#awfully long layout for a story where it feels like nothing happens

[crossroadsimagine]

✩ Naruto: Guarded ✦Kisame Route

If you have not read the Intro Story I suggest you do 

Please Follow this Link: Read the Intro Story

Arriving at the place made you nervous enough but as you stood outside the door you could feel yourself growing more and more uneasy. Slowly you began opening the door peaking inside you saw a tall man with short spikey hair, he had his back to you and was standing near a window looking out. You were nervous about meeting him about talking to him, it’s not that he was intimidating but the idea of meeting someone new and in this situation felt so strange.

Slowly you stepped into the room not knowing what to say you closed the door behind him which seemed to grab his attention. He turned to face you as you stepped into the room but you were at a loss as of what to say.

“You must be _____.” he said plainly 

“Y-yeah, and you must be Kisame." you said. That’s all you knew about him just that his name was kisame, other than that you really didn’t know much at all. Which means you really didn’t know what to say to him or how to really react to this whole situation.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting." you apologized before he could say anything else. you wanted to try your best to get along with him, after all there was no telling how long you would be stuck here with him.

“Looks like you got here in one piece." he suggested with a smirk,

“And I’m hoping to keep it that way." you explained. You weren’t sure what to expect from him or how to act around him just yet, you figured you would just go with the flow of things. Though he seemed amused by you and maybe the situation too, however, he certainly didn’t seem worried or nervous about the situation at all and you weren’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

This place was also a lot larger than you thought it would be, "Have you explored much of the building?" you asked trying to instigate some kind of conversation with him.

"No, are you interested in exploring?" he asked.

"Well, yeah if we’re going to be here for a while." you explained, "Aren’t you at least a little interested in being familiar with where we’ll be staying?” you questioned.

"Not really." he said bluntly.

"Are you serious?” you asked a bit surprised by his answer.

"I just have to protect you that’s all.” he said as though nothing else mattered.

"Won’t that be a problem if we get separated and you get lost?" you questioned,

"That won’t happen.” he kind of scoffed, at this point you really couldn’t tell if he was just that confident or if he was that arrogant. Maybe you should be worried about the situation after all, even though you were trying your best to stay calm.

"Do you think something will actually happen here?" you asked, feeling a bit nervous about if something actually did happen.

"I hope something does." he said with a smirk, "Otherwise it’s going to get boring here real fast.” he claimed.

Now you knew he was really just that cocky, which maybe it wasn’t a bad thing. But if he was hoping for something to happen you were concerned that could make him reckless.

"I think I’d prefer for things to stay boring.” you said in a low voice. "I’d at least like to be familiar with this place.” you pointed out. Whether he was concerned about learning the layout or not you were just in case something did happen.

The building was huge though and you didn’t know how well you were going to be able to remember everything. Suddenly a maid stepped into the room.

“Can I show you to your rooms?" she asked bowing slightly at the two of you.

"Oh, yeah! could you show me around a little too?" you asked, you at least wanted to know where the important rooms in the building was,

"Of course,” she said with a nod.

She led the way and you followed behind her down the hall, Kisame followed beside you though you were a little surprised he was coming along. She pointed out a few different rooms though you really didn’t think you would really remember your way around until you were able to wander around a bit on your own.

"Seems awfully boring." Kisame suggested sounding awfully disinterred in the entire situation.

“You haven’t even been here that long you need to give it a chance." you pointed out, not that you really thought this place was going to be exciting, but you wouldn’t know for sure until at least a few days went by.

After showing you two around a few different places and rooms in the building, the maid showed you to your rooms. Your rooms were right across the hall from each other which was a relief just in case something was to happen, you at least knew he would be close by especially at night.

Stepping into your new bedroom it was fairly plain like a nice hotel room it was larger than you expected. A large bed was in the corner of the room, a few book shelves and paintings hung on the wall. A large Kotatsu table was in the center of the room. It was certainly a boring room but you weren’t expecting anything special.

"Will this be alright miss?" she asked after you stayed quiet a little too long.

"Of course. It’s great." you answered quickly; you certainly weren’t about to be picky while you were here.

"Perfect. I’ll let you make yourself comfortable.” she explained before leaving the room. Before Kisame left the room you quickly turned towards him.

"Wait, what are the rules? what should I do?" you asked and he looked a little surprised

"What are you talking about?" he asked, really sounding confused about what you were talking about.

"Like guidelines? you know do’s and don’ts, while I’m here." you explained

"You know? to help keep me safe?" you pressed.

"Do whatever you want. I’ll keep you safe." he said plainly as though it was obvious.

He didn’t give you time to ask anything else and he walked off, you weren’t sure how well you were going to get along with him just yet but it was only the first day. You thought you would try to get to know him better tomorrow. Later the maid brought you dinner and shortly after that you headed to bed, you had so much on your mind but you were exhausted and It didn’t take very long at all before you were fast asleep.

– To be Continued ✩

[eloarei]

Because I can’t seem to get myself to write, and instead am loafing around this blue hell-site, I’m gonna trick myself into writing by doing my notes/layout as a post.  As I said before, it’s an Overwatch fic, McHanzo, and a Universe Alteration as opposed to an AU, since the main difference is that McCree is a centaur. Honestly, I’m not even sure if this thing has a real plot, but I’ll try to flesh it out behind the cut. 

