#bc my friend wants to do her shopping early but there’s no way we’ll finish in time

[victory-cookies]

everyone in my life just needs me for my car :(

[comfyswitcherblanketfort]

Honeysuckle

hi i have no self control and really really really love tattoo artist!jaskier so here we are again. this is a prequel to the nipple piercings fic wherein geralt is absolutely smitten from day one. not the same vibe but im telling myself thats to be expected bc these take place like five years apart lol

Warnings: tattoos. if they make you squeamish this is not your fic, swearing, mild anxiety, not much else

___________________

Geralt’s palms were sweating when he walked into the little tattoo shop above his favorite deli. The artist he booked was nice enough in the email, and the front desk gal was sweet on the phone, but he’d never gotten a tattoo before and his anxiety was telling him to run home and bury himself under all the blankets he owned. 

A familiar voice greeted him when he came through the door, “Hey! Sweet, you’re early! Jask is just setting up the chair!” 

The coily brown haired receptionist gestured to a black leather couch across the room and Geralt just barely caught a glimpse of tattooed vines from under her hoodie sleeve. He nodded and smiled, taking a seat and trying not to look so stiff. The receptionist called another artist over and Geralt was surprised when the taller, purple eyed woman wrapped her arms around her shoulders and placed a kiss on her cheek as they looked at the monitor. It was the good kind of surprise, Geralt decided, the kind that sets you at ease when you were gearing up for a fight. The receptionist caught his unintentional smile and winked at him before he suddenly found his nail beds fascinating.

“You Geralt?”

His eyes scanned over the man asking from bottom to top and nearly lost his ability to speak, “Hm? Thats me.”

He looked like he came straight form the Seattle grunge scene in the 90’s, but showered and with beautiful floral blackout sleeves up to the wrists on each arm. It seemed the only color over his whole body was the few yellow buttercups scattered through the pattern, ending in a bouquet of all sorts of plants and flowers and herbs at his collar bones, only slightly covered by his Heathers on Broadway tank. 

He flicked his wispy brown hair out of his unreasonably pretty blue eyes and smiled so brilliantly Geralt had to remember to breathe, “I’m Jaskier. Come on back!”

Geralt gave him a curt nod and stood to follow. 

“I hope you brought shorts, it might be a bitch to walk home in that.” Jaskier said, leading him into one of the rooms down a long hallway.

Geralt was suddenly regretting listening to Lambert. He wanted to melt into the floor when he realized he would have to say this to the beautiful tattoo artist’s face, “They uh… they zip away…”

“Oh my god.” Jaskier breathed, finally looking at Geralt’s knees, “I didn’t even know they made those anymore.”

“I swear to god, my brother wears them for work and told me to-”

Jaskier waved his hand, clearly holding back a smile, “No worries, Ron Stoppable.”

Geralt rolled his eyes but couldn’t keep from smiling, “Do you make a habit of making fun of your clients?”

“Only when I’m sure they can handle it,” he teased, “Now off with the hideous zipper pants, I gotta shave your thigh before I start the drawing.”

Once Geralt was shaved and positioned every which way on the table/chair contraption, he finally got to see the rough sketch. The marker felt cool and tickled the back of his knee, but surprisingly to him, he kept up a relaxed conversation, almost flirting before he thought better of it. 

“Do you like where everything is? Want any more grass? Or flowers? Now’s the time for changes, don’t be shy.” 

Geralt turned his leg this way and that, looking at the little blue and purple marks in a band just above his knee in the mirror, “You’re the professional, what do you think?”

Jaskier took a step back and reached for a roll of paper towels and a bottle of rubbing alcohol, “You said this was your first tattoo right?”

Geralt nodded.

“Okay, one less flower on the back then.”

“Why?”

“It’s one of the most painful places to get tattooed.”

“Keep it. I like it.”

Jaskier raised an eyebrow, “Alright, Hot Shot. Face down, we’ll start there first.”

Holy fuck Jaskier was right. Geralt had a high pain tolerance, but this was a whole different kind of pain. He had his arms crossed under his forehead and was doing his best to take deep, even breaths but Jesus Christ, that little chuckle-fuck just kept going over what felt like the same spot. But hell would freeze over before Geralt tapped out, so he forced his breath out and kept going.

“Why honeysuckle?” Jaskier asked as he sat back to dip the machine in more ink.

Geralt took the opportunity to shift a bit and breathe easy before he lied, “Just picked it.”

Jaskier’s hands were back on his thigh, “You don’t have to tell me, it’s just not something I’m asked to do very often. Never for a first tattoo.”

Geralt’s smile turned into a grimace as the needles were back at his skin. Whether it was his sincerity, pretty eyes, or Geralt’s desperate need for a distraction, he bucked up and answered his question, “My- ah, someone told me to find a reminder of things I loved. My horse eats nothing but honeysuckle whenever we go on the trails.”

"That's so fucking cute," Jaskier sighed, still attacking the back of Geralt's leg, "Wouldn't have pegged you for a horse guy. What's their name?" 

The pain was easier to ignore when Geralt was rambling about Roach. Jaskier kept the conversation flowing, maybe indulging Geralt’s ramblings a little too much, but by the time he flipped Geralt over to do the inside of his knee they were joking and swapping disastrous college stories like old friends. They took a snack break where the purple eyed woman, Yennefer he'd learned, made fun of his zip shorts and Triss scolded her. It was nice, he felt oddly at home here with these people he’d just met. 

The front half of the tattoo was nothing compared to the back and Geralt was able to breathe and just chat. He did his best to convince himself that the feeling in his chest wasn’t disappointment when Jaskier finally finished and wrapped his leg in saniderm. 

Jaskier leaned on the front desk while they waited for Geralt’s card to run, "What are you doing after this?" 

Geralt's stomach turned with nervous excitement and he truly didn't know how he got his words to come out so casual, "Was just gonna get some ramen and watch reruns, why?" 

Jaskier worried at his bottom lip as he stapled the receipt to some paperwork, "There's a great ramen place around the corner and I don't have another appointment tonight…" 

Geralt positively beamed, "If you can stand to be seen with someone wearing zipper shorts in public, I'd love to."

[copias-thrall]

There’s Something About Mary

A day in the life of our crusty Mr. Goore

Mary POV chapter bc I want to and I can.

⬅️ Previous

*public masturbation, kinda*

Mary wakes up horny.

He must have been having a pleasant dream, because his cock is hard and throbbing where it rests heavy against his thigh. He shoves a hand down into his undone jeans to give his cock a squeeze—just for a moment of relief—and, as the touch wakes him up fully, he realizes he can hear the distinct sounds of sex from one of the rooms. A thump thump thump and a squeak squeak squeak, all punctuated with blatant moans.

Fuck it, he thinks, and he begins to jack it to the sex orchestra going on, not 10ft from where he lies on the couch. Once a place they sometimes took turns on, the couch has become Mary’s de facto room—a subtle punishment for his supposed defection. So, he has no qualms about masturbating in his room, and if any of the other guys have an issue with it, Mary has no problem making his display more public, just for spite.

He pauses only to spit in his hand when his dry palm begins to chafe. It doesn’t even matter when the noises from the other room cease (and later Mary will have to tease them about their staying power), Mary just scrolls through his mental Rolodex until he brings up the memory of his dick in between Suey’s tits, how they jiggled despite being held together, how shiny they became once covered in his jizz, and how she looked up at him as she contorted one to bring it up to her mouth to lap some off.

“Shit, shit,” he exclaims as the memory of her pink tongue lapping up his cum causes him to release. Some shoots up his bare chest, but most of it lands and pools in his belly button. Eyes still closed, his free hand shoots out and fumbles for the box of tissues on the table, encountering instead a stack of thin takeout napkins.

As he does his best to clean himself up with the napkins—whose integrity is suspect—he can hear the low rumble of male voices and a high, feminine giggle from the sex room. Just to be a jackass, he gets himself up so that he can have first dibs on the bathroom.

Making sure to lock the door behind him, Mary turns on the hot faucet, willing the water to warm up sooner than later. He takes the opportunity, while he waits, to piss in the toilet; it’s already open—toilet seat up—even though it’s supposed to put it down when they have guests. They’re out of TP again, so a roll of paper towels rests on the lid of the tank.

Once the water is warm enough, Mary uses a couple pieces from the roll to clean off the jizz drying and to give himself a brief wipe down. His face is still half crusty with makeup, and he’s tempted to just add to it, but he’s learned from hard experience how that can fuck up your face, so—even though it’s a goddamned pain—Mary washes his face. He even uses the harsh Dial hand soap, even though the acrid smell will get up into his nose for hours.

He thinks of the nice-smelling scrub Suey has and her drugstore face cream he sometimes rubs into his skin.

In the soap- and toothpaste-speckled mirror, he starts to apply his “Day Face” (as Suey calls it) from the communal box of makeup (his better stuff is in his backpack): a light dusting of white powder; some eyeliner all the way around; a dull, red lipstick; and black shadow on his cheekbones.

He’s just starting on his hair when there comes a pounding on the door

“Fucks’ sake. C’mon, Goore.”

Mary turns his head upside down in the sink basin so he can haphazardly splash some water into his hair.

“Fuck off, douchebag.”

He starts to work his fingers into his locks, coaxing the glue already in it to activate.

“She’s gotta pee, man.”

He fluffs his forelock in the mirror as his other hand searches for the blood tube in the box.

“We have a kitchen sink.”

A small voice tells him not to take his annoyance with his friends out on the girl, and he sighs.

“Stop being a di—”

The voice cuts off as Mary swings the door open. Brendan's angry face smooths into one of minor irritation. The girl—Lisa?—stands, thighs crushed together, in an oversized kitten t-shirt. She looks at Mary, wide-eyed; her gaze darts to his bare, wet chest before snapping back up.

“Lis,” he says, winking as he saunters out.

Her face crumples a little.

“Lizzy,” she says, and Mary’s stomach swoops a bit when he realizes he’s probably slept with her before.

He makes himself smile as she moves past him to the bathroom.

“That’s what I said: Liz.” He shoots her a finger gun at her as Brendan scowls at them both. When the door closes and Brendan is still glaring, Mary lets out a “What?”

“You sticking around for breakfast, man?”

Mary rolls his eyes. “I’m here, ain’t I?” He starts to paw through the plastic shelving drawers next to the couch for a shirt.

Brendan shrugs. “Thought your pussy-whipped ass might need to get back to that uptown princess of yours.”

He glares at Brendan. “Stop being dick.”

“She’s fucking slumming it, dude. I’m warning you.”

It’s not a new argument, so Mary just ignores him, instead trying to apply a bit of blood to the tip of his forelock using the heart compact Suey gave him.

Titus emerges from the shared room, yawning, in his terrible leopard print robe that’s way too short.

“Morning, asswipe,” he says to Mary as he walks by. “What’re we bitching about?”

Brendan says “uptown girl” as Mary says “nothing.”

Titus sighs.

“Jesus, Brendan. You gotta get over that. That’s Mary’s mistake to make.”

“You know what? Fuck this shit.” Mary starts getting his backpack in order.

“That’s right! Blow off another band meeting!” says Brendan, and Mary spins on his heel to stomp back.

He jabs a finger into his chest. “I’m here all the goddamned time, more than I am at her place. I come to every meeting you tell me about.”

“I shouldn’t have to tell you about anything. You should just be here. You should be committed,” hisses Brendan.

“I’m going to make some toast,” says Titus as he swishes toward the kitchen.

Mary rifles through his plastic draws and slams a notebook and loose papers onto the table.

“There’s mine, dude. Lyrics. Composition. Where’s yours?”

Donnie and Jamie wander out of their room.

“Not this shit again. It’s too fucking early,” says Donnie.

Brendan vibrates. “What about funds, man? A social media presence? You think all that happens by magic?”

“So I’m supposed to write, and compose, and do the budget?” snarls Mary.

“Guys,” moans Jamie.

“And our Insta is shit, by the way.”

“Fuck. Can we not?” moans Donnie.

Mary again jabs a finger at Brendan. “Then tell him to can it. I’ve already been exiled to the couch. I don’t need him picking fights because he doesn’t like my girlfriend, who—by the way—has never fucking done anything wrong.”

“You haven’t been exil—” Jamie starts.

“We were supposed to fucking share those rooms,” Mary hisses as he gesticulates. “I pay the same amount of rent, and yet I come home one day to find all my stuff in a pile in the living room. I have to wait for you guys to stop playing video games because ‘this is shared space’ to fucking sleep.”

“We all agreed—”

“No. You guys agreed. I didn’t get shit to say about it. So you’ll forgive me if I’m not too fucking keen on being pleasant.”

