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justfranzz · 11 months

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A Ledge and the Sun

Ledge Gorman wasn't special.

Everyone knew that, most of all him.

His name wasn't really Ledge - it was Shawn. When he was sixteen years old, feeling insane with anonymity, he climbed out the window of his high school science class and walked along the concrete lip that jutted out of the wall.

His science teacher yelled at him to come in. His classmates, who didn't know his name (no one ever remembered his name), just watched.

Gray Meder smiled, punching another student in the arm and taking the two twenty dollar bills that were reluctantly offered. "Told ya the pushover would do it."

Shawn reached the edge of the lip. His fingers dug into the cracks in the brick wall, blood leaking from his fingertips where the skin scraped off.

His science teacher was still yelling, sounding almost in hysterics; he threatened to call Shawn's parents, call the cops, fail Shawn in the class, something.

Shawn gazed down at the ground below. He was only on the second floor, and the sports equipment shed was right below where he perched. It was only about a seven foot drop. He'd survive for sure, just might break a bone or two if he landed wrong.

Logic didn't make him any less terrified.

He glanced back one more time. He saw Gray's cocksure grin, the way the boy casually flicked his hand as if to say, Go on. Do it.

Shawn took one deep breath, squeezed his eyes shut, and jumped.

For a moment, he felt like he was flying, like the wind had swept under his armpits and lifted him into the sky. For a moment, he was a leaf, swirling and dipping and rising with the breeze, making the world his plaything.

Then he was falling.

Too late, much too late, Shawn realized that he had jumped too far. He was going to miss the shed entirely.

His foot just grazed the tin roof of the shed, jerking his ankle to the side at an odd angle.

Hot asphalt raced up to meet him.

Sharp, lancing pain as his arms shot out to brace his fall.

Hello, the asphalt said. So nice of you to join us. Won't you stay a while?

His head slammed into the black tar, and he was out.

When he woke up in the hospital, they told him he had broken his right wrist and three of his fingers, fractured his radius in two places, twisted his ankle, and gotten a mild concussion to boot. Everything hurt. For the first time, at sixteen years old, Shawn thought, I want to die.

His father picked him up. They didn't speak the whole car ride home.

When they arrived, his father spoke, his voice a harsh whisper. "Don't ever do something so foolish again," he said, eyes firmly locked on the front door, unable to look at his son.

His stupid, un-special failure of a son.

They didn't speak of it after that.

Three days later, when he returned to school, Gray slid a five dollar bill across the desk to Shawn. He stared at it for a moment, flexing his unbroken fingers, trying to ignore the aching pain that had wrapped itself around him like an old friend.

"You said twenty."

"Oh, did I? Must've changed my mind." Gray leered at him, greasy hair plastered to his forehead. "You didn't jump far enough, Ledge Boy."

No one remembered his name after that, either. He became Ledge, the crazy kid who had jumped from the second story for a measly five bucks.

They were right, he thought, staring out the window. He was a ledge. He wasn't a person. He was a decoration, just another brick in the wall, held together by glue and mortar.

He felt some kinship for the ledge he had jumped from. We're the same, you and I. See your cracks, there - look, we match. And he thought of the x-rays they had shown him in the hospital, the splinters and cobweb cracks in his bones. He was just another old, forgotten piece of concrete, forever fading into the background, never to be noticed.

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Two years later, at eighteen, Ledge was rejected for the first time. Her name was Mary Crosh. She had short dark hair, striking green eyes, and freckles like a constellation across her skin. Mary loved history, and she had a mind like a whipcord, quick and always ready to strike.

She did it gently, kindly - she had always kind of seen him as a brother - it wasn't him, she just didn't have time for a boyfriend right now - they could still be friends if he wanted? - he seemed sweet but she just didn't feel the same - it just wasn't the right time - maybe after they graduated…

Ledge wished she had been cruel. He wished she had taken the heart he offered and thrown it to the ground, spit on it, crushed it beneath her heel. Then, at least, he could hate her, could resent her; then he could say, "I dodged a bullet on that one! She wasn't worth liking at all."

Lying curled under his blankets at three a.m. that night, dried tear tracks heavy on his skin, Ledge thought for the second time in his life:

I want to die.

Two weeks later, when he walked in on her making out with the quarterback of the football team, Ledge lost a little piece of himself, a piece he would never get back.

But he knew, he had always known, that she would reject him. That she would end up kissing some football player.

Because he was Ledge. The kid who nobody remembered except for jumping out of a window, and even that was forgotten eventually. The kid who was as un-special, as anonymous, as generic and forgettable as anyone can be.

He was as lovable as the concrete ledge just outside the window, and every bit as cracked and broken.

—--------------------------------------------------------

Mary wanted to go to Southern New Hampshire University. They had a good history program, she said. She wanted to be a history teacher.

Ledge would be a teacher too, he decided. He would go to SNHU, and maybe he would have classes with Mary, and maybe then the time would be right. Maybe then she would love him.

There was lots of history in architecture, after all, and he was the oldest piece of walking concrete he knew.

She wouldn't love him. Not now, not after he got a degree, not ever. He knew that. But he didn't know where else to go. Bricks of concrete don't have dreams. Support beams don't make goals, cornerstones don't join clubs, wooden floors don't have career plans.

He didn't care much for kids, didn't know the first thing about teaching, but he could learn. He had to learn. He had nowhere else to go.

So he would follow Mary, and he would become someone who was more than architecture, and if she never noticed him that was fine, at least he would have a clear path. At least he would have a goal. At least he would have a degree and a job.

He looked up guides for writing college applications, pretended he knew what he was doing, that he was a normal high school kid applying for a normal school with normal hopes and dreams.

With an anticlimactic click of his mouse, the application was sent in. He let out a quiet breath, slumped back in his chair, stared at the little box that said "submitted."

He was a ledge, he was a shitty college application, he was a pile of dirty clothes in the corner of his room, he was a forgotten, half-drained can of soda.

Ledge turned off his computer monitor and went to bed.

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A week before his nineteenth birthday, Ledge got a letter in the mail from SNHU. He opened it with trembling hands, the scars from his once-broken fingers itching with adrenaline.

Dear Mr. Gorman… Thank you for applying to Southern New Hampshire… we regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you… this year's selection has been competitive… cannot accept every applicant… honored that you considered us as one of your choices… respectfully…

Ledge didn't cry. He just tossed the letter in the garbage, all of his hopes and dreams going with it. He packed a duffel bag with his clothes and some of his favorite books, grabbed his phone charger, and left.

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At nineteen, he got his first job.

Working as a convenience store cashier all night - the graveyard shift paid better - no one else was willing to work it - reading whatever books he could get his hands on by day - cleaning his uniform at the laundromat - sleeping in his car because he couldn't drag himself up the stairs to his apartment - he dreamed of a shed he had missed once - maybe he could have fallen in love with it instead - green eyes and freckles haunted him - then he was waking up, putting on his uniform, going to guard the pretzels and the Coke Products and the shitty cheap sandwiches.

After three months, they hired a new guy, one who was willing to work the night shift. They didn't talk much at first, but there's not much to do for eight hours straight while the rest of the world is busy courting their dreams.

His name was Ben, and he was twenty-three, and he always smelled like cigarette smoke. They quickly found out that they were nothing alike. Ben was someone special - he played in a band, not a big one but they made some money from shows, not enough though, that's why he worked here, he had a girlfriend he wanted to propose to, but he didn't have the money for a ring or a wedding, that's why he got the second job.

Ben talked a lot. "Momma says I came outta the womb talkin'," he would say in lieu of an apology. "Jus' up n' babblin', right from the start. Ain't never been able to shut me up since."

After a few days, he finally asked.

"What's up with your name, kid? Didja get 'Ledge' from your momma, or did it find you?"

Ledge didn't answer. Ben waited in silence for a few minutes before a wordless agreement passed between them. The older man jumped into a story - something about a duck and a can of spray paint - seamlessly, as if the silence had never happened.

Ben didn't ask any more personal questions after that.

They spent their nights like that - Ben talking all night, Ledge just listening.

It saved him, in a way, all of the words. At first they were just that - words. But slowly, over months, they built up a little hearth in his chest, warming him from the inside. Ben was like the Sun, giving and giving and giving every day and never taking anything in return. He never expected anything back, didn't even expect Ledge to listen most days, and his carefree warmth restored something in Ledge that he had lost when he was sixteen years old.

For just a few hours every day, stuck in that cold, unforgiving convenience store, Ledge relaxed. He was no longer an impersonal slab of concrete, a pothole on the side of the road, a decrepit stop sign on an upaved back road.

For exactly eight hours, Ledge was a person. He was a boy, he was a book nerd, he liked the color red, he missed his father, he wanted to be loved, he wished he had gone to college, he wanted to play sports and be a jock and have sex and get married to a woman with a whipcord brain.

For the first time since he jumped, Ledge thought, I don't want to die.

The first time Ledge laughed, Ben froze, just for a split second. He jumped right back into his story as if he'd never stopped, but he didn't even try to hold back the huge grin that stretched across his face.

They became sort of friends, after that. They hung out after work - Ben would smoke a cigarette or five and talk about his girl, Delilah, and Ledge would just sit and listen, imagining short dark hair and green eyes.

