#bc it’s very much something I sat down in the middle of bc main lady is hot

[iloveyoumorethansoup]

I refuse to admit I like things my father likes vs I am disappointed he didn’t put on the show I want to watch

[jilytho]

Fake Laughs and French Fish

"You laughed in a restaurant but you have a really ugly laugh so I thought you were choking" au. The opposite of a meet cute bc James is an idiot. idk what this is but Happy Jilytober!

Read below or on AO3 or FFNT

It was James’s least favorite kind of restaurant. The kind of place where sure, the food is good, but the portion is barely big enough for a snack and the music was too soft and the tablecloths were too stiff and there were too many types of forks that he didn’t know which was meant for salad and which was for stabbing into his thigh. 

All places should have prices on the menu, smarmy little French places were not an exception. But Peter’s birthday had been last week and James had missed the party to deal with a work emergency so he owed him dinner at Peter’s choice of restaurant. And of course, Peter had to pick the most pretentious place in the city. 

Sirius and Remus were there as well, of course, they could hardly go anywhere without them. It was exactly the kind of place Sirius grew up in, and although he had gotten very comfortable with fast food since he was exiled by his family, he still seemed to fit in perfectly at this kind of place. 

As much as James loathed the whole joint, he grudgingly admitted it was worth the hefty bill to watch Peter’s whole face alight with joy as they sat down. His head was on a swivel, swooshing from side to side, tittering with excitement. 

Just as the young waiter brought their appetizers over, a mushroom risotto and salmon tartare, Remus was in the middle of thanking him and requesting more water when a large man at the table behind them snapping his fingers, head turned to look at the waiter. “Well, that’s just rude,” Remus murmured under his breath. James and the waiter both watched to see a large beefy man glaring over at them, beckoning the waiter with two fingers in a way that made James’s skin crawl. He was sitting with two women, James could see the whole table quite easily when looking past Remus’s right earlobe. The woman on Whale Man’s right looked like she was being choked out by her string of pearls, lips pursed, a nose slightly too sharp for her face, and what appeared to be a stick up her ass considering the daggers she was shooting between the other woman at the table and the waiter. His eyes found the second woman, the one being subjected to Miss. Bony Lady’s eye daggers and was shocked he hadn’t noticed her the second she sat down. That hair was not something that should ever go unnoticed by anyone. 

He couldn’t even see her face, as she was hiding it between her hands, and glaring down at the table, but he found himself craning his neck, trying to get a glimpse. There were waves of hostility trolling off of her and every element of her body language seemed to be screaming “DO NOT ENGAGE” . Her hair was forming a wall of fire, curtaining around her face, protecting her from the angry glares of her dinner mates. As the waiter walked over to their table, after nodding politely at Remus, he watched her emerge from her hands to grimace up at him apologetically.

He couldn’t hear what the whale man was saying, and subconsciously heard Peter start to tell some story about work and dish out portions of their appetizer, but he couldn’t pull his eyes back yet. The girl was flushed and glaring at the bony woman, saying something hushed but clearly angry. Her nose was scrunched up, nostrils flared and as angry as she looked he started to wonder if she’d giggle if he booped her nose, all scrunched up like that. Started cringing at himself for thinking about something as ridiculous as that. 

From his distance, he couldn’t make out the color of her eyes, just that they were bright and sparkling and even from ten feet away he could feel the passion and emotion coming off her. 

When the waiter had finally left, dismissed with an angry wave of Whale Man’s hand, he watched the red head roll her eyes, and twist her neck like cracking it would release the anger built up in her. He wondered how creepy she would find him if he offered to massage the shoulder for her, maybe there was some chiropractor-esque or glowstick pickup line he could use to impress her. Cheesy lines had never done him good in the past but she looked like she could use a laugh, maybe she’d think it was funn-

“Right, James?” James tore his eyes away from the girl to find all his friends staring at him, looking for his agreement on something James had not heard a single syllable of. 

“Erm, yeah, right. Of course,” he nodded strongly, reaching for his water to gulp down and give himself a chance to calm the flush slowly rising up his neck. 

Peter looked pointedly towards Remus, “See I told you, Lupin.”

As James busied himself with pushing risotto onto his spoon- the smallest spoon closest to him, was that meant for desert?- he carefully ignored Remus’s eyes on him, silently watching James and nodding to Peter. 

“Mhm, Pete. Looks like I was mistaken.” 

The rest of the course went by smoothly, James kept his eyes off of the Magical Mystery Woman as best he could, forcefully making himself enthusiastically engaged in Sirius’s discussion of the lineup of next week's game. He was in the middle of making an argument for why Johnson should start as center, not Malinsky when he got stopped mid sentence by Whale Man clearing his throat loud enough for half the bloody restaurant to hear and his entire argument went to shit. 

Honestly, who did this bloke think he is, the bloody Prime Minister? Mystery Woman was too perfect to be putting up with this. Why would she go out in public with this oaf? Was he her brother? She seemed perfect but having him as a brother-in-law would really put a damper on the future marital bliss. She was gripping her knife so tightly it had to hurt, maybe he should offer up his own hand to squeeze instead, that’d be less painful he was sure. No. No, that was weird. He shook himself again and wrenched his eyes back to Sirius and resumed his argument.

They were just getting ready to clear their plates and ask for the desert woman when it happened. Mystery Woman’s table was still on their main course, she had ordered the fish, exactly the same meal James had eaten. Was that a sign of compatibility or what? If anyone had asked him later he would have sworn he was paying full and complete attention to Remus’s story of Dale from accounting messing up again but he was somehow also subconsciously completely and totally aware of every single one of Mystery Woman’s movements because he just knew she had just placed a delicate bite of fish on her fork and was chewing lightly when she let out this hacking, squawking, horrific noise. 

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god she is choking. My dream girl is choking and is going to choke on fish and DIE before I even learn her name. If she dies before I know her name I won’t even know what funeral to go to and how to mourn her properly and how would I even introduce myself at that funeral, ‘Hi, I stalked this girl from ten feet away and fell in love and will now live the rest of my life single and alone.”

If anyone were to have asked, he was positive he was still sitting at the table, nodding along with Remus. Somehow, without his conscious noticing, he had thrown back his chair and jumped to his feet, sending his chair falling backwards, narrowly missing a passing waitress. He practically leaped across the empty space, flown to behind her chair, gripped her shoulder tightly, and began to slam his hand against her back. 

“Ma’am, miss, oh my god are you alright? Can you breathe? Can you hear me, miss, oh my god WE NEED AN AMBULANCE, breathe ma’am breathe!” James yelled at her, pounding against her back, mentally preparing to perform the heimlich maneuver, he had never learned it properly but he saw it on a crime show once and it worked there maybe it would work now? He was really regretting not taking that First Aid class with Remus when she suddenly yanked herself out of his grip, leaping to her own feet and spinning around to face him, red hair flying into his mouth as she turned. 

Green. Her eyes were green. Green and bright and shining and gorgeous, oh my god she really can’t die now. 

“Oh my god, are you alright??” He reached out again to grip her shoulders tightly, had him slamming on her back dislodged the fish? Would she live? Was he a hero? 

“I will be when you explain why you just hit me repeatedly.” She crossed her arms over her chest, seemingly cross. 

His eyes widened and he looked around for someone else to agree and call him a life saving hero. Whale Man and Bony Lady looked bewildered, like he had just suddenly sprouted into a fish, instead of saving their dinner mates life.  All across the surrounding tables, he was met with concerned stares and the mortifying sinking feeling that he had completely misread the situation. 

“I- um. I saved you! You were choking! I saved you….. Right?” He dropped his hands from her shoulders, one immediately going to fix itself in his hair, face burning bright red. 

“I wasn’t choking, why did you think I was choking? Are you a doctor?”

He could hear Sirius laughing now. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. “No, just erm- a concerned citizen? Trying to ah, do my civic duty, preventing fish related deaths, I- erm- I’m sorry I really thought you were choking you made like a hacking sound I thought you were dying, I really just wanted to help” he tugged on his hair, averting his eyes to the floor. Not only did he ruin his chance of getting Mystery Woman to fall in love with him but now he has basically assaulted her, dear God he is never going to live this down. 

“That was a laugh.”

His eyes shot up to meet hers, “A what?”

“A laugh. I was laughing.”

“That was not a laugh. That was a deadly sound. Nobody in the world has a laugh that horrible.”

“Hitting me AND insulting me now, wow this is really my lucky day.” 

James’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t even wrap his brain around the fact that he had just insulted her laugh just that this seemingly magnificent girl laughed like THAT. He couldn’t help the little chuckle that escaped him. 

“Thats your real laugh? Oh my god I’m so sorry.” 

“Sorry for insulting me or sorry that that's what my laugh sounds like?”

“Erm… both?” 

She giggled then as well, light and small, and very, very different from the choking sound he heard earlier. 

“See!” He pointed at her accusingly, “now that’s a laugh! That sound before was a dying bird and I won’t have you tell me otherwise.”

“Well,” her eyebrows lowered and she leaned in a little conspiratorially, whispering her next words, “the joke wasn’t actually very funny. I suppose my fake laugh may need a little more work before I attempt to use it so publicly again.” 

The two shared a grin and wow was he screwed. 

“You know,” he leaned in again, “I’ve been told all my laughs are top notch, fake and real, and if you were every interested in some tutoring, I suppose I could-”

“Ahem,” Whale Man cleared his throat again, “If you’re done disrupting our evening, I would very much like to return to my meal.” An apology on the tip of James’s tongue when he was cut off by Whale Man continuing to blabber, “Honestly, the heathens they allow to enter this establishment. Absolutely zero respect. Didn’t anyone ever teach you manners? Of course you attract this sort” The last words were directed to Mystery Woman and all the desire to apologize to Whale Man disappeared immediately. It wasn’t her fault he was an idiot who started hitting her. 

He was prepared to say just that, and apologize to Mystery Woman, when she cut him off herself.

“Now you listen here, Vernon-” Mystery Woman began, red anger creeping up her neck.

“Lily, honestly,” Bony Lady cut in, “Just sit down and let's finish our meal and go, you’ve made enough of a scene.” Bony Lady’s tone was low, but sharp and cutting and seemed to send a shiver down Mystery Woman’s - or was it Lily?- spine. 