So far I’ve only written 500 words, but I’m guessing this will amount to, I dunno, roughly 20k? God honestly it could definitely get upwards of 30 or 40k because I can GO ON AND ON sometimes, but let’s hope that’s not the case; the longer the story gets, the more likely it’ll never get done. (Case in point: “Rogue” and “On Track”. Ugh, destroy me.)  Anyway, the basic plot is as follows: (though maybe I should warn for, like, slavery and the associated abuse, and racism against mythological creatures)  ---Jesse McCree is a centaur, born and raised in the American southwest by a centaur mother, and I can’t decide if his dad is/was a centaur or a human yet. (In my original stories, centaurs can have human fathers, but I realize most people probably don’t follow that kind of logic, and/or think it’s squicky haha) His father doesn’t seem to be in the picture, or simply isn’t important. He lives with his mother, and they love each other, but he has a restless nature and hates their backwater town. He constantly tells her that he’s gonna go strike out on his own.     Then one day when he’s fifteen, he’s abducted by slavers. He spends the next month in shipping crates and warehouses with a handful of other centaurs before he eventually ends up in Japan. Centaurs are super uncommon there, so they consider them exotic, which could be a good or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it.     He ends up being purchased by the criminal Shimada clan, possibly as potential security. Haven’t decided yet if the Shimadas buy all the centaurs, but they’ve got money, so why not. But of course the main point is that Jesse meets the Shimada heir, fifteen-year-old Hanzo, who’s sort of in-training at dealing with the clan’s crime business. The elders won’t let him do anything too dangerous, of course, but they let him deal with the slaves.     Part of the process the slavers go through in dehumanizing their captives is removing their names. They punish the slaves for using their own names with each other, as the slaves are ‘supposed to be’ blank slates for their new owners to name. So when Hanzo begins to deal with Jesse, he never asks his name, and Jesse never gives it, because they both know the rules. Hanzo names him “Iteza” (or “Archer”), the Japanese name of the constellation “Sagittarius”. Jesse says he’s never shot a bow before, and Hanzo begins to train him in archery, during which time they, of course, become friends. Hanzo clearly begins to favor ‘Iteza’; they start to spend a lot of time together outside of clan-sanctioned interactions, and they find themselves in star-crossed puppy love.     At one point, Jesse wants to tell Hanzo his real name; he burns to. But Hanzo refuses to hear it. It isn’t that he doesn’t want to know, but that he knows it would be dangerous for both of them. He explains, if ‘Iteza’ were to escape, there is no guarantee that the clan would not wring information from Hanzo, no guarantee that he would not tell them everything he knew. It would be safest if ‘Iteza’ buried his true name from everyone outside. Jesse raises an eyebrow when Hanzo mentions him escaping, like he’d never really even thought about it, and Hanzo brushes it off.     Before too long, though, Jesse does escape. Some situation causes his future to look grim; likely, tensions between Shimada and the other criminal clans and/or the law. Before Jesse can be sent off to fight for the clan, Hanzo arranges for his escape. Jesse is conflicted-- but only a little. He leaves without too much prodding. He appreciates Hanzo letting him leave; Hanzo knows it’s for the best and is glad, even though they’re both sure they’ll never see the other again.     Back in America, Jesse isn’t sure what to do. It’s been more than a year now that he’s been away. Would it even make sense to go home? Before he can make a decision, he’s attacked and robbed by a gang called Deadlock. He surprises them by kicking quite a few of their asses, so they semi-forcefully recruit him into their gang. It seems like sort of a good idea to him, given that he now has a fair amount of experience dealing with intricate criminal groups, and wasn’t totally set on going home anyway. Furthermore, Deadlock is comprised largely of centaurs, although their leader is human who treats them in a way that sets Jesse a little on edge, as if they were more animals than people.     (Jesse tells Deadlock that his name is “Archer”. He’s not ready to tell these people his true name, and although he’s no longer “Iteza”, some small piece of him still wants to hold on to the name.)    Deadlock gives him a gun, and teaches him how to shoot. They laugh when he says all he knows how to shoot is a bow, but he’s talented with the new weapon. He makes a place for himself in the gang and stays with them for a few years, until--     When Jesse is nineteen, their gang is busted by the international crimefighting organization Overwatch. He alone is spared, given the chance to join Overwatch or go to jail. (He’s not sure, maybe some of the others were given the chance too, but he’s the only one who is willing to take the opportunities presented to him if it means his survival. It’s something he’s had to learn these past years.)     The man who recruits him is Gabriel Reyes, a centaur and one of the commanders of Overwatch. He and Gabe become close, perhaps due to being two of the only centaurs in the team, and both having somewhat rough pasts. Jesse tells Overwatch his real name, but it takes quite a long time before he’s ready to open up about what he’s been through. When he does, Reyes is surprisingly understanding, and promises not to tell others about his history as a slave.     More recruits come into the team over the years. One of them is Hanzo Shimada’s brother, Genji, who Jesse was on quite friendly terms with, back in the day. Genji recognizes “Iteza” immediately, and is extremely glad to see him again. However, he looks nothing like how Jesse remembers him. Aside from having been only twelve when they met, and now being fully grown, Genji is also now a cyborg.     “What the heck happened, Suzume?” Jesse asks, calling Genji by his childhood nickname, “Sparrow”.     “Hanzo happened,” Genji explains. “After you left... he changed. The elders were hard on him when they realized he was to blame for your escape. They became very strict with him. He was never the same after that. He did this to me, at the behest of the family.”     Jesse is softly distraught at this turn of events, but he tries not to dwell on it. Genji is at peace with the situation, so Jesse strives to be too.     Years pass. Overwatch falls to ruins internally, punctuated at its end by the explosion of the Swiss headquarters. Jesse and the remaining members disband, and Jesse becomes a wanderer, softly haunted by so many pieces of his past and with nowhere to call home anymore. He thinks many times of Hanzo (and of Genji, and of Reyes), but he doesn’t try to return to any of the places he once belonged, perhaps because they were all tainted in their various ways.     Eventually, though, the living members of Overwatch are recalled, and Jesse returns immediately. New members begin to come as well; among them, a man he once knew: Hanzo Shimada. Genji was right, he’s different now, and Jesse can see immediately that he’s walking a path similar to one that he has walked, that Hanzo is on a rocky road to recovery. But aside from that, he becomes a different person when he meets Jesse again. He becomes like he was as a child, if only a little.     Hanzo has lived in guilt for ten years for what he did to his brother, but learning that not all his decisions were bad, that his choice to help “Iteza” escape was a good one, makes an almost instant difference. Learning Jesse’s real name after all this time and finally getting to interact with him without hiding from his overbearing clan is just as good.    Though nothing is easy, has never been easy and may never be easy, the two become close again, and in a way they never could before.  THE END  sort of. To be honest, I just need to go to bed haha ^^; and I haven’t thought a whole lot more into what might come after this. I want to give it a more definitive ending and plot, but I’m not sure what that will be. Maybe something to do with hunting slavers. Oh, and Reyes showing back up from the dead, of course, because ghastly Thestral-Reyes is a great image.  Good lord I stayed up way too late. Well, maybe I can wrangle this into something that makes sense tomorrow. *shrug* If anybody reads this and wants to give me like suggestions or whatever, that’s totally cool. G’night! 

