#also I hope it's fine I'm continuing this even tho it's old and you've changed blogs dkjfh

[auxiliuno]

I love how you wrote my last request so here's another. I feel manic but dogshit lately so please gib angst.

König and ex gf Y/N bump into each other again at a German cafe after so many yrs. Lil happy catch up over coffee (that Y/N prolly initiates bc knowing König). They had a good relationship but shit didn't work out as young peeps. She lives abroad now and just returned to town to visit family, so as much as the relationship was rly special, it's old and unrealistic and both are just happy to know the other is doing great.

Then days after, he lowkey wants a friendly chat again but finds out that she died in a car accident. Now König doesn't know if he wants to cry or not, and if he should visit (he prolly will). Gawd it's a whole level of sad when it fits upbeat music. Song reference? Alexa, play Never Forget You by Noisettes.

And thank you, have a good day.

Hello! Thank you for requesting from me again, I'm really happy you enjoyed my first writing! 💗 I hope you feel better soon darling :( ik how it feels to be in a bad place so I'm sending you lots of love! XOXO 💝

König x ex!reader

Hurt/angst

Sfw

Tw: mentions of death and car accidents, funeral, crying, cursing

How long has it been? 2 years, 3 years? No, definitely more than that

The time you spent with that boy washed away like sand on the seashore

Memories fade, as do old relationships

You just never thought you'd see him again

On a trip back to your hometown, to visit your family

You go to your favorite café, the one you always went to before you went to work abroad

The smell and atmosphere of the café brings back so many memories, of good and bad, happy and sad

Nostalgia is truly a weird thing

As if he knew you were nostalgic, he was sitting at a small table, in the back of the café, looking over it

That's when his eyes meet yours

Both of you freeze momentarily; time seems to stop

None of you dare to move, waiting for the other to initiate the first move

Like how it was, and always had been, you were the braver one

You started your way to him

He shifts, clearly startled by your sudden eagerness

"Hey, is this seat taken?"

"No"

Well then that's your que

You sit down across him; time seems to go by painfully slow. You both don't dare to look in each other's eyes, not knowing what to say. Having to take the lead again, you part your mouths to say what he didn't have the courage to say. "How have you been König?". He seems even more disturbed by your friendliness, shifting in his seat; he answers: "I've been fine, you?". A bit more comfortable now, you decide to be more open about what you've been up to, despite the fact that you both had history.

"Well, you know, just been working, doing the adult stuff....paying taxes and shit." You try to be a bit funny, but you think you sound awkward to him. He smiles, he missed this old you, you've never changed ever since you were children; that takes him back to his younger days, with you. You continue on: "I found a good job abroad, and it pays well. It's also a job that I've always wanted to have.". "I know, you've always been adventurous, wanting to get away from this small town.". You nod, surprised that he somehow still remembers that about you.

"What about you? What have you been up to? You ask curiosly. Truth be told, he had grown up and looked way different from the young boy you used to know, but his personality didn't seem to change much; his body was just a man now. A handsome man at that. You briefly wondered if he was seeing someone else know, but quickly remind yourself that it's not what you're here for. He's just an old friend you knew.

"I got the military job I wanted." Swiftly, he meets your eyes for a second to see any sign of admiration or fondness for his new job. He thought that maybe joining the army would make him more scary, more manly, less of the young and dumb boy he once was. Yet your expression never wavered, but you seemed proud of him. He was fine with that. "That's really great König! I can't imagine the hard and tough training you went through to join the army, I'm very proud of you." Your answer was so genuine and kind. It made his heart ache a little. Just a little... "Yeah, I'm happy you think that." Wow, what a conversation killer you thought. Seems like you still need to take the lead, even in a conversation.

"So...." You start slowly, pleading him with your eyes, to say something too. "So, why are you back here?" He asked, genuinely, he was curious; he hadn't seen you in such a long time, didn't hear from you either, and now you just suddenly show up? And he happens to see you? Fate must have set you guys up, again. Dumbfounded, you answer: "I'm just back to see my family, I miss them a lot, and this town, even if I acted like I wanted to get out of it. I never thought that I could miss it so much, or maybe I just missed the memories I made here." Wow. What a deep answer. Were you also thinking of him when you said the memories you missed? Does that mean you missed him? Part of the reason why he was in this particular café today was because he missed you.

He missed the memories you both made here, the numerous dates you guys had here. He just didn't expect to see you. Lady luck really smiled on him today, so why does it feel like he's fucking it up? What does he lack? What's wrong with him? Hadn't he grown into a better man now? Older and wiser, kinder and smarter? You break his train of thought when you suddenly tell him that it was time for you to go, you still had family to visit. He silently curses himself for letting you sit in silence with him, when he had this chance to talk to you again. He just mods politely, tells you that it was nice to see you again, and maybe you both should go out to catch up again sometime. You nod and agree: "Here's my number if you want to contact me König." Althought taken aback by your boldness, he eagerly takes your number. "Here's mine. See you here, same time, same place, in two days?" You agree and say your goodbyes to him, little did he know, he should've cherished this time better, as it would be the last time he ever got to see and hear you again.

The two days went by so slow. He was still processing the fact that he actually got to see you again. "Should I wear something nicer today?" He thought. "No, it's just a casual talk over coffee. Nothing special." He opted for a white button-up shirt and rolled up the sleeves, paired with dark jeans and leather shoes. At least he looked presentable enough. At the same time as yesterday, he drove to the café. He sat down in the sane spot as yesterday, patiently waiting for you. After he waited around 20 minutes, he decided to text you."Hey y/n, are you okay? I'm waiting at the café for you. If you are running late, it's okay, just lmk." Simple, yet to the point. He waited about 10 minutes for you to reply or call him, but there was nothing. Anxiously, his thoughts started to waver and think the worst. Maybe it was your plan all along, to get him to trust you, and then to hurt him like this. No, you wouldn't do that; you never were that kind of person. He knew he needed to stop being so insecure and worried, so instead, he decided to drive to your family to check on you instead.