They all stand there, glowering at each other until Donnie says, “I need to take a goddamned piss,” and finds the bathroom door locked. At his soft The fuck? the lock clicks, and Lizzy opens the door cautiously.

“I’m sorry. It just. Seemed like you guys were getting into it.”

Brendan sighs. “C’mon, babe. Let’s get your stuff.”

The fight isn’t a new one, and—with no resolution in sight—they all drop the subject so they can get on with the breakfast of eggs on toast Titus brings out and the subsequent band meeting. The Brick—a cheap, overworked laptop—is brought out so they can go over band business: the budget; the van maintenance and parking costs; the gig and practice schedule is outlined so that they can align their work shifts; new merch ideas are bandied about; and they talk about how to improve their digital sales.

Mary’s leg jiggles impatiently.

The meeting breaks nearly 5hrs later; Jamie goes back to sleep because he’s got the night shift at the Quik•Mart; Brendan heads out for his afternoon shift at Target; it’s Donnie’s day off, so he cues up Mario Kart; and Titus decides he’s going to go pound on the drums in the practice space they rent, since his dad pays his bills.

Mary has been saddled with stopping by the local record stores to see if any of their physical CDs have sold to prove he’s “committed,” even though he’s got the closing shift at Sixes & Sevens.

As he’s leaving the building, he encounters Brendan, who is leaning against the brick, smoking a cigarette. Mary’s fingers twitch.

“So you’re not coming back tonight, then.”

“We have band business?”

“No.”

“Then, no.”

Brendan lets out a puff of smoke.

“You think I’m being a dick, but that girl does not care about you. She’s a tourist. Us—the band. That’s what’s real, Mary.”

Mary knows he should keep walking, but even after counting to 10, he’s still pissed, so he spins on his heel.

“You don’t know anything about her or her goddamned life.”

“Neither do you.” He finishes the smoke, then tosses it to the pavement to grind under his combat boot. “We’ll be here when it all explodes in your face, Goore. But you’re going to have to rebuild a lot of bridges.”

And then he’s off down the sidewalk. Mary stands there, seething, waiting until Brendan disappears round the corner since he’s also headed in that direction.

He’s not really in the best of moods when he hits up the first store, but by the 4th, he’s back to his plucky repartee. The owner of his favorite shop intimates that a vinyl version of their LP might sell much better than their DIY CD, and Mary enthusiastically thanks the dude as if it’s the first time such a concept has been considered.

The whole route honestly doesn’t even really take that much time at all—maybe 2 hours—so he chances stopping by Suey’s. Worst case, he’ll take a nap; best case, she’ll be there to bitch at him.

Like everything else today, however, circumstances are just not on his side, and he opens the door to her tiny fucking apartment to find it empty. The mail is bad again, and he rifles through it, plucking out anything that’s obviously junk to toss and anything that looks like a bill to put on her counter. There’s only a bowl in the sink, so he leaves it.

He’s hoping that she comes home before he has to leave—maybe she’ll even give him a blow job—as he wraps himself up in the afghan that smells slightly of her.

She doesn’t.

His alarm wakes him up at 4:15pm for his shift at 6. Groggily, he stumbles to the fridge to see what there is to eat, and finds a pot crammed in haphazardly amongst the other food items. Mary’s not really sure what he’s looking at—Suey tends to just throw shit together when she can’t be bothered, but most of the time it’s edible.

It ends up being some sort of cheesy potato stew and actually isn’t that bad. He eats the whole thing out of the pot before scrubbing it and the lone bowl clean. He waits as long as he dares to watch her come clomping tiredly through her door, but he really does have to leave. He leaves a kiss on her mirror after he reapplies his lipstick. (He should probably redo his face but: eh.)

Work is work. It starts slow—with Mary taking down the chairs and wiping off everything with the disinfectant spray. Sometimes Mary finds this kind of Zen—a time to hum out chords and roll around lyrics in his head—but today he’s just tired. It gets a little better when Mickey and the other bartender show up to do citrus prep. It’s a weekday, so there’s only a moderate crowd, and Mickey leaves them to it so he can do business manager-type things in his office.

And then there are the girls. Most of the girls who come to Sixes & Sevens aren’t the type to be put off by Mary’s whole shtick—and there are obviously the ones who come here expressly to flirt with him—so he has no qualms turning on his charms. Mickey lets him do it because customers are customers, and if girls want to come and spend money on drinks while they purr at Mary, who is Mickey to stop them? Len or Mika don’t give a shit because tips are pooled.

Used to be Mary could have his pick of a warm body for the evening—some girl (or occasionally some guy if Mary deemed him beefy enough) who’d take him to her nice-smelling, clean apartment … who’d let him spend the night on her soft, downy pillows after he pounded her into next year, before kicking him out at dawn. But now he’s got a girlfriend—one who makes sure he eats and yells at him to wash his face—waiting for him in her stale apartment with her flat, polyester pillows, and Mary hopes he’s not fool enough to fuck that up.

Not that his dick has gotten the memo.

No matter how many times Mary tells that fucker that he’s not going to fuck any of these women, his dick still twitches in interest whenever plump lips are wrapped around straws or fingertips trail over his hand. Tonight is especially bad for some reason, and Mary has to stick close to the walls of the bar so that no one can see his semi. A girl in a furry, white shrug seems particularly on his dick, and he does his best to flirt just enough for a good tip, but not enough for a proposition.

When he gets his break, Mary takes it out back in the alley by the dumpster. The air is chill, but it feels good after the humidity of the bar. He was hoping maybe his dick would go down, but it’s like it’s trying to spite him. Leaning his head back on the wall, he can’t help but close his eyes and run his palm lightly over the outline. It’s a fool’s errand—it’s not like he can get off without it showing on his pants—but that doesn’t stop him from touching.

A voice clears, and Mary startles. He’s out here by the rancid garbage so he can be alone, so he wasn’t really expecting to find anyone else.

“I can help you with that,” says the girl with the white fur that may or may not be real. She’s standing across from him, and he can see that she’s in a dress so simple that it must be hella expensive. She’s holding an unlit cigarette.

Mary jerks his hand away from his crotch, shifting so that he can surreptitiously adjust his jeans.

“The fuck are you doing out back here?”

She shrugs. “Needed to get away from my bitches. I love them but: drama city. You got a light?”

He knows it’s a ruse, but he still fumbles out his Zippo because he’s a goddamned gentleman. She, shockingly, takes the opportunity to move in closer to his body as he holds out the flame … close enough to blow the smoke of the first drag in his face.

“So,” she says, eyes darting down to his semi. “You want me suck that?” She gesticulates with her chin, posture nonchalant but eyes hungry.

His dick gives an answering throb, but he shrugs. “Nah. I got a girl.”

She looks at him, assessing, before half crossing her arms and taking another drag. Smoke pours out her nose.

“She’s not here.”

Mary doesn’t respond immediately, not knowing how to get out of this. She hasn’t said anything untrue. He’s horny, Suey’s not here, and she wants to suck his cock.

He reaches his hand up and taps his breast where he thinks his heart is.

“She’s here,” he says, and he’s glad Suey’s not present because hoo boy would she give him shit for that winner.

The girl just tilts her head at him, this time blowing smoke out the side of her mouth after she inhales. It occurs to Mary that he wants her cigarette more than his dick wants to be sucked. If she thinks this is some kind of elaborate game of hard to get, she’s sorely mistaken.

“You got a picture?”

“A … what?”

She gesticulates impatiently. “A picture. Of this girlfriend.”

Mary thinks, then pats around for his wallet, even though he only ever puts it in his back pocket. When she sees the wallet come out, she laughs.

“An actual picture? That’s old school.”

He shrugs as he rifles. “I’m on my break.” He doesn’t tell her that his ancient flip phone doesn’t take pictures. Well, not good ones.

The photo of Suey he has is relatively new—slipped in behind the old, worn one of his mum—but its edges are starting to soften. In the image, Suey stands, hip popped, as she gives him the finger with a snotty look on her face. She’s in one of her weird 90′s outfits—a micro mini and tied up band tee—and the cute pudge of her belly hangs over her waist band a little. Her hair is pushed back from her face because she’s just lifted up her sunglasses—there’s still a little mark on her nose where they were resting.

She hates this picture, but her attitude makes him smile.

“You gonna ogle it all night, Mary?”

Mary’s attention snaps back to the alley. He ignores the intimacy. Carefully, with a stern look on his face that he hopes conveys how much the photo is not to be fucked with, he hands the picture over.

White Fur looks at the picture for a long time. Then she looks up at him. She gives the image one more glance before handing it back to him.

“Yeah, ok,” she says as she crosses her arms again.

Mary tucks the photo back into his wallet.

“The fuck does that mean?” he scowls. He’s just about had it with people insulting Suey today, and some random-ass girl in a back alley is the last person he’d let get away with it, even if she is a fan.

She takes her last drag before flicking the stub in the direction of a dumpster.

“Dunno. You seem like the type to have some scene girl with more legs than brains hanging off your arm.”

Mary thinks that’s a little uncharitable: he’s always been an equal-opportunity lay.

“She seems legit though,” the girl continues. “Makes sense.”

“Uh. Thanks?”

“Yeah, no problem.” She heads for the door, but stops to smirk at him. “Looks like I helped after all.”

As she swings back inside, Mary looks down to realize his hard-on is gone.

Mickey doesn’t cut him early, but he doesn’t make him stay past closing either. Even so, it’s still after 3am when he gets to Suey’s. The bills are gone from the counter, but there are no new dishes in the sink. He opens the fridge to find a pizza box crumpled into the top, balanced precariously on the other items. Mary takes it out and inhales the cold pizza right from the box; he knows they’re all for him because Suey fucking hates pepperoni. (Though it doesn’t escape his notice that she’s put one piece of pineapple in the center to mess with him.)

He leaves the box by the trash (he’ll flatten it tomorrow), and then makes his way to her bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth, lest he incur her wrath.

When he finally wiggles into her twin bed in his boxers, he’s bone tired. His dick still kinda wants some action, but Mary thinks he’d probably just fall asleep in the middle, and Suey really would bite his head off if he woke her up for no reason. He wishes she’d just sleep nude, but finding her in one of his well-worn shirts is the next best thing. He doesn’t mean to wake her up, but he can’t help himself from running his hands all over her—this girl who sees him and not his “image.”

“Mare?” she says in a quiet, sleepy voice.

He kisses her head.

“Go back to sleep, baby doll.”

She doesn’t speak again, but she squirms around until she’s sprawled across his chest. He’d prefer to have her caught up in a little spoon, but having her pressed into him—body sleep warm—is nothing to wave a stick at.

This is all he wanted, anyway.

Next ➡️

[ificanthaveu]

Make It To Christmas || Shawn Mendes

Description: Christmas is right around the corner and Shawn is nowhere to be found. You start to doubt if this was all even worth it and if you’ll even make it to Christmas. Based on the song by Alessia Cara.

A/N: I am OBSESSED with this song so naturally I had to write this and so sorry it’s late bc I was out of town and tried to do this from my phone and almost threw it out a window but here she is :)

Word Count: 3.2k

12 Days of Ficmas

We were warm and wonderful

Once upon a time

But now we're frozen, hanging by a thread

The sun started to rise past the edge of the ocean as you sat on the edge of the beach, feeling the water hit your feet every few minutes. The soft wind blew your wet hair back as you drew shapes in the sand next to you.

You heard footsteps behind you, and shortly after Shawn sat down next to you, handing you a mug of coffee. You set it in the sand next to you and rested your head on Shawn’s shoulder and his rested against yours.

“I don’t wanna leave,” you mumbled.

You could feel Shawn’s shoulders shake as he let out a laugh before pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Our flight leaves in two hours, love,” he whispered.

“Let’s just cancel it,” you responded.

“Ok,” he said simply.

Silence came across you again as you shut your eyes, grabbing your mug and taking a sip.

“What if we did just cancel it?” Shawn said after a moment.

You sat straight up and gave him a look.

“Are you serious?” You asked with a slight smile.

“I don’t technically have to be back until Friday,” he started. “I mean, we could stay two more days.”

You leaned your chin on his shoulder and smiled up at him as he returned the look.

“Sounds perfect,” you said softly before resting your head on his shoulder again, and his arm wrapped tightly around your waist, your flight long forgotten as you admired the waves crashing against the shore.

You ran your finger along the edge of the frame that showed a picture of you and Shawn curled up on the beach just barely six months ago.

Your house felt cold for it being in California. It was dark, and you didn’t even bother turning any lights on in the house. Not even the Christmas ones.

Shawn had been gone for just over two weeks with the promise of being home exactly a week before Christmas, so the two of you could fly home to your family by December 20.