[virtualhavenmag-blog]

We Happy Few Review - Not So Joyous

We Happy Few showcased compelling teasers, but between the dull combat, outdated visuals, and weak narrative, the final product turned out to be a complete disappointment

In We Happy Few, you take control of Arthur, a young man who realizes his life has been ruined by an awful drug called Joy. This drug makes the user see everything in a positive light, and We Happy Few depicts this in creepy ways. The first example occurs early in the game, where Arthur is taken to a party and asked to hit a pinata. When he smacks this pinata, everyone is covered in blood as Arthur realizes they’re eating the guts of a giant dead rat. I've also watched as citizens jumped up and down in a pool of liquid fuel, which clearly indicates that these people believe they’re playing around in something else.

Joy exists as a way to keep citizens docile and happy, preventing them from rising up against the government. The drug also prevents the user from recalling painful memories. As Arthur decides to abandon the drug, people quickly find out he’s a “downer”—someone who is off of Joy—which forces him to run off into the wilderness. Once he gets his bearings, he recalls that he lost his brother, Percival, many years ago. Arthur starts heading to Germany in an attempt to find Percival, marking the beginning of his journey.

Bland Gameplay

We Happy Few could have been fun if it had a unique way of approaching combat. Creating additional melee mechanics would have definitely added an extra layer to this, but instead, the gameplay consists of smacking people with a stick until you run out of stamina. The lack of variety in combat gets old after the first hour, and it’s easily one of the worst aspects of the game.

You're able to sneak around and stealthily take down enemies, but the level design and AI movement patterns aren’t creative enough to make these mechanics interesting. Additionally, it takes much longer to finish levels through stealth than it would to just beat everyone to death. Compulsion Games should have attempted to strike a balance between these two mechanics by making direct combat risky, therefore the decision between going loud or quiet would be tough.

Skills & Crafting

Although the combat isn’t particularly fun, some of the unlockables in the game’s skill tree make it slightly more competent and amusing. It also helps keep a sense of progression so you don’t get completely bored. Additionally, you can use the items you find in the world to craft special weapons and throwable items that spice up the combat. For example, shock grenades and “bangers,” or just regular grenades, help add an extra layer to the mechanics.

Visually Underwhelming

It’s hard to appreciate We Happy Few when it’s visually subpar. The low quality textures on character give them faces that seem to be made wool, and the animations feel like they’re missing frames that would make them more smooth. If a game goes for a more cartoonish style, there needs to be satisfying fluidity in its cinematics. This isn’t the case with We Happy Few, as some things looks painfully outdated and robotic.

The Story of We Happy Few

We Happy Few’s most interesting aspect is its bizarre and fascinating world, so it’s disappointing that most of the story is a snoozefest. And while the voice actors provide a solid performance, the main story has lots of mixed moments. The best parts of the campaign are the interactions between Sally and Arthur. Alex Wyndham (Arthur) and Charlotte Hope (Sally) do an excellent job of capturing the bittersweet relationship between the two characters, and the dialogue is written in a way that properly conveys their complicated dynamic. On the other hand, the game also loves to shove a mountain of exposition down my throat whenever I find a “memory” in the world. These are the worst because they provide no interesting animations, performances, or story developments.

However, the big problem with the plot is that there's nothing drawing us to Arthur’s journey. The objective is to find his brother in Germany, but we know very little about him and don’t have enough of a connection with either of them to care. Not only that, but using poorly animated cutscenes to illustrate their relationship causes an even larger disconnect.

Additionally, We Happy Few really tries to be charming and clever in a lot of ways, especially with Arthur’s monologue throughout the game. For example, if you kill someone, he might say something like “that’s for knocking down my blocks in primary school.” Although it might be amusing the first time, it’s pretty obnoxious to hear over and over. At one point, I looked into the options to see if I could turn off his narration. Unfortunately, you can’t.

Uninteresting Start

We Happy Few has a rather rocky start, throwing you into a monotonous open field where nothing happens. It takes a few hours before it gets to something more thrilling like the cities filled with creepy guards that will destroy you. Sneaking through crowded streets and trying my damndest to blend in was quite thrilling. The most terrifying moments of We Happy Few are when I'm out after curfew and have to make it to a bed without getting caught.

No Morale System

It’s strange that there’s absolutely no consequences for murdering innocent people. If the guards can’t see you, you have complete freedom to murder whoever you want. This is awfully out of place, especially since similar games like Dishonored usually have some sort of karma system that changes the world depending on how you approach specific situations.

Lots of Content

While the game is underwhelming, there is a lot of content to shift through. As I approached what I thought was the conclusion after 16 hours of playtime, I was giddy to get the game over with. My journey had exciting and dreadful moments, but it definitely wasn’t engaging enough to get nostalgic over at any point. Then, once I witnessed the “final cutscene,” my reality was shattered when “Act II: Sally” appeared on the screen. At this point, I knew my journey was very far from over.

Rarely does a game manage to surprise me with how long it is, but We Happy Few definitely did. This was both a good and bad thing, as it impressed me with its amount of content, but that content wasn’t engaging enough for me to continue it.

Verdict

Although We Happy Few had a lot potential, the experience is severely displeasing. Sure, the aesthetic is amusing, there’s lots of content, and the skill tree adds an extra layer of fun, but the uninspired combat system is a detrimental to your enjoyment. Unfortunately, We Happy Few is more entertaining to look at, and think about, than it is to play.

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Score

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Good Bad Lots of Content Underwhelming Combat Some Solid Performances Outdated Visuals Intriguing World Boring Story Skill Tree Crafting

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- 5/10 -

[hockeyandstuff91]

How did this happen? - Part 10

Word count: 5,233

Players: Tyler Seguin

Other people: Ashlyn (mentioned)

Warning: cussing?

Authors note: Sorry this is so damn long LOL I didn't mean to make it this long but I just ended up writing and writing and writing so here ya go! Also the story about accidentally playing hockey.. yeah its actually real LOL I have yet to play or anything but the story I told towards the end of this part happened like a month ago haha so I'll have to keep you guys updated on that closer to October.. xD wish me luck 😂😂 Anyways! I hope you guys enjoy this stupidly long part! haha

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3    Part 4    Part 5    Part 6   Part 6.5     Part 7    Part 8   Part 9   Part 11

(This whole part is Brooke’s POV)

At the end of May Tyler and I had moved all of my stuff back to his house. I had only gotten to live in my apartment for almost 4 months before having to move. That didn't feel too great, it honestly made me feel like I failed, but Tyler told me over and over again that I didn't fail and that shit happened. He was right though, shit did happen and it wasn't something I could control so I shouldn't be too upset at myself.

I had always believed that everything happened for a reason, so this of course was another one of those situations. I wasn't sure yet what the reason was exactly, but I would figure it out eventually I was pretty sure.