It was a short drive, from the café to your family house, which he remembered was on a small but peaceful street. Driving by, he saw it; it was the same as he remembered in his teenage days; small yet cozy, you had a younger brother that most likely already moved out too. The house had all sorts of flora and greens growing outside of it. Your parents had a passion for gardening and always kept everything presentable. Parking his car on the side of the street, he got out and made his way up the steps of your family house. Nervously, he knocked on the front door a few times, anxiously waiting for someone to answer the door.

After a few minutes of worrying and anxious thinking, your mom opened the door, looking distraught and her eyes a bit red. "Hello Mrs.l/n, how are you? I came to check up on y/n after she didn't show up to our...catch up day today.". He was so nervous about talking to your mom again, fearing she would get mad and shut the door on him since you guys weren't a thing anymore. Instead, she looked a bit relieved, but tears started welling up in her eyes. "K-könig, it's so nice to see you again... It's y-y/n, she...she got into a car crash just half an hour ago. She told me she was on her way to see you." His heart dropped. "W-What, Mrs.l/n, are you sure? Y-y/n can't really be....gone? Right?" He was shaking now, stuttering through his words. "I wish I was lying too König, but we just found out too, after the police called us.". No!no! This can't be! After all those years of missing you, he got his chance to talk to you again, and now you leave again? It can't be true! "Would you like to come in and have a seat König? I'll make a cup of tea for you, " she sniffled. Still shocked, he nodded and went inside your house. The smell and feeling of your presence hit him like a train. He couldn't help but let tears well up in his eyes, nose starting to run. Your mom gently pats his shoulders as she leads him to sit down at the dinner table.

After he was seated, she started to make some tea in a kettle: "she had missed you a lot." She told him suddenly. Shocked, König looked up at her from his hands, "she did?". "Yes, she told me yesterday night about how she ran into you at her favorite café, and how you hadn't changed much. She said you reminded her of home." Fuck. He started crying harder now, after he heard what your mother told him. You really missed him? And all this time he was worried about what he did. You truly were a kind soul. Your mom turned around and gave him a hug. "I know it's hard König, I know you must have missed her too. Otherwise, why could you have come all the way to our house to check up on her?" He shifted, agreeing with what she said. "She would've been very happy to hear that you still care about her this much, after all these years.". He started bawling now. He didn't care if it was embarrassing. He didn't care if he wasn't manly anymore. All he wanted to do was to mourn for you, for the soul mate he lost. For the one who slipped from his fingers all the time.

Your mom continued: "After the police are done investigating who the driver that ran into her was, and after they...they gather her body... we will be having a funeral for her. We would be happy if you'd come." "Yes, yes, I will be attending her funeral, Mrs.l/n." "Good, she would have wanted you to. Would you like to stay here for tonight?" She asked kindly. "Thank you for the offer, Mrs.l/n, but I think I should go and think about everything." "I understand König, but you are welcome back here anytime okay?" He nodded, thanked her for the tea, and went about his way home.

On the drive back to his home, he couldn't stop the waterworks from coming. He was never the type to cry so hard, especially not over someone. But you, you had been different. You bad been someone special, someone he held dear.

Now that you're gone, he doesn't know what to do. He was probably going to drink his night away and reminiscence all the good times you guys had together.

The day of the funeral came back. All your friends and family were gathered together on a gloomy, cloudy day. The sky looked like it dared everyone to go home, for it would start storming anytime soon. Looks like even the heavens were downcast from your death. He stood alongside your mom for the rest of the funeral. He brought your favorite flowers and set them on your gravestone solemnly. Silently, he promised to himself that he would never, ever love anyone unless it's you again.

Omgggg this was one of the longest fics I've ever written 😭😭😭 I'm sorry it took kind of long, and I apologize if there are any errors in here, I was too lazy to go back and proof read it 😞😞😞 I hope you guys enjoy it tho!

Have a great day!💐

[mkfluffluv]

How would Marc and Steven help their s/o when they’ve had a bad day, like the kinda bad day where everything goes wrong.

Thank you

We're Here

MARC SPECTOR X READER , STEVEN GRANT X READER , JAKE LOCKLEY X READER

prompt : your boyfriends comfort you after you've had the worst day possible

posting two fics in a day? i'm on a roll!! yes i worked on both this and dyed hair disaster in a single day, i am very tired lol, BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOY!!

likes and reblogs appreciated as always <3

warnings : this is hurt/comfort. still fluff. but there's a lot of emotional stuff, blaming one’s self for things when you shouldn't, sad thoughts. this is still very fluffy tho no need to worry

word count : 1,497

masterlist

Today has been a very awful no good very bad day.

It started with getting up 10 minutes late for your desk job all because you'd forgotten to set up your alarm on time. Then, because you had hurried while getting ready, you'd also forgotten to bring the very important papers that you had to give to your boss to which he had yelled at you for hours and then proceeds to tell you to get out and go home. You weren't getting fired, no, your boss wasn't that cruel, but still, it was incredibly humiliating to have been scolded like that in front of all your co-workers.

But that's not where the bad day ends, oh no, that was simply just the beginning. On your sad walk back to your apartment, a car drove past a brown puddle, and you, standing on the sidewalk had become the selected victim of the splash. Nobody else had gotten hit. Just you. Not even the lady who was sitting right beside you. You didn’t even know how that was even possible but people were staring and you needed to go immediately.

So you've got disgusting mud water all over your work clothes as you continue your shameful walk, what next? You could already feel everyone's pitiful gaze boring into your back and could almost hear their thoughts every time you passed by each sorry look that they gave. You hated it.

So far, the only good thing that came out of that day was the nice old lady who had approached you and given you a bag of delicious pastries for you to eat. It lifted your mood a bit after she patted you on the back and left.

Then of course, because your luck was just so darned terrible, the moment you were finally at the front door of your apartment building, a man rushed past you and bumped into your shoulder, resulting in you falling on your ass and dropping the pastries into another puddle.

