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cleolinda · 1 year

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My sister noticed

Previously on: I grew up in a haunted house and I didn't notice: So I told you a story about how a Count Chocula used to creep behind me at night when I was a child, and I described my very weird childhood home to you. I told you how my sister had Something Dark living in her bedroom, and I told you about the time she and I compared notes and realized that we also had the ghost of a young woman in the house. Maybe.

I asked my sister to read over the draft for me, maybe gather up the fortitude to fill in some details, and she texted back, "Oh, I'll tell you anything you want. But that’s not how it happened."

I am willing to believe her version for two reasons:

1) My memory has been shit after having covid umpteen thousand times.

2) I actually remember her version of the conversation we had, now that it's in front of me.

I also remember my version, is the thing—the one where I told her about Rebecca when we were younger. And that raises some questions about how independent, how uncompromised, our experiences were. But I think those questions are themselves the story. Can I trust my memory at all? I had such bad brain fog the first time I had covid that I could not remember how to scramble eggs. A lot of things are just mist to me now. There's what I remember and there's what actually happened, but what do I even remember? And that's before you even get into the idea that we're talking about ghosts we "felt" in the house. We saw no apparitions, no shadows, no odd movements.

This is not a story where I'm asking you to believe me.

There are things you experience, and things that happen. An example from the winter of 2016:

What I experienced was standing out on our deck one night and looking up at the stars. They were moving in a slight swirl motion, not unlike the painting Starry Night. I turned to my mom and said, "Well, the stars are moving, so if the world ends or something any time soon, here's our first sign." She stared at me.

What happened was, our upstairs heating unit had a leak, and I sustained mild carbon monoxide poisoning. (I like rooms to be cool, so I had used the heater less than most people would, at least.) This was only discovered during a routine furnace check, after my vision had been a little weird and I had been deeply fatigued for two or three months. I have had a CO monitor upstairs ever since.

Did I see the stars swirling? Yes. Were they? No. That's the distinction I want you to make while I tell you all this. Did my sister and I experience things? Yes. Do I know what happened? No.

So what I agree happened was, we were having Grownup Sunday Family Dinner a few years back, maybe 2019 or so. I had been really into Buzzfeed Unsolved, which later evolved into Watcher Entertainment, but my sister was refusing to watch any of it. She's a big fan now, but she only started watching the guys last year. Yesterday, we tried to piece this back together via text.

My sister ["MS" from here on out]: Like I feel like off and on for years you mentioned [Shane and Ryan's shows] and I refused

MS: And one day my argument was to talk about our own house

Me [let's go with Cleolinda Jones, "CJ"]: You said you felt like fake ghost shows were disrespectful to people who actually experienced [hauntings].

MS: YES I FEEL LIKE THAT WAS THE CONVO

I love paranormal investigation shows, whether they're patently fake or not, as long as I enjoy the people investigating, so I couldn't understand why they personally offended her. Pulling at this thread back in 2019 is how the the whole ghost story started coming out.

CJ: And I was like, okay, but here’s one show where they get, like, nothing, but I can promise you that it's real

(Because the Unsolved/Watcher shows pair a believer with an actual skeptic who still, lo these many years later, does not believe in any of it. I truly believe Shane and Ryan would not stage "evidence," for that reason. Shane makes fun of ghosts and people who believe in them, but he's honest about it, and my sister likes that.)

At this point, we go back to the first version of the story that I posted: my sister had told me that Something had lived in the Four Closets Bedroom with her when she was a preteen/early teenager. It felt very dark, very bad, and she had not told anyone else about it until that dinner. The way I relayed it to you, Dear Reader, was that she hadn't wanted to go into detail, and I wasn't sure what it looked like, or if it "lived" in the little witch closet, or what. That night at dinner, I had gone on to tell her that, you know, now that you mention it, I did feel like something used to follow me up there at night. And this was when "My sister started crying. Like just staring at me in wide-eyed horror, her eyes filling with tears" had come in.

1. Something Dark

CJ: So you were telling me about our house being haunted. Something in your room. How would you describe it?

MS: I think it more lived in the attic

(our pal the dark fucked-up attic room)

MS: but would roam the entire floor so I felt it in the peach room [my (Cleo's) old bedroom and then later, my sister's] but more so in [the Four Closets Bedroom] as it was closer to the attic

MS: The best way I can describe it is just never feeling like I was alone. Feeling like something was always behind me. But I refused to turn around to look. It felt like a darkness that almost oozed behind you in a way that was almost suffocating.

CJ: What I find interesting is that we both describe it as Just Feelings, and never feeling alone.

My sister texted me at this point that she used to sense Something upstairs whether it was day or night; "even in the day, it didn't feel safe." But night was worse.

MS: There was one night in 3rd grade when I was reading and had like my first panic attack because I was newer to living upstairs and I felt it come in the room at night for the first time

MS: I also used to feel compelled to keep the AC running all night like it was never cold enough.

Here's the weird thing: when we moved to the house where I currently live and our rooms were on the same floor, we always fought over the thermostat. My sister hated her bedroom being too cool, whereas I get hot. I remember one night, we were arguing over it, and she was weirdly on the verge of tears: "Why do you have to have it so cold?" In 2023, my sister texted me at this point that she didn't want our childhood home to be cold; it was like the thing wanted that temperature, even if she hated it.

You often hear that ghosts make rooms cold, that's a big ghost hunter show thing—but whatever was up there couldn't lower the temperature on its own?

CJ: "If you can’t make it cold yourself, storebought is fine"

CJ: And you don’t have a visual impression of it, I’m not just blowing past that?

MS: I refused. REFUSED to look. Ever. For any reason.

CJ: I did too, so that’s interesting

CJ: I describe it as a Count Chocula, which should tell you how much it didn’t bother me. Which I find weird

(Truly, there is a reason I titled that post "I grew up in a haunted house and I didn't notice.")

MS: I can’t tell if it was truly terrifying. Or if the amount of data I was getting from it was just so overwhelming that that alone was terrifying to a child. I wish I could answer that now.

CJ: Yeah, in some way I think we’re saying the same thing. I was seven years old and I couldn’t comprehend what it was, either, so I just imagined a silly vampire

CJ: like I can’t overstate how cartoonish it seemed to me at the time, while still being very DON’T LOOK BACK

Part of the problem, she added, was that she felt compelled to go turn down the air conditioning... and the thermostat was next to the (carpeted. shag carpeted) bathroom. And then she had to race back to her bedroom... the same way I used to, as quick as she could.

MS: I also felt like I could NOT run. Like the way you shouldn’t run away from a mountain lion. It would create the need for it to chase me.

MS: What is so strange is that [learning about paranormal investigation] has not changed my perception of my experience in the slightest. Whether that’s the reality or not. It is still something I find dark and terrifying.

CJ: I think you would answer this differently now than you did then: what do you think it was?

We discussed this by text for a while. I mentioned being intrigued that Something Dark wanted to be cold (but apparently was not able to make the room cold). My sister—having agreed to be quoted here—said, "I kinda hope to avoid someone being like 'you had a demon in your house,'" as she doesn't really feel like that's what it was. Her gut feeling (and, bear in mind, we are working off nothing but feelings here) is that it was a spirit or ghost: something formerly human. We agree that it seemed male in some way (again: a Chocula).