But it was December 18th, almost the 19th, and his flight was pushed back, and as you checked the weather in New York, you had a sneaking suspicion it wasn’t the weather.

You sighed and walked away from the picture, not wanting to make yourself any more upset. You sat down on the edge of the couch and pulled out your phone.

The newest message from Shawn made your heart drop.

Flights are canceled. Won’t be home until the 20th.

You buried your head in your hands and willed yourself not to cry. This was becoming everything you never wanted it to be.

You debated between calling your parents, calling Shawn or just ignoring everyone for the time being, but before you could make that decision, Shawn’s name popped up on your phone.

You hesitated before grabbing your phone and hitting the green button.

“Hello,” you said with little emotion in your voice.

“Hey, babe, I’m so sorry this is happening,” he said with just the right amount of sympathy in his voice.

“No, I get it. It’s fine,” you say plainly.

“Can we push back our flights to your parents?” He asked.

“I really don’t want to, Shawn,” you said as you ran your hand down your face.

“I don’t know what else I can do.”

“You can get on a plane, and get back home, Shawn,” you said sternly.

“Flights are canceled. It’s snowing a ton. I can’t get back,” he tried to explain.

“It’s not snowing,” you said with your anger starting to show. “I’m not stupid, Shawn. I can check the weather in New York.”

All you received on the other line was silence. You heard some rustling before it got quieter, and you heard a door shut.

“I can explain,” he said softly.

“I really don’t want to hear it,” you said before he could say anything else. “I’m flying to my parents’ on the 20th. Come or don’t. I really don’t care at this point.”

“[Y/N], I just have so much to finish before the album comes out, and -“

You cut him off.

“I’ll see you later, Shawn. Bye,” you hung up before he could say anything else.

Darling, I know that our love is going cold

It's just something 'bout the snow this time of year

That makes us lose our way, just say we'll make up

And hold on a little longer

Don't have me spending it alone

This time of year is precious

Please, can we make it to Christmas?

You sat in silence for a moment. The last of your love for Christmas was quickly slipping away.

You held your phone to your ear as you called your best friend.

“36 hours until I get to see you,” Charlotte practically yelled as she answered the phone.

You didn’t say anything.

“What’s wrong?” She said when she realized.

“Shawn’s not coming,” you said.

“What?”

“He’s in New York, won’t be back here before we can get back home,” you said, feeling your throat get scratchy.

“You’ve had this planned for months, how can he not be here on time?” She said, getting angrier about this.

“His album, I guess,” you responded.

“That’s not an excuse.”

“I know, Char,” you snapped. “I don’t know what the fuck to do.”

She went quiet, and you sighed.

“I can’t say I didn’t see this coming, but it just hurts a lot more than I thought it would,” you said quietly.

“Has it been bad?”

You shrugged your shoulders and leaned back into the couch.

“I feel like we’ve been distant. Ever since Florida, I just feel like I’ve been second to everything. And I understand that these things are important, but it’s Christmas. I thought at least we would make it until then,” you said feeling a tear roll down your cheek.

“You don’t want to break up, do you?” She asked hesitantly.

“I don’t know right now. I just think I’m wired on emotions. I can’t think straight,” you said. “I just need to be home.”

“Have you thought about moving your flight up?” She asked.

You went quiet before grabbing your laptop and pulling up your flight information and searching the next flight out.

“I can leave tomorrow at 8:00 in the morning,” you said as you booked your flight.

“Need me to pick you up?”

“Yes, please.”

Your packing was done haphazardly as you threw your planned outfits into your suitcase. You folded them as best you could before zipping up your bags and setting them by the front door.

You glanced at the clock before climbing into bed. You had to be up in four hours.

But you didn’t care, you were going home, with or without Shawn.

Well, without Shawn.

The flight home was shorter than expected, your time being occupied with thinking too much.

Charlotte waited for you at the front of the airport, wrapped up in a winter jacket and hat. You practically dropped your bags as you ran up to her and hugged her for the first time in six months.

“Holy shit, I’ve missed you,” she said against your shoulder.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you,” you said back.

She grabbed your bag and started walking you to her car.

“Do your parents know you came early?” She asked as she started the car.

“No, thought I’d surprise them.”

“They’re going to have questions,” she said cautiously.

“Yeah, I know. Guess I’d rather deal with it sooner than later,” you said with a sigh as you rested your head on the back of your seat.

Charlotte pulled up to your house sooner than expected. She helped you get your bags out before pulling you in for another hug.

“You got dinner plans?” She asked.

“Chipotle?” You asked back.

“Perfect,” she said before climbing into her car and waving as she drove away.

Don't know what I'll say to Dad when he sees the empty chair

Don't want to hear my mom say, "Told you so"

Waiting for Santa in my bed is no fun if you're not there

And I don't want to be angry at mistletoes

You took a deep breath as you walked up your driveway to the back door. You bumped it open with your hip and dragged your bags in, setting them just beyond the door.

You walked into the kitchen and looked around, seeing no one. You walked into the living room next to be met with the same thing.

You took a seat on the couch and tapped your arm against the couch.

You assumed your parents probably ran to the corner store, explaining why the back door was still open.

You leaned back and pulled your phone, half expecting to see something from Shawn.

But nothing.

You bit your lip and took a deep breath, flipping your phone over and staring at the ceiling.

You didn’t even notice your dad walk in.

He didn’t say anything at first as his jaw dropped. He looked to the side of you, just to see that you were alone.

“What are you doing here?” He said through a laugh after a moment.

Your head snapped up and smiled at your dad.

“Thought I’d come a little early,” you said as you crossed the room and your dad pulled you into his chest.

He rocked you back and forth as his hand held the back of your head against his chest.

“Where’s Mom?” You asked as you pulled away.

“[Y/N]?” You heard your mom from behind you.

You hugged her next as you could feel her start to cry, only holding her tighter.

“I was just about to make lunch. Let’s have lunch,” she said quickly as she squeezed your hand and grabbed the ingredients she needed.

No one said anything about the clear missing piece. Your dad asked about your new job while your mom wanted to know about your redecorating you just did at your house.

You sat around the table meant for four. You all dove into the food and continued to make small talk and catch up.

Your dad left right after he was done eating to finish his last-minute Christmas shopping, leaving you alone with your mom.

The two of you sat quietly at the table before she finally said something.

“Honey, where’s Shawn?” She said softly, resting her hand on top of yours.

“New York,” you said simply. “He won’t be coming this year.”

“Is everything ok?” She asked as that look came across her face. The look you’ve been dreading.

“It’s going to be fine, Mom,” you said just a little too sternly.

She sighed and stood up, taking the dishes to the sink.

“This is what happens when you chase a rockstar across the country,” she said quietly.

“Mom,” you warned.

“I’m just saying that you had a great job here. You had a condo you loved, and friends and family around who loved you. But instead, you went and moved to California to be with him, when you hadn’t spent more than a week together at a time before that,” she tried not to yell.

“You don’t know the half of it, so please, don’t start this right now,” you said in as calm of a tone as you could muster up.

“I’m just saying-“

You cut her off, “Enough.”

You walked out of the kitchen before she could start anything else, grabbing your bags and bringing them to your room. You fell back on your bed and pulled out your phone to check Instagram just to be met with a post of Shawn in the studio with a big smile.

You threw your phone on the floor next to you as you tried to take deep breaths to make the feeling in your stomach go away.

But it was no use.

—

Shawn unlocked the front door and pushed his way into your home.

“[Y/N]?” He yelled as he dropped his bags in the living room.

He ran up to your room, opening the door just to be met with a few clothing items on the bed.

He slowly walked back downstairs to the kitchen, seeing a note on the counter.

Don’t know if you’ll even see this. If you do, I left early.

His heart dropped as he read the note over and over again.

He ran his hands through his hair and tugged at the ends, the guilt hitting him.

He grabbed his phone, logging into his account to see if he could find an earlier flight, but everything was booked.

He had already canceled his flight that was supposed to leave tomorrow.

He contemplated calling you, but he knew you wouldn’t answer. He also contemplated texting Charlotte to confirm that you were there, but he knew she wouldn’t respond either if she knew even half of what happened.

All of his questions were answered when he saw your Snapchat story of Charlotte at Chipotle.

He grabbed his laptop and tried to figure out how he could get to you within the next few days, and after hours of searching, he discovered he could take four different flights just to get to you in two days from now.

And he was going to do it.

—

Your next two days went perfectly as you shoved the thought of Shawn to the very back of your head. You visited your old job and high school, made cookies and went ice skating with your best friends and had dinner with your family.

It was almost perfect, but something was missing. You knew the answer, but you refused to say it out loud.

Your parents had left for the night, going to your dad’s office Christmas party. Tonight was the night that you and Shawn were supposed to go to the Christmas play at your high school, but that was out the window.

You curled up on the couch and turned on a Christmas movie. You wrapped a blanket around you and tried to focus on the movie, not wanting your mind to wander to places you didn’t want it to.

As it started to wander, a knock came from the front door.

You kept the blanket wrapped around you as you shuffled to the front door. You swung it open without much of a second thought.

You dropped your blanket when you saw Shawn standing in front of you. One hand held onto the top of his suitcase as the other gripped onto his backpack strap.

“Shawn,” you said under your breath.

“Hi,” he said back just as quiet.

“Why are you here?” You asked, willing your voice to stay steady.

“Because I promised to spend Christmas with you and your family,” he paused. “And because I’ve been an asshole.”

You didn’t say anything as you opened the door wider to let him in. He dragged his suitcase behind him and set it next to the door, along with his backpack, as you grabbed your blanket and sat back on the couch. Shawn sat next to you and stared straight ahead.

“Shawn, I-“ you started before Shawn cut you off.

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. He turned to face you, pulling his knee up onto the couch. “What I did, was something I never imagined I would ever do, and I’m so sorry I did that to you before Christmas. I shouldn’t have lied to you like that, and I should’ve just told you that I needed to stay a few days longer. Hell, I could’ve just met you here and flown from New York, but I didn’t even think of that. I can’t stand the thought of you not enjoying Christmas because I was too self-centered.”

“You could’ve just told me,” you whispered.

“I know, and I’ll regret it forever that I didn’t.”

You finally turned to face him. He felt his heart sink as he saw the tears brimming on your eyelids.

“Do you know how hard it is to have to tell my parents, who were looking forward to you being here, that you’re not coming? Or trying to explain to my friends who I showed up to our plans alone?” You croaked out. “Shawn, I get that things haven’t been the best lately, but I figured we could at least get through Christmas.”

“What do you mean things haven’t been the best?” He asked with confusion on his face.

“I mean that you’ve been so caught up in everything else going on, that I sometimes go days without so much as a text from you,” you said. “I know how important this album is to you, and I know you’re on a deadline, but I just want to know that you still love me.”

“Of course, I still love you. I’m just as crazy about you as I was on my first date and as I will be for the next hundred years,” he said as he reached for your hand.

“It doesn’t feel like that lately,” you said as your tears finally fell. Shawn reached up and brushed one away with his thumb.

You leaned into his touch and closed your eyes as Shawn pulled you into his chest without another word.

“I’m so sorry. I had no idea I was even doing that. And it’s the worst excuse ever, and I hate that I didn’t realize it. I’ve been too in my head lately,” he said against your hair as he kissed your head over and over again. You could hear the strain in his voice.

“I fall more and more in love with you every day,” he said. “And I know I’m spending the rest of my life with you. And I’m going to show that so much more now.”

You lifted your head up to look at him again. His eyes were red, and you could see the slightest quiver in his lip. You gave him a soft smile, hoping it’d give him enough reassurance.

“We’ll get back to how we were a few months ago. I promise,” he said as he looked you in the eyes.

“Ok,” you said just above a whisper. “I forgive you, but I can’t keep forgiving you if you’re going to keep doing this.”

“I know, and I’d never expect that from you. You’re my priority, and I’m going to start acting like it.”

“I love you,” you finally said.

“I love you, too. So much,” he said before pressing a kiss to your forehead.

You stayed silent, curled up in his chest and praying that this was the argument that would make everything better.

“Hey,” he said softly.

You looked up at him, resting your chin on his chest.

“We were always going to make it to Christmas. We’ll make it to every Christmas for however long you keep choosing me,” he said.

Your eyes fluttered shut as you took a deep breath and nodded your head.

“I know. We’ll make it to Christmas.”

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A N Y T H I N G

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[chilly-me-softly]

grealish where you broke up after he confessed to you that he no longer loves you and you fell pregnant. You bumped into each other and he was with his new girl whilst you were buying things for your craving. Your bump wasn't noticeable, months after Tyrone finds out you had a baby and tells jack about it and he was fuming at you OR you can change the plot twist bc this seems predictable 😂 thanks love xo

You stare that stick in your hands with tears in your eyes, you're shocked to say the least. This couldn't have come at a worse time.