He had a feeling she would have kept going, but also had a burning desire to run from Bone Lady’s eyes. It felt like they were piercing straight through him. 

“I’m sorry,” he started loudly, one hand back in his hair, eyes quickly finding those incredible green ones, “I’m truly sorry for interrupting your meal and um hitting you and insulting you. Truthfully, you’re just spectacularly gorgeous and I thought you were choking and kind of lost my head a bit, I suppose,” his eyes averted quickly at that admission, missing the way hers started to fill with mirth and eyebrows began to creep up. “I’ll leave you to your meal.” 

He turned on his heel and returned back to his table, picking his chair off the ground and sitting, adamantly avoiding eye contact with his friends. He felt her eyes burning into his neck and stared determinedly down at his fork. 

“So you’ve gone crazy,” Sirius states, matter of factly with a shit eating grin, “that’s fun.”

“I thought she was choking,” he murmured under his breath. 

“What was that, James? Couldn’t quite hear you. Speak up now or one of us will have to beat it out of you.” Peter could barely finish his sentence before him and Sirius began to guffaw obnoxiously.  Even Remus was chuckling. 

James groaned and covered his eyes with his hands. “Can we please just go, I will pay double if they bring the check right now.”

“Oh Jamie dear, why the rush?” Sirius tutted, “We ordered desert while you were busy saving lives! We wouldn’t dream of leaving before Pete gets his birthday desert!” 

Muttering “tossers” under his breath, James set his jaw and raised his eyes to meet his friends, and not to look past Remus’s ear to Mystery Woman again. 

By the time desert had arrived, James had been properly roasted by his mates about twelve times over and they had slowly moved onto other topics, all being other times James made a fool of himself in public. Sirius had just left for the restroom leaving Peter with the task of making James’s life hell.

Peter was just getting into the climax of his own personal favorite James humiliation tale, the Koi Pond Incident of ‘09, when James’s bite of tiramisu was interrupted by a light slapping against his back. 

He spluttered and coughed grossly, ready to whip around and smack Sirius, assuming it was him, when he felt hot breath on his ear and a flash of red in his peripheral and completely froze.

“You alright there? Wouldn’t want you to choke. Just being a concerned citizen and all.” She murmured into his ear, teeth centimeters away from nipping it.

He turned to face her, gaping at her sudden closeness to find her smirking face mere inches away from his own. 

“Thanks for that,” he croaked. 

“Of course, always on the lookout. Doing my civic duty,” she winked. She winked. What the hell did that mean, oh my god, this woman would be the death of him. 

“Here,” she pressed a slip of paper into his hand. “Just in case you want to stop me from choking at dinner another night too.” And then she winked again, spun on her heel, red hair whipping him in the face and left with another tinkling laugh. James stared dumbly down at the numbers on the paper, memorizing them immediately.

“Holy fuck, James. What was that?” Pete stared at James’s dumbfounded face. Sirius chuckled lightly from behind him, apparently having returned in time to watch the entire exchange. 

“That, my friend,” Sirius clapped a hand down harshly onto James’s shoulder, “may have just been the future Mrs. Potter.”

[peaceisadirtyword]

omg i loved it. everything you write is wonderful and Alex has my heart and I love it if you write more about what happened before their meeting.

I put these two together (I hope that’s alright)💖 the first anon is referring to this drabble I posted a few weeks ago. It was an idea I had for a while and I really like it, so I'm glad you wanted more of it!💕 it kinda has the friends with benefits thing so I thought I could make something with these two (second anon: if you want me to write your request completely apart from this, I will, just ask) 

It has a bit of angst, mentions of smut (not very detailed) and really bad writing bc my brain is still recovering from the exams lol

Hope you like it!💕

You could feel his eyes on you. Even at the other side of the club, where he danced and laughed with his friends, he didn't take his eyes off you. 

You smirked every time you saw him staring. It was him who decided you two were just friends... With benefits? But in secret. Everyone could sense the tension between you two, but he was scared that if the both of you started dating, your friendship would be ruined, and it would affect the whole group of friends you had in common. 

And, he confessed, he didn't want anything serious just yet. 

It was fine, you were fine with that. Fooling around with him, having casual sex... All in secret, which only made it even more exciting. 

Though he would have to stop looking at you like that before everyone realized what was going on. 

"I'm going to the toilet" you left your drink on the table, next to your friends. They nodded at you and you caught your best friend's smirk as she looked at you with an eyebrow raised. You winked at her and left. You never told her about this friends with benefits thing, she just knew you and Alex too well. 

You walked next to him, walking just in the middle of his group of friends, standing on a circle, on purpose. Just to tease. He looked at you and took another sip of his beer, clearing his throat. 

Not even two minutes had passed, as you fixed your make up on the mirror, when he entered the bathroom with a big smile. 

"Hello" 

Drunk Alex was your favorite Alex. 

"Hi" you smirked, turning around to face him "This is the ladies' toilet, Alex"

"It's a fucking toilet, it doesn't have a gender, Y/N" he scoffed, annoyed, as he approached you and sneaked his arms around your waist, leaning in to kiss your lips. You giggled into the kiss and your hands caressed his neck.

"Anyway, you should get out before someone else sees you here"

"To be honest, I don't care" he moaned against your neck. You smirked, and let yourself close your eyes and enjoy the feeling of his lips against your neck. 

"Lock the door" you insisted, he sighed and nodded, getting away from you to lock the door, immediately coming  back to you. It was like his hands were glued to your body. 

You sat on the counter, next to the sink, parting your legs so Alex could stand between them, his hands caressing your thighs. 

"You look so beautiful tonight" he muttered, kissing your cheek softly, with his eyes fixed on yours "I mean, you always look stunning, but tonight... This dress" he groaned, crashing his lips against yours. You moaned out loud when you felt his already hard member pressing against your still covered sex. 

"Someone's eager" you giggled, caressing it softly over his jeans. Alex moaned and pressed his forehead against yours. 

"Who wouldn't be, after seeing you dance that way?" He whispered into your ear, biting your earlobe "I promise I want to make you scream my name, take my time with you and hear your moans for hours, Y/N, but now... I can't wait"

"Then..." You grabbed his shirt, pushing his body even closer to yours "Why don't we start the first round now so we can go to your apartment for the second?"

"I like that" he smirked, his fingers already slipping into your underwear "I like that very much"

___________________________________________

The phone ringing woke you up. 

You had been sleeping on Alex's arms, with his soft breathing against your neck, his warmth surrounding you. 

You groaned when the awful sound startled you, and accidentally kicked his leg, making him groan. 

"I'm gonna kill you" you muttered "Turn that off" 

Alex chuckled sleepily into your ear, kissing your cheek before turning around to take the phone. 

"Hello?" He asked. His voice was hoarse and it made you bit your lip and look at him with narrowed eyes.

Suddenly, he stood up, widening his eyes and running his free hand through his hair repeatedly. 

"What? Like... Are you serious?" 

He started pacing around the room, wearing only his boxers. You sat on the bed, frowning as your eyes followed him. 

"I... Wow" he smiled, rubbing his eyes in disbelief "God, this is... This is amazing!" He laughed in pure joy, his beautiful eyes were full of happiness "Thank you, thank you so much..." He rubbed his face "I... I need... Can I call you back?... Nice, thank you" 

He hung up, throwing his phone to the bed and laughing as he looked at you. 

"What happened?" You asked with a small smile on your lips. His smile was contagious. 

"Remember that casting I did? The one for Vikings" he kneeled on the bed next to you.

"Yes, I remember, what...?"

"I got the role, Y/N" his eyes fixed on yours "I got the fucking role, I'm in, I'm going to play a main character"

You widened your eyes, your lips curving on a big smile. 

"I knew you would!" You giggled, hugging him tightly. Alex hugged you back, chuckling softly against your neck "You're amazing, see? I told you"

"I can't believe it" he muttered "This is what I've wanted my whole life, Y/N" 

"I know" you moved to look at him on the face, cupping his cheek with a smile "I'm so proud of you, Alex, I truly am"

"Thank you" his smile faltered then, and you frowned "I just... I have to leave Denmark" 

You sighed. You did think about that, more than once. Being one of Alex's closest friends, you helped him to prepare the auditions, you watched the show with him -well, in part because you had a huge crush on Travis Fimmel- and you were always there, supporting him. He had the talent, obviously, and you were more than sure that he'd get the part. 

But yes, he had to leave Denmark.

"Denmark will still be here when you come back" you tried to smile again "And so will we, your friends, your family... We'll be here waiting for you when you come back, being all famous and professional"

"Yes but... I will... Be alone there" he frowned. 

"Alex, trust me, you will not be alone" you chuckled softly "You'll make friends, good friends, with the rest of the cast, you're not the only newbie in there, I'm sure, and we'll go to visit you!" 

He then bit his lip, looking away from you. 

"This is... This is big..." He took a deep breath "I don't know if I can..."

"You can" you tried to make him look at you again "You have the talent, take this as a master class on acting. They chose you because they saw something in you that they didn't see in the others"

Alex opened his mouth to speak, but didn't say anything. 

Come with me. 

He wanted to scream at you that he didn't want to be there all alone, that he needed someone, someone like you, who was there supporting him, with comforting words and warm kisses. 

But he couldn't ask you to leave everything; your work, your classes, your entire life... Just for him. 

And we're only friends. 

With benefits, yes, but just friends. 

"I..." He almost said it "I... Thank you, Y/N, for everything" he smiled softly "You're... A really good friend"

You tried not to look too disappointed, a sad smile curved your lips as your heart broke a bit more when you realized that's all you were for him; a really good friend. 

Yes, you could fuck, make out and sleep together in secret. But no one said anything about love, right? You would never take his hand while walking down the street, or kiss him lovingly, or hear an I love you on your ear just before falling asleep. You'd never have dates and all that romantic shit. He'd find someone and he'd fall in love, and you'd stop seeing each other in secret, and that's all you'd be, a really good friend.

"You don't have to thank me" you muttered, your eyes fixed on the duvet that covered your legs "I'm just doing what friends do, right?"

Alex nodded, with a forced smile on his face. 

"I should call them back" he rubbed his neck, standing up.

"Yeah" you cleared your throat "You should".

_________________________________________

Usually, you loved airports. You loved traveling with friends and taking planes that would take you far away. But that day the mere sight of the airport made your stomach turn. 

