#and she parked the small car in the normal spot so I couldn’t even pull into the driveway in a way that makes unpacking easier

[milo-is-rambling]

REUNITED WITH FUNK!!! HE STILL LIVES AND REMEMBERS ME

[danikamariewrites]

She Belongs To Me

Mob!Azriel x reader AU

A/n: sorry it’s been forever since I added to this little series. I think this is my favorite story I’ve written for mob!Az so far and I’m really proud of how it turned out!

Warnings: possessive Az, uncomfortable interactions with a man

Twirling once more in front of the floor length mirror you smile, your signature mini black dress hugging every curve perfectly. You pull your lipstick from your mini purse to touch up the darker shade that paints your lips. You decided to go with a clean simple look for the night. You were probably going to sweat it all off later anyway, but you still wanted to look cute for Az.

You were finally going to the club in Velaris Azriel just bought ownership in with Eris Vanserra. A new business deal between the two families. If you had tried to go to this place with Feyre and Mor before you started dating Az you would’ve been turned away at the door, but tonight you’re V.I.P’s. Not that you three ever cared about that stuff before. Just one of the few perks you get.

Azriel exited the lengthy walk-in closet you now share, sliding his usual black suit jacket on. The top buttons of his crisp white shirt undone, showing off his swirling tattoos. Popping your lips and capping the lipstick you turn to face Az, giving him a small smile. He returned your look with a smirk that conveyed his admiration and want for you.

Striding over to you Azriel holds your chin between his beautifully scarred fingers. His eyes dart over your face as they always do. Like he’s committing every part of you to his memory. “Breathtaking. You look breathtakingly beautiful as always, my love.” Azriel says softly. You smile brightly at him. Taking his other hand in yours you give it a loving squeeze. Running your thumb over the ridges of his scars.

“You look breathtakingly handsome as well, baby.” Azriel smiled bashfully, dipping his head to prevent you from seeing his obvious blush. Resting a hand against his strong chest, pushing up on your tiptoes you press a kiss to his freshly shaven jaw. You hold your lips against his skin longer than you normally would, taking in his scent and the feel of his soft skin.

Pulling away you make sure to check that you left behind a lipstick stain. Marking him as yours as he’s done for you on a o many nights. Azriel’s smile hasn’t left his lips, the want gone from his eyes and replaced with pure, unfiltered love. Without hesitating he grabs your hand, intertwining your fingers. “Let’s go,” his voice airy as he pulls you out of the bedroom.

Entering the club you couldn’t help but be in awe of it. The place was nothing like the shitty college bars the three of you went to. The music was appropriately loud, a V.I.P section, a bar stocked with expensive liquor bottles with names you’ve never even heard of before. The lighting perfectly dim, bright enough to navigate your way through the crowd.

Azriel pulls you towards the V.I.P section. Climbing the platform you spot Mor and Feyre with Rhys already enjoying bottle service and a comically large plate of nachos. You notice Rhys giving Azriel a tight lipped look, like he’s not happy to give Azriel the news he’s about to deliver. Azriel slips his hand from yours, kissing your temple. “Go sit love, I’ll be right there.” He whispers.

Without another thought you throw yourself onto the booth between your friends. You start a mindless conversation, Feyre bitching and making fun of how Gavin has been acting since you left. Cassian joins you, coming in from parking the car. Feyre eyes his muscular figure. You know she’s been taken with Cass since the day he picked you up for your first date with Az. And you’ve been trying to push them together for months now, tired of the obvious flirting.

“Hello ladies,” he says seductively, “where are my brothers?” He asks, taking Feyre’s glass from her to take a swig of her drink. She lets out a dramatic gasp, reaching for her drink back. “Over there,” she giggles as Cass pokes at her.

The four of you look over to find the two having an animated conversation. You could tell Azriel was tense from the way he kept rolling his neck. Az made his way over to you, pressing a kiss to your cheek, whispering, “I need to take care of some business with Eris. I’ll be back before you know it.” When he pulls back you give him a small smile and nod. He turns and Rhys follows. Cassian gives him a nod, knowing what his duties are while Azriel is away.

Cassian stood, hands clasped in front of him with that stoic ‘don’t you dare fuck with me look’. The fun, carefree boy gone. You loved pushing Cass and Rhys’s buttons when they’re acting as your bodyguards. Hiding from them in department stores, pretending to run from them. Tonight, however, was not the night for your shenanigans. Cass would never risk the girls and neither would you.

For a little over half an hour you, Mor, and Feyre enjoyed drinks and endless nachos and chicken fingers. Cassian, with his hawk like gaze, notices you looking for your waitress. “What do you want?” He asks, holding his hand out to keep you seated. You smile at his overprotective nature. “Just another drink,” you shake your empty glass at him, clinking the ice.

”I’ll get it for you.” Cassian says, desperate for you to stay put. You give him an exasperated look, “I’m a big girl, Cass. I can get it.” Before he can protest you head over to the bar for the V.I.P section.

Ordering your drink you check the time on your phone. It’s been almost an hour. Eris has never dragged a meeting on this long, even if it was urgent. Letting out a sigh you lean on the bar, tapping your manicured nails on beat with the music pulsing through the club.

A throat clearing sounds next to you, making your shoulders tense like Azriel’s when he receives unpleasant news. With lowered brows you turn to face the source of the grating noise. A man, of course, in a wrinkled button up shirt and dress pants that clearly aren’t tailored. His proximity and scent of his cologne making your nose wrinkle.

“Can I help you?” Your voice flat and uninterested. The man smirked as he leaned on the bar next to you. “Just thought I’d come say hi. I saw you with your pretty friends over there, maybe you’d like to join us.” He gestures to a booth behind yours. No drinks, so they must’ve just arrived. Being with Azriel has taught you be very perceptive of people and your surroundings. Not that your boyfriend was paranoid, he just wanted you to be able to spot danger.

You roll your eyes you look back at the man in front of you. “No thanks.” You say curtly, no longer interested in entertaining this man's delusions.

His eyes roam over your body, one of his brows rising as he smirks. The look made you want to vomit on his cheap shoes. “Come on now sweetheart,” he brushes a finger down your cheek and you quickly take two steps back, his touch slimy and foreign. His demeanor changes quickly, anger flashing across his face as he steps toward you. No must be a word he never hears, whether that be his selective hearing or not.

Out of the corner of your eye a dark mass moves with lightning speed. Gripping the man's arm Azriel twists and pins him to the sleek wooden bar. The man lets out a whimper of pain. Pathetic.

“Do you know who I am?” He growled. “Answer me,” Azriel said with more aggression, shoving the man further into the bar. “Yes,” his voice barely above a whisper thanks to how squished his face is.

“Then you know I protect what’s mine. If I ever see you in my club again you will regret it. Get out.” Azriel let go and Rhys swooped in, guiding the man and his friends to the exit before a fight could break out.

You fling yourself into Azriel’s arms, shaken by what just happened and the what ifs had Azriel not shown up. He ran a gentle hand up and down your spine, holding you tightly to his body. “It’s alright, my love. I’ve got you, I’ve got you.” He coos. Taking a deep inhale of his comforting, warm scent you look up at him.

“Are you alright?” He asks, worry clouding his warm hazel eyes as he takes you in. Searching his memory of you from earlier that night to make sure nothing was out of place. “I’m ok. My dark knight came to the rescue.” A genuine smile pulling at your lips as your fear melts away. The comfort of Azriel’s familiar touch washing away the memory of the unnamed man.

“Do you want to go home? I can have Cass bring the car-’’ You press your finger to his lips to stop him. “Absolutely not. I haven’t danced with you yet and we’re having fun. I’m not going to let some asshole ruin what’s supposed to be a celebration tonight.” The guilt for not being glued to your side hasn’t left Azriel’s face yet. “I promise my dear, I am fine.”

Azriel finally relaxed, pressing his forehead against yours. “I’m sorry Eris kept me for so long. I’m yours for the rest of the night, I swear it, my love.” Azriel slowly kisses you. Wrapping his arm around you Az leads you back to the booth.

Sitting, he pulls you on to his lap, trapping you with his arms as he kisses and bites at your jawline. Making sure he’s marked you appropriately, the twin to your still vibrant lipstick stain decorating his tan skin.

[bbrissonn]

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 - 𝐥𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬

in which luke realizes he's fallen for his brother's best friend's little sister

warnings: not proofread

disclaimer: english is not my first language so excuse any mistakes. also, this is a work of fictions, this doesn't reflect how these boys act in real life :)

pairing: luke hughes x zegras!reader

wc: 2.06k

previous masterlist next

-LATE NOVEMBER ‘22-

Luke let out a soft grunt as his body hit his mattress, his energy drained from their two games on Friday and Saturday night, which they had both won. So, the seniors had decided a party was to take place on Sunday, from sun up to sun down, something the Hughes boys hated. 

He wasn’t a big partyer, sure he liked going out every once in a while, drink a little here and there, but big scene with a bunch of strangers, drunk strangers wasn’t somethign he enjoyed. He tried to find some positive to the day he just had, but he couldn’t find any. He hadn’t even drank half a beer, having to make sure his friends didn’t do anything that would get them in trouble. 

He was more than ready to call it a day and end to bed, he had successfully put all of his roommates to sleep, meaning there was nothing stopping him from falling asleep. He quickly changed into something more comfortable before hiding under his blanket, checking his phone one last time. Just as he was about to put his phone down, a notification came in. 

He groaned a bit before checking it, hoping it wasn’t one of the freshman asking him to come help them back to their dorms, or anything important really. Instead, he was meet with a text from you, a short and simple one. 

y/n/n

hey lulu, you seemed a bit stressed tonight and i didn’t want to bother you, hope duker wasn’t too much of a hassle to put to bed. just wanted to say you played amazing this weekend :) 

sleep well, you deserve it <3

The youngest Hughes couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face as his fingers moved across his phone screen, his index hovering over the send button, wondering if this was a good idea or not. 

lulu 

hi y/n/n, surprisingly duker was the easiest to put to bed, can’t say the same for eddy though… thank you, and i will especially after today. i know you have an early class tomorrow, but maybe we could get lunch after? on me

The boy didn’t understand why he felt nervous when he sent the text, the two of you get lunch together pretty much every single week, this wouldn’t be any different. So why was he feeling the way he was? 

y/n/n 

i’d love to! only if i get to pick the place though

lulu 

when have i not let you pick the place? 

y/n/n 

never because you’re a smart man :D

lulu 

exactly, night y/n/n

y/n/n 

night lulu, see you tomorrow xx

And there it was again, that weird little feeling in the pit of his stomach, one he had been feeling way too many times in past week whenever he’d talk to you. Luke truly didn’t understand what that feeling was, or why it appeared every time you were around or when you would text or call him, but he loved it. He was addicted to it. 

The same feeling came back the next morning as he saw you walking towards his car, talking with one of your friends that was in your class. A smile creeped it’s way onto his face as you bid your goodbyes to your friend before joining Luke in his car, sending him a wide smile. 

“Hey, Lu.” You said as you buckled up, the boy’s eyes never leaving your figure until your eyes met his. 

“Hi.” He whispered with a smile before snapping back to his normal self, turning the car on and driving off towards your favourite place to eat lunch in the area. It was a small little cafe, one you wouldn’t even know existed if it wasn’t for one of your friends working there. Said friend had brought back a leftover chicken wrap she had as dinner one night, and you grew obsessed with them. 

“You know me so well, Hughes.” You mumbled with a wide grin as he pulled into a parking spot, chuckling a bit at your expression. 

“It’s not like you pretty much force me to eat here every week.” The boy answered, his tone light and teasing making you roll your eyes with a smile. 

“Shut up.” You told him before getting out of the car and making your way into the place, Luke following closely behind you. 

A couple of minutes later, your food arrived, it wasn’t noon yet, meaning there was barely anyone inside, something you loved because it meant your food would arrive quicker. You then started telling Luke about what had happened in your life during the weekend, barely ever letting the boy speak, but he didn’t mind. The sound of your voice was something he loved, the way you would invest into your storytelling leaving him in awn. 

Once again, that feeling in the pit of his stomach came back as your laugh echoed in his ears, your beautiful smile staring at him as all your attention was focused on him, and him only. You were quite the talkative person, always finding a group of people at a party to talk the night away, much like your older brother, and Luke was total opposite, choosing to stay with his teammates at every party. So, whenever your full attention was on him, it made him feel so special. 

He was the only that mattered to you in this moment, your whole mind and spirit were only thinking about him. Just like you had his whole attention, you always did. Whenever the two of you were in the same room, you were all Luke could think about, always letting his eyes drift towards you, finding you easily even in a crowded room. 

“Luke? Luke, are you listening?” He heard your voice ask making him blink a couple of times. Your eyes were looking into his with such worry, he loved it. 

“Yeah, yeah, ‘m listening.” He answered, his voice low as he scratched the back of his neck, clearing his throat slightly. Thankfully, you didn’t ask anymore questions, instead continuing your story, Luke letting out a quick sigh when you did. He relaxed in his seat, paying full attention to what you were saying, realization settling into him. 

He was in deep shit. 

~

“What’s up with you?” Ethan asked later that night as all the sophomores were sitting in the couches in their living room, Luke quiet than he usually was. The question made the other three boys look over at the youngest one in the room, a slight red colour appearing on Luke’s cheeks. 

“Nothing.” He answered, trying his best to ignore the looks his best friends were giving him. 

“Bullshit.” Dylan called out, pausing the hockey game that was currently playing on their TV, none of them paying attention to it anymore. Luke bit his lips for a moment, debating wether he should tell them about his new found feelings for you, or stay quiet. Knowing his best friends, especially Duker, Trevor would find out in probably less than a week, so option two it was. 

“I don’t wanna talk ‘bout it.” He mumbled, Mackie rolling his eyes at his answer. 

“Boo hoo, whore. Tell us.” The boy said, making the other three chuckle slightly, but nodding their heads at the same time. 

“If I tell you, you can’t tell anyone.” Luke started, his friends laughing between them, only making the youngest one angry. “I am serious! You can’t tell another soul about this, or I will murder all of you.” 

“We won’t, chill.” Mark said, the others nodding along with him. Luke took a large sip of his beer, his roommates all watching him until he spoke again. 

“I think I am in love with Y/N/N.” The boy admitted out loud for the first time, and gosh did it feel weird. He was in love with his brother’s best friend’s little sister. He knew Jack probably wouldn’t have a problem with them dating, but Trevor, yeah that would be another story. 

“You just realized?” The other New Jersey pick laughed, the others boys doing the same. A tint of red grew on Luke’s cheeks again, this one darker and more noticeable than before. 

“I think you’re the last one to realize that, buddy.” 

“You just realized?” 

“It’s like the more obvious thing, Hughesy.” They all teased, not making the boy in question feel any better than he already did. He just put himself in the worst position possible, the memory of Trevor introducing you to him, clearly stating that you were off limits to the boy and to never get any ideas. Of course back then, Luke just shrugged it off, after all he was fourteen, the last thing he was thinking about was a relationship, but now, now it was totally different. 

He wanted you, needed you, to be his. He’d do anything for you, if it meant you could be his forever, something he had never felt before. He’s had a couple of girlfriends and flings in the past, but this was a new feeling, stronger than he’s ever felt before. But he could never tell you about this, never, it would ruin your friendship, Trevor would hate him, then Jack and Trevor’s friendship would be all messed up because of it, and it’d all be because of his. He couldn’t. 

“So, when are you gonna tell her?” Dylan asked from besides him, bring the boy out of his thought. Luke furred his brow slightly before answering the Duke boy. 

“Never. It’d ruin everything.” He explained, scoffs being heard in the living room. 

“Trust me, Lukey, if you were to call her right now and ask her on a date, she’d say yes. The girl’s like head over heels for you, it’s so obvious it hurts.” Mackie said, everyone else agreeing with him. 

“Z would kill me, than Jack’s gonna get pissed at me, too risky.” 

“God, you’re the biggest idiot out there.” Dylan mumbled before pressing play on the remote, the sound of the commentators being the only noise in the room. 

Luke didn’t pay attention to the rest of the game, his whole mind being focused on you. What were you doing at this moment? Were you thinking about him like he was thinking about you? Would you go on a date with him? Did you love him the same way he loved you? Or were you in the arms of another boy? Having a girls night with your friends, him being the last thing on his mind? He needed to know. 

The Hughes boy left the living right before the third period started, his finger hovering over your contact. He shouldn’t. But he did it anyways, the sound of the phone ringing soon echoing in his ear as he bit his nails nervously. Only for him to be met with the sound of your voicemail, crushing his spirit a little. He tried his best not to let it bother him, instead deciding to watch a show, when he received a text only a minute later. 

y/n/n

hi lulu, it’s sibling night, i’ll call you when we’re done facetiming :)) 

A sigh of relief left his mouth, monday nights were always siblings night, how he could he forget that. They started back when Trevor left for the NTDP, at first it would be you, Griffin and Ava all together, and then eventually you were all in different places over the country. You had made it very clear to Luke that no plans could ever be made on Monday nights because of it. 

The boy felt a lot more at ease now, relaxing in his bed as his show played. And the moment he heard his ringtone and your contact popping up on his phone, a wide smile grew on his face. He sat up in his bed, clearing his throat slightly before answering the call. 

“Hey.” 

“Hi, you. What’s up?” You asked, the sound of your voice only making the boy smile even more. 

“I just, uh… Do you wanna go on a date with me?” He asked starighforeward, bitting his lips after, scared of your answer. You stayed quiet for a while, making the boy even more nervous than he already was. 

“I’d love to, Lu.”

[rebelwrites]

I Didn’t See It Coming

Charles Leclerc x Gasly Twin Reader

Charles Leclerc Masterlist

Summary: Being brothers with Pierre was hard enough with everyone comparing your success to his but keeping the fact you were dating his best friend a secret from him was harder than you ever imagined.

Warnings: none

A/N Rebel still hasn’t watched the race and don’t know if o can bring myself to now, I don’t want to see a heartbroken Charles. So instead have some fluff Leclerc / Gasly fluff I think we all need it today ❤️

Requested by anon: Hellooo can you write something with reader being bestfriends with a driver or relative of a driver and dating charles? Maybe she is not a driver and everybody knows her from the drivers life she is close with and then suprizee she is dating charles?? Idk i watched too many quarantine twich videos of the grid now i wanna live with all of them 🥲😂😂

As always reblogs and feedback is highly appreciated ❤️ if you want tagging in future parts let me know ❤️

“Où penses-tu aller? Where do you think you're going?.” Pierre asked tilting his head backwards so it was leaning against the back of the sofa.

“Merde. Fuck.” You hissed, pinching the bridge of your nose, you thought you’d manage to sneak out without him realising, looking down at your outfit you cursed yourself for not suggesting to Charles you would get ready at his place. “Just out with the girls.”

“Looking very fancy.” He hummed, raising his brow at you.

“Can’t a girl look nice when going out?” You questioned, rolling your eyes at your brother. “Now I’m going to be late so I will see you later, assface.” Before he couldn’t say anything you swiped your keys off the small table by the door. “Don’t bother waiting up.” You shouted over your shoulder as you let the door slam behind you.

Your heart was racing as you walked down the corridor of the apartment building, things were getting harder and harder to hide from your brother. Normally you wouldn’t bother hiding your relationship from him but you were dating his best friend and you didn’t know how he would react.

So you kept it hidden from the world.

Every chance you got you and Charles would have stolen kisses, quick embraces and just sweet moments but things were getting harder with each race.

Just like tonight was risky, you had told Charles that you didn’t need anything fancy but he insisted that it was time that he took you on a proper date. He even went to the point of booking the whole restaurant out to try and minimize the chance of getting caught.

As you walked out of the apartment building you spotted the matte black Ferrari parked across the street, the sight of Charles leaning against the bonnet made your heart lurch. Charles had completely flipped your world upside down but you wouldn’t change anything for the world. He treated you like a Queen, always made sure you were happy and had everything you could want. He was the perfect boyfriend.

“You look breathtaking.” He breathed, taking your hands in his as he pulled you close to him. “Red is really your colour.”

“You don’t look too bad yourself.” You giggled, resting your hand on his cheek, letting yourself get lost in his eyes.

The pair of you stood like that for a little while before he helped you into the car, you felt like a teenager again, sneaking around making sure you didn’t get caught.

“Let’s see where this night takes us.” He grinned, planting his hand on your thigh as he pulled off from the curbside, driving with one hand. “And tonight you are staying with me, no ifs or buts.”

-

The sun creeping into the room caused you to stir from your slumber, the feeling of Charles’ arm wrapped securely around your waist brought a smile to your face. This was your favourite time of day, when you woke up in his arms.

There was always a sense of security with him, nothing felt forced, like it was meant to be.

You found yourself gently running your fingers across his skin, starting from his elbow moving down to his wrist, fiddling with his bracelets.

The sound of his alarm echoing around the room caused him to groan against the back of your neck, neither of you ever wanted the mornings to end but unfortunately it had to.

“Morning,” you hummed, playing with his fingers.

“Morning, Babygirl.” He whispered against your skin before pressing soft kisses along your shoulder. “Je ne veux pas quitter ce lit. I don't want to leave this bed.”

“J'ai peur que nous n'ayons pas le choix. A moins que vous ne vouliez que Pierre ou Carlos nous tombent dessus pour avoir manqué les essais libres. I'm afraid we have no choice. Unless you want Pierre or Carlos to come down on us for missing free practice.” You whispered, rolling onto your back, resting your hand on his bare chest.

“I guess you are right.” He sighed.

“I’m always right.” You chuckled, “one day we won’t have to sneak around, I promise.” You said, keeping your voice low. You felt slightly guilty for making him keep the relationship secret, but you were already under so much pressure from your parents comparing your success to your twin.

“You know I understand why you want to keep things on the down low.” Charles hummed, pressing a kiss against the top of your head. “Nothing changes how I feel about you.”

-

Nothing could wipe the smile off your face as you stood in the back of the Alpha Tauri garage, your arms folded against your chest, watching as everyone buzzed around the area making sure everything was ready for the first practice session.

“Je pense que vous avez besoin de ça. Think you need this.” Pierre said, appearing with a fresh coffee, holding it out to you.

“Cheers bro.” You nodded, thankfully taking the mug off him.

“Did you even sleep last night? Tu ressembles à de la merde. You look like shit.” He laughed, wrapping his arm around you.

“I slept, but didn’t get much to be honest.” You shrugged, a smirk forming on your face as you let your mind drift back to last night.

“I assume that answers my next question,” he said, raising his brow at you before tugging on the neck of Charles’ hoodie revealing the hickey that was forming on your skin. “So who was the unlucky guy then?”

“Personne que vous connaissez. No one you know.” You shrugged, lying to his face causing a guilty feel to settle deep in your stomach. You and Pierre had always been close, especially because you were twins. So this felt like a huge betrayal.

Staring out onto the pit Lane you saw Charles walk into the garage with a huge smile plastered on his face. The moment you locked eyes you felt your skin heat up, you needed to get out of this confined space before you did something stupid.

“I’m going to go for a wander.” You hummed, wiggling out of Pierre’s grip and nodding at Charles before you made a swift exit.

As soon as you got out of the garage you felt like you could finally breathe again. It wasn’t long before Carlos spotted you making a dash towards you.

“Sup,” you grinned as he pulled you into a hug.

“You keeping out of trouble?” He chuckled, pulling away from the hug.

“Always.” You winked, taking a sip of your coffee.

“Now that I don’t believe.” He hummed, raising a brow at you. “Who’s hoodie is that?” He asked, tugging at the garment.

Shaking your head at the Spaniard, rolling your eyes at him. “Why does everyone want to poke their way into my love life?” You asked, pulling the material of your hoodie over your face you inhaled Charles aftershave letting it calm you. “It’s just a hoodie. I like buying from the mens section okay.”

“Hmmm,” Carlos smirked, raising his brow at you again. “I’m pretty sure I saw Charles wearing the exact same hoodie the other day after Quali.”

“Must have brought it from the same shop.” You shrugged, wishing everyone would stop asking your questions. “I best make sure Pierre and Char aren’t burning down the garage.”

You quickly excused yourself from Carlos’ presence, heading back to the Alpha Tauri garage.

As you got close you saw the flash of red amongst the white and blue. Mentally you cursed yourself for wearing Charles hoodie not thinking anyone would work out it was his. Running your hand over your face you sulked back into the garage earning a questioning look from your twin brother.

“Ne commencez pas. Do not start.” You scolded, walking past him towards his driver's room hoping to get a bit of peace.

“What’s wrong with her?” Pierre asked his best friend.

“No idea.” Charles shrugged, letting his eyes drift to the large clock on the wall. He still had time to see what was wrong. “I will go speak to her, she might actually speak to me.”

Charles fist bumped Pierre before he disappeared.

He earned a few questioning looks as he walked through the Alpha Tauri area but he didn’t care, something was off with you this morning and he wanted to find out what was going on.

He knew you would be in Pierre’s room so he lightly knocked on the door before letting himself in. The sight of you sitting on the sofa with your head in his hands made his heart ache.

“Parle-moi, chéri. Talk to me, darling.” He asked, crouching down, placing his hands on your knees.

“Ça devient si difficile, Char. It's getting so difficult, Char.” You mumbled as tears started to cloud your vision. “I feel horrible for lying to Pierre, we’ve been together for nearly a year now but he is going to catch us out soon.”