I was excited to be living at Tyler's again though, I did spend a lot of my time here anyways. There was a lot more room here than there was in my apartment. Granted I loved my little apartment to myself but it did get lonely sometimes when the boys were traveling and Ashlyn was busy with work.

Tyler had given me the spare bedroom upstairs, down the hall from his. The room that I use to stay in downstairs he had let me turn into my own office space, which I appreciated a lot. I told him over and over that I could fit it all into my room and I didn't want to take up more room than I needed but he had surprised me one day when I got back home after spending the day with Katie and Ashlyn. He had gotten the room completely redone, repainted a really pretty purple color, putting up lots of shelves and bookcases. He had a beautiful desk set up for me to put my gaming setup on, a small couch, chair, and tv on the other wall.

(Because I'm extra I totally made a layout of the office so you can understand what it looks like in my mind 😂😂)

It was the second week of June now and I was planning on going back home to visit for my birthday on the 26th. I hadn't had a birthday yet that I didn't spend with my family, and I knew someday that would come but I wanted one more year with everyone.

I was sitting on the couch with my laptop open looking at plane tickets, another tab open looking at my bank account. I groaned at seeing how low the number was in there now, but thankfully because I left the apartment a month before I thought I was going to have to I still had some in there, but after getting plane tickets it wouldn't be too much.

Tyler walked over wearing just his swim trunks. He sat on the couch next to me and looked at the laptop. "Whatcha doin’?" he asked.

"Looking at plane tickets for my birthday," I said, not taking my attention away from the screen.

"Oh yeah that’s in a couple weeks!" He smiled, it faded after he realized I wouldn't be here for it. "Wait.. but don't you want to hang out with all of us for your birthday?"

"I can do that when I get back," I gave him a half smile, still not looking away from the screen, as I tried to decide what date would be best to go home.

He sighed and leaned against the back of the couch. He didn't say anything else but sighed again a minute later.

I laughed and lifted the laptop off my lap and put it on the coffee table. I turned, sitting sideways on the couch and faced him. "Yes Ty?" I asked, knowing that he wanted my attention. He had been awfully needy lately, which I enjoyed because it was adorable and meant that he wanted to spend even more time with me.

"Nothing.." He said not looking at me.

I smiled, not able to help it. He was so cute when he acted like this. It was like a little kid who wanted attention but didn't want to bother anyone. "Ty.."

"I don't want you to go," He finally admitted, looking over at me.

"I'll only be gone for a couple days," I said. "Four at most."

"Four?! That’s a lot," he said. "I'll be lonely."

I laughed and scooted over to him and wrapped my arm around him. He leaned against me and rested his head on my shoulder.

"Can I come with you?" He asked, looking up at me.

"You- you want to come home.. with me? To visit my family?" I asked, confused.

He just nodded, smiling at me.

I sighed, knowing what I would hear from my family. However It would be lots of fun to have Tyler there though.

"I'll pay for the room and plane tickets and everything."

"Ty.."

"Brooke come on. I want to see where you lived before here," he said, sitting up straight and grabbing my laptop.

I watched as he picked out two plane tickets and I just shook my head. I had learned to not bother trying to argue with Tyler since he always got his way anyways. "Fineeee," I said and he smiled as he booked the flights.

"Good! Now pick a hotel near where you live and pay for it with my card. I'm going to swim with the boys," he handed me my laptop and stood up, walking over to the back door and walked out towards the pool, the boys following close behind him.

I shook my head as I searched a few places that I knew of that were nicer. Thankfully there was still spaces left so I booked a room for us and closed the laptop. I grabbed my phone off the table and texted my mom to expect a guest with me.

Of course Tyler had decided to pick an early morning flight, saying that he wanted to get there earlier since there was a three hour drive from the airport. It was a good idea, but I didn't enjoy having to get up at 4 in the morning to make sure everything was packed and ready to go so we could get there with plenty of time to eat before we got on the plane.

We gave the puppies lots of hugs and kisses before leaving. They were use to Tyler leaving but I had been around so much lately it was weird to them to see me having a bag too.

We made the drive to the airport, checking our bags in and all the other "fun" stuff you have to do at the airport before heading over to see if we could find some food. We ended up settling on going to dunkin donuts and getting a couple breakfast sandwiches to eat while at the airport and we grabbed a couple doughnuts for the plane ride.

It didn't take long to get home, it probably also helped that I totally fell asleep on Tyler's shoulder, which at this point he was pretty use to since it would happen almost every night when we watched movies on the couch. He woke me up when we got to Boston and we walked out, headed towards the car rentals. He had already gotten this all set up, which I was glad about because he knew this city better than I did.

While Tyler was getting everything settled with the car I gave my mom a quick phone call to let her know that we had landed in Boston and would be up there in around 3 hours. The car ride had gone by pretty quickly, I was excited to see everyone, but also nervous as hell that Tyler was going to be meeting my family. I was glad that he had wanted to come though, it would make the trip a lot more fun, but I already knew what kind of questions I was going to get.

We got into town and went straight to the hotel so that we could check in and drop off our stuff before we headed to meet my parents for dinner, Tyler would meet the rest of the family tomorrow at the cookout for my birthday.

"Okay she said room 211," Tyler said as he handed me the spare room key card.

"Okay," I smiled as I started heading down the hallway towards the elevators. I lived in a smaller town, well actually it was a bunch of smaller towns put together into this one big area that people would visit. At first glance you wouldn't expect an area like this to have the main street lined with hotels but it was for sure a tourist area. The winter was good for the town because of how many ski mountains there were, summers were good for shoppers, and the fall was good because of the leaves changing colors. I had never understood it, I found it kind of boring living here. It was absolutely beautiful, scenery wise, but there just wasn't a lot to do. Well when you lived here your whole life it felt like there wasn't much to do, especially since most of my friends lived on the other side of the country.

I pushed the button for the elevator, the door opening up and both Tyler and I walked in, hitting the button for floor 4. It only took a few seconds to get up there before the doors opened up again and we walked out into the hallway. The signs led us to the right side of the hallway as we followed the room numbers down until we found 211.

I slid the key card into the lock and waited for it to turn green before I turned the handle. I walked in, flipping the switch for the lights and smiled. It was a very nice room. Tyler had told me to spend some extra money on it so we got one of the nicer ones since we would be here almost a whole week. I ended up getting one that had a separate bedroom from the sitting area and small kitchenette.

"This is nice!" He said as he followed in behind me, setting our bags by the door.