It was the most difficult goodbye of your life. Especially because you could only hug him for ten seconds in front of his friends and family. You always knew this moment would happen; him going away to work as an actor. But you had always hoped you could say goodbye with a kiss, a smile and an I love you, I'll miss you. 

But you only got to say: 'Good luck' and shot him a wide smile before he went to hug his mother. 

I'll call you tonight. He had promised into your ear when you got away from him. 

He didn't call you. Not that night, nor ever. He didn't reply to your messages and he cut all communication with you. You thought maybe he was like that with everyone. Maybe he's going through a rough time, maybe he doesn't want to talk to anyone. 

But it was you. Only you. He did video calls with everyone else, texted them daily and even invited them to Ireland. And he left you heartbroken, not really understanding what you did wrong.

Only when he came back, the first time, he texted you. Should we meet up?

You didn't answer. What could you possibly answer to that? After months ignoring you, he couldn't really expect you'd be there waiting for him, right? 

You had started to see someone else, though, someone you ended up dating for two years. And everything went well, and you thought you had everything under control four years later, when he came back and stayed. 

Until that first time you saw him, when everything started falling apart again. 

___________________________________________

Tags: @mblaqgi @alicedopey @lol-haha-joke @naaladareia @tephi101 @captstefanbrandt @love-hate-love @titty-teetee @readsalot73 @moondustmemories @thevikingsheaux @therealcalicali @chimera4plums @blushingskywalker @awkwardfangirl02 @credulouskhaleesi @gruffle1 @justacripple @heartbeats-wildly @inforapound @winchesterwife27 @hecohansen31 @xinyourdreamsx @funmadnessandbadassvikings @tgrrose @jadelynlace @flokidottirsstuff 

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

Stranger Things (The Eighties Blasts Collection, Part 9.)

Description: Jim Hopper died as a hero. But with that, one certain problem rises up - who will now lead the cops of Hawkins? Hopper thought of that - he decided to write a letter, naming his niece, nineteen-year-old student of Indianapolis police academy, Y/N Hopper as a sheriff deputy in a letter. But anybody in the town doesn’t have a clue that being a cop in Hawkins is way more dangerous than it might seem.

A/N: I know that Stranger Things opening song by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein wasn't actually produced in the eighties, but a) it is the main soundtrack of the whole series and b) it is just a really good example of music which has the power to tense you up.

Warnings: Dustin being seriously smart - I love a smart Dustin, bcs he is such a bright kid. But mostly the gang realizing that they are fucked in the butt. Maybe the kids swearing a bit? Nothing too dramatic or unusual.

Word Count: 3 K

Tagging: @charmed-asylum​ @nemodoren​

Master list: The Eighties Blast Collection

Dustin was actually quite good at giving everyone heads up, calling the kids gang with Cerebro to meet up at your place. Normally, you would watch that kid in awe just because of how intelligent he seemed to be and probably, he was more responsible than Steve by any means. Everyone knew about the super-strange thing in a spawn of ten minutes. After that, Steve drove you to your cabin where everyone was supposed to meet up.

Your conversation with Eleven was pretty much one-sided and really short since you could say one sentence only before you both started crying like little kids. When the words slipped past your lips, the boys got completely silent as you fell back to shock. You could only hear how Elever cried, but the sounds came to you from a distant place, like you weren’t even present at the moment.

After that, Steve with Mike helped you back on the backseat of your Chevy and let you lay there because you seemed to be out of your mind, just trembling.

The Demogorgon really did a number on you - putting you in a state when you were all good for a few good minutes and then you just fell into a complete shock again, these two states being constantly trying to be beaten in between themselves.

You had sloppy memories of arriving back to the cabin - only Steve and Mike helping you out while Dustin unlocked and held the door. They made you drink a cup of hot tea to raise up your blood pressure a bit. 

After other short calls from the phone in your cabin, they made the rest to come - Nancy and Robin. 

There you were, four almost adults and four kids sitting at the table in your house, some eating Eggos or other sweets, some just intensely watching you. You were sitting in the middle between Steve and Nancy while the others sat around the room - in the armchair or on the stools, some even got the chairs from the table. 

Dustin and Max's boyfriend, you still didn't remember his name, were holding the phone and changed when one of their palms started to hurt - there was Will on the phone, telling Joyce and the others what happened.

"So, what exactly happened? We don't have a clue, Hopper, and you still didn't tell us." - Mike said pretty loudly, almost yelled at you all of a sudden. You got why he was like that - he was upset by the unknown. Nobody knew anything at that moment - you were useless and Steve was too worried about you to talk. And even you two didn't know much.

"De-Demorgogon. It's real." - You looked Mike in the eyes and slowly rolled your sleeve up to your elbow to show him that bloody bruise you had there. Everyone looked at it with their breath stuck in their throat; this bruise could certainly win the competition about the most disgusting-looking bruise. Dustin was quietly describing your hand to Will in the background.

"Yeah, we already know that. It is real. Can you tell us something new?!" - Max's boyfriend burst out at you.

"But she wasn't here to see it!" - Both Nancy and Steve yelled at him to make you justice. That made the boy shut up.

"It crept at us and killed an old lady. It was probably feeding itself from her for quite some time. Her arm was bitten off." - Steve said, but nobody seemed to understand one and the exact thing.

"How could it survive inside of that house for so long without anybody seeing it?" - Max asked was the one who asked the question out loud. You and Steve looked at each other worriedly.

"I think that it's evolving. Physically, it is the same as the Demodogs or the first Demogorgon, I couldn't spot no difference there. But its brain isn't the same as it used to be." - Steve answered and looked at you to describe what you've been through. - "It was speaking to us, like when you're having a normal conversation with somebody. It was a bit weird here and there, but basically, it was really intelligent, it responded according to the subject. Let's just say... The Demogorgon was able to track down somebody lonely and who's disappearance would barely anyone notice. It hid the body and fed on it, so it didn't have to leave its nest for a long time."

"But how could you two have a normal conversation with a monster? That doesn't make any sense. Did you not see that it is a Demogorgon right away?" - Nancy asked in confusion. It wasn't too hard to say that something was Demogorgon, really, even if it had similarities to a human. - "That sounds that you're just as dumb as Steve is." - Robin chuckled to brighten up the situation, but you barely noticed it.

"Metamorphosis." - You whispered and looked at Steve. His thoughts weren't exactly as fast as yours, but you knew that he only needed the right push. - “Are we talking about the novella by Franz Kafka?” - Robin asked in confusion.

"No.” - You answered her quickly, before turning your face directly to Steve’s. It almost looked like a perfect position for a kiss... But there was no time for that. You slowly started with explaining yourself to him. - “If it did pretend that it is that old lady..." - You whispered and his eyes widened.

"It can find a new host. It can kill again." - Steve completed your sentence and you nodded at him. The situation was bad. If the Demogorgon would prey down another victim and if it would find a pattern to go with, you could be up for a pretty long play of hiding and seeking with the creature. 

And with that, you furrowed at each other. Nobody knew what you're talking about. Metamorphosis. Weird word, barely used around young people. So Dustin, who gave the phone to Lucas, stood in front of you, opening his palms and watched both of you with a worried expression, which brought everyone’s attention to him.

"Slow down, Hopper, and explain to us what's happening. I heard something about metamorphosis. How is it phasing then?" - At that moment, Robin asked. - "Why the hell you're even talking about metamorphosis? You're trying to look cool in front of the kids, guys?"

“What it even is?” - Max asked and everyone shut up for a minute before turning at her. Max wasn't the brightest or the most observant on mister Clarke’s classes, but that was completely okay.

"Metamorphosis is the most basic way to change your appearance by evolving. Butterflies do that - there are green, small caterpillars in the first place and after everything is done, only a butterfly remains. The completely changed their whole body structure to become something better. In Kafka’s novella, a human person changes into a big bug.” - He explained in a rushed, yet really calm tone. Max looked confused for a minute but then nodded as the two dots connected.

“And it seems to me that the Demogorgon could possibly use metamorphosis." - Dustin finished with a small smile. This was terrifying, yes, but fascinating at the time. Just as with Dart. Once again, you watched that child's face in awe; how could someone so young possibly be so smart? What were the odds? He was basically the opposite of Steve sitting by your side.

“So, you're trying to tell that the Demogorgon could be a pupe at some point to evolve?” - Mike asked in a really ironic tone, looking at Dustin. - “Come on.”

“Unfortunately, my friend, not necessarily. Do you remember Mystique in Uncanny X-Men number 170?” - He asked him. - “Mystique is that blue-ish girl?” - Max peeped from the other side of the room. She loved princess Diana as Wonder Woman, but of course, she knew Marvel heroines as well.

“Exactly that one. She is shifting her visual appearance to look like other people. The skillset she possesses is named...” - “Metamorphosis.” - You finished. - “And think about this, guys. If the Demorgogon evolved the ability to metamorphose itself, it could most likely look like an old, weird lady.”

“Exactly. She was hella weird, but you would describe her as strange and let her be.” - Steve nodded at Dustin, clearly being proud of him. 

“But how it could copy her appearance? Is that even possible? Because the Demogorgon doesn't exactly have the eyes to like... Scan her look.” - Nancy stood up and poured herself a glass of ice-cold water. This was too much to take in. Just way too much. She would even accept some Vodka at that point.

For a moment, there was silence until Robin stood up and looked at everyone as if they were complete idiots even if she was fully silent until that very moment. 

“You didn't hear what Steve and Hopper repeated almost five times?” - She looked at everyone and clapped loudly. - “It was feeding on her corpse the whole time. What if it wasn't hungry?” 

“You mean that it copied the lady’s DNA structure and shifted directly to look like her? That is insane, even for a sci-fi movie.” - Mike stood as well. Almost everyone was standing on their feet like if it was helping them think. 

“We have a shape-shifting Demogorgon and you say that copying her DNA after it ate her flesh is too crazy to be happening, you dingus?” - Steve asked Mike ironically. - “I am not a dingus, but this is just crazy.” - Mike yelled back and that was where Max’s boyfriend got involved. - “It was always crazy, Mikey. Do you still remember the time your girlfriend had some telepathic abilities? That is just reality!” 