Those darned puddles.

At that point, you just didn't care anymore.

You were tired, hungry, upset, and just overall not in a good mood. So, you let out a scream into the palm of your hands, ignoring the people around the sidewalk that are most definitely staring at you right now.

After you've finished your little scream fest, you stand up and take a deep and long breath, whispering reassurances to yourself all the way back to your small studio apartment.

Everything was fine for a while.

You threw away your wasted pastries, changed into your comfy pajamas, and finally, sat down on your couch to watch the new episode of your favorite show. At least, that was the plan.

Imagine your shock when you find that the show was nowhere to be found on the site and when you looked up what happened to it, you just snapped.

The show had been discontinued.

-

That's pretty much how terrible your day has been. So now you're curled up in your blankets, crying into your phone with your boyfriend on the other line, whispering constant reassurances at you as you can hear him rushing through the crowds of the busy streets. It lightens up your mood a bit when you hear him yell at a bunch of random walkers, like you being sad over an unusually unlucky day was this big emergency.

When Marc bursts into your room, you immediately jump to your feet and into his embrace, Marc immediately wraps his arms around your waist and softly whispers into your hair. He doesn’t question you nor force you to talk. He just holds you tighter and tighter, making you feel safer as the seconds go by.

"You're okay, baby, you're okay, I'm here." He soothes, one of his hands gently patting your head as he presses multiple kisses to your forehead.

The dam that has been holding up all the emotions inside of you since the beginning of this day finally breaks and you start to fully cry into his shoulders. Everything is coming all at once and it's just too much. Your fear of getting fired by your boss, the worry of never being able to get rid of the stains on your work shirt, and the guilt of dropping those pastries that the old lady had been so kind to give to you. It’s all too much.

Marc guides you back to your bed, arms still tightly wrapped around you as he sways you back and forth to calm you down, all the while whispering comforting words into your ear.

The both of you stay like that for a while until your sobs quiet down and you can breathe slightly better now.

Suddenly, he pulls away but still keeps you at arm's length. You let out a disapproving whine at the loss of his warmth against your body, but when you look up, you notice the change in his expression and his posture.

His brows are more furrowed, his lips tightly shut and turned downwards to an upset frown. He's holding you by your forearms tightly as if holding back the urge to punch the wall next to him. It's not tight to the point of hurting though. You know Jake would never hurt you.

"Who did this to you?" He asks, the tone of his voice dangerous and threatening but you know they're not directed to you. You don't know to who the voice should be directed. Should it be for your boss who humiliated you in front of your friends and co-workers? Or maybe the driver who splashed mud all over your work clothes? Maybe the man who had pushed you and made you drop your pantries? No. You don't know because you can't blame any of them and can only blame your bad luck.

So you shake your head instead, indicating that you don't want to talk about it right now. Jake's face drops even more but he understands and opens his arms. You naturally fall into them, your back now pressed to his chest as he plays with your hair. He tells you about his day, about the different people he talked to working as a cabbie, and the criminals that he had caught. It's nice. You listen to him intently as his voice drowns out your loud thoughts.

Eventually though, after a while of hugging, your emotional breakdown starts to tire you. Your eyes are half-opened and you're yawning every few seconds. Jake chuckles at you.

"Guess it's Steven's turn to comfort you. He's always been the better cuddler after all." He says. His arms wrap around your stomach and his chin rests on your shoulder so you can turn and see his smile.

"You're all good cuddlers." You respond, a hand coming up to pat Jake's head and giving him a quick kiss on his cheek.

"But you won't deny that Steven's the best cuddler, huh?" You shake your head at his question with a shy smile, making him laugh a little. "I won't argue with that."

Jake holds you for a little longer before you can feel the way his posture changes, his eyes changing from the usual tense stare to Steven's often wide-eyed but still somewhat relaxed one.

"Hi, Steven." You greet him, the smile on your face lighting up even more. He smiles back at you of course and presses a quick kiss to your lips.

"Hi, love." He greets back.

You turn your body so that you're facing him now, and press your forehead against his. He then moves his hands to hold yours as you practice your breathing together. In and out. In and out. This is how it usually goes with Steven. A few minutes of just grounding yourselves before falling asleep.

You pull away first when you remember something important.

"Don't you have, um," You flail your hands around your face and do the motion of throwing a crescent blade, unsure of what word you should use to describe their nightly routines.

Steven laughs at your silly reenactment and shakes his head. "The old pigeon will understand. He's got a big ole soft spot for you actually." He tells you, to which your cheeks flush in embarrassment. Steven can't help but lightly pinch your cheeks.

He then lays down on your bed, pulling you with him and closer to him. His arms wrap cozily around your waist and his legs tangle themselves with yours. The position is comfy and warm but most importantly, it makes you feel safe.

Having Steven, Marc, and Jake around makes you feel so much safer now. No more worries are lingering in your head about what other things your bad luck would bring to you, no more fears of what the next day might become. All you can feel and hear right now is their heartbeat close to your ears and it's steady and calm and comforting in all the right ways.

[dreaminpeaches]

“Ladies, Gentlemen, Enbies...HER--I mean Him? Or them?-- whatever, anyways here's the first part of my daydream paracosm, Humble Pie. I was really happy I was able to come up with the first part in a somewhat cohort manner. Part 2 is also going to follow this sometime soon, but after that its probably just gonna be short shorts, text exchanges, and or drabbles, but that first part’s finally a thing! And that’s cool”

“Also just reminder that this paracosm is set in a mix timeline, like people have flip phones, cassette tapes, but still also have stuff like gamer chairs, and slang like sus/lit exist, so I hope that doesn’t bother you..oof”

“Also I wrote this from my Remarkable, then convert it to text, and did some proof reading, but my handwriting is still can only be read by chickens and my dyslexia ninja has sneak 100 accuracy so..yeah