And you're probably thinking, This is total bullshit. And it probably is! I'm not claiming any of this to be real evidence! I just find it interesting that we somehow came up with the same bullshit.

CJ: It just fascinates me that I did not experience 90% of this, and yet I got a strong enough whiff of it that I’m like, yeah, I can see it

But what about the female presence, the one I went off to color with in the middle of the night?

2. Rebecca

MS: I didn’t find out you had done the ouija board until we were adults. You didn’t tell me when we were kids

MS: That’s why I was SO shocked when we talked at the dinner table.

See, I was convinced that I had told her about my ouija adventures when I was a teenager, and "What about Rebecca??" flowed really well in the first post. That conversation was already a bit fictionalized in order to condense it from what I remembered—that's how memoirs work, really, unless you have actual transcripts of your life and room to include them. You're telling a story. I thought I was telling a condensed version of a true story. And yet, I do remember how shocked my sister was at dinner that night. And she would have only been seven or eight when I was messing around with that shit. Those two things do support the idea that I wouldn't have told her.

MS: You did tell me skeletons lived in my closet tho

I told you I was kind of a shit.

CJ: when I told you about Rebecca, what was your reaction?

MS: That’s when I went white. Bc I realized we had had a similar experience and I wasn’t just crazy

CJ: The thing is, I WOULD HAVE SWORN I had told you about Rebecca when we were younger

MS: If you did you didn’t name her and that’s why it was nuts when I realized 2 decades later we pulled the same name and we both remembered it.

We did it again, too—I posted briefly about putting this whole saga together, and how my sister asked me to give the ghost a pseudonym (ghosts deserve privacy too). And in trying to think of a good replacement, we both came up with "Rebecca."

CJ: so how did you know the [original] name?

MS: Ouija board with [best friend, redacted] in the playroom when I was like 13. She cried the whole time. We both thought the other was moving [the planchette].

You'll remember the weird, windowless, sky-blue playroom with the scary door from the previous post.

MS: But she was crying so she wouldn’t have been. And I would have never pulled out the name [Not Actually Rebecca]

MS: There was part of me that wonders if I did it but I would have NEVER chosen Rebecca

CJ: So did I bring Rebecca up first in this conversation [at dinner in 2019], or did you? I did?

MS: You said it first. I would have never [told you first] cuz I would have thought you were placating me. Like I’d never really know if you weren’t just agreeing with me

And that's when my sister had "stared at me, saucer-eyed, pale. Like I'm not sure I had ever seen anyone 'go white' until that moment." And I had told her about getting up at midnight and going to color in the weird playroom, and someone else being in there with me, no big deal.

After all this discussion, we do think that Rebecca was briefly my "imaginary friend," but our mom told me to stop talking about that. Not because our mom was spooked, but because she felt like it was rude for me to talk about someone I was presumably making up in front of company. So that stopped. Thinking back on it, I just felt like someone was sitting next to me on the couch. I didn't feel anyone next to me; when I looked, I felt like I could see where... someone was not? The space that someone invisible was taking up? It felt like something reasonably friendly. "Chill" is the word I keep using. Not super eager or possessive, just like a girl who was a bit older, maybe a teenager, a babysitter age, who liked me well enough. There was some dark shit in the attic, apparently—it did feel very oppressive in there—but I would get a sense that a metaphorical desk lamp had been turned on. A presence that stayed back, relaxed, but emanated "hey, I'm here."

What my sister and I agreed on was that we remembered how these "feelings" were both vague and memorable. I can't remember events or chronology accurately, but I remember the actual sensations and presences very, very clearly. They resist reinterpretation. I can't sit here and say, "Oh, Rebecca was totally a guardian angel, I see that now." The Something Dark sounds functionally demonic, but my sister doesn't feel like that's accurate. (If anything, she gets a sense that this could have been a malicious uncle—not father—of some kind to Rebecca, if the two beings were related: particular in their vagueness.) These two presences just... were. My sister says she primarily sensed Rebecca outdoors in our backyard, when we were pretending (were we?) to play with fairies. I didn't sense Rebecca there—but then, I wasn't aware that what I sensed was a someone, not for another thirty years or so. My oblivious ass was up at midnight filling in my She-Ra coloring book with a ghost like, "Yeah, I'm alone in the dark for no reason, this is normal." It's only in retrospect that I recognize atmospheric feelings as things that actually took up space, and I don't know how I didn't see it at the time. I can't explain that, and I can't ask you to believe it. All I know is that my sister still feels very traumatized by her experience of it—and I can't explain why I don't.

I think one of the reasons paranormal investigation shows don't scare me a whole lot is because so much of the "evidence" is random knocks and creaks and movements and vibes, and I'm like, yeah, I've lived in two houses now like that. The door of my current bedroom opens and closes on its own all the time. It's probably a draft from the ventilation system (which does not have CO leaks anymore) (probably). I've seen something at this house that a lot of people might call a shadow person, but I was probably imagining it. So many of these ghost shows just have things that I grew up with and didn't even think a whole lot of at the time; I seem to be protected by a +3 Sphere of Sure, That's Fine. Is my current house also haunted? I honestly don't know. Would I notice if it was?

#part two of two #story time with cleo #long post #the haunting of jones house #spooky season #halloween everyday #me for some reason #first look on patreon

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xetlynn · 5 months

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Twilight- Unknown: Chapter Seven, The Battle

(Alice x Reader x Jasper)

[six] [seven, end of The Eclipse]

Later that night, Bella asked for a sleepover like old times. It shocked me at first. I was expecting her to ask more questions about my past lives but surprisingly she didn't.

We just watched movies together, eating popcorn. Maybe a random question about what it was like being a vampire.

She was sound asleep after the second movie. I decided to watch a few others but in the middle of the night she swings her fist, hitting me right in the arm. "Bella? What happened?" I woke her up, she breathed heavily, her heart racing.

"The intruder... The newborn army. They're all her puppets. Victoria." She says out of order and I raise a brow. "Alice or I would've seen if she wanted to make an army." I argue. "Unless she's hiding behind them, and she's letting someone else decide. Maybe she found out how you guy's visions work." She explains, I sit a little straight. Considering it.

"Trust me, I hope what you're saying is true and that it's her. I'll speak to the Cullen's about it, go back to sleep." I tell her, she nods her head. "We'll talk more about it tomorrow." I assured her since she seemed like she wanted more from the conversation.

I told Edward about it over the phone, now he's changed his mind about Bella being allowed to be even near the fight. Knowing she's a huge target. He's so serious about it he wants Jacob to help him with his idea.

We stand in the woods together. Jasper, Edward, Bella, Jacob, and I. Jacob goes away with Bella in his arms. Us three wait here.

"Okay, go ahead." Edward nods to us. Jasper and I take each other's hands and smell for my sister. Nothing comes about, only Jacob's wolf smell.

"All we picked up was wolf stench. No Bella. This will work." Jasper tells his brother who seems relieved. "Great."

"Okay, Alice, don't be a stranger." My dad waves to my girlfriend as Bella gets out of her truck, confused. "Okay." Alice grins. I see Bella's surprised face.

"Your alibis for the battle is all arranged." She says, pulling me into a small kiss. Holding onto my waist. "Really?" Bella asks.