"You can't even get it, until you've seen 'er," Ben would say. "She's somethin' else. Taller n' Mount Everest - six-foot-three - legs that go on forever, I mean forever, you could look at 'er for ten years and never get to the bottom - kisses like lightnin' man, lightnin' - don't even get me started on the sex - I'm gonna put a ring on her finger n' love her forever - I'd give 'er every star in the sky if she asked…"

Then, a month and a half later, they broke up.

"I was gonna propose, but she said she wanted to talk before I could. I thought, 'It's okay, I'll tell her after. S'prolly somethin' about the vacation we were plannin'.'" He paused, sniffled weakly.

"She wanted me to leave the band," he whispered, seeming dim for the first time since they had met. "She said she needs me to stay in one place. Wants t' settle down, for good. Says she can't handle me bein' on tour all the time, always bein' away from 'er… she even thought I was cheatin', man."

For the first time in the six months they had known each other, Ledge saw him cry. Not nice, pretty, quiet tears; ugly, sobbing cries that wrenched right from his heart and out his chest.

"I loved 'er," he gasped, face twisted like he was in unbearable physical pain. "I still love her. I wanted t' build my life on her, man. I wanted to give her everythin'. But… she… she asked for the one thing I can't give. I can't leave the band. Those guys are my family, man, they're my whole world. She asked me to choose between my heart n' my lungs, and I just couldn't do it."

They sat in the back for another hour like that, Ben crumpled in on himself like a withering flower, Ledge just sitting next to him in silence.

Finally, Ben grew silent, too exhausted to cry any more. He gazed dully at the polished floor beneath them, fingers running over the ring he wore, the one he had almost given to his heart.

"Thank you," he murmured into the space between them, red eyes meeting Ledge's. He nodded, opened his mouth, closed it. He didn't know what to say.

"My name is Shawn," he finally said. Ben sat up a little, and Ledge bit his lip, trying not to look at him out of the corner of his eye. If he thought too hard, or moved, or looked at the man next to him, he would lose his courage.

Ben waited.

"I jumped out of a window. Second story. I was in tenth grade."

Ben blinked, fingers stilling on the ring. "You- what? Why?"

Ledge pressed his lips together, reminding himself that it was okay, this was Ben.

"I… was desperate." He sighed harshly, and suddenly the words were bubbling out of him, and he couldn't stop. "My dad doesn't love me. He never has. Or, maybe he did when I was little, but he doesn't now. I wanted to be noticed. I wanted someone to remember me.

"This kid, he was stupid, it was stupid, he bet me twenty bucks I wouldn't jump out of the window. I… I thought my father would talk to me, if I did. I thought he would punish me, at least. So… I climbed out on the ledge outside the window and I jumped. That's- that's why they called me Ledge. It… stuck, I guess. Maybe with me most of all."

He told Ben about flying, and about Mary, and about how he was a ledge and a pothole and everything else, and about Southern New Hampshire University, and about not being able to cry, and about everything else he could think to say. By the time he was done, he felt full, like somehow instead of leaving his mouth the words had tunneled backwards down his throat into his chest.

Ben was quiet for a bit, before he offered a small, genuine smile. "I don't think you're a ledge, man. For what it's worth. I think you're a person."

For the first time in three years, Ledge cried. Ben cried again too, this time for his friend, wet sobs that sounded almost painful.

Ledge silently thanked whatever god may or may not be out there for giving him the Sun, for giving him this bright, warm friend who didn't care that he wasn't special.

As they cleaned up at the end of their shift, Ben sighed. "I'm gonna quit here," he said, staring down at the mop in his hands. "I was only here for Delilah… jus' to save up for the ring n' the wedding. I stayed here longer than I was plannin' cuz, well. You're here."

And he offered up another smile, the barest glimmer of his usual radiance shining in it.

"But now, I mean… I just don't got any reason to stay longer."

Ledge was silent for a few minutes, just taking this in. He had always known Ben would leave eventually. He was going to leave from the start. It was like he had said - he was only there to save for the ring.

Ledge sighed. Why was he still there? He had enough saved up to move to a better part of town, get a better job. But… he didn't want that. Not really. There was nothing waiting for him there but more work, more sleepless nights, more of being a ledge.

But still, maybe it would be better than staying here for the rest of his miserable life, rotting in one place like an old, forgotten tomato.

"I'll probably quit too," he murmured aloud. Ben stilled, looking very thoughtful for a moment. He continued to mop, slower now, every stroke full of intent.

"How would you feel about joining my band?" He offered it casually, like it didn't matter, like he didn't care what the answer was. The set of his shoulders gave him away, poorly concealed tension revealing what he wished the answer would be.

Ledge blinked. "I- me? Join a band? I can't play a kazoo to save my life."

"You wouldn't have to play! You could be like a sort of… manager. Our last one jus' quit recently, n' we've been lookin' for a new one. Are you any good with numbers?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Then you'll do fine! You'll jus' be manager in name, we'll do all the heavy liftin'. You can live in the studio with us - little building we bought last month, a bit cramped but it's home - and we'll give you a cut of every cent we make, can't always promise consistent payments but by god we'll pay you when we can - you can work a second job, all of us do - if you want you can help us get new gigs, you look like a good persuader - you can stay with us as long as you want - I don't have no one else but you now that Delilah's gone… please, Shawn-"

The sound of his old name, so foreign to him now after so many years, struck Shawn somewhere deep inside him, in a place he didn't even know existed anymore. He stood in silence for only a moment more, weighing the pros and cons, seriously considering the offer.

"Alright," he finally said, watching Ben's face light up like a light bulb. "Okay. I'll join. Where do I sign?"

Ben jumped into the air, pumping a fist with a loud "WHOOO!" The mop clattered to the floor unnoticed, forgotten in the excitement.

Shawn found the man's enthusiasm contagious, and soon they were grinning at each other madly, already making plans to pack and move Shawn's stuff to the studio.

"We're gonna make it big, man," Ben said, shining like the Sun in mid August. "I promise you, we're gonna make it. We're gonna live like kings, man. And everybody's gonna know our names."

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When he was twenty-one years old, they got their first major gig. They had survived so far on playing at small bars and open mics, taking tips where they could, even busking on the street when things got really thin.

Shawn found that he rather liked being the band's manager. Organizing the schedule was soothing for him; he had control over something for the first time in his life. Working out the financial side was easy too. The numbers never lied, even when they were depressing, and math had never been a struggle for him.

After two years of raising awareness - passing out flyers, creating a social media page, and taking whatever openings they could - Where We Were finally, slowly but surely, began to pick up more followers.

In May, Shawn opened the email he had created for the band. He made it a habit to check it at least once a day. Usually the page was depressingly empty, but today, there was an email from an address he didn't recognize - "bhrofficial." Curious, Shawn clicked on the message.

As he read through, he felt his heartbeat quicken. It couldn't be real. It couldn't. They only had two thousand followers on their Instagram and Twitter accounts, less than that on Spotify. There was no way it was real.

Please be real.

A few minutes and a quick google search later, he was rocking back and forth in his chair, unable to stop the smile that split across his face.

"Benny," he called urgently, shooting up from his chair. "Benny, you gotta come look at this. Ben!"

The older man ducked into the room, holding some old equipment. "Hey man, what's up-?"

Wordlessly, Shawn moved aside and pointed at the computer screen, practically vibrating with nervous excitement. Ben carefully set down the equipment, then bent over the table to read.

His jaw dropped open just slightly as he scanned over the email. He looked to Shawn, eyes wide, disbelief etched across his face. Shawn just nodded excitedly, lost for words.

"Is it real?" Ben whispered, as if afraid speaking too loud would make the email magically disappear.

"Yeah, I checked the website and that's their official email. It's real. We have a real gig."

They just grinned at each other for a moment, filled with excitement that had nowhere to go. Then, Ben was hugging him, and he was hugging back, and then they were spinning around the room in a crazed dance, laughing wildly.

"We got a gig!" Ben shouted. "Oh my god, we got a- I don't even-"

He took Shawn's face in his hands, kissing him soundly on the lips. Shawn could only grin up at him in response, and then they were dragging each other out of the room, racing to the kitchen, yelling for the other members.

Over the time they had lived together in the studio, things had changed between them. It had happened slowly but surely, the space between them shifting from friendship to brotherhood to… something else. They hadn't put a label on it, hadn't talked about it, but they both knew it was there. This wasn't the first time they had kissed - Ben would get excited, overwhelmed with emotion, and it would just kind of… happen.

The first time, Ben had immediately frozen, looked guilty and a bit afraid. But Shawn had laughed, and leaned in to give him a tentative peck in return, and Ben knew it was okay, that they were okay.

For the second time in his life, Ledge had thought, I don't want to die.

Ever since then, it was almost routine. Shawn found that he looked forward to it every time, found himself hoping for it.

He expected to have a crisis over his sexuality, but it never came. He liked Ben. Loved him, even, maybe. That was all that mattered. He didn't care what it meant or didn't mean about him, because it was Ben, and he was the Sun, and he was warm and soft and kind and messy, and Shawn was just grateful that he got to love him.

The rest of the band knew about it; it was hard to keep something like that secret when you've lived together in close quarters for almost two years. They'd never officially announced it, never put it into words, but somehow Shawn just… knew. A well timed pat to his shoulder told him he was accepted, a fist bump and a slap to his back said that he was a part of the band, no matter what, always and forever.