“I’ve always said it’s your call on when we tell him.” Charles whispered, brushing his thumb against your jeans. “If you want to come clean then we will do it together.”

“He was asking questions this morning and I think Carlos is on to us.” You said, looking up at Charles.

“I need to be honest with you Babygirl,” Charles chuckled, taking your hand in his. “Carlos knows.”

“What?” You gasped, feeling your eyes go wide. “When?”

“He found out yesterday, he was bugging me non stop about going out for the night so I had to come clean.” Charles said softly. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s fine,” you nodded, taking a deep breath. “I think we need to tell Pierre.”

“Tell Pierre what?” Your brother's voice boomed through the small room.

Looking up you saw him frozen in place, his gaze flicking between you at Charles. The guilt you were feeling this morning was back but this time it was stronger.

“P,” you said, your voice barely a whisper. “Je peux vous expliquer. I can explain.”

“For what? The fact that I’ve never seen you as happy as you have been over the last god knows how long? For the fact that you have always had a crush on Char?” He said, finally breaking out into a grin.

“So you aren’t mad?” You breathed, feeling your heart pounding against your chest waiting for his response.

“How could I be mad? I just wish you told me sooner, you little shit.” He chuckled, pulling you into a tight hug, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “I didn’t see this coming, that’s all. But looking back all the signs were there, you always arrive on track smelling of aftershave. Whenever he was around, your smile was brighter, you were more giggly.”

Pushing yourself off the sofa you walked over to your twin who was holding his arms out wide for you. Walking into his arms he engulfed you in a tight hug.

“I’m sorry for hiding this from you, for nearly a year now.” You whispered.

“A year.” He said, pulling away from you, cocking his brow. “That’s impressive, you're normally shit at keeping secrets.” He laughed before pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

He pulled away from the hug walking over to Charles.

“Meilleur ami ou pas, si tu brises le coeur de ma soeur, je te brise le visage. Best friend or not, if you break my sister's heart, I'll break your face. ” He said, staring Charles out.

“Je n'en rêverais pas. I wouldn't dream of it.” Charles nodded as they did the hug that all guys did.

Finally you felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off your shoulders as you didn’t have to hide anything from the two most important people in your life.

@chibsytelford @dragon-of-winterfell @ohthemisssery @a-distantdreamer @sgkophie @stillbreathin @angywritesstuff @miamedyu @enchantedbytomandhenry @scribbuluswrites @dangerouspursepeachbear @micks-afterglow @livo67 @buendiabebeta @pleasedontfollowinlost @ferrarifwendvale @hungryhungarian @theplobnrgone @charlesleclercje @sunf1owerrq @queenslife @panicforspec @inesramoss30 @justme2042 @liv67 @sessgjarg

[notasmoothman]

simply 2k of steddie hurt/comfort (really just the comfort)

Note: this was supposed to be a part of a bigger story, but I never really pulled it all together lol. Can be read as is, but if you'd like some clarification: post-s4, pre-relationship steddie got into an argument because Steve got spooked by what his feelings/their interactions could mean for him, queer crisis in progress. Steve essentially just lashed out at Eddie in hopes of pushing him away, and they both avoided each other for a week. Steve's pov, and he is on a date at the start of this. Ok eat up!

Steve stopped in his tracks because there, standing on his lawn, was the one person he couldn’t get out of his head for the past week. “Eddie?”

Eddie was standing at the end of the driveway, his van nearby and parked in classic fashion—halfway on the curb. His curly hair was disheveled, and he was wearing a ratty stretched-thin sabbath tee and sweatpants, an ensemble Steve knew he’d normally never be seen in outside of his trailer. What caught Steve’s attention the most, however, was his face. Eddie was laser-focused on him with an expression of barely concealed panic, his eyes puffy like he’d been crying. His lips parted as he openly panted, his chest heaving up and down.

Steve’s stomach dropped. Moving past Anna, he scrambled down the steps. “Eddie! Did something happen? Are you hurt?”

Eddie shook his head, his eyes darting past Steve to spot Anna’s silhouette in the doorway. Realization dawned on his features.

Steve glanced over his shoulder, and a pang of irritation registered in his gut. Anna stood with her arms crossed, her delicate lips pinched into a frown. It was obvious that she recognized Eddie from the old news reports. Her eyes flicked over Eddie’s figure, then back to Steve, as if she was expecting him to chase Eddie off. Turning away from her, he returned his focus to Eddie, who was backing away in the direction of his van.

Steve stepped closer. Eddie took a decisive step back and held his hands up placatingly, though Steve could see even in the semi-dark they were shaking.

“It’s fine, I, um,” Eddie said, avoiding Steve’s eyes. He looked embarrassed. “Sorry. I sh-should go—”

“Wait,” Steve said. He reached out and caught Eddie’s shoulder. When he still tried to shift away, Steve cupped his cheek, tilting his face towards him.

“Hey, look at me,” he said softly.

Eddie finally met his gaze. His big brown eyes were glistening.

“I’m gonna drive her home right now, okay?”

Eddie sniffled. “You’re on a date.”

Steve hated how small his voice sounded. He lifted his other hand to cup the other side of Eddie’s face, the one with the scar that curved around his jaw. He swiped away a stray tear with his thumb.

“Don’t worry about it, okay? I’m gonna go talk to her and get her in the car. Go inside and sit tight. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

The watery look Steve received in response didn’t inspire the greatest confidence that Eddie wouldn’t leave the second his beamer turned the corner, but he would just have to hope for the best.

When he turned to approach Anna, her expression had shifted from distaste to an unreadable one. She was, thankfully, more receptive to the situation than her body language suggested, at least outwardly.

He omitted details—though he himself didn’t know for sure why Eddie was there—and explained that he needed to end the date early to make sure Eddie was okay, tacking on a hasty apology at the end for good measure. Anna resignedly walked back into the house to get her things.

So much for the Harrington Charm, his mind supplied. I’m never getting a date again. Steve looked over at Eddie, staring at the ground with his arms wrapped around himself. He felt a protective instinct surge in him. It was then that a realization hit, suddenly but not surprisingly, that he didn’t care about any of that at all.

Anna returned with her coat and purse, climbing in the passenger seat when Steve held the door for her.

Eddie hadn’t yet moved from his spot, his eyes trained on the two of them. Steve met his stare and tilted his head to the side, gesturing to the house. In a beat, Eddie shuffled to the front porch. Steve waited for the front door to close behind him before putting the car in reverse and driving away.

The car ride was painfully awkward. They sat in stilted silence as Steve drove a bit too fast to her house. Blessedly, she didn’t live too far from Loch Nora, so the quiet only lasted a few minutes. Once the car was parked, he turned to her and said, “Sorry, again, I had to cut things short—”

“Steve. It’s okay, really,” Anna cut him off. She offered a small but not unkind smile, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek.

Steve just stared back at her. Maybe he should have been setting up a make-up date, attempting to recover from his blunder, but he was just anxious to get back home.

Anna got out of the car and closed the door. She was about to walk away, but at the last second, she turned around and studied him thoughtfully. “Good luck with… your friend,” she said. Then she was making her way into the house.

Steve peeled away and sped back home. His mind flashed back to their argument, the anger coming off Eddie in waves, the cold venom in his words. Steve’s anger wasn’t completely gone, but everything about that conversation contrasted starkly with the way Eddie had looked earlier that night. He moved all his muddled feelings to the backburner in his mind for the time being.

Throwing the car in the driveway, Steve breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted Eddie’s van still there. He dashed inside, kicking off his shoes and shucking his jacket.

Eddie was curled up on the couch by the armrest, hugging his knees to his chest. He had heard Steve enter, his head turned slightly to listen for him approaching.

Steve thought to sit closer to the middle of the couch. The gap wasn’t large, but it was enough to acknowledge that their recent argument left things between them murky. Still, his hand twitched at the impulse to tuck back the loose curls that fell on Eddie’s face. He twisted to face him so one leg was crossed on the couch.

Eddie watched him. His cheeks were still a bit wet, but it seemed like he hadn’t gotten any worse while Steve was away. “Never thought I’d cockblock one of Steve Harrington’s famous dates,” he said, pulling his lips into a smile that didn’t meet his eyes.

“You wanna tell me what’s wrong?” Steve asked. He wasn’t going to do this dance with him tonight. Whatever had happened rattled Eddie enough to show up at Steve’s despite their fight, so they were going to talk about it.

Eddie scrubbed his face and laughed self-consciously. He spoke aloud to the cavernous ceiling of the living room.

“I had a nightmare.”

He shifted to face Steve; legs tucked to the side. He stared down at his lap, fingers moving in an aborted motion to twist a ring on his uncharacteristically bare hands.

“They’re always shit, and, like, usually I can deal with it,” he spoke, “but this time you were in it.” He looked up at Steve. “And you, you were—” His voice cracked. He hung his head and sucked in a breath, his hair falling to obscure his face.

Eddie sniffed. “And we-we weren’t talking, and I got scared, so I just needed to make sure you were alive, and okay, and…”

Eddie paused, sifting through his thoughts. Finally, he looked at Steve with a raw expression.

“I’m sorry I said all that stuff to you.” His lip quivered, fresh tears welling up in his eyes. “I didn’t mean it. And it was so stupid. I—”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Steve said softly. He found that it really was okay. All bitterness from their fight, all the hurt feelings and pettiness and rage had evaporated to nothing the instant Eddie looked at him like that. He reached out and grabbed his shoulder. “I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean what I said either.” He soothed his thumb back and forth across Eddie’s collarbone, feeling the warmth radiating from his skin.

Eddie wiped at his eyes, looking down again. A pause.

“It’s okay if you did,” he said, sounding small.

Steve felt an icy blade slot between his ribs.

“Can’t you ever just back off?” Steve had spat.

His heart did a subtle thing, some odd and familiar lurch at the way Eddie’s boisterous, booming voice was so quiet, the way that Eddie thought Steve meant what he said because a small part of Eddie must believe it. Something pattered in his chest again, more poignant than before. It had been rooted there for a long time, maybe even since spring. Steve looked at him again. Fuck it.

“C’mere,” he said. At Eddie’s confused look, he extended his arms. “Just—come here.”

With some hesitance, Eddie shuffled forward a bit, going in for a hug. Not quite. Steve grabbed his hips and hauled him into his chest, earning a sharp breath of surprise.

Eddie’s hands instinctually flew around Steve’s neck to stabilize himself, and he landed between Steve’s legs on the couch, his long legs folded to the side.

Steve wrapped his arms around Eddie’s waist and tugged him as close as he could, their chests pressed together snugly.

“Oh,” Eddie murmured. He tentatively sagged more heavily into the touch, resting his arms around Steve’s shoulders.

Steve turned his head to bury his face in Eddie’s neck. He nudged past his hair so his nose pressed directly to delicate skin, inhaling the sweet scent of soap, dried sweat, a hint of cologne. He murmured, “I didn’t mean what I said. Not a word.”

Eddie didn’t respond, but Steve felt his body tense for a fraction of a moment. That’s alright. Steve figured it would be an uphill climb to get Eddie to believe and trust him fully again, but he was willing to put in the time.

Steve moved a hand to rub soothingly up and down his back, the other arm securely around his waist to keep him close. The tense line of Eddie’s shoulders started to relax, and he tucked himself into Steve more fully.

It should have been boring just sitting in silence like that, but Steve found himself content focusing on the task at hand. He applied gentle pressure as he pressed against Eddie’s back, feeling the dip between his shoulder blades and the notches of his spine. He felt quietly satisfied when he felt Eddie’s heartbeat calming, his breaths slowing.

They rested there for an indeterminate amount of time.

Eventually, Steve murmured, “We should get some sleep.” He felt Eddie nod.

They rose from the couch, and Steve led Eddie upstairs to his room where he started picking out pajamas for himself. He paused at his closet for a beat, then turned and gave Eddie his yellow sweater.

When they both finished getting ready to sleep, there was a moment of questioning. Eddie lingered in Steve’s room for a moment, edging towards the door for the guest room.

Without thinking Steve tossed the duvet back from both sides of the bed, looking over pointedly. Eddie took the hint, making his way over to the other side as they crawled under the covers. Eddie put a generous amount of space between them, laying with his back to Steve.

Steve immediately pulled Eddie’s body to him, looping his arms around his torso and tugging his body against his chest. He could feel Eddie’s hair tickling his face.

Eddie had tensed at the contact but didn’t pull away.

“Okay?” Steve whispered. He felt Eddie lay his arms atop where Steve’s circled him.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. Almost hesitantly, he leaned back into it. It was as if he was afraid to upset some fragile balance they’d struck.

On a surface level, it was true. There was something uniquely absurd about the situation from an outside glance. If only the God-fearing families and townspeople of Hawkins knew that Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson was currently little spoon in Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington’s bed. Yet with everything that had actually happened, with alternate dimensions and Russians and enough monsters to last more than a lifetime, Steve couldn’t see himself anywhere else but there, holding Eddie, tucking him away from the danger of the world in the safe quiet of his childhood bedroom.

Eddie was fast asleep, successfully exhausted from the events of the evening.

As Steve lay awake, something he had been unable to summon in words repeated like a broken record in his brain. He squeezed his eyes shut, felt the rise and fall of Eddie’s breathing.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

[hellowhisperingstars]

Epilogue: The Good Girl

Summary: Things get back to normal but Eddie has a few surprises for you.

Pairing: Rockstar/Bar Owner!Eddie Munson x Baker!Reader

Words: 4.7K

Warnings: 18+, Y/N used, dom/sub dymanics, light bondage, cussing, fluff. Let me know if I missed anything!

A/N: This is it! The last chapter of Sugar Cloud. Thank you all for taking the time to read this story and showing it love! I appreciate each and every one of you! I am also thinking of doing some time stamps for these two. Please let me know if you are interested!

See you in the next story!

Likes, comments and reblogs are always greatly appreciated! <3

Previous - Masterlist 

Months have passed since that day at the courthouse. All the money your Nana gave you went into savings for a rainy day, while the money your father and the Malloy’s had to pay you went to keeping up the bakery. Tiffany and Ada had been begging you for new ovens and you really wanted to get rid of the old storage coolers to bring in two new bigger ones to hold more orders. So you made it happen. Even the display cases and the cafe tables in the front got a makeover along with new shelves to hold the fresh baked bread that you were going to start selling. It was refreshing to see your shop look all sparkly and new. 

You smiled at Marty and Emma as you placed the last basket of freshly baked rolls onto one of the shelves and waved to one of your regulars when you turned to start pulling a call in order from the display cases. Yeah, life had definitely gone back to normal and you were loving it. Though there was a small part of you that was waiting for something to happen, over all the drama of your sham wedding you completely forgot that your Nana was the deed holder to the building that Sugar Cloud was in. With her gone, who owned it? Did your dad have it? Would he find a way to sell it out from under you as payback for embarrassing him the way you did? He didn’t need to be within 100 feet of you to do that. Shaking your head you tossed the idea away. Now wasn’t the time to think about it. This was your new start and you were going to live in the moment with your Rockstar. As soon as he got back from another trip to New York. 

Turns out he and the rest of the band had put their album on hold to deal with the mess your father had created and now that it had been taken care of you had urged him to get back to it. Eddie had tried his best to convince you to join him on the trip not wanting a repeat of what happened last time but you really wanted to spend time at the bakery to get back in the swing of things. The night before he left he finally relented and made you promise to call him every day when you got up and every night before you went to bed. You couldn’t wait to see him again and hear their new music when it was done. 

Eddie pulled his car into the back parking lot of the bakery and took a moment to look at the building with a grin, his heart pounding with excitement knowing you are just behind those doors. It had been weeks since he last saw you and he was more than ready to have you back in his arms. This trip had gone significantly better and you sounded just as excited to talk to him with every phone call which made him breathe easier as time went by. No more scheming dads and fake fiances to make your life hell while he was away.

Grabbing the demo CD of the new album from the passenger seat he pulled the keys from the ignition and stepped from his car taking the cigarette from his lips and dropping it to the ground so he could smash it under his boot. Making his way through the lot he blew the smoke into the air as he quickly grabbed the door handle and pulled it open so he could enter into the kitchen. Taking a moment to let his eyes adjust he greeted Ada and Tiffany when they looked over at him. 

“Welcome back!” Ada smiled from her spot by the sink, a pan and sponge in her hand.

“How’d it go?” Tiffany asked as she pulled a tin from the oven the smell of warm bread filling the air mixing with the sweet scent of cakes. “Did you finish it?”

Waving the CD in the air Eddie smiled at the girls. “Got the demo right here. Probably got a few tweaks to make, songs to cut, that kinda thing but I wanted some more opinions before we make changes. Where’s my girl?”

“Can’t wait to hear it!” Ada said, putting the pan in the drying rack. “She’s up front.”

“Thanks,” He grinned and started towards the door that would lead him to you. Eddie smiled as  he ducked into the front of the store and leaned against the door frame as he watched you move around behind the counters, your apron around your waist as you pulled items from the fridge displays to pack orders to give to the customers in front of you. Back in your element. Moving up to you he grabbed your waist and leaned down to kiss the side of your head before he spoke into your ear. “Miss me?”

Jumping at the sudden touch you turned your head quickly and let out a sound of excitement when you saw who it was and almost dropped the box in your hands. Putting it on the counter you turned and jumped into his arms. “You’re back!”

Laughing, Eddie pulled you as close as he could, burying his nose in your hair. “Hi baby. Fuck, I missed you.” 

“Missed you so much.” You mumbled into his neck as he swayed you a little before pulling you back to give you a proper kiss. The feel of his plush lips on yours made you sigh in contentment. Moving back you looked into his eyes. “Did you finish it?”

“Got it right here.” He smiled showing you the CD. “Wanted you to be the first one to hear it.”

Smiling, you looked at the plain white disc excitement bubbling up in you with the need to hear what the band had done, when a small cough got your attention. Turning around you stared wide eyed at the customer who just chuckled at you, they didn’t seem annoyed thankfully and you quickly dropped your arms from around Eddie, moving back to do your job. “I’m so sorry about that. My boyfriend just came back into town and I couldn't help myself.”

Your customer waved your worry away with a smile. “It’s no problem, I’m almost done then I’ll get out of your hair.”

Eddie grinned at you before kissing the back of your head, “I‘m gonna grab some coffee, is that okay?”

“Of course baby.” You smiled as you went back to packing an eclair into the lavender box that was once again in your hand. Eddie turned, placing the CD on the counter for later, and started to fiddle with the coffee machine behind you when a few different young muffled voices called from outside.

“Holy shit!” 

“Is that Eddie Munson?!”

“No way! What's he doing here?!”

“He’s from Hawkins you idiot! The whole band is!”

Everyone looked to see a group of three young teens standing on the sidewalk outside looking through the glass of your shop window. They were staring wide eyed at Eddie who waved at them with a shit eating grin before he turned and finished his coffee. 

“You have fans, babe.” You chuckle smiling over your shoulder at him, giving him a wink before you hand the now full box to the customer in front of you after they paid, apologizing again for the interruption. Turning to look at the window you waved the three teens into the shop, a little laugh leaving you as they stumbled inside, holding the door open for the customer to exit. The kids who looked like little rockers themselves, with their long hair and black Corroded Coffin band shirts, they were completely starstruck by your boyfriend. It made you giggle. Looking over at Eddie, you bumped his hip with yours when he came to lean against the counter next to you. 

Grinning, Eddie took a sip of his coffee before he greeted the boys. “Heya fellas.” 

“You’re Eddie Munson.” One of the boys stated his eyes still wide as he stared at Eddie. “Lead singer and guitarist for Corroded Coffin.”

“That’s me!” He laughed, placing his coffee down on the counter behind you. “You guys want an autograph?”

“Hell yeah!”

“That would be awesome!”

You watched, giggling as the boys freaked out practically rushing the counter as you handed Eddie some blank receipt paper and a marker from the register before he gestured them to the new cafe tables to get out of your way. Turning back to the boy you smiled at them, “You boys want a treat? It’s on the house.”

The three boys were incredibly polite and thankful for the free sweets and they sat at the table with Eddie for a while, after they got his autographs, just talking. He was so nice to them, answering questions and getting excited when they told him they also had started a band. You think it’s because they reminded him of himself and the rest of the band when they were around that age. It was sweet and made you smile. That’s something you love the most about metalheads, sure they look scary and unapproachable, but deep down they are the nicest dorks you could ever meet. 

At one point you moved around the counter to hand Eddie a fresh cup of coffee since his original one had been forgotten when the boys came in. He introduced you to the kids as his girl as he pulled you onto his lap by your waist, telling them that you own the place, and they complimented the treats they had. 

You sat there for a few minutes chatting before a new customer came in and you excused yourself to take care of them since both Marty and Emma were on their lunch break. Greeting the soccer mom you started on her order as the four metalheads chatted for a little longer. 

“Thank you babe.” You smiled as you looked up at him. “I think you deserve a reward.”

Later that night it was just you and Eddie in the bakery, everyone having gone home to their families earlier in the evening, it was as you were standing at the kitchen island prepping some ingredients for tomorrow's haul of freshly baked goods that you suddenly got a craving for cinnamon bread. Fuck that sounded so good right now. Moving around the kitchen quickly you got your supplies and started on your bread.

While you were doing that Eddie had just finished sweeping up the crumbs on the shop floor, wiping down the café tables, and double checking that the front door was locked with the closed sign turned to let everyone know to come back tomorrow. Putting the broom back into its designated spot he wandered back into the kitchen to see you wrist deep in the bread dough as you had just dropped it from the bowl onto the floured countertop. “Front’s all clean and locked up, pretty girl.”

“Oh?” He asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned on the counter by the door. “And what would that be? A cookie? A cupcake? Oh or maybe one of those blondies I love so much?”

“I was thinking more like a kiss…” You smirked at him, beckoning him over with a nod of your head before you gave an over-exaggerated sigh and dropped your shoulders as you continued to knead the dough. “Buuuuut if you want a cookie, I guuuuess yo-”

“No. Nonononono,” Pushing off the counter he waved his hands in the air as if he could toss the idea of not wanting a kiss away from him and rushed over silencing you with a kiss, his hands cupping your cheeks, his nose brushing against yours. “Kisses are good. Kisses are great.”

Laughing, you lean back your hands still in the bread dough and give him one final peck before you turn around to knead the dough again for a few minutes. 

“Whatcha making baby?” Eddie asked as he moved behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist, his chin landing on your shoulder.

“Cinnamon bread. Thought it would be good breakfast bread for tomorrow. Cinnamon bread french toast is the best.” You exclaim, looking over your shoulder at him. 

“That sounds good.” He smiled, kissing the side of your head still watching you knead the dough until you rolled it into a good sized ball.

Grabbing the clean bowl you greased it up with a little bit of oil before you plopped the dough ball inside, placed a towel over the top, and moved it to a warm spot in the kitchen to let it rise. “Now we leave that for an hour.”

Leaning back against the counter again, Eddie watched while you collected the mixing bowl, measuring cup, and spoons from the counter turning to place them in the sink to clean. Grabbing the sponge you move back to the island to wipe the countertop down, before you turn back to the sink to wash your hands a look of worry on your face as you start to think of losing the bakery again. Glancing around the kitchen you frowned a little, you loved it here, you lived here, you didn’t want to lose it. Where would you go if you had to leave? Scrunching your brows together you dropped the sponge back into the sink resting your hands on it as you thought. 

“I know that look,” Eddie said, sidling up to you. Bumping his arm into yours he bent down a little to look at you. “That’s your ‘I’m worried’ face. What’s goin’ on in that pretty little head of yours?”

“It’s stupid,” You said, shaking your head as you turned the sink on to wash the dishes you made. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

“No, tell me.” Eddie mumbled giving you that look that made your thighs clench, that ‘you’re going to be in trouble if you don’t tell me’ look, one of his brows going up to hide under his bangs. “Come on, out with it.”

Sighing, you shut the water off again, dropping the sponge into the sink. “I was worrying about the future of the bakery.”

Moving so he could face you better, his brows scrunched together. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Waving your wet hand in the air you looked over at him. “I just realized earlier that I don’t know what happened to the deed to the building after Nana passed and I’m scared that as like a last fuck you dad is going to sell it out from under me. I don’t want to lose this place, it’s my home, it’s my livelihood, I have worked too hard to let him fuck me over anymore.”

“Well that's an easy fix babe. He can’t,” Eddie smirked, smiling down at you. After all that had happened he had totally forgotten to tell you about the deal he had with your Grandma. “I own the building.”

That stopped you in your tracks and you looked up at him in surprise. “What?”

Nodding, he picked at a string on your shirt. “When your grandma was in the hospital she called the bar and asked me to come see her. So we met up, chatted a little, and we made a deal that she would sell me the building to keep it out of your fathers hands as long as I continue to let you live and work here. I said yes, I wanted to protect you anyway I could, so I bought the building from her. Your dad can't touch it.”

You floundered for a moment as you tried to think of something to say but all you could get out was a breathy. “Holy shit.”

Laughing a little Eddie tugged on your shirt pulling you closer to him not caring that your hands were still wet from washing your dishes when you grabbed the front of his button down shirt. “Not mad at me are you? For doing that behind your back.”

Shaking your head you placed your forehead against his chest, a little smile on your face as you started to chuckle a bit. “No. No, I’m not mad at you. I'm really happy actually. But it looks like you’re my landlord now and I will be paying you rent for this you know. In full and on time.”