"Yeah," I smiled as I walked over and opened the door to the bedroom area. I fully expected to see two beds when I opened the door but there was only one.

I turned around to see if this was one of the rooms with another bedroom on the other side but there was no other door over there. I looked at Tyler and bit my lip. There must of been a mistake of some kind because I knew for sure I had picked one with two beds.

"Whats wrong?" He asked.

"Umm.. There’s.. only one bed," I said and stepped aside so he could see into the bedroom.

"Oh that’s okay," he smiled and walked in, turning the lights on in there and checking out the bathroom.

"You sure? Because I know I booked a room with two beds, I could go talk to the lady-"

"Brooke we have slept in the same bed before don't start acting all weird about it again," he said as he came back around the corner.

"Okay," I smiled at him and turned to grab our bags and bring them into the bedroom.

After we had relaxed at the room for a few minutes I got a text from my mom saying that her and my dad were on the way to the restaurant. Tyler and I changed into nicer clothes since traveling all day he had just worn a t shirt and basketball shorts while I had a pair of leggings and a t shirt on.

After changing we made our way out to the car and drove over to where the restaurant was. We pulled into the parking lot, not seeing a car that resembled either of my parents cars I figured that they probably would get here in a few minutes.

"Okay so.." I sighed, looking over to Tyler.

He could tell that I was nervous so he reached his hand out and grabbed mine and smiled at me. His smile always made me feel better no matter what.

"It's going to be okay just breath," he said and laughed a bit.

I laughed with him and nodded "I know. I just wanted to pre-warn you is all. I never dated anyone from around here. Just not really my type of guys, plus I gave up on people around here they were all too flaky for me. All of my relationships, even friends, were pretty much long distance up until moving down to Dallas. So my mom will be fine, but my dad has the whole protective 'who are you and why are you hanging out with my daughter' sort of thing. Granted you'll get it less bad because we aren't together and are just friends, but don't be surprised if he tries to assume otherwise," I rambled, already rolling my eyes.

"It's fine," Tyler smiled, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. He always knew how to comfort me, which I appreciated a lot about our friendship.

After a few minutes I saw my parents pull into the parking lot. Tyler and I got out of the car and walked over towards the entrance, meeting my parents there. I gave both of my parents a big hug and then stepped back to stand next to Tyler. I was trying really hard to not be nervous about this. I mean my mom had heard me talk about Tyler back when I still lived at home and had never met him. He was the reason why I started watching the Dallas Stars in the first place. Then when my dad had found out I started watching hockey he had given me crap for it saying there must be some hot guy that was why I watched, which wasn't true! I love the game of hockey its just a bonus that there are hot guys. It just was a tad awkward because he knew this was the same Tyler as the one he had teased me about and now here I was standing with him about to introduce them. Of course I knew I was being silly to be a nervous about this, but it was going to be okay just like Tyler said.

"Mom, Dad this is Tyler," I smiled "Tyler this is my mom Samantha, and this is my dad Charles."

"Very nice to meet you both," he said and shook their hands.

"It's so nice to finally meet you as well," My mom smiled at Tyler and my dad just nodded.

"Alright lets go in," I said and walked into the restaurant.

The dinner was nice, and after a few minutes I wasn't as nervous as I was before. My parents didn't embarrass me and they didn't ask him too many questions which I was thankful for. It actually seemed like my dad and Tyler got along really well which I was glad about.

"So we will see you around 3 tomorrow?" My mom asked as I gave her a hug bye.

"Yeah I wanted to show him around for a little while tomorrow before we head over for the cookout."

"Yeah I told everyone else to come over around 4ish."

"How many people did you invite?"

"Same as every year."

"Okay," I smiled. We all said our goodbyes and Tyler and I walked back over to the rental car.

"See that wasn't that bad," Tyler said once we were in the car.

"I know. I knew it wouldn't be but I over think things sometimes."

"Sometimes?" He laughed and I shook my head.

"Yes sometimes!" I laughed with him. I was glad that things had gone well tonight. I was just hoping tomorrow would go as well.

We made our way back to the hotel and to our room. Normally we wouldn't go to bed for a while, but we were exhausted from traveling all day. We put on a couple movies on the living room TV and ended up falling asleep on the couch for a couple hours before we woke up and moved to the bed.

The next morning Tyler and I got ready and I showed him around town. We stopped by a couple of my favorite stores before grabbing a bite to eat at a cute local breakfast place. Tyler and I both got french toast which looked so good when they brought it out.

"Wheres the syrup?" Tyler asked, noticing there was none on the table.

"Oh hold on," I said and motioned for the waitress. "Hi can we get some maple syrup?"

"Sure sweetie, let me go grab that for you," she smiled and walked back out to the kitchen for a moment before returning with two cute tiny bottles and set them on the table.

"Thank you," I said and grabbed one of them.

"That’s it?" Tyler asked, picking up the bottle.

"Look at the label silly," I smiled at him.

"Whoa you guys have real maple syrup here?!"

"Yes," I smiled "Real maple syrup exists up here. We also have moose," I laughed.

"Are you sure we aren't in Canada?" He laughed as he poured the maple syrup over his french toast.

"Pretty close actually, we are only like two hours away."

"Oooh that makes sense," He smiled as he took a bite. "Mmm I haven't had real maple syrup in so long, this is so much better than the fake shit down in Texas," he laughed.

"I know we'll have to get some and ship it home before we leave."

Tyler just nodded as he kept eating his breakfast. For the rest of the morning we walked around a couple more shops, stopping at the tattoo shop in the middle of the town, it was owned by a friend and the tattoo artist that had done all of my tattoos so far.

"Brooke?!" Jess gasped as she looked up from tattooing.

"Jess!" I smiled and walked over to the little window that lead into her separate tattooing station.

"How are you? I thought you moved!" She said as she went back to tattooing.

"Oh I did but I'm back for my birthday," I smiled.

"Oh nice!" She said. "I have an opening tomorrow if you want to do your traditional birthday tattoo since you are home," she said, looking up to me.

"You do?!" I figured she would be booked so I hadn't even bothered, plus with the money situation I was in it probably was better that I didn't. It was so tempting though, I had gotten a tattoo every year on my birthday since I was 18. I had only missed one year because of not having a job at the time.

"Yeah, you can set up an appointment if you want."

"Hmm I might.." I said looking over to Tyler.

"Oh! Jess this is Tyler, Tyler this is Jess shes done all my tattoos," I smiled.

"Very nice to meet you!" Jess smiled at him.