"I told your guy's father that our whole family's going camping this weekend. So you two are having a sleepover with me. Charlie is going fishing anyway." Alice simply tells us.

I'm surprised he went for it since I am dating Alice but it's probably because Bella will be there and he doesn't think I would do that around my sister. Which I wouldn't... Just in the woods...

"Charlie? You guys are on the same name basis now?" Bella questions. "Yeah, that's crazy." I add in with a little chuckle.

"Me, he likes. Actually, you and Edward will have the house to yourself tonight." Alice smirks at my sister. "Like alone?" "We're all going hunting. Powering up for the battle. You're welcome." She smiles, walking me to her car and we stand there.

"I'm going hunting?" I raise a brow.

"Well, we can go away from the others, of course." She flirts, pulling me closer by my neck to kiss my lips. "Mm, I guess so." I kissed her once more.

"I'll see you later, lovebug." She tells me, opening her car door. "Can't wait." I wink, walking away to join Bella again, going inside our house.

"Hey. Do either of you want a sandwich?" Charlie asks us. "No, I'm good." Bella says. "I'll take one." I yawn.

"Well, the sister. [Name]'s girlfriend. I like." He points to me and I smile, Bella playfully rolls her eyes.

"Alice, yeah. She's great." My sister agrees. She moves over to the sink to start washing the dishes. "Hey, dad. I was wondering. Why didn't you get remarried, after mom?" She asks him suddenly. I look over to him, he seems a little stunned by the question but nonetheless he answers it.

"I don't know... Guess I still haven't met the right gal. Why?"

"I don't know. I thought you just... Maybe you gave up on the whole institution of it. Of marriage. But do you think there's any value in it?" She rambles a little bit. I scrunch my face in where she's going with this.

"Yeah, yeah marriage has value. When you're older. Much older. Like your mother. It seems to work out fine for her the second time around. Later in life." He says.

"Yeah, I guess." She shrugs.

"You definitely don't wanna have to get married because you weren't careful." He tells her and I snort out a laugh, getting a small glare from both of them. "What?" She huffs.

"Look, you know what I'm talking about. Both of you should listen. There's things that you need to think about if you're gonna be physically intimate." He begins, both Bella and I groan.

"Not the talk." I complain. "Oh don't, it's just as embarrassing for me as it is for you two." He tells us. "I doubt that. And don't bother because mom beat you to it like ten years ago." Bella tries to stop him.

"Well, you two didn't have partners ten years ago." Charlie defends.

"I'm sure things work the same way." Bella shakes her head. "Alright, so you guys are taking precautions and-"

"Okay, dad. Please don't worry about that with me. Edward is old school." Bella admits to him. I see my dad perk up a bit.

"Old school, great. What's that? Like code for something?" He questions her. "Oh my God. Dad. I'm a virgin." She blurts out.

"Okay, good. Glad we covered that." He sighs. "Me too."

"Virgin...Liking Edward a little bit more now." He says and that makes a mortified Bella bolt for the door. I laugh quietly.

"I wouldn't laugh [Name] I still gotta talk to you." He points to me and I smirk.

"I'm a virgin too." I lied to him, why would I tell my dad I've had sex? Do I look stupid to you?

"Good, Cullens are getting on my good side today." He mutters and I shake my head, leaving the room.

Later that night Bella had left to go to the Cullen's house as I was joining the others during their hunting.

The whole time my mind was away from everything. Thinking about how the fight is going to go down. How I have to use my wolf form during it. I've been practicing with Sam but it hasn't been easy. It's been the complete opposite.

I can't get used to using it. It doesn't feel right.

I want to let the others know I don't think I'm going to turn but I know that would only upset them. They're busy hunting right now though so I've just been climbing through the trees.

Watching the view above. It's a scene I don't think I could fully appreciate as a human. I mean I can see further so there's that.

"[Name], darling." I heard Jasper speak, startling me since I wasn't paying attention. I jumped down from the tree.

"Yes?" I innocently ask, smiling at him. "I have something to talk to you about." He admits, I tilt my head. Not saying anything, just letting him continue on. "So, the battle." He starts then immediately pauses. "Mhm." I hum out.

"We've come to the conclusion that you should be with Bella. Away from the fight. Edward thinks it's best that it's another person protecting Bella up on the mountain. And then he and Jacob will be-" "Pause." I laugh out loud.

"I'm getting put with the weird love triangle?" I question, a little offended that they're making me do this. "I don't want to but yes." He nods his head shamefully.

I stare at him for a moment. Calming myself before I speak. I understand where they're coming from and it won't hurt to be up there. I'm confident in my family to get it done without even getting hurt. They're strong.

"Okay, I'll do it. Only because it does help me make sure my sister is safe. The only thing is I won't know if you and Alice are." I frown, grabbing his hand.

"Alice thought of that. You're a hybrid, you can hear everything from a distance." He tells me. "If one of us gets hurt you'll hear it and you can come a runnin." He smiles. I shrug my shoulders letting out a long breath.

"I guess, if I hear anything of your two's distress I will be there." I warned him. "Understandable, darlin." He kisses my lips shortly.

In the morning I'm waiting for Bella and Edward as Bella spread little drops of blood around the woods. "You're going overboard." I heard Edward say.

"If this is all I can contribute, I want to be thorough." My sister tells him. "The newborns will be frantic. Now let me put a bandage on that." He tells her. "It doesn't bother me anymore." He adds and I'm a little confused on why he said that. "Since when?" My sister asks.

"Since I spent 24 hours thinking you were dead." "You're not wearing your ring." Mm now I understand. "Well, I didn't want to risk losing it." She simply says. "Or risk Jacob seeing?"

"I think we should wait to tell him. I mean, at least till after the fight." I can't believe I found out they were engaged this way. "If you're having second thoughts..."

"I'm not. I just want him to have a clear head." Bella assures him. I hear Jacob come into play so I walk towards them as well.

"Whose head is unclear?" Jake asks. "Nobody's I hope." My sister says. "Alice says there's a storm coming." Edward announces.

"I can feel it." I stare up at the sky. "Me too, we should get going." Jacob says. "I'll take the longer route. But I'll get there first. Set up camp." Edward tells Jacob and I who nod our heads in understanding. He turns to my sister and kisses her before leaving.

"I have to turn. I'm not getting carried by you, sorry Jake." I apologize unsincerely. "Understandable." He waves me off. "Here. So I have something to change into." I hand a small bag to Bella.

I go off into the woods, taking off my shirt and pants before transforming into my wolf form.

I meet them up at the mountain, beating Jacob and Bella by a few minutes. Edward covers me in a blanket as I transform back into my regular form.

"Jesus, I'm glad I have the wolf heat." I let out a small shiver. He laughs. "Here." Bella hands me my bag and I thank her before going into the tent.

I quickly changed. I hear them talking but I don't pay much mind to it. Not really caring enough to do so. "You guys can come in now."

Late in the night the storm gets worse and worse meaning it's only colder. Bella's freezing, her teeth chattering can be heard miles away.

"I should have chosen a site lower down." Edward frowns. "No, it's fine. I'm okay." Bella assures him. "What can I do?" He asks. She only shakes her head. The zipper opens, revealing Jacob.