"We got a gig at the Blue Hill Resort," Ben said excitedly, hands constantly moving from his hips to the air in front of him to Shawn's shoulders, unable to stay still. His energy was contagious; soon they were all laughing, slapping each other on the back, cheering.

"How soon?" Jane, the drummer, asked. She was a thin slip of a woman, but she could knock a grown man flat on his back in ten seconds. Shawn had quickly learned to both respect and fear her.

"Three weeks."

Abu whistled, long and low. "That's a bit tight. We'll have to rehearse every day… but we should be able to make it."

Abu was tall, built like an ox, with broad shoulders and big hands. He played the bass with surprising precision and tenderness, rarely ever missing a note.

Abu was the oldest of the group at thirty-five. Once, when he was nearly passed out drunk, he told Shawn that he didn't have anything left except for the band. All of his dreams were spent, too far out of his reach, left behind with his twenties. This group, this family, was all that was left for him.

"We've got it in the bag," Mark jumped in, flexing his fingers in anticipation. He could draw sounds from a keyboard that Shawn never knew existed - odd, discordant notes somehow blended together into eerily beautiful harmony. "We're gonna blow this out of the park!"

"We'll have to decide what songs to play." That was Drea - best rhythm guitarist in New Hampshire, Ben would always say. She was always the most focused of them all. She kept them on track - without her, they probably would have fallen apart ages ago.

"I, uh. I actually wrote a song… if- well, I was thinking maybe we could have it on the roster?"

All eyes turned to Shawn, surprise written on most of their faces. Only Ben was unaffected, having known about the secret project for a while.

"S'good," he commented, slinging an arm around Shawn's shoulder. "I give it my vote."

Abu grinned. "It's settled then. Show us this new song of yours, kid."

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Shawn took a deep breath in, let it out slowly. This was it. This was the day. They had practiced like mad, twice a day for the last week straight, but he didn't feel the slightest bit prepared. He wasn't even the one going up onstage, but he could feel knots forming in his stomach like balls of lead, heavy and cold.

Ben clapped him on the shoulder, giving him a confident smile. "We're gonna knock them offa their fuckin' asses, man. Jus' you wait."

Shawn didn't feel even a bit less anxious, but he smiled anyway, leaning up to kiss Ben softly on the cheek. Ben froze, flushed - Shawn had never initiated before.

"For good luck," Shawn whispered, unable to hold back a smile.

Ben rubbed the back of his neck, flustered, then rewarded the kiss with a blindingly bright smile. "Yeah."

"C'mon, lovebirds, we gotta get set up," Jane drawled, leaning against the wall with a teasing smile. The two sprang apart, and she laughed heartily.

"You go on ahead n' sit in the audience," Ben said, giving him a look that said everything they didn't have time to put into words, probably couldn't even if they did have time. "We'll take care of everythin' back here."

Shawn nodded, hoping Ben could see the response in his own face. The older man smiled softly, and he knew the message had gotten across.

He found his seat in the front row and prayed to whatever was or wasn't out there that they would do well.

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It was a huge fucking success.

When the band finished their song roster, the crowd cheered wildly, calling for not one but two encores.

Finally, Ben had to take the mic, waving a hand for the crowd to quiet down. "S'been a pleasure playin' for you all, but I'm afraid our time's up-" the crowd booed loudly- "I know, I know, I wish we could stay too! But we gotta go. Thank you, we've been Where We Were. Have a great night and stay rockin', everyone!"

The roar of the crowd was deafening, noise that felt like it shook the room all the way up to its rafters. Shawn cheered along with them, winding through the surging crowd to the backstage area, meeting the band there.

Ben kissed him on the lips, right in front of everyone, and Shawn kissed him back. He didn't even care if the backstage techs caught them. He didn't care about much of anything but Ben, at that moment.

They stumbled to the dressing room, the rest of the band still putting away the equipment and rolling their eyes at the two, and then they were pressed against each other, kissing, and it wasn't like before, it wasn't a quick stolen peck in the studio, it was hard and hungry and real. It said we fucking did it, it said I love you for forever, it said a million other things they couldn't put into words.

Shawn smiled, he couldn't help it; and then they were both grinning, far too wide to keep kissing. Shawn laughed, feeling light and free and alive.

"We got lucky, huh?" He said, curling his hand around the back of Ben's neck. At the questioning look sent his way, he continued, "that your previous manager quit when they did. Otherwise, I never would have joined the band, and we never would have ended up here."

Ben smiled, the mischievous kind of smile you give when you have a secret.

"What?" Ben just kissed him again, and Shawn laughed, pulling back. "Benny, spit it out, what is it?"

"We never had a manager." He had the conscience to look at least a little sheepish, but mostly he just looked proud.

"You- what? But you said-"

"I needed you to join the band, man, I didn't know how else to get you to say yes. And it wasn't entirely a lie! We had talked about hiring someone for the position before, we had just... Never found the right person. Not until you."

Shawn lightly punched Ben's shoulder, giving him a faux look of disapproval. It only lasted for a moment, though, before they were both bursting out laughing, too high off of their victory to stay serious for long.

Then they were pressed against the counter, and Ben was tugging on his shirt and kissing his jawline and murmuring, "is this okay?" and Shawn was nodding, because it was Ben, of course it was, and he'd been waiting for this for so, so long without even realizing it.

Shawn's shirt was halfway off, Ben's lips on his neck, when there was a knock on the door, and Abu called in, "All decent in there, kids?"

"Finish this at home?" Ben asked, and Shawn wanted to say you are my home, but he knew what Ben meant, so he just nodded and touched the older man's face gently instead.

And Ben laughed, and said yes, get the fuck in here, Abu, and he pulled Shawn out with him past the ox who played the bass, and out of the dressing room and through the halls and out the front door, all the way to his car.

They got in, Ben laughing and Shawn crying a little because they had made it, god damnit they had made it, and in the agreement with the Blue Hill Resort they were promised seven thousand dollars, and Shawn had a future, and he knew where he wanted to go and who he wanted to go there with.

They were still laughing, and flirting, and celebrating when they pulled out of the parking lot. Shawn decided to be brave, decided that Ben was worth it, so he put his hand tentatively on the older man's thigh.

Ben looked surprised for a moment, and then he was smiling, and he was looking at Shawn like he was the only thing in the world, and he didn't see the semi barreling towards them, the tired driver who didn't process that he was drifting into cross traffic until just a few seconds too late.

Ben was smiling, and then he was lurching to the side as the semi hit just behind his door, and then the windows were shattering and his head was hitting the dashboard and then they were rolling, and Shawn's vision was blurring, and he was hitting the pavement all over again, black asphalt coming up to say it missed him, and where had he been, and why had he waited so long to jump again?

And suddenly he was sixteen again, with a broken wrist and broken fingers and a fractured arm and a concussion and a sprained ankle, and he was back on the ledge, and he had never really left, he had been there ever since the moment he climbed out of that window, and Mary was telling him the timing wasn't right, and SNHU was sending him a cold, impersonal rejection letter, and then he was lying in a ditch in a mangled car, his seatbelt digging painfully into his ribs.

Ledge forced his eyes open. Everything hurt. Something smelled like it was burning, but he couldn't think, couldn't tell what.

He managed to tilt his head sideways just a little, earning himself a sharp jolt of pain.

Ben lay sprawled over the steering wheel, a large shard of glass from the shattered windshield punched through his right eye and out the back of his head. Blood dribbled down his face and onto the dashboard. He wasn't smiling anymore.

It looked like some weird cartoon, it was such an odd angle, and Ledge was laughing, and then he was sobbing, and then he was throwing up, and then he saw the fire, and it was on the hood of the car, and it was moving steadily towards him, and he couldn't move, he couldn't move, he couldn't move.

For the third time in his life, Ledge thought, I don't want to die.

But the fire inched closer still, and his heavy limbs refused to move, and then it was in the cab of the car, and then it was catching his pant leg, and then it was on him, and he was screaming, agony grating through his veins, and then it was going dark, and he couldn't force his eyes to stay open any longer.

As his consciousness faded away and his mind blanked out into white noise, a thought occurred to Ledge.

Surrounded by fire, breathing out his last, he thought that he had always been a ledge. It hadn't started when he was sixteen. It had started much, much earlier. He couldn't say when.

He thought what cruel irony it was that he was born a ledge, and now after everything he would die as one. Or maybe… he had never stopped being one, even in the in between moments. He was doomed to be un-special forever. He had always known that, from the very start.

He knew, deep inside, that no one would remember him. The news would cover the crash briefly, and then life would move on. The band would find a new manager. The world would continue to march on without him.

Everything faded to silence.

#written by me #my work #do not repost #give cred if used #writeblr #writing #original story #short story #original work #5798 words #tw depression #tw suicidal thoughts #tw mild gore #franz writes

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kamabrahr · 3 years

Text

Writing Requests open!

Kieran here, ready to polish their English skills with some drabbles, headcanons, oneshots, and anything your heart desires as long as they follow the rules!

I currently am mainly into the wrestling fandom, so here’s the list!

