 victory.

The game landed App State on the cover of Sports Illustrated, which later dubbed it “The Greatest Upset of Them All.” In short: It was a historic moment.

But today, the App State football team is much more than a one-moment program. The Mountaineers won three straight FCS national championships from 2005–07. Then in 2014, the squad jumped to the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), where all of college football’s biggest programs reside.

The next season, the Mountaineers finished 11–2 and won their first-ever bowl game. In 2016, the team went bowling again, defeating a Toledo squad that included a future NFL star. At press time, the Mountaineers are bowl-eligible and appear headed to yet another post-season game.

So you might be wondering: How does a newly promoted football program representing a school in a tiny mountain town (population of Boone, NC: about 19,000) enjoy so much success in the ultra-competitive world of Division I college football? The answer, in large part, has to do with how it trains—and feeds—its players. Which brings us to App State strength and conditioning coach Mike Sirignano.

Lift, Eat, Repeat

When Sirignano arrived at App State in 2015, he inherited a bit of a mess.

“The weight room alone, as far as maintenance and cleanliness, was out of control,” recalls Sirignano, who previously coached at South Carolina. “That had to be fixed right away.”

Next, Sirignano started establishing a more disciplined, physical, competitive culture in the weight room.

[RELATED1]

But the biggest change Sirignano implemented was on the nutrition side. While at South Carolina, he had helped create the first football-only college nutrition program in the country, so he knew he wanted upgrades. To aid his cause, Sirignano staffed up, boosting the athletic department’s roster for strength and nutrition from two employees to nearly 20. One of those additions is Marisa Faibish, director of performance nutrition, who previously helped fuel soldiers in the U.S. Army Special Forces.

Another addition is Eric Hillman, the team’s “size” coach. Hillman, a sports supplement distributor who now works with many D-I football nutritionists and strength coaches, says he takes pride in being the only size coach in college football—for now, anyway. “I think the new secret weapon in college football is going to be a size coach,” says Hillman. “It’s a selling point with recruits.”

Together, the staff provides App State players with the right nutrients at the right time. This includes an array of CytoMax and Muscle Milk products. “We try to get as much protein in their bodies as possible,” Sirignano says. “We want to keep them anabolic 24/7.”

The daily ritual goes like this: In the morning, players pick up a snack bag that contains Muscle Milk protein bars and shakes, almonds, Greek yogurts, and peanut butter. They’ll eat a protein snack before they lift, then afterward they’ll replenish with protein and carbs. They eat breakfast, snack on protein between classes, eat lunch, and down a CytoMax hydration drink before practice and a Muscle Milk protein shake afterward.

Then there’s dinner and a final snack before bed. All told, an App State lineman could be consuming anywhere from 4,000 to 8,000 calories per day, including as much as two grams of protein for every pound of body weight.

Getting Stronger

The commitment to nutrition is paying off. Players are dropping a lot less weight during pre-season camp, says Hillman, and over time, App State’s guys are adding the size they need to compete with deeper-pocketed, more nationally known programs. It’s the way it has to be for a school like App State, the coaches say: Recruit undersized, overlooked athletes and bulk them up.

“Our starting left tackle came into the program at 229 pounds, 2 1⁄2 years ago,” Sirignano says. “He’s 289 pounds now. It’s about development. We set weight goals for them, and we slowly get them there. We’re never gonna get the 6'4", 305-pound guy right off the hoof. We’re gonna have to build them up.”

Of course, the ultimate goal of all this player development is that it translates to the occasional jaw-dropping upset. And in truth, it has been a while since the Mountaineers pulled one off.

This season they came close, suffering a brutal one-point loss to Wake Forest. In 2016, they took a ranked Tennessee team to overtime. But who knows—next year they open the season against Penn State.

Like the Michigan game in 2007, it will pit them against a powerful Big 10 team, inside a 100,000-plus stadium filled with rabid, opposing fans. If the Nittany Lions are smart, they won’t underestimate their opponent.

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from Bodybuilding Feed https://www.muscleandfitness.com/features/edge/muscle-behind-appalachian-states-football-program via http://www.rssmix.com/

[shoemon]

6.5 cities in 4 weeks

(Delhi, Raipur, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Tirupati, Mahabalipuram)

I received a lot of flak from friends and family for my sort of rampant traveling the last month(fairly so). However, it was a very affordable and interesting trip. Here is how I travelled to 4 corners of India in 4 weeks.

My trip started with a work trip to Delhi(City 1) for 2 weeks. Everybody was worried about the crazy smog and pollution levels in the city, including my friends there. The first half hour were the hardest when I stepped out of the airport and the first breath felt like I was in a chemical factory. It took a few hours to acclimatise to the air but it soon felt better. My favourite part of the time in the city was the perfect temperature. The kind where you need a sweatshirt/light jacket and need to stuff your hands in the pocket while walking about in the evening. To add to the delight of Delhi, I had a lot of baked sweet potato(Sakkar Kandi), tandoori momos, and chai. I also got to visit Lodi gardens, some quaint cafes, and many friends.

