#but for courtney I had a pretty clear image of what I wanted him to look like before designing him

[chisatowo]

Mannnnn Mocha's design is soooo good actually like damn I rly popped off with them huh

[sunflowerandco]

Act VI: Looking Back

Rating: T for language

previous acts on the link in my bio :)

Hey everyone. After my favorite combo meal of some good ol' depression™ and school, I'm back to writing! I really hope you enjoy and I'm very thankful for all of the support if you stuck around this long. Thank you so much ❤

I hope you enjoy this origin story for Duncney in this universe

5 years before Act V

Bridgette approached a very focused Courtney in the hall. "Hey, Court. Got any plans this weekend?"

She responded, her face still buried in the locker she was trying to organize before heading home for the weekend. "Studying, studying, and more studying. I've got two AP exams in two weeks and my livelihood depends on me getting good enough grades."

"Is there any chance you have one day to let yourself have some fun?"

Courtney pondered and knew her response wouldn't please her friend. Still, she delivered it with a smile. "No." She knew Bridgette's campaign for fun was coming any second now as she shut her locker.

“You’ve been studying all week, Courtney. Come to Wasaga with us! My step-dad lent me the beach house for the weekend.”

Courtney felt apprehensive at the idea of a day on the beach with Bridgette, Geoff and their insistent need to suck face most of the time. “No thanks. I don’t want to be your third wheel.”

“You won’t be! It won’t be just me and Geoff. He practically invited our lunch period. Plus, Duncan’s coming...”

“And that holds significance to my decision because...?”

“...Because you like him.”

“I do not! He’s annoying, has no regard for authority, and is so, totally gross. I don’t need you setting up dates for me. At least not another disaster like Bradley.”

“To be fair, you did have a crush on him.”

“That was before I knew he was a total jerk.”

“What matters is that you gave him a chance. Why not give Duncan one? I've seen the way you look at him.” Courtney gave her look, signaling her to quiet down in front of everyone else occupying the halls. Bridgette smiled triumphantly and shrugged her shoulders matter-of-factly, finally getting through to Courtney.

"See? I'm never wrong." Bridgette walked off presumably to find Geoff. "I'll pick you up at two."

"I didn't say yes!"

"Love you, too!"

***

Courtney could deal with sweaty teenagers in a crowded setting. She could deal with speakers blaring in her ears. But, she couldn't stand to see Bradley's face across the room before running to Bridgette.

"Why is Bradley here?!"

"I don't know! I know for a fact Geoff didn't invite him. He was the only person off limits."

She knew she'd have to spend the better half of her day avoiding Bradley.

Courtney stood in front of the bathroom mirror of the beach house, washing her hands and reapplying her lip balm. For one thing, she had to hide from the guy she wasted a month of her life on. On the other hand, she couldn't find him. Not that she cared. Oh, no, no, no. Not Courtney. She didn't come to this outing hoping she'd find him. And she would never admit that even to herself.

When she exited the washroom, she bumped into a brown-haired, blue polo-wearing dudebro practically standing in front of the door.

"Hey, Courtney. You know you can't avoid me forever."

"It doesn't hurt to try."

"Listen, I just wanted to talk."

"In order for that to happen, there'd have to be something to talk about."

"Well, there is. I want to start all over. You and me. I've got drafts coming up for university football. Having a girl on my arm would help with my image and, well, I figured you could benefit changing that uptight, boring image everyone has on you."

Courtney scoffed, feigning interest. "Wow. While that sounds incredibly tempting-" Courtney started off with sarcasm.

Bradley wasn't the most receptive to rejection, but still persisted. "I knew you'd see it my way. It would help the both of us."

Courtney rolled her eyes at his insistent need to cut her off at every chance she had to speak. Her eyes diverted from his and her eyes gravitated to the neon green hair she spotted across the room. He hadn't noticed her stare, but seeing him made a sense calm take over her mind.

"...I'm gonna have to pass. Don't come up to me again wasting my time. I don’t need to associate myself with an asshole like you."

She finally felt like he would leave her alone for the remainder of senior year after letting him hear it. Courtney knew that wasn't the answer he wanted from his displeased layer of expression on his face. She held her hand out with a smile.

"Pleasure doing business with you." He begrudgingly shook her hand to save face from possible onlookers.

***

Duncan, Geoff, and DJ were all engrossed in conversation when Duncan's attention rerouted in Courtney's direction. DJ's voice faded slowly out of the forefront. "...All I'm saying is if dude didn't want his underwear up the flagpole, he should stop leaving it around the locker room!"

"What is he doing here?" Duncan was covertly protective over Courtney in the aspect of terrible ex-boyfriends. His reaction to seeing her shake hands with him made Geoff and DJ turn in that direction.

"I don't know, man. I swear I didn't invite that joke. It seems like they're making up, so that's good." The can Duncan held warped in shape as his grip tightened.

It was no secret how Duncan felt about Bradley. He had to spend two months convincing people that pantsing him, throwing eggs at his car and TP'ing his house were all in the name of fun and not some way of avenging Courtney.

He didn't mean to avoid her after the fact, but it made controlling his emotions easier.

***

Courtney, fresh off of telling Bradley off, finally felt she was able to enjoy herself for the day. As the day transitioned into a darker, breezy evening, her introverted nature dwindled as she allowed herself to let go. Catching up with acquaintances from various classes, taking in the ocean views, and the overall atmosphere made her feel recharged in a rare feat. Still, it was hard to find Duncan while sticking to Bridgette's side. She'd hate to verbally admit she missed trading meaningless quips with him, and it was out of the ordinary for them to be in the same setting without exchanging any words. She separated from her friend when she wandered around several spaces of the house. Then, she heard him.

He was projecting his conversation loud enough for onlookers to hear what he said. "It's actually sad how many times and ways I had to reject that girl. Even today I had to tell her to stay away from me. I mean, why would I want to associate with her?" A few laughs could be heard from the same acquaintances she caught up with at his declarations of rejection all created by him.

Duncan decided he'd heard enough and approached him. "You better watch you say around here. Courtney's not around to defend herself, and I'm known for not using my words to solve problems."

"Oh? Is that bitch your piece of ass for the week?" Bradley immediately felt threatened at how much Duncan was fuming at him. Duncan swung a fist, but he moved out of the way quick enough to dodge the attack.

Geoff immediately came between the two of them to settle the tension. "Just get out of here, dude."

***

She heard every word of it. She didn't want to defend herself for once. Her mind just kept repeating to itself. You need to get out. She sat on the sand with her knees pulled to her chest. Courtney felt Duncan sit next to her without a greeting. She still spoke lowly to fill the silence between them. "What gives him the right to think he can do and say whatever he pleases like that?!"

"You're right. Let me let him have it, Princess."

"No, it's not worth it. He's not, at the very least. And you need to stop getting into trouble all the time."

At the time, Duncan's need for revenge couldn't be subdued. He'd let it go for now, but his mind wouldn't rest until he felt justice was served on that rich, entitled fuck. "It's not like anyone cares if I do. Everyone just wants to police me-"

"I do." She immediately retreated to the ocean's view after she blurted those two words out pretty angrily.

A silent moment passed between the two of them. His brain felt like mush hearing that and seeing the bright reflection of the moon on her skin. All of his previous thoughts were clouded leaving one subject clear. He quietly said the first thing that came to his mind. "You look beautiful."

Courtney had gotten used to Duncan calling her nicknames. They were mostly delivered backhanded in response to her insults. This time it was unprovoked. It blurred the lines between real and fake. She decided not to respond and change the subject instead. She crossed her arms in defense of the drop in temperature. "I want nothing more than to leave this stupid place."

"Here." He said as he peeled the t-shirt off his back. Courtney truly didn't mean to stare as the fabric became less and less attached to his torso. He handed it to her after noticing she shivered when the wind picked up speed. She looked away quicker than she wanted him to notice.

"As if I need another reason for people to look at me weirdly."

He knew she just reacted the way they're expected to treat each other, but it still upset him for reasons he couldn't decipher fast enough. She immediately noticed his face fall, instantly regretting her delivery. "I didn't really mean that. Thank you." She smoothed out the wrinkles after letting the shirt fall over her body.

He couldn't stay mad at her for long, especially when her regret was so apparent on her face. Duncan considered the embarrassment she faced, and figured she was trying to regain some normalcy in their relationship. "Don't worry about it. Let me take you home."

Courtney didn't object, following him through the sandy plains to his car. After finding a tank top in the trunk, he slipped it over his upper half. Duncan opened the door on the passenger side for Courtney to enter. Moments that didn't include bickering scared Courtney. it was an occurrence that gave her mind the opportunity to wonder what a prolonged version of this happenstance would result in. Her feelings floating to the surface of her deeply buried psyche.

***

He didn't mean to drive in radio silence, but Duncan was more nervous than he'd like to admit. He almost ran a red light when he noticed the newly-acquired tan the sun gave her soft, warm skin as she crossed her legs in the passenger seat. He slammed on the brakes just in time, still startling her. "Duncan! I didn't accept your offer with the expectation of dying in your car!" It wasn't the greatest question, but he was relieved she opened a window of conversation to flow between them.

"What was your expectation, then, Princess?"

"Delinquent-proof driving!"

"You know it wouldn't kill you to be...nice?"

"And ruin the amazing dynamic of our relationship? I wouldn't dare!"

"I don't want anything to be 'ruined' either. Nothing will stop me from annoying you, no matter what happens between us."

Courtney relinquished in relief. She then remembered the very moment her fear took over. Acknowledging it meant accepting the affect his words had on her. Accepting those indulgent stares and rare, shared smiles. Despite her fears, she asked. "If you don't want anything to change, why did you call me beautiful the way you did?"

Surprised by the indicative effect of his words, Duncan responded as if the answer were so obvious, still attentive to the road ahead of him. "Because you are...? Nothing's gonna change because of that. I've always thought you were. I'll stop if you want me to."

Courtney felt her heart triple in size when she boldly responded, letting herself say whatever her heart told her to. "Don't... stop?" She stammered, even changed the pace of her words as she fought off her nervousness. "I... don't want you to stop."

"Okay, beautiful." Courtney's chest radiated with warm waves as she looked out the window. She looked in the opposite direction and noticed one of his hands resting in the space between their seats. Her mind and heart wrestled back and forth between doing what truly called to her. To shut them up, she turned her attention to the road ahead. And, like some gravitational pull, her hand made it's way toward his free one. A swipe of the back of each other's hands was enough to: burn beneath the surface of their skin; Duncan immediately caught on to her intentions. He tried to stay focused on the road as they fumbled, palm to palm, and slowly interlocked their fingers with the other's one-by-one. The silence after realizing how perfectly they fit was easy, comfortable, yet deafening.

At a red light, Duncan used the hand on the steering wheel to turn the radio to any random station he saved. Neither of them knew the song, but wouldn't forget any lyric of it after this.

You can't stop us on the road to freedom

You can't stop us 'cause our eyes can see

Men with insight, men in granite

Knights in armor intent on chivalry

She's as sweet as Tupelo honey

She's an angel of the first degree

***

When he pulled up to her street and their hands pulled apart, Courtney felt hollow. Duncan's mind conjured ways to make the moment last longer. "I'll walk you to your door." Courtney didn't object once more, smiling at his reciprocated persistence.

"Okay." The path, while short and forward in leading them to the door, gave them time before the eventual goodbye they dreaded. Courtney fumbled with her keys hoping to buy more time. Fleeting, fickle, borrowed time for a moment they used to curse themselves for dreaming of. He initiated.

"So... see you on Monday?"

"Of course. Um...thanks. For everything."

"It's no problem, Courtney. Goodnight." He leaned in and Courtney's breathing wavered. Duncan gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Courtney's hand rose to her face in an attempt to calm the burning sensation he left. This would suffice for what he really wanted to do. If he was right about the impact he assumed he had, he was doing the right thing for now.

Courtney hated to see him walk further from her and toward the car. In some entranced state, her hand grabbed his wrist, pulling him in closer.

Maybe she leaned in the wrong way; she over-estimated the distance between them as their noses collided with each other's causing them to both groan in pain. Her ache quickly shifted to embarrassment as she hastily spilled out her rambled apologies. "I'm so-so sorry! Oh my God. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Her rambling ceased when Duncan pulled her in once again, his lips crashing onto hers with a yearning force. Her lips quickly overlapped his as his fingers tangled themselves in her hair, her arms linking around his neck. They parted for air but remained still with their hands attached to the other.

He'd never done something so worth it, unaware of the events to come.

[notanacousticsetcal]

speak now - luke hemmings

summary - based off of the song speak now by taylor swift -- highly recommend listening before reading for the full experience.

warnings - none? nerves and kind of public speaking

word count - 1.6k - lyrics not included this time, lemme know if you guys prefer that

a/n - im SO sorry ive been MIA, i have had absolutely zero motivation. this is some trash i wrote a while ago and i thought i would post it while im trying to find inspiration to write something better. its the 5th installment of the song series so you can go check those out as well if you want! also, like i said in the word count, i did not include the lyrics this time around. i think i prefer that but im not sure, let me know if you guys want me to include the lyrics next time and i will! thank you for reading, i missed yall.

***

Your mom’s old pale yellow dress didn’t fit as well as you had hoped but you had no other options, formal events were not a common occurrence in your life. The wedges pinched at your toes and the thin dress straps dug into your shoulders but the soft yellow complimented your skin and you liked the ribbon around the waist so it wasn’t a total loss.

You sucked in a sharp breath, adjusting the dress once more in the mirror before grabbing your purse and hustling out the door. 

This wasn’t happening. You weren’t actually doing this. The girl who feels like she has to throw up before public speaking and stutters over small talk and avoids eye contact at all costs is supposed to stand up in front of 100 people and declare her love for the boy getting married to someone else? You felt nauseous thinking about it.

But you couldn’t sit idly by and watch the love of your life say “I do,” to the snobby girl that put gum in your hair in middle school. If there was ever a time that you would stand in front of a crowd voluntarily and speak, it would be now.

The venue was beautiful. The church had vaulted ceilings and large stained glass windows that cast colorful shadows on the hardwood flooring. There were cascading white curtains and pale pink tablecloths with little white doilies. It was pretty but humble and you felt a pang of jealousy in your chest.

Concealing yourself in the crowd wasn’t difficult considering she’d invited the county and all its neighbors. Everyone was in the pews standing and mingling and you noticed the only group sitting quietly was the family of the bride herself, all looking around carefully like the normal folk were unevolved cavemen. They wore coordinating lavender outfits with done up hair and hats with little feathers -- something straight out of a period piece. 

You rolled your eyes at their judgmental nature and apparent superiority complex before your attention was drawn to the boys in the front row talking seriously among themselves, dread written clearly on their faces. 

Calum, Ashton and Michael wore similar black tuxes, looking uncomfortable in the formal getup. You only watched for a few moments before you caught Ashton’s attention. He first looked shocked but his expression quickly became sincere. He gave you an apologetic smile which you returned before heading to the back to avoid any more curious eyes. His family would surely recognize you if they saw you and you didn’t want any extra attention on you until you were subjecting yourself to it. 

As you waited for the ceremony to start, you stared fondly out the window at the snowy trees and calm serenity of nature before allowing yourself to be whisked away in a vivid daydream about what it might be like to tell him how you truly feel. 

You jumped, pulled from your daydream by dark, heavy chords coming from the church organ. You cringed a little as the horribly ill fitting song continued, but readied yourself for the ceremony to begin. 

The silk purple curtains concealed your figure enough in the back of the church and your heart rate began to rise. This was happening. You were about to profess your love to a man who might turn you down in front of everyone and their mother. But it would be worth it. You couldn’t live your whole life wondering “what if?”

You heard a squeak of door hinges from your right and held still. Any sudden movements might give you away. 

A young girl came running through with a wicker basket in hand, poorly distributing rose petals along the aisle. Something caught your eye in the front of the room. 

Luke stepped out, front and center, and straightened his tie. Your breath caught in your throat. He looked just the same as the last time you’d seen him on that warm summer night. You had expected some drastic change, to not even recognize him. But it was Luke. The same one that picked flowers with you at recess and stopped to wait for you whenever you needed to tie your shoe. The same one that was always there to dry your tears and to watch dumb romantic comedies with you without complaining. He stood there quietly, clean shaven and rosy cheeked, the same Luke you knew and loved. 

You pushed away the more upsetting memories, like the one from that warm, sticky night. The image of his tear stained cheeks and pleading eyes. 

Moments later, your eyes were pulled from Luke. Courtney came strutting through the open Mahogany doors, waving like she was fucking Queen Elizabeth.

You rolled your eyes at her bedazzled ball gown and fake pageant smile. She didn’t care about Luke, she cared about image and reputation. Which is why you were really about to piss her off.

You looked back towards Luke and tried to read his expression but it was stoic, unmoved. You wish that was me, don’t you?

Courtney reached Luke and shot him a wide smile, to which he returned. Except Luke's was empty, not sincere. Luke had always thought Courtney was beautiful and smart and made the decision from there that marrying her wouldn’t be so bad. After you had turned him down in the glow of the firelight on that July night. It broke him and you hated yourself every day because of it. You weren’t ready to love him then. But you were most certainly ready now. 

Ready to risk everything for that blue eyed boy. 

The ceremony progressed and the preacher neared the end of the formalities. You felt your time was nearing. Your knees were weak and knocky, your hands shaking. 

The preacher paused, and with his booming voice said “if anyone can show just cause why this couple cannot lawfully be joined together in matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.” He looked down, preparing to move on and read the next portion, assuming no one would protest. No sane person ever protested. 

Your breath hitched in your throat. It was now or never. If you didn’t find it in you to step forward at this moment, the person you love most in this world might be gone forever. 

The room fell silent and you closed your eyes, pushing the sheer curtain aside and taking a shaky step forward. You heard heads turn and a few audible gasps.

When you opened your eyes, everyone had turned to you. Every familiar face, every friend, every stranger.

You caught Courtney’s eye and she looked as if every fiber of her being was on fire. If someone reached out and touched her in that moment, they’d get a 3rd degree burn. She looked like she was trying to strangle you with her eyes.

You flattened your dress once more and looked up, bracing yourself for the look on Luke’s face. 

He didn’t look angry or upset, just… confused. And surprised.

You took that as a sign to continue. You softly cleared your throat, speaking directly to the man in front of you. “I am not the kind of girl who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion but you are not the kind of boy… who should be marrying the wrong girl.” There were some shocked whispers and appalled gasps but you ignored them.

You walked forward down the aisle to get a clearer look at Luke and stopped at the stairs. You felt like you were alone with him now and it made it easier. “So don’t say yes, let’s run away now. I’ll meet you when you’re out of the church at the back door. Don’t wait or say a single vow, you need to hear me out.” You looked at him with pleading eyes and for the first time, his facade fell. You saw the glint of relief in his eyes and the slump of his once tense shoulders. 

Luke looked around once more at all of the people that had gathered there today for him and knew he needed to make a decision. He turned to look at his friends stationed behind him, and to no surprise, their faces were lit up with pure happiness and relief. He couldn’t help but smile back at them. Calum threw him a thumbs up and Michael mouthed “go with her, dumbass.” 

Luke turned back to the audience and spotted his mother in the crowd. He tried to read her expression but when she gave him a soft, curt nod, he knew what he had to do. 

He quickly grabbed Courtney’s hands and your face immediately fell. He was going to choose her after all.

Then, he whispered something you didn’t expect. “I'm sorry, Court. This is a mistake, you don’t love me and I don’t love you — you and I both know that. We can’t do this. I have to go.” He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek quickly as she stood, frozen.

You felt a pang of guilt. But then you remembered that she would get over it and be marrying someone filthy rich by the time she was 25 and didn’t feel so bad anymore.

Luke then turned back to you. He jogged down the steps and pulled you into a hug. It was so silent in the church now, you could hear a pin drop.