Wrestlers I can certainly write for

Male:

Adam Cole

Bray Wyatt

Chris Jericho

Christian Cage

Chuck Taylor

CM Punk

Cody Rhodes

Darby Allin

Dean Ambrose (I consider him a COMPLETELY different entity from Jon Moxley...sue me.)

Drew McIntyre

Eddie Kingston

Edge

Jeff Hardy

Johnny Gargano

Jon Moxley

Jungle Boy

Kane

Lance Archer

Luchasaurus

Malakai Black

Marko Stunt

Matt Jackson

MJF

Mustafa Ali

Nick Jackson

Orange Cassidy

Ortiz

PAC

Randy Orton

Roman Reigns

Sammy Guevara

Seth Rollins

Shawn Michaels

Sting

Tony Khan (*cough*)

Trent? (?)

Triple H

Undertaker

Wardlow

Wheeler Yuta

Female:

Abadon

AJ Lee

Alexa Bliss

Anna Jay

Asuka

Bayley

Becky Lynch

Bianca Belair

Britt Baker

Dakota Kai

Hikaru Shida

Io Shirai

Jamie Hayter

Kris Statlander

Lita

Liv Morgan

Maki Itoh

Naomi

Natalya

Nikki A.S.H.

Penelope Ford

Rhea Ripley

Ruby Riott

Sasha Banks

Shayna Baszler

Stephanie McMahon

Tay Conti

Thunder Rosa

If they’re not on this list, you are totally always welcome to ask if I can write for them, and maybe I can, depending on how much creative juice I have in me!

And here are the rules to getting that content:

Send an ask, if you’re not sure on what you want, then you are always welcome to DM me.

Specify what you want (headcanons, drabble, oneshot) with which wrestler(s), and whether it’s fluff, angst, comfort, NSFW, or others (throw me an AU and I might just grab it!). If it’s something more complicated, I will go over to your DMs and ask you for more specifications. If you don’t specify anything, it’s free real estate for me, and you’re going to have to see what you get on my Russian Roulette for you.

Specify the kinks if there are any. If it’s a no-no kink for me or a kink I’m not used to, then I will go over to your DMs if you’re not on anon to talk it out, see what we can do, and if it’s anon I unfortunately might just have to chop you off the board, I apologize.

You can also specify on certain things like genders, petite, plus-sizes, some illnesses or physical conditions like a person with vitiligo, scoliosis, an amputee, etc., but please don’t go super specific on appearances like blue eyes, brown curly hair or the likes. I might write a wrestler x wrestler or a wrestler x OC for you if you really want it and I’m in the right mindset, but beware, the writing is in my hands and you might not get exactly 100% of what you want.

Please be patient! I’m a kindergarten teacher with loads of work in my hands and some very fussy parents to handle with on the daily (the children are great, the parents...eh), so I’ll get to you, I promise, it might take some time!

With that all said, send ‘em over!

- Kieran

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teentitanimals · 4 years

Text

why the HECK does Dick have so much bio-family

like what. i swear. he’s go so much biological family its like- why didnt ANY of them take him in??? he’s nearly got as many as his lovers!!!

(text of picture under cut in case picture cant load:)

Biological Parents: Mary Lloyd-Grayson, John Grayson

Biological Siblings: Rachel Grayson (on Earth-Three), Mitchell “Mitch” Grayson (in Burtonverse)

Biological Great-Grandparents: William Cobb, Amelia Crowne

Biological Great-Great-Grandfather: Burton Crowne

Biological Great-Uncle: Owen Lloyd (in Burtonverse)

Biological Great-Great-Uncle and Aunt: Landon Grayson, Judith Grayson

Biological Aunts and Uncles: Harriet Cooper, George Grayson, Richard “Rick” Grayson, Alphonse Grayson (in Burtonverse)

Marital Aunts: Clara Grayson, Karla Grayson

Biological Cousin: John Grayson II

*He has had multiple different versions of bio-family differing between Earths and continuities

Adopted Father: Bruce Wayne

Adoptive Step-Mother: Selina Kyle

Surrogative Grandfather: Alfred Pennyworth

Adoptive Aunts (First Cousins; Once Removed): Kate Kane, Beth Kane, Bette Kane

Surrogative Aunt: Julia Pennyworth

Adoptive Siblings: Damian Wayne, Athanasia al Ghul, The Heretic (clone of DW), Tallant Wayne (clone of DW), Helena Wayne (From Earth-2), Helena Kyle (from Birds of Prey), "Aion" Wayne (In Batman in Bethlehem), Alina Wayne (maybe), Bruce Wayne Jr. (On Earth-3839), Lance Bruner, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Cass Cain, Duke Thomas (maybe), Kull (in Dark Multiverse), Terry McGinnis, Matt McGinnis

Sister-in-Laws: Dana Tan, Rose Wilson (in Injustice)

Ex-Lovers: Shawn Tsang, Raya Vestri, Cheyenne Freemont, Sonia Branch-Zucco, Alia/Agent 8, Daphne Pennyworth, Rachel Roth, Helena Bertinelli, Zatanna Zatara, Dawn Granger, Beatrice Bennett

Ex-Toxic ‘Lovers’: Miriam “Miri” Delgado, Catalina Flores, Lui

Wives: Koriand’r, Barbara Gordon (on Earth-2)

Biological Children: Mar'i Grayson, Jake Grayson, John Grayson III (On Earth-2), Elainna Grayson (in Beyondverse)

Adoptive Niece and Nephew: Sasha Todd, Clark Wayne (On Earth-3839)

Adoptive Great-Nieces: Lois Wayne (On Earth-3839), Lara Wayne (On Earth-3839)

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youngsamberg · 3 years

Note

all time bish

ohhhh shit okay i will ATTEMPT to list all of my ships of all-time but i will definitely forget some. here we go

current shows (not specifying endgame/nonendgame for obvious reasons):

roy x keeley (ted lasso), ted x rebecca (ted lasso), laszlo x nadja (wwdits), nandor x guillermo (wwdits), brooke x lance (the other two), roman x gerri (succession), midge x lenny (the marvelous mrs maisel), tk x carlos (911: lone star), grace x judd (911: lone star), maddie x chimney (9-1-1), michael x alex (roswell nm), max x liz (roswell nm), kyle x isobel (roswell nm), jimmy x kim (better call saul), janine x gregory (abbott elementary)

shows that have ended rip (ships in itallics aren’t canon endgame):

jake x amy (b99), holt x kevin (b99), amy x jonah (superstore), dina x garrett (superstore), shawn x jules (psych), josh x donna (the west wing), jim x pam (the office), dwight x angela (the office), michael x holly (the office), will x angie (single parents), ben x leslie (parks & rec), andy x april (parks & rec), ann x chris (parks & rec), david x patrick (schitt's creek), ted x alexis (schitt's creek), johnny x moira (schitt's creek), jeff x annie (community), veronica x logan (veronica mars), magnus x alec (shadowhunters), jace x clary (shadowhunters), simon x izzy (shadowhunters), fran x maxwell (the nanny), zoey x max (zoey's extraordinary playlist), rebecca x greg (crazy x girlfriend), monica x chandler (friends), ross x rachel (friends), rory x jess (gilmore girls), luke x lorelai (gilmore girls), barney x robin (himym), jackie x hyde (that 70s show), katie x greg (great news), nick x jess (new girl), cece x schmidt (new girl), winston x ally (new girl), sam x freddie (icarly), dory x drew (search party)

#anonymous #wow this is insane

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incomingalbatross · 4 years

Text

Okay, it’s been a day and now I have mostly-coherent thoughts on Let’s Get Dangerous, so I am writing them out. Spoilers under the cut!

There were things I like and things I didn’t like, honestly. I’m gonna start with the negatives.

...I’m just gonna say it: I don’t love New Gos as much as Gos Classic. Which, to be fair, I kinda expected, because that’s a really high bar!! New Gos is a good kid, just... not quite what I expected. She’s clearly older, for one thing, and more... toned-down?

In general, I would say she’s a little less baby than Gos Classic, and a little more YA Punk Heroine. Which is valid. It just doesn’t make for an instant bond, for me.

I am... also genuinely disappointed by the final offer of “wanna be my crimefighting partner?” I mean, it makes perfect sense for where they’re at, as opposed to their original counterparts--not only are they planning to find her Grampa, but we already got the “You’re not my family!!” and I guarantee you Reboot Drake has internalized that one. He’s trying to look out for her without overstepping! He’s doing his best!

...BUT. But having them end as “partners” and not actual family just feels wrong. (And there’s also added dissonance because I can’t help thinking how much Drake Classic would blow his top at the idea of inviting Gosalyn to fight crime??? Are you crazy??? She’s a KID!!!!)

(...That said: if Reboot Gosalyn is anyone other than Quiverwing Quack next time we see her, I’m suing. But she will be QQ--she’s already been shown with a crossbow and everything! Nice work there, to be fair.)

Related: are we allergic to the word “dad”?? I know it made more sense to say “family” some of the time, since Gos has probably never had parents in her life, but... after a while it felt like there was some Writer Mandate that that was the only usable word. Or maybe that’s a DuckTales thing in general, actually? Not sure. I just feel like “You’re not my dad!” would be a slightly more likely line in context (or “You’re not my Grampa!”) and have packed more of a punch.

Those...were really my only negatives, I think.

On to the positives!