“Okay, children!” - You stood up and yelled over them, looking at everyone with a furrow. - “Now sit your asses down and let’s just establish that we have a shape-shifting Demogorgon that eats meat so it knows the structure of DNA of what it is changing into running around Hawkins. Over. That is not everything.” - You spoke in a firm voice. From a moment to moment, everyone could see that you and Jim were actually related. Your, normally smiling and gentle, face turned into the face of Satan as you watched everyone down. Without further ado, everyone shut up and sat down, Max’s boyfriend and Dustin changed place in holding the phone again. 

“Will you let me continue or anyone has anything to say?” - You stood in the head of the table so everyone could be looking at you.

“You are looking better. The coffee really helped, nice to see.” - Dustin smiled at you happily and you just exhaled voice, being almost fed up with that chaotical group calling each other names. How any of them could survive the first Demogorgon was more and more mysterious to you with each passing moment.

“I meant if you had something meaningful to add to the subject.” - You asked in a cold tone and Dustin’s smile just went wilder. For a moment, there was complete silence in the room, so you started to speak again. - “Alright then, let’s move on. We saw the Demogorgon, but its primary goal wasn't to kill me.” 

“How do you know?” - Robin asked, looking at you.

“Because I am standing in front of you on my own feet, speaking with you. There was a delay between it caught my forearm and Steve shooting at it. It had enough time to bite my head off and yet, it didn't.” - You sat back between Steve and Nancy, everyone still watching you. - “It showed me... Something. This is crazy, but it weirdly communicated with me.” 

“It was showing Hopper to you?” - Mike asked confusedly. You shook your head. 

“It did, at least... I think. It was just a small moment. But it showed me something else. This is going to sound so stupid, but I think that it tried to... Warn me.” - You looked at everyone. 

“Will asks about what.” - Dustin asked and you looked at him.

“Okay, so it caught my forearm and when I thought it is going to kill me, I felt so sold that I opened my eyes. I don't know how it did it, but we were in a really cold biome full of snow and ice, some mountains possibly, in the woods, looking at a military camp hidden under the ground. But it wasn't the Demogorgon, as you call it, holding my hand. I think that it was the... How you call it? The Shadow Monster?” - You looked at the others. Even Steve was confused at that moment, he didn't know that any of that happened. 

“The Mind Flayer was showing you a military camp? Could it be in Alaska, possibly?” - Nancy asked and sipped on her water. You got quiet for a small amount of time and then shook your head. - “No. I am ninety percent sure of that. I would recognize the uniforms and technology. This wasn't in America.” 

“And what happened next?” - Mike asked with his mouth opened up, being completely caught up in your story. You looked at him and exhaled before continuing.

“It took me inside, we were basically going through the walls like Casper the Friendly Ghost, and we stopped in a hall full of cells. They were clearly holding many people in there. And when they opened it up, there was a man with long hair and beard, greasy, tired, beaten up. I think it was Jim because he looked at me. I saw his eyes and maybe... He saw me as well.” - You whispered, almost breaking into tears again. Steve was watching the profile of your face, smoothing you over your shoulder.

“You think that it was Hopper because he looked at you for a second? How can you even say that? You can’t be sure about that just like that.” - Max’s boyfriend asked and laughed unbelievably after that.

“A quick question.” - Nancy interrupted him. - “Would you recognize your mom if I gave you only a picture of her eyes?” 

“Probably yes, why?” - He answered with an unsure grimace. Nancy rose her eyebrows at him. - “Because Jim is like a father to Y/N. She knows him the whole life, so I think it is more than sure that she would recognize his gaze between many others. Now shut up already and let continue, Lucas.” - She shushed him down, turning at you again. You gave her an unsure smile, fidgeting your fingers. 

“Then it took me deeper. Into the base floor. There was a huge red tear in the wall shining with some... Red light or what. For a moment, it was completely silent, but just before men dressed in leather suits came into the room. They had MSGs probably, I didn't recognize the type of gun. After that, some huge machine was activated, sending a huge blue beam into the wall.” - At that moment, you were sobbing again, because of the horrific memories going through your head. 

At that point, everyone in the room was completely breathless, watching you. It was terrifying, surely it was, but everyone was curious about what happened next, so you could make sense out of it together.

“And Demogorgons started to crawl out of it. Not one... Or two. It was a pack of six or seven. And the men shot at them, making them crawl into some other door.” - You swoop away the tears. - “Whoever is doing that, they are clearly keeping the Demogorgons in their base and I think that they might be... Training them or trying to understand their species.” - You leaned your head into Steve’s shoulder subconsciously and nobody even commented that, since you were on the edge of falling into the shock or fainting at that moment again, blood dripping from your nose again.

“Will asks if you... Hear a voice inside your head. Or if you have some memories that don't belong to you, impulses, feelings you’ve never felt before... Anything.” - Dustin asked silently as Steve hugged you and brought you closer, warming you up by rubbing your shoulders. You were as cold as ice.

“No. I think that I am just scared, that's all. Or at least, I hadn't noticed anything.” - You answered, wiping the blood away again. 

“I don't think that Mind Flayer made a spy out of Hopper. Do you feel cold?” - Mike asked you suddenly. Everyone was slowly standing up, except Steve, slowly getting away. 

“What?” - You asked in confusion. 

“A simple yes or no question. Do you feel cold?” - Mike asked you again, slowly turning the heater up as if he was looking for something on you. 

“I am cold like fuck, Michael. I am not flayed.” - You told him unbelievably. - “She’s freezing.” - Steve nodded when he held your fingers in his hand. 

“The Mind Flayer likes it cold. We will just test the theory out, we will close the windows and heat the room, okay?” - Dustin asked you carefully. You turned your head to Nancy, who told you that you should do it. For the sake of the children believing what you’ve just said to them.

So they left you to fall asleep under three blankets after drinking a cup of completely hot tea, turning the heater on while they were talking to Will, Joyce, Johnathan, and Eleven on the other side of the phone line. After you slept for an hour without showing any signs of being flayed, they slowly started to go home with only one thought in their heads - there was a new type of Demogorgon in hiding in Hawkins. 

Intelligent and dangerous as ever. 

The Shapeshifter.

[westfrosts]

Accidents and Proposals - Colt x MC

A/N: hey it’s wzkdj here from instagram, a.k.a Khadijah! ! y’all may recognise me from the previous fic Ifraah and I posted on this account ( Apple Pies )

side note: we agreed on Y/N / MC being too cringey and wattpad-y so we settled on a name for our MC: Zafira 

this fic is in the same universe as the previous one, Apple Pies :)

this came from the idea: MC vomiting on Colt LMAO, excuse how long it is and how extra the entire first half is hehe the word count is around 6100

also, we have a few cameos from our choices group, Justine, Ifraah, Mics and I, Khadijah all make our cameos with our faves bc i was feeling it and thought it would be funny lmaooo so be on the lookout for those :)

Tag List: for all the Colt lovers hehe, if y’all don’t want to be tagged just let me know and if you do then just throw us a comment or sumn! @tabithacarlisle  @lifeof314universe  @flowerpowell  @lady-dianelewis @confessionsofabrokegirl  @drakewalkerdrunk  @zeniamiii @i-am-clementine  @gayplaychoices  @marcela13mars  @ladymarquess @claudevonstruke  @stillafictosexual  @wolfmckenzie  @emomoustache  @inkandfables @thegardendiety @akrenich @ckanekos @coltkaneko @pixelburied

  “Damn, I thought we were going to a five-star restaurant.” Riya almost whined, pouting as she sat down beside Darius opposite Zafira.

 “Sorry, Babe, but not everyone has Jonas Brothers’ type of money.” Darius said with a shrug. Zafira burst out laughing and lifted her hand for a high five. Darius grinned and slapped her hand right as a waitress came up to their table.

 “Hey guys, my name’s Justine!” she said enthusiastically, before she gestured to her name tag which had ‘Justine’ written on it. Zafira didn’t miss the bright jingling silver bracelet that had ‘BUCKET’ written in caps before a big red heart. “I’ll be your waitress for today. Here are your menus, don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything,” she said with a smile, “Oh, and I should let you know, we currently have the meal deal on the Grilled Chicken Sandwich if you happen to be interested in a free cookie by any chance…” she winked.

 The three of them gasped in unison as the waitress walked off to tend to another table and looked at each other. “Free cookie?!” Zafira said in amazement, as she watched Darius and Riya mirror her expression.

 “We have got to get that meal deal.” Darius practically demanded, with a slap of his fist on the table, none of them paying any attention to the three menus that jumped up and almost fell off.

 “I can’t believe we’re giving in so easily to capitalism.” Zafira said sadly, sighing in dismay. “Wendy’s 1, Karl Marx 0. I’m sorry, Marx, we have failed you.” Riya and Darius burst out laughing at her remark and eventually Zafira was guffawing along with them.

 …

 Soon enough, Justine was bringing out a tray with the orders on and Zafira couldn’t help but rub her hands together in excitement. “Chicken Sandwich, get in my belly! Y’all have no idea how long it’s been since I last ate a burger, my stomach can no longer recall the sweet taste of that seeded bun.” Zafira shook her head sadly as her eyes widened upon the tray placed down on their table.

 “Here are 3 Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with those free cookies I promised. Enjoy your meal, guys!” Justine said with a smile, laughing at the faces the three of them made.

 “Thank you!” They chorused, almost salivating at the sight in front of them. Justine grinned as she walked away and Zafira and Darius couldn’t dig into their burgers any faster.

 “Guys! Wait, I’ve gotta get a pic to put on my IG or Snap! Guys, c’mon, don’t finish the burgers already!” Riya exclaimed in a panic, shooing away their hands and pulling out her phone as fast as she could. Darius and Zafira exchanged glances and rolled their eyes before moving away from the table and crossing their arms in unison.

 Riya finally took the picture and settled back into her seat with a smile. “You can dig in now, guys, go on. Oh my gosh, it looks so good, look at those crinkle cut chips! Mmmm…” She murmured as she rubbed her hands together.

 “Finally!” Zafira groaned, before she quickly scooped up the burger and took a bite. Her eyes widened and rivalled Darius’ own expression of wonder.

 “Oh… My…” Darius whispered, and even Riya looked shocked, something they didn’t often see at a fast food restaurant.

 “This is…” Zafira mumbled, staring at her burger in amazement.