After Delhi, in place of returning to Mumbai- I took a flight to Raipur(City 2) and began my 2 weeks holiday. Going to non-metro cities in India is something I started only last year when adulthood events like weddings started happening. These cities are super fascinating because not only the pace of life is slower, but also things are much simpler. One doesn’t need to plan the entire day to the T because of simple commutes, the cabs are super cheap, and people mostly nice. I stayed at my friends house and ate a lot of yummy Marwari food. I never knew Khakra with fresh butter and this red powder(hing) tasted so good. I also visited historical school called the Rajkumar College where the princes of royal families in the eastern British provinces in India would come to study. Ended the trip with a drive in Smart City of Raipur.

After this, I took an overnight train(Just Rs.1000) to Kolkata(City 3) to see my extended family and chill for a few days. I was greeted by the familiar chill that I had experienced in Delhi, and also sunset at 4:30pm. I did a couple of runs to and from from my dadi house to nani house(parents’ parents’ houses) and ate a LOT of yummy bong delicacies.

Next I headed to Bhubaneshwar(City 4) for a wedding(6 hours train, Rs. 600). That was 2 nights of partying and fun. Going to Indian weddings are an incredible opportunity to see a new place and meet new people. So we hung around a bit in the local markets, and enjoyed some local restaurant. The fish preparations in Odisha are to die for! I also realised that wedding buffets are wasted on me. Being on a careful food diet for a long time now, I am automatically drawn to only fiber and proteins. So my plate basically had a lot of salads and chicken, mutton, fish, prawn etc. I enjoyed them a lot!

I have this thing I tell everyone “Choose your calories!”, because you cannot say no to all yummy food but you can to useless staples like rice and rotis. They are rarely “yummy” and just give you pointless calories which can be spent on awesome desserts, for example.

I headed back to Kolkata for a day and then took a really long train to Chennai(City 5) which costed Rs. 1700 for a 29 hours ride. This was in the prestigious “Coromandel Express” which traverses the entire east coast of India. I was traveling on this route for the first time so this was very exciting. The new train stations and people who joined and left the train on way was a great sight. The first hour in Chennai was a very pleasant surprise. I was impressed about how clean the city was. In terms of people, everyone seemed to follow public orders and there seemed no traffic anywhere. Roads were broad and beautiful as well. I spent 3 days in a wedding of a real close friend so there was a lot of work to do and events to plan. To top it all, there was the best grand south Indian meals 3 times a day, served on a banana leaf. This was the one time I completely forgot about the diet and enjoyed every grain on my plate. Each dish(there were around 15-25 each meal) tasted different in terms of texture and temperature as well. There was an intense desire to take a nap, which had to be countered with tonnes filter coffee.

The fourth day day we went to Tirupati(City 0.5, because it was just a day trip) with the newly wed couple. As the car climbed up the hill, the winding way and forest reached deep into our souls preparing us for the spiritual experience. We experienced a mini-miracle when the 2 hour queue was shortened to 30 mins when a priest suddenly appeared and let us in through a shortcut secret gateway skipping most of the queue. This is important because most people were leaving from Chennai that night and were about to miss flight, if we had stayed in the queue for 2 hours. I personally LOVED seeing the early 14th century inscriptions on the stone walls of the temple. It was almost symbols but you could see resemblance to modern day script of Telegu and experience language development. I really enjoying going to old temples or religious enclaves because you get to see culture and traditions in their purest forms. Sometimes they are stressful, but we can look beyond that to the honest human submission in front of a superpower.

After relaxing that night in Chennai for a much needed rest day, we headed to Mahabalipuram(City 6.5). Evening was spent in checking out the local stores and a long dinner at a beach shack. We started early morning to check out the beautiful shore temples, constructed in early 7th century! It is eroded a little bit, but it is unbelievable how beautiful the work is. Such craftsmanship was only possible in that day and age. Being a coastal town in the southern part of India, the temperature got really high as noon approached. The town has a very Goa-like feel but much fewer people. A lot of french people and cafes due to the proximity to Pondicherry, the once french colony. I could’ve spent a few days there chilling but we had to make our way to Chennai to take a flight to Mumbai(A ticket on JetAirways miles) for work next day.

I was gone from 12th November to 10th December, making it a month of traveling. But all in all, it was a very affordable trip. Of course I had to plan very early, rough it up a little in train journeys, smartly build miles using airline co-branded credit card etc. but the efforts were totally worth it. Smart planning for travels is something I have learnt over the years and hope to continue.

[localizee]

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[juliannajymetz-blog]

Julie Eating Healthy

My birthday may be in the summer and Christmas is in the winter, but my favorite time of year is the fall.

As I a child, a new school year begun each September, and there were new colored pencils, Halloween costumes, jumping in piles of leaves, carving pumpkins and trips to the apple orchard. In high school, there were swim meets, homecoming dances and parades, and back to school shopping. Later in college, there was football Saturdays in Ann Arbor. And every year, there were cool breezes, colorful trees, sweatshirts and jackets, chicken noodle soup, apples, zucchini bread, and the return of favorite television shows. It only gets sweeter in the city, with fashion week, a welcome lull in tourism, the cooling of the subway stations, and marathon season.