I love Reboot Drake. So much. He’s earnest and endearing and still just ridiculous enough to still be Darkwing... and his Dad Energy was off the charts here, which is the TRUE mark of a Drake Mallard.

Also his voice actor does such a good Darkwing. You can tell he’s put serious study into this.

Okay. OKAY. Taurus Bulba...

TAURUS BULBA IS LANCE. LANCE FROM TANGLED.

I had to pause and then IMMEDIATELY text my sister when I found that out. Like... really??? Congrats, Disney! I wouldnt have said it was possible, but you created a Taurus Bulba I’m unable to hate!!

Also... Dewey. If ever you’ve used your theater kid powers for good, do it now. ...Get us a Musical Episode with Taurus Bulba in it. I need him to have a Villain Song.

Drake being literally the only person ever to NOT know Fenton is Gizmoduck is honestly an EXCELLENT twist on their dynamic. And given their reboot personalities, of course they get along outside of the suit--I mean, they should, but the identity thing means we still get some fun secret-identity conflicts.

No one told me there were this many The Good Place actors here. First Steelbeak turns out to be Derek, then the buzzard is Shawn (EXACTLY the same role too, honestly) and the computer/Ganrda Dee is Tahani?? I JUST watched S4 of TGP, guys. You have to stop hitting me with actors I actually recognize! It’s weird!!

(And then I have to consider things like “Abed and the Tenth Doctor and Lance are all in the same scene. Oh, there’s Shawn from the Bad Place. Oh look--” CONSTANTLY.)

Okay, I’ll admit it: Dewey seeing himself in Gos’s need to find her grampa and deciding to "be her Webby” was really sweet. Good kid.

I enjoyed the name-dropping of DWD villains and actual episode names (although... “Just Us Justice Duck” was underrated? By whom?? It’s a CLASSIC!)

Thing I REALLY appreciate: So 2017 DuckTales is, like, five notches less Cartoony than Darkwing Duck. HOWEVER, in both DW eps so far Drake’s personal physics have seemed to be two or three notches more cartoony than everyone else’s (see: the piano bit in the first ep, and the filing cabinet in this one). This delights me.

They gave us two hummed lines of “Little Girl Blue”and it was still enough to make me go “yoU CAN’T JUST DO THAT”

Miscellany:

The multiverse stuff is has Big Implications and ties in really well to established Darkwing canon, meaning they could really easily meet their original counterparts. It also seems to echo a plot from the comics, if I’m remembering rightly, where a different member of the Family Darkwing got lost between dimensions.

However... this is meta?? Because it means their in-universe Darkwing show is apparently also another reality. Which is WEIRD, because... that one (at least to the point covered in the meta-show) didn’t have a Gosalyn. Or a Launchpad. How can you have a real Darkwing without them?? What is that reality like?? Is the meta-show an accurate representation?? I have QUESTIONS

Also I really really want Gos Classic’s adult self to fall through a portal and hang out with this gang for a while. And her dad too. (Drake Classic would yell at his younger self for letting Gos fight crime, but then he would adopt him. The Dad Instincts are strong... and Reboot Drake could use a non-crazy older Darkwing in his corner!)

#i feel like i had more to say #but this is already very long #so let's go with this #it is late and i should be in bed #but The Meta #darkwing duck #let's get dangerous #let's get dangerous spoilers #ducktales

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ao3feed-superbat · 4 years

Text

Sensible madness

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/34NkxPp

by Anna12aot

What if Kate and Bruce were born around the same time? What if the tragedies that made them the heroes they become, also happened around the same time? What if the two of them ended up living together? What if the two of them ended up as huge theater nerds? What if they had some actual healthy coping mechanisms along side their totally not super unhealthy vigilante detective hobby that nearly kills them on a weekly basis? What if everything wasn't a shitty cheap ass drama show written by racist, misogynist, homophobic, all the bad ism's and phobia's and ist's?

(No disrespect to the individuals who try to give us good diverse content. Actually, all the respect because DC as whole is a weak dumb ass bitch and kudos to those people for tolerating that bastard.)

Here is my sad, pathetic attempt to fix the DC universe that I am very much under qualified and under prepared for. Enjoy. (And I'll get to finishing the relationship tags soon, it's just not on the agenda right about now. There is just so many fucking characters. The character tags are technically unfinished because that won't be all of the characters showing up. Do I really hate myself and DC that much?)

Words: 633, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics), Superman - All Media Types, Superman (Comics), Wonder Woman - All Media Types, Wonder Woman (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Under the Red Hood, Red Robin (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon), Justice League - All Media Types, Justice League: War, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017), Teen Titans (Comics), Harley Quinn (Comics)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other

Characters: Bruce Wayne, Kate Kane, Alfred Pennyworth, Lucius Fox, Jim Gordon, Helena Bertinelli, Harold Allnut, Hiro Okamura, Vic Sage, Renee Montoya, Patrick "Eel" O'Brian, Zatanna Zatara, Basil Karlo, Talia al Ghul, Selina Kyle, Holly Robinson, Kitrina Falcone, Dick Grayson, Slade Wilson, Rose Wilson, Grant Wilson (DCU), Joseph Wilson, Damian Wayne, Barbara Gordon, Gus Yale, Wendy Harris, Jacob Kane, Catherine Hamilton Kane, Diana (Wonder Woman), Jason Todd, Koriand'r (DCU), Roy Harper, Bette Kane, Duke Thomas, Tim Drake, Kon-El | Conner Kent, Stephanie Brown, Billy Batson, Harper Row, Cullen Row, Shawn Tsang, Natalia Knight, Sasha Bordeaux, Carrie Kelley, Jaina Hudson, Cassandra Cain, Cheyenne Freemont, Tiffany Fox, Luke Fox, Barry Allen, Wally West, Bart Allen, Jay Garrick, Iris West, Max Mercury, Clark Kent, Kara Zor-El, Kara Danvers, Lois Lane, Jonathan Samuel Kent, Jonathan "Pa" Kent, Martha Wayne, Martha Kent, Thomas Wayne, Sam Lane, Lucy Lane (DCU), Donna Troy, Cassie Sandsmark, Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, Akila of Bana-Mighdall, Queen Hippolyta, Atalanta, Antiope (Wonder Woman), Bana-Mighdall Amazons, The Amazons (Wonder Woman), Grace Choi, Anissa Pierce, Jefferson Pierce, Jennifer Pierce, Oliver Queen, Thea Queen, Emiko Queen, Dinah Lance, Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, Jon Stewart, Kyle Rayner, Jade Nguyen, Jennifer-Lynn Hayden, Artemis Crock, Ra's al Ghul, Nyssa Raatko, Silver St. Cloud, Wildcat (DCU), Tatsu Yamashiro, Jason Blood, Jason Bard, Crispus Allen, Kate Spencer, Onyx Adams, Boston Brand, David Zavimbe, Calvin Rose, Jean-Paul Valley, Santiago Varga, Baber Shah, Percy Sheldrake, Cyril Sheldrake, Jiro Osamu, Lonnie Machin, Harriet Cooper, Agatha Wayne, Vicki Vale, Harley Quinn, Pamela Isley, Harleen Quinzel, Harvey Dent, Joker (DCU), Jonathan Crane, Waylon Jones, Bane (DCU), Roman Sionis, Floyd Lawton, Hugo Strange, Thomas Elliot, Drury Walker, Jervis Tetch, Victor Fries, Oswald Cobblepot, Edward Nygma, Cyrus Gold, Solomon Grundy (DCU), Shauna Belzer, Peyton Riley, Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong, Vandal Savage, Noah Kuttler, Julian Gregory Day (DCU), Thomas Blake (DCU), Arthur Brown, Count Vertigo, Garfield Lynns, Warren White, Charles "Chuck" Brown, Zeus (Wonder Woman), Onomatopoeia (DCU), Peter Merkel, Peter Merkel Jr., Deever Tweed, Dumfree Tweed, Victor Zsasz, Ben Turner, David Cain, Titus (DCU), Lady Shiva, Lazlo Valentin, Barton Mathis, Matilda Mathis, Mark Desmond, Mortimer Drake, Alfred the Cat (DCU), Ace the Bat-Hound, Bat-Cow (DCU)

Relationships: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne, Hal Jordan/Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Hal Jordan/Clark Kent, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Kate Kane & Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth & Bruce Wayne, Jim Gordon & Bruce Wayne, Diana (Wonder Woman)/Kate Kane, Kate Kane/Renee Montoya (past), Talia al Ghul/Bruce Wayne (past), Kate Kane & Jason Todd, Helena Bertinelli & Kate Kane & Jason Todd, Kate Kane & Clark Kent, Kate Kane & Alfred Pennyworth, Kate Kane & Oliver Queen, Kate Kane & Damian Wayne, Kate Kane & John Stewart, Bruce Wayne & Kara Zor-El, Barbara Gordon & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne & Zatanna Zatara, Hal Jordan & Bruce Wayne, Talia al Ghul & Bruce Wayne, Lucius Fox & Bruce Wayne, Lucius Fox & Luke Fox & Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Bruce Wayne, Cassandra Cain & Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Kate Kane, Cassandra Cain & Kate Kane, Luke Fox & Kate Kane