"I can't sleep with all that teeth chattering going on." He chuckles. "Forget it." Edward stops him. "She may need her toes someday and let's face it. I'm hotter than you and [Name] here." He begins to crawl to Bella's side but Edward's hand is suddenly hard on his shoulder.

"Get your hand off me." Jacob warns him. "Get your hands off her."

"Don't fight." Bella says, still shivering. Edward notices how cold she looks and pulls his hand away. "Ashe gets sick, it's on you." Jacob tells him. Edward glances at me and I nod my head.

"Just let him, it will help her." He closes his eyes, letting Jacob do it. "Why, You're freezing, Bella. relax , you'll warm up soon. Faster if you took your clothes off." He jokes around. I make a disgusted expression.

"Jake." Bella warns him to stop. "Survival one oh one." He sighs. Edward glares at him. This is going to be a long night.

I lay in the corner of the tent in my own sleeping bag. I slowly fall asleep, luckily just missing the conversation Jacob and Edward have.

In the morning Bella and I climbed out of the tent. We're met with the young wolf, Seth sitting there. Staring at us. "Hi, Seth." Bella waves to him. I give the boy a small smile who huffs in response as a little hello.

"Where's Jacob? Did he already..." "Not yet." Edward cuts off her sentence. "He's checking to see if the woods are clear before he goes." He tells her, wrapping an arm around her and that makes Seth job off.

"I'm really sorry about last night. That couldn't have been easy for you." Bella begins and that's my cue to leave the scene.

I joined Seth up above from where he was. It's boring up here. I wish I argued with Jasper and stayed to fight but I knew it would've made way more problems than what it's worth. I don't want to argue with them anymore.

After a while passes I know that Jacob joined them. I listen to the fighting down below. I focus on Jasper and Alice's voices, their grunts and orders to each other. I wish I could be there with them. I hear Alice and Jasper fighting one of the same newborns.

"Jasper- back off- you can't be everywhere at- watch out!" I hear Edward shout to the air, knowing they couldn't hear him. I hear Alice tell Jasper she can handle themselves.

I stand up to go join but Edward's already at my side stopping me. "He's alright. She is too. You can't join." He tells me and I glare up at him.

"Like hell I can't." I push past him but he only speeds in front of me once again. "Not yet." He tells me. Then we both stop. We share a look with Seth.

"Someone's hurt?" Bella asks us. "Seth, go." I ordered him. He bolts away from the campsite. "Is it Jasper?" She asks another question.

"She's close. I can hear her thoughts. She knew we weren't there but she caught mine and [Name]'s scent." He explains. I stand close to Bella, he stands in front of her. "She knew Bella would be with me. She thinks she's lucky with [Name]." He translated her thoughts out loud to us.

"She found us." Bella whispers.

"She's not alone." I add in. Then a boy, the missing one from the papers, steps out of the woods.

"Riley, listen to me. Victoria's just using you, to distract me, But she knows I'll kill you." Edward tells the boy who looks shocked at first. He hesitates. "In fact, she'll be glad she doesn't have to deal with you anymore." He tries to convince the boy, knowing it's the truth but he of course doesn't know that. Victoria emerges out of the woods.

"Don't listen, Riley. I told you about their mind tricks." She tells the boy, who is obviously easily influenced. "I can read her mind, so I know what she thinks about you." Edward tells him.

"He's lying." Victoria argues. "She only created you and this army to avenge her true mate, James. It's the only thing she cares about. Not you." Edward says.

"There's only you. You know that." Victoria says after seeing the hesitation in Riley. He focuses back on us. Positioning to attack. Victoria's eyes meet with Bella's, filled with bloodlust and revenge.

"Think about it. You're from Forks. You know the area. That's the only reason she chose you. She doesn't love you." Edward was a bit more harsh with his choice of words. Riley falters slightly. "Riley, don't let him do this to us. You know I love you." Victoria forms her face to be more emotional. Somehow convincing the boy.

"You're dead." Riley attacks Edward.

Seth leaps from the cliff above and lands on Riley taking a chunk out of hus hand. He screams in pain. Seth circles back for another attack. Edward starts toward Victoria as I hold onto Bella making sure she's not able to be touched. Victoria goes to escape but Edward darts in her path.

"You can escape. You always do. But you won't get another chance like this again." Edward threatens her choices. She hisses back at him, backing further away.

"You want her. You want [Name]. You want me, Jasper and Alice to feel the pain you felt when we killed James. When we tore him into pieces. Then turned him into ash. When I turned him into nothing." Edward edges her on. Which it works. She erupts and charges toward Bella and I.

I hold onto Bella before running out of the way. Edward intercepts her plan and they roll down the hill.

We watch Seth get kicked down the cliff. Riley spins toward us. To help Edward I push Bella back and grab Riley myself. As we fought together he got me into a headlock. Edward fighting with Victoria seemed a little hopeless.

That was until Bella stabs her arm with a shard of some rock slate.

They stop going towards the smell. I take the arm that was around my neck and rip it off. A loud screeching noise because of it.

I toss the arm to the side and Seth leaps up, tackling Riley. Dragging him into the woods. "Victoria! Victoria!" Riley screams but the redhead does nothing, not even giving him another glance. We hear the screeching of his head getting torn off by Seth.

Edward charges towards Victoria, the two clash and begin to fight. It was fast.

He pummels her down and has himself behind her, holding her in a death grip. She struggles glaring at Bella and I. I ripped my shirt and tied it around Bella's wound tightly. Edward bares his teeth and bites a chunk from her neck, ripping her head off.

"Edward." Bella says, going towards him as she tries to touch him but he turns away. "I didn't want you to see that."

"I'll get some bandages for your arm." He starts for the tent but Seth lets out a small howl.

"Something's wrong." Bella says. "Alice needs us." I tell them. "And now." Edward agrees. "Why? What's happening?" Bella asks.

A massive fire burns when we show up. The Cullens and the wolves drag what's left of the newborns into the fire. "How long?" Edward asks.

"A few minutes. Maybe ten." Alice tells us. "They timed their arrival well." Rosalie joins in. "Probably hoping the newborns took a few of us out." Emmett spits.

"What's she doing here?" Edward points to the newborn girl behind them.

"We offered her safe haven if she stopped fighting. She took it." Esme tells him. "The pack needs to leave. The Volturi won't honor a truce with the werewolves." Carlisle speaks up.

"Where's Jacob?" Bella asks. "There." Edward points to the large world but then he hears a vampire behind him. Leah charges.

"Leah, don't!" Edward shuts but it's too late. The newborn grabs her ruff, yanking her off of her paws but Jacob leaps onto him tackling him. He tries to bite the newborn but it gets its arms around Jacob, crushing him. Jacob howls in agony. I wince at the sight.

"Jacob!" Bella screams. The other wolves pounce on the newborn, pulling him apart.

Edward and Carlisle appear to Jacob's side. Jacob is back to his human form. His face contorted and looked like he could barely breathe.

"Hold on, carlisle is gonna take care of you." Edward tells the boy. "The bones on the right half of his body are shattered." Carlisle tells everyone. Jacob squeezes Edward's hand. Bella reaches them, dropping to her knees and she strokes his face. "Bella." He huffs out. "Jake, I'm right here." She says.