 “...Art.” Riya finished off. The three of them nodded in agreement before diving back into their meals.

 “Truly, no one does Grilled Sandwich like Wendy’s do.” Zafira said around a mouthful, “These chips! They’re so soft and potato-ey! I could eat these forever.” She moaned, washing everything down with a swig of her drink. She let out a loud, garbled burp and Darius and Riya looked up at her in surprise. They shared a funny look before they were once again roaring out in laughter. All of the customers around them looked at them weirdly and a girl sat at the far end of the outdoor eating area rolled her eyes. “High schoolers… just wait until you get into college, y’all won’t have much to laugh about then.” She shook her head, adjusting her headscarf and glasses before going back to using her laptop, labelled with an ‘Ifraah hearts Hayden Young’  sticker.

 By the time they were finished with their meals, Zafira sat with her hands on her belly and a weird feeling inside her stomach. “Guys, is it me or are you feeling a bit nauseous too? This burger has done a number on me,” she groaned, “What did they even put in there?”

 Darius and Riya sat back looking very content. “It must be you, that burger was…” Darius trailed off, kissing his fingers and throwing them in the air, “Simply beautiful!”

 “Yeah, who cares about five-star restaurants anymore?!” Riya stated passionately.

 …

 It was only half an hour later when the trio had finished revelling in the aftermath of the food and that sumptuous free cookie, that Zafira felt the first gurgle in her stomach. “Uh oh…” She trailed off, eyes widening as her hands reached for her stomach in slow motion.

 “What? What is it?��� Riya asked, frowning at Zafira’s now sweaty face. “Are you OK? You look really hot…”

 Zafira shook her head, hands flying to her mouth as she got up and raced towards the entrance of the diner.

 “Zafira!” Darius called out after her. He exchanged a bewildered look with Riya. “What the heck?!”

 Inside the diner, the Mercy Park Crew felt a sudden breeze as a blurry figure that looked an awful lot like Zafira rushed past them. “The hell?” Mona said, perplexed. Toby and Ximena watched the figure dart into the ladies’ bathroom and glanced at each other before shrugging and going back to what they were doing. Mona realised that the person looked awfully familiar and even Logan and Colt looked after the figure in surprise.

 Zafira, however, paid no attention to her surroundings, and threw the closest stall door open before doubling over and emptying the contents of her stomach in a toilet. Damn, she thought, maybe Wendy’s really isn’t the one. Her stomach clenched once more before she was gripping each side of stall, desperate to not make any contact with the toilet bowl itself lest she contracted something even worse. The acid burned in her throat as sweat and tears rolled off her face. “Bloody… hell…” she coughed out, hastily pulling on the toilet roll to wipe her mouth, “I swear, if I vomit again, I’m gonna scre—” she dry heaved, slapping a hand over her mouth and squeezing her eyes shut. Zafira turned and leaned against the stall wall, breathing heavily. “I definitely have to sue these witches, what the hell did I eat?!” She grumbled.

 As she walked over to the sinks, she caught sight of her reflection and groaned. Her face was red with dried tear tracks and her hair looked like a complete mess, “Great!” she mumbled, before washing out her mouth and cupping water in her hands to throw over her face.

 Another lady came out of a stall further down and walked hesitantly towards the sinks. “Hey, are you, uh, OK? I heard someone retching their insides out…” She trailed off, as she began washing her hands, watching Zafira carefully in the mirror. Zafira couldn’t help but notice her large hoop earrings that had ‘Hamid’ written in the middle with a heart around the text.

 “And you can only assume it was me because of how I look?”

 The stranger gaped and blushed, looking down at their hands and scrubbing away furiously.

 Zafira laughed. “I’m just kidding, don’t worry. Yeah, it was me. That dumb Grilled Chicken Sandwich must’ve been made with poison or something,” she groused.

 “Oh no! Damn, maybe you should sue Wendy’s or something! Can I get you anything, though? A tissue, some water... a lawyer perhaps?” she added with a giggle, “I’m Mics.” She smiled, holding out her hand towards Zafira to shake. Zafira lifted her own hand towards hers but hesitated upon finding them both wet.

 She looked up at Mics, “Wet handshake?”

 “Wet handshake,” she confirmed, as they laughed.

 Meanwhile, in the main section of the diner, Darius and Riya were fretting over Zafira and trying to figure out what to do after rushing after her. “Should we call an ambulance?!” Riya asked, fumbling over her phone and hastily trying to put in her pass code.

 “No!” Darius exclaimed, throwing a hand over her phone screen, “...At least, not yet.”

 “OK, let’s… take her home? Give her water, a blanket, put her in front of the fireplace, warm her up, but with a cold towel on her head, Netflix in one hand, popcorn in the oth—” Riya began listing off rapidly, marking them off on her fingers.

 “I don’t think she needs all of that just yet, Babe. Let’s focus on making sure she’s alive first, and then take her home… Wait, how are we gonna take her home? We walked it here and probably didn’t bring enough money for a taxi or the bus home! Shit.” Darius groaned, rubbing his hands over his face beneath his glasses.

 “Those driving lessons would’ve come in real handy, huh?” Riya said sadly, “Hang on, is that Logan over there? We can just ask him, right? I mean, he’s pretty much in love with Zafira, he’d do anything to make sure she was OK, wouldn’t he?”

 Darius looked at his girlfriend weirdly, “Really? Like that wouldn’t be overstepping any boundaries at all?”

 Riya threw her hands up in defense, “Like all boundaries weren’t dropped when he showed up outside school for Zafira?” she countered, looking at him pointedly.

 “...Good point… weird and stalkerish point, but still…” Darius sighed, folding one arm and holding his chin with the other, scrutinising Logan.

 Ximena looked up in that moment and noticed the two facing their table, looking at Logan specifically. “Hey, Logan, are those your friends or just some… creepy kids?” She asked, jutting her chin towards the two, confused. Neither of them seemed to notice, too lost in their inner turmoil.

 Logan looked in their direction and frowned, “Those are… Zafira’s friends? What are they doing here?”

 Riya snapped out of her reverie and noticed the entire table now looking towards them. “Crap!” she hissed under her breath, before shoving Darius towards the crew.

 Darius made some incoherent noises in dispute but by the time he was done, he was in front of Logan with Riya’s hand firm on his back. He looked over his shoulder at her, widening his eyes with irritation while Riya gestured towards Logan with her eyes. Darius let out a long breath, pinching the bridge of his nose while turning towards the table. By then, they had all stopped eating and instead focused on the weird pair stood in front of them.

 “Hey, uh… Logan, Riya here, is… proposing...” Darius trailed off, trying to figure out which of his eyes to look into and instead focusing on a spot between them. There was a long silence while everyone stared at Darius, waiting for him to continue, including Riya who was watching him with the most bewildered look.

 “...Proposing? To Logan? That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard!” Colt broke the silence with a scoff, before he threw his head back, dissolving into laughter, “Who’d want to be with this loser, he’d probably smother you with his teen angst before you could get another word in!” He cackled, shaking his head while wiping at the corner of his eyes, “Damn, that was a good one, I haven’t laughed like that in a long while.”

 Mona pressed her lips together to avoid laughing herself and Toby and Ximena side-eyed one another before turning away with smirks on their face. Logan narrowed his eyes at each of them before turning to Colt, “Are you done yet?”

 Colt grinned cheekily, “By all means, go ahead.”

 Logan rolled his eyes, turning back to Darius, “Go on.”

 “Riya… wants-you-to-drive-Zafira-home-because-she’s-sick-and-probably-dying-in-the-bathroom-like-none-of-us-can-drive-and-you’re-just-sat-here-so-like-yeah-anyway-like-I-said-she’s-probably-dying-so-she-needs-to-go-home-you-know-to-get-better-and-recover-from-whatever-the-hell-just-happened-wouldn’t-you-rather-she-die-at-home-instead-of-in-a-Wendy’s-bathroom-like-c’mon-a-Wendy’s-bathroom-of-all-places-how-sad-like-wouldn’t-it-be-a-lot-nicer-if-she-died-at-home-or-something-not-that-I-want-her-to-die-but… yeah. So yeah.” Darius said as quickly as he could in one breath. He coughed into his fist and put his hands on his hips. “Right, my job here is done.” He stated with a nod of his head before turning around and marching resolutely into the ladies’ bathroom. Logan stared after him with his mouth agape, along with everyone else at the table. Riya stared at the swinging door of the bathroom before turning back towards Logan.

 Toby looked between the now still door of the bathroom and Riya, “Did he just walk into the—”

 “Ladies’ bathroom? Yeah.” Riya interrupted with a sheepish smile. “Sorry if we’re overstepping, but, like, we really wouldn’t be asking unless it was completely necessary, like, Zafira was literally about to die, like, you should’ve seen her face, you know what, she could actually be on the floor right now, drowning in her own vomit.”

 Once again, there was complete silence at the table as they all stared at Riya. Mona raised a sharp eyebrow at her, “You know, saying Zafira’s drowning in her own vomit doesn’t make us any more likely to put her in our cars? It does the opposite. No matter how cute she is, I’m really not trying to get my seats stained in Wendy’s… Though, I would be willing to make an exception for Zafira, you know, I don’t want her to die in her own vomit, that would just be too tragic.” She mulled, twirling her straw around in a milkshake.

 Before anyone could get another word in, the crew’s phones all pinged simultaneously and they exchanged a tense look before Ximena picked up her phone first. “It’s from Kaneko…” she trailed off.

 “Need 4 of you at the garage in 10 mins, got 5 potential buyers lined up for a range of Mercedez-Benz 190 SL roadsters…” Mona started.

 “Let me guess, I’m not included in that ‘4’, huh?” Colt rolled his eyes, slouching in his seat while sipping his drink.

 “Colt, it’s the same gang we dealt with last time in the Mall, the ones that brought guns, so I don’t want you around them. Come back when the deal is done, until then, I don’t know, go hang out with that girl that you, Logan and Mona can’t seem to stop fighting over.” Toby finished with a shocked expression, “Is that, Boss, poking fun and bantering around? I never thought I’d see the day.” Toby whispered in amazement, adjusting his glasses and rereading the text message. Ximena grinned and looked at the three in question.