Additional Tags: No Smut, No Incest, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Past Rape/Non-con, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Not Canon Compliant, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, will try to remember to add them later, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, I am trying to fix the entire DCU while very much trying not to, This was supposed to be like just about the Batfam, But I started doing research, and it was really confusing, Then I got angry, and then hyped, and this happened, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Author Regrets Everything, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, How Do I Tag, Batfamily (DCU), Protective Batfamily (DCU), Batfamily (DCU) Feels, Domestic Batfamily (DCU), fuck you dc, It's Not Paranoia If They're Really Out To Get You, Please Kill Me, I Tried, I Don't Even Know, some people die, no one stays dead, but god, God is Dead, Cause I killed him for letting DC continue this shit show, Nothing makes any fucking sense, This doesn't make any sense, It's a fucking mari go round of bullshit, enjoy, Explicit Language, To Be Edited, Not Beta Read, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Young Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne Has Issues, Growing Up Together, Romani Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Kate Kane is a Good Parent, Alfred Pennyworth is the Best, Good Parent Alfred Pennyworth, Good Grandparent Alfred Pennyworth, Jim Gordon Knows, Everyone Needs A Hug, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Is Gay, And they're all panicked gays, Fluff and Angst, Family Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Feels, Humor, Gallows Humor, Bruce Wayne's Sense of Humor, Jason Todd’s Morbid Humor, this is gonna get long, Like over a few hundred thousand, Or this will die after it's reached 3k, Don't Like Don't Read, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trauma, Psychological Trauma, Childhood Trauma, Mental Health Issues, Mental Institutions, Because of arkham, Arkham Asylum, Eventual Romance, Eventual Relationships, read the tags, Tags May Change, Tags Are Hard, Body Image, Jewish Character, Canon Disabled Character, Canon Rewrite, Hispanic Character, Black Character(s), Native American Character(s), Arab Character, Arab Damian Wayne, We Die Like Men, Everyone is a minority in some way, This will have all the representation, Racism, Racist Language, They will suffer because of their racism, Don't worry, Don't Have to Know Canon, Hopefully you won't have to know canon, Because if I don't do this right, Than you will be so confused, Better Than Canon, I take most of my inspiration from the justice league cartoons, and from the harley quinn movie soundtrack, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Trans Character, Gay Panic

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/34NkxPp

#ao3feed #superbat #world's finest #Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne #Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent

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ao3feed-batlantern · 4 years

Link

by Anna12aot

Words: 633, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other

#ao3feed #fanfic #batlantern #dcu #bruce wayne #hal jordan #batman #green lantern #hal jordan/bruce wayne

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wikitopx · 5 years

Link

Finding the perfect name for your newborn baby may take some time and careful consideration, but it can also be very interesting.

In fact, it's one of the first and biggest decisions you have to make as a new parent. Are you looking for a son to speak of a family tradition or celebrate a cultural tradition? Whatever your approach, you'll find lots of great options on the following list of the 1,000 most popular boys, according to Social Security Administration (SSA). Take a look to help you narrow down your favorites list (or inspire new ones) and enjoy the experience of finding your favorite name for your new son.

[toc]

1. Top 1,000 Baby Boy Names

Liam

Noah

William

James

Oliver

Benjamin

Elijah

Lucas

Mason

Logan

Alexander

Ethan

Jacob

Michael

Daniel

Henry

Jackson

Sebastian

Aiden

Matthew

Samuel

David

Joseph

Carter

Owen

Wyatt

John

Jack

Luke

Jayden

Dylan

Grayson

Levi

Isaac

Gabriel

Julian

Mateo

Anthony

Jaxon

Lincoln

Joshua

Christopher

Andrew

Theodore

Caleb

Ryan

Asher

Nathan

Thomas

Leo

Isaiah

Charles

Josiah

Hudson

Christian

Hunter

Connor

Eli

Ezra

Aaron

Landon

Adrian

Jonathan

Nolan

Jeremiah

Easton

Elias

Colton

Cameron

Carson

Robert

Angel

Maverick

Nicholas

Dominic

Jaxson

Greyson

Adam

Ian

Austin

Santiago

Jordan

Cooper

Brayden

Roman

Evan

Ezekiel

Xavier

Jose

Jace

Jameson

Leonardo

Bryson

Axel

Everett

Parker

Kayden

Miles

Sawyer

Jason

Declan

Weston

Micah

Ayden

Wesley

Luca

Vincent

Damian

Zachary

Silas

Gavin

Chase

Kai

Emmett

Harrison

Nathaniel

Kingston

Cole

Tyler

Bennett

Bentley

Ryker

Tristan

Brandon

Kevin

Luis

George

Ashton

Rowan

Braxton

Ryder

Gael

Ivan

Diego

Maxwell

Max

Carlos

Kaiden

Juan

Maddox

Justin

Waylon

Calvin

Giovanni

Jonah

Abel

Jayce

Jesus

Amir

King

Beau

Camden

Alex

Jasper

Malachi

Brody

Jude

Blake

Emmanuel

Eric

Brooks

Elliot

Antonio

Abraham

Timothy

Finn

Rhett

Elliott

Edward

August

Xander

Alan

Dean

Lorenzo

Bryce

Karter

Victor

Milo

Miguel

Hayden

Graham

Grant

Zion

Tucker

Jesse

Zayden

Joel

Richard

Patrick

Emiliano

Avery

Nicolas

Brantley

Dawson

Myles

Matteo

River

Steven

Thiago

Zane

Matias

Judah

Messiah

Jeremy

Preston

Oscar

Kaleb

Alejandro

Marcus

Mark

Peter

Maximus

Barrett

Jax

Andres

Holden

Legend

Charlie

Knox

Kaden

Paxton

Kyrie

Kyle

Griffin

Josue

Kenneth

Beckett

Enzo

Adriel

Arthur

Felix

Bryan

Lukas

Paul

Brian

Colt

Caden

Leon

Archer

Omar

Israel

Aidan

Theo

Javier

Remington

Jaden

Bradley

Emilio

Colin

Riley

Cayden

Phoenix

Clayton

Simon

Ace

Nash

Derek

Rafael

Zander

Brady

Jorge

Jake

Louis

Damien

Karson

Walker

Maximiliano

Amari

Sean

Chance

Walter

Martin

Finley

Andre

Tobias

Cash

Corbin

Arlo

Iker

Erick

Emerson

Gunner

Cody

Stephen

Francisco

Killian

Dallas

Reid

Manuel

Lane

Atlas

Rylan

Jensen

Ronan

Beckham

Daxton

Anderson

Kameron

Raymond

Orion

Cristian

Tanner

Kyler

Jett

Cohen

Ricardo

Spencer

Gideon

Ali

Fernando

Jaiden

Titus

Travis

Bodhi

Eduardo

Dante

Ellis

Prince

Kane

Luka

Kash

Hendrix

Desmond

Donovan

Mario

Atticus

Cruz

Garrett

Hector

Angelo

Jeffrey

Edwin

Cesar

Zayn

Devin

Conor

Warren

Odin

Jayceon

Romeo

Julius

Jaylen

Hayes

Kayson

Muhammad

Jaxton

Joaquin

Caiden

Dakota

Major

Keegan

Sergio

Marshall

Johnny

Kade

Edgar

Leonel

Ismael

Marco

Tyson

Wade

Collin

Troy

Nasir

Conner

Adonis

Jared

Rory

Andy

Jase

Lennox

Shane

Malik

Ari

Reed

Seth

Clark

Erik

Lawson

Trevor

Gage

Nico

Malakai

Quinn

Cade

Johnathan

Sullivan

Solomon

Cyrus

Fabian

Pedro

Frank

Shawn

Malcolm

Khalil

Nehemiah

Dalton

Mathias

Jay

Ibrahim

Peyton

Winston

Kason

Zayne

Noel

Princeton

Matthias

Gregory

Sterling

Dominick

Elian

Grady

Russell

Finnegan

Ruben

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2. Top 10 beautiful Middles names for baby Boys

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More ideals for you: Top 1000 baby Girl names

From : https://wikitopx.com/name-meanings/top-1000-baby-boy-names-711929.html

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lindyloosims · 2 years

Photo

Paisley Fox & Brantley Peterson

Neil Bradford & Catherine Bradford (Fox)

#ts4 sims 4 #the sims 4 #The Bradfords #The Petersons #Paisley & Brantley's wedding #Shawn & Lance's parents

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watchmegetobsessed · 6 years

Text

Crush // Shawn Mendes mini-series part 1

okay so wow ummmm i started writing this sometime before christmas so it’s set at that time, idk i just had this idea about this story and went for it. it’s not gonna be long, not like a million parts, probably maximum five, im writing the very end of it now so i thought i would start posting it and im also trying to makeup for not bringing a new boundaries chapter lol but that’s also coming i swear!!! anyway, enjoy this short story of mine, i hope you’ll like it!!

masterlist

Christmas is always the same for me. I come home a few days before, spend most of my time on the couch watching reruns on my favorite series, I watch my younger brother, Eric come in and out of the house as he keeps meeting up with his friends, being a popular kid. I eat basically everything I can find in the kitchen and just… forget about the world. Then we have family dinner at our place with all my uncles, aunts and cousins, the house turns into a chaos for one evening and then being so selfless I help Mom clean the mess up in the morning while Dad is sleeping his hangover off, because as a host, he must have a drink with every guest. Then we watch Home Alone together and boom, Christmas is already over.