Word count: 6,115

TW: mention of Bullying, DeadBeat dad, Smoking, Drinking, Swearing (only for comedy’s sake tho’), Dissociation, Guilt (but don’t worry there’s still A LOT of fluff in this piece, tho)

Link to Alternate version on my off-site daydream blog: Humble pie part 1

=================================================================

"Okay, here we go" Beau said, taking one last drag of his cigarette, and taking in one last look at the panoramic view of the town below, Newbury, his hometown, he was away for a year because of college which he dropped out of. Well, "dropout" made it seemed like he had a choice, more like he flunked out, there were' 'reasons that 'made college impossible for Beau, reasons that he couldn't get into or more like reasons he didn't want to get into, these were the some reasons that turned what was suppose to be a 5 hour drive into an 8 hour one, making him stop ever so often to the nearest park, overlook, or clearing to get out, smoke and or take a short walk. These stops were so frequent by the time he reached his hometown’s overlook he was on his last stick, hard to believe he started the trip w/ a full box.

He dropped the last of the remains of the cig on the ground and stomped out the glow ember with his dark brown rounded toed boot, watching the embers glow go out made him feel similar in a way.

Beau took one more last look at the small town below blanketed by the dark, light sky. He looked around. the overlook, bring back memories of. late night make outs, sneak outs and general teenaged shenanigans.

Beau remembers once on a night he was really buzzed, a rare event for him, drinking with his buddies, rather it was the buzz from the beer, or he was just 'riding the 'high off scoring the winning goal for the team, or general teen hormones. He felt invincible, so invincible he stood up on the ledge and proclaimed himself as king of the world

A moment Beau looks back at and shakes his head as if to try to erase the memory from his mind like an etch n’ sketch, suddenly he got a bad taste in his mouth or maybe that's just the cigarettes "King of world….yeah, right" Beau said pulling up the collar of his jacket and shrugging his hands into his pockets, and headed back into the car.

It was getting late and there was no use in stalling any longer, might as well continue to the inevitable. Stalling may be that’s the feeling that's been following him the whole time, stalling the fact that he would have to return to his hometown a failure after being touted and praised for being a star athlete , and getting into a ivy league school, a feat his mom was really proud since she herself couldn't go to college because of having Beau at such a young age, and having to deal with a bunch of other “BS” as Beau would put it.

Beau really wanted to make her proud by becoming a famous football player and make tons of money so she wouldn't ever have to worry about bills n 'stuff and live in the malibu dream house she dreamed of living in since she was a kid, a dream she would talk about to her children like it was fairytale during when time got real tough.Even though she sounded upbeat over the phone about the news, Beau knew his mom was an expert when it came to masking her disappointment and skill that was pretty integral with dealing Beau's birth father. He just hopes she's not too disappointed

As the twilight sky grew more dark the street lights flickered on. Familiar and nostalgic landmarks and structures rolled by as Beau drove by with one hand gripping the wheel while the other hand hung casually out of the rolled down window. the nighttime breeze gentle, tossing his cart dirty blond hair mullet. The 'murmur of punk music lighty playing from the car's speaker, that was playing louder earlier but the volume's quickly depleted because blasting punk 'music at night in a small town is pretty serious offensive a risk, a younger Beau would play around with, but now being older he knows better.

Driving into his old neighborhood, seemingly not much has changed, but what do you expect from a small town? The old neighborhood consisted of typical signatures of most middle upper class .. neighborhoods, Christmas ' decorations long over due to be taken down, manicured lawns, next to slightly less manicured lawns. Some lawns adored w/ gnomes and flamingos, a step up from the lawns of homes in his childhood neighborhood whose homes had what one could consider a lawn but just barely, Beau and his brother were lucky enough to have a sizable back yard and a tree house.

His family's lawn had a bunch of outdoor toys laid about on their lawn: a nerf gun, a pink tricycle, a tiled dyed color bouncy ball and an empty container of mega bubble wand. Beau drove up in the driveway being careful to not accidentally run over any of the toys in the yard.

He eject the mixtape from the player and put it into his jacket chest pocket. Beau leaned over and rummaged through the glove compartment fishing out a small travel can of axe's body spray and another small spray can of mouthwash, he used both to cover the scent of cigarette smoke, a smell his mother was highly sensitive to. He popped in a stick of spearmint for extra measure before getting out of the car and going to the trunk to retrieve his suitcase. Beau only had one suitcase since all the stuff really needed and cared about conveniently fitted in one suitcase.

Beau propped up his suitcase as he closed the trunk, the car beeped and blinked as he pressed the lock button. He headed up the pathway to the front door, his heart beating louder and louder with each step leading up to the front door.

Beau took a deep breath, Pulling himself together. "Okay" He said under his breath as his hand slowly reach for the knob but before he could even get a good grip, the door swung open, Beau's eyes raced up to see the thinning hair of a middle aged man, Beau eyes lowered a bit more to see the mustached clad face of the man the hair belonged to. "Hey, Big Boss! '' the mustache man said with a grin. The man was Beau's stepfather, David.

"Hello, David, I-I mean Dad." Beau awkwardly greeted his stepdad, trying his best not to show discomfort at his step dad's “nickname" for him.

"Ha, ha that's okay, son!”David laughed, giving Beau a hefty pat on the back.

"Here, let me get your bags." David said, reaching for Beau's suitcase, looking behind Beau expecting more bags

“You only brought one bag?" he questioned, looking curiously.

'--I like to be efficient" Beau muttered with a shrug and a side glance. "HAHA you and me both, Big B" David chuckled playful elbowing Beau, who gave a half-smile and a small chuckle--well, more like a slight nose huff

"Hey, honey Big B is home!" David shouted as Beau closed the front door.

His mother came rushing from the bedroom in her rose pink robe w/a barbie in insignia on the front with matching fuzzy slippers, her sandy blond hair still damp from the shower.

"My little boy, oh!" she said, warping Beau in a tight motherly embrace. "Welcome home!" Beau's mother pulled back for a second, cupping her son's face in her hands “you’re still so handsome"

"Wait..." Beau gently removed his mom's hands from his face "Are you okay, mom?" He asked his considerate brown eyes searching his mother's teal eyes for any sign of distress.