He grabbed your shoulders and kissed your forehead. “Let’s run away now, I’ll meet you when I’m out of my tux at the back door.”

You nodded, tears in your eyes, and ran towards the double doors of the church. This was the best decision you had ever made.

You stood in the crisp, chilly air, waiting for Luke to come out of the door on the side of the church. Snow fell on your hair and eyelashes and you reached out a hand to catch some flakes. 

In only three minutes he’d managed to change back into his black skinny jeans, looking like himself again. You could’ve cried at the sight.

“Hi,” you said. What else do you say to someone when you just got them to call off a marriage at the alter?

His smile grew and he ran forward, nearly tackling you in a giant hug. His hands found the back of your head and his eyes searched your face, memorizing every feature, worried that at any second, he might wake up from this amazing dream. “So glad you were around when they said speak now.”

taglist (dm or ask to be added!): @theshyspy

[chaoticbi-cheesecake]

Paper Airplanes and Face Masks (Hournite)

Summary: Beth has Rick over for the night and is determined to get him in a face mask.

Warnings: Mild allusions to abusive gardian.

Category: Fluff

Note: this is my first attempt at fanfiction, please leave your thought about it below:)

Training lasted longer than usual that day. By the time it was over, the sun was already saying goodbye and slowly receded to the west. Pat had tried his best to make the obstacles more difficult in an effort to mirror what he believed was to come in the battles ahead.

The new JSA tried their best to work with and without their abilities, all while trying to work together as a team. It was challenging to say the least, not many of them had much experience working with others.

Curly blonde locks stuck to Courtney's face as she asked Yolanda if she needed to be driven home. The other girl thankfully accepted the offer before running off to grab her things.

Pat, hearing he was now driving Yolanda, went to the next girl who had no mode of transportation.

"Do you need a ride?" He asked Beth who faced away from him, her eyes instead on the boy leaning on the entrance of the building.

"Oh, no thank you." she replied sweetly.

"Okay, just make sure to get home safe." the man instructed, making his voice loud enough for the boy to hear him as well.

Rick turned his head to Pat, giving him a single nod before pushing himself off the wall and walking out toward the road.

"Will do Mr. Dugan." Beth replied brightly before briskly walking in the direction of the boy, goggles slung around her neck, the straps of her backpack gripped in broth her hands.

She found him standing still outside of the building, staring at his path home with a scowl.

He wasn't all that fond of going back to his house, knowing who would be there when he arrived, though with the hourglass he would be able to defend himself if need be. He quickly found himself sinking into his own mind, the multitude of reasons why that was a very bad idea taking over his thoughts.

His dark thought process was interrupted by a hand delicately brushing against his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Beth asked in her sweet, yet concerned voice.

Rick nodded curtly and turned his gaze to the ray of sunshine beside him. Beth wore her wide smile and big doe eyes, wearing him down and making him want to tell her everything.

But he didn't, thinking better of it.

"I'm just getting ready to walk home."

"Me too!" she shook her head eagerly.

He nodded once more, awkwardly, in a gesture of understanding.

The two stood in a thick silence, Beth's hands were now shoved deep in her jean pockets as she contemplated opening her mouth again.

Rick began to walk in the direction of his house when Beth let out a quick, "Do you want to come over to my house?"

The boy stilled wondering if Beth had actually offered.

"I mean, you can if you want to. My parents are working tonight, and tomorrow night, and most nights. They've been doing that a lot recently." she laughed in an attempt to hide her sadness.

"It's getting dark, my uncle won't like me out for so long."

He heard the girl shuffle closer.

"You know, if he tries anything, Pat can always take his robot and exchange some...words," she tried. "Or any of us could suit up and do it. Not just for this, just any time you need."

Rick almost laughed, the image of Beth in her costume coming to his door to threaten his uncle, huge goggles and all, entering his head.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm still not sure that's the best ide-" he stopped himself at the sight of Beth, shoulders slumped, but eyes still bright as ever.

He realized in that moment that she was just like him, lonely and in need of some company.

"Umm...maybe just for tonight." he gave in.

"Yes!" Beth squealed excitedly, hooking her arm through his and turning them in the direction of her house.

As they walked, Beth rattled on about everything from homework to superheroes. Rick had to hold back the smile that threatened to make it's way onto his face at the sound of her enthusiasm.

They made it to Beth's house quite quickly. The girl unlinked their arms and began to rummage through her bag in searched of her keys. Rick wouldn't admit his disappointment at the lack of contact, but he would make note of how he suddenly felt the warmth leave his body when Beth pulled away.

They entered into darkness, no one was home and all the lights were off, Beth haphazardly used her hand to search the wall beside her for the light switch. As she flicked it on, brightness washed over the two. Rick squinted his eyes at the sudden intrusion of light.

"Okay, you can put your stuff here, or you can take it to my room, or just keep it with you. Whatever you want to do." Beth supplied as she began speeding to her kitchen. "Alright, what kind of snacks do you like? We have a bit of everything, sweet, sour, savory. Unless you wanted some dinner, I should have some leftovers from the other day that I could heat up for you." she offered.

"No thanks."

"Are you sure, I have cookies." she called, walking out of the kitchen and holding a clear container filled with some cookies she had caught Rick eyeing the day prior.

This time he couldn't stop his lips from turning upward in a small grin, he nodded his head.

Beth pumped her fist in the air before grabbing Rick's arm and dragging him to her room. She plopped down on her bed opening the container and taking a bite out of the sweet.

"So what do you want to do first?" she questioned, extending the box for Rick to take from. "We can do homework, watch a movie, Chuck has this great karaoke setting-" she gasped. " Ooh, we can do face masks. I was going to do them with Court and Yolanda next weekend but there's no time like the present."

"No."

"What why?"

"Cause I don't want you putting anything on my face."

"But it'll be fun." she tried.

"Nope. Let's just finish the homework and then you can pick a movie." Rick countered.

" How about we finish the homework and then we do face masks."

"Not happening."

"I can help you," she sang "and Chuck knows all the answers."

"Still no." Rick shook his head calmly.

Beth's shoulders slumped but she soon fixed her posture and shrugged. She grabbed her backpack from the side of her bed. She shuffled through it and pulled out her folder full of assignments. She grasped her geometry packet and began working on it. Rick sat down at the foot of the bed, he too got out the homework and began start on the page.

They worked in mostly silence for half an hour, Beth occasionally looking to Chuck for guidance, earning a long and extremely detailed account of every question and answer she asked about. Rick tried his best to focus on the paper in front of him, but he was just plain disinterested in the numbers, letters, and shapes on the page. He instead opted to scribble down the first answers that came to his mind, accuracy be damned, just wanting to finish as soon as possible.

He rubbed his eyes in an attempt to restore the little energy he had before taking out the assignment to no avail. When he looked back to the work, he was surprised to see a paper airplane made out of a sticky note set on top of his work.

He stared at the small plane in front of him before turning his gaze to Beth who was laying on her bed, appearing to be concentrated on the packet on her bed, tapping her pencil on the comforter as she looked over the page.

Rick moved his eyes back to the paper airplane, gingerly unfolding the wings to see in neat handwriting the words,

Face mask plz:)

He snapped his head to the girl who's face was now hidden behind her folder. She peeked her head out shyly only to see Rick rolling his eyes playfully and once again shaking his head no.

Turning his attention back to his homework, Rick wrote down the solutions to three more problems before an airplane landed on his lap.

He haphazardly opened the paper up to read the words,

Please. It'll be really fun. Please.

Before Rick had the chance to reply with a no, yet another airplane cascaded across his field of vision landing just beside his shoe. He leaned to pick it up and undid the neatly folded paper.

Pretty please with cookies on top?

Rick furrowed his brows and turned his body to face to girl, who was now at the foot of the bed, her chin was resting atop the box of cookies from before. Her big eyes and hopeful smile pleaded with him to reconsider.

He caved.

He let his head fall to his chest and pinched the bridge of his nose. He raised one hand and lifted his index finger.

"Once, we do this once."

Beth's entire face lit up as she squealed "Yay!" dashing off her bed she leaned down to give Rick a quick hug before running to get the supplies from her bathroom.

Rick begrudgingly made his way over to the side of her bed and sat down uncomfortably. But if he was being honest, he would do this a thousand times just to see the overjoyed expression that overtook her features at his compliance.

She returned holding a tube in one hand and a brush in another. Rick guessed to brush would be used to apply the mask.

"Okay, you ready?" she asked, popping open the cap and squeezing out a dollop of the mixture onto the brush.

"Why is it green?" Rick interrogated.

"Because it's matcha." Beth said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. At Rick's confused face she explained sweetly, "it's a type of green tea that's really popular to use in face masks."

He nodded cautiously as Beth stepped closer to him. She was directly in front of him as she softly touched the brush to his face. He hissed and pulled back quickly.

"Why is it cold?"

"It's not necessarily that it's cold. It's just that you're hot." Rick's eyebrows shot up. Beth didn't even realize what she had said until he made the gesture. "I didn't mean it like that! Not that you're not, it's just that- ugh, I meant body temperature. The average human body is between 97 and 99 degrees Fahrenheit and this," she held up the face mask tube, "is very much below that temperature." she rambled. "Besides, would you rather this be warm?"

Rick just stayed silent.

Beth gently brushed all around his face, sometimes imploring him to stop scrunching up his face. Rick hated to say it, but it was actually kind of relaxing. There weren't many times where someone tried to take care of him for a change.

"Alrighty, all done." the girl announced, removing the brush from his face and stepping back.

"How long do I have to keep this on for?"

"Until it's completely dry."

"And when is that?"

"Ummm..." Beth searched for an answer. " once it's hard to smile, you should be good to wash it off."

"I don't smile."

"I'm well aware, you can just wait till I take mine off."

She moved over to her mirror and began applying the mask to herself.

"I feel like an idiot." Rick complained.

"You are not, you look super cute!" Beth chided.

"I'm not sure if that's worse."

The boy watched her apply the mask all over her face, he couldn't control the expression of love and adoration that graced his face as he observed her.

He stayed like that for God knows how long until Beth turned to fully face him. He could say with the utmost confidence it was the most adorable thing he had ever seen in his life. Her face was green like his and a wide smile lit up her face.

There was no denying the smitten appearance he held as he gazed at Beth.

He was ripped from his trance when he heard the snap of Beth's phone camera. She smiled cheekily and clasped her hands behind her back.

"Beth." Rick began dangerously. "Don't do it Beth." already knowing she would share the photo.

"Just let me send it to Court and Yolanda." she pleaded.

"No, Beth."

Beth gripped her phone tightly behind her back as her eyes wandered to her open room door. Rick saw the plan forming in her mind and raced to beat her to the door. She ducked under his arm and ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Rick knocked on the door frantically, "Come on, Beth. What's the point?"

"The point is you look adorable and that is not something that should be hidden from the world. And by world I mean the team." she called from behind the door.

"Beth Chapel I will turn this hourglass over right now and take this door off it's hinges." he said in an attempt to sound threatening.

"We both know you won't," Beth stated matter of factly.

"Dammit." Rick grit his teeth knowing she was right.

He heard the door unlock behind him, Beth wore a wide grin. He groaned, knowing he was completely incapable of actually being mad at her.

"Was it at least a good picture?" he asked, defeated.

"You tell me," Beth instructed, handing over her phone to the boy before slipping past him and back to her room.

The screen showed a picture of Rick, covered in a green face mask. But that's not what really got him. Plastered on his face clear as day was a lovestruck expression that could rival that of Beth's favorite rom-coms.

He sighed, accepting his fate. There would for sure be hell to pay the next day. He was certain Courtney and Yolanda would never let him live it down. But at the moment he wasn't to bothered.

"Is it okay if I put on 'The Breakfast Club'?" He heard from the other room. He lowered the phone and walked back to the room, prepared to spend the rest of the night with the adorable being that was Beth Chapel.

The End ♡

Again I will reiterate, this is my first time posting a fanfic so I would really appreciate some positive feedback, or if there was something you saw that you didn't really like please leave it in the comments, politely please. I am but an emotionally fragile egg trying my best. If you want to see more hournite oneshots or headcanons let me know. Thanks

Sincerely, Tessa.

[pink-bird-30]

Yellow Dress- Hournite Fic

Well hello!  We are fresh from the season 1 finale of Stargirl, and I thought we needed a little Hournite pick me up!

This was requested by: @s4karuna  

Thank you for the great prompt idea and for your patience.  I know it’s been a week or two since your request, but I was a little caught up in Zutara week 2020.

Here is the link to my FF.Net if you’d like to read it there:

(https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13674433/1/Yellow-Dress)

Anyways, I hope you guys like this!

Summary:  After a long week of planning an attack on the ISA, the team decides to take the night off and go to the school Fall Fest dance.  Hournite Fic. Budding relationship-AU.

------

The school gym is pounding with music by the time Beth arrives at the dance with Yolanda and Courtney by her side.  Colorful fall theme streamers are draped across the ceiling, leading to four tall balloon arches on all sides of the gym.  The light are low except for the party lights coming from the DJ’s station in the center of the room.  Most of the school’s student body is dancing all around the DJ, throwing their hands around and moving their bodies to the beat.

Beth wasn’t too comfortable being at a school dance; she managed to avoid them all through middle school and she wanted to do the same in high school, but Rick made it difficult.  A few days ago he suggested they all go to the school dance to have a moment to just be teenagers.  At first, Yolanda was reluctant since her parents were strict about her being out. But after Beth convinced Yolanda’s parents it was vital to keep a good school image, Yolanda was able to attend.  Courtney didn’t have to worry about her parents needing permission to attend the dance.  If anything, Pat was excited Court was avoiding any ISA missions and going out like a normal teen.

As for Beth, Rick took her aside and asked her if she would meet him there.  She expressed her concern with going to the dance since she did her best to avoid school functions that would be deemed only for ‘cool kids’.  Rick gave her a soft smile, also a bit nervous to be going to a school function at all, but said it’d be fun if she were there.

After separating from Courtney and Yolanda, Beth made her way to the refreshment table.  She glances at the teacher watching the drinks like a hawk, waiting for Rick to show up.  She starts to fidget with her dress, self-conscious as a bunch of jocks pass compliment her as they pass by.  It took her the last two days to find the perfect dress for the dance; it was the annual Fall Fest dance and she wanted to wear something autumn-esk.

While shopping with Yolanda and Courtney, Beth stumbled upon a little boutique selling all different kinds of clothes.  Ranging from cute vintage shirts she’s seen her mom wear in high school photos, to the current style most girls at her school were wearing.  The three teens wondered around the boutique for a few minutes before finding different dresses to try on.

Yolanda and Courtney found their dresses instantly, while Beth browsed the small room a bit longer trying to find the perfect dress.  She knew in the back of her head she was shopping for herself, but she also had this wicked thought of wanting to leave Rick speechless.

And she knew how to do it too.

In the back of the store she found a small rack of 90s style dresses she was instantly enamored by.  It was a spaghetti strapped velvet dress that flares out at the bottom.  There were only a few dresses left on the rack, and Beth smiled mischievously, knowing which color she was going to pick…

Beth decides to take a drink from the table, cautious of which one’s were sitting out too long. Beth leans against the table and takes a few nervous sips while watching the room, looking for a particular young man.  After scanning the crowd for a few minutes, Beth feels herself deflate.  

What if he doesn’t come…

Staring down at her colorful drink, Beth takes note of her lipstick smudge on the cup.  She sets her cup down on the table before rummaging through her purse for her iPhone and quickly checks to see if her lipstick stained her teeth.

“Thank goodness.”

“’Thank goodness’ for what, Beth?”  A deep voice asks from behind her.  Her eyes widen recognizing the voice and turns around.

“Hi, Rick!”  She says a little too loud.  He smiles in return and steps closer to her.

“Sorry I’m late,”  He reaches out and pushes one of her braids behind her ear.  “My car’s engine was having issues.”

Beth feels herself blush in return.  The effects of him touching her lightly made her mind fizzle out.

“No biggie!  You look great!”  Her eyes sweep down his body noticing he dressed up tonight.  The dark blue shirt looks great on him, fitting him nicely.  And the yellow tie he wears around his neck makes Beth believe Courtney told Rick what color her dress was.  But she didn’t care, she was elated he finally came as promised.

Rick chuckles lightly before stepping back to take a good look at Beth.  He wasn’t sure it was her at first when he walked into the gym.  He found Courtney dancing with Cameron on the dance floor and asked where Beth was.  When she pointed to her at the refreshment table Rick had to take a few moments to settle his heart before walking up to her.

He smiles, noticing she’s wearing his favorite color.

The yellow compliments her dark complexion perfectly, making her already vibrant personality shine even brighter.  And he loves what she did with her hair; he doesn’t remembered that last time she braided her hair like this.  Don’t get him wrong, he loves her natural short curly hair, but seeing her like this…it made his chest warm.  Seeping its way through his body.

Beth stares at him quizzically, wondering why he’s quiet all of a sudden.

“Rick?  Is everything alright?”  She subconsciously pulls at the hem of her dress as he continues to stare at her.  His eyes a shade darker than before.

He coughs into his hand feeling the heat rise to his face.  “Oh, umm..”  He chuckles awkwardly before walking past her and grabs a cup off the refreshment table.  He takes a large gulp before feeling the burning liquid hit the back of his throat.

“Ah, shit.”  He tosses the cup down and coughs a few times, trying to regain his breathing.  Beth rushes to his side to rub his back soothingly.

“ I guess the chaperone is doing a bad job at keeping the jocks away from the punch.  That strong?”

Rick nods, his face contorting in discomfort.  “Y-yeah, too much vodka in that one.”

Beth chuckles before reaching under the table for a sealed bottle of water and hands it to Rick.  “Here, this should be alcohol-free.”  Rick cracks the seal on the water before chugging half of it.

He bashfully grins, already feeling his nerves flare at their close proximity.  She pulls her hand away from him when she realizes she’s still touching him.  This broke Rick from his nerves and he stands up straight.  “Thanks, Beth.  Always to the rescue.”

“You know me, always resourceful.”

And then silence.

Beth starts to tap her foot slightly, hating the awkwardness settling over them.  Why is this so awkward?  They’ve known each other since they were kids, but never really hung out until they were all part of the JSA.  But even then, they still took the time to meet up and go to the drive-in or do homework together.  They’re friends, right?

When the song changes from a fast pace song to a slower one, an idea pops in Beth’s head.  Before she has a chance to stop the thought she blurts out, “Do you want to dance?”

Rick’s eyes widen at the sudden thought of actually needing to dance at a dance.  He’s never been to one before, does he even know how to dance?  Trying to keep his cool, he tries to find his voice but nothing comes out.  Just the thought of holding Beth close to him is making his mind short circuit.

Beth looks at him expectantly, “You know, dance!”  She sways her hips slightly, causing Rick to think of all the different parts of his car and not the unholy thoughts running wild in his mind.

He makes some weird noise that vaguely sounds like a ‘yes’ and a hand gesture towards the dance floor, which Beth accepts gratefully.  She sets her drink down and grasps Rick’s hand in her own.  As she pulls him to the dance floor, he carelessly tosses his water bottle onto the table.  Beth pushes them through the couples standing around the DJ and settles to the far right corner where it is more secluded from everyone.

Looking down at Beth, he hesitates as to where he should place his hands.  He’s never actually being close to a girl before.  Sure, he’s sparred with Yolanda and Courtney, but they weren’t Beth.  He actively avoided touching her in fear of being too forward.

The amount of days he wanted to put his arm around her as they walk down the hallways at school.  Or the times they go to the drive-in and he wants to sit in the back and cuddle close to her.  But chickens out and suggests they stay seated in the front.  

But today was different, he wanted her to know he wanted to be at the dance with her.  To be close to her and maybe even…

His thoughts are interrupted by her hands finding their way around his neck.  He feels his face flame as he rests his hands on her hips, not knowing where else to place them. He likes the feeling of the soft velvet against his skin.