"Jacob, you idiot. I had it." Leah tells him, saddened by what happened and obviously feeling guilt. "Leah." Sam states, basically telling her not now.

"I need to set the bones before his accelerated healing kicks in. It's already starting." Carlisle says. "We need to get him out of here. We;re not gonna win in a fight with the Volturi." Edward orders,

"We'll take him back to Billy's." Sam nods. "I'll be there as soon as I can." Carlisle assures them. "Hand in there, Jake. We got you." Bella touches him one last time.

Jacob cries out in pain as the pack lifts him.

"They're here." Alice speaks up. I stand between Jasper and her. "It appears you've done our work for us." Jane comes into view out of the smoke.

"Impressive. I've never seen a coven escape an assault of this magnitude intact." Jane raises a brow. "We were lucky." Carlisle smiles.

"I doubt that." Jane hums. "It appears we missed an entertaining fight." Alec frowns in disappointment. "Yes, it's not often rendered unnecessary."

"If you'd arrived a half hour ago, you would've fulfilled your purpose." Edward hostilely tells her.

"Pity."

She then looks behind us, spotting the young girl. "You missed one." Jane points.

"We offered her asylum in exchange for her surrender." Carlisle informs her. "That wasn't yours to offer." Jane moves towards the young one. Esme shoots Carlisle a concerned look.

"Why did you come?" But before the girl can answer the question she uses her power on the girl. She screams in pain.

"They came to destroy us. To kill Bella and [Name]." Esme speaks but Jane ignores her. Enjoying the pain. "Who created you?"

"You don't need to do that. She'll tell you anything you want to know." Esme pleads with the blonde vampire. "I know."

Carlisle puts a hand on his wife's shoulder. The girl's screams stop. "I don't know, Riley wouldn't tell us. He said our thoughts weren't safe." She tells Jane, who only zaps her again.

"Her name was Victoria. Perhaps you knew her." Edward says.

"Jane faces Edward with an unnerving smile. The other three positions behind Jane. "Edward. If the Volturi had knowledge of Victoria, they would've stopped her. Isn't that right, Jane?" Carlisle makes eye contact with the girl who just stares at him.

"Of course. Felix." She suddenly says and the brunette male moves to the girl.

"She didn't know what she was doing. We'll take responsibility for her. Give her a chance." Esme begs with Jane and the other members.

"The volturi don't give second chances. Keep that in mind. Caius will be interested to know that she's still human." Jane looks over to Bella. "The date is set." Bella spits out.

"Take care of that Felix. I'd like to go home." She ignores my sister.

The male does it and we all wince at the noises. "Thank you, Felix. Until next time." They all leave.

Later that day I sat in my room. On my bed more specifically. Alice and Jasper at the foot of it.

"Edward and Bella are engaged." I suddenly tell them with my lips pursed out stuck in thought.

"Mhm, that's huge. Are you excited for them?" Alice asks me and I nod. "Of course."

"Why are you bringing it up, darlin '?" Jasper asks with a small smirk on his lips.

"Oh no reason." I lay back in my bed. I hear them snicker at me. Joining me in laying on either side of me.

"Is there something you're hinting at?" Alice pokes my side. "I don't know, am I?" I stay strong with a stern straight facial expression.

"Well polyamory isn't exactly legal in most states." Jasper points out to me.

"Let's move to another country." I simply shrug my shoulders causing them both to laugh.

"We'll get married." Alice hums. "Someday."

"Why not now." I offer. "Are you proposing to us?" She asks and I raise a brow. "Mmm, why do I have to be the one to propose?" I huff.

"You brought it up." Jasper reminds me and I chuckle.

"Fair, fair." I kiss his lips then face Alice to do the same.

"Let's let them have their moment then right after steal their thunder." I exclaim, closing my eyes.

"Sounds fair to me, lovebug." Alice lays her head on my chest.

"Yeah, very smart, darlin." Jasper agrees.

Masterlist

A&J ML

Taglist: if you want to be added lmk!

@stevenandmarcslove

@steh-lar-uh-nuhs

@l3ejm

@kisekihany

@aureliacorvina

@marit332

@marsyay78

@small-town-wayward-daughter

@sugathy

@tallrock35

@azazel-nyx

@silas-aeiou

@xxeiraxx

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somewhere-at-the-burrow · 28 days

Note

Your blog is such a breath of fresh air. Experienced shifters have been deactivating their blogs left and right lately (mainly reasons relating to the tumblr community becoming too negative), the community is still mostly filled with people who are still learning so I hardly hear about successes (if ever), and when it comes to those who are successful, so few people share their experiences in such detail nowadays. Not that they have to of course. I do feel shifting is a personal and private thing and people are entitled to their privacy, but I can't tell you the last time I've seen someone share such specific, mundane details about their other lives. I just wanted to thank you so much for covering details so many people flat out don't get into when it comes to talking about their DRs. It really helps hammer it home that this is indeed real to those still questioning it.

thank you for the kind words.. it really means so much to me that people find solace in my stories and ramblings!

when I first shifted in 2020, I immediately knew I wanted to share my experiences and provide help, especially since many people were skeptical and discovering shifting. I used to share a lot of methods and stories over on tiktok, but I have to admit that I also thought the community got overwhelmingly negative with the rise of shiftok, and that lead to me leaving my account.

I instead told my family about shifting, and they were surprisingly supportive! it definitely took them a while to accept that this was something I do, but my family is pretty eclectic and they even had some experiences themselves! I know that is not common at all, but my mom loves to hear my stories and she knows about my old account / used to watch it. so, one day we were talking about my first shift to the burrow, and she said she thought it was a mistake that I left my account because my stories make me so passionate and she can see that!!

that is where this blog was born! I usually just use this to ramble about the random things, but I've heard that those are the most motivating and I have to agree. I always loved reading the little mundane details, and those helped me most on my journey to validate that this experience felt like real life.

if I can help any shifters, I will be so glad! shifting changed the direction of my life so much, and I can't ever imagine stopping bc it is so important to me! for now, I love to document as much as I can and use this blog as a personal journal, but one day I would love to maybe aid in research about shifting or write a book or something?? my mom always says that she would love to see me get a brain scan while I shift, but I dunno if that would actually do anything with it being consciousness and all! but I am so glad my passion is reflecting in my blog and you all enjoy it!!

I am open to try and answer any questions! this blog is also so motivating for me as well when I feel myself in a shifting slump, and answering these questions just makes my heart swell with happiness

thank you for sticking around! good luck shifting everyone!!

DAPHNE

#daphs ramblings #reality shifting #shiftblr #shifting #shifting blog #shifting community #desired reality #reality shifter #shifting ideas #shifting stories #reality shifting blog #realityshifting #harry potter shifting

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oneshotnewbie · 8 months

Note

heyy!!! i don’t mean to seem eager or like i’m spamming you, but i have a second request if that’s okay! if you’re comfortable, i’d like it to be an x child!reader unless you feel the need to change it to fit your idea of the story better, or whatever makes you comfortable, in which i don’t mind.

reader is Emily Prentiss’ daughter, who is around eight or so and reader is a little daredevil. like, she climbs on things and does these little stunts that scare emily half to death, so she’s always scolding her about it? maybe one day reader ends up doing one of her little stunts and gets hurt – nothing major, just a scraped knee or something, and emily cleans her up and explains why she can’t be doing things like that because it’s dangerous and she could get hurt again? reader tearfully agrees and promises not to do it again, or just something along these lines. i hope you keep your motivation, and are doing well, you’re a wonderful writer!

thanks!! - 🍄 anon

ᕚ---ᕘ

Emily sat on a wooden park bench in front of a small playground while the first warm rays of sunlight filtered through the leaves of the trees. The sounds of children playing in the background and the happy chirping of birds formed a harmonious melody. She breathed the scent of the first blooming flowers and freshly mown grass into her nose, watching you play on the climbing frame, fueled by a childlike energy that seemed limitless.