"You too! Your work is beautiful by the way."

"Aw thank you!"

"Alright well I'm going to think about it and I'll stop back in later today before we head to my parents and let you know."

"Okay I'll be here," Jess said and we both waved bye to each other.

"You should get one," Tyler said as we walked out the door.

"I know I really want one," I sighed. I loved getting tattoos but the price I did not like.

"Why don't you?"

"Its not cheap, I'm sure you know that very well," I laughed, looking at his arms that were completely covered.

"I know but I haven't gotten you a birthday present yet," he smiled, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"What? Ty no! What is all of this? You paid for this whole trip just for my birthday, that's plenty for a gift," I looked up at him and he just shook his head.

"That's not a gift silly."

"Ty you spend way too much money on me," I sighed and leaned against him as we walked down the street.

"No I don't. Plus I like to, you deserve it for putting up with my crazy ass."

"True.." I laughed "I just feel bad."

"Why?" he asked, looking down at me.

"Because I can't buy you things for your birthday or do any of the things you do for me. That’s not really fair," I said looking up at him, meeting his eyes.

"Your company is enough," he smiled and kissed my forehead.

I blushed a bit and wrapped both of my arms around him as we kept walking. "You're too sweet to me."

"Nah, you deserve so much more."

Tyler had been acting different lately, more clingy and flirty with me. I appreciated it a lot and enjoyed it but I wasn't sure where it was coming from. I wasn't going to bring it up though I was just going to enjoy it while it lasted.

For a half an hour Tyler and I just sat in the grass field that was by the park and next to the small train station that was in town. The train had use to run from here all the way down to Boston back in the day when they would trade things back in forth but now it just ran to the next town over, more of a scenery train ride.

He had finally convinced me to get a tattoo while I was here, saying it wasn't a big deal and he didn't care how much it cost he just wanted to do that for me, to keep the tradition alive, as well as he knew how happy it was going to make it. I had argued with him for a good 20 minutes but he wasn't going to give up. I loved that my friends were always so amazing and got me things when they really didn't have to, but I always felt bad when they would spend money on me because I felt like I could never repay them. They would then always remind me of the great Christmas presents I sound out every year that are hand made and thoughtful, and I wasn't allowed to argue. It seemed like Tyler was going to be added to that list of friends.

"Okay okay fine lets go back and set it up since you wont let it go," I laughed and stood up, holding my hand out for him.

"Thank you!" He smiled and took my hand and stood up. We walked over to the tattoo shop and I set up an appointment with her for tomorrow around 4. She asked if I had an idea of what I was going to get and I told her that I had a paw print from my first dog, Hunter, and I wanted to get that tattooed on my left ankle with the year he was born and the year he had passed.

After we finished there we headed to my parents house, it was nearing 2:30 and we had kind of run out of things to go look at right now anyways. We pulled up, my grandma's car was already here. She always showed up to these things early because she always insisted on helping my mom with making the salads or whatever else she need.

"You're house is great!" Tyler smiled as we walked up the driveway and inside.

"Thanks," I said and opened the door. We walked up the stairs and was greeted by the crazy dog my mom had gotten my dad and I as a gift two Christmases ago.

"Hey crazy!" I laughed and bent down to pet him.

"Aw is this Remi?" Tyler asked as he got attacked with kisses.

I laughed and stood up "Yeah thats him."

"He reminds me of Gerry," Tyler smiled and stood up.

"Remi is actually only 6 months older than Gerry is," I said as we walked into the kitchen.

"Oh no way, that's cool."

"Yeah.. Hey mom, hey gram," I smiled at them both. "Gram this is Tyler, Tyler this is my grandma Cathy."

"Nice to meet you," Tyler smiled and reached out his hand.

"You too," My gram said and shook his hand.

"Wheres dad?"

"He's outside starting the fire," my mom said.

"Okay well I'm gonna head outside unless you need any help."

"No I think we are good in here," She said and turned to grab something out of the fridge.

"Alright we'll be outside then," I said and walked out the backdoor with Tyler.

We hung out in the backyard for a bit, a few family members showing up here and there. The introductions were pretty simple and had been going well. No one had embarrassed me yet so that was good.

I was sitting in one of the lawn chairs under the small tent that was set up to keep the sun off us. It was a hotter day out but not too hot thankfully.

"Happy birthday Brookie," I heard a voice from behind me. I turned my head around and smiled.

"Hey Jesse!" I said standing up to give my older cousin a hug.

Tyler stood up next to me waiting to be introduced to another family member of mine. "Tyler this is my cousin Jesse, Jesse this is-"

"Tyler Seguin, yeah I know who he is," he smiled, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Tyler just looked at me. I laughed "He uh watches hockey, well he plays hockey too. Locally," I said, explaining.

"Oh cool!" Tyler said.

"You did too," Jesse said.

"What?!" Tyler exclaimed looking over at me, his eyes wide and questioning.

I hid half my face with my hand and looked away. "He.. wasn't suppose to know that," I said softly and my cousin just laughed and walked over to talk to my dad.

"You played?!"

"Only for like one season," I said, finally looking up at him.

"How come you never told me that?" Tyler asked as we sat back down in the chairs.

"Well.. I wasn't super great so I didn't think it really mattered?" I half asked half explained.

"No that's really cool that you played. Have you thought of playing again down in Dallas somewhere? There is a womens league there too."

"Oh.. I dunno about that.. maybe," I said, blushing a bit.

"Aw come on I bet you are great," he said. "I can't believe you didn't tell me that thought," he laughed and I nodded.

"I mean I knew that eventually you would find out."

"So when did you play?"

"Last year before I moved to Dallas."

"That’s cool!"

"Yeah. I had wanted to play when I was little but never ended up getting into it for whatever reason. And then when I got older was when I got into watching NHL because of one of my friends, and I actually ended up accidentally getting myself into playing hockey.. only I could accidentally do that," I laughed shaking my head.

"Accidentally? Okay I need to hear that story," Tyler said, leaning back against his chair and watching my face.