“Why were you staring at me before?”  Beth asks as her fingers thread through the hair at the base of his neck.  The sensation relaxing him as he starts to sway them to the beat of the song.

Rick gazes down at her realizing he’s looking at her directly in the eyes, nothing covering them from his view.

Wow, were her eyes always this pretty?

“Wh-“  he clears his throat and tries again, “Where are your glasses?”

“Oh!”  Beth smiles brightly.  “I have contacts.  I just don’t wear them that often.  They get kinda itchy after a while.  But I thought, ‘Hey, if there was any occasion to wear them, why not tonight!’”  She bats her long lashes at him emphasizing her glasses free eyes.

Beth Chapel, you’re going to be the death of me…

“Wow…”

Beth giggles.  She’s really enjoying her time with Rick, especially seeing him in such a flustered state.  He was always trying to maintain his cool in public, but she loves seeing him soften up a bit.  And it makes her ecstatic that it’s because of her.

Feeling bold, Rick wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest. Beth is shocked by the sudden movement, but then relaxes in his arms and rests her head on his shoulder.  All Beth could think is how thankful she is for Courtney convinced her to wear heels tonight.  A simple four inch heel eliminated their drastic height difference some, but enough for her to fit next to him comfortably.  

After swaying to the music for a while, Rick feel content for the first time in his life.  This moment, even as small as it is, he’s grateful he gets to create this memory with someone important to him.  Who knew the girl he always sat next to at lunch, and in class, would be his moral compass?

Rick tilts his head closer to hers, hovering close to her ear.  She could feel the warm breath seeping from his lips.  The sudden sensation causing goosebumps to ripple across her skin.

His lips brush slightly against her ear, “You look absolutely stunning, Beth Chapel.”  He whispers before pulling back to see her reaction.

She lifts her head and looks at him in amazement.  How is this the same guy she stopped from ripping hinges off a door a few weeks ago?  The same guy that didn’t talk to her for years, but sat next to her at lunch every day at the ‘loser table’?

“You,” She moves her hand to cup the side of Rick’s cheek, caressing it with her thumb.  “Rick Tyler, you cease to amaze me.”

He leans into the warmth of her hand before covering it with his.  “Hey, I can be charming.”

Her grin widens to a full smile as she stands on her tippy toes and brushes a kiss across his cheek.  As she steps back, a goofy grin makes its way across his face.  And it stays there as the night continues with his arms wrapped around the girl in the yellow dress.

[harrieatthemet]

Mint Gum and Beer

a little bit of college!harry <3

He works the party like it’s his job, like he’s getting paid. 

And there’s almost always a drink in his hand. There’s no way of knowing what it is, as it’s masked by the prominent red of his solo cup. It’s usually a gin and tonic, a go to of his, a personal favorite. Not that it matters, because he takes it down it what seems like a single sip before he starts off his first round.

It’s always the blonde, and you’re sure it’s the one from his Civics class. She’s always first. You don’t think he’s ever forgotten to bid his hello’s to her. And how could he when she’s always the one to come in the most minimal amount of clothing compared to everyone else? He likes to compliment her shirt, even though there’s barely ever enough of it. But if you know him as well as you think you do, that’s why he makes sure to pay homage to her top of choice. Courtney, you think her name is.

He never chats with her long, because usually a few of his friends from the soccer team pass by and they’ll cause a scene. Lots of yelling and pats on the back, that’s how he’ll greet them before they tote him off somewhere. 

Everyone knows him. It must be one of the perks that come with being a senior, knowing a house full of faces, some of which you don’t think you’ve ever seen. There’s not a single group of people he could pass by without striking up a pointless conversation, forcing a laugh and faking a smile. You’re sure if you asked he wouldn’t be able to tell you most names, aside from a handful or two. 

It’s usually right around now, about halfway into the night as the time creeps up on 1 am, that you can feel the jealousy begin to settle in. And it’s not because of how you feel neglected, or brushed aside. It faults more on the fact that he’s gone out of his way to talk to his teammates before coming to say hi. Or maybe it’s more about how he’s chatted up every blonde in a tight enough shirt before he’s made his way to find you. Every Thursday night seems to come to an end like this, with you standing amongst beer kegs and a variety of different pong tables. Your drink is always empty and your friends are always drunk, and you head home without even getting a so much as a head nod from Harry. But you always get the text, even if it does come once the party’s been cleared out. 

“Think you’re starting to drool.” Your friend teases, nudging your arm. 

“Am not.” But your finger swipes at your lower lip, just to be sure. 

You turn your attention from Harry in his white shirt, keeping a fresh image of his exposed chest in the back of your mind, listening to your friend whine on about her boyfriend and how she’d caught him cheating. Again.

It’s nearly impossible to hear her over the music. It’s even harder to hear her because you simply don’t want to. You don’t care about her relationship, and you’re more worried about which Delta Gamma girl Harry’s feeling up now that your back is to him. 

“Do you like him?” Your friend asks, and now you can hear her. 

“Who?” Your eyebrows knit together, as if you’re somehow caught off guard. 

She rolls her eyes, well aware of the fact that you’ve been hung up on who he’s been talking to since the two of you had shown up to the dingy frat house. And of course she knows he’s the same guy you’ve snuck out to meet up with for the past few weeks, leaving at weird hours of the night only to return early in the morning wearing the same clothes you left in. She knows he’s the same guy who you unlock the front door for just after 3 am, and the same one who closes it behind him a couple hours later. She knows, even though you haven’t spared her the details yet.

“Harry.” she ensues, and you force an offended laugh.

“No,” you insist, “no.” 

Another roll of the eyes follows, because you’re a terrible fucking liar and she can pick up on a hint. 

She isn’t a fan of his. Of course she’ll admire him, the charming dimples or the pretty colored eyes are hard to ignore. But the ego is for shit and his head is so big she often wonders how he could even fit it through the door. He’s the life of the party, sure, but he’s the life of the afterparty too. She knows about the girl he’s sleeping with from her calc class, knows that when he’s not slumming it at your shared house that he’s off sharing a bed with another girl. And she knows, even though you won’t fess up, you’re a little more invested in him than he is into you. 

But she lets it go, keeping her opinions to herself, like she’s been doing in order to spare you and your feelings. 

A few more people shuffle out of the house, loudly and in larger groups, as the night gets later and 2 am makes itself present. And you’re ready to leave too, your friend already waiting outside. Just another minute would suffice, just another minute for Harry to spot you across the room and say hello. Another minute would be fine, because then he’d tell you to head home and wait for him, and you would. But after your fourth one over of the room, without Harry anywhere in sight, you decide that hearing from him in an hour would just have to be good enough. 

Until you’re halfway down the block, trailing behind your friend as she mutters something about the girl her boyfriend probably went home with, when you spot him. Where he’s going, you’re not sure, but he’s got a condom peeking out of his side pocket and a smile painted on his face when his eyes land on you. 

“Didn’t see yeh all night,” he calls out, standing still to allow you to catch up to him, “hiding from me?”

“I could say the same.” You smirk, to which he tuts playfully in denial. 

You let him wrap you up in a hug, the smell of mint gum and beer lingering on his breath. Just the feeling of his hand on your back, caressing the swell just above your ass, sends a slight shiver down your forearm and knot in your stomach. Your eyes fall on the gold wrapper of the condom tucked sloppily in his pocket as you retreat from his hug, leaving you eager for later on because surely he’s saving it for you. 

“Going anywhere special?” Your friend chimes in, eyebrow quirked to match her fake smile.

“Define special,” he jokes, like it’s nothing, “m’heading off to Courtney’s.” 

“Courtney’s?” You reiterate, to which he nods, “what’re you going there for?”

“Well m’not goin’ t’play cards.” He snickers, smacking the gum in his mouth. 

For a minute, you can almost feel your face slide off and hit the ground. The knot in your stomach churns a bit, before the feeling of being punched in the chest settles in. Your friend almost wishes she’d never asked, because even though your back is too her she can already see the look on your face. But as quickly as the expression appeared is at quick as it disappears, as you remind yourself to keep your composure. 

“Y’alright with tha’, yeah?” He asks, furrowing his brows at you.

“Oh, yeah I am,” you laugh, and he nods, “why wouldn’t I be?” 

“Dunno,” he smirks, followed by a shrug, “we’re just hooking up, you and me, s’all.”

“Right, I know,” you breath, “just hooking up.”

[elenajohansenauthor]

Fictober19, Day 3: “Now? Now you listen to me?”

OCs: Tess, Courtney, and Gene all from #2, plus the new POV character, Simon, yesterday’s mystery man

Project: “hell if I know what to name it yet” new novel idea, original fiction

Potential Triggers: alcohol, set in a bar

Word Count: 1,020

About: Simon stops Gene from making a complete ass of himself.

Simon took a step back as another woman approached them, a beer in each hand. Courtney had said she was waiting for a friend, this must be her. Simon opened his mouth to began the little pleasantries that would let him exit gracefully from the conversation, but before he spoke a word, Gene ruined that for him. "Tess? Oh my god, Tess! I haven't seen you in--in forever!"

Someone Gene knew, obviously. Simon hadn't been friends with him in high school, or Courtney, and he'd been pretty insulated from anyone who wasn't on the football team, or, because of who those guys tended to date, the volleyball team or cheerleading squad. The woman--Tess--looked only vaguely familiar, but Simon would have been happy to bet she didn't play any sports back in school, or he was far more likely to have known her. Making friends as adults with the people he'd barely known before left him grateful that he hadn't seemed to have many unknown enemies lurking among everyone he'd basically ignored for four years.

"Hi, Gene," she said politely as she moved to sit beside Courtney.

Gene tried to stop her, but she took an immediate step back. "What, no hug for old times' sake?"

Courtney took her beer from Tess and shot him a nasty look. "Jesus, Gene, back off."

Simon felt the need to apologize for him, but also didn't want to prolong the moment. "Come on, let's not crash their girls' night out." He put a hand on Gene's shoulder, meaning to steer him away, but Gene shook him off with a shrug.

"Just a few minutes, Simon. Don't you remember Tess?"

With a glance at her, he tried again to identify her in his high school memories. Something vague surfaced, an image of her standing on the auditorium stage. Choir? A musical? It was too indistinct to admit to. "I'm afraid I don't. Sorry," he said to her directly. "Since I know you weren't on the football team..."

"It's okay. We didn't have any classes together." She paused. "And I didn't go to games that often."

Courtney nearly snorted into her beer. "You didn't go to any games ever."

Gene had apparently used this interlude to steal two unoccupied chairs from nearby tables, dragging them over and facing them towards the bench where the women sat. Simon perched on the edge of his, ready to leave again the moment he sat down, but Gene lounged as if he had nowhere else to be. "Too busy working at, what, the pizza place that used to be over on Ninth? Or am I remembering wrong?"

"Yeah, I waited tables there for a few years," Tess answered quietly, at the same time Courtney said, "Gene, really? We're catching up about high school jobs?"

Simon felt much the same and struggled for a way to turn the conversation, but he didn't know Tess and barely knew Courtney. Gene was his anchor in this setting, and neither woman seemed to like him much. "We're not," he assured them. "We just wanted to say hi, and now we're leaving. Right?" he added, turning to Gene as he stood.

His friend stood as well, though clearly reluctantly. "Yeah, fine, sorry we intruded," he said sourly. He followed Simon back toward the bar tamely enough, probably grateful that Simon was breaking the crowd for him on the way.

Once they'd scored stools at the far end and the crowd hid Tess and Courtney, Simon gave Gene a weak, backhand slap on the arm. "What the hell, man? They were both sending out clear do not disturb signals, and you were being an ass about it. I didn't think you'd had that much to drink yet." Simon was only finishing his second beer himself, and didn't remember Gene ordering a third yet.

Gene sighed and waved for a bartender. "I used to have a thing for Tess."

The urge to groan was strong, but Simon held it in. "Seriously? And please confirm for me that it's past-tense, because if you still have a thing for her after not seeing her for years and that's how you acted..."

"Hey, man, we can't all be smooth with the ladies like you are, okay? I just wanted to hang out with them and you're being a party pooper."

"They didn't want to hang out with us, and that matters more." He paused to let Gene order his next beer. "So, cry into your beer about it, I guess. Or get mopey and tell me all about how fabulous Tess is. Or was. Since you clearly aren't happy I made you leave her."

"Nah, you're right. I don't know her at all anymore, she went off to college and I heard she got married right after. Don't know what she's doing back home, I certainly never expected to see her living here again." He took a long swallow of his beer and stared morosely at the bar, falling silent.

Simon turned over what he'd learned in his mind. He hadn't noticed a wedding ring on Tess, but he hadn't specifically looked for one. No one had said her last name, but that wouldn't have helped, because he didn't know what it had been originally to compare it to, if she was married. Or had been. Divorce was certainly one reason to move back home, he supposed.

The chatter around them flowed in waves while they said nothing, draining their drinks. When Gene finished his, he tapped the glass twice on the bar and stood. "I'm going to go back over there," he announced.

Simon grabbed his shoulder again and shoved him back onto his stool. "No, you're not. Don't go over there, don't ask for her number, don't bother her at all."

"But--"

"If you want to spend time with her and not be a jerk about it, let's think this through." Simon paused, his head swimming slightly in the fog of booze and warmth surrounding him. "I've got Courtney on [come up with a social media site name.] We give it a few days, then we round up a few other people, find an excuse to go out and celebrate something--I mean, somebody's got to have a birthday coming up or just got a promotion at work or whatever--and I mention it and invite them both along. We all get to hang out, but without them feeling cornered, because we didn't just randomly run into them. And there'll be other people. And you won't be an ass."

"Yeah. Yeah, okay, that could work. I mean, they could say no, but you're right."

Simon must have been drunker than he thought, or at least drunker than he'd planned to be, because Gene agreeing with him sent him into an unexpected gale of laughter. "Now? Now you listen to me? You couldn't have just started there and not make me work so hard for it?" In the back of his mind, as his laughter faded away, he wondered what the people around him thought of his outburst, what they attributed it to. If they thought about him at all, and didn't just left the laughter pass over them in a haze, like he was doing to them. He wondered if Tess could possibly hear him at this distance and pick the laugh out of the crowd and wonder if it was him.

Thinking that, he decided he was definitely drunker than he should be, and pushed the rest of his beer away from him.

[crazy-loca-blog]

Personal thoughts on Bachelorette Party, Ch. 5

Note: As the title says, these are just personal opinions on Choices books and chapters. Of course, you may agree or disagree with them, I only use this platform to express my thoughts on what I read every week and what I’d like to see in the next chapters, because none of my friends play Choices so I have no one to comment the books with.

If you’ve read my previous posts on this book, you may notice that I’m a Diana’s fan. For some reason I still can’t figure out, I felt so intrigued by this character since the first day, that I was waiting for the chapter where she’ll let loose. Well, people… dear Choices fandom… meet “Diana, the Destroyer”.

I personally can’t say I’ve been really, really drunk to the point I can’t remember what happened the night before or that I act weirdly, and that’s basically for three reasons: first, I’ve never needed alcohol to have fun; second, if I feel like I want to have a drink, my limit is two drinks and that’s not negotiable; and third, I absolutely hate the idea of being so drunk that the next day I can’t remember what happened. So seeing this side of Diana that even her friends are terrified of was nothing but hilarious. From that “drunk Godzilla” attitude to the frat boys being dominated and singing musicals that we got to see in that flashback (let’s not forget about the weird stuff that Courtney keeps in her purse! Are “chocolate pickles” a think? Like… for real?), to this “reloaded” version of drunk Diana asking for drugs and drinking the abandoned drinks she found in the casino, this chapter was pure laughs… well… mostly.

Getting to know what’s really going on with Di’s feelings was heartbreaking…. and I couldn’t help feeling related to this story, because I’ve been there, so I understand how she feels. And damn… it hurts! It really breaks you! Maybe she is in love (the story of how she and Skip met each other is actually quite nerdy, but cute), but her relationship is damaging her from the inside, and that’s not good… that’s what makes a relationship “toxic”. The Diana we’re seeing now has a very low self-esteem, she feels lonely, she needs the approval of other people… I even think she wants to marry Skip only because her family loves him! As a girl whose family has never approved any of her boyfriends (I don’t think they’ve ever approved any of my life decisions, actually), it’s impossible for me not to see myself reflected in her story. She deserves a happy life… don’t marry the guy, sweetie!

Of course, romance is beginning to blossom. Even though I missed Ash (I was pretty sure that we were going to see him… I miss you boy!), I think this chapter is probably the most “romantic” we’ve seen so far. We had a chance to choose Reed’s or Aisha’s path and even though I loved Aisha’s scene, I personally went with Reed. And I don’t regret it at all, I think he’s definitely the best LI for my MC. Come on… arcade games plus roller skating? Perfect date! Also, the fact that he took the MC and Aisha to their room and took care of our MC… that’s not only boyfriend material…. that’s husband material, guys! Can you imagine yourselves having a Vegas wedding with your LI maybe at the end of the book? Because I can!

PB had already told us that we were going to be involved with the mafia, and the cliffhanger made pretty clear that we’ll be dealing with it next chapter. But I can’t image what will be the role of them, so I’m not quite sure about what’s going to happen. I’m pretty sure that this is connected to the lead that Ash had but I have no idea how they are connected. Also, we didn’t cross any items from our lists, Skip has to arrive in Vegas and Reed told us that he was going to see us the next morning, so, as you may see, the story may follow different paths. Let’s just wait… surprise us, PB!

[joygaytrash]

Love Guidance - Chapter Six

Word Count: 1771

Notes: Howdy, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted the last chapter lmao. Anyways, there’s not much to say besides if y’all got any questions, feel free to ask.

September 2nd, 2017

Emile woke up early that morning, earlier than what he usually woke up at on the weekends. Emile usually woke up at 9 in the morning, but today, Emile woke up two hours early.

He sighed softly and pushed himself off his bed, gathering some clothes before going across the hall and into the bathroom. Emile placed his clothes on the counter then turned the shower to a decent temperature. After that, Emile took off his pajamas and got in the shower.

Emile hummed 'A Giant Woman' as he washed the shampoo out of his hair then grabbed the bottle of conditioner. Emile put the conditioner in his hair before putting the bottle back and grabbed the body wash.

When he finished his shower and got dressed, Emile quietly made his way into the kitchen. Elliott and Patton were still asleep on the couch, practically using each other as pillows. Emile couldn't help but smile at them, releasing a relaxed sigh.

Emile loved his kids from the bottom of his heart ever since day one. To Emile, it felt like it was only yesterday when he brought Elliot home from the foster group home. He remembered how excited Patton was to finally have someone else to tell his jokes and puns to. He remembered how emotional the three of them had gotten when Emile told Elliott that he was adopting them.

Another relaxed sigh left Emile's mouth when the coffee machine let out a soft beep behind him, telling him the coffee was done. He turned around and went over to the cupboard, grabbing himself mug. Emile then poured some coffee into his mug before placing the coffee pot back on the machine. After doing that, Emile grabbed the creamer from the fridge, pouring a generous amount into his coffee then put it back.

As Emile drank his coffee, he let the family dog, Muffin, outside, letting him do his business. Once Muffin came back inside, Emile closed the door behind him and watched as Muffin went onto the couch, laying down next to Patton. He smiled fondly at the memory of Muffin's first day in the house.

He remembers Patton begging him for months about wanting a dog, promising to take care of the dog as much as possible(Patton was nine at the time, there was no way Emile was letting him take care of a dog by himself). But, nevertheless, Patton had done an amazing job taking care of Muffin when he was younger.

After Emile finished the rest of his coffee, he placed his empty mug in the sink then went back to his room, deciding to get some house chores done while the kids were asleep. He stopped by the laundry room on his way back to his room, grabbing the basket of clean clothes off the floor and carried it to his room.