You stare at those little lines confirming that you're pregnant and you really don't know what to do. It's been two weeks since you and Jack ended your relationship, a week since he finished taking things out of the house. He said he didn't love you anymore, that he couldn't see your future as clear as before and so it was better to finish things there.

You didn't know whether to tell him or not, the doctor had confirmed you were pregnant for more or less six weeks and so it could only be his. You were conflicted, you didn't know whether to tell him. Part of you didn't want to, he was so transparent in telling you he didn't see a future with you and you didn't want him to feel obligated in any way. But there was a small part of you that wanted him to know, to be at least present in his child's life; you didn't expect anything, you would have managed on your own in everything you needed but you knew he would be a good father.

You take your time to think about it, your belly is still too small to be seen and you can easily cover it with wide shirts while you go shopping or a walk out of the house. You haven't seen Jack since he took all his stuff out of the house, unless you count the games you kept watching on TV anyway. And if Jack still didn't know about his baby, he knew about his father. Despite everything you started talking to your belly, you told him or her what Jack was doing and how you met; you told him or her that you would always be there for them and that it didn't matter if you were alone, you and him/her against the world, you would do anything not to make it too hard.

Jack was still an unknown factor, constantly in your thoughts but at the same time you did everything you could not think about it. A little hard when just looking in the mirror reminds you of him. Your family and some of your friends tried to tell you that it would be better if he knew, then he would act accordingly; if he decided he didn't want to be part of the child's life then it would just be his decision.

But he decided to end the story and you clearly still have feelings for him and you don't want to see him for now. Sending him a message about something like that doesn't seem right, but anyway they had a point: you still live in the same city and still frequent the same places as before and it wouldn't have been difficult to meet you by chance despite everything.

Like that day. You had been craving jelly beans all day but you didn't have any at home and the girl you asked to go out and buy a pack had completely screwed up the type and so you had been hovering until then. Before you came home so you took the opportunity to get something for dinner and your beloved candy. You were craving it before, your favorite ones were strawberry candy but who knows why your baby liked orange ones that you hated with all your heart. Too bitter for your taste buds, but he was still Jack's son, wasn't he?

Anyway you're in the sweet department, trying to find what you need as fast as you can and don't come home with lots of sweets you can't eat. When you bump into someone.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry" you apologize to the girl who smiles and shakes her head.

"Love I found these, are they okay?" a guy walks up to the girl and when you see him your heart skips a beat. Jack is standing in front of you for the first time in months and obviously he's already found someone else by his side.

"(Y/N)?" he asks surprised once he sets his eyes on you and you smile embarrassed.

"Hi Jack" you greet him by casually placing the cart in front of your stomach even though it's already well hidden and you hurry to leave the two of them and that store as soon as possible.

You have a moment of hesitation when you find out you're waiting for a boy. It's more real to be able to choose a name, buy a specific colour onesie, organize everything. You've never talked about it but you know Jack would love to know, and yet the meeting that day somehow convinced you even more of your decision. He seemed happy and you don't want to be the reason for a possible break between the two or hard times.

The months go by and there are no more decisions, plans or anything else when your baby comes into this world in all his beauty. Taking care of him is hard, especially because you are alone and it doesn't matter if your mother or brother takes turns to be with you at least the first few times; this is your life now and you are largely responsible for it.

Tyrone can't take his eyes off his friend Jack, who's tucking in his boots ready to be the first one to set foot on the pitch for training.

"Jack" he calls him back before he can walk out the door, "can I talk to you in private for a minute?"

"Yeah, yeah of course" he signals him to follow him out and secludes himself a little further away from the locker room door.

"What happened Ty?"

"Look man it's not easy to say, I don't even know how things are between you or if you already know but... I heard that, well that (Y/N) had a baby recently"

"What are you talking about?!" Jack's first reaction is to laugh out loud, he went on with his life too, but from here to having a baby in such a short time it takes a lot.

"Who told you that?"

"My girlfriend, she saw her buying diapers a few days ago and her brother was carrying the stroller"

"Well, it can be his, can't it?"

Tyrone shakes his head, "It's hers" the boy says for sure, "He's... he's three months old, Jack"

"Wha-" Jack's eyes open wide to the realization, "No... no, that's not possible. I- I even met her a few months ago" he murmurs as his mind wanders fast as he do some maths quickly.

"I'm sorry it was me who told you, man"

Jack shakes his head, for the rest of the day he can't concentrate and is also called back for a chat with the coach. His head is clearly elsewhere, the initial surprise as time goes by has turned into anger and he finds himself at your door as soon as they have the go-ahead to leave the structure, he doesn't even change, eager to find out for himself whether it's the truth or not. Because unless you cheated on him while you were still together, and if Tyrone didn't misunderstand, then that child has to be his.

But you go to open the door giving a little tap on the baby's back, and he feels like he's gonna faint. Your face says it all as soon as you see him, it's all true.

"Really (Y/N)? Did you think I'd never find out?" you can clearly see flames in his eyes as he enters the house, he's furious and has every right to be.

"You've made a life for yourself Jack, I didn't mean to intrude"

"Don't... try to blame me now" he starts and then lowers his voice because the baby in your arms is clearly upset by it.

"Ssh love, it's okay, you just have to burp" you murmur softly as the baby starts to complain slightly about the discontent he's in.

"Listen Jack, I- these months have been... difficult, to say the least. I'm not trying to blame you in any way and I certainly can't expect you not to be confused or furious with me"

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asks while you sit on the couch and put the little one on your legs, always stroking his back gently. As soon as he sees his little face, Jack doesn't understand anything. He feels on the clouds, that's his son and he missed all those months and now he doesn't know what to do.

"Jack?" he shakes his head, taking his attention away from that little creature for a moment before lifting it up to you.

"Hmm? Sorry" still your attention is caught by the baby once he burps and feels more at peace with himself.

You sigh, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I took all this away from you"

"Honestly, I just feel a big confusion right now"

"You want to-want to hold him?" Jack stiffens in a moment but nods, welcoming that little bundle in his arms.

"Hi" he cooes letting the little one wrap his little hand around his index finger. Jack sighs not looking away from his son, not even noticing that you had disappeared for a few minutes and returned with an album in his hands.

"I did this for Dylan, but I guess it's good enough for you too"

"Dylan?"

"Yeah" he nods as he opens that album and starts flipping through it. Pictures of you every month of your pregnancy with the belly bigger and bigger, ultrasounds, your family. All he can see is that there's one thing in common in all those photos, he's not there.

He closes that album firmly, giving the baby back to you and rubbing his hands on his face while you put him in the stroller and cross your arms to your chest.

"I'm sorry"

"You keep saying that, but is it really true? If it was like that, you would have told me sooner" he says scornfully, and you look down for a moment.

"If I came to you, if I came to you after you left me saying I was pregnant, would you have believed me?"

"Oh my God, really? Do you really think that about me?"

"I don't know, all right? I don't know! You said you didn't love me anymore and I didn't want to force you to do anything"

"I didn't have to come back with you, just to take care of my son"

"You're right" you murmured after a while, looking at the baby so he wouldn't see how upset you were.

"What am I supposed to do now?" he laughs nervously.

"If you want to be a part of his life, we'll make arrangements. If you want to pretend you don't know, that's fine too"

"Don't be stupid now, of course I want to stay. Just like I wish I'd been there before"

"Are you gonna keep remembering this to me forever?" you ask exhausted while he gets up.

"It's still too early to try to forgive you" and when he walks out that door you burst out crying, your legs can't hold you anymore and you collapse on the floor. The sobs shake your body and soon your baby starts crying when he realizes his mother is feeling down.

"It's okay, Dylan, daddy's here with you now too. Everything's gonna be okay" you sniff looking down at him.

Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6

[nikatyler]

Quarantine, day one. I’m currently taking a break from studying. I did some phonetics and morphology in the morning, now I’m going to read a few more pages from the history book that I was supposed to finish yesterday. This one is so slow. It’s packed with facts, gives a detailed description about probably every single thing that happened in medieval Europe...and most these things are somewhat new to me because I usually only studied what directly influenced my country. Everything else was just basics to be aware of the fact that we didn’t live in a vacuum. Also, the letters in this book are really small and it’s hell to read. I look up to my screen to write down a note, then I look back at the book and I have no idea where I was. But small letters generally are hell to read for me, even here at simblr, if there are “subtitles” in the pictures and they’re tiny, I’ll probably just skip the whole story. Sorry, that was off topic. But yeah. Long story short I have dumb eyes.

I haven’t had much time to play sims. I take breaks when I’m studying, but I don’t open the game because I know I’d spend way too much time there and then I wouldn’t go back to study. And when I’m done studying, usually I don’t see a point in opening it. I’m trying to go to bed early every day so I have more time in the day. It used to be difficult for me to get up before 10am, now I usually wake up between 8-9 and I’m aiming for an even earlier time. We’ll see how that goes. But I really like it. My days are longer and I don’t feel that tired. Also, maybe sunlight is good after all...

Take care of yourself, wash your hands, stay at home if you don’t absolutely have to go out, you know how it goes. Don’t hoard toilet paper, help other people. Be nice. Follow the orders, they were made for a good reason. I’m done preaching now but seriously. Stay safe. This isn’t a joke.

amuhav replied to your post “what's your pinterest? i would love to follow it :0 I'm sorry, I won't...”

OOF, yeah, mine's conected to my facebook too and every so often I have a little heartattack when I make a new board and forget to set it to private ������

Yeah same! I’m so glad the option exists haha.

Also, I think I disconnected my Facebook successfully? Like it works here?? I thought it was impossible. But maybe after all I will share my pinterest haha.

fataleromeo replied to your photoset “Everyone went crazy because Dustin Broke was at the restaurant.”

Lol, see, everyone hates Thorne Bailey but Dustin Broke is the one I dislike most ��

lmao I hate all the celebrities in this game because usually they show up and only mess with my plans

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “I opened this poll almost a month ago, closed it about two weeks ago...”

Lilith's relationships also raise really quickly due to her vampric charisma (I experienced it myself yesterday) so BC would be... "Lilith scored herself a harem" �� propably Cassandra is a good choice!

Oh yeah, I didn’t even think of that. Well, it would be kinda fun haha.

Also, off topic but that harem idea reminded me of something that happened when I was in my first year of high school. We only had one boy (and 11 girls) in our class. The first time we all took a picture together and put it up online, people were like “oooh, look at that harem he has!” Ah, 2015. 

justkeeponsimming replied to your photo “I’m pretty much unable to just sit in the dark and watch a movie, I...”

Wow this is stunning! You’re so talented!

Thank youuu 🥺❤

fataleromeo replied to your photoset “Do not panic guys. Do not. I have it under control. I won’t let...”

Omg ��‍♀️

Okay but do you have any idea how I panicked in that moment? 😂 It was happening again and all because Sunset was dumb and walked straight into the fire. Like father, like daughter, seriously. They know what could kill them and they do it anyway.

glammoose replied to your post “Do you have any idea how terrifying it is to get a message from the...”

It's a wild world right now. Take care of yourself and try not to panic, it only makes things worse

I’m actually strangely calm. I mean, I read the news, go on social media and think “holy shit this can’t be actually happening in the world right now”, but then I go on with my day like everything is fine. By the way, side note to everyone reading this, if you’re overwhelmed with the news and you are afraid, it’s okay. I personally think it’s important to stay informed but if it gets too much for you, just log out and take a break from all of this.

But yeah, I agree. Panic makes things worse. I wish someone explained that to certain news websites though...people started panic shopping here two weeks before we even had our first case of coronavirus...and it’s probably because one popular news website published an article saying that we should start hoarding shit in case apocalypse comes 🤦‍♀️ As far as I know it was all worded like the actual end of the world is coming...clearly many people got that message and went wild.

prossims replied to your photoset “Claudia: “Hey Zack! What are you doing here?” Zackery: “I just wanted...”

Oh she is so clueless ��

fataleromeo replied to your photoset “Iris: “I bought this dress yesterday. What do you think?” Crystal:...”

Hahaha not sure if Crystal is getting the point....pretty sure she means "wear it on a date....with YOU"

Yup yup, they’re both oblivious. It pretty much runs in the family. I mean, how long did it take certain two vampires to realize that “hold up, maybe I’m in love with my best friend?!”

elisabettasims replied to your photoset “Huh. That’s weird. Turns out Iris has been here all along, and now...”

Sometimes they hide. I've had friends come home that I couldn't find on the lot, LOL. And I've had more than the one they asked come, too. Just like teens, ha ha ha.

Yeah it makes sense. I wonder though, is it supposed to be like that or is it just a glitch?