"Of course, sweetie," his mom beamed. "I have all of my loved ones under one roof. What's more to ask?"

it's just that I didn't- Y-you know." Beau said with downcast eyes

"Oh, that" his mom said wide eyes and then shaking her head in dismissed

"Don't worry about not finishing college, I mean just look at me"

“But You just seemed so proud that I got in, I just didn't want to let you down"

“Sweetie, it's fine," his mom said, gently guiding his head up with her hand to look at him "I was not proud that-You were becoming the smart, sweet kind young man, I always knew you were, but now. I'm just happy that you’re here and I get to see you go. on the journey myself!" Beau chuckled tightly and blushed at his mom's admiration.

"Plus, Your mom's not the only one who is happy to have You home!” David said, gesturing towards the hallway. Beau looked to see a small figure peeking from the corner, the figure quickly disappeared followed by an overflow of giggles.

A smile slowly creeped across Beau's face, he slowly kneeled down. " "Gasp * Is that my little care bear?"

From the shadows totted out, a little girl dressed in a blue care bear patterned nightgown, her blonde hair tied up in pigtails, she grasped a love-a-lot bear in one arm while her other arm was open as she raced towards Beau, also with arms wide open for a hug "Bo-Bo"

"Hey, care bear!" Beau cooed as he picked up his little sister "Wow, You've gotten so big since the last time I saw you!

"Carrie's been asking when you were coming since you told us you were coming home "David stated

"Really?"

"Yep!'' Carrie nodded proudly "You still have the love-a lot bear I won at grad night". Beau vividly remembers winning Love A Lot and his friends making fun of him, but Carrie really appreciated it more than he thought.

"Yeah, she takes it with her everywhere!" mom emphasized “Thank god, the kindergarten has a security blanket policy!

"Aww..." Beau said fondly looking at Carrie, who had her head resting on his shoulder, still grasping love a lot.

Beau thought for a moment and looked around "wait, where Dev?"

"Oh" mom said putting her hand on her head with a semi sigh "He's been going through... things"

"Teenager things: David specified "He's the big one three now.. "

“Don't worry, I can talk to him!”Beau said, confidently, slowly nodding his head

. Carrie lets out a small yawn "Aw, you sleepy, care bear?" Beau asked as Carrie rubbed her eyes

"It's past her bedtime, but she really wanted to see you," Mom said, stroking Carrie's hair. "Is someone ready for the sleep shuttle'?" Beau asked Carrie, looking at her in her sleepy hazel eyes, she nodded in response

"Alright, Here we go!" Beau held Carrie in both hands placing his arms out in front of him, he kneeled down and started counting down. "3…..2...1. Blast off!"

Beau shot Carrie in the as he stood back up. As he moved towards Carrie's bedroom, he moved all around side to side, up and down while making spaceship sounds, Carrie was giggling all the way through.

"Incoming! "Beau shouted as he swooshed Carrie round a few more times before landing her swiftly on the bed.

"Huston, the eagle. has landed!." Beau said, holding his ear as if he had an earpiece "Not eagle! Bear!" Carrie stated holding up her care bear "correction, the "BEAR" has landed!" Beau correcting himself, bringing a huge smile to her face as she nuzzled her care bear

"Okay, night, right, care bear" Beau said patting carries head

"Wait!" Carrie said holding on to her brother's arm "Is Bo-Bo still gonna be here in the Morning?""Of course, I'm not going anywhere at least for a while.." "Beau said, kneeling down to Carrie's eye level.

"Okay, I like having Bo-Bo around:'' Carrie said "and I like being around" Beau said, "see you in the morning, care bear" Beau gives Carrie a good night kiss on the forehead.

She settles into bed as Beau closes the door. Beau grinned to himself, feeling lucky to have such a cute sister. He remembers when Devin was that little, speaking of Dev. Beau apphoraced Dev's bedroom door. The door was caution tape, Don't enter signs, with a please knock before entering sign.

At first Beau did think about knocking but then thought "I could be a respectful older brother respect the sign or I could have fun and be a little shit. He pondered about it for a minute then-"yeah, I'm gonna be a little shit.”

Beau took a card out his wallet and wedged it in between the door to jimmied the lock. He peeked through the door to see Dev playing a video game on the tv. "you little..." Beau said under his breath, before bombastically opening the door "Hey there, squirt!" Beau said, shoving the door open

"Didn't you read the sign?!" Dev said as he turned around in his gamer chair in both shock-and annoyance

"Wow, that's a pretty warm welcome to give your older brother you haven't seen in a year!" Beau snarked, pretending to look hurt'' "Nice to see you too!"

"Oh my god!" Dev said, rolling his eyes and turning his chair back to tv, bringing his attention back to the game.

"and here I thought you were working on a project or homework or some school shit!" Beau continued "but no, you're just sitting here playing one of your little nerd games"

"Oh my god, can't you just leave!" Dev groaned as he hunching closer to the tv.

"You couldn't at least say "Hi" " Beau said now standing right behind Dev gamer chair

Dev raised and waved his hand half-heartedly and flatly said "hi"

"Well, damn I feel loved," Beau said sarcastically. "aren't you at least gonna look at me?" shaking the gaming chair a bit to gain an ounce of his little brother’s attention.

“ I saw you "Kool aid man" into my room. Is that enough?" Dev said still focusing on the game Beau sighed, then got an idea "Dev! Dev! I think there's something wrong with my heart I think I gonna-ugh!" He said staggering forward a bit before falling in Dev's lap, knocking out the game controller out of Dev's hands.

"Come on! I was in the middle of battle!" Dev whined looking at his brother playing dead

"Get off of me!" Dev go armed as he tried to push beau off with no luck

"Come on, Beau!" He gored in frustration “I know you're not dead! I can still feel your heartbeat..."