***

Elliott groaned at they woke up, the sun shining in their eyes. They blinked whatever sleep was left in their eyes before trying to move, only to be trapped by Patton and Muffin. Elliott let out another groan, closing their eyes again. Elliott opened their eyes once more when they heard their phone buzz on the coffee table.

They reached over to the table and grabbed their phone, looking at the screen. It was a message from Mitchell, Elliott's asshole of a boyfriend.

Mitch: hey babe, wyd?

You: Just woke up. Wyd?

Mitch: nothin' much

Mitch: just bored

Mitch: and thinkin' about you, of course ;)

Elliott rolled their eyes, leaving Mitchell on read as they turned their phone off and dropped it on their lap, sighing.

Patton woke up a few minutes later, stretching his arms and almost hit Elliott in the face when he stretched. Once their little brother was fully awake, the two untangled their arms and legs, making sure not to kick or hit each other on accident.

"We good now?" Patton asked once him and Elliott were finally apart.

"Yup. You think Pops is awake?"

Patton shrugged, standing up off the carpeted floor. Muffin sat on the couch and barked, making Patton laugh and pet him. Elliott smiled, pushing themself off the couch. They then made their way to the kitchen, Patton and Muffin followed behind them. Elliott grabbed two bowls and spoon while Patton gave Muffin his food.

"We need more food for Muffin," Patton pointed out, holding up the empty dog food bag.

"Okay, I'll let Pops know," Elliott said, grabbing the cereal box. Patton beamed at Elliott, giving them a quick hug. Elliott laughed as they gave Patton a one-armed hug.

Emile ended up coming back downstairs once he heard laughed, seeing Elliott and Patton in the kitchen. He walked in and hugged both of them, making Patton jump a little before he giggled. Emile laughed, placing a kiss on the two's foreheads.

"Morning Pops," Patton and Elliott greeted at the same time as Patton returned Emile's hug.

"Morning, you two. Whatcha putting together for breakfast?" Emile asked, letting go of his kids. Elliott shrugged, motioning towards the bowls and spoons on the counter. "We're just having cereal for breakfast. Also, we need to get more dog food for Muffin," Elliott explained.

"Okay. I can get some when I bring him to the pet groomers downtown. They have a pet store right next to it," Emile stated.

"Ooh, I wanna come! I've been aching to take Muffin out for a walk, if we are walking there, of course since we don't live that far from the downtown area," Patton said, rambling a little.

"Of course you can come, sweetheart. And we are walking, the weather is too nice to drive in," Emile replied, grabbing himself a bowl and spoon.

"Yay!"

Emile couldn't help but laugh, loving the hyper energy Patton gave off.

The three sat at the counter and had shared a simple breakfast of cereal. Emile was having his second cup of coffee for the day, fully waking himself up this time with this cup.

"So, you have fun last night?" Elliott asked, looking over at their dad. Emile nodded, taking another drink of coffee. "Mhm. I had a fantastic time and I met this nice guy there," Emile replied.

Patton let out a small squeal, "Oooh! Was he cute? What's his name?"

Emile blushed lightly at the second question, setting the mug down. "Well, yes, he is cute but we just met and I don't want to seem like I'm desperate or anything," Emile explained. Patton squealed again, running over to his dad and hugging him.

"Oh my gosh, Pops, you're in love!" Patton looked over at Elliott, "You hear that, Ell? Pops is in love!"

"I am not, you goof. All I said was the guy was cute, I never said I liked him," Emile said, trying not to laugh, "And besides, I'm pretty sure he doesn't even like me like that."

A small ding came from Emile's phone and Emile wiggled out of Patton's grip to grab it, looking at the screen to see who it was. And speak of the handsome devil himself; It was Remy.

Remy: Gm cutie <3

You: Morning :)

Remy: [Image attached]

Remy: The puppies have taken my son from me.

The picture Remy had sent Emile was Remy's son, Thomas, with probably 10 to 15 puppies on him and around him.

"Ooh, whose Remy, Pops?" Elliott asked, peering over Emile's shoulder.

"He's the guy I met last night,"

"And you already got his number? Nice,"

"Oh shush, El,"

You: Oh my gosh, he looks just like you

You: I guess I found the new meaning to like father, like son

Remy: Aw, Em, you flatter me ;)

"Oh my gosh, Patton was right, you're head over heels for this Remy guy," Elliott pointed out, placing their's and Patton's empty bowls in the sink. Emile rolled his eyes, focusing back on his conversation with a little smile clear on his face.

You: And you easily make me smile

Remy: That's the plan, Em ;)

And Emile couldn't help but laugh, causing Patton to let out an excited squeal.

***

"Dammy, I am such a disaster," Remy confessed, leaning on the deserted counter.

"No, really, I totally didn't notice," Damian sarcastically shot back, currently feeding the snakes in the reptile section of the store. Thomas was next to him, watching quietly in complete awe. The pet store was pretty empty that day, with it being Saturday and all, meaning people would hold off on running errands till later that afternoon.

Once each snake got their own mouse, Damian hopped off the step ladder, sticking the metal grabber back under the snake cage. He walked back over to the counter with Thomas following close behind him.

"So, Uncle Damian, what's on your work agenda for the day?" Thomas asked, resting his arms on the counter surface.

Damian pursed his lips. "Nothing much really. Brenda asked me to help out at the groomers today due to her main groomer being out sick and the appointment is at 11:45," Damian replied, just as another one of the pet shop employees walked in.

"Morning Courtney," Damian greeted.

"Morning Damian," Courtney greeted back. The flirtatious tone in her voice made Damian roll his eyes in annoyance and looked over at Remy.

"Damn gurl, she still be flirting with you?" Remy asked in a hushed voice, peering at Damian over the top of his sunglasses.

"Yup," Damian replied, saying the letter 'p' with a loud pop noise. "Even though I told her that I am not into women, she still does it," He added in his own hushed voice.

"Why are we talking quietly?" Thomas whispered, clearly confused. Remy laughed, ruffling Thomas' hair. The teen let out his own laugh, batting away his dad's hand.

"Hey Courtney, I need you to cover the counter for a good 45 minutes or so! I gotta go fill in for Brenda's main groomer next door!" Damian called out to the back of the store.

Courtney popped her head out from the break room, a big smile on her face. "Of course, Damian! Anything for you!" She replied, practically skipping over to the counter.

"Thanks!" He called back, disappearing into the hallway that connected the store and groomers, making for easy access. Remy sighed, looking down at his phone and waited for a certain someone to text him while Thomas went to go look at the fish in their tanks.

The bell at the front door rang, not really alarming neither Remy or Courtney. But it was the voice that caught Remy's attention.

"Oh, hi Remy!"

[lunaschild2016]

Dark On Me - [Wraith/Eric] Part 1

A/N: A little something cooked up, brought to you by a monsoon, chai lattes and a sleeping five-year-old!

Rating: M

Genre: Romance, Angst, Drama

Summary: Summary: ‘You’re the cause, the antidote. The sinking ship I could not let go. Who led my way and disappeared. In the dead of night, you went dark on me.’ Wraith and Eric were well known for their dislike for each other, or so everyone thought. So he thought. Her death tormented him, just like she did in life. Love or hate? Enemy or soul-mate? What is the truth?

Eric: Jai Courtney

Wraith/Lexa: Kate Beckinsale (First Underworld)

Trip: Jacob Elordi

Tris: Shailene Woodley

Four: Theo James

@kenzieam  @pathybo  @jaihardy @every-jai@ericdauntless@beautifulramblingbrains@bookgirlthings@jojuarez26@oddsnendsfanfics@offroadinjandals @singingpeople@iammarylastar@irasancti@captstefanbrandt @clublulu333@fuckthatfeeling@tigpooh67@ex-bookjunky  @jughead-wuz-here wuz-here @badassbaker@beanzjellly @beltz2016@meganbee15@affabletimelady @scorpio2009@gylisaa@geekybeyondallreason @violetsonthelam@kyloswarstars@emmysrandomthoughts@kgurew@beltzboys2015-blog @slytherin-princess-25273@whatwouldbuffydo666@jaiboomer11@holamor@wealwayskeepfighting @original46 @blakefc@xtheserpentx@artisthedgehog  

Third Person

The scene of the attack was a gruesome one. The pictures captured all the gore in vivid detail. 

The bed covered in blood, the trail of it leading from the apartment. 

The wounds on both of the attacks participants. One of these being far more gruesome than the other after the body, battered beyond recognition, was finally located.

What wasn’t caught in the pictures from the camera after the guards arrived on the scene was caught on the vidfeed in the control room. 

In that, a young female was seen stumbling from the male’s apartment, clutching her side as blood continued to drip from her wounds. That blood left a clear trail all the way to The Chasm. It was there that the young woman was seen last on the feed. Wobbling her way until she dropped halfway across the dangerous metal bridge, unable to continue further.

He watched the feed in morbid fascination and with a chilling emotional disconnect as the girl looked around frantically. One would think she was looking for help but he knew she was looking for an escape.

What wasn’t showing on this particular feed was that the guards were closing in on her. The body of the male had already been found in a pool of blood in his apartment. 

She couldn’t know that the guards weren’t considering her the aggressor of the event. Not given the reputation of the man involved and their well-known dislike for each other. 

She couldn’t know that, with him being completely unconscious and slowly bleeding out, it was assumed he got what he deserved after he attacked her and it was self-defense.

But it was her next actions that shed doubt on that particular theory though there were plenty that never lost the first assumed belief even with the evidence.

A look of defeat and hopelessness crossed her face before she crawled to the edge of the bridge. She struggled, using the last of her strength most likely, and just as she made it the guards finally appeared.

They were too late.

No matter how many times he watched this damn scene play out, it always ended with the same thing.

Her lunging over the side with a sick smile on her face as she stared straight at the camera. She never even screamed. She just smiled until the abyss swallowed her from sight.

His hand slapped down onto the console to hit rewind until he reached the same point he’s watched a hundred times by now and he would continue to watch until someone put a stop to it.

“Jesus Christ, Eric. Give it a fucking rest already.”

The outburst coming from an ashen-faced Zeke Pedrad as he grimaced and jerked his eyes away from the large vid screen that was displaying the enlarged image of the girl's death.

Eric grits his teeth and turned his head ever so slightly to glare at Zeke who raised his hands in surrender and shook his head. “I’m just saying. I get that you have a right to see this shit if you want to. I mean, I guess if it had been me…”

He trailed off when he saw the slightest tick developing at the edge of the man’s eye and swallowed the fear at what he knew that usually signaled and continued on. “It’s been three weeks, Eric. You aren’t going to find the answers to why she attacked you there, and dead women tell no tales.”

Eric let out a hiss of breath and focused on the screen one more time, unable to look away until there was nothing left to see.

He didn’t hit the rewind control, even though his hand itched too. He hated the hollow feeling it left him with every time her face disappeared from his view. It didn’t make sense why he was feeling that way and that made him even angrier.

A dull ache throbbed through his body as the still healing wounds seemed to respond to that loss at the same time. Another thing he couldn’t explain, why he continued to refuse the serums that would heal and erase any trace of those wounds.

‘How can I explain that erasing them would be like erasing the last bits of her?’

He spun around to start to walk out but stopped when he heard the relieved expelling of breath from Zeke Pedrad. He whirled back around and stomped over to get close to him.

“Do you think this was me?” He hissed out while bending closer to the other man’s ear. “Are you one of those ready to parrot fucking number boy and assume I’m responsible for her?”

Zeke never turned his head, nor did he flinch away even though he desperately wanted to. Eric had always been one scary motherfucker but after the attack and being forced to be the one to give the funeral speech for her, he’s almost unhinged.

“Who? Wraith?”

Eric gritted his teeth so hard the sound reverberated in Zeke’s ear loudly and he could feel the anger boiling in the other man at the mention of the name. “Yes.” He hissed. “Wraith.” He finished with disgust dripping from every syllable.

He swallowed and shook his head in the slightest, speaking without ever looking at Eric. “Everyone saw you two in the pit that night, Eric. I saw you. I know you were wasted and said something insulting. But that was normal for the two of you, always exchanging insults. It never got physical before, but that night I saw her react and almost attack you. I was one of the ones that were going to step in and stop her. It was completely out of character for her, I know, so that might explain why we didn’t stop her from leaving with you. We were all pretty drunk, I guess. It’s the only reason I can think of why we let her be the one to take you to your apartment after that. We don’t know what happened behind the door of your apartment, but I can’t help but think it shouldn’t have even made it there.”

This time he swallowed out of grief and not fear as he closed his eyes. “I guess what I’m saying is, we’re all responsible in some way.”

He opened his eyes and turned his head slightly to look the man straight in the eye and was confused by what he saw. The tension eased slightly but his blue eyes were filled with an expression that is completely unlike the ruthless leader. There looked to be, remorse, in them.

“If you ever thought of her as a friend you will never fucking refer to her by that name again. Her name is Lexa and she should be remembered that way. Not as some fucking living ghost.” He snarled this out before flinching and straightening up. He left Zeke Pedrad behind, mouth hanging open in shock and blinking as if he thought he was imagining things.

‘Let him think whatever he will. Let them all think whatever they want, they always have. I’ll find out what happened that night and then maybe I can understand why it feels like I just lost the love of my fucking life.’

[meditatemoremedicateless]

Dear Kate, (There are Pieces of you everywhere there used to be Me)

Fandom: Life is Strange

Pairings: Chasemarsh, Ambermarsh

Major Tags: Angst, possession

Words: ~ 3,200

Summary: Kate Marsh wins the Everyday Heroes Contest. She never entered.

Kate hadn't realized Mr. Jefferson was at the party until she heard the wave of sharp feedback cut through the Blackwell pool, followed by everyone suddenly cheering. But there he was, recoiling from the microphone he had just turned on until it settled down, at which point his laugh could be heard over it.

Max nudged Kate's side as if she wasn't already looking, while Luke just sat forward in his seat to get a better look.

"Okay, everybody calm down."

Of course, they did the opposite as everyone started yelling and whistling, making it almost impossible to hear him, nevermind command their attention.

"Thank you, thank you. I appreciate it. I don't want to get in the way of the party," he made a quick, pointed glance backstage - Kate could only imagine what he might be looking at -, "but it's time to announce the winner of the 'Everyday Heroes' contest."

Everyone started to quiet down a little, and Max started to twitch excitedly. Kate knew entering a photograph had been a big deal for her - she'd ripped up her original entry and only gotten a new one in recently, and she'd loved it.

"Before I do, I want to thank everybody who entered their photograph this year."

As if on cue, girls from around the pool started to whoop and cat call Mr. Jefferson, but he just laughed it off and continued. "Now this is the most important step in being an artist - sharing your work with the world." Max nodded along - she reminded Kate of someone hearing a sermon that went straight to the heart. It was just normal teacher stuff, but, well, Max was cute in that way.

Meanwhile, Luke just rolled his eyes.

"All of you represent Blackwell Academy and everything our school stands for. As far as I'm concerned, you're all Everyday Heroes."

"More like Everyday Monsters," Luke joked quietly.

Max snickered. Kate silently agreed.

Jefferson pivoted, looking back at the DJ. "The envelope - please."

He's so dramatic all the time. Doesn't he get tired of-

"And the winner is . . ." he peeked down at the envelope. Max snorted, but also scooched to the edge of the bench. She was on edge, literally.

"Oh my, what a shocker." He looked up over the crowd and announced, "Kate Marsh!"

"OH MY GOD!!" Max yelled the loudest she'd ever yelled in front of Kate. There was a slight delay, but some cheering and clapping followed suit.

Meanwhile, Kate just sat there with her mouth open. "Wait . . . what . . .?"

Luke shot her a look to let her know he wasn't impressed with her humble performance. "You won, you goon."

That doesn't make any sense.

"But I didn't even enter a ph- fuck."

It's true, she hadn't. But she had gotten a message that read, 'Dear Kate,' that said otherwise.

Now that the cheering was dying down a little, Jefferson spoke again: "Congratulations, Kate! Want to get up here and say something about your photo?"

The noise died down almost immediately to let her speak, and she desperately wished it hadn't. Max was looking at her. Luke was looking at her. Warren and Brooke and Courtney over next to the drinks were all looking at her. She got the sinking suspicion she might pass out - which, given how her life was going, might be the best solution for what was happening.

Kate stood up, and, as loud as she could, replied, "Uh, no thanks!"

Jefferson laughed, but Kate's peers were less amused - with the exception of Luke, who had to cover his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing, too.

"Typical Kate humility, everybody. But don't worry, I'm sure she'll have something more to say tomorrow. We'll be showing Kate's photo before she heads off tomorrow at 9:00am in my class, so if you want to stop by and give Kate congratulations - and you should - or look at the prints gallery we'll have set up tomorrow, you'll have to wake up a little early. Now, you kids have fun."

He tapped the button on the mic, handed it off, and left.

I'm going to kill her.

Dear Katie,

Congratulations! You won the Everyday Heroes contest. I looked through your photography folder to try and figure out which one you entered, but I couldn't really tell which one - they're all so good! You're a really talented photographer, I wish you'd told me sooner.

I hope you'll be the one to wake up tomorrow morning so you can accept the award and fly down to SF with Mr. Jefferson. If you are, I think he wants you to say something at the awarding - which is at 9:00am tomorrow in the Photography room.

I don't know if it's you or Max who is friends with Luke, but we hung out a little today at the party. He seems nice but also kind of mean. I think he means well.

In regards to your offer to set up a Her profile for me, please don't. I'm not sure how I feel about dating in high school to be honest, and doing that I think suggests I have clearer ideas about myself than I really do. Plus, what if someone from school is on there and tells someone? I don't think apps like that have chastity vows in mind. I don't need more people thinking I'm weird, so just, please don't. If you make an account for yourself, please try not associate it with me.

I think Stella has been avoiding me. Do you know what's going on? I've barely seen her this year. Alyssa hasn't seen much of her either.

Also, I know you think Max and I should get closer, but I don't think that's a good idea. Max likes to be close to me and I think it's too much for me. Please don't lead her on about me, I don't want to stop being friends with her.

Please be advised: I'm lactose intolerant. I found your bags of Hot Cheetos in my drawer, but being vegan -> lactose intolerance -> please don't eat dairy products. I'm glad you haven't been eating meat, but I think that is probably what's been making us sick.

I've started a period calendar on my phone. My cycle's pretty inconsistent but JUST IN CASE it starts this weekend I'm packing you pads for the trip.

I found that you texted Mom about my doctor - what's wrong? My doctor's Dr. Zimmerman in Tillamook, you can look him up online and set up an appointment if you need to.

If you get to go to SF, tell me everything.

I hope you are well,

Kate

Unfortunately, Katie was not the one who woke up Friday morning at 6:25, she was not the one who had to give a stumbling acceptance speech when her photograph was unwrapped and shown to her, she was not the one who was told that she'd be leaving with Mr. Jefferson for the airport at 10:30. The picture was beautiful, of course - it was the interior of the Two Whales diner, at just an angle so that the entire bar was visible. Most of the people there were truckers and other regulars, but there was also a police officer clearly present, Preston, the former dockworker-turned environmental advocate, and, behind all of them, standing next to the jukebox, there was a tall, lanky girl with blue hair hugging a waitress who still had a tray in her hand. Her mother, Kate guessed. Of course, while that was all pretty clear, the shot was taken to include an out-of-focus poster that took up the middle-right. Kate hadn't noticed it when she'd just been looking at the jpeg, but once she had a chance to look at the print, she realized it was a poster about the use of prison labor to fight forest fires in California. She thought it might have been unintentional, until she realized that the fire referenced in the poster ended in 2011 - she managed to find a copy of the poster online later with minimal effort.

Katie, as it turned out, was a lover of irony.