[itsakurl]

Boba | LJN

Genre: fluff 

Word count: 2.9k

Jeno... It just didn’t feel right not seeing him in the morning. Not seeing him smile at you when he hand you your drink His cute smile…

(A/N: this had been in my draft’s since last year and I'm finally posting ahaha...ive been so dead on here oml it's scary.  maybe I should actually announce when I go on Hiatus but its not like any anon’s ask me what's up....pls talk to me I'm lonely yall.)

Up the small hidden staircase that was hidden between the endless buildings in your city’s Chinatown stood a small family-owned bubble tea restaurant:

“Mrs.Lee’s boba shop”

You went there every morning

Because It was the closest bubble tea shop from where you worked, so it was just convenient.

Every day you went you would get the same thing:

A medium Coffee milk tea with extra boba.

After a while of you going there every morning, the lady that works there, Mrs.Lee, started to recognize you.

She called you “coffee girl” whenever you would come in before she knew your name.

The day she finally found out your name was when you went there with your co-worker one day.

And she overheard him say your name.

*cough* stalker much but I ain’t judging *cough*

It’s a kind gesture so you’re not complaining

Anyways the two people who worked there was Mrs.Lee and her son,

Lee Jeno.

Apart from his mother, Jeno is the one making the drinks in the back.

And not gonna lie,

You kinda got a thing for him.

Like ok, boba is great but getting to see Jeno every day is kinda better.

Him being the one who makes the tea, he’s the one who gives it to the customers at the end where you pick up your order.

“Medium coffee milk tea with extra boba” Jeno would say, knowing fully well that you ordered it.

When you would come and retrieve it, he always gave you a kind moon-crescent shaped smile as you took it from his hand.

Ahhh do you hear that?

It’s the sound of a heart bursting from one-sided love!

Hahaha…

…

It’s just a small crush, you’ll get over it eventually.

So anyway, after you get your boba you go to work and continue your day there.

Usually, you would be put on morning shift so you would be the other opening the restaurant.

Well. Your coworker Yuta would open it while you got boba

let’s just say you were there with him haha...

But one day your managers changed it

You went back home after your shift and got a call from your manager,

“Y/n, could you close the store tomorrow? You’ll start work around noon” your manager had asked and of course, you agreed...you can finally sleep in.

The next day you woke up around noon, a few hours before you had to start work so it’s all worked out

Bc sleep is great

And you finna not functioning off of only coffee

You got to work around 2pm

It felt like you were missing something though. You never closed so it’s all weird. Like it just doesn’t feel right.

You didn’t even get your boba...maybe that’s why it felt so weird.

During your break you sat in the break room just pondering, thinking about The boy who worked at the boba place.

Jeno...

It just didn’t feel right not seeing him in the morning.

Not seeing him smile at you when he hands you your drink

His cute smile…

AHHH

you never actually spoke to him though. It’s not like you have a chance with someone who just serves you drinks.

Just doing his job.

“Y/N YOUR BREAK IS OVER,” your coworker said as he walked into the break room, seeing you staring at the wall mindlessly.

“Goddammit y/n you're freaking me out man,” he said, making you grip your chest to calm down from being startled.

“Stop staring at the wall like that,” he said, walking towards you, leaning on the wall you once stared at.

“Sorry Yuta today just doesn’t feel right” you sighed, standing up from your chair, grabbing the notepad that hung out of Yuta's pocket.

“Well if they continue putting us on closing then you have to get used to it” Yuta pat your head, amused by your current state.

“Oh, by the way, your on table 7” Yuta kindly gave you a smile before he started pushing you out of the break room to serve table 7.

You walked out, heading towards table 7 until you realized who was sitting there.

Mrs.Lee and Jeno?

You thought they worked all day….

“H-hello you two” you got to the table, getting their attention,

“Y/N! Sweetie, we thought something bad happened to you! We didn’t see you come in this morning” Mrs.Lee exclaimed, making you smile.

“Oh sorry...I was put on closing shift today so I just started work a few hours ago” you smiled at the two, making Mrs.Lee turn to her son.

“so she does work here, good job Jeno,” she said, making Jeno awkwardly laugh, looking away from you. “Oh, today is my birthday so we closed early to celebrate it. Jeno suggested this place because he told me you work here-“

“Mom!” Jeno interrupted her. “Um I'm sorry y/n you probably have other tables to serve, we’ll tell you our orders,” Jeno said sternly, making you confused as you slowly pulled out your notepad.

“Um okay...what would you two like to order?” They quickly gave you their orders letting you have time to write it all down and collect their menu’s “okay it’ll be right out” you smiled softly before leaving towards the kitchen, hearing a light slap from the table.

The mother slapped her son for disrupting her

Asian parents...

Tsk tsk

“Hey Yuta, it’s the mother’s birthday at table 7. Wanna sing her happy birthday?” You walked back to your coworker who had just finished his break.

Yuta took a peek at the table and smiled at you.

“That mother specifically asked for you to serve them you know,” Yuta said, reading the orders at the serving station to see where to serve the food at.

“W-what?” You turned to him shocked. “yeah, she was like “does y/n work here?” And “my son would like to see her”” Yuta continued, picking up some plates off the table.

You started to feel a light blush upon your cheeks. H-her son wanted to see you.  Lee Jeno. Lee Jeno wanted to see you?

Yuta smiled at you

“I know you like him y/n” Yuta stopped right next to you, whispering in your ear making you almost hit the plates out of his hand. “Fuck off” You snarled, making him laugh before walking out towards the tables.

you brought the food to Jeno’s table a few minutes later.

“thank you y/n,” Mrs.Lee said as you placed her food in front of her.

“enjoy your meal” you smiled, starting to walk away before someone called for you, making you turned back to who called for you.

Which was Jeno

Out of all people

“Hey um, I just wanted to ask if you get out of work any time soon” you heart felt like bursting. You were just squealing to yourself in your head.

“Oh...um I’m closing today so...I don’t get off for a while” you awkwardly smiled, watching as Jeno’s expression slowly disappeared from his cute smile.

“Oh ok um.  Thank you” he nervously put,  Wanting you to get out of there as quickly as possible by how awkward he made it.

But your face was all red so

It helped you hide your embarrassment.

As you walked away to the back, Mrs.Lee looked up at her son

Who now had his completely red face in his hands

“You like her don’t you?” She asked

“That’s why you picked this place to eat at. Correct,” she asked, making Jeno look up from his hands to stare at her.

“Mom-“Jeno started to say before his mother cut him off,

“That’s probably why you always sit in the bench right outside this place when you go on your lunch break”

“MOM!” Jeno softly exclaimed, looking at you serving the people a few tables away.

“You know I do see you sitting there. I was so confused but it all makes sense now” she started to eat, “well I won’t be mad if she became my daughter in law”

By his mother’s voice, Jeno wanted to cry. He did like you.

Like a lot.

But he’s just a guy who serves you bubble tea every morning

What would you see in him...to his knowledge, you probably don’t even know his name.

“Mom please stop” Jeno pleaded, looking over to you talking to that one coworker that would come to their boba restaurant sometimes.

“Anyways she probably has a boyfriend…”Jeno sadly remarked, staring at you, watching your co-worker cup your face with his hands.

His mother looked back at where he was staring and sighed, “You know, your father felt the same way before asking me out to our first date” she tried to get her son’s hopes up,

“come here after closing hours, bring her favorite boba, ask her if she’s off tomorrow and suggest to go on a date” she said, happily smiling knowing that her son is finally taking time to date a girl she actually likes.

“Ahh Yuta I messed up I MESSED UP!” You shouted to your coworker who was currently getting some ingredients from the walk-in freezer.

you had just sped to the back after awkwardly taking to Jeno.

Yuta turned to you, placing all the ingredients from the freezer on the table next to you, concerned for your well-being.

“What happened?” He panicked, noticing your really read face. He quickly brought his hands to your face, trying his best to cool it down with his cold hands

“Your face is all red. God dammit y/n you’re going to kill yourself with heat stroke” your face was burning. “Come on, it’s too hot in here, let’s step out to the tables, it’s not so hot there” Yuta placed his hand on your back as you two stepped out to the waiting station that looked out to where all the customers were sitting.

Yuta placed his hands on your face again, cupping your face so your cheeks could cool down more by his cold hands.

He turned to where Jeno was sitting, watching as he covered his face with his hands, most likely as red as you, “you get flustered so easily” Yuta laughed, moving one of his hands to pet your head.

“Yuta!” You whined, not in the mood for his jokes as tears threatened to leave your eyes.

“Oh no okay okay let’s not get emotional” Yuta panicked, wiping the one tear that left your eye,

“are you on your period or something. You're so emotional. You’re out here looking like a tomato and I’m not fond of working with a tomato. Especially being best friends with one” you took Yuta's hands off of your cheeks and wiped your tears, laughing at his attempt at making you feel better.

“Yuta! Go serve table 2” your manager had yelled,

“Calm down now. We still have to sing happy birthday for his mother. Don’t get all red than now, I can’t have you look like that in front of him” Yuta joked, running off the retrieve the plates of food for table 2.

What would you do without Yuta? He always finds a way to make you feel better…

“Let’s go sing happy birthday to your boyfriend’s mother” Yuta had pulled you to him after you placed an order to the kitchen. Happily prancing, grabbing a slice of cake for you to hold.

But. What was that he said? Boyfriend?!?!

“W-what!” You coughed as you choked on your own saliva, lightly hitting Yuta in the chest after almost dying from what he said.

“H-He’s...not my boyfriend!” you shouted at the boy,

“I THOUGHT YOU DIDNT WANT ME TO GET FLUSTERED!” You continued shouting at him, progressively getting louder as your face began to turn red.

“Shh. Not by anything else. It’s ok when I joke about it though” he smiled, “it makes it funny”

You softly sighed, chucking to yourself,

“this is what I get for having you as my best friend...” you admitted, accepting the faith that you gave yourself.

You two and a couple of coworkers walked towards table 7 to sing happy birthday to Mrs.Lee.

After placing the cake in the table you stood a little behind Yuta to hide a little because you were placed furthest to the right where Jeno was sitting.

“You’re okay, just don’t get too red” Yuta whispered, smiling at Jeno

who was currently staring Yuta down to his soul

(because he thought you and Yuta are dating remember?)

you guys eventually finished the song, ending with you not so red.

.“I hope you have a wonderful birthday Mrs.Lee” you smiled at her,

“Thank you y/n,” Mrs.Lee said, smiling brightly at you before picking up the receipt.  “Thanks, y/n” Jeno spoke, smiling at you with his crescent-shaped smile.

which obviously made you F L U S T E R E D.

“You’re welcome” you smiled warmly towards the both of them before hurrying off to the back.

Jeno stared at you until you disappeared into the back.

He can’t help but smile to see the person he can’t wait to see every day.

It finally hit 11

Which means it was the end of your shift.

the last customer left and you and Yuta were left to clean up and close the restaurant.

You had to finish mopping up the kitchen whilst Yuta sat at one of the tables waiting for you to finish so you both can lock up.

Yuta sat, he was on his phone before he realized there was someone waiting for a few feet outside the restaurant, sitting on the cold bench that sat in front of the building.

Shifting his head, he realized who it was.

The boy who was with his mother today for his birthday.

He was patiently waiting, holding a small plastic bag in his hands.

Yuta smiled, looking back near the kitchen, watching you still have a little more left to go. He quickly got up and silently opened the door, making the younger boy notice him.

“Hey...are you waiting for y/n?” He asked, the boy slowly nodded at his question, making Yuta want to squeal like a teenage girl.

“Come inside!” Yuta motioned for the boy to come inside, noticing he was hesitant, “come inside dude. The doors will lock if I let go” the boy quickly got up and entered the warm building.

MATCHMAKER YUTA’S MISSION IS ALMOST COMPLETE

“I’ll get y/n, wait here”

The boy looked at him, opening his mouth like he wanted to say something.

“H-hey are you and y/n…” the boy began to speak, making the elder stop and look back at him.

“Is me and y/n-?” Yuta began to ask.

“Dating?...”Jeno cut Yuta off, “are you and y/n...dating?” As much as he hated to say it, he just had to ask.

Yuta chuckled, reassuring the younger boy “y/n is my best friend. And to just let you know..”Yuta walked closer to Jeno “you should have seen her all day. You made her so flustered...I thought she was going to die by heatstroke”

Jeno wanted to laugh at Yuta's joke but the feeling of himself getting red by the fact that he made you flustered.

“She really likes you.”Yuta smiled, patting the younger’s shoulder as he noticed his cheeks reddening.

“I’ll go get her now”

Yuta walked to the back, entering the kitchen when you finally finished mopping.