“The only payment I expect is you.” Eddie laughed, his hand cupping the back of your head tangling his fingers in your hair to pull your head back a little so he had access to your neck, his words breathy against your skin. “Preferably in the form of your ass in my bed, tied up, and struggling.”

You let out a gasped moan as Eddie latched his lips onto your neck sucking a hickey into your skin. His teeth give you a little nip as he pulls back to look at you. You blinked up at him, your breathing a little heavy now and you squirmed a little in his hold, your thighs rubbing together at the thought of you bound and waiting for him to take you. Taking in a slow breath you smiled at him. “How about I pay you with rent and my ass. That way I don’t feel like a freeloader in your building and you still get to be mean to me.”

“Sweetheart,” He said, his voice dropping down into this dom tone that he liked to use when he was being serious with you. “As your boyfriend and your dom I want to help you. So let me deal with the payments for the building. You just focus on the bakery. I have more than enough money to take care of this place, just tell me when somethings wrong and I’ll handle it.”

“Eddie,” You started to say something else but he placed his fingers over your lips to silence you before he dragged his fingertips down your chin to lift your head up with his knuckles. 

“Let me take care of you.” He said looking into your eyes before he leaned down to kiss you one more time and against your lips he mumbled. “And if you fight me about this anymore I will drag you upstairs and tan your hide with my belt. You understand me?”

Swallowing the saliva that collected on your tongue you nodded your head, even more excited now. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good girl,” Eddie smiles as she gives your ass a firm slap that makes you gasp again. Looking over towards the bowl with the ball of dough he smiled. “How much longer for your bread to rise?”

Glancing over at it, you looked at the clock, and shrugged your shoulders a little as you started to finish up the dishes you still had in the sink. “Maybe another thirty minutes? Then I have to roll it out, fill it with cinnamon sugar, make it into loafs, and then let it rise for another hour to an hour and a half.”

“Then since we have time…” Eddie said as he wandered back into the front to grab the demo CD from the counter behind the register where he had left it and turned back into the kitchen holding it up in the air so you could see it. “I would love your opinion on this.”

“Oh! Yes! Put it in, put it in!” You nodded enthusiastically pointing towards the stereo that sat in the cabinet by the backdoor. 

Laughing, the metalhead moved around the island and fiddled with the stereo until he was able to pull out the mixed CD you had created and pushed the demo in and pressed play. The first few seconds were quiet until you heard the strings of a guitar being plucked at a fast pace, then the drums, and the rest of the band started and the very first song on the new album bumped through the speakers. Nodding your head to the beat, you smiled over at Eddie when his voice came out over the speakers. 

By the time you had the two cinnamon sugared loaves of bread into their designated pans and set aside to rise again you were halfway through the album. Washing your hands again you turned wiping your hands on your apron to look at Eddie who had one arm crossed over his chest while the other was held up to his lips, his thumbnail between his teeth, he looked nervous about your reaction to the song. It was about two lovers who were separated but were able to come back together. When the song was ending you heard your voice start to fade in as the guitar riff faded out. It was a simple little sound bite of you saying ‘I fucking I love you, you dork’ and then you laughing. You remembered that conversation from the first week he was gone. He had called you one night and it seems he had recorded a part of it. 

“I wrote that for you.” He said looking at you. “Gonna call it ‘Souls Intertwined’ or something like that. Titles are still being worked on.”

Walking over to Eddie you put your hands on his chest, a smile on your face as he put his hands around your waist. “You wrote that about us? And you used my voice?!”

“I did!” He nodded as he laughed. Pulling you flush against him he looked into your eyes. “Did you like it?”

“I loved it!” You nodded your head. “I love it. I love you.”

“I love you too.” He smiled, placing his forehead against yours, his eyes squinting a little as he tried to recall something. “How long did you say for the bread to rise this round?”

“About an hour, hour and a half.” You said looking over at the bread and then back to him.

The smile that grew on his face was one of trouble as he started to kiss your face, first your forehead, then your nose, your cheeks, and then your chin. “Good, good. Then we have more than enough time. So why don’t you get your cute butt upstairs, get undressed, and into first position, I’ll be right behind you.”

Nodding your head you bite your bottom lip sensually, taking a few steps back towards the stairs to your apartment and right when he had turned around to turn off the stereo in the cabinet you took the chance and smacked him straight on the ass, a laugh leaving you when he turned around to stare at you in surprise.

“Really?” He said turning and slowly making his way towards you, one foot in front of the other. His hands come up as if to grab you. “You are in so much trouble right now little girl.”

“Me?” You whisper at him, your hands going up to your chest and you make your eyes impossibly wide as you feign innocence as you start to back up some more. The game was on and quickly you turned around running towards the stairs and then up them. The sound of his feet chasing you through the kitchen and up the stairs making you laugh hysterically as you swung your apartment door open running to stand behind your dining room table by your bedroom door.

“Oh sweetheart,” Eddie said as he ran into the room after you, coming to a stop on the other side of the table, his hands landing on the top so he could lean towards you with that look in his eye that you loved so much. “You’re only making this harder on yourself. You know that right?” 

“Mhm,” You nodded with a smug smile, watching him carefully as you both moved around the table first one way then the other making sure something was between you at all times. It was a cat and mouse game and you were completely content with being the mouse. At one point you even ripped your apron off and threw it at him to distract him but he just batted it out of the air like it was nothing. 

This only lasted about three turns before he faked you out and when you went right to dodge his movement on the opposite side he quickly stepped left grabbing you around your waist and hoisting you onto his shoulder giving your ass a firm punishing smack. “Gotcha. You are in for it now.”

Laughing you struggle in his grip, your hands on his back as you try to push yourself up. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“No you’re not.” He snarked, kicking your bedroom door open. Eddie moved to your bed and dropped you down on it so he could straddled your waist, making sure to keep his weight off of you, and grabbed your wrists pulling him above your head. “Now are you going to take your punishment or are you going to be a little brat that I have to tie up?”

You shrug a little with a smirk on your face. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

“I see,” He nodded, letting your arms go so he could pull your shirt over your head leaving you in just your bra and jeans. The pick on your collar sitting in the hollow of your throat. Leaning back he looked down his nose at you and pointed at you with one finger and gave you a serious look, “Do not move from this spot.”

Nodding, you bite your lower lip a little as you look up at him. “Yes, Sir.”

Smirking, he got off the bed and moved to the duffle that he had grabbed from his car earlier in the day, unzipping it slowly to mess with you. He took his time moving a few things around mostly for dramatic effect, cause he knew exactly what he was looking for. His fingers grazed across the red rope that sat waiting in his bag. “Now, I was going to tell you that because you've been so good lately I was planning on graduating you from cuffs but since you were being such a bad girl I don't know if you deserve it.”

That piqued your interest quite a bit and you fought the urge to sit up on your elbows. Quickly you say, “No please, I'll be good. I promise. I’ll be good.” 

“Mhm. You gotta prove it to me.” Eddie hummed as he grabbed the rope from the duffle and stood up, unbundling it in a showy way so you could see the end of it fall to the floor with a little thud. He smirked when your eyes widened and you took in a deep breath of excitement, your thighs clenching together again. He could watch you squirm like this all day. “Come here sweet girl.” 

Quickly you got off the bed and moved towards him. Your eyes were stuck on the rope. 

“Eyes on me.” He muttered and when you looked up at him he smiled. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” You smiled up at him. You really did love this man.

Holding one finger up in the air he twirled it around in a circle. “Turn around babe. Arms behind your back.” 

Slowly you turned, putting your arms behind you, and you hummed when you felt the first brush of the rope against your skin. It was softer than you expected. Closing your eyes you let out a little sigh of contentment as he expertly tied your wrists. Soon you felt him push a finger between your skin and the rope making sure it wasn't going to hurt you. 

“Too tight?”

“No, Sir.” You said, shaking your head. It was just right. 

You closed your eyes as he wrapped his arms around you, one hand splayed out against your stomach while the other wandered up to cup your chin pushing it up so it was leaning against his chest. 

“Safeword?” He whispered into your ear. 

“Red.” You breathed out 

“Do you trust me?” He asked as he started kissing your neck, leaving little nips as he went. 

“With my life.” 

“Good girl.”

Tag List:

@eddiesprincess86 @haylaansmi @micheledawn1975 @chloe-6123 @wendyfawcett

[marauderundercover]

2022 Secret Santa Gift Exchange

For: @lifeexperience hope you enjoy!

Marinette was a simple child of parents who loved her, but not each other. Some of her friends at school had parents just like that, but they were divorced. But her parents never actually married, so they didn’t get a cool word. But really, all it meant was that she had to split her time between her Maman and her Dad. Unfortunately for her, her parents had decided to live a whole ocean apart. So she couldn’t just visit on weekends like her friend Max could. But it was finally summer again, and she was finally back in Gotham. Glancing around, Marinette grins widely the second she spots Alfred. 

“Alfie!” She cheers, running around the other people in the baggage claim area. Alfred’s lips twitch up into a small smile. 

“It’s nice to see you again, Miss Marinette.” He says. Marinette grins widely, pointing to the new gap in her teeth. 

“Look! I lost another tooth.” She says. Alfred raises an eyebrow. 

“Have you already received a visit from the tooth fairy?” He asks. She nods, holding Alfred’s hand as they walk through the parking lot. 

“Where’s dad?” She asks, swinging their arms. 

“Do you remember Mr. Kent?” Alfred asks. Marinette nods. He came to the manor a lot more than her dad liked, but she didn’t mind cause he usually brought his son Jon with him. “He and your father are in the middle of a meeting, and he couldn’t step away.” Alfred explains. Marinette resists the urge to ask if Jon was there too. Hopefully it was just a super quick meeting and then her dad could hang out with her. She knew that he was always super busy. He worked at a really big company, and he had a bunch of kids, and he was Batman. But he was still a good dad, and she knew he tried. 

“Is Cass home?” She asks, buckling herself into her booster seat (Alfred insisted, even though she tried to convince him that ten was plenty old enough to use a normal seat; apparently she was too short). 

“I’m afraid Miss Cass won’t be home for another week or so. Your brothers should all be there, though Master Duke and Master Tim won’t be staying for long. They’re going on a weekend trip with a few friends.” He explains. Marinette hums in surprise. It was really rare for Tim to leave Gotham for something not hero related. She’d have to make a bet with Damian to see what the odds were that Tim and Duke were actually going on a secret mission that they hadn’t told anybody about. It seemed much more likely. Marinette zones out on the rest of the car ride, just watching as her favorite city passes by. She liked Paris and spending time with her Maman, but Gotham had always felt more like her home. Gotham was where her dad and brothers and Alfred were. It was her home. As the manor appears out the window, Marinette grins at the sight of her dad waiting for her outside. The second the car stops, Marinette is out and running to her dad. She launches herself at him and sighs happily as he picks her up and wraps her in a big hug. 

“I missed you too.” He says softly, giving her one last squeeze before setting her down. “How was the last week of school?” Marinette sighs dramatically, grinning when she sees the moment her dad spots her new missing tooth. 

“I lost another tooth! And Alix didn’t even pull this one out for me.” She says happily. Her dad sighs, but she can tell he really wants to laugh. 

“You two are going to cause so much trouble one day, aren’t you?” He asks. Marinette shrugs. 

“Depends on if it’s fun or not. Where’re the boys?” She asks, leaning slightly to look past him. 

“Tim and Duke are packing, and Jason’s in the library. Last I checked, Dick was also in the library attempting to convince Jason to go do something else.” Her dad says with a small smile, the same smile he always got when he mentioned Jason. The memories weren’t super clear, but she did have some memories of when Jason died. She probably purposefully blocked out most of it, though. (Or that’s what Max thought, when she’d talked to him about it once; he was super smart). That was a rough summer. Tim hadn’t come around yet, and her dad and Dick were both really, really sad. And angry. As much as they’d both tried to hide it from her, she heard them yelling. And she saw the reports of what Batman was doing, even if the news only had stories and never any actual pictures of what Batman had become. No matter what she tried, she couldn’t get her dad back to who he was before Jason died. She spent most of that summer baking with Alfred and drawing in the library on the couch where Jason used to read her stories. By the time she came home for Thanksgiving (a holiday she knew her dad didn’t care about, but one he celebrated so that she could have an excuse to come to Gotham more) Tim was there. 

Snapping out of her thoughts, Marinette frowns when she realizes there was a brother missing. 

“What about Damian?” She asks. Her dad frowns as Mr. Kent smiles, and that’s when Marinette remembers Damian talking about his new friend, Kent. Her eyes widen. “Is Jon here?” She asks, resisting the urge to just run towards the manor. Her dad opens his mouth to respond, but Mr. Kent cuts him off. 

“They’re in the game room closest to the living room.” He says. Marinette squeals out a thanks before rushing off. Time to see Jon!

---

Bruce’s eyes narrow as he looks at one of his oldest friends. Clark just laughs, shaking his head. 

“You know she would’ve found them eventually, Bruce.” He says. Bruce huffs. 

“That doesn’t mean you had to just send her off to him.” He argues. Clark raises an eyebrow, the amusement clear on his face. 

“They’re kids, Bruce. It’s not like they’re going to get married tomorrow-” Clark starts to say, but Bruce cuts him off. 

“Or ever.”

“That’s not what Jon said.” 

“Clark-”

“Bruce, breathe. Last time they talked, Marinette apparently told Jon that she was going to marry him one day. It was very matter-of-fact and, need I remind you, they’re children. Plenty of kids have crushes that never amount to anything. And besides that, they’re friends, Bruce. Neither of them have many friends that know about everything. You really gonna take that away from either of them?” Clark asks, crossing his arms. Bruce sighs. 

“Fine. But we will revisit this conversation in a few years.” He says. Clark chuckles, but agrees. Bruce, who knows how determined his daughter can be, doesn’t laugh. 

---

“Jon!” Marinette squeals, running into the room. Jon turns around and grins, opening his arms. Before Marinette can throw herself into the hug, Damian steps between them, frowning. Marinette skids to a stop, raising an eyebrow at her older brother. 

“What is the meaning of this?” Damian asks, looking between them. Marinette huffs. 

“I was trying to hug my friend.” She says, arms crossed. Damian raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms too. 

“Kent is my friend, Marinette.” He says firmly. Marinette’s eyes narrow. 

“He was my friend first!” She counters. Damian turns to Jon. 

“Well, are you going to say anything?” He asks. Jon’s eyes widen. 

“Well, uh, I-” He stammers over his words. 

“Leave him out of this! Can’t you see you’re stressing him out!” Marinette yells at her older brother. He scoffs. 

“Oh, I’m stressing him out?” He asks. “What about you? Rushing in here and trying to hug him with no prior warning?”

“Jon happens to like my hugs.” Marinette says firmly. Damian snorts humorlessly. 

“Are you sure he isn’t just being nice?” He asks. Marinette feels her cheeks turn red. 

“Actually-” Jon starts. 

“Stay out of this, Kent.” Damian warns. Marinette rolls her eyes. 

“Why are you such a know it all, all the time?” She asks, trying hard not to scream. 

“Why are you such a little baby?” Damian taunts. 

“That’s it!” Marinette shrieks before letting out a battle cry. She rushes towards her brother, fists flying. Every time he dodges, she shrieks. She wasn’t trained like he was. It wasn’t fair! Suddenly, arms are around her, lifting her away from Damian just as Damian is restrained by Dick. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! What is going on in here?” He asks, looking between them. Marinette glances back, stopping kicking when she realizes Jason is the one holding her back. He was officially her favorite brother at the moment. 

“Marinette is acting like a child simply because Kent is now my friend.” Damian tuts, tilting his nose up. Marinette’s eyes widen and she immediately starts thrashing around again in an attempt to go kick the heck out of her brother. 

“You are the worst! That’s not what happened at all!” She argues. 

“Cool it, kiddo.” Jason says quietly. Marinette shakes her head. 

“No! He’s being mean, and I’m gonna beat him up for it!” She insists. Damian snorts, but immediately stops at the look Dick gives him. 

“Alright. You two clearly need some time apart right now. Jason.” Dick nods towards the door and Marinette’s eyes widen. 

“This isn’t fair! Why does Damian get to hang out with Jon? He’s probably hung out with him all day! He’s my friend too!” She complains, going limp in Jason’s hold. Jason sighs, taking her out of the game room and towards the library. 

“Just breathe, Mari. I’m sure you’ll get to hang out with Jon a ton this summer. He’s over here all the time now.” Jason says. Marinette’s face falls into a frown. Before Damian came, Jon never wanted to hang out at the manor all the time. Even when Marinette was in town. Did he….was he really her friend? Or was Damian right. “Okay kid, if I set you down, do you promise not to go beat the shit out of the Gremlin?” Jason asks. Marinette nods. 

“I uh, I think I’m really tired, Jay. I’m gonna go take a nap, okay?” She’s trying really hard not to cry. Jason frowns, but nods. 

“If you’re sure. Hey, you know you can talk to me, right?” He asks. Marinette nods, and gives Jason a half hearted smile before she heads upstairs. Was Jon really her friend?

---

An hour later, Marinette’s door creaks open slightly. She glances over and waves half-heartedly at Jason. He frowns. 

“Hey kid, are you okay? I thought you were gonna take a nap.” He says. Marinette shrugs. 

“Not tired anymore.” She says. Jason’s eyebrows scrunch together. 

“I was gonna head home,” He starts, and Marinette feels her shoulders slump even more. “But, if you want, you could tag along. I was gonna make spaghetti for dinner.” He adds. Marinette perks up immediately. Damian may want to hog Jon (who may or may not be her friend), but Jason was always there for her. 

“Can we watch Little Women? The one with Winona Ryder?” She asks, Jason grins and nods. 

“Sure thing, kid. Grab a bag and let Bruce know. I’ll wait outside.” He says. Marinette nods and quickly packs up a backpack, then hesitates. It was only her first night back home. If she asked her dad, she ran the risk of him saying no. And then she’d have to eat dinner with Damian. And Jon. Nope. No, siree, she wasn’t going to risk that. Grabbing a piece of paper from her desk, she scribbles out a little note. It’d be fine, and if he was mad at her…well, he probably wouldn’t be mad. She was leaving a note! Just in case, she hurries down the back stairs and out the side door. No need to risk running into her dad. She’d talk to him tomorrow. 

---

Bruce lets his shoulders relax as he walks in and sits down for dinner. Clark had left just after Marinette arrived, but he’d had League business that couldn’t wait. Which meant dinner was the first time he’d be able to actually sit and talk to his daughter since her visit at Easter. Looking around the table, he frowns. 

“Has anyone seen Marinette?” he asks. Tim glances around, then shakes his head. 

“Uh, no. Actually, I haven’t seen her all day. Wasn’t she coming home today?” He asks. Bruce nods, trying to push down the worry welling up. 

“Little D?” Dick says, and Bruce glances at Damian, narrowing his eyes. 

“Damian. Care to explain?” Bruce asks. Damian purses his lips and tilts his chin up. A move he got from his mother. 

“She was acting like a child. We argued and Todd removed her from the game room.” Damian says simply. Bruce sighs, pinching his nose. 

“What was it this time?” He asks, shaking his head. It never seemed to fail. Every time Marinette came to stay, she and Damian found something new to fight about. It never lasted for long, but he’d come to accept it as an undeniable truth. The sky was blue. Grass was green. Damian and Marinette argued. Simple. 

“I hardly see how that-”

“They were fighting over me.” Jon blurts out. Bruce raises an eyebrow. 

“Excuse me?” 

“Well, I’m friends with Damian now, too. And so he was mad when Mari was trying to hug me, and then she yelled back at him since we were friends first and I tried to stop them but they kept fighting so Jason and Dick made them split up and then I didn’t get to say anything else to Mari and so she probably hates me now.” Jon rambles, eyes wide as his lower lip trembles. Bruce resists the urge to groan. Of course they were fighting over Jon. 

“Shall I go get Miss Marinette from her room?” Alfred asks. 

“No, I’ll get her. Damian, tomorrow we’re going to have a talk about friends. And the fact that multiple people can be friends with the same person.” Bruce says firmly, heading towards his youngest daughter’s room. He knocks. 

“Mari? Sweetie, it’s time for dinner.” Bruce says. He frowns when she doesn’t answer. “Mari?” He calls, knocking again. Bruce purses his lips. Perhaps she fell asleep? He knocks one more time before gently pushing the door open. He doesn’t panic at the empty room. He’s completely calm and collected. The paper that catches his eye on her desk, the letter letting him know that she’d be back the next day and not to worry- that’s what makes him panic. Flashbacks of five years ago. An empty bedroom. A note. A crumpled form in the middle of an explosion. Steadying his breath, he rushes downstairs. He wouldn’t go through that again. He couldn’t. 

“Master Bruce-”

“Marinette’s gone.” He says, clutching the note like a lifeline. 

“What?” Jon squeaks out, his eyes wide. Bruce turns to Dick. 

“We have to find her. Dick, will you call Jason? The rest of us will head to the cave. Everyone needs to be on comms and suited up in twenty minutes.” Bruce instructs. And not even the familiar feeling of directing a mission can bring him calm. Not while his daughter is missing. 

---

Marinette sips her chocolate milk, shaking her head at the tv. 

“You know, sometimes I wonder how Jo and Amy are able to like each other again after all the times they kinda suck and are kinda awful towards each other.” She says. Jason raises an eyebrow. 

“Yeah?” He asks. She nods. 

“Yeah. But then I remember all the times that we all fight, and I kinda get it.” She sighs. Jason snorts, shaking his head. The landline rings and Jason reaches over and grabs it. 

“Hello.” He says simply. Marinette looks away from the movie, instead watching her brother’s face as shock quickly covers it. “What? No- I- Dick, shut the hell up and breathe. She’s fine. No, she is. She’s with me. Well- I- I thought B knew. Yeah. Mmhmm. Call the calvary back, she’s fine. She’ll be back tomorrow morning after breakfast. Because I promised I’d make pancakes. No, not for you Dickhead. Uh huh. Bye.” Marinette quickly turns her attention back to the movie, hoping he doesn’t try to talk to her about it. 

“I wonder if I could wear a dress like that to the next gala.” Marinette muses, hoping it’ll be enough to change the subject. Instead, the movie pauses and Marinette sighs. 

“So. Are we going to talk about this? Or am I just going to give you a little lecture?” Jason asks. Marinette pouts. 

“Why do we have to do either? Why can’t we just finish watching the movie?” She asks. Jason lets out a long breath. 

“Do you remember when I died?” He asks bluntly. Marinette flinches back, looking at her older brother with wide eyes. He winces. “Sorry, kid. But I promise it’s important.” Marinette frowns, eyebrows scrunching together. 

“Well. Yeah, I- I kind of remember it. It’s not super clear, but…I remember.” She says, pushing down the wave of sadness that wells up inside her. It was one of the hardest times of her entire life. 

“I don’t know how much you remember of that time, but I ran away first. I was determined to figure out who my birth mom was, so I left. And do you know what I did?” He asks. Marinette shakes her head. “I left a note. I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving, not even Alfred. I just left a note. And we both know how that ended up.” He says. Marinette’s eyes widen. 

“That’s what I did to dad. I just left a note- I thought- I didn’t want him to tell me I couldn’t go. I didn’t think it would-” She stops, trying hard to stop her tears. Jason opens his arms and she throws herself at him, crying. “I’m sorry.” She says. 

“It’s fine, kiddo. I know the whole Jon and Damian thing really upset you. But- and I’m gonna sound like a fu-freaking hypocrite here- but you’ve gotta communicate.” Jason says. Marinette sniffles, and leans back. 

“Do you think dad’s gonna be really mad at me?” She asks timidly. Jason shakes his head. 

“No, kid, I don’t think he will. I think he’ll be too relieved to be mad.” He says. Marinette starts to respond, but a tap on the window makes her jump instead. Jason immediately leaps off the couch and heads for the window. “Of freaking course.” He huffs before throwing the window open. Marinette frowns, until a familiar person steps in and her eyes widen. 

“Mari!” Jon calls, running over and giving her a big hug. Marinette blinks a few times, before she relaxes and returns the hug. 

“What’re you doing here?” She asks once he pulls away. 

“Yeah. I’d also like to know.” Jason says, walking over and crossing his arms. Jon laughs awkwardly before reaching back and scratching the back of his neck. 

“I uh, I was worried about you.” He says. Marinette feels a smile creep onto her face. 

“Really?” She asks. He nods. 

“Course I was. You’re one of my best friends.” He says. She raises her eyebrows. “Yeah, uh, I already told Damian that people can have more than one best friend. I think your dad’s gonna talk to him more about it tomorrow, but I didn’t wanna stop being your friend.” He says. 

“Still best friends forever?” She asks, holding out a pinky. Jon grins and links his pinky with hers. 

“Forever and ever.” He says simply. And he was right. 

When Marinette and Jon get married fifteen years later, it surprises no one.

Tag list: @maribat-secret-santa

Permanent tag list: @stainedglassm  @laydeekrayzee @doll246 @queenz-z @deathssilentapproach-blog @literaryhiraeth @unoriginalmess @crazylittlemunchkin @buttercupsbitch @toodaloo-kangaroo @kking13

[dadonbabysworld]

Spotlight (part 1)

Author's note: I have finally decided that it is a good idea to post this. I have been so inspired to write a streetracer!au. Thank you to @crispy-chan for reading over this and making suggestions. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it.