"Okay so I use to work at a retail store in town and it was towards the end of the regular season, sadly you guys hadn't gotten into the playoffs. Anyways so I was at work one night with one of the ladies I worked with and we were talking about something and then I made a comment that I was sad. She asked me why I was sad so I told her that I was sad because hockey was over, obviously I watched the playoffs but I wasn't as invested in it at the start because you guys weren't in it. So then we started talking about that but halfway into the conversation I realized she had thought I was talking about me, like I played hockey and the season was over. So I told her no I meant the NHL. She told me that at her other job she worked with a few girls that were on the womens league so she figured I might of been too. I told her no, I would like to play, but I don't know how to skate. So a couple weeks go by and I work with her again one night and she randomly tells me that she had worked with the girl that's on the womens league and she asked her if they taught people how to skate. She said that they did, they got a number of people in that didn't know how to skate and they would be willing to teach me if I wanted and asked if she wanted to get me information from her. So I said sure, thinking it was kind of funny that somehow I accidentally got myself into this but why not go with it. So the next night I worked with her again and she walks over to me and hands me this sticky note with a ladies name on it and her email address and says shes the one who runs the womens league and to send an email about it. So then I sent her an email the next day and she responded telling me that she was on vacation and the season had ended but we should get me outfitted and ready for fall.. So yeah that's how I accidentally started playing hockey," I laughed, shaking my head at how ridiculous the story sounded but had all happened.

"That is the best story I have ever heard," Tyler laughed with me.

"Yeah it was pretty funny at the time, that was shortly after I had met Ashlyn and she couldn't believe I had managed that somehow. But it was a lot of fun though, I enjoyed it."

Tyler just smiled and nodded. He had that look on his face that he always had when he got an idea. That worried me, knowing him and his ideas, but I didn't dare ask.

The rest of the night went well, lots of really good food, and some cake. Some cute birthday cards and a couple presents. It was a nice relaxing time and everyone had invited Tyler into all the conversations which was nice. After everyone had left Tyler and I hung out for a little bit longer before we headed back to the hotel. I had decided to take a shower before heading to bed. When I walked out of the bathroom I smiled seeing that Tyler was already passed out on the bed.

I walked over to the bed and crawled in as gently as I could so I didn't disturb him. I wiggled under the covers and moved over near him. Before I could even rest my head on the pillow I felt Tyler's arms wrap around me and pull me closer to him. I looked up to see if he had woken up and his eyes fluttered for a second before closing again, going back to sleep. I rested my head on his chest and slowly fell asleep to the rhythm of his heartbeat.

[pass3rby]

Caught By Your Past

30th Part

Fandom: Assassin’s Creed Pairing: Altair x Malik Warnings: modern AU, mature, OOC, original female character; unbetaed.

“... I swear this face looked much nicer before as well.”

“It didn't.” Also, he won't fuckin' ask for details of how this happened for the fuck zero would it solve anyway.

It was presumably only sheer luck that Gie arrived just then. A coincidence that saved Altair and prevented one solid explosion. Things being the way they were, he rather decided to leave the room without a single word.

He was furious. Every single detail was making him even more angry and agitated. The clock ticking. The same fucking clock that hid in plain sight when he wanted to know what the time was. A nurse greeting him cheerily. Was everything and everyone mocking him?! For his stupidity? For his lapse in judgement?! For the rage that got swiftly painted over with realization before a thick layer of shock landed on top?

The whole hospital seemed like a stage he was never interested in stepping on. Finding the fastest route outside became a goal which was blinking at him like a bright red, neon sign. He had no idea what he looked like. Maybe his stoic façade held. Maybe not. Who cares.

He could've inferred that this wasn't a joke. But could he really? Altair was capable of quite considerable number of things. Even flinging himself off a cliff. Literally. What was Malik supposed to anticipate from the asshole? Anything, that's what. Idiot. He added a few more terms of 'endearment' for good measure. The fuming didn't lessen.

Finally getting out of the complex that crowded him either with the intrusive sense of surrounding sickness or the controverting smell of too much disinfectants, he had no intention of stopping right outside the main entrance he just passed through. Even his BIOS running mind was capable of a more advanced plan.

Continuing down the road, his legs marching on until he chanced upon the nearest store. Situated on the very corner of the street, one of those tiny businesses. He didn't bother its owner very long, only purchasing a single pack of cigarettes before leaving again without so much as goodbye.

- Cliché much? -

Screw you, nobody asked your opinion.

That was just it. Not that his critical side didn't thrive in the ashes of an enemy, but right now, it could be a dear and shut up. Only this once.

Like that had a chance of actually happening.

Walking off in a general direction of the hospital's main entrance that he left through not that long ago, he released the suppressed mess out of its chains. However, instead of flooding him all at once, his thoughts rolled and turned in one steady, lazy stream. It would be almost peaceful if it wasn't for the disquiet hanging over his whole mindscape.

Well if his head won't start...

Fishing out one of the nails to the coffin, he lighted it only to start coughing half a drag in.

Did he smoke? Not particularly; close to never, really. He didn't like the taste much and the level of being able to sort through things easier wasn't that overmuch better to make the smoking worth it. Most of the time. As to why did he even started with it then, he'd simply been stressed; too much of everything except time. That's all there was to the story. Not everything in his life was Altair-connected, fuck you very much.

Continuing with the drag-coughing fit-drag-cough style, it was glaringly obvious that he didn't learn the skill much successfully. Well, at least he wasn't a stressed-out smoker; the one with shaking hand and shattered mindscape. No. He simply needed to sort his thoughts, put them back in order, possibly a different perspective. Re-evaluate. Recalibrate, while all around ruled chaos. This time around, the monster raged more inside him than out, though.

The hospital's front door were on sight already. His pace slowed a bit.

You can go and die for real, see if I care.

That was what he thought when he found out that Altair's broken hand and injured neck that he came home with, were faked.

Did he really think that leveling things up, including hospital staff and everything, will work better? It was still a sick joke, nothing more!

Exactly the same blind anger submerged him, gripped him with its claws, hungrily eating away at his insides and sanity just moments ago. Again.

He would never be one of those people who believed that just their thought brought an injury upon someone, but it did come across like an awfully immediate coincidence. For the second part, he wasn't beyond admitting that he could've used his brain more before storming into a particular hospital room either. The thought that Altair feigned injury once already should've kicked in his mind if only for the eureka moment that would remind him that Altair never tried the same strategy twice if it didn't work the first time around; he adapted.

If he was to judge, everything that happened? It was a simple confirmation, a reminder.

Life is a bitch and we all are her toys.

Taking another drag, the dry cough was on a close follow.

The whole squad of malice and misery must've been on call today, because as an elderly woman stepped outside the hospital to presumably give in to the same sin he was currently committing, apparently, his coughing fit insulted her pride of a smoker or at least sensibilities for she sent him a cross look, possibly counting on him to 'beat it'. Like that would work; not even in his teenage years.

Grow an earplug, turn around or sashay off yourself, madam.