 Colt seemed shocked upon the last part of the message, his expression not going unmissed by the rest of the gang. Logan and Mona raised an eyebrow, looking at Colt with intrigue before he quickly schooled his features and turned away, clearing his throat. “I could’ve done those deals just as well as the next person,” he grumbled.

 “You should count yourself lucky, your dad’s trying to keep you safe and instead sending us into the line of fire,” Logan said with a shake of his head, “Thank your lucky stars.”

 “Yeah, yeah, I’ll count them when I see ‘em.” Colt rolled his eyes.

 “Really? Well, considering you’re going to be the one driving Zafira back, you should be getting ready to count them when you see her.” Mona said slyly with a smirk.

 In that moment, Riya realised that they were all somehow acquainted with Zafira, making a mental note to ask her about them later.

 Colt gaped at Mona as he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said dismissively, choosing to stuff a handful of chips in his mouth to avoid more conversation.

 “Sure.”

 Colt narrowed his eyes at her as the rest of the crew stood up, getting ready to leave. Riya stood there watching them leave, confused as to what was going on.

 Logan turned towards her and offered a sheepish smile, “I’m sorry, I can’t make it, I’ve gotta head back,” he said while rubbing the back of his neck, “looks like Colt will be the one driving her back, is that OK? You know, if you really want me to take her I can—“

 “No, no! It’s fine, wouldn’t want you to get into trouble with your, uh, boss or anything…” Riya said quickly.

 “Let us know how Zafira feels, Colt.” Ximena said, patting his shoulder. The crew began walking out, minus Colt, who was left in the booth staring into his drink absentmindedly.

 “Yeah, if she’s not feeling any better, maybe we can drop by with some fancy meds and a gift basket or something,” said Toby, raising his eyebrows in excitement, as he slipped into Ximena’s car.

 “OK, first of all, I don’t know why you’re excited about that, second of all, great idea, let’s just, us, the Mercy Park Crew, drop by Zafira’s house, where a cop resides.” Mona said sarcastically, as she unlocked the door of her own car.

 Toby pouted, “Damn, I forgot about that.”

 “C’mon, we’ll have to worry about Zafira later, it’s already been 5 minutes and you know how Kaneko hates it when someone’s late.” Logan said, sliding into his seat and sticking the keys in the ignition.

 Back in the ladies’ bathroom, Zafira was surprised to see Darius walk in, who quickly threw his hands over his eyes. “Zafira, you in here? Look if you’re dying on the floor, drowning in your own vomit, then let me know, otherwise I’m keeping my hands on my eyes because I’d hate to look like a pervert or something, ya know?”

 Zafira gaped at him before she let out a confused laugh, “Uh, Darius, what are you doing in here?”

 “I came to see how you were feeling but also because I just told Logan that he should take you home because you’re not feeling well… so, let’s go, I’d hate for you to to meet your ending here in the bathroom.”

 “Wait, what? You asked Logan? Why would you do that? Where did he even come from? I don’t need him to take me home, I can just wal—“ Zafira cut off with a heave, slapping her hand over her mouth and gripping the edge of the sink.

 Darius removed his hands and quickly stood next to her, placing a hand on her back. “...You were saying? Look, just let him take you home and then you complain all you want back there, sound good?”

 Zafira nodded her head miserably as Darius guided her out of the bathroom.

 Thankfully for Riya, she saw Darius and Zafira make their way out of the bathroom before she felt the need to initiate small talk with the brooding Colt.

 Darius steered Zafira to the table while she sighed, rubbing a hand over her face.

 “Hang on, where’d everyone go? Where’s Logan?” Darius asked, looking around the diner confused.

 “Colt? ...Don’t tell me the entire gang was here and we didn’t even know.” Zafira said with a laugh.

 “...Wow. You look like you’ve been through hell.” Colt stated, looking at Zafira with slightly veiled worry.

 “Thanks, it was really hot back there.” Zafira deadpanned.

 Colt laughed and stood up. “C’mon, let’s get you home before you vomit all over my shoes.”

 Zafira raised a brow and then leaned forward towards Colt, faking a dry heaving sound.

 “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Not on the shoes! Not the shoes!” Colt yelled, jumping back onto the booth and backing away.

 Zafira moved back before she burst out laughing, slapping her thigh. “Your face! Phew, that was a classic!” She wiped at the corners of her eyes as her giggles died down.

 “You little…” Colt shook his head, folding his arms while glaring at Zafira. The waitress walked over and gave Colt a look.

 “Could you please get off the booth, people sit in those.” Justine said before putting a hand on her hip, “I’d hate to have to call my manager out for this.”

 Colt quickly jumped down and brushed himself off. “Sorry about that,” he said, coughing into his fist awkwardly, “Right, let’s go.”

 He speed walked out of the diner and the trio quickly followed. On their way out, they passed a couple that were sat in the outdoor eating area, with one of them feeding the other that had their eyes closed. “Damien!” The lady called out, laughing while putting her hand over his eyes, “You’re supposed to guess by the taste, stop trying to peek! Stop trying to smell it too!”

 “Khadi,” the man called Damien complained, placing his hand over hers and trying to pull it away, “this is too hard, let me be the one feeding you and you’ll see how hard it is!” He laughed, finally managing to free his eyes. He gasped upon seeing the piece in Khadi’s hand. “See! I knew it was a cookie!”

 “Yeah, obviously! But you didn’t know which one, so your punishment is not getting the rest of it.” She stated proudly, popping the rest of it in her mouth while Damien watched in horror.

 Zafira smiled to herself. Cute, she thought. But her smile dropped when she saw Colt’s motorbike. “Hang on, you’re taking me home on that?” She paled, placing a hand on her stomach, “That doesn’t sound like a such a good idea…”

 Darius and Riya watched her with worry, and even Colt frowned.

 “I would love to indulge in your car fantasies, which, on any other day, I would absolutely hate, but seeing as we have no other way of getting you home, the bike is the only option… Unless you want me to carry you all the way home.” Colt said, raising an eyebrow at Zafira.

 Zafira furrowed her brow and sighed, “Fine, motorbike it is,” she turned to her friends, “I take it you’ll walk it?” she asked.

 Darius and Riya nodded, “Don’t worry about us, you just focus on getting home in one piece.” Darius said sympathetically, patting Zafira’s shoulder.

 “Yeah, in one piece that isn’t covered in vomit, please.” Colt added, swinging his leg over the bike and pulling his helmet on.

 Zafira rolled her eyes and waved her friends off, “See ya later, yeah?” She jumped onto the bike behind Colt, taking the spare helmet from his hands and strapping herself in. “Hey, Colt, pull over to the side of the road when I give you a sign, unless you want chicken sandwich all the way down your back.” She laughed.

 Colt rolled his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time even though Zafira couldn’t see. “...You’re, OK though, right? Not thinking about dying anytime soon?” He asked hesitantly.

 “Why? Would you miss me?” Zafira teased.

 “Of course.” Colt said, without missing a beat.

 Zafira’s eyes widened as she slid her arms around his waist, feeling the bike start up. She stared at the back of his helmet in shock, waiting for him to continue.

 “Who else would talk shit about Logan with me?” Colt said. Zafira could practically hear the smile in his voice.

 There it is, she thought while shaking her head, what were you hoping for, you fool.

 Colt began driving out of the diner and down the path he knew a little too well now, trying not to pay attention to how Zafira’s arms were wrapped around him.

 It was only halfway through the journey when Colt felt a few rapid taps on his shoulder. He frowned, before realising this was one of Zafira’s ‘signs’ and quickly looked for an opportunity to pull up to the side of the road.

 As soon as he’d found a spot, Zafira was all but jumping off the bike and unfastening her helmet. She knew she’d hate to vomit all over someone’s lawn or a public walkway in general, so she pressed her lips together and couldn’t help but thank her lucky stars when she saw a bin sitting a few yards away, running over to the poor, unsuspecting thing.

 As she hurled more of her meal out, Colt hurriedly parked the bike and rushed over to Zafira’s side. He blanked once he got to her and decided he would hold her hair back instead of standing around like a lamppost.

 With his free hand, he poked about in his pockets looking for any tissues or anything else that would help the situation but fell short and instead chose to rub her back instead.

 “Better out than in, am I right?” He said halfheartedly, frowning as she began taking deep breaths.

 “Right, you’re probably not in the best position to be speaking right now, I’ll just let you vomit to your heart’s content.” He winced as she heaved once more and then stood up straight.

 Thankfully, Zafira had managed to nab some napkins before she’d left so she managed to clean herself up as best she could. “What the fuck was in that burger that’s making me so cough up my insides so violently?! Do I need to sue these little shits.” Zafira exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips and blowing some hair out of her face.

 Colt couldn’t help but smile and zone out for a second. How cute.

 “Hello? Earth to Colt? Are you in there?”

 “Yeah, I was just thinking about how cute you look, you know, all sweaty, hair a mess, red in the face.”

 Zafira gaped at him, “I… wha—?”

 Colt smirked at her, “Cat got your tongue?”

 Zafira narrowed her eyes, “You just wait until you catch me on a good day, ‘cute’ won’t even cover how good I look, and the cat will have your tongue.” She said, flipping her hair as best as she could over her shoulder.

 Now it was Colt’s turn to gape at her, but he managed to recover enough to raise an eyebrow and have his charms back intact, “Well then, it’s a good thing that every other day is your good day, huh? Maybe that’s why I’m always so speechless whenever I first see you.” Colt slid his hands into his pockets, pinning her with that mesmerising look.

 Zafira’s mouth opened and soon enough a bright pink blush had made its way onto her face. She stared into his dark eyes and found herself captivated, unable to break the gaze. “Are you… flirting with me right now?”

 “Maybe.”

 “Unbelievable.”

 Colt managed to snap out of whatever he was preoccupied with and stared at her, somewhat confused.

 “You’re really trying to charm a girl when she’s at her most vulnerable state, right after she vomited up a Wendy’s, knowing that she’ll have no choice but to get back on that bike with you, and have you drive her home where you’ll probably hint at wanting to be invited in.”

 Colt gawked at Zafira, rendered speechless. “What?! I never—“

 “I can’t believe you, Colt,” Zafira put her hands on her hips, “You’re an incorrigible flirt, just who do you think you are?”