Synopsis: The reader is a racer, and she is good at it. What happens when she challenges someone other than her normal rival? (Reader's racing name is Sunflower)

Genre: angst? idk honestly lol

Word count: 1,732

“The feel of the acceleration. It’s the whole reason I kept going knowing it would eventually lead me here.” 

The officer nods, noting your statements down. “You’re an adrenaline junkie,” he acknowledges. You shake your head. 

“Not really. I just… I wanted an escape…” you finally admit with a heavy sigh. Things were going well until now. You swallowed the bitter pill of knowing that it was a single mistake that led you here. One small mishap that could potentially land you in jail…

Your body rattled with the speed of the car, gloved hands gripping the wheel. The juxtaposition of the two materials was something you had already gotten used to over the years. Even if the vehicle was primarily for racing, it still had some customization. Your seat covers were orange and black, a vanilla diffuser sat in the back cup holder, the front being a bottle of water, and some led strips were taped on the inside. It looked regular during the day — cars with personality usually don’t get flagged as race cars. 

Your foot was all the way down on the pedal, chasing the end of your thoughts. The highway was clear, but your mind was full. Far too many people saw you and thought you were weak, fragile, soft. 

Yet that couldn’t be further from the truth; you were powerful, strong, independent and a force to be wrecked with. Anyone who saw you race knew that. 

Eyes on the road you took so often it was child’s play to zone out and still know the way to go. You checked the time; it was 4:37 am. Music came back to the forefront of your mind when you looked at your opponent. You let the window down and pulled your sunglasses up as you sped past.

 “Catch me if you can!” you grinned cheekily, shooting him a wink. He looked furious knowing he couldn’t. He would never catch up with you. You let all the windows down as you drove off, smiling.

Even at night, you put your sunglasses back on. They were your key accessory. Even if you forgot your gloves, you’d never forget your sunglasses. Most people didn't deserve to look into your eyes. It was a right to earn, and your opponent was the only one who had the pleasure of gazing into your orbs often. He was the start of your obsession.

As your vehicle's acceleration slowed, you passed the finish line with him on your bumper. You parked smoothly in the garage. Screams and congratulations greeted you as you let your windows up. You cut your car off and got out. 

“Congratulations, Sunflower”, you heard from behind you. You turned around and nodded. “Thank you, but shouldn’t you be consoling your boy?” you queried with a smirk. Chan hummed a tune of acknowledgment “That’s true, but he’ll be fine. I don’t think he minds me just thanking you.” 

You smiled. So, he wasn’t a sore loser. Good to know. You grabbed your prize money from a woman who congratulated you, easily slipping past the hordes of people in the garage.

As his eyes searched for yours under your glass, you smiled. Chan was handsome and he knew that. You had a small soft spot for him, but no one compared to your opponent. He was gorgeous and, just like Chan, he was painfully aware of it. Chan waved while walking away, heading back to his friends which now included your opponent.

As if on schedule, he approached. “Sunflower!” You lifted your sunglasses. “Know”, you answered, small smirk playing on your lips. He looked just as furious as before when you passed him on the track. 

“What the hell was that?!” 

 “Whatever do you mean?” Usually, the sight of his rage was somewhat attractive to you — you liked seeing him so worked up. But this… it was a bit much, even for you.

You smirked. You had just upgraded your car. Well, not alone, but he’ll get the point.

“Your car was not as fast last time we raced.”

“Neither was yours, but I guess we both have surprises.”

His lips formed a lopsided smirk as he ran a hand through his messy hair. “A worthy one…” 

You raised an eyebrow. “Hm?” 

“A worthy opponent you are.” 

He walked away after that statement, leaving you to think about his words. What was he trying to say? Did he think everyone else wasn't?

You got in your car to prepare to leave. Letting your sunglasses fall back down, you put on your seatbelt. You prepared for the radio to be as loud as it was when you turned the car off by covering your ears. With one hand, you started the car then immediately turned it down.

As you were about to put it in drive, Chan pulled up next to you, a playful smirk gracing his lips. 

“Leaving before my race, Sunflower? I'm a bit disappointed.” 

You laughed. “Do you want me to stay?” 

“I wanted to race, maybe? Would it be too much to ask for?”

To say you were shocked would be an understatement. None of Lee Know’s friends ever asked to race. Never. Hmm… maybe he wanted to see if Chan could get the best of you. 

“Sure! Let's go then. We can take the west route. Lee Know and I already did the North one.” 

You didn't know who decided the routes, but they were probably the same ones that started years ago. You backed up to make space for Chan to turn. As he moved, you followed slowly. 

You noted that Chan had someone in the passenger seat. A bold move. Weight meant he was losing speed. You never saw Chan race before, so he might surprise you. Out of all the friends Lee Know had, you'd only seen the Puppy and Hanji race. You chuckled at the thought. His' nickname was quite fitting—he was the youngest one, a beginner by your standards, but he was someone to watch out for. Just like a puppy, you never knew when he might finally bite... 

Glancing out the window, your eyes scanned over Chan's dark blue McLaren... Did his parents buy it for him, or did he work for it? Did he refurbish it? It was clean and the interior was filled with intricate little details that hinted at him having a hand at redoing it to fit his own style. According to some people, Chan worked on cars, yet he didn’t seem like the type. He was a pretty boy, by all means, but you had already learned the hard way that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. 

People thought you were just a simple nursing student. In the daytime that was true, you worked your ass off to study nursing in med-school. You wondered what would become of you when you’d be working nights at a hospital. Right now, all the problems and anxiety from medical school weren't important. The only thing that mattered was the race.

Chan took you out of a trance when his engine roared. Maybe it was a flex or just a way to pick up women. Multiple women cheered at the noise. It helped you focus, nonetheless. The doors opened so you could leave. As the countdown started, you tightened the straps of your seatbelt. You put the race car seatbelt that clicked in the middle in your seat like a harness. You read somewhere that it was safer for women in those.

Your Ferrari was jet black with slightly tinted windows. The exterior was basic —you had a license plate cover installed for when racing. The last thing you wanted was to get caught. The normal life you lived would be gone, and your grandmother would be alone. In jail, you couldn’t do anything for her. 

You floored it as soon as the countdown got to one, but Chan was close. He never looked so calm; he was in his natural habitat. His passenger had their hand out the window. Seemingly happy and enjoying the ride, would you ever get the chance to have a passenger? 

Your Ferrari was a blur to anyone not going at yours and Chan's speed. 

The closer to 180 mph you got; the more adrenaline rushed through your body. You turned the radio back up. It was amazing how you could listen to the same songs, but the song felt so different at nearly 200 mph. Every song was a hype one. Music was everything to you. The ultimate escape. 

Chan had passed you at the halfway mark. He must've been pushing 200 mph if he was passing you. It was a smooth transition to the lane you were in. It was admirable how seriously Chan was taking this. At first you honestly weren’t, you sat up some maneuvering out of the lane Chan got in.

You felt like a dude playing 2k when they started losing and they sat up. You couldn’t lose to Chan; your opponent was Lee Know and it would stay that way. You wouldn't allow Chan the right to brag to Lee Know about how he beat you. 

You had no beef or history with Chan, and you didn’t want to start any. He was always respectful and friendly. However, you couldn’t let him get one up on you if he did win. You’d have to race him again. You couldn’t leave one stone unturned. 

You rode on his side for the next five minutes. You caught the lead when it came time to get off the expressway. He couldn’t overtake you until you got at least half a mile ahead.

“Should’ve got over first!”, you yelled out the window. He looked focused. Not as easily phased as Lee know. Nice to know. 

It would be a picture-perfect win. You’d left Chan in the dust for a while. Until you looked to your right to see Chan coming close. With the finish line in your sights, you both wanted to win badly. 

Your grip on the wheel was hurting your hands. You were going to have marks on your hands from the sewing in your wheel cover. You were stressed to the max. You had to win. Had to. You hyper focused on the road, blocking out the radio focusing on the winning shot. 

BANG! 

And the winner is…

Taglist (please comment to join): @kflixnet @l-luvr @lino-jagiyaa 🐶 @moonmukamiamajiki

If you like this post, consider reading my other works listed here. I, also, accept requests here. Thank you!

[littlepurpleunicorns]

Agere writing thing lol. Normally I wouldn’t post on this account, but it was already typed and color coded, and I don’t feel like retyping it.

Grocery Trip

OCs:

Crystal, She/Her, Caregiver

Lewis, He/They, Little

Heads up, these characters are angels, so they have wings.

Don’t make fun of me please.

Story under the cut <3

Crystal grabbed her purse and turned to stand at the door. 

“C’mon Lewis, if you wanna go to the store we need to leave now before they close.” 

Lewis tugged at his jacket, trying to get it on just right to cover their wings. They’d been hurt years back, and they didn’t look nice anymore. The jacket however, was being a pain, and Lewis had been fighting off the urge to slip all day, and this was not at all helping. 

“You okay?” Crystal asked him. 

Lewis nodded, stumbling down the hall slightly. He knew he was going to need help, but didn’t want to say anything. They weren’t sure they could say anything even if he wanted to. 

Crystal picked up on it quickly. Lewis had been so stressed lately trying to get accepted into a school. It was only natural, she figured. She expected it, and was ready for him. 

“Lewis, do you need help?”

He paused with the jacket, slightly glancing up at her. Being shorter than Crystal did not help him shake the small feeling. Could she tell?

They nodded, and Crystal came to help him fit the jacket on just right. 

“How’s that?”

“Good..” he mumbled. 

“Are you alright?” 

He hummed slightly. He didn’t want to say it.

“Lewis?”

“I.. Mm..” He held out his hand to Crystal, who took it. 

“You’re feeling small, aren’t you?”

They nodded hesitantly, and Crystal kissed his forehead. 

“You’re alright baby. You still wanna come to the store with me?”

“Mhm-“

“Alright. Let’s get you to the car then. Do you want up?”

He nodded again and Crystal held him. Being held seemed to make him sleepy, but he wasn’t going to sleep.

She carried them to the car and buckled him into the passengers seat. He didn’t want to talk much. She wondered if they were more anxious about school than she’d realized. 

Lewis watched out his window on the way to the store. The sky looked nice today. He knew he couldn’t fly anymore, but today still would’ve been a great day for flying. He had to appreciate that.

He watched the clouds as they drove. His eyes seemed to feel heavier but didn’t dare let them close. They were going to the store, and that was supposed to be fun. He didn’t want to miss it. 

They parked and got out of the car, and Crystal held Lewis’s hand through the parking lot. 

She grabbed a cart and put her purse in the baby seat. Lewis wouldn’t have been able to fit there, but he might have wanted to be in the bigger part, which she asked him. 

He did, but it would look weird in public. Especially if he fell asleep. They didn’t want to fall asleep in the cart. 

So he shook his head, and Crystal had them hold onto the carts handle so he didn’t get lost. 

Lewis looked around at all the people and things to see. He tried to count people with black hair, thinking something to focus on would make him less tired. 

Crystal went through their list, putting things into the cart and asking Lewis for his opinions. 

“What flavor pop tart do you want?”

He pointed to the blueberry ones, and she put them in the cart.

“Do we need more juice?”

He shook his head. “Has a lil bit.”

“Maybe we should get some anyway.” She smiled.

Lewis nodded and went back to looking at boxes of food. He spotted goldfish, crackers, and cookies.

Oh, he definitely needed cookies. 

They wandered to the other end of the aisle to grab a box. Chocolate chip, only his favorite. 

“Lewis?” He heard Crystal from down the aisle.  

He looked up and watched Crystal look around in a panic, finally spotting him and rushing to his side. 

“You can’t wander off like that honey. I told you to keep your hand on the cart.”

He gave her an apologetic look, and shyly held up the cookies he’d pulled off the shelf. 

“Oh, I see. Next time maybe tell me first?”

“Busy.” He told her, and when she looked confused, he pointed to the grocery list still in her hands. 

“I know, I’m sorry. I’m never too busy for you though. You can still tell me.” 

He nodded and held the cookies up more. 

She sighed and smiled lightly. “If you want them, sure, you can have them.”

He smiled and put the cookies in the cart, then put his hand back where Crystal had told him. 

They proceeded with the shopping trip, Lewis beginning to struggle against his tiredness again. He’s counted nine people with black hair. Maybe ten, they weren’t sure. He was tired, and it didn’t help that he didn’t know his numbers very well in this mindset. 

He turned to Crystal and slightly tugged her sleeve. They wanted to be carried, or to sit in the cart, or rather, they just wanted sleep. If only they were home where they could nap without people staring. 

“What’s the matter?”

He didn’t know what he wanted to ask, really. He was hoping Crystal would just know, but she didn’t. So he looked up at her with a pout since he had no words to say what they wanted.

“Do you want up?”

He shook his head.

“Do you wanna look at toys before we go?”

He shook his head again.

If anything, he’d prefer to go home with something to chew on, or maybe a new blanket. They didn’t feel like toys. Not today.

“Can you use your words? I don’t know what you’re wanting.”

He didn’t have words. All he had was pouts and whining and heavy eyes. 

They felt like crying but he refused to do so. Not at the store. Not with the lady down the aisle who would be watching them if they did. Not here. 

“C’mere honey, it’s okay,” She hugged him and lightly pet his hair. “Are you hurt, or something else?”

He shook his head. He was just sleepy. So so sleepy. They leaned against her and let her gentle fingers comb through their hair. 

Crystal picked him up and held him close, carefully swaying him to calm him down a little more. It felt so nice. Comfort replaced any distress he felt before as he clung onto her. 

This was it. This was definitely what he was wanting. He wrapped his arms around her as she smiled, finally able to calm them down. 

“All better?”

He nodded, then glanced at a teenage boy who turned the corner into their isle. 

Everything he tried to say came out as small babbles, but he tried none the less, pointing to the boy shyly to try and explain.

“Are you nervous about the people?”

They nodded. Nervous. That’s about right.

“I think you might be too small to worry about that. I can handle it for you, okay? I’m sorry honey, I didn’t think this though.” 

He nodded to accept her apology, and she smiled. 

“Then again, I also didn’t think I’d have a little baby on this grocery trip.” She teased.

He mumbled little sounds of protest to her as she laughed and kissed his forehead.

“Alright alright. Not a little baby. Though we need to figure something out for you, cause I can’t push the cart while I carry you. I can put you in the cart maybe?”

He glanced at it and nodded. Crystal would take care of the people. She was right. He was too little to worry.

So she set them down and moved the groceries to make room for them, then she lifted him up into the basket where he curled up for his nap. 

“Such a cutie, aren’t you?” Crystal smiled, pushing the cart to its next destination. 

He mumbled slightly before his eyes fell closed, dreams finally flooding to his sleepy little mind. 

[torreshalstead]

You make the miles worth it - Chapter 5

Summary - The Chicago Marathon had always been a dream for Hailey. And when she meets a stranger in pink running shoes whilst training, she realises maybe she had been dreaming for more.

Chapter - 6/?

Chapter Summary - Jay meets Vanessa as the three of them spend the night at Molly’s.

Notes - This chapter took far longer to write than I’d like to admit but I’m actually pretty happy with how it turned out! Hope you enjoy! AO3 Link

14 weeks until race day

‘Remind me again, what’s off limits to talk about?’, Vanessa asked as her and Hailey pulled up to Molly’s.

Hailey let out a sigh as she said, ‘just avoid my family, like normal’. Vanessa reached across the console and put her hand on her friend's arm. Feeling her gently squeeze, Hailey looked over at her and smiled.

‘Of course, and all drinks are on you right?’, Vanessa said, trying to lighten the mood. Hailey laughed as she put the car in park and looked across to the entrance. Jay was already stood outside. Glancing over at the clock on the dash, she noticed they were early. Clearly his cop intuitions never let him be late for anything.

‘Something like that’, she muttered as she got out of the car. It was Hailey who had suggested that Jay meet Vanessa, so she wasn’t sure why the nerves were threatening to take hold. She loved her best friend and trusted her explicitly but adding her into the equation meant that the elements of Hailey’s life that she was trying to keep under wraps, had a greater chance of bubbling through.

Smiling as she approached, she lifted her hand in an awkward wave/greeting and immediately regretted it. Way to make things even more awkward, she thought.

‘Hey’, she said as her and Vanessa joined him outside the door.

‘Hey yourself’, he replied with a smile and glanced over, ‘you must be Vanessa’.

‘The one and only’. Vanessa grinned and held out her hand for him to shake as Hailey rolled her eyes. Jay chuckled as he shook the petite woman's hand, and looked back at Hailey. He could sense her nerves, though he wasn’t sure where they were coming from as this had been her idea, but he smiled at her all the same. Vanessa seemingly sensing the same emotion, opened the door to Molly’s and beckoned them inside.

As soon as they entered the bar, Hailey relaxed. She was in a place she knew well, she spotted Stella behind the bar, some of the crew from 51 at a couple of the tables and she had Vanessa with her. It was going to be a good night, she thought.

‘I’ll get the first round if you two want to grab us a table’, she announced as she headed over towards Stella.

‘You’re getting every round’, she heard Vanessa call after her and she couldn’t help but giggle, that girl was relentless.

‘Hailey!’ Stella cheered when she noticed the blonde at the end of the bar, ‘long time no see!’. Stella had easily become one of Hailey’s closest friends in Chicago but due to both of their work schedules they didn’t get to see each other as often as they liked.

‘I know, I know,’ Hailey said with a small smile, ‘things have been a bit crazy recently’.

‘I’ll say’, Stella agreed, ‘the usual?’ she added, reaching for the whiskey behind her.

‘Just beer tonight. Three please’. Stella raised an eyebrow.

‘Three’, she questioned looking around the room. Her eyes settled on Vanessa and noting that she was not alone, turned back to Hailey with a grin. ‘And is he with you or V’, she smirked.

‘That would be me’, Hailey said quietly, but couldn’t help the small smile that graced her face.

‘Spill girl. I need all the details’, Stella leaned forward on the bar and rested her chin on her fist, looking at Hailey intently.

‘Nothing to tell’, Stella rolled her eyes at this and Hailey laughed. ‘Seriously Stella, we are friends that’s all. I met him on a run and we decided to train for the marathon together. End of story’.

‘Hmm’, Stella said as she glanced back over to the table with Jay and Vanessa. ‘Well I bet he looks good in spandex, that’s all I’m saying’ she added laughing, as her friend swatted her across the forearm.

‘You’re dreadful’, Hailey laughed.

‘So he does?’, she winked.

‘I plead the fifth’, Hailey said, raising her hands in mock surrender with another chuckle.

‘Well, if you stay over here any longer, Mr Spandex is going to think you’ve abandoned him for me’, Hailey laughed again. ‘Not that I’d mind’, Stella added, ‘but I think Kelly might’. She turned and waved at a man at the end of the bar. He looked mildly confused but waved back and returned to his crossword. Hailey had met Kelly shortly after meeting Stella, at that point the two were still on the won’t they part of their will they won’t they relationship. But they seemed to have figured it out at the minute. Hailey was glad, Kelly seemed to bring out the best in her friend and she’d never seen Stella happier. ‘I’ll bring your beers over’ Stella said, nodding for Hailey to join her friends.

‘Thanks Stell, catch up soon,’ she said as she turned to walk back to Vanessa and Jay.

Vanessa and Jay were deep in conversation when Hailey returned to the table. They stopped immediately as she approached, making her feel slightly worried but when both smiled at her with a genuine smile, she relaxed.

‘All out of beer?’, Vanessa questioned when she noticed Hailey’s empty hands.

‘Stella is going to bring them over in a second’ Hailey said as she slid onto the stool next to Vanessa, leaving Jay on the other side of the table.

‘On a first name basis with the bartender, wise move’, Jay said with a grin. ‘Vanessa was telling me this is a firefighter bar?’ he added.

‘Best in Chicago’, a voice announced as Stella appeared with their beers. ‘Stella Kidd, Firehouse 51’, she said as she placed the beers down on the table with a smile. ‘And you must be?’

‘Jay’.

Hailey thanked everything that she believed in that he had spoken quick enough to avoid Stella calling him Mr Spandex. She wasn’t sure she could come back from that embarrassment.

‘Pleasure’, Stella said, ‘well if you three need anything else, just give me a yell’ she finished and sent Hailey a wink and a grin as she turned back towards the bar.

‘So how did you get so friendly with a bunch of firefighters?’, Jay asked as he took a sip from his beer.

‘Long story’, Hailey replied with a smile. As she raised her bottle to her lips, she noticed he was still staring at her.

‘I’ve got time’, he said softly. So Hailey, with help from Vanessa, if you could call adding in which firefighters were attractive help, told the story of how they had met Stella when the restaurant they had both been working in had a fire. 51 had turned up and saved the day to put it mildly. When it turned out the Lieutenant commanding the scene had been a woman, Vanessa had decided on behalf of both her and Hailey that they needed to befriend her. So they brought some desserts to the firehouse the day after the fire.

‘And the rest as they say is history’, Hailey finished. ‘The bar is actually owned by members of 51, so it’s always a nice crew in here’, she said, looking around and smiling to herself. Molly’s was one of her favourite places in the city, topped only by the Waterfront Trail, and the people who frequented it, had become equally as important to her.

‘I can see why you like it here’, Jay said, ‘it’s got that homely feel to it’. Hailey smiled at him, she knew he would understand the draw this place had, he clearly had a similar feeling at the Cork and Kerry.

Vanessa cleared her throat, and Hailey blushed as she broke eye contact with Jay. ‘I’ll be back in a moment’, she said with a grin as she swung herself off her stool and headed towards the bathrooms.

‘Sorry about her’, Hailey said, feeling the blush still present on her cheeks.

‘No, she’s great’, Jay said, nudging her foot under the table with his own, making Hailey look up. ‘She cares about you a lot’.

‘She’s much more of a sister than a best friend’, Hailey said quietly. Jay nodded in agreement.

‘She said as much. She told me you took her in when she had nowhere else to go’. It wasn’t asked a question but Hailey could tell that Jay wanted to ask more about it. She hadn’t told him that element of her and Vanessa’s friendship, it wasn’t her story to tell. Vanessa had been in a bad relationship when she was younger and Hailey had helped her get out of it and offered to let her move in with her whilst she got herself sorted. That had been years ago now but Hailey couldn’t imagine her life without Vanessa as a roommate.

‘Anyone else would have done the same thing’, she shrugged.

Jay let out a soft laugh and shook his head, ‘I’m not sure they would’. He was staring at her again, but not in a way that made Hailey feel uncomfortable, in a way that made her feel like he actually understood her. It was comforting.

‘Well, letting her stay with me was probably the best decision I’ve ever made’, Hailey said, downing her last bit of beer.

‘Probably?’ Jay questioned, raising his eyebrow.

‘Depends what else she told you’, Hailey responded with a smirk.

Jay laughed, ‘not much really, I swear!’. Hailey didn’t look convinced. ‘Pinky swear’, he added, raising his left little finger and wiggling it at her to make her laugh.

‘Fine’, she giggled as she joined her little finger with his.

‘She just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to hurt you’, he said softly. Hailey looked taken aback. She had assumed her best friend would make some kind of sassy comment about him wanting to see Hailey out of her running clothes, or checking her out as he ran behind her. But by the look in Jay’s face, he could tell that Vanessa had actually been serious and honest with him. ‘I’m not by the way’, he added with a gentle squeeze to her finger.

‘Sorry to interrupt’, Vanessa’s voice broke through the air and Hailey pulled her hand back quickly looking slightly flustered, ‘another round?’.

Hailey cleared her throat and stood up, ‘I’ll get them’, smoothing her hands down her jeans as she headed towards the bar. When she reached it she glanced over her shoulder and saw that Jay was watching her, she smiled a small smile and turned back toward the bar, running her hand over her face. This wasn’t quite the way she had thought the evening would turn out, and at this point she couldn’t decide if she was happy about it or not.

——————————————————————————

When Hailey and Vanessa got home that evening, Hailey braced herself as she was sure she’d be getting a earful from Vanessa after she interrupted her and Jay’s pinky promise moment.

‘I like him’, Vanessa announced as she settled on the couch. Hailey turned around, shocked, from where she was putting her coat in the closet.

‘You do?’, she questioned.

‘I do’, Vanessa replied casually. Hailey was struggling to read her best friend at this moment, there was clearly something else she wanted to say. Hailey dropped down on the other end of the couch and nudged her with her foot as she pulled her legs up under herself.

‘And…’ Hailey pried.

‘And nothing’, Vanessa smiled. ‘He seems nice, he clearly likes you’. Hailey’s cheeks flushed and she glanced down at her hands. ‘And he’s not bad to look at it’ she teased.

‘Well that’s true’, Hailey agreed with a grin. Clearly tonight’s beers had gone to her head.

‘So what’s the problem Hails?’, Vanessa said seriously looking quizzically at Hailey.

‘There’s no problem’, Hailey said and resumed staring at her hands. ‘We’re friends. It’s good.’

‘If you say so’. Vanessa smirked. ‘I’m going up to bed. Give Jay my best’ she winked as she headed towards the stairs.

‘Sleep well’ she yelled after her. Almost on cue, Hailey’s phone buzzed.

Hope you got home safe. I had a great evening. Hope Vanessa approves ;) - Jay

Hailey smiled as she typed up her response.

She does, she told me to give you her best, so you clearly impressed her! See you tomorrow? - Hailey

That’s good. See you tomorrow Hailey. Sleep well - Jay

[wickedsrest-rp-archive]

Welcome to the Future || POTW with Alan, Nora, Orion, & Regan

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @alan-dixon @fearfordinner @3starsquinn @kadavernagh SUMMARY: An unlikely group finds themselves lost in what one would call a pretty desolate future. What was once White Crest is no more and looks exceptionally bleak.