It wasn't until they were after security at the airport that Kate got a text she hadn't been expecting.

Unknown: Congrats on the win

Before she could ask 'who is this?,' she got a second message.

Unknown: You're a better photographer than I realized. Don't get cocky though, I'll get you next time.

Kate did her best to text while walking, but she was terrible at it, and Jefferson just slowed down with a bemused smile and a glance at his watch.

Kate: Who is this? Sorry, I don't have your number.

Unknown: It's Victoria. We all switched numbers the first day of Photography, remember?

Kate: Oh right. My bad, I hadn't created a contact for you. Kate: But yeah, I was surprised! I'm sure you'll beat me next time too, haha :)

She added the contact info and put her phone away so she could speed up again. She felt her phone buzz again immediately, but ignored it until they were at the terminal.

Victoria: real cute Victoria: Learn to banter, Katie, it'll make this more fun in the future

Kate smiled. Teasing and outright bullying from Victoria had the same tone, the teasing just didn't sting on the level of personal shame and insecurity.

Kate: Oh are we bantering? Here I was thinking I was having a run-in with my first fan.

This time, the '...' stayed around a bit longer, but the wait was nevertheless rewarding.

Victoria: Touché Victoria: Have fun in SF. I hear it's pretty gay there this time of year.

That actually made Kate feel less comfortable, but at least she knew Victoria was, for once, trying to be nice. Maybe one-upping her really was the way to get her to stop being mean. She'd have to start writing witty comebacks with Max sometime soon.

Kate kept her laptop on her lap during the flight so she could check out Katie's photographs some more, studying them in detail. After looking over the big print, she had the feeling that if she could just figure out what gave her pictures their wit, their two-steps-ahead quality, then maybe Kate could approach her own work like that. After all, Katie was using her eyes, her hands, her brain, her camera to make these images, wasn't she? So Kate must be capable of the same.

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I remember you saying your passion is painting, isn't that right?"

Kate's ears felt warm as she realized what this must look like. She slowly turned towards Mr. Jefferson with a warm, albeit fake smile. "Oh, yeah, of course! I just . . . uh . . . I can't help but second-guess myself. Bad habit."

She closed the laptop as Mr. Jefferson laughed quietly.

"Now, there's no need to be embarrassed," he said, scooting back to sit more upright in his seat. "I just didn't realize what a dedicated photographer you were when you first joined my class. You play an instrument too, don't you?"

Kate nodded. This was getting uncomfortable - not that her skills outside of photographer were less legitimate, really, as not liking the attention.

"Violin and piano," she replied.

"And what do you want to do after this, Blackwell Academy? Going to study art?"

Kate shook her head. "No, actually, I'm applying to be an English major. I'm also interested in journalism but I feel like switching from journalism to English will be harder than English to journalism, so . . ."

He looked amused, but quite pleased. "My, my, you're quite the all-star."

Kate hadn't realized she had shared so little about her academic interests during her time as Mr. Jefferson's assistant. Admittedly, sometimes it wasn't even her working with him, but most of their conversations started with some polite conversation and questions about her friends and life around school, followed by an hour of him prattling on about his work abroad. Not that she minded, really, but her keen interest in the life of a celebrity photographer had waned after about a week of it. There was nothing that made something quite so mundane as constant exposure to it.

"Thanks," she replied, and turned her attention out the window to California.

"You know," he started, shuffling around in his seat again, "You remind me of a former student."

Kate looked back at him now, curious. It's not like he'd been teaching very long - who could he possibly remind her of?

"Rachel was very multifaceted in her talents and interests as well. She was a gifted photographer, of course, but oh, she wouldn't have any of my suggestions to pursue it. She wanted to be a legal scholar, and started modeling in our very own little Arcadia Bay."

Kate nodded, looking back towards the window. "She was probably going to be valedictorian, too. I guess . . . that'll probably be Warren now."

There was a short pause while Kate let herself wonder where Rachel was and what could have happened to her. Then, Mr. Jefferson said, "I take it you knew her?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Up until the end of last year, it was the three of us still in the running - me and her and Warren. But . . . she hasn't come back, and I'm getting a C in physics, so."

No one had ever compared her to Rachel before, and she'd never had a reason to, either. They had been from different worlds that the other could not understand, and Kate, for all of Rachel's charisma, could not hold a conversation with her. Warren was easy to get along with, so long as you could take not understanding the pop culture references shooting out of his mouth every five seconds. Rachel was . . . well, whatever she was, Kate hadn't figured it out, and with her gone, it didn't look like she was about to.

All of a sudden, as Kate caught her reflection in the window, she felt a wave of sadness. Where are you, Rachel? I know someone here misses you.

"I wish . . . Rachel were back," Kate mumbled.

Mr. Jefferson seemed to hear, though. He let out a sigh and reclined his seat as well as he could. "As do we all," he said.

But, for some reason, Kate didn't believe him.

Dear Katie,

I'm sorry you missed the Everyday Heroes awards. This was your big day and I feel like I stole it from you. But, don't worry - I'm recording the information of everyone I met who was interested in your photography so you can give them a call if you want. I really liked your photograph - Evan had a lot of critique of it I didn't really understand but I'm pretty sure he liked it. I missed doing homework Friday, though, so if you wake up this weekend please take a look at the planner so we don't fall any more behind.

Also, I'm sure you've seen the posters, but there's a girl who used to go here named Rachel Amber. It's so weird to try and describe what the school was like with her here because I transferred here, but, to me, Blackwell feels like Blackwell minus Rachel. Back when Rachel was here, Victoria wasn't half so bad to anyone because she was so busy trying to get at Rachel. I didn't even share with any classes with Victoria then and I'd still hear about the stuff she'd pull. But let's just suffice it to say that Rachel was a golden child. You can tell how perfect she was by the number of people who try and talk mean about her with graffiti and stuff - even people who didn't like her seemed obsessed with her.

Anyway, Rachel disappeared at the end of last year. She still had another year to go, (another month, too), but one day she was just gone. Some people told me she used to deal drugs and she might have gotten hurt because of that. She's probably fine - basically everyone thinks she just packed up and left one day - but, I don't know, I just wish I knew what happened to her. I really have missed her the past couple of days, even though we were never friends. If you ever find something out, tell me about it, would you? I wish I knew she was OK.

I saw on Amazon that you were looking at clothes. Do you want to buy some new clothes? I hadn't even thought about the fact that you might not like what I wear. I know it's really hard for us to schedule things but maybe we can work out a way for you to go shopping? I know it's impossible, but I sort of wish we could go together. I think it would be fun to be friends. At least, I like to think that.

Oh, also on Amazon - I know you really want a vibrator but I don't think I can afford it. And if I could, I'm still not sure how comfortable I'd be shipping it here to school. I'm sorry.

I hope you have a good day today;

Kate

P.S. Alice says hello

That night, as many other nights, Kate cried in bed without really knowing why. In her dreams, she saw a lanky girl with blue hair playing around with the jukebox inside the Two Whales diner. When she finally saw Kate, she smiled.

Then, there was nothing, and Kate Marsh was gone.

[oddsnendsfanfics]

Mother Knows Best

Genre: Fan Fiction Pairing: Jai Courtney/OFC (Roo) Warnings: Language, Slight Sexual Content Rating: R Length: Short Story Disclaimer: a strict work of fiction, I own nothing except the original characters and the plot line. In no way am I affiliated to any of it.

A/N: Hey! Look! It’s Cora! 

Read:  Dirty Laundry &  It’s Kind of Complicated

"Honey, calm down. It's not the end of the world." Jai laughed nervously, adjusting his shorts. "I've had my mum walk in plenty of times. Shit happens."

He could have done without Cora whistling and telling him to shake it, but such was life and Jai wasn't going to argue when she praised his god like ass.

"Not the same." She muttered, her words coming with frustration.

A teenage boy having his mother walk in, while he was having sex was one thing. A grown adult, woman, having her mother walk in while she was having sex was entirely different. Would it have killed Cora to knock? Or to give some sort of warning that she was back? No, leave it to her mother to stroll in, as if she owned the place.

There wasn't a single moment in life, where she could remember being this mortified. How much had her mother saw? Silly question, she could recall the exact moment, words, motion...every detail of that moment.

"I don't suppose this is part of therapy?" Cora smirked, motioning between the pair.

"Mom." the embarrassed anger didn't go unnoticed.

"It isn't any of my business, but if this isn't doctor prescribed, then you may want to take it easy. I've been here less than 72 hours and I'm beginning to wonder if you do anything other than fuck."

"Mom?"

"I suppose it makes sense." Cora continued on to herself. "Denzi is at school, you're both here. Oh, you're father and I would do the exact same thing. He was always naughty like that, but Richie. Whew!"

"Mom!" She shouted, torn between gagging and covering her ears. There were things she didn't need to know, ever.

"Yes?" Cora paused, her eyebrows raised.

If her daughter thought this was a walk in the park, for Cora, then she was mistaken. It would take years for the haunting images to leave. Yes, Jai was a rather attractive man, one Cora would admit wasn't disappointing. Yet, this was not something Cora ever wanted to see. Seeing him bend her daughter over in the kitchen, taking her from behind, was not an easy pill to swallow.

"Do you mind?" She snapped, huffing again. "We uh, we'd like to get over this...situation. If we can?"

"Oh! Of course, go ahead. I don't mind." Cora waved it off. "As I was saying..."

"Mom!" this was not happening! If she could be swallowed up by a giant black hole, now would be the time. Come on universe, do it!

"Roo, it's fine. It's okay, I promise in a while we'll all be laughing over this." Jai squeezed her shoulder, only to have her smack his hand and move away.

Easy enough for him to say. This wasn't his mother. Cora had a way of storing incidents and using them, whenever she needed a funny story or blackmail. Over thirty years later and Cora still loved to tell the story about the time her daughter had got the training potty stuck on her head.

Walking in on he daughter getting fucked in the kitchen, what a fantastic story to tell at parties! Yes, she could envision it all now: A gathering of some sort, Cora with her third or fourth drink in hand, laughing at unfortunate stories about things parents laugh over. Someone would make the most random comment and the next thing everyone knew...Cora could be describing, detail for detail, the day she walked in to find her daughter getting fucked in the kitchen.

"This is a fucking disaster." She muttered, shaking her head frantically and adjusting her sports bra.

The only way this could have been worse, is if Cora had brought someone else in – or Denzi. Oh god! If she'd had Denzi with her, there would never be a chance of letting this go. The four year old was blissfully unaware of adult intimacy, as he had proven in the past, but Cora would have wasted no time tearing into them about appropriate behaviour.

"No, it's not." Jai assured her. "Take a drink, go jump in the pool, or something to unwind. You need to just take a deep breath and..." He inhaled deeply, letting it go with a smile. "See, just an accident. No harm, firecracker."

"Exactly, just bad timing. I apologize." Cora added promptly, happy to see Jai was in her corner.

"I...it's..." Frantically running her hands through her hair, she grunted. "I have to go get Denzi."

Since Jai was home, Sera had been giving another week off. Today was her turn to pick him up and if she left now, even thirty minutes earlier than usual, she may be able to live through this. Met with a frown, she crinkled her forehead glaring at Jai.

"What?"

"I'll go get the joey. Give me a few minutes to shower and change. You...you enjoy hanging out with your mum."

Hang out with her mother?

After that?

Jai was crazier than she had imagined.

"I could get Denzi." Cora piped up, shrugging at the suggestion. "It's no big deal. He and I can go hang out."

"I can't let you do that." Jai shook his head, squashing the idea. He could, he wouldn't. As much as this had no affect on him; Jai really needed to clear out before she lost it, as she eventually would. If she was going to go off about Cora, he didn't want to be around for that. "Naw, you two had plans for this evening. Why not get a start on them, early?"

"If you're sure." Cora pressed.

"Absolutely." Jai smiled widely.

Muttering about how this was a bad, very bad idea, she paced beside the counter.

"Why don't I take Denzi, tomorrow? There is a pretty cool dinosaur exhibit at one of the museums." Cora suggested. "You two can go to the pub, take the bike out, or hit up some sex club. Whatever it is you kids do these days."

"You're a pain in the ass." She rolled her eyes at her mother.

"Yes, but I love you. At the end of the day that is all that really matters." Cora teased. "Being serious, I really would like to take Denzi to the exhibit." Cora turned to Jai, "Think you can spare him?"

Jai nodded, no hesitation. Of course Cora could take Denzi for the day, a full day with Cora would send Denzi through the roof with excitement. A full Denzi free day was making Jai excited.

Denzi coming home and telling Jai about his day was always a high point, the little boy was ecstatic to get home to Jai and more recently Dorito. He rushed through the front door every afternoon that he had preschool, eager to tell his new best friend all about his day. As much as Jai loved the afternoons he got with his son, an afternoon Denzi free to do whatever he wanted with her, it was a high point of Jai's week.

Whatever it was they did tomorrow, to fill in the void of the little boy, Jai knew she wouldn't easily agree. She had tomorrow off, he was sure of it, and there was no way Jai was allowing her to go into work or even think about work. Tomorrow was about them, doing things they enjoyed and wanted to waste time doing.

"Take him as long as you want, but he has to be in bed by 8pm." Jai instructed with a lazy smile.

"It's settled," Cora clapped her hands together, smiling cockily at her daughter.

What she wouldn't give to follow Jai up the stairs and into the shower, nothing about the thought came across as sexual, but purely to avoid listening to whatever Cora was about to say. In all fairness, a shower in general would be nice right about now. They'd been in such a rush to get home from the gym, she hadn't even changed from her gear.

Cornered in the kitchen, sweaty, the smell of sex lingering, and caught between pissed and ashamed she leaned against the counter. Tapping her nails on the elegant cabinet top, she glared at Cora. Pissed at herself, not truly her mother, she had nothing left to do but swallow her pride.

"When Jai is done, I'll shower and we can head out."

The original plan had been to grab dinner and then head out for a wine and painting evening, something a woman at work had invited her to. It seemed like the perfect night out to spend with her mother, until now.

"Are you sure you want to go? We don't have to." This was Cora's way of giving her daughter a final out.

"I've signed us up, it would be rude not to show." She answered with her head hung, avoiding eye contact. Mentally, she willed Jai to hurry up so that she could get a few minutes away. A shower wouldn't change what had happened, but it would figuratively wash away the incident.

"BoC, sweetie, if I had known..." Cora bit her bottom lip, trying not to laugh. It wasn't funny, but out of all the people she could imagine fucking in the kitchen, her daughter was never one. "The next time, I'll text that I am almost here."

"That would be appreciated." She pushed the comment off as quickly as possible.

Having Cora back in LA was fantastic, having two weeks of Cora living in the house was going to be – interesting. Interesting was the best and only word that she could use to describe it. When Cora had made the plans, during her daughter's Boston visit, the older woman had been looking exclusively at hotels. When Jai had heard, he'd promptly disagreed with the plan and insisted Cora stay at the house.

If it were his parents, he wouldn't want them in a cold and unfamiliar hotel. Families were meant to be together, under one roof, besides it wasn't as if Cora were an annoying pain in the ass type. Asking her to stay had been for her mother's comfort and mildly because Jai wanted her to see that this was an effort, put forth, by him to make this her home as well.

"I'm impressed, BoC. I never thought you'd be that type." Cora's smirk was full of mischief. "I especially liked the part, where I walked in. "Oh! Don't worry, you can cum in my...Mom!" real classy."

"You're impossible." She rolled her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief. Her mother would never let this go. Picking up on Cora's comment about sex being nothing shameful, she added. "Yes, but when your mother walks in to find a guy balls deep, in your ass...it's a little awkward."

Cora held back on the comment she wanted to give. If they were in a more private setting, then this would have never happened. On the other hand, Cora could absolutely understand what it was like to be crazy for someone, to the point it didn't matter where you fucked.

"See, I never took you for that girl, either."

"It's anal sex, mom. Not the end of the world."

"Oh, I know and trust me, with the right partner it can be fucking magic." Cora laughed. "Sweetie, I'm older not dead. You aren't the only one who likes making it interesting."

"That was something I never needed to know." She made a slightly disgusted face.

"If I had that body walking around, I'd be on him in every room of the house. Hell, I'd never let him out of the bedroom." Cora giggled.

"Some days, he doesn't get out of the bedroom. Not easily, at least." Her confession earning a knowing laugh from her mother.

[artificialqueens]

You’re A Kite, Dancing in A Hurricane. (Biadore) Chapter three.

Hi guys. Hope you enjoy this chapter. It was one that I was pretty excited to write. Here’s a link to chapter one and two.

Roy arrived at the bar where Danny’s sister would be performing at around 8pm, after spending much more time getting ready than he’d care to admit. Once inside he made his way to the bar and ordered himself a light beer. He was driving home so decided to stick to just one. He glanced over to the stage and noticed Danny’s sister instantly, she was the spitting image of him. She looked so beautiful with her red flowing hair and full lips that Roy was convinced if he were straight he’d be into her. Which was probably a terrible thought considering hse must have been at least ten years younger than him. Roy waited at the bar until she had finished her set then watched as she walked towards the bar for a drink.

When Adore made eye contact with Roy her face lit up into a huge smile. The resemblance to Danny was uncanny and it made Roy’s heart race.

“Hi. I’m Roy, one of Danny’s teachers, but I’m guessing you knew that. Can I buy you a drink.” Adore just stared at Roy with a huge grin and brilliant blue eyes.

“Erm. Sir, it’s Danny.” Roy’s heart dropped. God he was so stupid. Of course it was Danny. How could he have not realised. He felt like laughing at how long it took him to realise, but then the reality of the situation, that he was now sat in a bar with one of his underage students, set in.

“Shit. I’m sorry. I should go.” Roy stammered, getting up from his seat. God this was so inappropriate. “Christ. Why did you tell me it was your sister?” Roy was trying not to get angry at Danny but was incredibly stressed.

“Because I just wanted you to see me perform.” Danny said, placing his hand on Roy’s wrist to stop him from leaving. “Roy, I’m sorry.

“Jesus. Don’t call me Roy that makes it worse.” Roy shook his arm away from Danny and turned to leave.

“Wait. Please.” Danny said desperately. Roy turned to look at him. “Look at me and tell me what you see.”

“I see a student, my student, in a bar, with me. This is all kinds of wrong.” Roy was desperate to leave and pretend this had never happened.

“No. I mean right now, who am I?” Danny asked. Roy didn’t have time for these mind games, until he realised what Danny was saying.

“You’re Adore.” He sighed and Danny smiled.

“Exactly. And Adore isn’t your student.” Danny smirked as he made his point.

“It’s still not right Danny.” Roy said, avoiding eye contact.

“Nobody needs to know.” Danny said softly. Roy was torn. Part of him was saying he should leave, admit to the school what had happened and never think about it again. But another part of him wanted to stay. He’d had more fun watching Adore perform than he’d had in a long time. And Danny was right, nobody would know anything was untoward, considering the bar was so far away from their home town and Danny existed there only as Adore. He didn’t know what to do and looked desperately into Danny’s eyes for an answer.

“At least stay and watch Alyssa?” Danny said with a light smile. Roy caved and decided that, despite what his brain was saying, he would stay and watch the next act.

Danny sat with Roy at the bar for around half of Alyssa’s stand up routine, then excused himself to go and de-drag. Roy was almost grateful for the time to himself to clear his head for a moment, but didn’t have time to appreciate it since another woman immediately sat down beside him. This woman was very clearly another drag act, why couldn’t it have been this easy to spot when it was Danny.

“Well I haven’t seen you here before! I’m Miss Bendela Ceme. Dela for short.” The woman rattled off. She was lovely. Roy hated it.

“Roy.” He said, with a nod.

“Not much of a talker I see! That’s okay I can talk enough for the both of us!” Dela continued, completely oblivious to the fact Roy seemed less than amused.