 “Whoa, hang on a minute! You’ve got the wrong end of the stick—“

 Zafira gasped in horror, her hands flying up to her mouth, “You were trying to give me your stick?!” She almost screeched.

 Colt threw his hands up in defence, taking a step back as his mouth dropped open in shock. Then he narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms again. “You’re fucking around with me, aren’t you?”

 Zafira presses her lips together, a snort coming out against her will. “Sorry, you’re just too easy to play around with.” She burst out in full blown laughter, smacking her thigh.

 Colt sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “What am I gonna do with you?”

 “I can think of a few things.” Zafira smiled coyly.

 It was Colt’s turn to blush as his expression went slack. “You’re gonna be the death of me, you know that?”

 Zafira laughed, “C’mon, Lover Boy, you still need to take me home.”

 …

 It was when they were outside the Wheeler residence that Zafira once again felt that familiar lurching feeling in her stomach, “Oh no…” she moaned, unfastening the helmet as fast as she could for a second time that day. This time, Colt was slightly more prepared and he’d already parked the bike and dismounted it.

 “Let’s get you inside, I don’t think anyone wants to see a girl projectile vomiting right about now.” Colt chuckled, wrapping one arm around her back and ushering her inside. But it was too late, Zafira felt the familiar burning of the acid in her throat and was heaving out small neutral coloured bits onto Colt’s shoes faster than she could tell Colt where the keys were.

 There was a silence after Zafira had stopped hurling out her meal or rather, what was left of it.

 “...” Colt blinked a couple of times, almost unseeingly.

 “...Guess you no longer want to come in and give me your stick, huh?” Zafira said for no reason, with a weak laugh. She straightened up and pressed her hand to her face, trying to wipe away whatever had stained her mouth.

 Colt stared at her for a few seconds before he burst out laughing. Zafira was shocked and slowly joined in, not caring how they must’ve looked to passersby.

 “I can’t… I can’t believe you just... brought up the stick again... after you just threw up on me.” Colt said in between laughs.

 Zafira’s laughter dissolved away and all she could do was stare at Colt’s shoes sympathetically, rather embarrassed.

 “Those shoes, they didn’t cost much did they? This is awful, I’m so sorry.” She moaned, squeezing her eyes shut and dropping her head back.

 “It’s fine, nothing that sweet, illegal money can’t fix.” Colt joked with a wink.

 “Colt!” Zafira gasped, looking around furtively, “You can’t just say stuff like that out loud!”

 “Why, will your dad appear out of nowhere if I say ‘illegal’ three times? No wait, maybe I should rub a briefcase full of a couple million dollars and then say it.” He wondered, putting his free hand on his chin and rubbing it thoughtfully.

 Zafira shook her head and laughed, “Will you shut up?”

 He grinned as they stared at each other again. It’s really quite easy to get lost in those eyes, Zafira thought, damn.

 Zafira cleared her throat and looked away, fiddling around in her pockets to pull out the keys, but not without Colt catching that lovely pink blush on her face again. He smiled contently.

 “Is your dad home?”

 “No…why, you tryna give me some of that stick action?” Zafira wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

 Colt pressed his lips together to avoid laughing. “We’re never gonna let that one go, are we?”

 “Nope.” Zafira grinned.

 Colt shook his head, “I was asking because I was looking forward to stealing that apple pie.”

 Zafira sighed dramatically, “Even in a cop’s household, you can’t let go of your criminal behaviour.”

 Colt narrowed his eyes, “You know, for the daughter of a cop, you’re awfully close to us criminals.”

 “What can I say? I’m attracted to the dark side.” She joked, removing herself from his hold and guiding them inside. She took off her shoes and suddenly stopped, remembering Colt’s burger covered shoes. “Right, uh, give me your shoes, wait, and your jeans, I think I got those covered too.”

 “Wow, you like to move fast, huh?”

 “Shut up!” she slapped his shoulder, “You know what I mean!”

 “Do I, though? Do I really?”

 Zafira put her hands on her hips, “Hand over your things before I decide to shower you in chicken bits.”

 “Yes, Ma’am.” Colt grinned cheekily, as he kicked off his shoes and moved to unbuckle his belt, all while maintaining eye contact. 

 Zafira’s eyes widened, and she rapidly began turning pink once again, “I’ll, uh, go find some trousers while you, uh, yeah.”

 “Oh, so now you’re shy. What happened to wanting the stick?” He teased.

 “Not another word out of you, Colt.” She pointed at him, with narrowed eyes as she walked backwards. Colt saluted her with a wink.

 Once Zafira was no longer within his sight and safely in the bathroom with a change of clothes, she placed a hand on her chest and took a deep breath in. What the hell is going on?! She shook her head and quickly washed up, throwing her clothes in the hamper and changing into a tank top and sweats. She looked at herself in the mirror and halfheartedly tied her hair up in a bun. “Yeah, this is fine. I’m not making an effort for no one, this is… fine.” She tried to reassure herself, dusting herself off absentmindedly.

 “Hey, uh, Zafira? Are you really finding me some clothes right now or was this just part of your ulterior motive to get me half naked in the middle of your living room?” Colt yelled.

 Zafira’s eyes widened and she hurried out of the bathroom into her father’s room, grabbing the first pair of combat trousers she saw. “Wow,” she scoffed, “how fitting.”

 She raced back into the living room with one hand over her eyes. “I’m here, I’m here! Don’t be doing any weird half-naked things!”

 Zafira held the trousers out in front of her, keeping her other hand firm over her eyes. When she felt him grab them from her hand, she spun around, giving him her back.

 “Let me know when you’re done.”

 “You scared of seeing a little thigh, Zafira?”

 “No,” she said firmly, “I’m giving you privacy, you know, because I have manners?”

 Colt laughed and after some more rustling sounds, he called out to her.

 “Are you sure? I don’t trust you…” said Zafira.

 “Yes, I’m sure. Why don’t you come over here and check?”

 Zafira turned around with her eyes still closed. She slowly opened one and then the other, relieved to find him fully clothed. “Right, I’ll just, throw these in the washer and get them back to you as fast as I can. I don’t know about those shoes though…” She trailed off, looking concerned at the now chicken covered shoes.

 “Relax,” Colt chuckled, “I’ll just, wash them… and then… donate them or recycle them somehow. Yeah. Maybe I’ll keep them, you know, as your first gift to me, Zafira vomit.”

 Zafira scrunched up her nose, “Ew! No! Don’t do that… wait, what do you mean ‘first gift’?”

 “Exactly what it sounds like. Were you not inviting me back here to tell me you have a huge crush on me?”

 Zafira’s jaw dropped, “I do not have a huge crush on you!”

 “Oh, my bad,” Colt frowned, “it’s just a small crush then?”

 Zafira pinched the bridge of her nose, “What am I gonna do with you?”

 Colt grinned, “This is beginning to feel a lot like déjà vu, don’t you think?”

 Zafira shook her head with a small smile as she gingerly picked up the trousers and went to the utility room after dropping by the hamper. Once she’d started the wash, she slowly walked out into the living room where Colt was now gazing at her family photos. “You’re still here?”

 Colt looked up at the sound, “Where else would I go?”

 Zafira shrugged, looking out of the window to find the sky bathed in a warm orange, “I don’t know, home.”

 “This place feels more like home to me right now…” he murmured.

 Zafira bit her lip and looked around, desperate for a distraction of some sort. “Well, what better time to watch movies illegally than with a criminal by your side, right?”

 She bounded over to the couch and pulled out her laptop from under some books as Colt watched her, amused. He slowly walked over and sat down next to her, wondering how he got so lucky to have someone like her in his life.

 “Thank you.”

 “For what?” Zafira asked, turning her head to him.

 “Well, for cleaning me up I guess,” he laughed quietly, “but also for giving me… a home of sorts. I can’t believe I’ve felt more love in this household than I have in my entire 20 years of living as Kaneko’s son. Is your dad looking to adopt any time soon?” Colt joked halfheartedly.

 “Well, if you stick around, maybe he’ll take you in as his son-in-law.” Zafira said, turning back to the laptop with a small smile on her face.

 Colt’s face warmed as his mouth opened in shock, “Was that... an indirect proposal just now?”

 “Maybe.” She winked at him, focusing on picking a movie and smirking at his red, shell shocked face.

 FIN.

 Written by: @wzkdj (Instagram)

[fluffytoast101]

Fresh start

Malva and Vera stood outside of their new highschool. Malva checked their papers once again to make sure they were at the right school. "Campbell.. School campbell. Yup, we are at the right place." Malva said while looking from the paper to the school. "School campbell. Thats probrably the shittiest name ive ever heard." Vera stated. "Welp... even tho you're right, lets just go in."  

They walked in to the school. The walls were lined with red lockers. A few people were scatterd in the hall. "Well. Looks decent enough." Malva stated while looking around at the people. "I dont really know what we are supposed to do so you lead the way." Vera gestured to Malva. Malva did finger guns and got some in return. "Then we should head to the principals office to get papers about our classes and lockers and stuff like that" Malva shrugged while started wandering in the halls. Ofcourse they didnt know their way around the school so they quickly got lost even tho they were reading the signs scatterd around here and there. "this sucks" Vera complained while they walked in the main hall for like the 3rd time. But then a small group of three people caught their eye. "Lets go and ask them!" Malva exclaimed and slightly pointed to the group. Vera shrugged while they walked up to them.

"Excuse me?" Malva asked kindly as they got to the group. The group looked at them. The shorter one with darker skin looked annoyed, the one with teal hair who were a little taller then the annoyed one looked excited and the taller one with glasses looked confused. Malva felt her confident drop by a huge amount wich Vera semmed to notice."We were wondering were the principal office thing is. We are new and need the shit were supposed to pick up" Vera said with a bored expression. "Oh just walk down the hall and turn left. It isnt labled so it can be hard to miss."  the taller one said and pointed down the hall. "shit... i swear we looked there.." Malva mumbled under her breath. "Okay thanks! We will be on our way!" She said and started walking away Vera quickly following after. The group looked at the two new girls as they dissapered in the hall. "They seem n-" The teal haired girl got interuppted by the bell ringing. The group shrugged and headed to their home room.