As the road shifted into an expansive desert, Regan slammed on the breaks that weren’t there. The car wasn’t there, either. She stumbled and fell into the sand. Of course. She lay there with her eyes closed, feeling the coarse grains between her fingers, and death pulsing around her. What utter bull feces was this? Couldn’t she be done? The coyote was gone. Let that be the end of this wretched nonsense. But she knew better. Even before the wings and the screaming, she’d learned that White Crest was never done.

 Regan collected her sanity and craned her neck up, forehead meeting the harsh sunlight. This was definitely not the road, she was definitely not in her car, and there was definitely a lot of death in whatever endless Sahara this was. It beckoned her like the shimmering heat on the featureless horizon, tugging at her senses. Slowly, she rose, squinting into the distance to see if anything or anyone might be here with her. “How did I even get here?” She asked aloud, then silently reprimanded herself for asking a question to which there would be no logical answer. At least not yet. She brushed the sand off her shirt and pants, and realized it wasn’t the fine, tan sand of nice beaches. It was peppery, with bits of various metals and materials within, as if an entire parking garage had been pulverized, including the cars and upholstery. 

 Regan exhaled deeply from within her lungs, a high-pitched whistle of a screech riding her frustration. Then she spotted it. Them. Not one person, but two. She visored her eyes with a hand to try and see better – she couldn’t tell much, other than that they seemed to be coming her way. For a moment, she expected the coyote to warn her. They wanted to steal the skull, the one that no longer existed. They were a threat. But that warning never came, and its absence left her as uneasy and confused as its presence would have. She would decide for herself. “Hello?” Regan called out, “I don’t recognize this beach.”

 Claiming that things had been strange since Rio got back to town felt unnecessary considering nothing about this town or Rio’s life had ever been normal. But he didn’t feel like he was crazy in his assessment that things seemed even more on edge and more off the wall than they had been before he had left. Walking through the common, Rio found himself taking more careful steps, looking around the place as if he was searching for something and jumping at every dog bark or car horn. Clearly, that careful footing wasn’t helping him. It only took a small mound of dirt, misplaced and making the ground uneven for Rio to twist his ankle and fall face first into the innocent person walking by him. His only hope was to grab out at the person’s arm to try to stop himself from crashing entirely into them.

 “Oh god- I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to-” Rio froze as he pulled away from the stranger, his attention now entirely lost on them and instead focused on the desert surrounding them. This place looked like it was straight out of a Mad Max film. And it definitely wasn’t the Common. Glancing around, he couldn’t see anything besides sand and skyline, both engulfed in blowing dust. “What the-?” Rio began to question, only to be cut off immediately by an ear piercing scream. Rio gasped in pain immediately, shoving his palms against his ears in an attempt to muffle the sound. He looked around for a source but could see nothing at first. Whatever that was, it wasn’t close by. And if his hunter senses were picking that up it must have been loud. “I uh- sorry. You have any idea where we are?” Rio asked the stranger with him, hoping they might have some clue as to what the hell was going on. 

 A woman’s voice came soon after, one that Rio hadn’t heard in a while but was pretty sure he recognized. He turned towards the voice, watching a figure slowly come into view. “Doctor Kavanagh?”

 Nora was walking. She was very good at walking. If walking was a profession she probably would be in a high paying tier for it. Not that she needed a profession. Thus were the perks of being rich. The other perk of being rich was the innate knowledge that you didn’t need to pay attention at all times because if you broke something you could buy it. Which was why Nora got to be lost in thought at the current moment. Walking down the street. Enjoying the day. Being toppled to the ground as someone landed on top of her. Falling on sand instead of pavement. Falling on sand instead of pavement? 

 That caught Nora’s attention. “Wow…. How did you know I’ve always wanted to be kidnapped by a stranger and whisked away to an unknown location where survival would be in question?” Nora peered at the boy who had knocked her down, ready to keep the interrogation going. That was ended by a scream. A loud scream. A scream so loud it hurt her poor innocent ears that had never done anything wrong and were infact featured on many websites as the world’s cutest ears. (The last bit was only in her bear form but it was still a bragable achievement). Was there a metal concert here? Were they at burning man? Nora staggered to her feet, swirling around for any sign of the giant man who she wanted to incinerate herself. 

 Her kidnapper seemed to be doing a very bad job at this. He also had no clue where they were. However, he turned to his accomplice. Dr. Kavanagh. “You.” Nora’s voice, a normal monotone, was practically a growl in this moment. “I know you. You broke my best friends heart. And now you’re kidnapping me? How evil can one person be?” Plus Nora had long suspected she was a serial killer online, but the proof wasn’t in the pudding yet so she kept it to herself. 

 One moment, Alan was filling up his thermos with coffee and picking up a pastry from the break room (he shouldn't have, he had been putting on weight ever since he turned 40 and his doctor told him that he just had to deal with this being absolutely normal), the next, he was stepping into the scorching hot heat of a desert instead of enjoying the AC of his office.

 Feeling as though he'd been teleported back to Afghanistan, the startled estate agent turned around, expecting to find himself completely alone in this big and empty land. To his surprise, Alan found 3 figures in his horizon. He gave his watch a look, then gave one to the sun.

He could have been dreaming, he could have been dead too. Or maybe this fucking town was playing with his nerves again. Taking off his navy blue jacket, the werewolf, pastry in one hand, coffee cup in the other, took a couple of strides toward the trio, waving his hand at them, and hoping (but not too much) that they wouldn't be hostile. "Hello," he tried, "Are you from White Crest too?!"

 Walking in the sand with brogues was proving to be extremely tedious, and he could already feel it slipping between his sock and his sole. “Mother fucking sand, always getting…” Cutting himself off, Alan narrowed his eyes and found that he recognised at least one person out of the three. She’d been trespassing on his building sites. And she wore clothes now. 

 Regan braced herself for anything as the pair came closer – and as they did, she realized one of them looked quite familiar. The other simply looked quite goth. And before they could even get closer, she spotted a third figure, this one alone and glancing around as if confused. Well, at least they had that in common. And wasn’t he hot in that suit? Regan exhaled another deep breath at hearing her own name. A name. The name she so rarely heard these days outside of the ME’s office. “Yes,” she confirmed, glancing hard at the young man. It had been so long since she’d laid eyes on him. He looked… “Malnourished as ever, I see. I might have some sustenance in my purse. Perhaps a protein bar.” She was looking down at the tendons in Orion’s lanky ankles as she dug into her bag. 

 The second person stopped her. “Excuse me,” Regan said, looking up, a hint of irritation in her voice. “I break hearts on a daily basis, technically, if you consider the autopsy of them and removal of tissue for histology to be “breaking”. My condolences for your best friend.” Her fingers brushed up against the bar she was looking for, and she presented it to the starving child. “Who might you be?” she asked the goth, remaining expressionless at the proclamation that she was evil. “And you, for that matter,” she gestured toward the besuited man who looked as though he’d been dropped here straight from Wall Street. This was confusing. But one thing was comfortingly clear. It pressed against her from all sides, a reminder that this place could never be truly alien. “I am delighted to inform you all that wherever we are, we are surrounded by the dead.”

 Rio had been so wrapped up in trying to make sense of their new surroundings that he had barely registered what the stranger that had been teleported with him had been accusing him of. But as the world slowly registered in his brain he scoffed at the idea and turned back towards the “I did not kidnap you. I don’t even know where we are. I would be a terrible kidnapper.” He stopped just short of exclaiming just look at me. But that would only add more fuel to the very offensive fire that the doctor led with as soon as they ran into each other. For the first time in over a year, Rio noted. “Ah. Always a pleasure, doctor. I missed you too.” Rio mumbled, feeling completely defeated. Not only because it wasn’t the warmest welcome after what felt like a long time of not seeing her (especially full sized and not fairy sized), but also because Rio was pretty sure he was the healthiest he had ever looked. Props to Ari for forcing him to eat her real food. 

 Surprisingly, the oddest part about this scenario wasn’t even the weird desert, but the company apparently. Stuck between a stranger that just called him a kidnapper and a medical examiner who was taking the phrase heartbreaker way, way too literally. “I really don’t think that’s what this person meant…” Rio began, but gave up halfway through the sentence. A fourth person was coming to join the group, and if Rio was lucky at all this person may actually focus on the situation at hand. Considering he was in full suit, Rio didn’t have the highest hopes.

 “Hi!” We are from White Crest! Or at least I am.” Rio explained, hoping to be a welcome face for the stranger. As long as this stranger wasn’t a murderer. But as the man got closer, Rio could feel the hair on his neck rising, and goosebumps break out across his skin. Okay, so definitely a werewolf. That’s a start at least. A protein bar was placed into his open palm, distracting Rio temporarily so he could look at Regan and bring a small smile to his face, “Uh, thank you?” Rio gave her a thumbs up and decided against trying to refuse the treat. “I’m uh- Rio. Nice to meet… two of you. Any idea where we are?”

 A doctor, a scrawny kid, a werewolf and the bear woman : that was certainly not the perfect line up to get out of a desert. Sure enough, Alan used to work in less than ideal conditions back in the days, but he would have happily switched his current work clothes for the 68 pounds of equipment they used to make them carry. At least he’d have been prepared for this crap. What was he supposed to do in an Armani suit? 

 “Alan.” A pause, “Dixon,” he glanced at the doctor, then at the two others, then down at the protein bar in the kid’s hand. Poor boy definitely looked like he could use a snack. Holding out the pastry in his hand, the werewolf smiled, a kind, worried frown on his forehead :  “You want a piece of my Danish?” It was not like Alan needed it anyway… 

 Instinctively, the man turned his attention toward the doctor, assuming she would be the most responsible of these three. Her declaration that they were surrounded by death, however, deterred him immediately. “Come again?” Once again he gave his watch a look, tapping at the dial. Glancing up at the sun, he pursed his lips. “We’re still in our time zone,” Alan hummed, rubbing at the back of his head. “Any idea of where we could be in our longitude?” 

 “You are a terrible kidnapper.” Nora agreed, “You didn’t even take my cell phone. Kaden is going to hear all about this.” Nora pulled out her cellphone to start typing out a message about how his ex girl friend and her little kale goblin kidnapped her to a secondary location and that Alan was here for some reason but she hadn’t gotten around to asking. It didn’t send. She tired three times while the others were talking amongst themselves. “Does anyone have service?” Nora asked, holding her phone up to the sky. 

 Something clicked in Nora’s mind. Something important. They didn’t have service. In a desert. With out cards. Which means she was going to run out of ham eventually. Nora’s hands started roaming up and down her jacket as she started taking inventory of her pocket ham. How long would it have to last? She wouldn’t be able to order more… She eyed the others in the group. They’d probably need pocket ham too. It looked like the doctor had pocket food too. While Nora thought that was very smart of her, as everyone should have pocket food, she also didn’t trust the doctor to not poison them and maybe eat their bodies. 

 Did bears eat people? They did right? Nora eyed them. Nah. She wasn’t that kind of bear. Also why was no one talking about the scream? The ear shattering scream? “What was that loud noise we heard? Is that what brought us here?” What if that was some kind of light speed shattering noise? And that’s how they got here so fast. Sick. She’d love to be able to do stuff like that. No wait, Nora reign it in, she told herself, she was getting off topic again. 

 Regan couldn’t help but think that, even stranded wherever they were, she would have been better off alone. The famished adolescent was clearly lacking in survival instincts, considering he’d thanked her. At least it seemed like a question. Maybe it didn’t count. And then there was the man in the suit – he seemed like he just wanted to get back to whatever important meeting he was pulled from. And… “Kaden?” Regan’s nose wrinkled. “How do you know – my boyfriend hardly matters right now.” Neither did what she just said, once she’d realized she’d said it. Ugh. “I would hardly call that one ear shattering, but unless any of you plan on dying within the next – oh, I don’t even know, maybe a few days – then that doesn’t matter right now either.” Regan brushed her pants off again as if some sand still stuck to her, but her busy hands told her it was nerves more than anything else. Unacceptable. She needed to take charge if no one else would. She scanned the horizon, not really expecting to see anything. It just looked like an endless wasteland. And, to boot, The Goth was right. Her hardy flip phone had no signal.

 “Yes, death, it’s really quite impressive how much there is here,” Regan said offhandedly to the Suit Man, now Dixon. Then continued in the same breath. “I was driving past the Common when I ended up here. My car – I don’t know where it went. Who loses their car while they’re inside of it?” Regan shook her head. “Anyone spot some kind of a landmark somewhere? Surely we’re by the beach, given all of this sand. So where’s the water?” But what she smelled on the air was only pungent metals and harsh chemical scents – no ocean breeze and salt. And then there was the death, refusing to guide her in any particular direction, because it surrounded them from all sides. “Or just pick a way. You,” Regan said, looking at Dixon, who seemed least likely to immediately perish, “You appear to have more muscle mass; glowing, healthy skin; and more danishes than the rest of us. Where should we go?” Was it misplaced confidence to think he might have survival skills, or might’ve seen anything while walking over here that could guide them? Probably. But she had no clue, Orion most probably had a severe iron deficiency and could faceplant in the sand at any moment, and the Goth was… well, Regan bristled again at the mention of Kaden. 

 While the two women argued about who he assumed to be a common acquaintance, Alan took out his phone, pointing it up to get any sort of signal. "Well that's not promising," and it seemed like Nora wasn't getting any more luck than he was. It would have made things a lot simpler, but this didn't mean that they were lost.

 "Is it something to do with... ghosts? Can you see ghosts around us?" He knew for a fact that such people and abilities existed, and figured this could be what she meant by those cryptic words. "If we're by the shore, where are the birds? We'd see at least one sea gull," Alan shook his head. A course of action had to be figured out, and soon. In this heat, they couldn't just sit still and wait for help. He was about to suggest that when the doctor gave him quite the complimentary description and forced a thin smile out of him. "We'll get along," he noted, glancing back up at the sky. "Alright, so north this way," he pointed toward the scrawny kid and Nora. "And since we're still in the same longitude, the sea's gonna be East. I suggest we head this way." Truth be told, he didn’t know either where they were exactly, or why they were here. “I was in my office. It’s right by the Common,” perhaps it was something to do with the location, but this didn’t really look like home… “What about you two?” Folding his jacket over his arm, he led the way, hoping that wherever they were headed toward, they’d find support. 

 The mention of Kaden made Rio perk up, but Regan beat him to the punch by questioning the name drop. “Boyfriend? I’m so glad you two are still together. I always thought you two were cute together.” They had made a good if not odd and unexpected pair. “Actually that’s hardly important. And neither is you thinking I kidnapped you- which I didn’t, just to re-emphasize. And once we have cell service again you can ask Kaden that. Trust me he probably won’t even think I’m capable of kidnapping someone.” Which he totally was, for the record. If he wanted to kidnap someone he could do it so fast and so well. Not that he planned on kidnapping anyone. “I have no service either.” he confirmed, locking his phone again and shoving it in his pocket. For now, the thing was nothing more than a glorified paper weight. Maybe a flashlight or a notepad depending on how long they were stuck here. The werewolf, Alan, was then offering him a piece of his danish. Rio exhaled a long sigh and shook his head, mostly in defeat. “No - I’m okay. Thanks though. I’m really not even hungry. The protein bar is like… sort of a bit between us.” Only neither of them found it humorous.

 “Impressive? Not sure I’ve ever used that word when talking about death before.” Rio sighed. The doctor had always been a bit eccentric, so hearing her sound impressed by a certain amount of death didn’t concern Rio as much as it just perplexed him. In his own way, he had spent his whole life around death. But he could never see it the way she was able to. “I uh- don’t hear any water. Or smell the ocean for that matter. I don’t think we are near water.” He wanted to stay vague, even if the supernatural and impossible was impossible to ignore by this point. The last time Rio saw Regan he was pretty sure she didn’t even believe that he could be a hunter. Or that hunters existed. And who knew how Alan would react to the knowledge? The final stranger was a bit more of a wild card, getting a read on her didn’t seem possible. 

 Well, Alan was just putting cards on the table, clearly. “I uh- can’t see ghosts” Rio hesitated with his response, unsure how the others would take the same question. But the man seemed to take Regan’s advice to lead the group, and considering Rio had no better ideas he figured the smarter choice would be to stick together. “I was walking through the Common. Heading to the campus. I lost my balance and fell into them-” Rio paused and pointed towards Nora, “Sorry again, by the way. I closed my eyes for like- a few seconds max and all of a sudden we were both here.”

 If Nora was going to rank all the times she’d been kidnapped, this one was going on the bottom. It was severely unorganized. None of them had working cellphones for ransom money and they hadn’t even tired to tie her hands together. Free hands. She could do so much. Plus the kid was scrawny and malnourished as everyone kept saying. And she already knew she could take Doctor lady over there in a fight. Well, she wasn’t sure, but she was on the edge of sure. “I don’t think Kaden knows he’s your boyfriend still.” For whatever reason, Nora had decided the sub conversation of Kaden and Regan was more important than the main conversation they were trying to push.

 “If this had been a better organized kidnapping, you guys would know where we are.” Nora turned to Alan. “Are you kidnapped too, or did you miss me and hire them to kidnap me?” Nora really just wasn’t sure how Alan fit into this scenario. Unless they were so unorganized that they picked up a stray. Really. They should be way more thoughtful in their kidnappings. Nora turned to the kid who had been identified as Rio. “You shouldn’t apologize for kidnapping someone before you get your randsom.” She admonished him. 

 “I was walking in the commons.” Nora added as they shared what they had been doing. “I was on my way to break into townhall.” Nora had just watched National Treasure for the first and thought it looked fun. Eyeing the three others Nora stared to wonder if they worked for town all. After all, everything that happened in White Crest directly revolved around her. “I don’t see any ghosts. What I do see is a cool bug.” Nora dropped to her knees and crawled forward in the dirt. She picked something up an examined it. It wasn’t a bug. Just a piece of metal. She dropped the piece in disappointment. 

 “Ghosts?” Regan looked sharply at Dixon, still finding the word to be distasteful, even after her recent experience with a talking coyote being in her head. “No. Not whatever you’re actually referring to. I mean death. Pure, simple death. It’s underneath us. Everywhere.” Wait a second. It was underneath them. Why? Was it the sand? She scooped some up and let it filter between her fingers, but it didn’t feel like the cemetery of sorts that must have been further down. She shook her head. It was a detail that would matter to her and no one else, considering their lack of enthusiasm over a deathly discovery waiting to be found. At least Dixon was doing what she’d hoped, and picking a direction. They trailed toward the direction he’d pointed in. Regan always found walking on the beach with shoes to be an irritation, and this was no different; the sand felt like it could suck her in with each step. At least she’d be closer to whatever she was feeling. 

 Orion and the Goth quickly made her wish she would be sucked in. “Stop talking about me and Kaden.” Regan hissed, and a high-pitched screech escaped from between her teeth. Maybe enough to make their ears itch, but not much else. She wouldn’t apologize for that. “Go play with your cool bugs and your danishes and your nonfunctional cell phones instead.” Regan kicked up an arc of sand, in a display of emotion that she knew Deirdre would have given her weeks of admonishment for. But– what was that? Something metallic poked through where she’d kicked, black and shiny. Regan squinted and bent down, hoping the others would pause their walking and take a look. “What is this?” She glanced quickly at the Goth, anticipating ridiculousness. “It’s not a bug.” Regan pulled a packet of nitrile gloves from her pocket – always with her – and stretched one over a hand. Carefully, she reached out and traced a finger along the curved black metal. There was more attached to it, ratty wooden planks. The sand was easy enough to dig out of the way to get a better picture of what the object was. And it was beginning to look a lot like the corner of a park bench. Like the ones in the Common. 

 “Well that sounds like good news,” Alan would have rather this had been a normal day for him. Then, he could have pretended that the lady had lost her mind, but this was another one of those days, wasn’t it? Loosening the knot of his tie, he led the way, glancing behind him every now and then to make sure no one was struggling or getting left behind. And he was doing exactly that when the doctor shrieked about her boyfriend, causing the werewolf to cover both his ears and glare at her in barely concealed offense as she proceeded to throw what he would have called a tantrum had this been a child. “Wow, she really roasted us all here,” taking a sip from his coffee mug, he found the beverage managed to make him feel a bit cooler. Enough, at least, to stop in his train of thoughts and pay attention to that piece of metal in the sand instead. “That’s… could be from a… plane,” he tried, figuring that was the only thing that would make sense in the middle of this deserted hell. Glancing at the other two, Alan motioned them to get closer and help the doctor and him as they tried to dig that thing out. Sure enough, he didn’t have plastic gloves in his pocket (like a normal person), but if something had been buried in the sand, he doubted that would matter at all. Setting down his coffee mug, and placing his danish on top, the businessman took a hold of what looked like one end of the object. “Maybe we can try to pull it out, what do you think?” He glanced at Nora, then at the kid. Neither looked exactly strong enough to help, but it would be better than trying on his own. 

 Breathing a sigh of defeat, Rio accepted his fate as the kidnapper. “Thanks for the advice” he admitted toward Nora, taking special note to withhold any apologies in the future until he acquired the ransom. Technically speaking, it probably wasn’t terrible advice, though he wasn’t sure the amount of apologies given to the victim really changed the situation much. He also wasn’t sure why he was so hung up on the kidnapping thing considering they still had no clue where they were.

 Regan’s brief screech made Rio wince and tried to play it off by pretending he was scratching at his ear rather than an attempt to muffle the noise. Regan served as a constant reminder that banshee and hunter hearing did not mix well. If it had been an actual scream Rio wasn’t even sure he would have kept consciousness. Kaden had been Rio’s expert on hearing, and his expertise wasn’t exactly fae. Although in a way, he was probably the best source to ask about Regan’s screams in particular. Not that he wanted to question Regan about Kaden right now. He had thought they were still together, but Nora’s comment combined with Regan’s general anger implied otherwise. 

 The discovery of something under the sand was exactly what Rio needed to get his mind off of other distractions. He joined the group in trying to unearth the object, pulling his sleeves over his hands to help shovel it out of the way. “I got the other end” Rio agreed with Alan, partially to try to be helpful but mostly with something to prove. He was sure that they’d still call him scrawny and feeble after a display of strength too, but at least it might show that he’s not completely useless. He found the other edge of the object and grabbed at it. “I’m good. Go ahead.” He nodded towards Alan, putting some extra strength into effort but failing to pull it free. “I think it’s bolted down or something.” Rio suggested, slowly realizing what this thing looked like, but trying to ignore the implication. Plenty of parks probably had benches that looked like this one, bolted down just like those in the Common. He didn’t want to entertain the idea that this could be the Common, but in this hypothetical scenario, it at least gave him an idea. “If this is a park bench-” Rio paused, wondering if he made himself sound crazy by suggesting the idea at all, “Maybe we should head that way.” He pointed off towards the center of where the Common would be located. He couldn’t think of a good excuse to justify why he was suggesting this at all, so settled on a poor lie, “Maybe the bench was uh- facing something?”

 Nora watched as they digged wondering why Alan was digging with his human hands instead of wolf paws. As they talked about where to go in the commons, Nora was steadily stripping off her clothes and stacking it in a pile next to her. When Rio suggested the bench was facing something, Nora made a dramatic show of her transformation and started digging. Her bear paws were much bigger than her tiny little human hands which meant she made some good progress as she tossed sand around her. 

 This was kind of fun, Nora decided to herself. Fun in a 'I hope I find a body down here with a ghost so we can talk about sand' kind of way. Nora did hit something. It was a square piece of metal attached to a little stand that she easily ripped off and threw behind her in her digging frenzy. She was not to be stopped by anything. Eventually she met with pavement stopping her from digging more. She climbed out and switched back into a naked human covered in sand. "Nothing there."

 As the sand was slowly cleared by combined digging efforts, Regan only watched with narrowed eyes as more of the bench was revealed. And it was a bench. They all seemed to be thinking the same thing. But was it a familiar bench? And did that matter? Regan wanted to chalk this whole experience up to a bad dream, but the feeling of death all around plucked at her skin in a way that could only be real. She didn’t have any better ideas than what Orion suggested, so she gave him a curt nod. It didn’t take long for them to stop once more and dig around again, looking for something in this endless expanse. 

 And then there was a bear. Nora had just been there a moment ago. She– yes, she was definitely in that very spot. Regan doubled backward, a scream climbing up her throat, but she locked it inside of her along with her fear. Most of it, anyway. “There is a bear,” she pointed out, looking emphatically toward the other two, “a bear.” At least the bear seemed to have no interest in causing them harm, and started pawing around in the sand. It made fast work of the hole it dug, and Regan wondered if they ought to throw sand over it and try and trap it down there. 

 A piece of metal was hurled into the air from out of the pit, and it seemed to break into a second piece in the air. Regan turned and watched one piece land soundlessly in the sand behind them. Did she dare completely turn her back to the bear? She sucked a breath in through her teeth and marched back, carefully pulling the object from the sand. It was old and worn, a thick layer of rust covering the engraved letters. Down the center, the object had undergone sufficient trauma for it to tear in two. Regan held the metal up to the sunlight. A plaque. This was a plaque of some kind. She heard Nora’s voice and felt a shiver of relief, but this had her full attention. The death even quieted against her senses, as if it wanted her to focus on reading. After reading it, she could partially understand why.