Get up!" Beau remained still, Dev rolled his eyes; he knew the exact words to get his brother off his back or in this case lap.

"Big brother, can you please get off of me n Dev utter begrudgingly "Aw, you haven't call me ‘Big brother’ in years" Beau chimed with a smile, finally getting up "I'm still kind of hurt, that you cared about your gaming progress than the well being for your one and only big brother"

"You were still breathing, I could literally see you inhaling and exhaling." Dev clarified rubbing his forehead

"Touche, I guess" Beau said he then directed Dev's chair in front his bed," now that I have your attention"

"Okay, I guess I should say sorry since you couldn't and say "hi" to me because you were too busy saving some elf princess, or some anime chick with huge melons"

"I-H-Hey I don't even play those types of games!" Dev argued blushing

" .-sure you "don't'." Beau taunted with a wink, Dev goanned "Anyways, Anyways you don't have to say "hi",; but you could at least not talk to me"

Beau suggested, shrugging. "I guess" Dev mumbled kind of sinking into his chair "cool, so how's life?" Beau started, trying to start a diagoul "okay"

"How's school?"

"Okay"

"How’re your friends?"

"Okay"

"Got a girlfriend?"'

"NO”

"Got a boyfriend?"

N-NO"

"Got any crushes"

“….NO…..."

"joined any clubs or any other after school junk?"

" ..... NO..."

"Are you just gonna answer all my questions in one word?"

Dev fell quiet, and shifted his gaze from his brother

“Okay, that's it!" Beau huffed, he picked up Dev and hoasted him over his shoulder "Hey! put me down!" Dev-shouted , beating his fists on Beau's back "Not until you talk to me like an actual person, and one worded answers aren't gonna cut it, squirt!"

"MOM! Dad!"

"Mom and Dav-Dad are fast asleep, and you know they both sleep like rocks!" Beau stated'' the only person you'll wake up is Carrie, and You don't want to wake little care bear, now do YOU?"

Dev fell Quiet again, "You know I can hold you like this for hours, you aren't really that heavy, or you can just end this and talk to me" Beau suggested ending the suggestion with a sigh and started to stomp his foot impatiently..

Dev continued the silent treatment for a bit until letting out a meek "Okay...I'll try" .

Hey, three words, that's a start!" Beau cheekly commented,He sat Dev back down in his green gamer chair.

"Okay, do over!" Beau said casually sitting across from Dev and his bed. "so, how's school going?" "F-fine” Beau gave Dev a intense look, reminding Dev of his word count “N-no, I mean it's just weird" Dev stuttered choosing his words carefully, Dev fiddled with his hoodie sleeves.

"and it's weird because..." Beau initiated, gesturing his hand toward encouraging Dev to continue "It's weird because.... I don't know, Middle school is way different than 'elementary school, I mean I knew that from tv, but middle school isn't like tv."

"It's okay, nothing like tv, that thing lies” Beau softly chuckled to himself and continued “I remember thinking Pogo sticks were the SHIT-cuz 'of people and cartoons on tv made it look so easy"

"I finally got enough money for one-- you were like little you probably don’t remember this-- but I was SO HYPED, I wanted mom to watch me. I took one hop, fell on my ass, and never hopped on that bitch again. I was pissed, I think mom was trying to her best not to laugh but I was so pissed I think I didn’t notice until now. I chucked the pogo stick in the garage, and I never looked at that bitch again”

Dev let out a stiff laugh, the defensive wall Dev put was slowly breaking

"Oh WAIT WAIT!” Beau said taking a moment to correct himself “ That WASN’T the last time the last time I looked that bitch, I fished it out of garage years later, only cuz’ I need some money for Madden. So, I did look at that bitch one more time, but only to sell that bitch.”

Dev let out a more audible laugh, but quickly caught himself and recollected, returned to his disillusioned teenage state.

"Anyway, The teacher's are kind of weird, like a lot of them hate my guts already, except for the coaches who are super nice to me." Dev explained, kind of looking away from his brother

"Weird, why do you think that is?" Beau asked whole hearty

"Because I'm related to you, Numb skull!" Dev blunted , groaning putting his hand on his forehead

"Oh damn, I guess that's my fault." Beau realized, rubbing the back of his neck "My bad. that my awesomeness is just lengardy"

Dev shook his head and rolled his eyes "It's not awesome to live in YOUR shadow!" Dev sulked, sinking back into his chair, his hands covering his face.

"You don't have to follow in my awesomeness, I know I'm a hard act to follow." Beau boasted teastingly so"You just gotta make your own awesomeness."

"What does that even mean?" Dev questioned, moving his hands down, allowing his eyes to peek through his fingers, trying not to given the urge to roll his eyes

"It's like my awesomeness comes from my boyish charm and good looks..." Beau claimed, striking an award winning smile, The urge not to roll his eyes was becoming even hard for Dev, but he still had to try and respect Beau "But your awesomeness could come from being good at games, or computers shit or math or robots or something--I don't know something real nerdy"

"I guess, you're right" Dev mumbled and shrugged,lifting himself up back into a sitting position rather than almost spilling out of his chair.

"Its not a guess, its science!" Beau declared proudly, tapping his temple with his index finger

"No,that's not science!" Dev arguing his brother's stupidity, flatly shaking his head in disagreement

"See, there you go using your nerd awesomeness" Beau pointed out with a wink "Keep that up and you'll go from Beau's lil bro, to just ‘Dev’ in no time." Beau playful tousled Devs mop dirty blonde hair

"I mean.." Dev continued batting his brother's hand away, "I was also thinking of joining the video game club or the robotics club at school."

"There you go another nerdy thing that to add to your own awesomeness" Beau said

"Yeah...." Dev continued ignoring his brother's comment' “Some of my friends are thinking about joining, and it would be a nice place to go away from mom and dad."