Despite assuming he would hate Dela and all her peppiness, Roy found that within a few minutes he was actually enjoying the conversation with her. Dela seemed to be the sort of person that could make anyone feel as though they had been friends for years. It felt nice to have a genuine laugh with a friend closer to his own age and not the student he had a problematic crush on. He felt comfortable enough with her to let her in on his problem.

“Do you mind if I tell you something? But you have to promise not to be a shady cunt about it.” Roy laughed so that Dela knew he wasn’t actually calling her a cunt.

“Sure.” Dela smiled, taking a sip of her drink.

“So you know that I’m a teacher,” Dela nodded, “But what you don’t know, is that Adore Delano is one of my students.” Roy said hesitantly. He didn’t want to ruin his friendship before it had even started.

“Oh cool.” Dela said, slightly confused as to why Roy would tell him that.

“You dont think that’s weird?” Roy asked.

“Well not really. Danny is a sweet kid. And sure maybe we shouldn’t let someone underage in here but all the girls here know so we look out for him. It really isn’t that weird.” Dela explained. Roy felt slightly relieved that Danny was being looked after.

“But don’t you think it’s wrong that I’m in a bar with my student.” Roy probed. For some reason he was desperate for someone to tell him it was wrong.

“Well it’s not like you’re here with him, you’ve barely spoken to him all night.” Dela was so nonchalant about the whole thing Roy felt unbelievably relieved.

Roy didn’t see Danny much for the rest of the night as he was off talking to his own friends, which Roy didn’t mind much as he was perfectly happy with his own newfound friend. At the end of the night he swapped numbers with Dela and promised that he would see her again soon, although if his crush on Danny persisted then maybe that wouldn’t be a great idea.

—

It was embarrassing how boring the next week of work was for Roy without Danny in his detention. He was nervous when waiting for Danny to arrive in class on Monday as he worried he would have to talk about seeing him at the bar at the weekend. When Danny arrived Roy realised he had nothing to worry about as Danny was his usual self, in a whole world of his own. The rest of the week was passing by so slowly that by midweek he decided to call his friends from home and tell them about the gay bar he’d found.

“Hey girl!” DJ screeched as the call connected. “This had better not be another call about that boychild.” He joked.

“I swear you’re more into him than I am.” Roy laughed. “Where’s Willam?” He asked, noticing the distinct lack of another face.

“Hairdressers. Why, am I not good enough for you?” DJ yelled then laughed.

“Shut up.” Roy said playfully. “I only asked because I was calling to tell you that his plan worked.”

“You got grindr?!”

“No you idiot. I went out to a bar. Even made a friend” Roy said, choosing to omit the part where he’d seen Danny there.

“Wooooo. Get it girl.” DJ said excitedly. He was glad Roy was finding a place in that small town. “When are you seeing him again?” He said suggestively.

“Well he’s in my first period class tomorrow. And on Friday. He doesn’t have any more detentions this week though.”

“Erm.. I meant the new friend.” DJ laughed. “Clearly getting over your crush isn’t going as well as you thought it was.” Roy went bright red with embarrassment.

“And on that note, I’m leaving.” Roy groaned at his mistake. With a promise to call again soon, Roy disconnected the call. He then noticed that he had an unread text from Dela.

‘Hope you’re ready for this Friday night! I have some friends I’d like you to meet! See you there!’ The text read, with an ungodly amount of emojis on the end. Roy decided that he would definitely go back to the bar at the weekend, he needed to develop some kind of a social life. And besides, Danny seemed to have his own group of friends there so they wouldn’t really need to interact beyond politeness.

That Friday night Roy meets Dela in the bar and is introduced to some of her friends Darienne, Courtney and Jocelyn. Roy felt like he was finally starting to fit in, in this odd little town. All the girls were mesmerised by the fact Roy was from New York and listened to his stories in awe. He made a promise to take them all there one day, and with that, Roy had himself three new friends.

He didn’t see Danny much that evening, only glimpses of Adore as she danced around the bar with her friends. Roy thought about how it was nice to see her so carefree and happy, not like Danny at school. Later that night when it was Adore’s turn to perform he thought about how much natural talent Danny was blessed with, and how much he wished she could go on to bigger things outside of this small town bar.

Later that evening, after Roy had said goodnight to his friends and was heading back to his car, Roy saw Danny in the smoking area and decided a little conversation never hurt anyone. Roy walked up to Danny who smiled brightly when he noticed.

“Hey!” Danny said excitedly.

“Hey.” Roy smiled. He was slightly taken back by the radiance of Danny’s smile. He felt butterflies in his stomach, as though he were a 13 year old girl talking to her first crush. This was bad.

“I didn’t even know you were here tonight.”

“Yeah, I’ve been around” Roy laughed awkwardly. “So, you were really great tonight.” As soon as the Roy spoke the compliment Danny blushed, which made Roy happy. He couldn’t help but notice how attractive Danny looked tonight, with the remnants of Adore’s black eyeliner making his eyes pop.

“Thank you.” Danny said humbly.

“I mean it, you’re so talented.” Roy continued. He didn’t know why he was doing this, he just couldn’t resist the smile it created on Danny’s face. “You’re going to go on to big things I know it.” Before Danny could reply he was being called back inside by his friends.

“I’ll talk you later?” Danny asked as he was leaving.

“Sure, chola.” Roy laughed, reviving the old nickname which Danny loved.

–

Three more weeks pass by with Roy and Danny being in an odd situation. Through the week they barely spoke, Roy was Danny’s science teacher and nothing more. They had the occasional hello and light conversation, but that was the extent of it. When Friday night came around, it was like two different people. If you asked Roy, he’d say they were developing a genuine friendship. Roy was managing to keep his crush at bay and interact with Danny in a purely platonic manner. There was occasional times when Danny had had one too many drinks and did questionable things such as the time he greeted Roy by throwing his arms around his neck, but other than that everything was under control.

The night that he was getting ready for his fifth Friday at the bar, Roy started to doubt whether what he was doing was right, when he noticed himself being excited to see Danny. Roy decided that maybe he ought to give tonight a miss and gave Dela a call on facetime. When the call connected he noticed Dela was out of drag, as Ben, something which despite five weeks of friendship, Roy had never seen before.  

“Wow you are a pretty boy.” Roy laughed as Ben fluttered his eyelashes.

“What’s up?” Ben asked, holding the phone in one hand and packing up all his drag for tonight in the other.

“I don’t think I’m going to be there tonight.” Roy admitted sadly. Ben stopped what he was doing to give Roy his full attention.

“Why not?! Patrick got engaged last saturday we need to celebrate!” Ben said, then covered his mouth as he had clearly said something he shouldn’t have.

“I’ll text Patrick I swear.” Roy promised. “I just have too much work to do.” Roy lied.

“That’s a lie Roy, you never let work build up I know you. What’s really going on?” Ben said sincerely. Roy decided to tell Ben the truth.

“It’s Danny. I’m so worried about what’s happening with him. I shouldn’t even be friends with a student it’s just wrong.” Ben sighed, he felt bad for his friend as he knew this had been a concern of his in the past.

“Look, the way I see it is that right now you’re not doing anything wrong. You barely even speak to Adore, and it’s never anything more than complimenting her performance.”  Maybe Ben was right and Roy was overthinking it. “Maybe if something else did happen between you and Danny it would be a little different, but you don’t have to worry about anything like that yet.”Yet. It was the yet part that Roy was worried about.

“I’m heading off in a few minutes so I’m going to have to go. I really hope I see you there tonight.” After hurried goodbyes the call disconnected and decided he would go to see his friends that night. He vowed to keep contact with Adore to the bare minimum and stick with his friends.

–

The night passed fairy smoothly, with the main focus within his group being Jocelyn’s engagement. He was genuinely happy for her, and not at all bitter about the fact that he was almost in his mid 30’s and genuinely didn’t think he’d ever been in love. Okay maybe he was a little. Roy was enjoying the night with his friends until he noticed Dela looking a little uncomfortable and glancing behind him.

“What’s going on girl?” Roy asked Dela, as she continued to glance between Roy and whatever was so interesting over his shoulder.

“Okay don’t freak out but its Adore.” Roy’s heart sank, he could tell from Dela’s tone that he wouldn’t want to see what was going on behind him. Roy glanced over his shoulder and saw some guy kissing Adores neck. It’s fine, Adore was young, and probably spent all weekend making out with people her own age. Suddenly Roy wasn’t in the mood to party anymore.

“I think I’m just going to go.” Roy sighed, Dela had a look of urgent confusion in her eyes.

“Aren’t you going to say something?” Dela asked. It was now Roy’s turn to be confused.

“Why the fuck would I say something?” Roy snapped.

“Well if you won’t I will, she needs help.” Dela snapped back and started walking towards where Adore was. Roy turned round and saw Adore once more, except this time he realised what was actually happening. Adore was desperately trying to push away a man who was attempting to kiss her neck.

“Shit.” Roy muttered, and sprinted after Dela. When he reached the pair he grabbed the man by the shoulder and pulled him back.

“She said no.” Roy said firmly to the man. The man muttered an array of curses under his breath, spat on the floor next to Adore, and walked away. Roy turned to Dela who had her arm around Adore and mouthed ‘sorry’ before turning to Adore.

“Are you okay?” He asked, placing his hand on her arm.

“Yeah I’m fine. Men are so gross.” Adore laughed, trying to brush off what had just happened. Roy could feel she was shaking.

“Let me drive you home.” Roy said, and Adore nodded her head slightly. He quickly said his goodbyes to Dela and thanked her again for noticing, then walked Adore towards his car, leaving his hand on her back the entire time.

Roy let Adore into her side of the car then walked round to the drivers side. Once in the car he looked over at Adore, he saw that same lost expression he saw when he looked at Danny on the sidewalk all those weeks ago.

“Are you okay?” Roy asked softly.

“Yeah I’m okay. It’s just shit isn’t it.” Roy was so angry that someone had the power to ruin Adores night like this.

“You were great tonight.” Roy said, trying to lighten the mood. Adore didn’t reply, but he smiled brightly which was enough for Roy. Within a few minutes of driving, Adore had fallen asleep. Roy was slightly grateful for the silence, as it meant he didn’t have to attempt to make appropriate conversation. When Roy reached the place where he had dropped Danny off last time, he shut off the car as Danny woke up.

“Is here okay?” Roy asked, checking that Danny didn’t want dropping off closer to his home, since it was late at night.

“No here is fine.” Danny smiled then yawned. Roy thought it was adorable. Roy turned in his seat to say goodbye.

“You didn’t have to drive me home.” Danny said, reminding Roy of their conversation after he fixed Danny’s bag.

“I know.” Roy said, echoing his statement on that day. Danny put his hand on the door handle to leave but then turned back to face Roy.

“Thank you.” He said softly, his voice barely more than a whisper. Before Roy had registered what was happening, Danny had pressed his soft lips onto his own. Roy stayed motionless for what felt like an eternity then almost started to kiss back, before Danny pulled away and got out of the car in one swift motion.

“Shit. Danny wait.” Roy called after him, but the door was already closed and Danny was off into the night.

[muses-by-z]

Awake || Noelle & Octavian

Where: The Institute Infirmary When: Tonight, June 10 What: Noelle awakens from her coma, though her memory has been effected.

The room was getting clearer. Noelle could hear more than just floating voices, there was shuffling, beeping, small talk. She could feel herself laying on a bed, the mattress underneath her, the sheet laying lightly on top of her. Everything smelled...clean, and stale. There was a vague smell of flowers wafting towards her as well. Her fingers twitched, and she felt herself crashing back into her body, finally able to move again. Her hand closed again, tightening weakly around the larger hand that held it.

Octavian had let some of the flowers stick around, longer than they should have. A few of the vases had dead petals pooling around the bases of them. Octavian had been on his phone, before he had started to fall asleep in his chair. His sleep schedule was so off, it was only 6 PM, but he felt as though it was the middle of the night. The tightening of his hand forced him to slowly awaken. He was cautious about what to expect. He had dreamt that she had gripped his hand harder. But as OC opened his eyes and saw Noelles own eyes blinking open, he flinched. "N-Noelle?" he asked, wondering if this was a dream.

Noelle couldn't believe she was back, pulled out of the endless nothingness and in the real world again. Slowly her eyes started to flutter open and she grimaced at the harsh flourescent light greeting her. She was in a hospital, in a room she didn't recognize but it was definitely a hospital. Hearing a voice she jumped slightly, her eyes moving to the person holding her hand, sitting next to her. He looked like he had been sitting there a long time, like she had woken him up with her movement. "H-how long...was I...?" she tried to ask, her voice raspy. "Where am I?"

The sound of her voice lit Octavian's eyes up. He had almost forgotten it after all that time. He ran his hand over his face in disbelief, as if checking to make sure he was awake. "It's been... a while," he admitted as he thought about how long it had been. Had it been over a month already? The days had just blended together for him. He was certain he'd need to retake all his classes this semester. "It's been like, a month. And then some. You were out for a long time," he told her, still gripping her hand. "You're at the hospital, still at school," he added.

Noelle's face fell when he said how much time had passed. She was trapped in there for over a month? What life had passed around her while she was stuck like that? "Oh." she said quietly. She furrowed her brow at what he said, trying to think of what school she could remember past high school. "...school?" she repeated in confusion. Her eyes moved down to where he was still holding her hand, and the way he did and seemed so happy she was awake, he had to be someone who cared about her. But she was drawing a blank, and she felt horrible for it. "I don't, um," she stammered weakly, not sure how to say it. "but...who are you?"

Octavian wanted to cheer her up. He had played out her waking up in his mind over and over. She was happier in his dreams, and wanted to try and fix that. "Uh yeah, school. The institute? You know, college," he said while he gave her a confused look. Octavians own joy was dashed when she asked who he was. He was fearful of that, of being forgotten. "I'm OC... your... friend," he said unsure of how to explain it. "You don't remember me at all?" He asked.

Noelle looked around, trying to spark a memory from the room or just her mind. "The Institute...college." she repeated quietly. She gave his hand a tiny squeeze and her face creased with concern at the look on his face when she asked him. "OC...I, um, well you must be someone I know..." she reasoned, because he was here with her and knew her name. "I don't remember anything else though." she admitted. "I - I'm really sorry. I might if you try and remind me?"

Octavian held back his tears. This was his worst fear. Everything he has worked for with her was gone. He wasn't perfect, but the last thing he wanted was to start all over with her. The cambion nodded to her. "Yeah. I am. We're close. We live and work together, actually," he told her. How could he remind her? There had to be someone to prove how close they were. He looked down, eying Roscoe laying next to his chair to comfort OC. He reached down and placed it on Noelles bed. Seeing her awake, he got very excited, sniffing her, running around on her bed and licking her face. "I got you him," he added.

Noelle watched his face and it nearly broke her heart, "I'm so sorry." she apologized quickly. "We live together, like...roommates? Where do we work?" she asked, wanting as many details as possible to try and jog her memory. "What am I studying here?" When he picked up a little dog she gasped lightly as he set him on her bed. The puppy's excitement made her let out a tiny laugh, starting to smile as he ran around and licked at her. "Hey buddy," she said softly. "aren't you cute?" she said carefully petting him with her free hand, her movements still slow. Noelle looked back up at him, "OC...is that short for something?"

Octavian shook his head. "No, it's alright," he tried to tell her. It of course wasn't, but what else could he say. "Yeah, sort of. We sometimes sleep in the same bed," he said, unsure of how to tell her he had claimed her, like an object. Watching her with Ros comforted him a little. "Well my whole name is Octavian. But OC will will work," the student told her. There didn't seem to be a reason to remind her his middle name was Courtney.

Noelle gave him a confused look, they sometimes shared a bed. "Oh are we um, like, together, then?" she asked hesitantly. That could explain why he seemed so upset and had waited here with her all this time. She scratched behind the ears of the puppy, listening to him. "Octavian." she repeated. "I think I like Octavian better - if that's okay? Is that what I called you?" she asked. She looked around the room, seeing the remains of sweets and meals he had eaten while waiting for her. Suddenly she gasped lightly, "Octavian - you're a cook. Right? A chef?"

Octavian shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, something like that," he started. It wasn't clear what they were, the fact he has to feed a lot only complicated things. While she was in her coma, he thought about them. It was time to better define what they were, he sort of liked the idea of her being his girlfriend. She deserved a lot better than him. "Yeah, you called me that. And yes I like to cook, it's what I'm here for. You're here for art history. You may only like me because I make things for you to eat," he joked. "Well, that and the fact I go shirtless a lot."

Noelle nodded in understanding. He seemed like a nice guy who really cared about her, like he would be a good boyfriend. Her lips pulled into a small smile, "I did? And you are? I remembered that by myself." she pointed out, kind of proud. "Art history..." she mused to herself. "that makes sense, I've always liked art." The little dog curled up next to her and buried his nose in her sheets, making her smile again. "I wanna see if I can remember his name...he looks like maybe a Scout, or Buddy, or something?" she asked, searching her mind for something as simple as a dog name.

"Well you call him buddy a lot. But that's not his name," he told her as he looked over at the dog. He wanted to help her remember, so the two of them could move on, together. "You don't like, remember me at all? Like memories of us?" He asked her as he scratched his head. Would that mean starting completely over with her? "We've sort of been through a lot together," he added.

Noelle bit the inside of her cheek, trying to come up with something. She hated this feeling of fog in her mind, and she could only imagine how it felt for him. "I'm trying, but...I can barely remember anything about being here." she admitted. "Being in school, where this school is, any classes, people I've met. It's all fuzzy. But...I don't think it's like, gone?" she offered, trying to explain. "It feels like I could remember things if someone helped, it's all just really cloudy."

"It's in the Caribbean," he told her, hoping to spark anything in her memory. Octavian reached out and ran his hand through her dark hair. "I'm here to help. I want you to remember. I had a birthday, last month. You gave me this," he told her as he showed her the bracelet she had gotten him. It was right before his birthday she had went into a coma. "You didn't have a chance to give it to me yourself. You went into your coma first," he explained.

"A college in the caribbean, we're on an island then right? Do we live right by the beach?" she asked, an image of the beach right outside a window coming back to her. Noelle liked the feeling of his hand through her hair, she closed her eyes for just a moment as he did it, and another image came flooding back. "You used to do that sometimes, with my hair...when we watched movies?" she asked, vaguely remembering their sitting on a couch together. Noelle's face fell a little, "I missed your birthday?" She took the bracelet, carefully turning it in her hands and reading the message. "I gave this to you? I...knew that I wouldn't remember? Was I sick or something that I thought you might need this?" she asked, wondering what happeded before she went into the coma.

Octavian smiled, and gave her a nod. "Yeah, we do, we live right on the beach" he said softly. It gave him a small bit of hope, that maybe she'd remember him at some point. "Hallmark channel movies especially. I hate them, but they're your favorite. And you're cute enough where I can deal," he flirted. Despite the situation, he couldn't help himself. Octavian shook his head at her question. "I -- I don't know why you gave it to me. Maybe you knew something was going to happen. I'm not sure. You're pretty smart, so probably you were just thinking ahead, like worst case scenario. You were... compelled. A vampire here, he put it on you. It sort of made you do anything, anyone wanted," he informed her.

"That sounds nice, living on the beach." she mused. Noelle giggled a little at what he said, trying to picture him watching Hallmark with her. His comment sounded so natural, "Do you say stuff like that a lot?" she asked, feeling her ears blush a little. "So I must've thought we would need it." she said, still confused. When he kept talking though, she stared at him, her eyes growing wide. "Compelled? A what, a vampire ?" she asked. "That's not, vampires aren't real though." she said, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head. The machine next to her started to beep louder and faster as she tried to remember and terrifying images of blood and fangs and monsters sprung to her memory. They were real, and they were here, all kinds of creatures, and they had hurt her.