"Honey, please be careful! And don't even think of climbing the trees, love!" She shouted to you as she stressed trying to stay calm while reading a book.

You were a little daredevil with wild curls on your head, ignoring your mother's admonitions and deftly disappearing from her sight to climb a low branch of a nearby oak tree. Your mother sighed and shook her head uncomfortably, not understanding your indomitable need to explore the world. This made Emily particularly anxious, making her heart soar every time she walked outside with you.

"Y/n y/m/n Prentiss! If you don't get down there now, there will be no ice cream for the rest of the week!" She scolded, her voice laced with a hint of concern as she finally tossed the book back into her bag, deeming it pointless to even try to read the first page of it. Emily stood up with a sigh and walked over to you, who was already sitting on the branch, looking up triumphantly and giggling happily to herself. "Oh mom, I have everything under control. Look how high I am!"

"You may have everything under control, but I'm not so sure I have it," she stood on her toe-tips, leaning on the thick trunk of the tree and reaching for your small hand. "Please come down, you little daredevil, before I have a heart attack from being anxious."

You cleverly climbed down again, jumping the last few centimeters into the arms of your mother, who was holding her arms outstretched towards you. Your eyes were still shining with excitement as you sat on her hips and wrapped your hands around her neck. "Mom, look. I'll show you something else I can do."

You wriggled out of her arms and before your mother could say anything or continue to hold you, you began attempting a shaky handstand that you seemed to have copied from the older kids on the lawn a few meters away from the playground. Emily held her breath and didn't look away from you. You swayed menacingly and her fear increased as her mind turned to the worst possible outcomes that could happen if you couldn't keep your balance. But you managed to land on your feet again and beamed proudly at your mother.

"See, Mom. I said I could do it!" You announced happily, clapping your hands together in joy. The black-haired woman couldn't help it and sighed in relief. "Yes, yes. You are really brave, my little devil. But please do me a favor and be careful. I don't want you to get seriously injured and have to go to the doctor. You hate doctors."

You nodded seriously and understandingly before running off to go on the next adventure, banishing what your mother had said to the farthest corner of your brain. Emily shook her head with a smile and thought about how much courage and desire to explore you had and where it came from in the first place. Life was like an endless playing field for you, full of possibilities, and she couldn't deny that deep down she was proud to have such an adventurous daughter.

Worried, she sat back down on the bench and tried to read her new novel once more. You continued to rage around, your energy inexhaustible. And this time, your mother had no idea that the second half of your adventure would be different.

Only minutes later, she heard a surprised, long scream followed by sobbing noises and your voice calling loudly for her. Her maternal instincts kicked in and she quickly jumped up to see what had happened. You sat on the floor, your hands clutching a scraped knee. "Y/n! What happened?" She called out worriedly as she rushed over to you.

"I fell off the wall, mom. It hurts so much!" you sobbed and she immediately knelt next to you in the sandbank to carefully examine the scraped area. Her slightly cold fingers ghosted over your injured skin and as she tried to blow the scratchy sand out of the wound, you began to cry. "Oh dear, that looks really painful. But don't worry, mommy will take care of it."

Emily stood up from her crouch and lifted you back up onto her hip. Your tearful, wet face buried itself in the black-haired girl's shoulder while your hands wrapped tightly around her neck and didn't want to let go. With you, she walked back to her seat and carefully sat down with you on her lap.

She quickly rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a disinfectant spray, zinc ointment and a plaster. As she carefully cleaned and treated your knee, she couldn't help but quietly explain to you how important it was to be careful. "You know how much I love you. Right? That's why you really need to be more careful. These small but dangerous adventures could seriously hurt you. You could hurt yourself more than you can imagine."

With tears in your eyes gently falling down your cheek, you looked up at her, simultaneously playing with a lost strand of her hair that strayed in front of your face. "But it's so much fun. I just wanted to see if I could climb it."

Emily let out a sigh as she carefully stuck the band-aid in place. "I understand it's fun, darling. But safety always comes first. You can have other fun without getting hurt. Mommy is very worried about you."

You lowered your head, rubbing your dirty and grimy hand at your eyes to wipe away the usual tears that remained. A feeling of regret washed over you. "I'm sorry. I promise I won't do it again and if I do, I'll call you so you can hold me."

Emily gently stroked your hair and smiled comfortingly before placing a big kiss on your forehead. "This is my brave little adventurer. I know you're learning and understanding. Sometimes we just need to protect ourselves from ourselves. And since you can't do that yet, I'll do it for you."

You nodded and got up from her lap. She straightened your shirt and pants after the fall, patting them a few times to remove the dust from the sand from you before you took her hand and pulled her to the slide, where she was supposed to slide and swing with you for a few laps.

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agendabymooner · 1 year

Text

she's beauty, she's grace ! sergio 'checo' p. x ofc (miss philippines!ofc)

summary: the red bull driver sergio perez has married a long-time fan - who also happened to be the miss universe 2018 winner AND the mother to his two kids, carmella 'mella' ayala.

content warning: possible use of explicit language, established relationship, miss universe!ofc, fluff, dad!checo and mom!ofc, mentions checo and his proud bf moment, video clips + tweets and posts, what is proper grammar, mentions of characters from jenson button x ofc work and seb vettel x ofc piece (no storyline involved)

note: i used this face claim because i was one of those people that were screaming "PHILIPPINES" at the tv hoping that catriona gray would win. don't ask me why i made a checo one. there's something about that man that had my internals screaming for a moment so i've been at this thing for HOURS. i should probably update my masterlist soon before i start packing my shit and going 😭🤠 enjoy xx

masterlist

MISS U(niverse), CHECO ❤️ | MELLA TALKS ABOUT BEING CELEBRATED IN MEXICO BY HER BOYFRIEND'S FAMILY | CARMELLA AYALA HOMECOMING 2019 w/ VICE GANDA by abscbn

HOST: VICE (GANDA) GUEST: CARMELLA AYALA

[translation: mi rana pequeño = my little frog]

tagged schecoperez

liked by carlossainzjr, danielricciardo, christianhorner

user1 my little frog 😭

user2 WHICH ONE IS A HARRIE?!

carmayalaprz bitzy but he's at the hotel rn 😅 he's taking a break from chiquito

user2 even froggys need a break too 😩🙌

schecoperez what do you mean mr. bitzy's at the hotel 🧐

carmayalaprz what do you mean by that love? 😄😊

schecoperez 😊

maxverstappen1 uh oh. i wouldn't play this game with carma if i were you checo 🤔

redbullracing i agree with max on this one

christianhorner i don't really mind being introduced to bopit and bitzy every time 😕 liked by carmayalaprz

carmayalaprz i hope gp's the same because there's gonna be a lot of that soon 😅

danielricciardo how much plushies does he have for the trip rn?