"I had sick memories of hanging out with the team, we got into some wild shit." Beau said laughing to himself, fondly reminiscing "But I'm sure you and you geek squad could have "wild" times too, like making an anime robot 'weify." or whatever those called or finding a new math formula or something"

Dev fell quiet for another moment, Beau always seems like he’s in between being supportive and subtly roasting him, Dev then uttered "um... I think I kind of have a crush... on a girl..."

"AYE, let's go! "Beau exclaimed, clapping and shaking Dev's chair for a bit before bouncing back on the bed'' Come on, don't leave me hanging, what's her name? "Have you talked to her vet? Have you asked her out? Have-"

"Calm down!" Dev demanded "I said I had a crush, I didn't say we’re going out.'"

"Oh, so you haven’t talked to her, huh?”

"No, I-I don't even know her name" Dev huffed, he let his arms slip into his oversize sleeves and covered his sleeves with his face in frustration.

"You know you could just ask, not the chick, like just ask around"

"I can't do that because if I do, people will find out I like her and if she finds out, I would just have to stop going to school!”

"Okay, let’s just pretend you DO have the balls to talk to this girl, what's the worst that could happen?" Beau suggested

"She finds out that I like her, thinks I'm weird and never wants to talk to me again or even look at me!” Dev muffled through his sleeved covered face

"You really think she can sus that out all in one go!" Beau said "I mean she is a middle Schooler unless she's like a young nancy drew, she is not going to chew you up and spit out like that." Beau explained "speaking of which''

Beau paused for a moment to spit out his gum into the trash can "Score!"

"Anyways, have you done anything weird to her or around her?"

"No, I mean I look at her in the hallways before and in between class, but I don't like-- stalk her or anything too weird." Dev mumbled, moving his sleeves from his face, but his head was still targeted down at his fingers fiddling with a tag on his black shorts

"So, then what's the fear?" Beau inquired, resting his chin on the heel of his palm

Dev thought for a moment, his eyes shifting looking for an answer." I-I guess I just don't know how to talk to her."

"Well, fuck, that's easy" Beau chuckled “Just talk about school shit, or just say "hi"

"Is it really that easy?"

"Yeah, if you have the balls for it" Beau reiterated "Think about it like this, the dudes you play in your little nerd games have to fight a dragon, a demon or some anime witch with huge melons to talk to the girl they like and they er brave enough to do all of that wacky shit. But you’re lucky, you don't have a dragon for real in your way to keep you talking from your crush. The dragon's just in your head! If those hero dudes can fight dragons they actually can see, doesn't that mean you can fight a dragon you don't even see."

"That was a really lame and kind of confusing metaphor" Dev sassed " But I guess understand what your trying to say"

"Exactly" Beau said nodding confidentiality

"Can we talk about mom and dad?" Dev asked sheepishly, looking up at his brother, (well as much as he could with his shaggy bangs in the way), his fingers now toying with his hoodie strings

"Did something happen?"

"No, I mean yeah, I mean it's just weird" Dev said "Mom and dad are starting to get more annoying but I don't know if they were always like that or they like charged"

"No, parents don't really change-usually” Beau explained “It's just that being a teenager makes you hypersensitive to a bunch of shit and makes you wanna be alone more. Parents, the good ones like spending time with their kids and they actually want quality time n' shit and that's where they start to get annoying".

“"Oh okay,” Dev nodded.'' It's just weird because sometimes I feel like I hate them, but I don't want to. I think I just really want to be alone more like you said but I don't want to shut them out, I just want them to get that." Dev-fiddles with the strings of his green hoodie

"Yeah, I think they do in a weird old people kind of way. Believe it or not they were teenagers to even if that was back in the stone age n' shit" Beau joke"

Dev let out an actual laugh, a sign to Beau that he's little bro was being less of a moody teenager

"Anyway, even with that said mom and david-I mean dad aren't mind readers, it would be cool if you give them a heads up, you don't have to tell them all about what's going on in your little teen nerd brain but at least something simple like something weird or funny that happened at school, or asking for help on homework or a project for class or some shit like that, I'm pretty sure Dav-dad would love that.."

"I guess I could try". Dev said slightly nodding his head "But Carrie is kind of weird too!

"How can Carrie be weird, she's 5.” Beau scoffed "she doesn't do anything weird really"

Dev added" it's just sometimes she's regular cute and other times she's annoyingly cute if that makes sense"

"I mean like kind of get what you're saying but "Beau shrugged gesturing his hand toward prompting Dev to continue

"Like I still look out for her because she little, but because she's little that means I have to do dumb stuff like look for monsters under her bed or do that sleep shuttle thing you do, but I can't really do it because my arms give out halfway through and she's heavier than she looks."

"Well, little brothers and sisters are annoying, it's kind of their job, trust me I know from experience" Beau: put his hand on Dev's knee, Dev tried to Swat at it but Beau quickly put his hand back with a smirk.

"But like with mom and da-David just cuz she's annoying doesn't mean You can’t look out for her n stuff"

"I guess, its because lately, it seems like'' Dev paused 'for a beat, his hands hard gripping the strings of his hoodie, before continuing" I don't know mom and dad have been paying more attention to her than me"

A mischievous smile creeps across his face. "AW does someone miss being the baby?"'

"Oh, fuck! I knew you 'er gonna say that!" Dev blurted out, feeling really exposed, he pulled his hoodie strings allowing his head to be consumed by his hoodie, all but his nose.

"Hey! language,” Beau said, surprised at his little brother's reaction those harsh words coming out of the mouth of small boy sporting a Yoshi hoodie

"You cuss' all the time!" Dev huffed pulling his hoodie back down, then crossing his arm definitely

"Yeah, but I'm older than you, and if mom and David--DAD hear you curse they’er gonna know you got it from me and won't get off my ass about it!"

Dev stared at his brother, simmering in frustration in failing to coming up w/a good come back or a flaw in his brother's logic, He let out a heavy sigh and resumed "Anyways, it's NOT like I miss being the baby, I just miss being able to hold their attention without Carrie coming in and stealing them anyway, I don't know its weird"

"Wait, did you just say that you wanted to be alone and away from mom and David-fuck. I'm not even gonna try more-he's asleep anyways." giving up any attempt to make the word "Dad" same with the name "David"

"Yeah, I know that's what makes it weird!" Dev admitted, he sulked back deeper into his chair and let out a groan.