Vera and Malva looked at each other with a confuzzled look. They had knocked on the door atleast 10 times now. Malva slightly opend the door "H-hello?" She said quite loudly. She saw a man with grey hair and a moustach holding a bunch of money... seemed like he was counting it. Vera also looked in and they both turned even more confused. They enterd and closed the door behind them making the man slightly jump. He looked at the two girls standing in front of his desk and quickly stuffed his money in a drawer.

"Why hello their... ladies?" The principal, they assumed, said as a question. "Or are you both boys and one of you is just very gay?" He then said reffering to Malvas outfit and their short hairstyles. "No. Last time we checked we were girls," Vera scoffed out and rolled her eyes. "Uh we are new.. we are here to pick up some stuff.." Malva said and fiddeling with her sleeves. "Ah yes." He started before he yelled. "DAVID! WE GOT NEW STUDENTS. COULD YOU TAKE CARE OF THEM IM BUSY!" A tall red haired man quickly walked in from another door in the room. "Yes, sir, yes!" David, they assumed, said like he was in some sort of boot camp. The principal went back to counting his money. "Hello their ladys!" David said and fiddled with some papers he was holding in his hands. "You must be.. Vera and Malva?" He grinned at them, an annoying grin that is. He got a "Yup" and "Yes" in return. He started rambeling on about the rules in the school and how happy he was to be vice principal while giving them their papers. It was annoying how happy he was while talking, the grin never went away from his face. "Alright! You guys are lucky. You have the same home room with the best teacher in the school!" David said when he was done rambeling. The girls nodded and walked out of the office. They found their lockers and put in their bags ect.

They stood outside their home room and hesitated before entering. The whole class went quiet and the techer let out a small groan. "Alright kids.. we got two new students today." The teacher said with an tired look. "You can interduce yourselves i assume." "Alright." Malva said while Vera shrugged. They walked up to the front of the class room. "Well my name is Malva.. And i draw.. Pretty much all i do." Malva shrugged and looked at Vera. "Im vera and i dont do much. Draw from time to time. " "Alright there are some empty seats around the room.. Or there are two empty seats wich actually is perfect." The techer said and went back to talking to the class. Malva and Vera gave eachother finger guns and a wink before walking to their different seats. Malva made her way to the middle of the classroom too the right. She took a seat next to the taller boys from earlier. "Hi again." She said while she sat down. The boy slightly jumped from the surprise and looked at the girl next to him. "Oh hi." He said. "Hey i never got your name." Malva questioned with a smile." My name is Neil" Neil reached out her hand for her to shake. She gladly took it and shook his hand. "Yours?" Neil asked until he relized that she interduced herself at the front of the class. she quietly giggled. "Oh- sorry that was emberassing- shit." Neil said scratching the back of his neck turning slightly red. "Hey its fine." Malva answerd and turned her attention to the teacher again.

Vera watched her friend from the back of the classroom and smirked. She sat next to the short darker skinned kid from earlier and the teal haired girl sat infront of them talking with the kid with blue beanie. Vera slightly glanced at the boy next to her and caught him looking at her. "You like what you see?~" Vera jokingly said while the boy sighed. "My name is Max if you were fucking wondering." Max rested his head on his hand looking at the teacher while she rambled on about something about the cafeteria and its food. "Thats good to know" Vera said and turned to the front of the class aswell.

The end of like chapter one idk i might do more parts bcs it would be weird to end just like this and i have ideas

[bldgrelationshipwgod]

RE: The Parable of the Two Sons - Part 2.1,2,3 [Fleeing the Vineyard] 

EXPLORATION: 1 Kings 19:1-15

So when we meet Elijah in CH19, it’s after a lot of stressful events in his life.

    He’s doing a lot of travelling;     He’s having to deliver a lot of bad news to a king;     He’s killing people; &     He’s running for his life.             ________________________________________________________

Now let’s put ourselves in Elijah’s sandals, as we read the first 15 verses:

1 Kings 19:1-15 | Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done & how he had killed all the prophets w/ the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods deal w/ me, & ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the lives of those you killed!”

And Elijah was afraid & ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself traveled on a day’s journey into the wilderness.

He sat down under a broom tree & prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” Then he lay down under the broom tree & fell asleep.

Suddenly an angel touched him & said, “Get up & eat.” And he looked around, & there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, & a jar of water. So he ate & drank & lay down again.

A second time the angel of the LORD returned & touched him, saying, “Get up & eat, or the journey will be too much for you.” So he got up & ate & drank.

And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days & forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

There Elijah entered a cave & spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, & killed Your prophets w/ the sword. I am the only one left, & they are seeking my life as well.”

Then the LORD said, “Go out & stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.”

And a great & mighty wind tore into the mountains & shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak & went out & stood at the mouth of the cave.

Suddenly a voice came to him & said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, & killed Your prophets w/ the sword. I am the only one left, & they are seeking my life as well.” Then the LORD said to him, “Go back by the way you came, to the Desert of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram.

PURPOSE: So as we said, we’re going to tie this portion of Scripture with the passage about going to work in the vineyard.

So we see from the previous 2 chapters that Elijah has been called to go work in the vineyard. In these 15 verses, I want to divide into 3 main sections.

In the first 6 verses we see Elijah fleeing the vineyard; We pick-up where Ahab catches up w/ Elijah in Jezreel. Notice how Ahab never tells his wife about the fire from heaven or how the GOD of Israel won the battle. Jezebel sends a msg to Elijah that basically says: “You’re next.” Now remember we’re wearing Elijah’s sandals right now.    - We just ran a marathon, after killing 450 ppl.    - Before we even have a chance to kick back & relax for a minute after      this, we’re told we’re going to die. We have 24hrs to live. So what’s a natural rxn to this kind of news? Elijah was afraid. Again he goes on another long journey, over 100km, which shows how strong the fear was. After a marathon I don’t think I could take another step, let alone another 100km. It shows the kind of power this queen had. Elijah really feared for his life, so he runs. Leaving his servant at Beersheba, & journeyed another full day into the wilderness. He crawls under a little Juniper tree to die. It kind of reminds me of the story of Jonah right? Frustrated prophet find a tree to hide under..

But we can understand how Elijah comes to be under a tree in the middle of no-where right? “I was minding my own business in Gilead, I didn’t ask anybody to tell me to stop the rain. In fact, I wanted it to rain. Then you want me to go & tell the king it’s not going to rain. Then kill 450 ppl? I understand You did that miracle w/ the widow, up North. I understand You proved Yourself, You brought fire down from heaven. I get it, but seriously, do You know how much I’ve been running around for You the last 3 years? And I don’t even get 24hrs rest before I die?” It’s an overwhelming situation to be in, for Elijah. So Elijah asks GOD to kill him, rather than this nut-job lady. I’m not any better than my forefathers, I mean look at the ppl it’s not like I’ve done anything positive. It’s just been negative/failure/running/stress.

Angel of the LORD is sent to Elijah w/ food. Elijah wakes, looks around & sees food. He doesn’t ask who prepared this? Remember he’s in the middle of no-where. It looks like he assumed he just woke-up because of the delicious aroma. Maybe GOD was giving him a chance to realize: OK I’ve got to go do something. But no, he wakes up & eats then falls asleep again.

The angel tries again.

OBSERVATION: The 1st 6 verses Elijah is fleeing away from the vineyard.    Then the next 6 verses, we see how the Master of the vineyard pursues Elijah.    Elijah was asked to go to the vineyard, & as we see the situation: he’s saying    “No chance!” He gave up, but a wonderful thing happens.

   GOD makes Elijah a 2nd meal.

   At this point in time, GOD could've said, “You know what? I can’t use this guy    anymore. He’s completely lost it & given up. I dropped him food out of no    where in the middle of no where; & he still falls asleep.”

   But GOD doesn’t do that.

   GOD gives Elijah a 2nd chance, & gives him some more food.    So angel again wakes him up & says: “Eat bc journey is too great for you.”

   Elijah wakes eats & travels 40d to Mount Sinai. Remember Elijah’s been    called to be a prophet of Israel, & now he’s in a desert the south of Israel.

   The vineyard GOD called him to is North. But where does he go? South.    He’s in motion, but he’s still not going to the vineyard.

   Elijah returns to Sinai, where GOD met w/ Moses & gave the law to Moses.    What does he do there? Goes to sleep.

IMAGINE: Elijah’s diatribe to GOD in this sacred place.

LORD, You revealed Yourself to the people in this very place. You gave us the law here, & taught us how to live. Why is this happening? Where are the ppl not following You? What happened here?

I can imagine him laying there frustrated, angry, confused. And that is when the LORD appears to him.

BOOM! You’re at your lowest point, & I’m going to find you in that hole. And I’m going to speak to you there.

GOD says something a little anti-climatic: “What are you doing here?”

   “What are you doing sleeping in a hole in the Sinai?”    “What are you doing?”

Elijah answers Him: “You don’t understand. I have been so passionate for You. I’ve done everything You’ve asked me to do. I’ve run around this country. I’ve delivered bad news to the king. I’ve used these hands to kill 450 ppl. I’m running for my life. Everything You’ve asked me to do, I’ve done it. But what’s the result?

The sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant (v.10).”

NOTICE: He leads w/ the word covenant because that’s what happened in this very spot! You remember GOD, here at Sinai You gave a covenant to the ppl. 

They forsook Your covenant.

They took Your altars & destroyed those.

They’ve killed Your prophets. In fact, I’m the only one left!

Now they want to kill me too.

It’s interesting that he says all these things, bc he just killed a bunch of ppl of Baal by the sword right? If you look back at 1 Kings 18:13, there are actually 100 prophets of the LORD still around.

He’s not really alone.

But you can see how influenced/frustrated he is by how dramatic he’s being. I’m the only one left.

Verse 11, GOD tells Elijah to go outside to stand on the mountain of the LORD. Because the LORD is going to meet him physically (typhoon/earthquake/fire).

But Elijah didn’t move until he heard this gentle voice.              ________________________________________________________

OBSERVATION: So this is where we see the turn in Elijah’s thinking.

v.1-6 Fleeing the vineyard,

v.7-12 Elijah is being pursued by the Master of the vineyard, in his hole;

v.13-onward Elijah returns to the vineyard.

This is the moment, if we’re comparing it to the parable:

Where he said, “No!” but then he regrets it & starts to go back..

NOTE: Let’s take a moment to appreciate how GOD is approaching Elijah.