carmayalaprz without cece's? about seven. apparently the whole pack either come or be left at home but we all know the chances of one being left alone in the cold dark place

danielricciardo i can barely imagine ribb being left alone at home- can you just imagine that poor frog crying for his friend?

carmayalaprz i can never 😔

tagged schecoperez, artsforyouth, artsforkids

liked by charles_leclerc, lewishamilton, adaabbott

adaabbott ah yes! the efficient cardboard crafting camp! my favourite activities yet! liked by carmayalaprz

carmayalaprz i had my biggest proud wife and mom moment just watching serg and silas make those houses 🥰

adaabbott haha! i can imagine! poppet and jens definitely tried their best working together!

user1 silas and sergio perez are the most iconic duo since sebastian and michael 😍

user2 i love how hands-on you and checo are when it comes to your little ones!

carmayalaprz thank you so much! us parents are trying despite the busy schedules, you know? 💖

danielricciardo i hope you guys brought earplugs. god knows how much of a screamer silas is 😭

schecoperez daniel for the last time he didn't intentionally try to break your eardrums 🤠

carmayalaprz try babysitting them, you'll get used to it eventually

danielricciardo maybe next time, yes?

user3 danny would probably add more to the noise if anything ngl 😭

schecoperez am i ever glad to take your and silas' attentions away from the stupid frogs 😄 liked by carmayalaprz

carmayalaprz don't say that about those frogs 🤠 i was shedding blood and tears swiping my card after passing by that store

schecoperez maybe next time let's not go to a mall with a build a bear store 🤔

carmayalaprz i agree. we might have pavlov'd our son with the build-a-bear stores we come across to

maxverstappen1 so i should return the froggy i bought him then...?

redbullracing you know the right answer to that max.

the perez kids

silas milo ayala perez

cecilia morgana ayala perez

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the-copycat-hero · 10 days

Note

In my mind, Monoma knows how to pickpocket, do sleight of hand, roll a coin across his knuckles, all that good stuff :D I also hc him to have voluntary nystagmus. No particular reason, I just 100% think Monoma would use that skill to freak people out

Also I hc him to be friends with Hatsume Mei. Each time he visits he brings a whole packet of papers, diagrams, analytics of quirks and how they relate to their costumes, and Mei def eats it up EVERY TIME. She also has him try quirks she needs for the equipment whenever possible. They’re smart kids :>

What do you like seeing most in monoma fics/fan work and what do you want to see more of? Any relationships (romance or gen) you like? Also I’m very curious about the Monoma family 👀 Clearly they don’t seem to keep in touch. What does Monoma say when he’s asked about them? Is it something he keeps under wraps or are most of his friends aware

!!!!!!! Big Brain Takes! Massive!

sleight of hand (and other assorted part trick) Monoma is near and dear to my heart, and i could definitely see him being able to do Some Sorta Nonsense with his body like voluntarily vibrate his eyes. i could see him being double jointed, too. (he is a Bendy Boy.)

ALSO the fact that Monoma and Hatsume never interacted in any meaningful way will haunt me until i die. they are so smart, and they are such freaks (/pos). their aura would have been so powerful. maybe too powerful? i guess Hori had to nerf them somehow.

as far as fanworks go, i am a massive fan of any fic that has Monoma showcasing his quirk. (for example, Learning Curve has a fantastic scene with a training exercise/mock battle that i frequently go back to because it is So Peak to me.)

as far as things i'd like to see more of, i'd kill for more introspective pieces of Monoma learning how to adjust after the war. (let me see him talk to Bakugo, who he watched die! let me see him talk to Aizawa, who tried to protect him!!!) i'm hoping some more of that will come with time as the anime draws closer to the end, but i suppose we shall see.

romance-wise, i'm big on Monoshin and have been since season 2. the fact that it used to be a rarepair floors me. (really played the long game on that one). that being said, i could honestly read about Monoma with almost any other student, his personality is just that much fun to me. apart from Monoshin, i've been seeing quite a bit of Timebomb and Monoma/Pony on my timeline, and i find both so incredibly charming.

platonically: Kendo. Shinsou. Tokage. Mei. Honenuki. Bakugo (especially after the war). ERI. Vlad and/or Aizawa. slap Monoma in an interaction with any of them and i am Locked In.

FINALLY, the Monoma family. (man, the Monoma family.) @smallvictorianchildwhofoundwifi and i have constructed pages upon pages of lore for these human disasters, but i'll try to keep it brief:

Monoma's dad (still need a name) - only ever agreed to have a child in the first place because his side of the family was pressing for it. resents Neito for reasons that i'll probably dig into later - but as long as Neito isn't actively making a mockery of the family name, his dad really can't be bothered to think about him.

Monoma's mom (Hiromi) [PRE WAR] - had Neito when she was young (around 21 years old) because, again, her husband's side of the family was insistent. she adored him at first sight; however, she has had to make a lot of changes to appease her husband's side of the family over the years, and it has turned her into a harsher, colder person overall. every once and a while, she'll be struck with fondness for her son, but it never lasts for long before she goes back to being made of ice. maybe also unconsciously resents Neito some for marking the end of her old life.

Hiromi (cont) [Post-War] - determined to reconnect with her son after almost losing him in the final battle. has made so many mistakes that it seems impossible, but Neito got his tenacity from someone, and it certainly wasn't his father.

Monoma's class knows next to nothing about his family. even Kendo, who has known Monoma for a long while, has precious little information to go off of.

some of the girls in Monoma's class stumble across a picture of Monoma's mother from one of her last modeling shoots, but when they ask him about her, Monoma just tells them that he has his mother to thank for his dashing good looks and leaves it at that. Ittaka - Monoma's old caretaker (and pseudo-older sister) - comes to visit him once, and his classmates briefly think that his real mother must have died until Kendo corrects them (because she may not know much about the Monomas, but she knows that they are all still kicking). but that's about all they've got.

tldr; trying to wrangle a straight answer out of Monoma regarding his family is impossible.

#going to leave it at that but i could talk about the monoma family for one billion asks #thank u for allowing me to ramble :')#hcs #monoma neito #tagging for my own blog sorry to anyone scrolling the character tag

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crazyunsexycool · 1 year

Text

My little love

Chapter 20

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Word count: 9.4K (how did this happen?”

Warnings: angst, a little bit of fluff, physical attack toward a child, mentions of cuts and bruises (nothing graphic), reader’s mom, cursing, protective Bucky, Steve being Steve

A/N: I am both so excited and slightly sorry for this! Don’t hate me but we see the reader’s family for the first time and learn why she isn’t close to any of them except for Ed!

Series Masterlist

Ch. 19

The first few days back home were a big adjustment. There were no more early mornings to take Henry to a lab. No afternoon strolls to play with goats or explore a place you’ve never been too. Everyone was happy though. The old family routine was back in place with the exception of watching over Lottie more than necessary in case of a vision. Henry did start having a few more nightmares as he remembered some of the things hydra had him do but Bucky was there every single night to help him.