"You know Carrie's not awake all the time, maybe you can talk to mom and David, when she goes down for her nap, hell, I could just take her to the park for a day." Beau offered

"You'd really do that for me?" Dev peeped, quickly lifting himself up in a sitting position, surprised at his brother kind offer

"Yeah, anything to make you less of a weird angsty shut in, with a bunch of cringy keep out signs and keep out tape!" Beau gestured towards the door

"Actually, I got that caution tape from a real crime scene" Dev clarified, with a smug smile

"Really?" Beau taking a longer closer look at the door

"No, thick head, I found it in a dumpster next to party city!"

"You go dumpster diving?" Beau said, raising an eyebrow

"I have a life outside of YOU!" Dev stated proudly

"Okay, and on that... Weird garbage goblin flex, sibling bonding time is over." Beau said getting up from the bed and heading for the door

"Actually, one more thing..." Beau said quickly, turning around, rushing towards Dev, putting him into a headlock.

"Did ya miss me? Come on, tell me that you missed me!" Beau taunted as he gave his brother a long and through noogie "Ouch, Ow, Ow, Okay, okay, I missed You. Geez:" Dev pleaded trying to struggle out of his brother's grip

"That's what I wanted to hear!" Beau said with a smirk, letting 'Dev go.

"Ugh! my hair" Dev fumed , gawking at his even more messy mop of hair.

"Like you care about appearances" Beau chuckled" mop top nerd!"

"Mullet-hair metal meathead!"

"Ouch, that was pretty good" Beau teased pretending to look hurt "Garbage Goblin"

"You already-"Dev started but was cut off by Beau closing the door

"Too late, the door is closed, I can't hear you, which means I win!" Beau said through the door, laughing at his brother's muffled fury of frustration.

Beau grinned relishing in the absolute confusion of his younger brother, but that good vibe quickly faded once he arrived at the door to his old bedroom. He just stood there and stared at the door for a bit, he could feel the icky stew of the emotions from bubbling back up again.

He flexed his hand a few times as if this was the first time he's ever pored a door, Beau's hand reached for the door handle before retracted as if the knob was red hot.

Beau sheepishly looked around as if somebody was watching him, no one was but it sure did feel like it. He considered sleeping on the couch, but that would be weird, since it seemed like his step dad put his luggage in his room. so, eventually he would have to go into his room anyway.

Beau took a deep breath. "Come on, it's just a door, dude!" He told himself Beau's hand rested on the door knob, he took another deep, his hand gained a stronger grip, and he slowly pushed the door open, Beau carefully entered the room as he closed the door behind him. Looking around the room was plaster with posters of football players and a few pinups of doe-eye, sensual women in swimsuits and other scantily clad outfits.

Athletic medals, trophies and awards displayed proudly on his bookshelf that lacked any actual books, those trophies stood next to pictures of Beau with his teammates, all illuminated by the moon's dull pale blue light. These relics of what felt like a bygone era used to fill Beau with so much pride and joy but looking at them now just leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

He could barely even recognize himself in those photos. This whole room felt like a shrine or more like a tomb to someone who no longer exists.

Looking at all this stuff just made the icky feelings from before rise up to the back of his throat making the bad taste linger even longer.

Beau couldn't really pin what-these feelings were, so he shifted his focus on just getting some sleep

As he thought, Beau's step dad put his luggage on his bed. He opened his bag and quickly changed into a white tank top and some grey sweatpants. He fished out the mix tape from his jean jacket and put into the gray clucky music player on his nightstand. Beau turns the music up loud enough for him to hear but not loud enough for disturb anyone else. Heavy metal music (ironally) helped him sleep on hard nights.

Beau laid in bed focusing on the one spot in his room that wasn't decorated with high school memorabilia. Focusing on that spot was way better than focusing on the icky feelings from earlier. All he needed to was focus on sleep just sleep, Beau closed his eyes and tried to focus on just sleep.

The next time Beau opened his eyes, he was back in the hallway of his highschool. Beau looked around confused why he was back here but before he could really sus out the situation, his thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud. He followed the sound of the thud that led to a scene of a bespectacled student being shoved up against the lockers. The student's face contorted by fear.

"P-please, d-don't hurt me. "the student uttered, the words quivering as it left his lips.

"Aww, look at him, guys." a familiar voice said, Beau couldn't see whom the voice belonged to. There was a strange mist in the hallway that obscured the person's face.-

"He's scared." the voice said mockly, the person nodded towards a group of people whose faces were also obscured by the mist, they laughed in response

“Don't worry, little buddy, I'm not gonna hurt ya:" the person taunted as he tightened his grip on the student and shoved his body up against the failing student. "As long as you don't squeal" .

"You squeal, and I'll fry you like the pig you are, got it. Swine?"

"I-I p-promise I W-won't. J-just please let me go!" the student begged

Beau was disturbed by scene happening before him, but along with the feel of disgust came a feeling of familiarity, like he's been there before

Just then the fog lift to reveal the face of a younger version of Beau dawned in his red “New Burny High school” letterman jacket. He was smirking relish in the fear he was inflicting on the poor student.

Older Beau slowly back up, almost stumbling as he was coming to the realization of the origin of all those icky feelings from before

"I don't know, do we trust him, guys?" Younger beau asked cocking his head back to his teammates, who shook their head in disagreement "The Boys and I don't seem very sure of that, I think I'm gonna have to test your loyalty !" Younger Beau winded up his arm for a punch, But before his fist could make an impact.

Beau found himself back in his room in a cold sweat, hyperventilating as quickly rose from his bed. His room, still illuminated by the moonlight, with the metal mix tape softly playing in the background. He looked at his hand as if they were lethal weapons. How could I do such a thing?