“Hey y/n” Yuta hymned, turning your head to look at him.

“Yes?” you questioned, concerned by the wide smile on the boy’s face. “What’s wrong with you?” You asked, more concerned for your elder as he walked over towards you and grabbed the mop out of your hand.

“I’ll put this away, go out to the tables” Yuta commanded, making you even more confused and very concerned.

“Yu-“ you began to speak before Yuta cut you off, “trust me...go” Yuta basically pushed you out into where the tables were, making you gasp at the sight of the boy who was standing at the table in front of you.

“Hey y/n,” Jeno said nervously, making a smile emerge on your face. “H-hey Jeno…” you calmly said, trying to not blush.

The boy released some anxiety, you actually do know his name. It was like heaven when it slipped out of your mouth.

“What are you doing here?” You asked him, noticing the small plastic bag that was on the table.

“Oh I..I wanted to give this to you,” Jeno reached for the bag and pulled out a closed cup of coffee milk tea, “it felt weird not making it for you this morning…” he admitted, holding it out for you.

you couldn’t help yourself.  YOU BLUSHED VERY HARD. TOO HARD.

“T-thank you Jeno” you desperately held yourself back from squealing as you took the cup out of his hand.  

“Oh and...I also wanted to ask if you were off tomorrow...maybe we could hang out or something” Jeno asked, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

DUDE HES ASKING YOU OUT

ITS

A

FUCKING

DREAM

COME

TRUE

Before you could answer Jeno’s offer, a loud “YES SHES OFF. TAKE HER AWAY!” From Yuta emerged from behind you two, making both of you laugh.

You giggled, making Jeno look at you, “Yes I’m off...I’ll love to hang out with you tomorrow” you happily said, staring at his adorable smile that you could never resist.

[hholyholland]

Protected | Harrison Osterfield

requested by @summernykole

"Hi! I don't know if you have like a specific list of things you like people to request or not, but I was wondering if you could write one where the reader is dating Haz, and they all (Haz, Tom, Sam, Harry) go with you to see your family and just hang out and the reader runs into her emotionally abusive ex boyfriend and when she says his name they all get protective because she's told them about him? Sorry if this is confusing, your writing is awesome. Okay, bye 0.0"

word count: 1.5k

warnings: cussing, mentions of abuse, fluff?

note: I really hope you like it, I don't like the ending bc I didn't know how to end it, but enjoy :)

REQUESTS: OPEN

It wasn't supposed to be a group visit but, somehow the Holland boys heard that you and Harrison were gonna take a trip to your family's home in Kingston, so they decided to tag along. Last minute.

“Haz can you get that?” You called out to your boyfriend as you tied your laces together. He responded with a, 'mhm’ and went to the door.

When he opened it, he was surprised to see Tom, Sam and Harry standing there with suitcases at their sides.

“Uhh, what're you guys doing here?” Harrison asked the boys who had wide smiles across their faces.

“We heard that you and Y/N were going to Kingston and we wanted to come so here we are!” Harry walked in first, the other two boys following.

“Harrison who was at the- oh.” You stopped when you saw three boys sat on your couch, suitcases next to one another. “Please don't tell me you guys are coming with.”

“They're coming Y/N.” Harrison sighed, you sighed as well.

“How'd you guys even find out we were going? Do you even have train tickets?”

“Harrison was talking about it, and yes we bought tickets. Like, yesterday.” Tom spoke, you looked at him and rolled your eyes.

“Well then someone order the Uber, cause we gotta go.” You turned around and walked to your room, grabbing your suitcase along with Haz's.

The train ride wasn't too long, the three Holland boys fell asleep on the train, you and Harrison just watched videos on YouTube.

Soon the train stopped and you woke the boys up, Harrison taking the bags. The five of you got off the train and you ordered an Uber, since your parents car wouldn't be able to fit all of you.

You leaned into your boyfriend, wrapping your arms around him as you waited in the cold weather.

“I'm tired.” You mumbled closing your eyes, Harrison rubbed a hand up and down your back telling you the two of you can take a nap once home.

“So I'm guessing that you divs didn't book a hotel and you'll be staying in my house.” The three of them nodded, “You're lucky we have spare rooms.”

Your Uber arrived and the bags were placed in the back, Tom sat in the front, Sam and Harry all the way in the back, then you and Haz.

The ride wasn't long which you were grateful for, you just wanted to get home.

Your parents home came into view and you smiled, buzzing to get out of the car. As soon as the vehicle stopped, you thanked the driver and hopped out of the car.

Your parents stood there in the front yard with open arms and you ran into them, you hadn't seen them for six months, your schedule had been so hectic.

“I missed you guys.” You sighed hugging both of them at once, “And I hope you guys don't mind that the boys came along.”

“Of course not Y/N.” Your mother smiled turning her attention to the four boys making their way towards you and your parents.

Your parents greeted everyone and congratulated Tom for finishing Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Harrison for his role in Vent.

It was only 11 am, so you still had a full day ahead of you, but you were tired and just wanted to take that nap Harrison talked about.

“Don't do anything up there you hear?” Your dad joked as you made your way up the stairs.

“Dad!”

You showed the boys their rooms before disappearing into yours with Harrison.

…

You had been enjoying your time with your parents and the boys, at first you were a bit annoyed that they tagged along last minute, but now you were glad they did.

You were all sat in your living room watching Mamma Mia, you had seen it twice already with Harrison. Your mother had provided the group with drinks and snacks, she kept offering things and you all had to tell her to just sit down and watch the movie.

“For dinner why don't we go to TGIF's?” You dad suggested as the movie ended, you looked at the time and it was ten past five.

“But it's Tuesday.” Sam joked, Harry hit him in the shoulder for his awful joke causing Sam to hit his brother back.

“Yeah sure.” Harrison nodded, you nodded as well and got up to go get ready.

“Right, everyone try to be ready by 5:40 please!” Your mother called out as everyone retreated to their rooms.

You touched up your makeup and straightened your hair, Harrison just fixed his hair and got dressed into nicer clothes. He filmed you getting ready and you looked at him from the mirror smiling and telling him to stop, which he did.

You got dressed, not caring if Harrison was watching since he's seen it all before. You threw on your 'poopy’ jacket on and turned around to be met with Harrison, “you look beautiful love.”

You smiled and looked up at the blue eyed boy, you grabbed his jaw and kissed him, his hands immediately flew to your hips.

“Okay love birds let's go!” Harry hit your door and the two of you pulled away, you rolled your eyes and grabbed your things before heading down stairs.

An Uber had already been called for you guys since you wouldn't fit in your parents car.

“We'll meet you there.” You told your parents before heading out the door and into your Uber with the boys, your parents taking the car.

You all got to the restaurant quickly, beating your parents there so you just got a table ready sending your parents a text that you got a table.

Your parents soon arrived and sat down across from you and your boyfriend, you guys ordered drinks, appetizers, food, and dessert cause why not?

You all split the check, the twins paying the smallest amount for obvious reasons.

Your parents decided to go home, but the rest of you decided to to the shopping centre that also had a theatre. Once again, an Uber was called and you made your way to centre.

You guys walked around for a bit, the centre was lit up with fairy lights and decor for the holidays. A couple shops were open, but some were starting to close for the night.

“What movie are we gonna watch?” Sam asked walking backwards to look at the group.

“We'll decide when we get there, cause I have no idea what's in right now.” Harrison told him and he nodded walking the right way.

You were all approaching the cinema when you heard a voice call out your name, you turned around and instantly froze up, your chest tightened and you felt sick to your stomach.

You reached back to grab Harrison and stepped back into him, everyone stopped confused as to who this man was approaching.

Before you can say anything to Harrison, your abusive ex boyfriend was standing in front of you.

It was never physical but the things he said to you destroyed your self confidence, he taunted you, always called you names, whenever you were ready to go out he would make you feel like shit, he messed with your head. It was verbal abuse.

“Y/N hey.” He seemed so casual, as if you two were friends, but you were far from that. You backed into Harrison more, squeezing his hand.

“What are you not gonna say hi back? That's a bit rude.”

You harshly swallowed before speaking up, “Alec, what're you doing here?”

As the name fell from your lips, Harrison and the boys immediately stepped forward.

“Mate, I would suggest that you walk away right now.” Harrison spoke, you stepped back a bit not wanting to be around him.

“And who the hell are you?” Alec looked at Haz, you tugged on his arm trying to get him to just walk away.

“Haz please, let's just go.”

“That's someone that truly cares about Y/N, and would never hurt her.” Tom spoke up, your ex scoffed.

“I cared about her-”

“No you didn't! You verbally abused her, and if you think that's caring for someone then that's fucked mate.” Harry practically yelled.

“Okay” was all he said.

Harrison turned around to look at you, your eyes were glossy and you were scared. You hadn't seen him for years, and here he was, it was so hard for you to leave him, and when you did it was hard to trust people.

Harrison grabbed you and pulled you into his chest, walking away from everyone.

“You had some nerve to come up to her.” Sam spat before walking away with his brothers.

Your head was hidden in Harrison's chest, he ran a hand through your hair knowing it calms you down, he rocked you side to side, whispering things into your ear to make you feel better.

“I love you Y/N.” Haz whispered into your hair, you sniffled mumbling an 'I love you too’ to your boyfriend.

You guys headed home and your parents were confused when they saw you guys back home so early, but instead of telling them anything you ran up the stairs and into your room. Tom would tell them what happened.

Haz followed in behind you and shut the door, watching you as you took off your shoes and jacket, then seating yourself at the vanity.

You took off your makeup and looked at Harrison who looked at you with those pretty blue eyes.

“Thank you Haz.”

[madrut16]

July Fanfic Challenge Day 3: Closure - Part 1

Author’s Note: Another new pairing! I finished playing this book back in October for Halloween and ILB (which I haven’t really played bc I want a good ending and I cannot afford the diamonds to get it) and I loved it! This is the first book where I haven’t really been drawn to any of the canon LIs so, of course, I had to come up with this! I can’t wait to write more with them and explore these characters post It Lives. 

Pairing/Book: ILITW (Dan x MC)

Rating: PG-13

Summary: There’s one last thing Raina needs to do before she and some of the gang leave for the start of a new chapter of their lives in Seattle. 

The doorbell rang as I scrambled to finish packing my suitcase, and I cursed out loud when I checked the time on my phone. I knew I should’ve gotten up an hour earlier but I was never a morning person and it took forever to go to sleep last night. Sighing, I stared at the two plastic bins left in my room before running downstairs to the front door.

“I’m coming!” I shouted as I reached the entryway. 

I took a second to smooth down the stray hairs that had appeared in the reflection of the old grandfather clock attached to the wall. It was a silly thing to do since he wouldn’t care what I looked like this early in the morning. But, then again years old crushes made you do a lot of trivial things. 

With a satisfied nod, I finally opened the door. “Hey! Come in.”

“Took you long enough,” Dan commented as I let him inside. 

I gave him one of my signature eye rolls. “Sorry, I was packing.”

“Still?”

“I know, usually I’m much more organized but, I’ve been doing most of this by myself so it’s taken a while,” I explained as I led him back up the stairs. “I swear I’m almost done though, it’s mainly just my suitcase for the road trip I have left.”

Catching my gaze, his lips turned up into a smile. “Good, cause the others are gonna be here in about 15 minutes.”

“I could use some help then,” I replied as we reached my room where I quickly added, “And don’t worry, my underwear is already in there so you don’t have to touch any of that.”

This caused him to chuckle, although I thought I saw his cheeks turn a little red. Or maybe it was just all my imagination, hoping it was true. “Wasn’t even concerned about it. I’m happy to help if it means we actually get to leave on time for a pit stop for coffee and donuts.”

“At Diane’s?” 

“Of course, is there really any other option?” He answered with a smirk. 

After waking up from the coma and dealing with all of the repressed trauma from Mr. Red and Jane and Noah, it made me happy to see him finally starting to return to his normal self over the past several months. 

Packing the pile of sweaters I folded late last night, I responded, “Not in Westchester there isn’t. We’ll have to find someplace like it in Seattle.”

“Oh, I’m sure it won’t be that hard, it’s practically dripping in coffee shops,” he said, handing me the last stack of clothes on my bed. “What are we doing with those?” he asked, gesturing to the closet behind me. 

“Already have that covered,” I disclosed, walking over and opening the door to reveal several hangers wrapped in trash bags. 

Looking over my handiwork, an impressed expression appeared. “You...really planned this out.”

“Actually this time it was my mom’s idea. Once I get to the apartment, I can just hang them back up and take the bags off. Easy peasy.” I started collecting them from the closet and setting them in the one bin that was left unfilled. 