This year, I expect everything to be the same when I throw my suitcases in my old Honda Civic and head home for the holidays.

“Charlie, your family literally lives forty minutes from here, but you pack like you can’t come back if you forget something.”

I roll my eyes at Maddi’s comment. Looking up at her I just stick my tongue out as I close the trunk of my car. She is shivering, because she didn’t bother to put on her coat to help me bring my stuff down. Her long brown hair is all over her shoulders, and she has some mascara on her cheeks, probably from last night. She never cares what she looks like at home and that’s the kind of people I like to surround myself with. I’m always a hot mess at home and I just don’t get those who try to look fine when at home.

“Have fun at your sister’s,” I tell her hugging goodbye. She is leaving to New York tomorrow morning to spend the holidays at her sister who just got married this year and insisted on having their family gathering in their place this year.

“They’ll have booze, so I’m fine,” she scoffs. She is not always this grumpy, she is just not in the mood to fly to NYC on one of the busiest days of the year.

“Alright, see ya next year!” I wink at her getting into the car. She steps aside and waves for me as I leave the small parking lot of our apartment complex.

I sing along with Adam Levine while listening to some Maroon 5 on my way to the house where I grew up. I moved out after high school. Not because I hated living with my family, but I felt like this is a step I should be taking at that age. The start was rocky, I had my ups and downs, but all in all I didn’t regret it. I met Maddi, she moved to Toronto from Ottawa and was looking for someone to share a flat with. I was hesitant to live with a stranger, but we soon became best friends and I was eager to have new people in my life after my graduation. This is how we ended up together.

My heart warms as I turn into our old street. I loved living here, I have a lot of good memories from my childhood and I’m thankful I don’t have anything to complain about regarding my younger years.

I park next to my mom’s car and when I get out I see the curtains move in the window of the living room. A moment later the door opens and my dad walks out holding his arms out for me.

“Chipmunk! Hi!” he greets me with a wide smile and I basically get lost in his arms. He is so much taller than me, I look like an elf next to him. I inherited my mom’s height so I stopped at 5’6, have been that tall since I was sixteen. My brother, on the other hand, the little devil is 6’2 at fifteen, turning sixteen soon. Life is unfair, I could be a model with legs to live for if only my DNA took more from my dad.

“Hi Dad. You smell like cookies,” I chuckle. Letting go we both go to the trunk to get my stuff from the car.

“Because your mother is trying to turn the house into a gingerbread house,” he sighs grabbing both of my suitcases and we head inside.

“Why? She hates gingerbread.”

“Because your brother has his girlfriend over and she is trying to make everything so festive,” he says rolling his eyes as we finally get inside. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

“Girlfriend? Since when does Eric has a girlfriend?” I gasp feeling pretty much left out. No one told me Eric is dating a girl, but they keep updating me about the tiniest stuff in the group chat, like how a cat crossed the backyard last week. Who cares! I want to hear the tea about Eric’s love life!

“About three months. She is nice though, but your mother goes crazy every time she is over.”

“Three months? I’m offended, dad.”

“I thought he already told you!” he defends himself setting my stuff down.

“Charlie!” My mom comes barging out of the kitchen in the apron she got for Christmas a few years ago. Embracing me in a tight hug she kisses my forehead. “Are you hungry? We have some leftover carbonara, but I haven’t started making dinner yet. I’ve been cooking all day.”

“I heard you are into gingerbread lately.”

“Yeah, you want some? It turned out pretty good,” she smiles at me tugging her short blonde bob behind her ears. Her blue eyes are shining like a diamond, she is always so happy to have me home. It was a bit hard on her, watching her first kid leave the house, Eric said she kept checking in on him in the night the first month after I left. She got used to it by now, but she is always treating my arrival as a celebration, though I come home pretty often, namely to every birthdays, their anniversary, Easter, Christmas and a whole month in the summer, but I guess it’s not enough for her.

“Eric! Charlie is here!” she shouts upstairs for my brother. “So, hungry?” she asks again.

“Yeah, I could eat.”

We all move into the kitchen as my mom warms up a plate of pasta, Dad tests the gingerbread and I assume he doesn’t taste anything for the first three times, because he keeps eating it.

“How is Maddi? Is she going home for the holidays?” Mom asks handing me the food and getting back to decorating the rest of the gingerbreads.

“She is going to New York to her sister, Lara.”

“The one that got married this summer?” she asks.

“Mhm,” I hum with my mouth full.

I hear footsteps on the stairs and I quickly swallow the pasta, not wanting to look like a chipmunk when I meet Eric’s girlfriend for the first time. Take a guess why my dad calls me Chipmunk, I’m a full-face eater.

“Chipmunk!” Eric laughs walking into the kitchen. I roll my eyes at him.

“Shut up,” I spat. Standing up we exchange a quick side hug, this is the most we ever do. The moment I let go of him I see a girl walk in behind him.

She has long brown hair parted on the side, she is almost taller than me, the nice knitted turtleneck dress she is wearing was a great choice, it allows Eric to gape at her figure, but the turtleneck makes it more conservative for my parents. Smart girl.

“Charlie, this is my girlfriend, Aaliyah. Aaliyah, this is my sister, Charlotte.”

I hop off the stool and hold out a hand for her that she takes with a smile.

“Hi, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Oh really? I hope you didn’t believe everything this dummie told you,” I scoff looking at Eric.

“Don’t worry, from what he told me about you he is obsessed with you,” she winks at me making Eric’s eyes go wide.

“What? No I’m not!”

Aaliyah steps closer to him hugging his waist with a bright smile on her face.

“Oh, don’t be shy, on our first date you mentioned her a million times. It’s okay, baby,” she giggles to herself making me instantly love her. Roasting Eric together can be our thing!

“Eric, it’s okay to love your sister to death,” I chime in enjoying the situation more than I should be, probably.

“Aaliyah, are you staying for dinner?” Mom asks smiling at her and offering her some gingerbread. She shakes her head no but takes a cookie.

“No, my brother is also coming home tonight, so I have to go home. But thank you.”

“Oh, okay.” I can tell she is disappointed that she has to go. I guess Mom loves Aaliyah, and from what I saw I can’t blame her. In fact, she might be too good for Eric!

We all stay in the kitchen while I finish my late lunch. I chat with Aaliyah finding out that she and Eric go to the same school, the school I also attended, and that she and Eric have math together. Aaliyah tutored Eric for one of the tests that ended up with him asking her out and the rest is history. She is very nice, well-mannered and pretty mature, that’s why I don’t know how well it all sits with my immature, ass little brother’s persona. Okay, I might exaggerate, he can be fine. Sometimes.

“I’m really sorry, but I have to head home now. But that you for everything, Mrs. Parker and see you on Tuesday, right?” Aaliyah nicely says standing up from the table.

“What is on Tuesday?” I ask.

“Oh, I forgot to mention, we are having dinner at Aaliyah’s with her family, is that alright, Chipmunk?” Mom caresses my cheek and I just shrug. Not that I have any special plans for the holidays.

“I thought we are having the usual family dinner.”

“Oh no.” Mom shakes her head. “We are skipping that this year. Aunt Mary and Lance are in Switzerland, your cousins Harry and Donald are too occupied with their studies, or that’s what they say. And then…”

“Okay, I get it. Everyone I busy,” I cut her off chuckling. “Then, dinner sounds good. Hey, Aaliyah, do you need a ride home?” I offer, but she shakes her head no putting her coat on with Eric right behind her.

“No, it’s good, I live two streets down, Eric will walk me home.”

My brother nods approvingly putting his own coat on. Wow, he is whipped! Good job, Aaliyah!

“It was nice meeting you!” I smile at her.

“You too, Charlotte!” She waves goodbye, and they leave.

This year’s Christmas is starting off just the same. I watch Brooklyn 99 during the day, work on a paper that is due to after the holidays and just casually hang out with my parents and Eric. The only thing that is different that Eric always has his phone in his hands, texting Aaliyah non-stop.

On the 25th I help Mom make come cookies that we can bring over for our dinner invitation, and she asks me about my love life, as per usual.

“So, have you been on any dates lately?”

I can’t help but roll my eyes as I hand her over the milk.

“Not really,” I admit sighing. Not because I’m sad I haven’t, but because I’m tired of these questions. I’m twenty, I still have time, it’s not like I’m supposed to get married anytime soon.

“I really wish Dylan didn’t turn into an ass.” She shakes her head and I scoff.

“He didn’t just turn into one, he was always one, he was just good at fooling people.”

Dylan Sanders, aka my only ex-boyfriend. I dated him from the age of fifteen until I almost turned eighteen. It’s a long time, and I’m kinda ashamed it took me so long to realize how big of an ass he really is. The pink clouds made me blind, but fortunately, it cleared up at one point and I successfully ended our toxic relationship. Too bad this point was after I ruined all my friendships because of him and ended up on my own when we ended things. This is one of the reasons I was excited to start a new life at the university, make new friends and just stop being Dylan Sanders’ girlfriend.

“Hey, maybe Aaliyah’s brother is nice. How amazing it would be if you dated him!”

Seeing her dreamy eyes I start laughing.

“Mom! I haven’t even met him, but I know you are already planning our marriage. Stop it, please.”

“Aaliyah is pretty great, I’m sure her brother is alike her.”