Octavian nodded. "I mean, yeah. I'm honest. And, I guess I sort of think you're really pretty," he admitted. Although, even in this state, she had to know how attractive she was. "They are real. And you worked for one. I know, it sounds fucking crazy. Trust me, I think so too. But I'm being real with you," he informed her. Even he thought this shit was straight out of some shitty CW or ABC Family show. But it was true, they existed. "You worked for one... and I, I tried to get you out of that situation. And your boss got mad, so he put a compulsion on you. Making you do whatever anyone commanded," he said, having a hard time looking at her as he spoke. The cambion still felt awful about it. "I'm really sorry for it. For my part in getting you here, in a coma," he added.

Noelle's breathing had picked up, and she was still shaking her head. "How..." she breathed. "Why would I work for a v-vampire?" she asked, having trouble even saying the name now that she was remembering they were real. She squeezed her eyes closed again as a pain hit her head, awful flashes running through her head. "I don't - I don't know if I'm remembering things or they're nightmares from the coma." she admitted, her chin quivering a little in fear. There was more blood, and chains, whips, sex, pain, fear. It couldn't all be real. She pulled herself from her thoughts long enough to hear him explain and apologize, and shook her head. "Hey, it doesn't sound like it was your fault." she assured, squeezing his hand lightly again.

Octavian shook his head. "I... don't know. It happened before we became friends. He can be convincing. And intimidating," he explained to her as he nodded his head. He wasn't sure how she got involved with him, but if he had a say in it when it first happened, he would have warned her not to get involved with a vampire. "That could be either. You've been through a lot since you've been here. Where you worked, and even just because of your compulsion. It's been really hard for you, I've seen how it changed you. It was really sad to watch," he told her, eyes welling up a little. "I'll always feel bad about it. Like I could have done more to protect you," he added.

"He sounds scary." she admitted, looking down at the dog next to her. She was embarrassed that she had gotten herself into such a mess, working for a vampire and letting him basically ruin her life from the sounds of it. "If I...tell you something I remember, can you help to tell me if it happened or not? Or tell me more about it?" she asked, wanting to make sense of all the clouds in her head. Noelle bit her lip, hearing the sadness in his voice as he explained. "How did I change? I hope it didn't make me mean or anything?" she asked. She shook her head again, "You're here now, I can't imagine how scared I would be if you weren't." she admitted, trying to assure him.

Xavier was scary. But honestly, it seemed so long ago. He was certain they wouldn't need to deal with him again. "Look, as soon as you get out of here, you won't have to worry about him, I promise. It's in the past. You beat him," he told her. Finally, she was out from working under him, and now able to make her own decisions. "Yeah, sure. I can do that. If it will help," he told her as he nodded his head. Octavian wondered what she'd ask, making him a little nervous. "Oh just... you weren't happy. You weren't as optimistic. Usually everyone at the school could count on your enthusiasm. But you sort of lost it. Which I mean, it's understandable. You went through some pretty messed up shit. Octavian pulled her hand up and kissed it. "I hardly left. Just to like shower basically. I wanted to be here when you woke up."

Noelle nodded, smiling lightly. "Thank you. Even if I don't remember everything...I feel safe, with you." she offered. "I remember, or, I think I remember...a pink house? And...being tied up, and, stretched? Like I was being pulled, and it hurt. Did that happen?" she asked hesitantly. Noelle felt bad that she had changed the way he said, like she had let everyone down because she couldn't handle whatever the compulsion had done to her. "So, I had to do whatever I was told? Like, automatically? Even if I didn't want to?" That sounded horrible, and scary, no wonder it wore on her if that was what she had to live with. Noelle watched him, thinking he really was a sweet guy to do all this for her, to treat her with so much kindness. "I'm really glad you were, thank you." she said again. The puppy next to her perked his head up at the sound of a nurse walking by the room and she breathed a small laugh before gasping. "Roscoe - his name is Roscoe, right?"

"Yeah... the place we live in has a lot of pink," he confirmed. It was better than living in the dorms, it was safe for Noelle being secluded. Tiff's house was also gorgeous, which made the decision a lot easier, to find someplace else to live. It was nice to hear she felt safe with him, despite her lack of memory. "Yeah... people did some awful shit to you. Because of your compulsion or otherwise. It's just sort of how this place is. But I'm here for you. So are your other friends. To make sure you're alright. You've dealt with a lot, but you got through it. You're really strong," he assured her. He didn't want to go into much more detail about her compulsion. The sooner it was in the past, the better. "Yeah! You named him. I got him for you for your birthday, to try and help you deal with shit."

Noelle laughed a little, "Did I make you decorate it pink? Why pink?" she asked. Her favorite color was purple, she would've chosen that if anything. When he confirmed what she remembered, she shuddered a little that it was true. What kind of place was this, with mythical creatures walking around, and people hurting each other like that? "Who are some of my friends? Will you help tell me who is nice here?" she asked, worried she might end up in another bad situation. She preferred to trust people and be optimistic, but after this she wondered if she should be more careful. Noelle smiled wider that she had gotten something right, the puppy starting to jump excitedly when he heard his name from her. "Hey Roscoe! Oh I bet you were so good waiting here." she said, hugging him. "And you brought him here," she said, looking at Octavian. "you're a good guy."

Octavian shook his head. "Oh hell no," he started with a smile. "I wouldn't stand for that if I had a choice. It's our roommate, she owns it. It's her place, her decorations," he explained to her. The house was beautiful, despite the color choice. "But don't worry, she's totally cool, you're friends with her. Um, Violet is your friend, you should probably see her soon. That might help you remember," he said. That made Octavian a little nervous, about what she would tell Noelle about him. How she could tell her how much of a jerk he sometimes was to her. "You have a lot of friends though. The list of people who are mean to you are shorter," he added. OC flashed her a smile when she mentioned he must be a good guy. He shook his head at the notion. "I -- I don't know about that. I've made a lot of mistakes. Don't some things I shouldn't," he admitted.

Noelle blinked in surprise, "We have a roommate? So it's us two and we like rent from this girl? I'm glad she's a good one." she mused. "It sounds good to live with anyone...I was so alone in there, in the coma." she admitted softly. "Violet, that's a pretty name. Was she here a lot too?" she asked, seeing other stuff strewn around the room that didn't look like it was from him. She breathed in relief at what he said though, glad that she had made friends and didn't have to worry quite so much. Noelle wondered why he talked about himself like that, if he was always so down on himself or if it was about everything that had happened. "I think everyone has...that doesn't make you so bad." she offered.

"Yeah, she is. I wouldn't have moved in if I didn't trust her. Or if you didn't. It's safe to go to, whenever you're ready," he assured her. Octavian didn't want to know much about what it was like in her coma. He felt bad about feeling that way, but it just saddened him. He wanted to forget about it. "Yeah, she has been. She's sort of got a master..." he started. He wanted to avoid that dynamic of the island. But he didn't know how else to explain why Violet had to leave here more than him. "So she has responsibilities to him. She can't be here as much as me," the cambion told her, his face growing a little hot. "I guess. We've known each other a long time. We went home to Chicago last year. And we met each other's families. They're good, I promise. They miss you," he told her to try and lighten her mood.

"Good." she said, kind of excited to be back living in the pink house again. "I'm not sure they'll let me leave here right away though..." she admitted, looking at the machines around her. "Is our roommate a uh, one of the supernatural ones? Are...you?" she asked, realizing she hadn't. Noelle was confused again at what he said, "She has a master?" she repeated. "What does that mean?" she was surprised to hear they had gone back home together, "So you're from Chicago too? You met my family?" She must have trusted him to bring him home to meet them. "You're sure they're good? You've talked to them? Do they know about...this?" she asked a little quieter, hoping her family wasn't at home scared for her.

"Yeah, probably not. We can ask Qhuinn when she comes to check on you. But they'll want to observe you I bet," he said with a shake of his head. Octavian had asked what would be the process, once she woke up. And every time he was told they'd want to watch her, to make sure she was okay. And clearly, with her memory issue they'd want to observe for a while. "Tiff? Yeah, she's a Siren. Which is like, a mermaid, but can sing. And like, control you. But don't worry, she's totally chill. She'd never hurt you or anything. I trust her. And I... yeah I am. My father was an incubus. So I'm a half one of those," he admitted, trying to skirt past that subject if he could. Octavian didn't want to scare her. "A master... here, if you're a grant student, you can be like, owned or claimed by someone. It's not a great dynamic. And yeah, they're great. We spent a week there with them. I slept on your couch, to make sure their favorite daughter stayed saintly," he joked. That was his least favorite part of the trip. "And they can't know everything about here. I haven't told them about you in a coma. I didn't know how to tell them. They're probably worried about you," he added.

Noelle nodded, she would probably be in the hospital a while still but at least she could be aware of it and talk to people again. Her stomach growled loudly and she giggled a little, setting her hand on it. "I guess I'm kinda hungry." she mused shyly. "So we live with a siren and I'm dating a...half incubus? So you like, feed on...humans, right? You both do? I don't remember a lot about mythical people." she admitted, trying to hide her nervousness but the beeping machine gave it away. "Wait, you can be - owned? Like, belong to someone?" the beeping only got louder, enough to call a nurse in who got very excited and concerned and bustled around her to check on her, only making it worse really. She blushed when he mentioned her family though, talking despite the nurse doing tests. "Yeah I could see them wanting that...I hope they're okay. Maybe I can call them soon?" she asked, looking to the nurse who for some reason gave her a sad look and reverted her back to Octavian.

Octavian looked around him. There were some wrappers, take out boxes from the pub, and a few pizza boxes, courtesy of Sage around him. But nothing left to offer Noelle. Plus he wasn't sure if giving her solid food right away was the best thing to do. Octavian got up and looked around, finding the remote connected to her bed. If a nurse wasn't on the way yet, they would be soon. "Let's get a nurse in here to see if was can feed you or something," he said softly. He clicked the button, a small ring buzzing. "Look I know it sounds crazy. I get it. It's not the easiest thing to wake up to. But it's true. I don't like that people here can be owned. But that's just how it is. And yeah, I feed in a weird way. I didn't ask for it, it's just how I am. Same with Tiff, But we're both have like, good hearts. We don't abuse people for it. We can call as soon as you're out of here, once you're back home and safe," he told her.

"Have I had a feeding tube the whole time then?" she asked hesitantly. "Or an IV?" Noelle was definitely overwhelmed, finding out this school had supers and you could own people. "So, um...do you own people? Do I?" she paused a moment. "Do you...own me?" she asked, shrinking into her bed a little. Noelle was glad neither him nor his roommate were mean about it though. "That's...this is, a lot." She admitted, glad when the nurse offered to get her some pudding and she nodded. When she left, Noelle looked at Octavian. "But thanks for explaining things to me."

He nodded his head at her. "You've had both. I'm not sure why they didn't stick with one, you'd need to ask a nurse," OC told her. They had explained it to Octavian before, but he couldn't remember it. It was best not to tell her that. "I -- yeah I do. You're a slave, which means you go here for free. You can't own people, just be owned. You're sort of my slave. I did it to protect you. And because, I also sort of like you," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. The cambion hoped she wouldn't judge him for it, and believe that his intentions were good.

Noelle looked down at her arm with an IV in it, tracing the tube back to the machine. She couldn't remember the last time she'd spent time in a hospital, but hopefully this time would mean she wouldn't need to again soon. Her lips parted in surprise at the word, "S-slave?" she repeated, her stomach feeling sick at the thought. All the awful flashes of memories she was getting, it was because they were free to what they wanted to her here, including whatever sex they wanted. "I'm your...so you - " she stammered, looking down at her hands and unable to finish. "I thought...we were dating? Or do you um, own me? Or both, somehow?" she asked, and let out a defeated breath, covering her face with her hands. "Do I even want to remember things about this place?" she asked, her voice cracking and she felt like she was going to cry. "So far I've learned more bad than good...I'm scared." she admitted, curling up on the bed.

"Well I mean, we sort of are. Not officially. We like, live together. But like, we're not boyfriend and girlfriend," he admitted. He felt like a douche for it, for not treating her like how she deserved. "But like, I want to date you," he started. He had thought about it while she slept. It was time to finally put his money where his mouth was. "Look you don't need to be scared. Things will be better now.  Better than when you went into your coma. I promise. It might not feel like it, but it will," he tried to explain.

Noelle supposed she could see where it would be hard to explain things simply, why he couldn't just answer with yes or no they were dating. "You do?" she asked quietly when he said he wanted to though. She could barely remember her life, she probably wasn't the best person to date right now. But he was really sweet for staying with her, and helping her now, and he was handsome..."I just, it's so much." she said again, shaking her head. "I hope it's better though, so I don't risk something like this again." she mused. "Did I...tell you I was doing this? Or was it a surprise? If you didn't know...I'm sorry for scaring you." she offered. "As long as I can stay with you and other nice people who help me remember, I'll feel better."

"I know it is," he told her, running his hand through her hair again. They weren't dating because of her compulsion. It wasn't her fault, at all. He just didn't think he would be a good boyfriend. "Don't like think it was because of you, why we aren't dating. It's not. You're great. And anyone would be lucky to be dating you," he tried to assure her. Octavian knew Noelle long enough to know what she must be thinking when he explained these things to her. The cambion shook his head at her. "Naw... you didn't. We had talked about it, but I only found out after you were already in the hospital," he told her, not wanting to relive it any longer.

Noelle smiled a little and blushed, nodding to show she was trying to understand. Dating probably wasn't so easy when one person 'owned' the other, who had to do whatever she was told..."I mean, I know I don't remember everything yet, but I don't see why I wouldn't want to date you too." she offered honestly. "You've been so nice to me, you're-um, you're handsome, and, you said we've known each other a long time." she reasoned, but knew it probably didn't mean as much at the moment. She frowned, "I'm sorry." she said again, knowing how much it must have scared him. "But...thank you for being here, and helping me."

Octavian shrugged his shoulders. "Well, when you get to know me again, you might realize it," he told her. He couldn't help but feed, even if he wasn't terribly hungry, how could he turn down someone like Tiff, or Sage? He felt a little bad about it, but in the moment, he didn't feel remorse. Noelle deserved better than that. "Ha, yeah, I know," he said about her compliment. "You're hella cute. I mean, obviously you are. I don't think I'd be as eager to hang out with you if that wasn't the case," he joked. Octavian looked back as the nurse entered the room. "You'd do the same for me. Of course I would do the same for you. I'm going to make sure you're back to 100%," he assured her.

Noelle wished he didn't talk about himself like that, even if she didn't know everything about him she didn't like hearing people be down on themselves. "No matter what I remember about you again, there has to be a reason we were together, why you stayed here," she offered. "why I feel safe and like I can trust you." she pointed out. His willingness to be insecure and vulnerable around her right now was a good thing to her, she probably wanted to date him too before she forgot everything. When he started complimenting her again she shook her head lightly, "I'm not that - not really." she insisted with a nervous laugh, touching her hospital gown. She took a deep breath and let it out to relax herself when the nurse returned, thanking her for the food and starting to eat small bites. She tried to be optimistic, "I'll remember more, I know it. I have to."

[excusemymind]

If You Stay - Part Two

Note: I forgot to clarify this before but I thought it would be obvious, anyways, on this fic, Adore is a cis girl, so are Courtney and Willam. I know straight is quite boring but I thought it would fit better this way, with the prompt I was given. And a update if anyone is interested, we don’t have police back on the streets but they sent some kind of army and things are not as bad as the beginning, so... yeah. I meant to post this yesterday but just now I got some free time. This is such a fun chapter, I hope you guys like it as much as I did! xx

Sorry we didn’t spent much time together, my flight is in the morning and I had some things to finish. I really liked to meet you, hopefully we can hang out again soon.

Adore read it when she woke up the next morning, which made her confuse, she could swear he would not want to see her again. But that was great news, right? He liked her, she didn’t screw up last night. Still not sure about how she felt about all of this, she went to take a shower, hoping it could clear her mind.

“Morning, guys.” Adore said with a towel around her head as she walked into the kitchen, where Courtney and Willam were talking, and it smelled like food was getting ready.

“Hey girl.” Willam greeted and Adore gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“You alright?” Courtney asked right away. “You really got me worried last night, you walked in like you saw a ghost or something. Did he hurt you? We can call the police.”

“Chill, Court.” Adore made sure to calm her friend. “It wasn’t anything like that.”

“What was it then?” Courtney was still anxious about it.

“He just was not what I was expecting, I guess.” Adore shrugged. “In a good way.”

Courtney was looking at her, waiting for more than just one vague phrase.

“He didn’t brag about the things he own, he wasn’t cocky, he was very charming and all gentleman like, so much prettier than the photos too,” Adore explained. “And he didn’t touched me. In fact, he made no suggestion about sex, at all.”

“Okay…” Courtney understood now.

“What the fuck?” Willam was always the one to speak her mind. “He just wanted to talk? For real?”

Courtney rolled her eyes at her girlfriend, but that was exactly her thoughts as well.

“I guess.” Adore grabbed a mug and filled with coffee. “He sent me a text, I just saw it, he wants to see me again.”

“If you get a Louboutin for just talking to a guy I will be so pissed.” Willam said.

“Get you a sugar momma, don’t be a hater.” Adore said as she sat by her side.

“Damn, I wish.” Willam said and Courtney poked her side, making her laugh.

They then had brunch together, it was always fun to have Willam around, when she and Courtney weren’t all over each other. Adore grabbed her phone and read the message again, she wanted to respond but she didn’t know what to say, or even if she should. After a few minutes she typed something.

It was really nice, I’d love to meet again.

She read it again, her finger just above the send option. She wanted to show interest, but not too much, she didn’t want to seem clingy, but wanted to sound into him too. Courtney called her from the living room and then Adore hit send, she left her phone at her bed and then walked away to watch some movies with her friends.

The weekend passed as silent at it came, it was Monday again, which means Adore would spend the day out. As she looked for a book in the library, her phone buzzed, distracting her from her search. The name on the screen was a pleasant surprise.

Hey, I’m back on Wednesday, I wonder if you want to go movie theater? We can do some shopping before.

She tried not to scream or jump in excitement as she finished reading it. Adore would go for Roy alone, but the movie and shopping made her a lot more excited.

Sounds great to me, see you on Wednesday.

She even forgot what she looking for. She shared the news with Courtney as soon as she got home.

“Movies?” Courtney asked. “He might not be that old but he sure acts in a old-fashioned way.”

“I don’t mind, honestly.” Adore said. “It’s nice to not be treated as a piece of meat for once.”

“In that case, good luck.” Courtney give her a reassuring smile. “I really hope you have fun, and buy some nice things.”

“Thanks babe, I think I will.”

When it finally was Wednesday, which seemed to take a bit too much to come, Adore got distracted very easily during her classes in the morning. Her eyes looked outside the window and her mind was much more far away. She had a few hours left after her class ended, she met Courtney for lunch and she would go home to get ready and drop her things.

“What should I wear?” Adore asked as they waited for their meals.

“Definitely not a dress.” Courtney laughed.

“I can wear jeans, right? And heels.” Adore suggested.

“Yes, it will make you look classy still, but you don’t want to look so serious so just wear a loose shirt, comfy.” Courtney advised.

“Yeah, I can make that work.” Adore nodded to herself, thinking.

Back at her place, Adore went for a much deserved bath, taking extra time to relax. With the towel around her hair, she walked into her closet to pick what she was going to use and what fit what she and Courtney talked about.

She walked around until she decided on red heels, a light blue jeans and a silky top. She put the minimum of makeup on her face, she didn’t need much to look pretty anyway. She got ready and grabbed a taxi to meet Roy, she didn’t know what to expect from it because Roy clearly got her so unprepared the first time.

“Hi.” Adore said when she reached Roy.

“Hello.” He greeted, giving her a kiss on the cheek and placed his hand in her lower back.

“Should we pick the movie?” She asked.

“You can pick it.”