There was a brief pause and I could tell he was deep in thought, almost as if he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure if he should. He always got quiet when he did this but, so did I. That’s how I knew he had slipped into his own head. Well, that and the fact that we’ve been best friends off and on for over a decade now. 

“Dan?”

“Hmm?” he snapped out of his reflective daze. 

“Penny for your thoughts? You got quiet there for a minute.”

Meeting my gaze, he shrugged. “Nothing, I just...it must be hard, not having your parents with you to help move in.”

A small wave of sadness came over me. For almost four years now it’s been like this, them having to miss important milestones and events of my life. They barely made it back in time for my graduation over a year ago. 

“My Nana’s...health problems definitely don’t have a convenient schedule,” I sighed. “Especially now that they’re getting worse. Who knows how long they’ll have to be over there this time. They are helping pay my portion of the rent so...I can’t really complain. They're doing the best they can and that’s what matters.”

“Yeah.”

I managed another smile, not wanting to think about it any longer. “Plus, your family will be over there this weekend before classes start, and they’re always there for me when mine can’t be,” I added. 

“They do adore you,” Dan agreed with a laugh. 

As we finished up the last of my packing, we continued our normal banter until it was complete. Right after that my phone chimed and I saw a new message from Andy in the group chat. 

Andy: I’m here with Ava.

Ava: Can confirm. 

Stacy: I’m on my way, be there shortly. 

Smiling, I sent a thumbs up back. 

“Well, we timed that perfectly,” I told Dan who was reading the messages on his phone. 

This earned me a boyish grin, and I bit my lip as it stirred up a wave of butterflies. “What can I say? We make a great team. Almost perfect even.”

Was he flirting? God, I scrutinized everything between us these days. 

“We really do, don’t we?” I raised an eyebrow teasingly as we headed back downstairs, bringing the bins and my suitcase with us. We set them with the others in the kitchen before letting our friends inside. 

“Hey, Raina, Dan,” Andy said, the morning not hurting his energy one bit.

“Hey, guys!” I exclaimed giving him a hug. 

I attempted to do the same with Ava but she dodged me and I settled for a hive five instead. “Nice try Raina but, it’s not happening.”

“Oh, I’ll get you to let me one of these days.”

She scoffed in response. “Hah, doubtful. It is fun to see you try though.”

I rolled my eyes as Stacy walked through the door. 

“Sorry, I didn’t knock,” she panted out of breath. “But the door was open so I assumed it was fine.”

“Of course it is Stace,” I told her before taking in her haphazard appearance. “Running late?”

She nodded. “I couldn’t decide what to bring! It took me an hour to finally sort everything out. Plus, my mother was delaying me. I don’t think she wants to be by herself.” She frowned momentarily.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Dan chimed in, trying to reassure her. At this point, it was almost second nature. “She just needs some time to adjust.”

“Yeah, I know,” she replied, exhaling the pent up stress she carried. “Doesn’t make it easier. At least Conner is there so, she’ll have some peace of mind.” She rubbed her forehead before painting on a smile. 

Andy cleared his throat to relieve the sudden tension in the room. Everyone knew why Mrs. Green was paranoid. 

“Ready to leave?” he asked, the keys dangling from his hand. 

“I think so,” Dan replied, his analytical gaze wandering around the first floor. “Right Raina?”

I’m about to reply when I remember something. There was one last goodbye I needed to say. However, it meant letting them in on the secret that I’ve been keeping from them. But, I wasn’t one to break a promise and I wasn’t going to do it now. 

“Actually, there is one thing that I need to do,” I responded, a nervous knot forming in my stomach. “It should take ten minutes, fifteen at most.”

I was met with four confused stares. 

“What do you mean?” Dan asked me. 

My gaze drifted to the window where the woods could be seen outside. “I need to visit...Noah.”

The name lingered, slowly sinking into each of my friends’ minds. 

“Wait...you’ve been...seeing him?!” Stacy exclaimed first. 

I had told them about what had happened between us and what he’d become right after that night but not much else. 

I reluctantly nodded. I was tired, exhausted of carrying this burden on my own. 

“For several months now. I know, he’s not exactly my favorite person either, and I definitely think him taking Jane’s place was the right thing to do,” I started to explain. “But, I don’t know, I guess he still deserves some mercy, some compassion still. I don’t want to leave him alone out there. So, I sometimes visit him every week or two, just so he has company.”

They all looked at each other and I closed my eyes, bracing for a confrontation. Yet, that’s not what I received.”

“We’re not mad,” Andy said after a minute. “Well, at least I’m not. I will admit that I’m not really that pissed at the guy anymore. And I’m the one whose leg got busted.”

Stacy and Ava still looked hesitant and I couldn’t blame them. Dan was quiet and deep in thought again but other than that, I had no idea how he felt and that scared me to death. 

“I’m not completely over him trying to kill us...but I will admit I am tired of holding a grudge,” Ava mumbled, her arms folded tightly across her chest. 

After a beat, Stacy sighed reluctantly, a guilt-ridden expression on her face. “Ugh, I can’t believe I’m saying this but...me too. That whole mess brought us back together when we never should’ve separated in the first place.”

That left one person. The person I needed to hear from the most. I willed myself to look at him. 

“Dan? Say something,” I begged. 

Please. 

He shrugged a smile appearing. “You were actually worried Raina?” he commented, and I released the air I had been holding in. 

“A little,” I admitted sheepishly. I should’ve known that he’d be the one I’d have to convince the least. 

“I never really faulted the guy,” he said. “I mean yeah he betrayed us, but it was for a good reason. He wanted Jane back, his twin. And he mistakenly thought that was the only way he could do it. So, I’m definitely fine with you doing this. I just wish you would’ve felt like you could tell us. Me.”

I physically felt the weight lift off my shoulders. “Thank you, for not hating me. I just...we weren’t there for Jane when she was like this and look what happened. I don’t want the same thing to happen with Noah. I promised I’d say goodbye before we left.”

“Then let’s do it,” he replied. 

I was taken a bit back as the others nodded in agreement. “You guys don’t have to come if you don’t want to. Just because this is what I need to find peace doesn’t mean it’s what you do.”

His response was immediate. “We’re a team, Raina. All of us. We got into this mess together so we should end it that way too. I think this could be good for all fo us. Well besides Lucas and Lily who aren’t here.”

“They can come with us when we’re here in December if they want to,” Andy said. 

A touched smile appeared on my face. I was so grateful to have them so entrenched in my life again. 

“Then let’s go into the woods.”

[pearldouglas]

The Matchmakers Playbook

Summary: The absolute main rule for Wingman Inc.? Never fall for clients. But some rules are meant to be broken, right?

Warnings: Swearing, alcohol use (eventually), mentions of sex

Word count: 1,803

A/N: WOW HI WELCOME TO MY FIRST MULTI CHAPTER FIC! I watched the movie ‘the matchmakers playbook’ last night bc i’m highkey in love with nick bateman and instantly fell in love with the concept so this fic is based around that. I’m nervous bc I haven’t written in AGES but here we go, wish me luck. It’s a college/slight fratboy/highkey fuckboy au. Enjoy!

It wasn’t like he chose this life, really.

He didn’t wake up one morning and think ‘holy shit, I’d be awesome at helping the girl get the guy.’ No. Some might say he was forced into it by his best friend, Ashton. It wasn’t all bad. The worst parts are when clients are late.

Like right now.

She was seven minutes late, three more and he would leave. Michael was sitting in some washed out coffee shop. The drink he had ordered for her was getting cold and his patience was growing thinner by the minute. He was waiting for a girl with a blonde pixie cut and glasses that had applied to have Michael help her get the baristas attention. Michael didn’t know why. The barista was nothing special, he had lavender hair and green eyes. But the worst part? His name was Awsten. Yeah, and it was spelled like that. It almost made Michael not want to take this case. That’s when the tiny bell above the door rang and a petite figure bounced in.

“Michael!” she called. He turned.

“You’re late,” he says. She sighs and sits down next to him.

“I know, I’m sorry. I had to walk my dog and he wasn’t having it today,” she explains. Michael didn’t care. “I’m Lainey.”

“I know, I read your file,” he says. She brings her extended hand back into her chest and clearly looks like she wants to sink into the floor. “So. Awsten, huh?”

She blushes and there’s a pause before Michael glances over her shoulder and sees the barista is looking at them.

“Touch my shoulder,” he demands. Lainey scrunches her nose up in confusion. “He’s already seen you and jealousy is an emotion commonly felt before falling in love,” Michael explains. She does as she’s told.

Michael looks over her shoulder again and sees the purple haired barista glancing their way. “Now laugh,” he instructs. Lainey lets out the smallest and fakest laugh he’s ever heard and he has to fight not to roll his eyes. Awsten made his way over to them.

“Hey guys, can I get you anything?” he asks.

“Yeah I’ll send my girlfriend up if we need something,” Michael replies, his eyes not leaving Lainey’s blushing face. Awsten rolls his eyes and looks at her.

“Hey I know you. You’re Lainey, right?” he asks with a smile. Lainey nods.

“We have music class together,” she tells him. Michael kicks her under the table and she lets out a small yip.

“We should get going, we gotta study for that test. Right, babe?” Michael stands and holds out his hand for his fake girlfriend. She grabs his hand.

“Well I’ll see you tomorrow, Lainey,” Awsten waves. Michael pulls her out of the coffee shop before she can reply.

“What was that?” she asks.

“First off, you have to be discreet. If he asks if you have a class together you say you’ve never seen him,” Michael explains.

“Fine,” there’s a pause. “So that’s it then? He’s in love with me? Your magic worked?” Michael scoffs at her snide remark.

“I’ll pick you up before class tomorrow and we’ll continue then,” he says before walking away.

“Did you forget?” Calum asks. Michael laughs.

“Forget what?” he teases. He was driving to Calum’s house right now since his new roommate was moving in today and he wanted to throw a welcome party or something.

“Michael I swear to god if you forgot-”

“I’m on my way now, princess,” Michael smirks. He can hear the sigh or relief Calum lets out through the phone.

“Don’t forget to pick up the chips and dip before you get here,” Calum hangs up before Michael can reply.

Michael was late.

Again.

When he finally got to Calum’s newly shared home, his hair was a mess and he smelled like the cheap perfume that the girl he had met in front of the grocery store was wearing.

“You’re late. Even Ashton got here before you,” Calum growls as he walks through the door.

“But I brought the chips and dip!” he replies, shoving the brown paper bag into his friends tattooed arms.

“Did you really have to hook up with someone that easy before you got here?” Calum asks, shutting the door behind him. Michael turns so they’re face to face.

“I did. And she has a name, you know. But I didn’t quite catch it because she couldn’t say much with my cock down her throat,” Michael smirks.

“Charming,” an unknown voice says from behind him. He turns and is met with a girl he has never seen before sitting at the kitchen counter. She was wearing sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt and Michael assumes it’s Calum’s new roommate in her ‘moving day’ clothes.

“You have no idea, sweetheart,” Michael says to her. She rolls her eyes and turns to Calum.

“He belong to you?” she asks.

“Unfortunately,” Calum answers, setting the bag on the table and taking the contents out. “Y/N, meet Michael. Michael, meet my new roommate, Y/N.”

“I’d shake your hand but I don’t want to know where it’s been,” Y/N says. Michael is surprised by her quick comeback but brushes it off.

“Could be in the same place as it was with her on you,” he shrugs. She rolls her eyes and turns to have a conversation with Calum when Ashton walks in.

“Hey Mike. How was the meeting this morning?” he asks. Michael shrugs again.

“Give me a challenge next time, Ash,” he snickers.

The rest of the party is slow, more people come and go. Michael occasionally glances over at Y/N but she is never looking his way. Or at least he didn’t catch her staring.

“I hate mornings,” Ashton says as he pinches the bridge of his nose. Michael chuckles as he ruffles his friends hair and makes his way to the fridge in their shared dorm.

“You going to class today?” Michael asks as he gets out the milk for his cereal.

“I wouldn’t be up if I wasn’t,” Ashton says.

“Fair,” Michael shrugs, turning to his empty bowl on the counter.

“Hey you’ve got a meeting after class,” Ashton tells him. Michael shoves a spoonful of chocolate cereal in his mouth and turns around.

“Is it Lainey? Because I’m meeting her before class.”

“No, it’s a new client. She wants some guy named Luke Hemmings,” Ashton explains, staring at the file on his computer. Michael laughs. He knew Luke and he hated him which Ashton knew. That was probably the reason why he made Michael meet with this mysterious girl in the first place.

“Okay, I gotta get going though. Lainey’s got class with douche pants and I gotta walk her to class carrying her books and then kiss her on the forehead,” Michael says, leaving his milk filled bowl on the counter.