 She called out to the group. “I think the bear dug this up. And it… come here.” Did this even deserve the importance she was giving it? Her fingers, as they brushed against the letters, said it did.  “It broke in half,” she pointed out, “but it’s legible. I don’t…” She held the plaque up for them to read. “In remembrance of

1770”

 “In remembrance of who?” Regan asked, knowing her companions were unlikely to know any more than she did. Perhaps even less. “1770. This must be commemorating someone around the founding of the town.”

 Nora made it clear that she didn’t care much for hiding her true identity, and Alan did his best to pretend he didn’t see her bear form or that he didn’t feel a mix of worry and terror anytime he glanced her way. Better this than trying to explain anything to anyone. “What do you mean there’s a bear?” Turning to look at Regan in confusion, Alan watched as a piece of metal was hurled up in the air by Nora and sent away. 

 While Regan fetched that piece, Alan turned back to the two others to take a look at what they’d dug out. “Well that’s odd,” he gave the plaque a puzzled look, brushing sand off of its surface with the back of his hand. His brows furrowed at the text engraved in the metal. “Doctor, would you mind coming over here?” Taking a seat in the sand, Alan gave a glance up at the sky, squinting as his eyes met the Sun. “This doesn’t make any sense,” he muttered, reaching in his pocket to check once again for signal, but his Maps app wouldn’t load and his screen stubbornly remained white. “So, what does it say?” 

 There was a bear. Seemingly out of nowhere. Rio would have been freaked out if he hadn’t been able to connect the dots so quickly. He had learned about bugbears growing up, and had read about them at the Scribrary, but he had never seen one in person. He knew that the correct reaction was to be disgusted as a hunter. He also knew that the appropriate reaction for him should have been fear. But his eyes widened in adoration instead as he watched Nora in fascination and mumbled a not-so-subtle “Woah. So cool.”

 That brief moment of awe was disrupted by the flying piece of metal that made Rio cringe in fear and try to use his arms as cover as he tried to spot them mid air. The pieces split at the end, with Regan and Alan both going to fetch the separate pieces. He heard Regan’s first, nodding in agreement once she read it off. The town had been founded in the later half of 1770. It had to be significant to that. “Maybe just the founders? I don’t remember any books about White Crest ever naming any families specifically.” Though he couldn’t remember any sort of plaque in the Common that had paid tribute to the specific year of founding. The thought gave him chills. And found himself wandering with Alan to take a look at the second piece. He read it to himself at first, feeling his blood run cold as he tried to think of an explanation. “Um… this doesn’t make any sense.” Rio stressed, nerves inching into his voice as he prepared to read it out loud.

 “of White Crest, ME

 - 2022”

 The connection was clear as day, though Rio hardly wanted to admit to it. But eventually he just had to say it. “It says ‘In remembrance of White Crest, ME. 1770-2022’”.

[annaizscribbling]

Visiting Family

I just realized it’s super late but uhhhh here. Calypso pays a visit to drop off a gift. Enjoy my Ocs, I love them dearly.

CW for implied child abuse.

“So, are we still up for dinner after?” Daniel asked through the phone. His voice was so gentle, low, husky, and safe. That was just how he usually was, but the tenderness was especially prominent in that moment, maybe if only because she needed it.

“Yes, I think so.” Calypso said quietly, eyes flicking away from the phone as a nearby car pulled out from its parking spot.

Her orange curls moved and fluttered with the crisp breeze. It was a bit colder than she had dressed for, but it was nothing she couldn’t ignore. Dressed in a long brown skirt and a silky white blouse, the autumn nip in the air made itself known.

She kept her phone carefully cradled beside her head, kept at a low volume, so his voice was only audible to her.

“Do we want sit down or takeout food?” Daniel said, and Calypso could almost hear his absent smile beginning to trace his mouth. She could see it in her mind, the fond way his lips turned up when they discussed the little mundane things they could do together. She could nearly hear his steady breath, his kind eyes, his familiar presence. Even just over the phone, Calypso was steadier with him.

“It just depends on when I get back,” Calypso explained, “It may be late, or not. I’m never entirely sure how long I’ll be there, or how much I’ll end up saying.”

“We can play it by ear then,” Daniel said after a moment of thought.

“It’s a date then,” Calypso murmured into the phone, her red painted lips cautiously forming a thin smile.

Daniel was silent for a few more seconds, but Calypso was alright with that, she had a guess at what he may say. She would never call him predictable, no, nothing so dull as that. He was consistent, which was completely different. He was a steadfast pillar among the castles made of sand. Not dull, but strong. Yes. He was far stronger than her.

“You don’t have to go, not if you don’t want to.” Daniel said softly. His voice crackled slightly over the poor connection.

Calypso kept her eyes ahead, on the small family going for a walk across the street. “I know.” She whispered.

“If you want to go, that’s cool, and I hope you can enjoy going back, if that’s what you want.” Daniel said, slightly hesitant, “But you don’t have to. And I’m not trying to stop you, or make you change your mind, or anything like that. I can only imagine how complicated it is, but I guess … I’m just reminding you that you don’t have to go.”

“I’ve been going for five years consistently now.” Calypso said slowly.

“I know, Darling, but you still aren’t obligated. It really stresses you out, and you’ve said how much resurfaces afterwards. If you aren’t up for it, that’s okay.”

Calypso didn’t speak, instead holding the phone a little closer to her ear. She focused on his voice, soaking in the warmth of it.

“It’s up to you, obviously, and I’m going to be right here no matter what choice you make. Just remember it is a choice. They can’t make decisions for you anymore, even indirectly.” Daniel said, and Calypso could imagine the fire in his eyes, the earnest meaning lacing his words, she knew he meant it. She knew he cared.

She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to people who truly knew her, and somehow truly cared for her despite it. It was like approaching a bonfire after wandering around in the freezing darkness for hours, something she was all too familiar with. The heat was overwhelming, all consuming, and uncontrollable. One couldn’t get too close without being overtaken by the warmth, it was too much, too hot. One must creep as close as bearable and bask in the heat of the flames, wondering if anything could comfort like that again.

How do normal people survive the thrill of it on a daily basis?

“… I want to go.” Calypso whispered at last. “I want to see her.”

“Okay,” Daniel said simply. “we’ll have whatever you feel like eating, just send me a text when you leave, and I’ll go get it, or make a reservation or whatever.”

“Thank you, dear.” Calypso told him, and she hoped he knew how deeply she meant it.

“Of course, Calypso,” Daniel said warmly. “Oh, and if we get takeout, I can bring Honey over to join us, if you want. I think she misses you as much as I do.”

“I faintly recall seeing you yesterday.” Calypso said wryly.

“Maybe I like getting used to seeing you daily.”

“Marry me eventually and we can make that happen.” Calypso said with a chuckle.

“C’mon! I’m working on it!” Daniel laughed, and oh how she adored the sound of his laughter.

They lapsed into a momentary silence, she relished those with him, any moment really.

“Me and Honey will see you soon.” Daniel said.

Calypso smiled at the thought of Daniels beloved golden retriever. “I’d like nothing more.”

“I love you.” He said gently.

“I love you.” She said it back, straining to hear over the rush of warmth swelling in her chest.

Slowly, she ended the call and slipped the phone into her pocket. She took a moment to breathe, square her shoulders, and still her heart. The cold air continued to bite at her uncovered hands and face, and the unaware civilians around her still went about their days.

Calypso picked up the small leather satchel she had set beside her feet. She unzipped the top to pull out a bundle of tissue paper tied neatly together with a ribbon.

A gift. A gift for the source of more conflicting feelings than anything else she’s encountered in her 27 years of life.

She tucked the gift back into the satchel and slung it over her shoulder, where the bag would remain secure on her hip.

Eventually she stood up and brushed off her skirt. Now she was able to fully overlook the street below the building she had been atop of. It was a quiet set of small shops and busy cafes, where people often chose to walk from store to store instead of driving. A couple of the buildings have flat rooftops, so on more than one occasion she could be found resting above the quaint area.

Calypso waited until there weren’t very many people around before she swung one leg over the edge of the building, dangled until she could drop to the heavy-duty bar that supported the shops sign. From there she simply found foot holes in the decorative bricks laid into the wall.

Her heeled leather boots were not necessarily the easiest to climb with, but she had enough practice to compensate. Though as she began her trek on foot, she realized she’d have to be more cautious than she’s like. Regular domestic life had her slightly out of practice, to her dismay. Perhaps she needed to spend a few days downtown and practice scaling buildings again.

It wasn’t late in the evening, but it was fairly dark out, which was a comfort. She never had to make the trek to the home in broad daylight. She could slip from shadow to shadow, finding refuge in the space between streetlamps and prying eyes. Her fiery red hair would be concealed by the cold dark alleyways and dimness.  

Small, almost delusional comforts. She could indulge herself from time to time, especially that night.

The gated community was in sight, but she had her ways. She took the long way around, knowing exactly where the easiest point of entry was, especially because it was near the home.

A very old oak tree sat closer to the tall iron fence than the rest. It was one that she was quite familiar with. She broke into a light run and threw herself at the side of it, catching her fingers on grooves and branches. Calypso was used to climbing in skirts and dresses, so she simply hefted the fabric when needed. She effortlessly pulled her weight upwards with practiced ease. She crept up a particularly thick branch that hovered over the fence, swiftly speeding over before leaping off to land on the roof of a small shed.

The redhead dropped silently into the unsuspecting owner’s backyard before easily scurrying over the wooden fence. From there it was only a few minutes’ walk. The homes were spread out far more than a standard suburban neighborhood.

The houses were reminiscent of her childhood home. Each property was well maintained, elegant, and luxurious. Each visible car was perfectly polished and clean. Even the birds seemed color coded.

Finally, she stopped in front of her destination.

It was no different than the rest of the houses, but she knew what to look for, even without reading the address. Her family had moved there eight years ago, so long after the fire that forced them from their original home, or what was left of it at least.

Calypso snuck through the garden, ear and eyes pricked for signs of life. She found no one, and knew exactly where the outdoor cameras were placed.

She had an awareness of herself few others possessed. As she silently stalked closer and closer to the house, she took note of her elevated heartrate, the slight tremble of her fingers, the way each breath stopped short just slightly too soon, and the way it took more effort than normal to keep her faced schooled.

A quick glance at the closed windows confirmed her destination.

The mansion was several stories high but was easily reachable thanks to the roof over the patio. She climbed the rail, shimmied up the wooden pillars, and swiftly yet silently made her away across the roof.

She climbed another story, finding what little space was available to squeeze her feet into. She moved slower then, pressing her body against the side of the house and ducking under the windows.

“Out of practice,” she muttered to herself as she moved irritatingly slowly. Anyone else would’ve taken a tumble at the first breeze, she knew, but it annoyed her none the less.

At last, the correct window came into view. It took some careful positioning to anchor herself enough to slide the window open. It wasn’t locked, it never was. Most people don’t lock their third story windows in their gated community home, but this one was left unlocked strategically, or at least Calypso believed it was. She was fully aware of how to open a locked window, and always had her supplies with her, but it wouldn’t be necessary that night. She knew what time the alarm turned on, so that wasn’t a problem either.

The window opened without a single sound, sliding upwards so that she could slip her legs into the room. The warmth burned as it clashed with the coldness on her skin.

The room was exactly what she expected. Bare walls painted in a muted tan, white sheets, expensive brown rug, a large white desk adorned with nothing but neatly organized stationary and a clock, a spotless mirror built into a vanity, and … a living corpse.

Nearly, at least.

Calypso closed the window, still completely quiet.

Ten feet in front of her, sitting at the plain vanity, sat none other than Hestia, Calypso’s older sister.

Hestia, the only sister who supposedly survived the fire. Five years older than Calypso, and perfect. Perfect straight hair, perfect countenance, perfect GPA, perfectly blue eyes, perfectly silent, perfect reputation, perfect, perfect, perfect. Mother adored Hestia; her entire world revolved around Hestia.

Calypso leaned against the wall and watched as her older sister brushed through her hair. It was the same fiery red hue as her own, but instead of wild unruly curls, Hestia’s hair was long, silky, and luscious. Hestia’s hands moved nearly robotically, running the brush through her hair rather unnecessarily, as it was clearly free from even a single snag or tangle.

To calm herself, Calypso tried to think about Daniel, tried to imagine his steady presence beside him.

“Are you going to watch me in silence?” Hestia asked without turning. Her eyes had been turned downwards up until now, but they came up to look at the mirror, where she caught Calypso’s reflection in the glass.

Her voice was the same as it was so many years ago, it had been 17 years since they lived under the same roof, it felt like entire lifetimes.

Hestia’s voice was always flat. It lacked any warmth, but it never sounded cold either. It held nothing but a steady intelligence. There was no life within it, no passion, no emotion, no opinion. But Hestia was the same way, she was as hollow and lifeless as a machine. She could smile on command, could laugh when told, but never felt anything, never wanted anything, never seemed to display even a trace of anything but complete control, yet Hestia was under complete control.

“I didn’t want to interrupt.” Calypso said after a pause, surprising herself at how smooth her voice came out compared to how she felt.

“I’m capable of multitasking.” Hestia said simply.

“I see,” Calypso said with a nod, feeling her chest swirl with conflict. “I … heard about your recent engagement.”

“Do you plan on attending the wedding?” Hestia asked with little obvious interest.

Calypso allowed herself a dry smile. “Dead women aren’t usually invited to weddings.” She pointed out, feeling a flutter of nerves at her own somewhat lighthearted statement.

“Dead women don’t visit their sisters on their birthdays.” Hestia said as she ran the hairbrush through her long orange locks again.

“I’m not very good at being dead,” Calypso managed to say, “but I did bring you a gift.”

Hestia made no indication of any intrigue or curiosity of any kind. Calypso waited before shakily opening her satchel and retrieving the wrapped bundle she had prepared. On stiff legs, Calypso crossed the room to place the gift on the vanity table, hoping the trembling in her hands was unnoticeable, though she doubted Hestia would care even if she did notice.

“Happy Birthday.” Calypso said quietly as she backed away.

Hestia spared the gift a glance, then tilted her head, not quite interested, but not dismissal either. She scanned the shape, then picked it up with her free hand. Without opening it, she asked, “Is it a weapon?”

“… yes.” Calypso admitted almost timidly.

“Mother wouldn’t approve.” Hestia mused blankly.

Calypso found her heart racing at the mere mention of their mother. “I thought, maybe the choice could be yours, this time.”

“Would you like it if I kept it?’ Hestia asked, placing the wrapped dagger back onto the table. She continued brushing her hair.

“I want the choice to be yours.” Calypso said again.

“Mother would hate the sight of it,” Hestia said, still speaking as dull and uninterested as ever. “Not since you were declared dead, or maybe even before that. She avoids most things that could remind her of you, and a decorative dagger is very reminiscent of you as a child.”

Calypso was silent.

“But” Hestia continued, “you want me to keep it, I’m moving out soon, and I doubt my fiancé will care about one little knife in a moving box.”

“I don’t want it to be because of what I want.” Calypso said, barely above a whisper.

“I’m sure,” Hestia mused, bored and blank as usual.

Calypso clenched her jaw shut, avoiding the urge to flee the room and go steal something to calm down. She had nearly forgotten how difficult it was to talk to her sister. She took in a shaky breath of air and asked the same question she asked every year, “Are you going to tell Mother that I visited?”

Hestia opened a drawer in her vanity, swapping the hairbrush for a glass nailfile. “No.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. Just like I’ve said for the last five years, I have no intention of telling Mother that you are alive and occasionally visiting. It would hardly benefit her.”

“Of course.” Calypso said, wondering how much bitterness actually leaked into her words.

Hestia’s flawless cold blue eyes bored through Calypso’s soul, detachedly picking apart whatever it found. “You have a question.” She said simply.

Calypso nodded slowly, refusing to break eye contact just yet, despite how completely unnerved she felt. She knew her hands were shaking; she knew there was a franticness in her eyes. “Are you marrying that man for Mother?”

“Yes.” Hestia said without a second of hesitation.

“Is it because you love her? Or because you’re trying to escape her?” Calypso asked, feeling so small again, like she was ten years old and suddenly aware that her parents were trying to make her disappear. She felt like she had reverted to the little girl locked in a basement knowing nobody would come for her. She felt as lonely and abandoned by her only sister as she did twenty years prior.

Hestia’s cool gaze did not waver. “I don’t think you can get an answer to that question, not one that you’d understand. I’m not sure there’s even a correct question to ask.”

Calypso remained silent, not sure if she was seething or holding back tears. She tried not to wipe her eyes, “You don’t love him, but you’re willing to do it, for her. Yet you don’t love her either.”

“Calypso,” Hestia said blankly, “I don’t think I’m capable of it anymore, there was a time before you were born. There are things you don’t remember. You’re projecting.”

“I—” Calypso snapped her mouth shut, trying to silence her reeling mind. Hestia’s demeanor never shifted once, not into anything emotional, not condescending, nor desperate, there wasn’t anything else that Calypso could connect to.

“You’re in love, aren’t you?” Hestia hummed as she filed her nails. Calypso didn’t know why, they were already shaped and smoothed without flaws or chips.

“… yes.” Calypso whispered.

“Maybe you should leave then,” Hestia said, equally unperturbed, “You’ll find little love under this roof. I think it runs in the family.”

“I’m sorry.” Calypso said, tears welling in her eyes. Horrible, horrible feelings swirling in her gut.

“Don’t be,” Hestia said, something akin to a smile forming on her lips. “I don’t know anything else.”

“I hope you do, one day.” She said through her tears, knowing how little hope there actually was.

“Go home, Calypso, you have my thanks for the present.” Hestia said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Daniel?” Calypso whispered into the phone. Her clothes were slowly absorbing water as the light drizzle of rain turned harsher and colder. She was walking down a barren sidewalk, no umbrella, no coat.

“Yeah? Calypso? Is everything okay? A-are you outside?”

“Can you pick me up?” She said distantly, the chill sinking deeper into her bones.

“Yes, yes of course. I’m coming, I’m coming, where are you?”

“That coffee shop. The one we like.”

“I’m coming, I’m only twenty minutes out, stay on like line, Clip. It’s okay.”

“I love you.” She said into the phone, hands shaking from the cold and her own state of numbness.

“I love you too I’m coming.”

“I know, I know you are.”

[stayinglow-exploringworlds]

Exploration: A Night to Remember

As a Official story post, here is a Short I wrote a year ago. It is not perfect or well written, but I hope you guys enjoy it.

There is a Kidnapping that occurs, mentions of blood, and some violence. Not a lot or explicit, but I want to mention it for those sensitive to those topics.

Word Count: 4,335

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Sally sat in the car, staring at her phone as she waited for her friends to arrive at the location. A couple days earlier, her friend group decided to explore an abandoned building  outside of Summerville, about an hour out from Sally’s hometown. Of course, Sally's friends decided that nighttime would be the best decision to meet up and explore. She didn't mind it, but Sally had a feeling that this night was not going to be a normal night. 

Sally's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car pulling up next to her. She looked out the driver side window, seeing a black truck parked next to hers. She sighed, opening her car door and slipping out, the cool fall breeze chilling her slightly as she closed her door. She heard a door close on the opposite side of the truck, and the sound of someone walking away from the truck. She went around the truck, turning on her flashlight she had brought with her, and spotted her dark-haired friend, James. 

“James!” Sally softly yells, picking up her pace to catch up with him. James turned around, looking around the parking lot slightly before spotting Sally. James smiled, walking back towards Sally. Sally soon joined him, smiling slightly. 

“Hey, Sally, good to see you.” James said, turning around as the two of them started walking towards the entrance of the abandoned building. 

“It's good to se-see you.” Sally responded, shivering slightly as another breeze blew through. The two of them remained silent, Sally quietly enjoying the silent company as they approached the entrance. To her surprise, two other people were standing there, talking quietly to themselves as Sally and James approached the two. 

“There you two are. Martha and Sarah went ahead to explore the building, and were waiting for the twins to show up.” Sally’s other friend, Tina, said, picking up her worn, dark blue bag that was laying on the ground. Sally looked over at the building, its overgrown, gray concrete walls looming above them. The windows had pieces of broken glass, and the area behind them was pitch black in the dark. Even shining the flashlight didn’t seem to help keep the pitch blackness away from the windows, the darkness  staying like a group of friends staring out the window, watching for someone to arrive.  Sally shivers, though not from the cold. 

“Are you s-sure that it is safe for the two of them to wander off? I thought we were going in together before splitting up.” Sally said, looking back at Tina. Tina stared at her for a minute, seemingly trying to process what Sally had asked her before speaking. 

“Martha wanted to get a head start, and she couldn’t wait at all. Sarah decided to go with her instead of Jayce, so Royce is stuck with me,” Tina explained. ”Sam and I wanted to stay until the rest of the guys got here.”

Sally was about to respond to the sound of tires going over gravel. She turned her head and saw a small, silver car pulling up next to the small group, the sound of a window being rolled down greeted Sally's ears as Royce’s sunburned face appeared in the window frame, a small smile on his face. In the passenger seat was Jayce, his more tanned face appearing behind Royce’s. 

“So, where did you all park?” Royce asked sheepishly. Sally chuckled, pointing him in the direction of her and James' cars. Royce nods, pulling out and heading in the direction of the cars. Sally looked over at Tina, before the two of them started laughing quietly. Soon, Royce and Jayce had joined the group, Tina striking a small conversation with the twins as Sally listened, watching the windows of the building to see if she found any movement. Sally wondered what the building was before it was abandoned, as well as wondered why the building was abandoned. Sally stared at the windows, and she swore she saw someone dragging something behind them. Sally squinted, trying to focus her eyesight. Maybe she could identify who they were, or maybe a mur-

“-Martha and Sarah decided to go in early,” Tina’s voice broke through Sallys head, scattering her thoughts as her head snapped to look at Tina, “So Jayce will go with Sam instead of Sarah.” 

Sally sighed, dismissing the thought as she focused back to the discussion. Jayce and Sam stood around a little longer behind sneaking off, going towards the main entrance before darting around the side of the building, disappearing from her sight. A strike of fear suddenly hit Sally, unsure if it was still a good idea to split into pairs of two. 

Sally approached Tina, tapping her shoulder to get her attention. TIna looked back, seeing Sally before turning her whole body to face Sally. “Are you su-sure that splitting up is a go-good idea?” Sally nervously asked Tina. 

“Of course! More ground to cover and more secrets to be discovered!” Tina exclaims excitedly. “Besides, nothing has happened for years in this area. Trust me, I did the research.” 

Sally nods, only feeling a little better. She went back over to James, who was picking up his black bag and putting it over his shoulders. Silently, James and Tina walk towards the building, approaching the front door of the buildings. The broken glass was shattered everywhere, and the sounds of cracking came out from under her shoes. 

Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, Martha bursts through the broken doors, pieces of glass flying everywhere, hitting Sallys skin. Martha stopped,  panting heavily. 

“Sarah was kidnapped!” Martha exclaimed, panic evident on her face. Sally paled, fear appearing on her face. 

“Wh-what do you mean Sarah was kidnapped? Wasn’t she with you?” Sally asked, feeling slightly suspicious due to that reason. 

“Someone came up behind us and knocked me out! The next thing I knew I woke up and Sarah was gone!” Martha stated quickly, grabbing onto Sallys arm and squeezing it rather harshly, causing Sally to wince. 

“Hey, Martha? Let go of Sally’s arm.” James says, gently pushing Martha away from Sally. Martha lets go, taking a few deep breaths to calm down. 

“ Sally, could you and James follow me to the place where Sarah and I got attacked?” Martha asked, looking desperately at Sally and James. Sally felt like something was off. Martha never acted panicked, even when her own brother was missing. Plus, if someone knocked out a person with an Item, they would have kidnapped both people. looking closer at Martha, Sally noticed that Martha had a few scratch marks on her cheeks, and some of the sleeves of her jacket were torn a little.To Sally, this indicated a sign of a struggle. 

“We will, Martha, lead the way,” James responded, gently grabbing Sally's hand. Martha nodded, turning around and heading back into the building, the sound of crunching glass following her. Sally and James walked into the building, quickly following her.Sally was greeted with darkness, and she reached down to grab her flashlight. She dug into her sweatshirt pocket for a bit before feeling a hard, slight bumpy surface. She grabbed it, pulling out the flashlight and turning it on, the light sending a harsh brightness in the dark. Martha was ahead, quickly heading back to the location where Sarah was kidnapped. Sally still felt suspicious, but the fear for her and the safety of her friend overpowered the feeling of fear the farther her, James and Martha went into the building. Soon, Martha stopped. 

“Here is the place. Sarah and I were trying to get over this beam to see if there was a hallway or a room on the other side,” Martha stated, gesturing to the large, metal beam laying on the ground. Sally looked around moving her flashlight around to see better. Sally immediately spotted pieces of rope and tape laying on the ground, a large piece of glass a few feet behind that. There were some pieces of clothes on the ground, scattered among the pieces of shattered glass and metal shards. 

“Hey Martha? Did any of you two get hurt?” Sally asked, looking up at Martha. 

Martha was quiet for a moment, before responding, “No idea, to be honest.”

Sally looked back at the scene, before dropping her flashlight and digging into her Sweatshirt pocket. She pulled out a few empty ziploc bags and gently put the pieces of clothes in the bag, as well as the rope and tape in the other bag. 