“Are you sure?” Adore asked and Roy nodded in agreement. “What if I choose a cheesy romantic one with Ryan Gosling?”

“If you want to watch that, then sure.” Roy shrugged. “He’s a nice guy.”

“Do you know him?” She asked excited.

“Yes, we did some projects together.” Roy explained.

She tried to contain her surprise, of course he knew him. She rolled her eyes and they made their way to pick the movie and buy the tickets, Adore ended up choosing a horror movie. They had some time to kill before the movie started, so they walked around the mall, Adore decided to look for new shoes and soon she found a pair that caught her attention. She looked at Roy, asking with her eyes like a child, and he just smiled at her, he would give her anything she wanted. She walked into the store excited and Roy went with her, patiently waiting as she tried different pairs and she walked on them for him.

Adore walked out the store with two new pairs of shoes, she didn’t know how far Roy was willing to go, but she would try him anyway. And as she walked, she spotted the perfect store for it. She looked through the hanger for something she would like, and something short, that would show her body maybe a bit too much. She grabbed some pieces and went to the dressing room, Roy on the couch outside of it as he waited for Adore to try the clothes.

She tried a white leather jacket first, a plain black dress with lace on the bottom and a champagne fringe dress. Roy seemed to like all of those as she walked out and showed him, but it was not the reaction she was looking for. She grabbed the final piece, a sheer light pink bodysuit, and if it didn’t do the job then she would be out of options.

“So?” Adore called, making Roy turn and look at her.

He stared at Adore for a second, speechless. The person on his phone made him a question he didn’t listened. “I’ll call you later.”

Adore then turned around to show the bodysuit better, she placed her hair all on one side. She took one extra minute to turn back around and face Roy.

“You look,” Roy stopped to clear his throat, suddenly too dry. “It looks great.”

“It does, right?” Adore pretended to be looking at herself in the mirror, as she turned around a few more times to let Roy enjoy the view a little more. She closed the dressing room door and smiled to herself, he does think she’s hot at least. She finally got some kind of reaction from him, it was almost bothering her. She got dressed and he happily paid for the pieces of clothing she had choose, especially the bodysuit. The image of her on it would not leave his head anytime soon.

They grabbed popcorn and headed to the movie, Adore didn’t expected to like it as much as she did, or even watch the movie entirely. She looked over to Roy a few times and he did seemed into the movie, she turned back around grumbling.

“So what now?” Adore walked after they had been walking around the mall for a while, after they had watched the movie.

“Should I take you home?” Roy offered.

“Okay.” This was not what Adore expected, she didn’t want to leave yet. Her mood instantly changed, but she did her best to let it show as Roy drove her home.

“This is you.” Roy said as he parked in front of Adore’s building.

“Thank you,” She said. “It was fun.”

“Thank you for making me company.” Roy smiled at her.

Adore smiled back, not as wide as she could, but as big it could get right now. She waited in the car a minute longer, waiting for Roy offering something else, making a move or anything. But he didn’t. She took a deep breath and then reached to open the door.

“Hey,” Roy said and Adore turned her face to see him. “There’s a pool party on Friday, from a guy I have to be nice with because we’re getting into business together, if you would like to come to help me to distract me from all the boredom it would be great.”

“I’m pretty sure there will be a lot of distractions.” It was a joke, and in her normal mood it would have a sassy tone to it, but it just sounded bitter. Roy didn’t seem to notice as he threw his head back in a laughter Adore loved to hear.

“Nothing like you.” He said sincerely and Adore was knocked out for him again, he really made her not know how to feel and what to expect, it was so frustrating the fact she couldn’t read him at all.

“I’m free after 4pm.” She didn’t want to sound that available.

“I’ll pick you at 5 then.” Roy said.

The high pitched scream that Adore heard as she walked in made her smile. Courtney jumped out of the couch, eager to see what Adore got.

“Oh my god, I love this!” Courtney said as she grabbed the white leather jacket.

“Cute, right?” Adore said, not as excited as her friend, that noticed it right after.

“What’s wrong?” Courtney put the jacket down and got closer to Adore, placing her arms around her.

“I feel like there’s something wrong with me,” Adore said. “I know it doesn’t, but why doesn’t he want me, you know? I love that he doesn’t force me to anything but it also makes me feel unwanted, it’s so stupid.”

“No, it’s not, it’s completely fine.” Courtney hugged Adore. “You’re beautiful, and maybe he’s just respecting you. The way you described him, he sounds like a gentleman, he would not do anything too forward I guess, he doesn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“Maybe he’s gay?” Adore suggested, with her arms around Courtney. “I got a goddamn see through bodysuit and showed to him and he just said it looked great.”

“Maybe, but that’s kind odd if he’s going out with a girl.”

“Speaking of which, he invited me to a pool party.” Adore stepped back to look at Courtney.

“Are you going?” Courtney asked.

“Hell yes,” Adore said. “I’m gonna look so good he will regret not wanting me, I’ll make everyone else do.”

“That’s my girl!” Courtney cheered, and as Adore smiled a little more happier, Courtney got back to see what else she got.

Adore walked away from her class on Friday like she had a plan to kill someone and she was minutes away to execute it. She got home just in time to take a quick shower and put her bikini before Roy called and said he was waiting downstairs. She made him wait a bit. She had her sunglasses on, a striped cover-up and white swimsuit underneath it.

“Should I have more clothes on?” Adore asked as she sat in the passenger seat and saw Roy.

“No,” He answered, the less the better. “It’s some sort of meeting for me so I still have to look professional, yet casual. But not you, you will get all the fun.”

“I hope I still can catch a little bit of the sun, I’d love a tan.”

“I’ll try my best.” Roy said and he drove them away.

All Adore knew it was a pool party, she had no clue where, who would be there. Roy parked his car and Adore looked around, not exactly the place she had in mind. He opened the door for her and lead the way, she walked by his side without questioning.

They walked through the marina, and music was coming from far, which was the exact direction they were going. The biggest yatch, full of people. Not exactly the pool party Adore thought, but still good, better actually. Roy lead them inside and soon found the host.

“Roy!” A older blonde guy screamed.

“Hi, Phillip.” Roy greeted and they exchanged a hug. “Not exactly a pool party, is it?”

“Of course it is! Look a pool over there.” Phillip pointed towards and Roy saw the pool inside the yatch. “Besides, the sea is a kind of pool, so it counts. So does the jacuzzi.”

“Of course.” Roy laughed.

“You brought some arm candy, I see.” Phillip said, now looking interested at Adore.

“Hello, I’m Adore.” She said even though she hated the man already, his gross eyes were eyeing her up and down and she could punch him in the face.

“Beautiful as your name.” Phillip took her hand and placed a kiss over it. “Please, be my guest.”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Roy interfered as he saw Adore was uncomfortable. “Adore, do you want something to drink?”

“Yes.” She said even though she didn’t want it yet, she just wanted to get rid of the guy. “Nice to meet you.”

“See you in a minute, Phillip.” Roy said as he lead Adore on the boat. He looked back and Phillip still had his eyes on Adore, Roy’s hand turned into a fist.

The bar was easy to spot, and Adore poured them drinks as it seemed that there was no one to serve them. Roy thanked her with a smile as he took the cup she gave him and he threw it back, drinking all its content.

“Let me talk to him while he’s not completely wasted, okay?” Roy said. “Just enjoy the party, and look for me it want to leave. I won’t take long.”

“Okay.” Adore nodded and Roy smiled at her, he leaned closer and kissed her cheek before leaving. The touch made her feel happy but then, she was alone at a party. She knew no one there besides Roy, and the host unfortunately, but Adore never had a problem making friends and talking to people she didn’t know. And she had booze to help her get loosen up. It would be fine.

She got her cover-up out and went to enjoy the said pool, the weather in California always asked for a pool or beach. She tried to swim in the sea of people, there was not as much but they sure were drunk enough to be unaware. She made it her routine to swim, look around and drink. As the sun was setting in the horizon, she took a minute to appreciate how beautiful the view was, one of those moments that made her feel happy to be exactly where she was.

She saw Roy as she looked up, he was on the floor above, and seemed to be quite bored. His eyes found Adore and his expression changed, she waved at him from the pool and he gave her a smile. She pouted, because she was alone. He rolled his eyes, because he wanted this conversation to be over. She stick out her tongue, agreeing it was annoying.

Adore doesn’t remember when or how, but she was part of the party now. All those people she didn’t know now all seemed like her friends, and they would talk and laugh endlessly together. Her cup would be filled from time to time and she would dance with whenever got closer to her, she wasn’t alone anymore.

“Adore?”

She turned around to the voice and saw Roy, she got more excited, he was finally free and could enjoy the party with her. She threw her arms around him. “Roy!”

“Are you okay?” He asked, he could see she had a few too many drinks.

“Yes! Of course!” Adore said. “Are you done? Can you enjoy the party now?”

“Yes, I can.” He laughed and Adore grabbed his hand, leading him through the people. “Where are we going?”

“To get you a drink and another one for me.” Adore said and they reached the messy bar.

“I’m driving.” Roy reminded.

“Oh.” Adore’s face fell, her hand halfway extended to give a cup to Roy. “Should I drink it then?”

“No, you shouldn-” Adore finished the drink before Roy could finish his sentence. And there she was again, grabbing him through his wrist and walking him around. He was not in the mood for this, but Adore seemed to be having fun even though she was drunk already, so Roy decided to stay and let her enjoy.

It was funny to see Adore in such a state, but he kept an eye on her, he was always by her side in case some stupid drunk thing happened. Adore just seem to want to dance, as other drunks would rather talk about politics, cry or fight, Adore was just having fun by herself. Her dance moves went to sexy to not making any sense at all, and between those she lost balance, nearly falling, but Roy was by her side and quickly got a hold on her.

“Okay, that’s it, we’re going home now.” Roy said, holding her by the arm, helping Adore to get on her feet.

“No, it’s so much fun.” Adore insisted.

“We have to, they’re going to take the boat away.” Roy tried to keep his face serious, he knew Adore would buy his excuse because she wasn’t thinking clearly.

“Oh no, that’s too bad.” Adore pouted again. “Bye guys.” She said to the other half drunks.

Roy placed his arm around her waist and helped her all the way to his car, his other hand holding all her belongings as Adore dragged herself. He made sure she was safe and then he left, Adore seemed to calm down, she was singing quietly until her voice couldn’t be heard, she fell asleep on the seat next to Roy. He didn’t had the heart to wake her or let her get to her apartment by herself, so a block away from Adore’s house he turned around and made his way to his hotel.

Adore wrapped her arms around the spare pillow in the comfy bed, which didn’t felt like hers, and she only sleeps with one pillow. As she got conscious and her body finally seemed to connect to her, she felt a huge headache, trying to open her eyes was a sacrifice. She turned to the other side of the bed, placing the extra pillow over head, there was nearly any sunlight in the room, but the small amount bothered her. Light made her head hurt, it was painful for the eyes, so she covered them.

She woke an hour later, now really acknowledging she wasn’t on her bed, she didn’t even knew where she was and what had happened. Slowly, she sat on the bed and look around, looking for anything. On the small table by her side of the bed was some pills, a glass of water, and what she thought it was breakfast. A tray with grapes, toast, strawberries and bagels, and a steam coming from a cup of coffee. It had to be placed there just minutes ago.

She put the cover away and looked at her body, she had clothes on, which was a relief. Her white swimsuit was underneath this light grey tshirt she had on but she knew it wasn’t hers. She reached for the pills and the coffee, hoping it would made her hangover go away, and she carefully left the big bedroom, discovering the place around her and how to get out of there.

By the corner of his eyes, Roy caught a careful Adore coming by. “There you are, good morning.”

“Is it morning still?” Adore asked in a low voice, she was completely lost about the time.

“Not really.” Roy said low too, he knew she was hungover.

“What happened?” Adore asked after a long silence, she was looking at her feet, embarrassed about the things she couldn’t remember.

“You had one too many drinks and I brought you here,” Roy shrugged as he typed on his laptop. “I thought it was wiser.”

“And that’s it?” She wanted to know if they got psychal.

“That’s it,” Roy reassured. “You fell asleep as I drove you home, I put you in bed and we slept.” Adore’s eyes widened and Roy quickly corrected. “Not like that.”

“Thank you,” She said still ashamed. “And I’m sorry, I really don’t drink like that.”

“It’s okay, I had your age once too.” Roy smiled to make sure she would be okay. “Do you want me to get something for you to eat?”

“No, I can’t eat anything right now,” Adore said. “I should be going.”

“Okay, I’ll take you then.” Roy said, standing up.

“Don’t, please,” Adore urged to say. “You really don’t have to, I can see you’re a bit busy, it’s okay.”

“Are you sure?” Roy insisted and Adore nodded. He took a deep breath and gave in, he had to finish things before leaving.

Adore found walked back to the bedroom and washed her face, she looked a mess. She found all of her things in one pile, she grabbed them and made her way to leave. Roy was still standing on the same spot, and he walked as she got closer. He walked by her side until the door, opening for Adore, she gave him a small smile in return.

He stepped closer and cupped her face, placing a kiss on her forehead. “Take care.”

[noiseartists]

POM POM SQUAD (Brooklyn): Beautiful & Powerful Indie Altrock

"Pom Pom Squad has been a staple in Brooklyn DIY scene for their modern grunge sound and raucous live shows (tour dates here), sharing the stage with indie-rock mainstays Soccer Mommy, Adult Mom, Wild Pink and Long Neck to name a few. Alongside frontwoman Mia Berrin, Pom Pom Squad features bassist Mari Alé Figeman, drummer Shelby Keller, and guitarist Ethan Sass. Hailing from a variety of different backgrounds -- whether Keller's jazz training or Berrin's classic hip-hop and new wave upbringing -- the group manages to be serious without taking themselves too seriously. It's that balance of solemnity and whimsy that allows punk aesthetics and emotional tenderness to live side by side: chunky, distorted guitar on some tracks, and near-whisper on others; brash yells or tame, wry wit."  -- Mia Berrin

This intro is better than anything else I could have done. A big thank you to Mia Berrin from the band for her kindness and hard work on this collaboration.

When she's not making music, Mia works in music publicity and PR at Girlie Action

THE MUSIC

What Mia tells us about some of Pom Pom Squad’s songs

Most of the songs on “Ow” have a pretty interesting story, but I’ll give the liner notes versions:

I was taking a bath when I came up with the riff for “Heavy Heavy”-- I'm a pretty intuitive writer, (which just means that I don’t really know music theory) so if I come up with a melody or riff, I can usually pluck it out on guitar by ear.

I was in standard tuning, so I couldn’t quite find it-- I called my friend, and guitarist at the time, Alex Mercuri, and made him figure it out. After I put some clothes on, we sat on facetime for an hour or two and just recorded layers and layers of noise in Garageband.

That song structure-- which I’d describe as rolling-down-a-hill-of-anxiety--- came to me pretty immediately.

‘Cherry Blossom’ was the first song I wrote toward what I suspected would be an EP, at the time. I was in a pretty dark place mentally, and my best friend, Spencer Peppet who is in a phenomenal band called The Ophelias, came up with a writing prompt change to try and cheer me up-- we each came up with 20 songs titles for the other person, picked 10 out of a random # generator and challenged each other to write the song that would correspond with each title.

‘Cherry Blossom’ is the first and only song that came off of that list. I wrote it as an apology of sorts, but it’s a really bad apology if I’m being honest-- it’s not something I regret though.

Again is sort of a mystical song. I’m pretty obsessive about recording and writing things down for fear of losing them forever. The voice memos on my phone are full of strange little one-off ideas.

I came home from work one night last summer and just started noodling around on my guitar and recorded all of it. About a week later, I found “Again” fully written, lyrics, riffs, and all. About a month ago, I lost everything on my phone which means all of my original Ow voice memos are lost somewhere in cyberspace. Sad.

Music Work

The music work to date is:

2019: Ow, album

2017: Hate it here, EP

2015: Teenage Girls, demo single; Pharmacy, demo single

You can find their music on Bandcamp, Spotify, iTunes, Soundcloud.

INTERVIEW

Who are the group members?

Me (Mia Berrin- Hi!)

Mari Alé Figeman

Shelby Keller

And Ethan Sass

How did you meet?

When I met Shelby and Maria, they were playing in another band and I was playing by myself. I had broken up with someone that morning and was kind of wired and emotional. I ended up spilling all my guts to them in the dressing room and they were almost bizarrely receptive. I played them some demos and they watched about two songs in my set. Later that night they both separately, drunkenly came up to me and asked when we were going to start practicing together-- and they were serious! We met Ethan about six months later, and the first time we practiced with him we knew he was perfect.

How did you come up with your name?

The name comes from an image I saw once. I’d actually never heard the phrase “Pom Pom Squad” before and I fell in love with it immediately. It’s taken on a more multifaceted meaning since then, but I like the way it allows people to underestimate us. It’s also very fitting of the way that people fail to equate femininity with strength.

What is your music about?

Me! -- The songs I’ve put out have mostly centered around mental health, illness, healing, heartbreak, but the project grows as I do. I’m actually the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, which poses an interesting writing challenge...

What are your goals as an artist artistically/commercially?

My goals as an artist are to keep exploring. If I learn everything there is to know about myself, I’ll have no reason to ever write again. I try to write things that feel necessary for me to write. Commercially I just want to be the queen of #Rock and #Roll.

Tell us what you are looking for when trying to achieve your sounds. Do you experiment a lot or have a clear idea of what you want?

Usually, I write when I can’t find a song that feels the way I’m feeling. I experiment now more than I used to-- when you (I) tend to write about certain topics pretty frequently, you (I) come up with a pretty concrete process. Now, I have to learn to write about other stuff. Lately, that other stuff has been joy and love.

Explain your songwriting process.

I feel like I’m always writing. I get pretty obsessive about writing things down, so if something pops into my head that feels like a lyric, I write it down immediately on my phone or in my notebook. I do the same if I start humming a vocal line or guitar part. Then, eventually, when I get to sit down with a guitar, I try to go through all those notes and see if anything has a common theme or feeling. It keeps me from that horrible staring-at-a-blank-page “O-god-will-I-ever-write-again??” feeling.

If you could guest on someone else’s album, who would it be and why? What would you play?

Currently, I’d wanna feature on something by IDLES and I’d want to scream in harmony with Joe.

Which other musicians/artist would you date?

My girlfriend ;)

Is there a band that if they didn’t exist you wouldn’t be making the music you make?

Probably Hole. Or Bikini Kill. The Courtney/Kathleen dichotomy is a perfect metaphor for the devil and the angel doing battle inside of me

What are some places around the world that you hope to play with your band?

Basically any and everywhere! We’ve yet to leave Brooklyn and are itching to get to the West Coast of the US. We also want to go to Europe. I think my absolute dream though, would be to tour Japan.

Some artists you recommend.

The Ophelias! Also, Mannequin Pussy, Pronoun, Julia Jacklin, IDLES, Connie Converse, FKA Twigs, Miss June, I’m sure I could name 100,000 more…

POM POM SQUAD IN THE (SOCIAL) MEDIA

Some good music videos

Find them on social media

Facebook

Instagram

Youtube

What some other have said

"'Quiet grrrl punk'...a cute descriptor that doesn't reveal nearly enough about the multitudes contained within..." - FADER

"['Heavy Heavy' is] one of the best songs of the week...a mess of tangled guitars and a snarling outlook" - Stereogum

"Pom-Pom Squad shares their whole heart with us and its resounding heartbeat

sticks with you long after its conclusion." - Lauren Rearick (Teen Vogue, The Grey Estates)

"Really hits you deep in the gut...Screaming in the face of chaos never felt better" - Highsnobiety

"A constant in the Brooklyn indie scene, here to ignite tearful fits in fans with their vulnerable, lashing punk" - Thrillist

"College rock blasts with a feel-good, righteous end" - DIY Mag