“Okay, just meet this client at the bench by the fountain. Oh, and her name is-” Michael has already slammed the door before Ashton can tell him.

Lainey’s hand was surprisingly soft. It wasn’t part of the plan but when they got close to her class, he impulsively grabbed her hand for that extra spice for Awsten to see. They had been walking for what felt like forever before Michael finally saw that flash of lavender hair.

“Stop here,” he says while pulling Lainey to a halt. She turns to face him and he hands her the stack he was carrying before softly kissing her forehead and he can feel the eyes on both of them.

“Did he see us?” Lainey whispers. Michael nods.

“Now, he’s gonna ask for your number. Give it to him but don’t answer when he texts you. Wait until the third text and give very short answers. If he calls you, don’t answer,” Michael instructs.

“What if he doesn’t ask for my number?” she questions. Michael glares at her and she surrenders.

“I gotta go. Tell me how it goes,” he says before running off.

For the first time, Michael was early to class so he was taking his time in walking there. He’s staring at his phone with his headphones in the whole time before he collides into a solid figure which causes them to tip over.

“Oh shit,” Michael mutters to himself before pulling his headphones out and bending over to help them up. “Sorry, man.”

Turns out he had run into a girl. Not any girl, too. Calum’s new roommate, Y/N.

“It’s fine,” she says quietly, grabbing his hand and standing up. There’s an awkward pause as she brushes her pants off.

“So class doesn’t start for another three minutes,” he reminds her. She looks up at him, her eyebrows raised in confusion but interest. “It’ll be tight but we could go around the corner and I could-”

“Oh my god!” she shrieks in disgust.

“Down to two minutes, one of us might not finish but it could still be fun,” he suggests.

“Is this what you do to all girls?”

“Pretty much.”

“You’re gross.”

“And you’re down to a minute and not even I can perform miracles. Your offer expired,” he tells her.

“I wasn’t interested anyway,” she informs, walking past him. He pauses. Not interested? No one has ever been ‘not interested.’ Then it all made sense.

“Oh, in men?” he asks, following her.

“In you. So leave me alone,” she says before finding her seat.

The class was long and boring. Michael spent about two thirds of it winking at girls across the room while he chewed on his pencil eraser. Y/N had seen pretty much the whole thing and rolled her eyes every single time.

The bell was music to Michael’s ears as he packed up his things. Then his phone buzzed so he stopped to see a text.

‘New message from Lainey: it worked!!! he asked for my number!!!!!!’

Michael smiles at the screen but doesn’t reply since he realized all of his classmates had already left the room. He’s almost about to walk back to his dorm when he remembers his meeting at the bench in front of the fountain. He groans before making his way there.

“No fucking way,” he mumbles to himself when he sees Y/N sitting cross legged on the bench, waiting for him. Michael chuckles and makes his way over to her. “Waiting for someone?”

She looks up at him. “Yeah I am. And it’s pretty important to me so can you please leave?” she asks. He shakes his head and sits down next to her. She scoffs and begins to stand up.

“So. Luke, huh?” he teases. She doesn’t move.

“How did-”

“Ashton and I are the founders of Wingman Inc., I’m your new love coach you hired,” Michael smirks at her.

The color leaves Y/N’s face.

“Oh fuck.”

[dailyaudiobible]

11/01/2018 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 1:1-3:15, Hebrews 3:1-19, Psalms 104:1-23, Proverbs 26:2n.24-26s

Today is the 1st day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I'm Brian. It's great to be here with you today as we walk into this new month together. Month eleven of the year. And if you can believe it, by the time we get out of this month, we will be fully immersed in the Christmas season, which is pretty hard to believe, but this is where we are in our year and this is how far we've come in the Bible. So, we have been reading from the book of Lamentations in our Old Testament reading and we concluded that yesterday, which brings us to a new book of prophecy known as Ezekiel. And this prophet, Ezekiel, appears to have been a well-educated person who was deeply loyal to God and also to the traditions of his people. He came from a priestly family and, like Jeremiah, he was often instructed by God to symbolically act out his prophecies. Jeremiah and Ezekiel were prophesying around the same time. But it's fairly interesting because, whereas Jeremiah prophesied from Jerusalem, Ezekiel was prophesying at around the same time from exile in Babylon. So, two prophets kind of at either end of the equation. So, during this time, the climate of international struggle and upheaval was prevalent. The Assyrian empire had been conquered by the Babylonian empire. Egypt and Babylon clashed within the land of ancient Israel because possessing that land, that little strip of land, allowed whoever ruled that strip of land to control the major trade routes between lands to the north and east and the continent of Africa. And because of this, at one point or another, the Israelites had all been allies of and then subsequently subdued by all of these ancient empires. But Jerusalem had not been destroyed. Rather, Judah would pay tribute and become like a vassal that changed hands. And this all happened during the generational decline in the kings' leadership that we totally read about as we were moving through the books of Kings and Chronicles. And then in 597 BC, the Babylonians subdued Jerusalem and began to deport people and take them into exile. And Ezekiel was among the first to go into exile. And several years later, and we read of this when we were reading the book of Jeremiah, this king that had been put in place named Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon, even though Jeremiah was clearly pleading and prophesying not to do that. And then in 588, the Babylonians, they came and they laid siege. And they eventually conquered, and they completely destroyed Jerusalem a few years later. So, Ezekiel had been taken into exile and in those early years, he prophesied of Jerusalem's destruction, even as Jeremiah was prophesying the same thing from Jerusalem if they didn't surrender. And as we know, they didn't. And after the fall of Jerusalem and the temple was completely destroyed, then the prophesies of Ezekiel from exile transform into some of the most hope-filled messages of renewal and restoration that we'll find in the whole Bible. But Ezekiel also contains these descriptions that are almost, like, cinematic, apocalyptic visions that aren't unlike the visions of Daniel or the visions found in the book of Revelation. And because of that, the parallels are often cross-examined in the apocalyptic study of the end times known as eschatology. But these weren't just disembodied visions that Ezekiel had in some kind of weird dream. They had a pretty great impact on him personally. And the same can happen for us as we read them. If we're able to approach the book and the imagery from the perspective of what it speaks to our hearts, we'll be able to engage and enjoy the deep and rich textures allowing to speak to us like a sunrise would rather than how the morning newspaper does. The book of Ezekiel holds a lot of promise for us and it's one of the larger and influential books of prophecy we have in the Bible. And even though we're reading a book that's thousands of years old, it tells of an ultimate hope and a blessing that God has for us when we return to him. And so with that, we're reading from the New Living Translation this week. Ezekiel 1:1-3:15.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for this new threshold that we've walked into into the book of Ezekiel and we invite Your Holy Spirit to speak to us. Everything that we need to hear, everything that we need to feel. We open our hearts to You. And we also make notice of the fact that we have entered into the eleventh month of this year. And once again we take a moment at this line of demarcation to look back and rejoice in Your faithfulness. You have certainly brought us this far, and we have certainly walked through plenty of drama. And yet here we are, and You have been faithful. And, so, we take note of this, we acknowledge this and along with the psalmist we declare, let all that we are praise the Lord. O Lord our God, how great You are. You are robed with honor and majesty. You are dressed in a robe of light. You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens. Father, that You are Almighty God and father to us at the same time is overwhelming. And when it sinks in, when we get this glimpse of the reality, we wonder why we would worry and fret about anything. The Lord of heaven's armies, the creator of all things both seen and unseen, is our father. And, so, we rejoice in You and we worship You, Father. Come, Holy Spirit, we pray. Lead us firmly and rightly and clearly into this next month. We submit ourselves to You. We open ourselves to You completely. Come Holy Spirit, we pray. In Jesus name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website's, its home base, its where you find out what’s going on around here. So, be sure to check in and check it out.

Stay connected as we move into these last couple of months of the year because, from my experience, we'll be in the thick of it before we can even blink twice. And so finishing strong is a decision and that's a decision that needs to be made in advance and one of the ways to make that decision is to stay connected. So, do that. Pray for your brothers and sisters at the prayer wall. Visit the Daily Audio Bible shop for resources. And you can stay connected at any of the social media channels that you're on and we're on at the same time. And those links can be found in the community section of dailyaudiobible.com.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There is a link on the homepage. If you're using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the give button in the upper right-hand corner. Or if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

hi family, this is __ in St. Louis. I wanted to call in with a few things. Asia, sweet Asia, my heart is broken for you in your loss. I am just…I am just…I have no words and all I can say is that we are all praying for you. We don’t understand why these tragic things happen, but God’s love remains true. And let me tell you, in the middle of your message, hope came to me because you were told you would not have any other children, but you did get pregnant. I know maybe this is too soon for you to hear this because you’re still grieving the loss of this baby but there’s hope in the midst of it. God gives us hope. So, hang onto that hope and when the time is right we will see what blessings God will bring forth from this. Joe the Protector…even…I can imagine just the shock and the disappointment you must feel at the pregnancy of your 15-year-old daughter but in the middle of that I see hope. I see that this child and grandbaby is going to bless your family in ways you never understand, in ways you cannot see right now. Hold on to hope family. Hold onto hope. I’m going through some grieving for some different situations in my life but I’m holding on because God’s love is true and God is faithful even when we go through these times as Brian talked about in Lamentations in today’s message. And Melisa, keep singing for us girl. You have such a beautiful voice and I was so blessed. Love you family. God bless.

Hi DAB family this is Paula the child advocate from the LA area calling. I wanted to leave a message for Joe the Protector. Joe, your call the other day about your 15-year-old daughter really touched me about her pregnancy and I wanted to give you just a few words of hope. I don’t know if you remember that I’ve called in over the years for a little girl named Mel who has been in foster care since she was about, I think five, and I became friends with her when she was seven. And she also got pregnant at the age of 15 and I was very upset about it. And in my heart, I was really hoping she was going to give the baby up for adoption but she chose to keep the baby. And I have to tell you Joe, it was the best thing in the world. This little guy changed her life around. She is the best mother I have seen. He’s in such good hands and has changed her life. She’s finished high school, she’s going to college, she’s become a more responsible, loving person. So, I’m hoping the same for your daughter, that this baby will change her life for the better and I’m sure he will change all your lives for the better. I also wanted to leave a message for Christine who called in and she said she had leukemia. I’ll be praying for you Christine. You just sounded so wonderful on the phone. Your voice sounded so strong and you sounded so hopeful, so I am praying for you. And all my DAB family out there, I’m thinking of you, I listen to all of your prayers, and I keep you all in my heart. Thank you, Brian and Jill and the whole Hardin family. God bless you all. Bye for now.

Hey DAB family this is Byron of Florida. I am calling for __ Confession. It is so good to hear your voice. It has been a long time and you have not left my thoughts. So, I’m glad to hear you again. I remember your testimony. I remember how you had dealt with Asperger’s. I myself have two boys on the spectrum and it can be very frustrating and exasperating to deal with them and I also worry about the future, but when I hear your voice and when I see what God in His faithfulness has done through you, to make you the unbelievably strong person that you are, you have no idea what that means. So, thank you for calling back again and please don’t let it be too long before you call in again. All right family, I love you all. Talk to you later.

Hey DAB family, this is Alex the Seeker from Florida. It’s October 29th and I haven’t checked in for a while but I’m asking for some prayers, please, regarding my son and my ex-wife. My son is still having problems with depression and with just some disturbing thoughts. He’s being evaluated in a psych unit and we’re just hoping for some right medication and some good outcome there, that he’s going to get the help he needs in one way or another. Also, my ex-wife is, I guess, going back and forth between the relationship she has and with putting our family back together. So, I am not sure where this is gonna go and sometimes it brings me down for quite a bit and then I try to remember that it’s God’s plan, that I have to follow it, that I have to do my part in what I know to do, and He will take care of the rest. Needing to trust Him and doing that to the best of my abilities but sometimes it’s just not as easy done and said. Anyway, so, I’m asking for prayers for my son’s mental status and for relationship with my ex-wife and that God’s will be done in those two instances. Alright guys, I appreciate you all. Thank you so much and God bless you all. This is Alex the Seeker. Bye.

Hello DAB family this is Chantee calling from Metro Detroit and I wanted to call in for Asia. I just heard your call and I am so, so sorry to hear what you had to endure, and the emotions, up-and-down emotions, that you had to go through with the loss of your baby. And, if I’m devastated, I just…I can’t imagine what you’re going through and I’m just praying for you and your husband and Aiden to get through this, and to process it, and to…and just for your relationship to grow even stronger with the Lord through this. We don’t know why this would happen, but God knows…and…so…of course, I don’t have the words to say but I just wanted to let you know that I’m praying for you. All right. I will talk to you all later. Love you. Bye-bye.