“Sally, what are you doing?” James asked. Sally stood up, zipping the bags and turning to look at James. 

“Collecting evidence,” Sally responds,“We have to try to find S-Sarah.” Sally states, glancing slightly at Martha. 

James moved his head, looking around for any more clues. Sally looked over to Martha, who stood there, rubbing her arm slightly as she watched the two, appearing to be lost in thought. Sally walked up to Martha, and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“Go back to where the cars are and stay there. James and I will look for Sarah.” Sally says, looking Martha directly in the eyes. Martha nods, stepping away and heading back the way the three of them came. 

James walked up and stood besides Sally, frowning slightly. “Sally, are you aware that we could be dealing with something bigger than us two?” James said, looking over at Sally. 

Sally sighed, looking up at James before responding, “Yes. But I don’t think we need to call cops for this one. I am a little suspicious of Martha, but I have nothing to go off of.” 

“Sally, it might not be Martha. “James stated. 

Sally looked at James, a look of confusion on her face.  “What do you mean, it may not be Martha?” 

“Martha may have been the only one with Sarah, but Jayce and Sam had also left before you and I went to the front doors. Jayce and Sam could’ve kidnapped Sarah and knocked out Martha.” James stated, crossing his arms. Sally paused to think about his words, putting together several answers for some of the questions. If Jayce and Sam did kidnap Sarah, Sally thought, then their clothes could possibly have tears in their clothing, as well as the rope and tape she had found. 

“Still, we don’t really know for certain if Sam or Jayce had kidnapped Sarah or if Martha did. But I can see how Sam and Jayce could’ve kidnapped Sarah. Those two are quite the pranksters. “ Sally responded. James sighed, shaking his head slightly.“Sally, if it was a prank, Sarah and Martha would have been part of it. Plus, Martha would have gone on rampage if it was the two of them, demanding they bring Sarah if it was a set up.” Jayce spoke,  letting his arms fall to his sides, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Sally sighed, rubbing her head as a small headache started to form. 

“How about we look for some form of clue that could lead us to Sarah?” Sally suggested, suddenly realizing that Sarah would be in danger. James simply nodded, pulling out his own flashlight as Sally bent over, picking up her own flashlight. 

Sally stood up, and started walking forward, slowly scanning the floor. She swept her flashlight back and forth slowly, looking for some form of trial. Soon, she spots a small, thin line of dark red liquid, and decides to follow it. The sound of crunching debris became quicker, James picking up the pace behind her. The thin line of dark liquid, which Sally believed was blood,  slowly grew a little bigger, with other thin lines appearing. Sally started to think that these lines were the lines of someone dragging a person across the debris covered floor. She stopped, the lines disappearing suddenly as she stood before an old, rotting wooden door. 

The sound of crunching debris faded, and James ragged breathing allowed Sally to realize that she was out of breath as well. This didn’t stop her though. She stared at the door, and back at the floor, shining the light on both. The thin trail of blood directly leads into the room behind the door. 

“Jeez, Sally. Didn't need to run like that. What were you following anyway?” James suddenly spoke out, scaring Sally. Sally whirled around, her eyes wide and looking at JAmes before releasing a breath of relief. 

“James, one, don’t do that again. That scared me,” Sally stated, placing a hand on her chest to calm down before continuing to speak, “Two, I saw a thin line of blood on the floor, so I decided to follow it. It led me to this door.” Sally stated, pointin back towards the door. James moves Sally aside, walking up to the door. Sally watched as James suddenly opened the door, the door nearly falling off its hinges as it opened. Sally could hear a gasp come from James, and she moved closer to James, peering over his shoulder. 

She saw Sarah, bound by a thick rope around her wrists and feet. She had silver colored tape on her mouth, covering it. Sarah was wide awake, her chocolate brown eyes wide in fear as she stared up at James. Sally managed to slip past James, and start to untie the ropes from around Sarah wrists. Soon, the rope was removed from Sarah’s wrists and feet and the piece of tape removed from her mouth. Sarah gasped slightly, taking in a breath of air. 

Sally scanned Sarah quickly, noticing a multitude of bleeding scratches that covered her arms and legs. She gently grabbed Sarah's wrist before helping her up. 

“Thank god someone found me.” Sarah whispered, looking past Sally and James in an attempt to look behind them. 

“What happened?” Sally asked, guiding Sarah out of the closet. Sarah looked around again, hyper aware. 

“Well, Martha and I were just kinda wandering around, looking into a few rooms here and there, when we stumbled upon this fallen beam of some sorts. We were going to turn around, when we heard Jayce and Sam shouting around on the other side,” Sarah rambled, “So I decided to try to climb the beam. I got up to at least see above when my foot slipped, and fell down. Then, I felt something hit my head and I passed out. I woke up in this closet thing, tied up and tape around my mouth.” 

Sally nodded, processing the information. Martha was the only one with Sarah, Sally thought, so she would be the first suspect. Jayce and Sam were in the area, so that would also make them suspects, Sally continued to think, but she didn’t think it was their fault. 

A loud thump broke Sally’s thought, as she turned around, seeing James drop. Sally looked up to see who had knocked him out, but only saw something metal being swung towards her head. A sharp pain exploded in her temple, and everything went black. 

Sally slowly opened her eyes, a strong pounding in head that caused her to groan. She slowly sat up, rubbing her head slightly as she blinked slightly. She lifted her head, looking around. Sally momentarily freaked out, forgetting where she was before remembering what had happened. Sally moved her head back and forth, looking for Sarah and James. She spotted Sarah a few feet away, sitting against the wall, knocked out. Sally stood up, stumbling  slightly as she moved towards Sarah. Sally went down on her knees before shaking Sarah slightly, gently trying to wake her up. 

“Sarah? Sarah, please wak-wake up ....” Sally whispered, but Sarah didn’t open her eyes. Sally sighed, giving up and looking around. Sally stood back up, and squinted slightly as the flashlight, the only source of light that allowed her to spot Sarah, shone brightly in her eyes. Sally went over and picked up the flashlight, looking over the ground rather slowly. The pain in her head slowly lessened a little, but the pounding was still there. 

Sally continued to scan the ground, ignoring the pain in her head. She passed the flashlight over the ground, the few shards of glass and reflective material glittering in the flashlight. Sally spotted an object on the ground, and went closer to the object.

The object was a long, rusted pipe that was laying on the ground, a dark substance covered the tip of the pipe, which scared Sally quite a bit as she neared it. She bent over, picking up the pipe, examining it. She immediately knew the dark substance was blood, and it was used to possibly knock out her, James, and Sarah. 

Sally froze, realizing that she did not see James. She frantically looked around, pointing the flashlight at any place she could, moving around to look for James. The longer Sally couldn’t find James, the more panicked she became. Millions of thoughts raced through her head, each one coming to different conclusions. James could have been dead, could have been kidnapped, or worse, Sally thought. 

Sally sat down,  her breath fast and ragged as she tried to calm down. Slowly, she started focusing on what she could see. The gray, cracked walls, the debris littered the floor, Sarah knocked out against the wall, and slowly she calmed down, the thoughts  slowly leaving her mind. Sally stared at the wall right about Sarah, realizing she was sitting right across from her. 

Lets think through what we have found, Sally thought, pulling out the evidence from Sarah's scene and the pipe from the current one, and placing it in front of her. 

“The strips of clothing James and I found c-could have come from Sarah,” Sally muttered, sorting out the cloth into a few piles, “ Sarah is currently wearing her blue hoodie, so the strands of blue cloth would belong to her. The black strands belong to Martha's worn leather jacket.” Sally put the two strips of cloth in two different piles. There were a few strips of odd colored cloth, but Sally decided that it could have been from a previous group of explorers. 

“There was more strips of Sarah clothing missing when James and I found her, which means that her hoodie was exposed to more sharp objects, which would go with her being dragged on the floor when knocked out,” Sally muttered, picking up the bag with the rope and tape from where Sarah was kidnapped, “and there was only a few strips of black cloth that would relate to Martha’s jacket, which could have been just her jacket losing pieces or Martha tripped against a sharp object. Either way, there is less cloth for her then Sarah. Plus, Martha was the only one who brought rope and tape, and she told no one why she was bringing tape.”

Sally stared at the items in front of her, thinking back to Jayce and Sam. They were in the area where Sarah and Martha were, but there was no way the two of them were paying attention to their surroundings when they were shouting, Sally thought. 

“Martha was the only one with Sarah to. Sarah mentioned that her and Martha could hear the boys, but could not see the boys, In fact, Sarah said that the two of them were trying to find a way to them,” Sarah said to herself, folding her hands together and placing them under her chin, “Which means that the boys probably had no idea what was going on. This also means that Martha is the one at fault, and did indeed kidnap Sarah.” 

Sally stood up, leaving the items on the ground and picking up the pipe. “Martha was probably not expecting James and I to find Sarah, so she attacked us as a way to shut us up,” Sally said, “The blood was probably from when Martha hit James, Sarah, and I with the pipe.” 

Sally looked at the ground, looking at the signs of a person dragging something heavy. Using the flashlight that somehow never left her hand, she scanned the floor, discovering that there was a jagged trial of blood drips on the floor. Sally went to go follow, before stopping. She turned around, and managed to get Sarah up off the floor and onto her back, proceeding to piggyback Sarah as she followed the trail. 

Sally kept following the trail, determined to find James and catch Martha. Sally followed the blood trail, speeding up the farther she went. Sally kept going, pushing through before feeling herself lurch forward, her foot caught on something warm and soft. There was a  muffled yelp, and Sally crashed into the ground, Sarah's weight pushing Sally down. Sharp pain erupted in her arm, and Sally yelled. 

Sally gasped slightly, trying to push  Sarah, somehow still unconscious, off her back, the sound of someone approaching her. Sally started to panic, before Sarah was gently removed from Sally’s back, and someone helped Sally help. Sally winced in pain, noticing her arm bent slightly in the wrong direction. 

“You alright there, Sally? You were going pretty fast, even with Sarah on your back.” Sam's soft voice floated in the air, Sally taking a moment to process before responding back. 

“My arm’s broke and my head is killing me.” Sally says, looking around. Sally spotted James, in the process of being untied by Royce. Sally sighed a breath of relief, before looking around, spotting Tina and Jayce pinning a squirming person to the ground. Jayce was in the process of calling someone, a stern look on his face. 

“What happened?” Sally asked, looking back at Sam,  who was sitting Sarah against the wall. “Martha was dragging James down the hallway when Jayce and I stumbled upon them. Jyace immediately took action, and managed to pin Martha down on the ground. I ran off to get help, and luckily Tina and Royce weren't too far off and they followed me back.’ Sam paused, taking a breath.” I was sitting on the ground when you came barreling down the hallway, and you tripped over my leg. James was yelling at you, but it sounded more like a yelp takes to the tape.”

Sally nodded. “So I was right. Martha was the one who kidnapped Sarah and James.” 

Sam laughed slightly. “I didn’t even know she kidnapped Sarah. That would explain a little about what happened to her.” Sam said, sitting down next to Sarah. 

Sally waved with her good hand, slightly saying ‘I’ll talk to you later’ before walking over to Tina, who was sitting on top of Martha. Martha's mouth was taped shut, as a way to keep her quiet. Sally could hear Jayce quietly conversing with whoever was on the other side of the phone, and she had sneaking suspicion it was the cops. 

“Hey there, Sally.” Tina says, slightly out of breath. “Martha here is being difficult.” 

“I can tell,” Sally responds, “ Is Jayce calling the police?” 

Tina nods. “One hundred percent. Martha here is gonna be charged with kidnapping.” Sally chuckled slightly. Sharp pain suddenly spiked through her arm, and she yelped, tears forming in her eyes as the headache grew worse. 

“You alright there, Sally?” Tina asked. Sally shook her head, trying not to move her arm. Tina gestures for Sally to come closer, and Sally goes up to Tina. Tina gently grabs Sally's arm, and Sally nearly screams in pain. Tina let go, frowning slightly. “Definitely a broken arm.”

“Yeah… I fell hard after I tripped over Sam.” Sally responded. 

“Luckily, the Ambulance is coming along with the police, so the paramedics should be able to help you guys out.” Tina replied, not moving as Martha attempted to hit Tina. 

“I’m going to sit down.” Sally said, turning around and slowly walking to James, who was rubbing his wrists. Sally sat next to him, careful of her broken arm. The two sat there, staring out the broken window above them, the moonlight slowly drifting into the building. Sally closed her eyes, and felt sleep take over her body. 

Sally awoke to someone gently shaking her, and she opened her eyes to see James shaking. Voices were all around them, and Sally nearly panicked before remembering that Jayce had called the police. Sally looked around, watching carefully at what was going on. Tina and Jayce were talking with a policeman, seeming to answer questions at a rapid pace. Sarah was nowhere to be found, and Sally assumed the paramedics had taken care of her. Sally stood up, with the help of James, and the two of them were approached by a police officer. 

The police officer asked the two some questions about what had happened, and Sally and James responded truthfully to the questions. Soon, the two kids were being escorted out of the building, the overgrown parking lot littered with  police cars and an ambulance. James was told to go to his car, and soon James was allowed to leave. Sally was taken to the ambulance, and was told to sit in the chair next to the stretcher, where Sarah was laying. Sally was able to look out the small ambulance window, and saw the ominous abandoned building. 

Sally stared up at it, not so scared of the building as she was before it. The pitch black, broken windows weren’t so dark, and the overgrown look just showed the age of the building. Sally looked back at Sarah, covered in small cuts and bruises. Sally smiled slightly, internally laughing slightly at everything that had happened in the past couple of hours. Sally gently grabbed Sarah's hand as the back of the ambulance closed. She closed her eyes, allowing the movement of the ambulance to lull her to sleep.

And for the first time that night, was not worried about what would happen to her or her friends. 

[bitchofathousandemotions]

Ch.1 The beginning.

It all started when I was a little girl.

Small. Naive. Helpless. But that’s all I was meant to be at this age. Who would expect to ask too much of a child. So young. Precious even.

Who would have thought her childhood would be the first to fuck her? She did. She saw it all happen. Unfolding right before her very eyes. Her small, round bright blue eyes. You’d never think to believe she was hurting. The way she smiled. Toughed it out. So young but so effortlessly strong.

It was only now, that she would have to find out, just how strong.

One simple lie and we got into the women’s car. My sister and I were more nervous than we ever thought we would be. But our school was very strict. So there was no way we would get picked up by some random lady without the school knowing or keeping us safe. This thought made getting into her black little four door a mindless decision. “If my older sissy can trust you, I should be able to trust you.” My first of many naive thoughts.

The moment I knew that something wasn’t quite right was when the women sped right past the road at which you would normally take to bring us home. I felt the air get tighter. Suddenly my hand is met by my sisters, she’s holding strong, and we both are now fearful of who we have just met. “I thought you were taking us home..?” Little did we know, it was our “new home.”

We pulled into a parking lot of an unfamiliar building. The sign read “Webster Children Shelter.” I remember thinking “what’s that mean? ‘Children’s shelter.’” Here it was, the start of the first day of the next few months to come.

Inside we found my mother. Standing, pacing in a small office room with another person we hadn’t ever met before. She wrapped her arms around the two of us. The grip of a mama bear about to lose her cubs. “What’s going on?” My sister Bailey asked. Tears now pouring down mother face, how is she supposed to explain it all right there on the spot, in front of the youngest of us all? Me. Mommy’s eyes meet mine and I can’t help but welt up. That knot in my throat grew larger than ever before. “Let’s show you around.” They lady had a nice voice. Sweet. Calming. I felt safe. I guess that was the point.

Leading directly from the office we entered the kitchen of what looked like an everyday normal home. Beautiful stainless steel fridge, marble counter tops, a grand dinner table. “What is going on..” I thought to myself. Through the glass doors we traveled into the dinning room. A fish bowl of a room if you ask me. The doors were windows. The walls were windows. I could see the rest of the house every which way I looked. I felt watched. Trapped. No longer safe. We toured the rest of the shelter. Hallway after hallway, until we reached the door at the end of the long corridor. Small, quaint, nicely tucked sheets. “Do you like it?” The women asked. Bailey I looks at me. Our pupils dilate. Blood pounding. Two beds.. I come to the realization “this is for me and Bailey..” Thoughts flooded my brain and I couldn’t keep up. It was all happening so fast, all at once.

This was our new home. These four white walls. Who knows when we will be free of this desolate location. “Why are we here? When will we be home? Why did you lie!? Why did you bring us here!? Will I ever know the truth?”

[thegoldenreport]

BLACK SEDAN

It simply appears. No matter the time of day or place. Could be outside your home. Or down in the city streets. It draws upon the curious and the careless. You step inside and close the door.  It will take you so far off from where you want to go. Bound within the shade of it’s darkly tinted windows.

It does not have a driver, at least not one you can see. It will gather you. Then deliver you. Then gather you again. It is said to be a shuttle to parallel dimensions, other worlds. And perhaps they’re right. May our dimensions align some sunny day…if that is the case.

Yet we have another disturbing ripple within our time and space. A reminder to take your mentis blockers. And a journal we’ve intercepted from one of it’s passengers. 

…

I don’t know what I should’ve done. I don’t know if I could’ve avoided it. It was a long day at work. My car was in shop. And too short of a walk home to bother anyone for a ride. Tunnel Lake was a relatively safe town anyway. I’d done it multiple times before this. Though never had I been drawn like a magnet to the back seat of a pitch black sedan, lurking outside the road to my neighborhood. Did I think it was a rideshare?

No. I wasn’t thinking at all.

Something came over me. Like it was suddenly very wrong to be outside. My hand found the door handle without me telling it too. Ears throbbing. Shapes moving in my peripheral vision. Mere seconds and I was seated, buckled in. The car began to pull out from it’s spot. I didn’t check the driver’s seat.

The first stop was Riley’s Chili Dogs, an forsaken restaurant complete with barred windows and cracked paint. The sight confused me, as Riley’s closed four years back and was replaced by a flower boutique. But here it stood with the neon OPEN sign flickering as it always had been. I felt that it was okay to step out if I wanted to. Someone or something had allowed it. 

The door opened. I was released. I stepped outside. Stretched my legs. And panic spread like a fungus inside my mind. It wasn’t just the…resurrected Riley’s. The street names. The advertisements. Letters would blur and scramble if I focused on them. And then there was the tendril…in the wastebin…with the eye…

I wrenched open the car door and leapt in my seat like some sad, scared animal. Where was I? What was happening to me? 

The car was safe. 

The second stop took us further. In the real world, it featured a large central fountain with park benches and botanical gardens and shady trees. Ursary Park. A ten minute drive from my house. A 17 minute drive from Riley’s. A several hour drive for us. 

I didn’t get out of the car for this one. Only stole glances out the window at the vacant spot where the fountain should be. No trees or benches. Just a wide concrete disk in the middle of dust and sand. Which stretched out for miles. Familiar landmarks I knew either didn’t exist anymore or were warped beyond comprehension. They could not be trusted. 

Stop three, four, and five taught me that it was (sometimes) good and (sometimes) necessary to get out of the car. Think about those lengthy road trips you took with your parents. You gotta get out and loosen up the muscles. It’s like that. And then you get back in when you see the man with no face cross the parking lot while reading a newspaper.

Though I couldn’t stray too far or too long. There were boundaries. Cross one and I’d find myself waking up in the car again, halfway out to our new destination. Six, seven, eight, nine…

I can’t remember when I had eaten last. And that was starting to take up a piece of my worry rattled brain. The car deposited me in front of a quaint, two story, family home. Home. A house. The first house in a long line of strange and even stranger locations.

It felt safe. And weirdly, it felt normal. The old normal.

I knocked on the door. The mom was there to greet me, a bit too excitedly. She was a small woman in a button down, jogger sweats and a blue apron. The dad flashed a smile from the kitchen. He spooned noodles and vegetables on a ceramic plate and handed it to some unseen figure out the bay window. Like a drive through…

They asked me what I was doing here. Where I came from. Could they serve me a bowl of ramen. All that good stuff. I sat at their table with a loss for words. Not just the first house, this was also the first human contact. 

I tried to explain the black car I was inexplicably tied to. And how I didn’t know if I’d been riding for days or years. And how I couldn’t seem to get back home. I broke down. The mom stroked my arm. The dad had sad eyes.

They told me their daughter had also disappeared in a black car several years ago. They kept waiting to see if she’d make her way back. They’d heard stories from the Silver Report about alternate dimensions, doppelgangers, psychic attacks…

They hoped for impossible things. And still did even now.

After the bowl, I did feel better. At least a little bit. They offered me a room downstairs for the night. Stark white walls. No furniture but a couple of wooden chairs laid out awkwardly in the middle. And then the bedroom. The bedroom was blue. And the sheets were crisp and smelled like soap. 

I was warm.

I was safe.

I closed my eyes.

I think I woke up in the black car again after that…but honestly, I’m not sure.

Does it matter?

[spookman404]

A Night in the Woods NaNoWriMo C3 11/9/22

The walk through Hunt Woods to the bonfire was on I’d done about a dozen times before. Normally the small deer path off the small country road is hard to find. I’d park my truck on the shoulder just past the guardrail and psych myself up for the long dark walk to the end of the trail. Friday night though, it was much different. For starters, it wasn’t hard to find. The trail of cars off the side of the road went on for miles, their taillights reflecting off my truck's last remaining headlight. It put a bad taste in my mouth. There I was, looking for parking like I was a tourist at my own spot. When I finally did get out and start my journey through the woods it didn’t feel the same either. Hunt Woods was supposed to be quiet, eerie, not filled with the echoes of a bunch of screaming teenagers. It was almost sacrilegious, like shouting in a church. This place had a reverence to it only a few understood, the few that knew what really happened here.

I didn’t know exactly where the bonfire was, but I knew I was getting close. I could smell the smoke on the wind for most of the walk, so when I hit the end of the trail and found that it was empty, I followed my nose. I knew I was headed in the right direction when I passed a couple walking back to their car, already piss drunk just an hour after the bonfire was lit. They jumped when we crossed paths and blinded me with their flashlight. I guess it was my fault for creeping up on them, I wasn’t using a flashlight. Why would I? I knew those woods like the back of my hand, it never even crossed my mind. I apologized when they got the last of their panicked swears out of their system and told them to drive safe. I considered telling them not to drive at all, but I knew Betty and Steve, even if I did tell them, they wouldn’t have listened.

I nearly turned around when I saw the fire. From the outside looking in, all I could see was a black mass of bodies circling the flame, their shadows dancing on the trunks of the trees. I don’t really know why I froze up, blending into a crowd wasn’t exactly something I was used to, but something stopped me from walking in. I felt like I was at the edge of a cliff with one foot already dangling over the drop. I didn’t want to jump, but I was already halfway there. I made up my mind when a few stragglers spotted me. I heard their snickers through the jumbled mess of voices and figured that whatever I did, I couldn’t keep standing out there in the dark like a creep. In the end, I let gravity pull me over the edge, and I reluctantly took a step outside my comfort zone.

The party was just about what I expected it to be. There were about a hundred kids there, almost all of them seniors but I managed to spot a few juniors who managed to sneak themselves in. A few foldable tables were scattered around the dirt clearing, one was the designated beer pong table, another held a keg of lukewarm beer, the last one had already been crumpled by some idiot who thought it was a good idea to jump out of a tree. Oh, and speaking of trees. I called it. Hanging in one of the low hanging branches with a couple of his groupies was the obligatory douche with a guitar. I used to know his name, Spike? No, Mike. No, Spike, a douche with a guitar would be named Spike.

The fire was the focal point though, drawing everyone towards the center, which was good for me. It kept spaced everyone out and made looking for Kate that much easier.

It only took a lap or two for me to realize she wasn’t there. I was worried that was going to happen, I almost expected it to. What was I expecting? Of course she wasn’t going to show up. If she couldn’t so much as stand being in the same building as these people, why would she be fine with meeting them all out in the woods? Still, that didn’t mean I wasn’t holding out hope. I was already at the damn bonfire, I thought I might as well hang around on the off chance that she did show up.

For a while I struggled to find ways to pass the time. I watched a few rounds of beer pong, warmed up by the fire for a little, and wound up stumbling into having a conversation with someone I knew from class. That didn’t last long though, the second I heard the word ‘crypto’ come out of his mouth I told him I was gonna be sick. Thankfully he thought it was because I’d been drinking, not because I couldn’t stand hearing him talk about Bitcoin anymore.

Luckily, at some point during the night, I’d somehow managed to corner someone drunk enough to talk to, a captive audience of one I could ramble to as I stared out past the light of the campfire and deep into the dark of Hunt Woods. 

No one ever figured out his name, the Hermit I mean, he was never identified. He was given many names over the years, but no one ever figured out who he was before he lost his mind. There were a few theories that floated around town though. Some believed he was an injured lumberjack who got left out to freeze in a snowstorm by his comrades, surviving for days on the fingers he had left that weren’t frostbitten. Others thought he could’ve been a miner who got lost in the Agawa cave system, wandering the damp caverns until he found a way out that led him here, only to find he was just as lost above ground as he was below. The most popular theory by far though was that he was crazy long before he ever set foot in those woods, that he was one of those unabomber types who hated the world and wanted to escape. It was mostly because when they found him hanging in the middle of the woods by the last of his paracord, he was suspended in the middle of his makeshift shelter. It was anyone's guess what he ran out of first, food or water, but either way he decided to take the easy way out in the end.