“Whatever, just please don’t make it awkward,” I plea. She just waves in dismiss.

I talk to Maddi right before it’s time to leave. I’m finishing up my makeup as the phone is laying in front of me with her on speaker.

“I’m serious. Nothing is more embarrassing than being the drunkest at a family gathering,” she moans painfully.

“Maybe you learnt your lesson now,” I chuckle fixing my mascara.

“Not really. Chapter 2 comes tonight, my cousins are arriving and they are hardcore drinkers.” She sighs tiredly. “Whatever. So, dinner tonight at Eric’s girlfriend’s? How is she?”

“She is cute. Almost too good for my stinky brother, but they look cute, it’s like a puppy love.”

“Aw, that’s the best! Well, I’m interested in the details so text me when you get home.”

“Will do.”

“Charlie! We are leaving!” I hear mom shouting from downstairs.

“Gotta go, talk to you later,” I quickly say before ending the call.

I stand up and check myself one last time in the mirror. I chose to wear a mustard colored knitted jumper with a pair of black jeans and silver hoops in my ears. I grab my phone from the table and join my family downstairs.

Aaliyah really lives close to us, we don’t take the car, just walk and we arrive in about ten minutes. It’s a nice two story house, kinda typical around here.

“Please don’t embarrass me, okay?” Eric asks us right before ringing the doorbell. The kid is too in love.

Aaliyah opens the door for us in a nice nude dress and she kisses Eric on the lips shortly before we all walk in.

“Mom!” She shouts while we are taking our coats and shoes off and a blonde woman appears soon in the hallway.

“Hi! So good to have you here!” She greets us with a wide smile. “I’m Karen, and this is Manny, my husband,” she introduces herself and the man who joins us in a moment.

“I’m Evelyn, this is George and Charlotte, Eric’s sister,” Mom introduces us and we all shake hands.

As we walk into the living room where there are wineglasses waiting for us I remember that Aaliyah has a brother. Just when I realize this I hear another male voice behind me.

“Oh, and this is our son, Aaliyah’s brother,” Karen gestures towards the door and I turn around just to have my jaw drop to the floor. “Shawn.”

Shawn Mendes is standing there, shaking hands with my parents and Eric and when his eyes find me he is just as shocked as me.

“Um, hi. I-I assume we already know each other,” he mumbles stepping closer and I shake his hand very shortly. I can’t believe he is Aaliyah’s brother, how did I not see the resemblance?

“Yeah. Hi,” I say nervously and Karen gives us a confused look.

“How do you guys know each other?”

“We-“ I start, but Shawn cuts me off.

“Mom, you remember my friend, Dylan from high school? Um, Charlotte dated him for a few years,” he says uncomfortably and I feel the same.

Shawn and Dylan were best buds when we started dating. They hung out all the time and I was trying my best to be on good terms with him as well. I wanted to be friends with Dylan’s friends so badly, but Shawn… He always seemed to hate me. No matter how friendly I tried to be he was always pretty rigid and weird with me, often avoiding to be in the same room as me and he also had a few quite hurtful comments that I tried to shake off for the sake of my relationship. Oh, and the worst was when he made an attempt to break us up telling Dylan lies about me. Thinking back at it now I wish he succeed, but it was still an asshole move from him, working so against me all that time, I wish I stood up for myself, but I was so into Dylan I was willing to put up with everything, even a mean best friend.

I haven’t seen him since about, tenth grade, when he became a private student to purchase his dreams and become a singer. Dylan kept in touch with him for a while, but I think they eventually stopped talking at one point.

“For two and a half years, to be exact,” I add bitterly.

“Oh! Wait, you are…” Karen starts, but Shawn gives her an unreadable look and she quickly gets quiet. “Never mind.” I raise my eyebrows seeing the scene, it’s quite odd. What did she want to tell me about? Did Dylan tell her stuff about me when he was still friends with Shawn?

I keep thinking about it as we have a nice glass of wine and move over into the dining room where the table is already set. The two families take place around the oval shaped dining table, I have my mom on my right and Eric on my left and I’m so lucky to have Shawn right across me, staring at me, making me quite anxious.

This is too uncomfortable, I think to myself. I try my best to ignore his gaze on me, and I mostly focus on Karen and Manny. They are extremely nice though. The dinner is amazing, the parents seem to hit it off immediately finding all the common things. Aaliyah and Eric seem to be satisfied, while I just sit there, ignoring Shawn’s eyes on me.

“And Shawn, which university are you studying at?” Mom asks making Eric laugh and she gives him a confused look. “What?”

“Mom, Shawn is…” Eric starts, but I cut him off before I could even stop myself from talking.

“He is a singer, Mom.”

“A singer? Like, a famous one?”

“He was voted as one of the most influential people this year,” Eric informs her and her eyes go wide. In the meanwhile, Shawn is just sitting there with a shy smile on his face.

“I’m sorry, I’m not really good with these stuff.”

“It’s fine. But, yeah. I don’t go to school. What about you, Charlotte?”

I can’t help but cringe how he calls me Charlotte, again. He did this in the past even though I hated being called Charlotte. I had this obsession to be a tomboy and though Charlie sounds better with my image. Now I don’t mind it, but still, most people call me Charlie, and he knows it, I think.

“I- Um… I’m a student at the University of Toronto. I study literature.”

“Oh, that sounds lovely! How much do you have left?” Manny asks clearly interested in my education.

“One year.”

“And what are you planning after?” Shawn suddenly asks and I’m surprised he is interested in anything in connection with me.

“Um… I don’t know just yet,” I mumble feeling nervous in the center of attention.

“Don’t be silly, Charlie!” Mom starts rolling her eyes. “Charlie is already working on a project for a book publisher. They are working on a book especially for sick children that has stories with characters with illnesses or disabilities.”

“That sounds amazing!” Karen cheers looking at me proudly and I can feel myself blushing.

“So you are still very generous,” Shawn comments and I look up at him with furrowed eyebrows.

“Still?” He shakes his head clearing his throat as if he just realized what he said.

“Um, yeah. Dylan used to tell me how much you volunteered and stuff…” he mumbles with his eyes fixed on his plate.

Oh, so he and Dylan talked about me and he still remembers it? That’s quite surprising, I thought he forgot about me as soon as he set his foot outside of Toronto. He never seemed to be interested in anything about me.

After dessert the table breaks up. Karen and my mom starts bringing the tables back to the kitchen, Manny and Dad move to the living room and Shawn disappears somewhere. Aaliyah is helping in the kitchen while Eric is just about to join the dad section, but I pull him to the side in the hallway.

“Why didn’t you tell me Aaliyah’s brother is Shawn Mendes?” I hiss at him, but he just gives me a puzzled look.

“Why do you care? I thought you are not a fan of these celebrities.”

I roll my eyes at him.

“Yeah, but a heads up would have been good, and if you told me who he is, I would have gotten ready to meet him. We weren’t really the best of buds in school.”

“Okay, and how would have I known? I was eleven when you and Dylan got together, even if you told me about Shawn, I wouldn’t remember it for my life. And besides, what is your problem with him? He is cool and nice.”

“Now he is, but he was an ass when I was dating Dylan.”

“Okay, well… that’s the past. Get yourself over it.”

He pats my shoulder before walking away. I growl in annoyance, because he is right, he couldn’t have known my past with Shawn. I don’t think I shared anything with him back then, it was way before our relationship matured and could actually talk without getting into a fight on the floor. All siblings need time to get over this phase. Ours ended sometime right before I moved out.

I rub my face to pull myself together and turning around I’m about to go after Eric and join the conversation in the living room, but then Shawn appears on the stairs and I stop.

“Hey,” he quietly says and I nod at him awkwardly. I have no idea how to deal with this situation. “So… I know, it’s awkward after all these years.”

“Yeah, it is,” I chuckle with a grimace.

“Are you… How are you and Dylan these days?”

“I have no idea how he is. After we broke up in senior year I saw him once. Two years ago at McDonald’s with some blonde chick.”

“Why did you two break up?” he asks it nosily. I find it pretty weird to stand here, at the Mendes house’s hallway with Shawn Mendes and talk about my breakup with my high school sweetheart.

“Um… He cheated on me with Kristi Burgess.”

“Ouch,” he frowns. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” I shrug. “I cried for about a month, but I guess I’m over it now,” I say jokingly and he also cracks a smile.

There is a short silence that is rather awkward, I don’t know if I should say something, or just walk away, but he is the first one to speak up.

“Listen. I know I was quite the asshole back in high school and I’m sorry for that. I’ve matured, I changed and I thought that maybe… we could start over. I haven’t talked to Dylan in years either and I was acting like a douche because I thought it was impressing him. I was so stupid.”

I can relate to that. Dylan had this power over people, he could make them want to satisfy him and make him impressed, but it’s all bullshit.

“This sounds great. Let’s forget about everything in connection with Dylan,” I offer and he smiles at me nodding.

“Deal. Well, it’s nice to see you again, Charlotte.”

“Okay, as a starter, you could finally call me Charlie,” I tell him chuckling.

“Yeah. Sorry, I guess I’m used to calling you Charlotte,” he apologizes. “Charlie, why don’t we join our families for another drink maybe?”

“Sounds like a plan,” I nod and I follow him into the living room.

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