Training for this marathon has brought a whole new perspective on New York, and it has made me love this city even more. There are so many things you see when you are up and about the city at 6 am or when you dare to venture away from the avenues where you live and eat and work and play.

Despite what you might believe, anyone really can run a marathon. I know you don’t believe that right now, so instead of convincing you that you can, I’m just going to bribe you, brag a little, and basically get all sentimental about all the great things that running for long distances can bring to your life.

Cupcakes, cheeseburgers, macaroni and cheese, chocolate. Whatever food you turn to when you are celebrating or depressed, you can now eat without the worry of gaining weight. Yesterday, I had a giant cookie the size of my head. I literally had to use two hands to eat it. Do I feel guilty about it? Nope? Do I have to skip lunch to compensate for those calories? Nope. I already ran that cookie off this morning.

Sunsets and sunrises. Chances are that you will need to squeeze your runs in early in the morning before everyone is awake or at the end of day, and this means you will witness almost daily sunrises and sunsets. Trust me on this: you will never get sick of a sunrise.

Salt. You know how your doctors are always saying that you need to cut out the salt because it causes heart attacks and high blood pressure? Well, when you sweat profusely for four hours, you lose so much salt that you become in danger of either severe cramping or dehydration. Bring on the potato chips, french fries, and bacon! Shorelines. Maybe it’s because I’m from the Great Lake State, but something about being by water just makes me happy. A lot of great running spots are along the shore, and there is something about the ability to see miles into the distance which helps to clear my head and focus on the future. Plus those cool breezes don’t hurt either.

Eating healthy. I know I already mentioned that you can eat whatever you want, but unless you have the stomach of a rat, you probably won’t be able to eat everything you want all the time. Not if you want to run after eating all that food. Even what I eat the night before a run matters significantly. And so I’ve learned to pick filling, tasty and healthy options before any run over 5 miles. It’s an amazing gift for me to finally understand that a cheeseburger can barely fuel me through a fiver, but whole wheat pasta and vegetables plus a salad with walnuts, blue cheese and apricots can carry me though seventeen.

Dessert for breakfast. Because after rough workouts, your bodies needs calories – and fast – to start repairing and rebuilding muscles, and the best way to refuel is with liquid meals. This morning, I had a strawberry, banana, and vanilla soymilk smoothie with some extra protein powder thrown in.

Discovery and exploration. You might have lived in the same town for twenty years, but when you start running for a marathon, you can’t just run the same three mile loop seven times to get a twenty-miler in. This year, I have run across the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and George Washington bridges. I’ve been through Riverside Park, Battery Park, and Central Park . I’ve seen the Statue of Liberty, run through the South Street Seaport, past the Intrepid Ship, through Columbia University’s campus and pretty much everywhere else in between.

Muscles. I have known about my biceps, quads, calves and a few other muscles well before I started running, but now that I’ve started running I’ve become aware of a whole new set of muscles. Plus all the old muscles I already knew about have become stronger and more ripped than I ever thought possible. Thankfully, running is a lady’s sport and it doesn’t impart big, bulky muscles – just small, hard ones.

Music. Rock, reggae, rap, classical, electronic, indie, emo, alternative, classic rock, country, Motown – whatever it is that moves you to shake your hips, or clap your hands or bop your head, will move you to run, faster, harder and longer than you ever thought possible. And for this, I love my music a million times more. It has become my running buddy, coach and personal cheerleader. I look forward to my long runs, when I always download a few new songs for motivation. Fuel to my fire, if you will.

Sweet dreams. Running exhausts me. Not in the, I’m-so-tired-all-day-that-I-can’t-do-anything way, but in the way that I am asleep minutes after my head hits the pillows. The quality of sleep is deeper and more fulfilling too. When I wake up in the morning, I feel rested and ready for a full day. A good night of sleep is like a weekend getaway, but a month’s worth of good sleep? Like the serenity of a yogi.

Lose yourself. I started running to lose weight, and over twenty pounds were lost. I haven’t missed them since. No matter what your shape, running will make your body look better. It might be better muscle tone in a few troublesome spots, or it might be inches melting off your body. When I set out to lose weight by running, the goal of losing weight became secondary to completing my half marathon. I was no longer obsessing over every bite of food, or worrying about getting in a minimum number of fat burning sessions per week. Everything became about the run, and in turn, I finally was able to lose the weight.

There are many days when I can barely drag myself out of bed to do my morning run. When the only thing that keeps me going is that fact that I’ve already run three miles away from my apartment, and I have no other way to get back home except to run. More than once, I’ve had to stop on the side of the road and have a little cry because the day’s run is so frustrating that I doubt my ability to complete a marathon.

But then there are the days when running is effortless and exhilarating, when my stores of energy seem endless and my strength is downright inhuman. It’s the moments when I’ve run clear across the airport with a huge piece of luggage in my arms and I am startled to realize that I’m not even slightly out of breath. Quite simply, it’s the feeling that anything might be possible and that is the beauty of running a marathon. Because if a slow-poke like myself can do it, who can’t?