That’s the kicker though. None of those stories make any sense. He didn’t have to die in those woods. The blizzard he was caught in was mild at best, nowhere near frostbite worthy. No one ever found the mouth of the supposed cave he climbed out of, and if he really was some lunatic who wanted to live in the woods, why didn’t he pack enough food? Even if you chose to ignore all of that though, you’d still be left scratching your head, because the final nail in the coffin was the woods themselves.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Hunt Woods is a big stretch of land, about ten miles of protected forest, but it wasn’t anything to get lost in. Just pick a direction and keep walking, you’ll either hit the shore or a road eventually. I mean he was found hanging about a mile and a half from the road for christ sake. Hell, I bet I could even make the walk to his old camp tonight if I wanted to. The whole situation was strange, the kind of strange people like to brush under the rug and forget about. 

All I’m saying is, it begged a troubling question; If he had no reason to die in those woods, why did he? That was what people couldn’t answer. They tried; Was he insane? Suicidal? Overconfident? Nobody could agree, not until the bodies started to pile up. That was when people came to the only rational explanation that they thought made any sense. He wanted to. He wanted to stay in those woods, he chose to, and that meant he didn’t have to kill those hikers either. He wanted to do that too.

The four of them stumbled on his campsite, exhausted after a long day of amateur bushwhacking, and when they saw him they used the last of what little energy they had left to scatter. Each of them bolted, all in separate directions, and over the course of an hour, the Hermit not only caught up with them, but had enough time to butcher each and every one to a near unrecognizable state. That’s what happened in those woods. That was why I hated the idea of anyone celebrating in them. It was disrespectful, and it was stupid; A dangerous combination, but I digress.

As I wrapped up my story to the guy, I turned to him and decided he deserved a chance to talk. It felt like the only decent thing to do considering he’d been listening to me for well over five minutes.

“So, what do you think?” 

He didn’t respond, at least, not in the way I had hoped. He turned to me, blinked one eye at a time, and promptly threw up between his legs. I left shortly after. 

The crowd had thinned out a little since the beginning of the night. Every now and then a group of kids would leave, some in better shape than others. The mass exodus happened around midnight though, that’s when the beer ran dry. By all intents and purposes, the party was over; The clearing was empty, it was nearly one in the morning, and the fire had long since been reduced to a smoldering pile of hot coals. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to leave. A part of me I couldn’t shake was hanging onto the hope that Kate would show. I don’t know why. I knew she wasn’t going to, and even if she did, we would barely even have enough time to say hello. I think in the end it was stubbornness keeping me from the long walk back to the truck. If she wanted me to be at this bonfire so much, I was going to see the end of it, whether I liked it or not. 

I spent the last hour of the party sitting on a log, eavesdropping on the last conversations as they slowly died down. I had found myself a nice log at the edge of the clearing, one that overlooked a gap in the trees. If I sat just right I could watch the radio towers out by the edge of town blinking out of sync with each other. I know it may not sound like it, but in the end I was enjoying myself, all the way up until Jeremy sauntered up next to me and unzipped his jeans.

I stood up and complained, “Come on man, you couldn’t take a piss anywhere else.”

Jeremy lazily looked over his shoulder at me as he watered the tree. He looked me up and down, shot me a dopey smile, and offered a halfhearted apology.

“Sorry, didn’t see you there.”

Sure you didn’t.

He was drunk but he wasn’t that drunk. Like it or not, I knew him, and this was exactly the type of thing he would do to fuck with me.

“Yeah right.” I said, “We’re in a forest and you pick the one tree that’s right next to me? Sure.”

He chuckled, “Fine, whatever, you got me. These woods are freak me the fuck out. Didn’t want to freeball it alone, you know?”

“Can we please just drop it?”

“I bet you’d like that wouldn’t you?” He snarked.

He almost got a laugh out of me then, but I held it down when I reminded myself who I was talking to.

Jeremy Ringer used to be my friend. We were quite literally inseparable for most of our childhoods. Our parents were, and still are, close family friends which meant we spent a lot of time together. Growing up we carpooled, had a couple joint thanksgivings, and even went on a daytrip or two. Our friendship didn’t implode overnight. There wasn’t some giant scandalous thing one of us did to drive a wedge between us. It was slower than that. It almost made it worse. I got to watch as the two of us grew apart. As the year dragged on and everyone grew up, Jeremy was quick to catch on. He branched out, made more friends than he could count, and before long he’d made the hockey team. He was the definition of an extrovert, and it went directly to his head. Long story short, while he grew into his own, I lagged behind, and I quickly became aware that he didn’t have any time left for me. We drifted apart; it was as simple as that. Now, the only time he even acknowledged me anymore was when he needed a quick punchline. It wasn’t anything sinister, he didn’t hold any grudge against me, he was just a dick, and sometimes I wish he was something more than that to me.

At some point I realized he’d managed to rope me into being his wingman as he got to know the tree, but it was too late to walk away.

“What are you doing here anyway?” He asked as his stream weakened.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know. You just don’t get out much. I never see you do stuff like this.”

He wasn’t completely wrong.

“Yeah well, maybe I’d get out a little more if I knew what was going on.” I muttered, “Most of the time I don’t. It’s not like anyone goes out of their way to keep me in the loop.”

He zipped up his pants and declared, “Well, aren’t you a bundle of joy tonight. You get stood up or something?”

Again, he wasn’t completely wrong.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

As soon as I got the words out, I caught something, a flash in the corner of my eye. My eyes gravitated towards Hunt Woods. Somewhere, buried deep in the tangle of underbrush and tree trunks, I saw a flash of platinum blonde, one that I recognized anywhere. It was Kate.

What the hell was she doing out in the woods? Was she lost? Did she need help? Was that why she never showed up?

“Hey, listen. Don’t get hung up over some girl. It isn’t the end of the world, it happens all the time.” Jeremy paused, “Well, not to me, but you get the point.”

He waited for me to respond, but I didn’t. Without another word I started walking out into the forest.

“Hey!” Jeremy slurred, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“On a walk.” I hollered back.

I scanned the trees for any more signs of movement, but there wasn’t any. The trees were still, there wasn’t any wind, and the only thing I could hear was Jeremy nagging at me from the edge of the fire’s light.

“Come on, don't be an idiot, you’re gonna get lost.” He pleaded.

“Fuck you Jeremy, I know what I’m doing.” I was dismissed.

As I trudged on through the woods I hoped he would’ve dropped it there, but I quickly realized that wasn’t going to happen. I could hear an extra set of disoriented footsteps behind me, I didn’t have to look to know he was following me.

“Hey! I’m not gonna ask you again?”

“You just did dumbass.” I retorted.

I jumped a little when I felt him grip my arm. It was intimidatingly strong, the kind of vice grip you hold someone in when you intend to manhandle them. Luckily though, I was squirrely enough to break free of his grasp. 

I ripped my arm away and asked, “What’s your problem?”

“What’s my problem?” He argued, “You're the one wandering off in the woods alone.”

“I told you, I’m taking a walk. Now leave me alone.”

He tried to reach for me again but I took a step back.

“Look, can we just go back to the fire?” He complained, “You’re making my job way harder than it needs to be.”

Even in his drunken stupor I think he realized he’d let something slip that he shouldn’t have. It was written all over his face.

“Job?” I asked, “What job?”

I gave him a stern look as he tried to string a sentence together in his mind. Eventually, he settled on a lie.

“It’s nothing. Me and a couple other of the guys agreed to make sure nobody wandered off during the party.”

“Like security?” I asked.

“Yeah.” He said with a relieved smile, “Like security.”

I didn’t buy it.

“So do you normally drink on the job or was tonight just a one time thing.”

He chuckled nervously, “I’m not that drunk. Just had a little fun, that's all.”

“Yeah?” I challenged, “So that wasn’t you who flattened that table under the tree earlier?”

It was a gamble. I had no idea whether or not he was the one who did it, but if anyone was responsible for taking the dive, it was probably him. Either way, it looked like I was right.

He let out a sigh and put his hands on his hips.

“That was…” He trailed off, giving up on the lie, “Yeah. That was me.”

I stayed quiet, and let him explain himself.

“Ok fine. You win. I’m not on security, but I’m still not letting you wander off.”

“Why not?”

“Because you just can’t alright? Not tonight.” He paused, rubbing the back of his neck, “I’m not stupid alright. I know you come out here all the time. I know you’re one of those who’s into serial killers and shit like that.”

Great. Ginger has been talking about me. 

“I know you're probably fine out here on your own. If you want to go check out where that crazy old guy killed a bunch of people, I don’t really give a shit, it’s not my business. Just please, I’m begging you, don’t do it tonight alright?”

I didn’t respond. Even if I had been paying attention, I probably wouldn’t have been able to string a sentence together. I was much too distracted by what was poking out of the waistband of Jeremy’s jeans. When he got the hint I wasn’t listening, his eyes followed mine to the bloodstained wooden handle of the long buck knife just barely visible from under his letterman. After the initial shock passed, we locked eyes. I looked at him, he looked at me, and together, we both became very aware of what was going on.

The realization hit Jeremy harder than it did me. As he put the pieces together in his mind it started to look worse and worse,  I know because I was doing the exact same thing. He was at the end of a long night of drinking, he’d just followed someone half his size out into the woods, and had a knife that looked worryingly used.

It didn’t look great.

I never would’ve pigeon holed Jeremy as a murderer. I didn’t think he was the type. A narcissist? Sure. A sociopath? Maybe. But a cold blooded killer? That was something I had trouble believing even as I stood across from him, but considering I’d caught him red handed, I wasn’t too worried about the details.

Jeremy made the first move, slowly raising his hands and saying, “Ok, I know what this looks like.”

I didn’t give him the chance to explain himself. I’d already made up my mind. I bolted, taking off into the woods with a decent head start. Jeremy lagged behind, stumbling as he tried desperately to turn his phone's flashlight on, but didn’t waste any time getting up to speed.

“Stop!” He yelled, “Come back!”

My heart raced as I heard the thunder of footsteps behind me. I weaved between trees, tore through bushes, and jumped over stray logs like I was a wild animal running from a predator. As far as I could tell though, I managed to keep my distance. Jeremy was fast, way faster than me, but he wasn’t sober, and that was enough for me to keep my lead on him, if only just by a little. That didn’t change the fact that we were stuck in a stalemate, and that wasn’t enough to lose him.

“You can’t outrun me, Henry!” He shouted after me, “Just stop and we can work this out!”

Yeah bullshit. I thought to myself. He knew just as well as I did that I couldn’t keep this up forever. I may have a lead on him now, but if I didn’t do something to lose him, he’d catch up with me eventually, running me out until my lungs gave up on me. That was when an idea hit me. The neck of the woods we were running through was dense, but it wasn’t the thickest, that was on the other side of Shoal Creek. It was a risk, both of us would have to slow down, but I was banking on it. If I could just get to the other side of the creek, I might be able to lose him in the underbrush.

I took a hard left and made a break for the creek. He was right behind me at that point, close enough for me to hear his heavy breaths. Already mine sounded a lot worse than his. I knew I couldn’t keep it up much longer, but I pushed through. I felt a cold shock run up my ankle as I ran straight through the freezing creek and out to the other side. My ankle twisted over rocks, my clothes caught on the brush, and stray branches whipped at my skin, but as I tore into the thicket, I started to gain ground.

It wasn’t until we had been drawn deep into the woods that I lost him. I was right. He didn’t know the woods like I did. I knew every shortcut, deer path, and clearing there was around here. I even recognized the damn trees. Combine that with the fact that I was wearing a pitch black hoodie and running in the dark, Jeremy didn’t stand a chance.

When I put enough distance to feel comfortable hiding, I did, rucking myself into the hollow of a tree. I watched him from the hole, as he ran out the last of his sprint. He waved his flashlight around, scanning the treeline for any sight of me. When the light passed over me I’d flinch, but I had no reason to worry. There wasn’t a chance in hell he could see me, not out here. Not in these woods. Now it was just a matter of waiting him out.

“Henry?” He shouted, “Henry!”

I felt my skin crawl as I heard him yell after me. His voice wavered back and forth between worry and anger, like he couldn’t make up his mind.

“Henry, please come out. I’m fucking drunk I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Most of all though, he sounded desperate, like there was this unshakable urgency to everything he said, but there was something else, something in his voice that threw me off entirely.

“I’m begging you. Please.”

He sounded afraid.

Snap.

I whipped my head around to face the noise. As far as I could tell there was nothing there. Nothing that I could see at least.

I had only taken my eyes off him for a second, but that was all it took. When I looked back to where Jeremy had been standing, he was gone. His light was out, his cries had fallen quiet, and just like that, I was alone.

As I pulled myself out of the tree, I was painfully aware of the crunch of my shoes on the forest floor. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but something drew my ear. My footsteps sounded different, like they were deadened. I quickly came to the realization that it wasn’t just me either. A heavy silence had settled into the woods, one that was impossible to describe. The closest thing that came to mind was it was like noise canceling headphones. I felt like there should’ve been sound, but there wasn’t any. No chirping bugs, no rustle of the wind, no stray footsteps out in the dark, nothing. It was all so predatory.

I knew almost instantly where I was. I heard a crinkle under my foot and looked down to see the old police tape still buried in the dirt. The tent under the tree had long since rotted away, having collapsed in on itself and been torn to smithereens. Even the rocks around the fire were still neatly arranged in a circle, just like he’d left them. I felt a twinge of worry pinch at the back of my mind. I’d been here before. I was standing in the middle of the Hermit’s campsite.

My breath grew short as my thoughts began to race. It was impossible. There was no way Jeremy chased me for that long. The bonfire was miles from the old campsite, I know, because every time I visit this place I have to park a little further up the road than my usual spot. It was physically fucking impossible for me to be where I was, but that didn’t matter. I was there, I was alone, and for the first time, I was almost scared.

I felt the security of my phone’s light tug at my hand from my pocket, but I decided against it. If Jeremy was still out there somewhere looking for me, flashing a light around would be one quick way to help him find me. Besides, I didn’t need it. I’d been to that campsite enough to know my way around. I figured the best course of action was to wait, let him stew for a little, hopeful long enough for him to get lost. In the meantime, I’d look around the camp for anything I might be able to use in case I wound up running into him again on the way back to the road. I doubted I’d find anything substantial like a knife, or a hatched, certainly not a gun. I was hoping for something a little more primitive, maybe a light rock, or some spare change I could load a fist with.

I checked the tent first, and unsurprisingly didn’t have any luck. It was the first thing the Feds ransacked when they found the camp, of course there wouldn’t be anything behind. I tried the firepit next but that was a bust too. The rocks were either too heavy, not heavy enough, or too awkward to hold. I decided to leave that as a last resort in case I didn’t find anything better. Running out of options, I considered booking it empty handed, taking a gamble that I’d done enough to lose Jeremy. Even then, I hated that idea too. My mind fought back and forth about what to do, but before I could make up my mind, I noticed something. Something out of place that made me stop what I was doing completely.

At the base of the hanging tree was a hole, and next to it a pile of freshly dug dirt resting a few feet away. My skin prickled and my eyes widened. I couldn’t decide whether or not to be scared or excited.

“No fucking way.” I muttered to myself.

I approached the hole slowly, careful not to tread on anything too loud. I stepped over the campfire, crept past the tent, and found myself at the base of the long dead tree. I couldn’t help but feel intimidated as I stood on its roots. My eyes trailed up the long trunk and wound all the way up the gnarled bark to the hangman’s branch. When I squinted hard enough, I could even see the rings of stripped bark where the noose had been tied off; etched into the branch like a scored wrist. It was smart of him to pick that branch; it had a long drop and was big enough to hold him. What more could you ask for?

I almost didn’t want to look inside the hole. I knew the missing piece to the mystery was inside. If I looked in, I’d be killing another ghost story, one of the few I still couldn’t pin down, but If I didn’t look, if I turned around and ran as fast as I could, the Hermit could roam these woods for just a little longer, in my head at least. Ultimately though, the idea of being right outweighed my attachment to the story, and I peered over the edge.

A grin stretched across my face.

“I knew it.”

The core mystery to the story of the Hermit wasn’t the time between the killings, or the way the bodies were left, or even why he stayed in the woods in the first place. The key was the murder weapon no one ever found. That’s what tied everything together with a nice little bow. Now, I’ve never been able to get my hands on the suicide note the Hermit left, but I knew enough about it from rumors to put together a few key details. Firstly, it was a horrible note. It was a mess of chicken scratch and the scattered thoughts; Ramblings of a mind long gone, but not all of it was illegible, that’s the second thing I knew. Part of what the police could deduce from the note was his confession. While he didn’t admit to killing the hikers specifically, he admitted to burying what did. Something along the lines of, ‘I buried it, the horrible thing.’ but when the Feds tried to find the ‘thing’ in question they came up empty handed. They canvased the place, using everything from metal detectors to hounds, but they still wound up short, and now, I know why. That’s the third thing I knew. When they found the Hermit still swinging from a branch, he was missing his right hand, something the Feds overlooked in favor of finding the weapon; The very same hand I was staring down at as it rested at the bottom of the hole.

I crouched down to pick it up. As I wrapped my hand around its boney fingers, I couldn’t help but notice how hollow it felt. The bones were light, airy, like they were barely even there at all.

See, the fact that the hand was the murder weaponed explained everything. When the first hiker showed up the coroner initially declared it an animal attack. There were bite marks, bruises, chunks of flesh ripped out and torn from the bone. The Hermit wasn’t lying in his note. He did bury the murder weapon. He killed those hikers with his bare hands. The Hermit had become an animal. After years of living in isolation he lost his mind, reverting to his primal instincts. It’s why he never wanted to leave those woods. They were his home. It’s how he killed those hikers so quickly. They were in his territory. That’s why his note was so frantic. It was written by a man turned monster. Either that, or he happened to be right handed, take your pick. 

As I held the missing limb in my hands, I almost couldn’t control myself. I didn’t know what to do with it. Should I leave it where I found it so it was someone else's problem? Do I take it with me as some sort of macabre trophy? Or do I bury it out of respect for the dead? I really had no clue. I’ve never been confronted by this kind of opportunity before. I’ve visited old sites like this before. I’ve trespassed on graveyards, broken into abandoned houses, and rummaged through more junk than I’d like to admit, but I’ve never found something like this. I’ve taken trinkets, souvenirs, but nothing that actually had any direct connection to any of the stories I’ve heard. This was different. This was special. I had gotten so carried away with the fact that I had it, so caught up in the moment, that when I noticed the telltale sway of a rope pulled taut, I had no idea how long it had been there.

I don’t quite know if it was fear I felt at that moment. Initially I thought it was, but I know now I was more in shock than anything else. The kind of gut feeling you get when you know you're right but hope to God you’re wrong.

I froze the second I heard it, that horrible noise. It was gentle; a calm, rhythmic grind of aging paracord against dead bark. It had a weight to it. My guess would be about 180 pounds, give or take a few depending on the decay. There was an undeniable presence behind me, one that let me know I wasn’t alone anymore. I knew who it was, swinging behind me from his tree. I didn’t have the heart or the nerve to look. I wanted to run, I wanted to get up and bolt into the woods back towards the road and forget the whole night happened at all, but I couldn’t. I had to know for sure. So, I looked.

As I turned my head I caught his legs first, hovering a good five feet off the ground. My eyes trailed up his leg, stopping every time it twitched. The holes in his jeans were like broken windows to his skin, a gangrenous sick shade of corpse green concealed by rotting denim. Eventually I made it up to his torso, my gaze gravitating to the hollowed out pit where his stomach used to be. Jagged, fractured ribs poked out of his sides caked in moss and fungi leaching off of what little remained of him. Then came his arms. They hung quietly to his side, wrapped in vines and crawling with insects as they burrowed in and out of his atrophied muscle. When my eyes finally settled on the two empty sockets left in his skull, I felt an overwhelming sense of dread wash over me. There was no denying it. I was standing a mere ten feet away from the Hermit of Hunt Woods.

I think it was the tear of his skin that finally snapped me out of it. As the corpse moved its left arm I cringed at the sound of tearing flesh. I took a step back as it calmly lifted a small knife from its pocket, held it high above its head, and started sawing at the noose.

The rope gave almost instantly. The body hit the ground hard, nearly falling apart as it splattered onto the packed dirt of the campsite. In my panic I backed over a log, landing flat on my back and knocking a decent amount of the wind out of my chest. As I gasped hopelessly for air, I could hear the muffled sounds of bones rearranging from underneath thin skin. It was getting closer. Suddenly I felt a searing pain in my leg, a red hot fire that shot up my ankle all the way up into my knee. I yanked my leg back, kicking a fucking centipede of all things off the cuff of my jeans, but that was far from the last of it. The log began to crawl with insects, beetles, roaches, scorpions, spiders, all of them skittering their way towards me. I coughed and I sputtered, pushing myself backwards in the dirt as my breath finally came back to me. It tasted sour, wet, and I think I might’ve even swallowed a fly or two, but it was back. I managed to get my legs under me, and I stood up, booking it in the other direction without a second thought, I didn’t even take the time to look back. I didn’t have to. The Hermit let out a stunted, guttural scream, an unholy cross between bloody murder and a cicada’s song. It followed me all the way into the depths of Hunt Woods.

I wasn’t running with a plan anymore. I had no idea where I was. As I ran, the woods didn’t feel the same. Everything felt out of place, like someone had shattered Hunt Woods into a million pieces and tried to put it back together again. It was the same trees, the same rocks, the same ground, but it was all wrong. It scared the shit out of me because that was the only thing, I had going for me. I was lost in a neck of the woods I should’ve known. It terrified me, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it.

Somehow, I managed to make it far enough to see something. A light. A flash of red through the trees. Taillights? A road maybe? I had no idea, but it was my only shot. As I drew closer to the clearing my hopes only grew. Another passing car’s headlights bled through the underbrush, lighting up the forest for the briefest moment.

“Just a little further.” I thought, begging my lungs not to give up on me.

I was so close I could see the guardrail when I was knocked off my feet. The impact blindsided me, a second body t boned me from around a tree. As I peeled myself off the forest floor my first thought was it had to be Jeremy, but when I glanced over at the second runner I saw that I couldn’t be more wrong.

The body hunched over on the forest floor, breathing heavy into the underbrush. When they felt my eyes on them, they turned to look at me, and I nearly threw up. The bloodied and beaten face of Macy Walker, the last hiker to be found in the Hunt Wood Murder’s stared back at me.

Before I could even say anything, she let her broken jaw hang open and screamed bloody murder. She took off shortly after, getting to her feet and running off back the way we came. She didn’t make it far.

In a flash of light and an ear splitting boom, Macy’s head exploded, spraying the nearest trunk with a thin coat of black blood. As she ran out the last of her sprint before crumpling to the ground, I did the same.

I tried to make it to the road, but as soon as I turned to where I thought I saw it last, it was gone again. The forest was moving, it was leading me in circles, it was impossible, but then again, what else about the night was?

All I could do was to keep going, to hope to catch a break, and somehow pull myself from this nightmare I’d gotten caught up in. One by one I saw more flashes, gunshots off in the woods, and every time I caught another glimpse at an execution. The shooter clipped one hiker in the shoulder, another in the leg, and the last in the chest. Hunt Woods had been turned into a firing range and I was caught up in the line of fire. It was utter chaos, but that was the least of my worries.

I glanced over my shoulder and caught a glimpse of the Hermit gaining ground. He was running on all fours launching off his legs and landing on his forearms. I could feel him getting closer. The air felt thicker, colder, wetter, and I started stomping on bugs with every step I took. I knew I wasn’t going to last long, but I would’ve hoped to make it at least a little further.

I took one last turn towards the creek, telling myself maybe if I could just cross back over I could get away, but just as I was about to break out of the thicket, he grabbed me. His grimy fingers burrowed themselves into my neck and sucked the heat from my veins. I tried to get away. I kicked, and I screamed, but he squeezed, cutting off what little air I had left in my lungs from escaping. 

With nothing else to do but to stare down my own fate, I met his empty eyes. I watched as his jaw fall open, revealing an incomplete set of rotting teeth tended by maggots. I smelled his breath as it leaked from the bowels of his throat, forced out into the open air by the insects flooding from his mouth. They crawled across his face and down his neck. I knew they were coming for me, so as they wriggled their way up his arm and towards my head, I closed my eyes. That was when he dropped me.

When I hit the ground my legs folded under me. I was light headed, exhausted, and my ears were still ringing from the gunshot, but I managed to pull myself together just in time to see the Hermit’s mangled face staring down at me. The shotgun blast had done a number on him, it didn’t leave much left. From the jaw up it was all just a mess of gore and rotted brain, it took everything I had not to throw up when he landed on me.

I frantically tried pushing him off of me, digging my hands into his shoulders and lifting him up just enough to spill some excess gore onto the collar of my shirt. Luckily it didn’t last. After a second or two, the body started feeling lighter, warmer, almost fuzzy in a way. There was this static buzz to his skin that intensified as it fell away. Slowly but surely, the body of the man melted, spilling over me in a blue green haze and dissipating into the forest floor.

I sat up and checked myself, patting myself down. No bruises, no broken bones, and no bugs. Thank God. I jumped a little when I was confronted with a hand. Before I took it, I followed the arm up to the man it belonged to.

Stood over me, with a shotgun slung over his shoulder, a boney hand in the other, and a wicked smile on his face, was Mason Graves.

“Hey Henry. Remember me?”