To make his stand clear, he stomped the butt, which was all that now remained of his cigarette, out only to fluidly reach for a new one and lighting it.

Pinocchio wouldn't be able to get his nose as up as the woman just did; not even when lying horizontal and telling lie after lie for a whole day straight.

What was her problem? You didn't have to be or look representative to have a right to smoke. As far as he knew, the state didn't issue Cool Smoker licenses.

Inhaling a fresh lungful of nicotine, his respiratory system acted up accordingly like several times before already.

You just didn't.

His eyes narrowed as the woman tried a scathing look on him. And furrowing her eyebrows? Really?

Lady. I had a really bad day. You don't want this kind of duel with me, he tried to infuse the words into his stare with surprising amount of patience which was, however, rapidly growing short.

Forget the intensity of a glare; he would beat her with ease by the brow hair count alone.

Feel free to watch me choke on this one, hag.

The battle of wills would've probably lasted much longer if the graying matron hadn't have decided to show him how it's done. Only to stop in the middle of the lecture before she subtly started patting the bare minimum of pockets her outfit offered, openly searching through her handbag when she didn't find what she was looking for.

Aww... Poor soul. No lighter?

She looked up at him, no stealth level whatsoever this time around.

His finger slid along the surface of his own lighter still in hand.

He impassively raised an eyebrow.

Giving an outright scowl in turn, she closed her handback again with a definitive air to it and with head held high, the intruder stomped off back inside the hospital.

He watched as her figure disappeared behind the sliding doors of the hospital entrance, smoking leisurely, before deciding that now was an opportune moment to move along. He couldn't summon any enthusiasm at the idea of venturing further or even out of the hospital grounds where was a notably higher concentration of people, though.

Before he could even get to the 'on the other hand' part, a raindrop fell on his nose. Looking up, the sky and the ozone in the air pretty much decided. When he finished what was left of his cigarette, a light drizzle was well underway and by the time the motion sensors of the main doors detected him approaching, the weather reached the "Singing In The Rain" level.

Being not the only one who sought shelter inside and at the same time not ready to go to one particular hospital room, he rather quickly picked a hall at random and off he went.

The weather outside basically gave him a free pass to go wherever since the nurses would be hard-pressed to keep track of everyone inside and passing through right now. wandering around didn't bring him much rest, though. Thanks to the uniformity of the hospital's layout and interior, his attention turned back to the flood inside his head all on its own.

Although he never said anything out loud, he didn't feel too hot about Altair's job, that's a fact. An hour ago, as he'd stood in the open door of Altair's hospital room, taking in the sight, there had been dead silence in his head and only one thought ruling over the otherwise empty space:

He might have accepted that Altair flirted with death on a regular basis, but he sure as hell is not gonna let the fucker play with him and make fun of that!

After reading the medical report and hearing the addition Altair provided, after he realized this wasn't another failed fake attempt to get at him, it would be only understandable if his mind did something along the lines that were usually written in books.

'Scattered in one millisecond, unmoving and with no wind boring into the sails at another. Lost and helpless either way.

Frozen in fright.'

The real deal, the feeling turned out to be quite different. It was nothing and everything, switching up lightning quick. Nothing more, no direction. Just nothing. And everything. On repeat.

Arriving at a crossroad – an imaginary and literal one at the same time, he turned left.

Altair liked to play. No, he loved to play. With others. With boundaries. With his life. Back then, now... The future wasn't about to change that either. In all likelihood he was that way in his previous lives, too, if one believed in reincarnation and let's not continue with alternate universes because he understood shit about it and it was really more of Altair's specialty, so screw that – out of principle if nothing else. Wouldn't the dick like that. And yes, pun intended, whatever!

He's still wild.

We knew that, his brain said, at peace.

He's dangerous.

We knew that, his heart answered, serene.

Well, I'm glad you fuckin' knew that!

You knew it, too. The response was as calm as the previous ones if not even stronger in its tranquility.

He was utterly furious again. Because his sense of self-preservation was acting up again. Fighting these answers. Wanting to run away. To not repeat the same, to stop this before he'll have to relive what he already, in a sense, had once. To hell with what Malik decided on before. It wanted to hightail it out of here.

Well, the self-preservation could go and suck on it, because Malik wasn't leaving. That being said, some events in your life did seem to keep happening over and over again. Too soon. Getting his hopes up, thinking that he's got time before getting struck down.

You cannot know anything, only suspect. You must expect to be wrong, to have overlooked something. Anticipate. He'd never limited this strictly to his job alone so why did he forget now?

No use thinking of the past for it's gone, don't think of the future because it has to come, think of the present because that's where you are.

He didn't get much further than that, though.

“Ah, there you are,” sounded behind his back, relief of the speaker almost palpable. “The miracle; this place is a labyrinth and you're not picking up your phone. I was going mad.” Turning around, he saw Gie closing in on him, stopping only when her arms were already wrapped around him.

His body would have a better chance of giving a twitch after looking at Medusa Gorgona.

What.

“Something happened?” His lips actually moved. That was good.

She released him from the chokehold to berate him straight away:

“Yes, you ass. You disappeared, and I couldn't get a hold of you. That's what happened.”

One day. One day... His ambition to reach at least forty before dying was getting quite a workout as of late.

In order to busy themselves, his hands went for the pockets in search of the piece of technology Gie mentioned, however, the only thing they've encountered was his wallet, car keys and the pack of cigarettes he's forgotten all about by now.

Well, that explains it.

“I must've left it in the car.”

“I was thinking about heading back home for the night anyway. I really got to tackle the test tomorrow. You ready as well?”

“I have a few more things to do.”

“So you... gonna go get your phone...?” He was well-aware of which way the wind was blowing. She didn't hope for an escort to the exit.

“No, I'm not. I'm gonna give you my keys,” he did exactly that, “and if you bring my phone to the lobby in five minutes, you can drive home in the car.”

“What if I drive off straight away?”

He gave her a daring, unimpressed look.

“The time's ticking.”

“Slave-driver.” But she shot from the spot anyway.

That's what you get for making him age in one second flat.

He better get a move on, too, though. Fishing out the nicotine batch, he left it on an unattended reception desk on his way out. He won't need those anymore; let the hospital staff play a game of lucky finder.

Little did he know that he left the cigarettes in the cancer ward.

Next

A/N:

“No use thinking of the past for it's gone, don't think of the future because it has to come, think of the present because that's where you are.” - Kazi Shams (a writer/poet who resides in Canada)