The most exciting part about being back home is being able to plan Charlotte’s fourth birthday party. You and Bucky had decided to keep it small, just the team. Through the week and a half leading up to it you had to remind Tony multiple times that there would be no huge parties. He would pout but agree nonetheless. Still you suspected that he was up to something.

The theme you decided on you found while late night scrolling through Pinterest. When you showed Bucky the idea he agreed immediately while he laughed. The party would be four-nado themed. It was more as a joke for the adults than anything else. Since Charlotte was a force to be reckoned with. No one in her path was safe, she could melt hearts with a smile and wrap anyone around her little finger with her sweet personality.

Now Lottie wasn’t really sure what was going on; she was just happy to help decorate. With the team done for the day with mission debriefs and paperwork everyone gathered at one of the shared living spaces. The birthday girl wore a shirt that said four-nado, a cute skirt and pigtails. While you had shirts for you, Bucky and Henry that said storm chaser. The only person you were waiting on was Steve. After he finally got back to you saying he was just a few minutes away the small party had started. Just like he said he was in the living room a few minutes later.

“Steebie!” Charlotte ran and jumped into his arms as if she hadn’t seen him in years.

“Here’s my best girl.”

“What the hell took you so long?” You asked.

“Well-“ he scratched the back of his neck as he blushed. “I have a bit of a surprise.”

“What did you do?”

“Who? is the better question.” Clint said with a smirk from his place on the couch.

“Steve?”

“I’d like you to meet someone.”

You narrowed your eyes at him as he turned and waved someone in. She was tall and slender. Long strawberry blonde hair and fair skin.

“Everyone, this is Julie. Julie this is well… everyone. This is Charlotte, my best girl, and it’s her birthday. These are her parents and my closest friends Bucky and Y/N.”

“Best girl?” She sounded annoyed or maybe bothered by the term. “Sometimes I forget you’re so old.” She turns to you now. “It’s uh- nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Really? We haven’t heard a word about you.” Steve gives Bucky a light hearted glare.

The whole team was surprised. Never in all of the years since knowing Steve had you even heard him talk about a date. Now he was here bringing some random woman to your daughter’s birthday party. You and Bucky looked at each other with the same displeasure on your faces. Unfortunately for Steve and everyone else in the room Lottie was the first to state her dislike of this new person.

“Don’t wike it. Bad Steebie.” Lottie said as she began to cry and reach out for anyone who would take her. That was an immediate red flag. Lottie likes everyone and is open to meeting new people. So her trying to get away from someone she had never met before made you feel uneasy. “Don’t wike it.” She said again as she pointed at Julie.

Bucky moved away from a very confused Steve and his date. Lottie continued to cry until Bucky just left the room.

“Is that why it’s a tornado theme? She seems like a handful. I’d just have a nanny if it were me.” Julie tried to joke but it fell flat.

Steve looked at you like a lost puppy unsure of what to do. Should he leave with Julie or stay and wait until Charlotte calmed down?

“Let me go make sure she’s ok. Don’t go anywhere. Come on Henry.”

Steve motioned for Julie to sit while you left to find Bucky. He introduced the rest of the team. The others, Nat and Clint especially, kept their eyes on the stranger.

“So how did you two meet?” Tony broke the silence. He was already running a background check on her.

“He was leaving the art shop just as I was leaving the bookshop in town. We ran into each other. Then Steve invited me for coffee.”

“Really? You must be really special to get the attention of our very dear Captain.”

“Tony.” Steve throws a warning glance his way.

“Oh come on old man I’m just teasing.”

“How long have you been seeing each other?” Sam asked, equally as surprised that his friend hadn’t mentioned anything.

“About a month already.”

The silence was deafening and Steve felt like an idiot for bringing Julie to the party. It wasn’t helping that everyone kept looking from him to Julie and back. Worst of all Charlotte was upset on her birthday.

****

You and Bucky walk back out with Charlotte holding both of your hands and Henry at Bucky’s side.

“Alright, she’s calmed down enough. Why don’t we sit so that we can have dinner.”

Everyone moved from the living room to the dining room. Nat and Clint sat side by side, whispering amongst themselves and bringing Wanda into it when she sat next to Clint. Everyone else took their usual spots with Lottie being right in the middle with you on one side, Henry on the other and Bucky next to Henry. Unfortunately that means that Steve and his date were right across from the four of you. At first the only thing that could be heard was the plates being passed along the table and the cutlery against the plates. It wasn’t until Henry made Charlotte giggle that the tension in the room eased up a bit. You gave Steve a small smile but he just looked upset.

The dinner goes better than expected, with Lottie only glaring in Julie’s direction once in a while. Wanda was kind enough to bring the cake out and everyone sang happy birthday to Lottie which made her giggle. She blew out the candles perfectly. Bucky sat with her days in advance to make sure she did it right. After cake and pictures everyone went back to the living room. The mood was lighter and the party games you prepared were being played.

Gifts were being given to Charlotte. Putting aside the issue with Steve’s date it was obvious the birthday girl was having the time of her life. She was currently pulling a baby doll out of a box.

“So pwetty.” She says as she examines it carefully. Then Lottie runs to Sam and gives him a hug. “Tank you, Sammie.” Lottie says with a bright smile.

“You are welcome, sweet Angel.”

You hear a small scoff coming from Julie and you turn to look at her. She averts her eyes when she notices you looking at her and tries to mask her irritation but it wasn’t working. You wanted her gone but you also felt bad for Steve. Turning back to Charlotte you watched her open another gift with Bucky’s help. Then she ran to Bruce to hug and thank him.

“I’ll be right back, I forgot her gift.” Steve says and quickly walks out of the living room.

“Mama, look.” Lottie holds up another gift and smiles.

You grab your camera and start snapping pictures. Henry sits with Nat as he watches his sister play. He’s laughing at something she’s said. Everyone is starting to relax and joke even more so no one notices Julie slip away and leave in the same direction Steve had.

After all the gifts were opened and Lottie had thanked everyone individually. The team begins to joke around and use Charlotte’s new toys. Tony goes off on a rant pointing out design flaws and that he could make better toys. You and Bucky take a moment to pick up the wrapping paper and go throw it out. No one noticed Charlotte walking away in search of Steve.

****

“Steebie?” Charlotte called out as she wandered through the empty hallway. There was no fear in Lottie as she went further into the apartment section of the compound. She had been back and forth multiple times and knew her way around. “Steebie.” She called out again this time a bit louder. Lottie was a girl on a mission to find her favorite person.

Lottie’s hand glided over the glass walls as she went further down the hallway. The only place on her mind was Steve’s apartment, which was up one floor. Lottie ran when she saw the elevators and pushed the button, happily waiting for the doors to open. When they do she’s face to face with the one person she’d be happy to never see again, Julie.

“Oh for fucks sake.” She looks down at Charlotte and rolls her eyes.

“Don’t wike.”

“Too bad.”

Julie walks out of the elevator forcing Lottie to back up. She tilts her head back all the way to be able to look up at the stranger.

She starts to look around panicking. “Mama.” She calls out as the vision she had in Wakanda starts to turn into a reality. Lottie is very much aware of what’s going to happen next.

“Mama,” Julie mocks Lottie as she calls for you. She could see the fear in Lottie’s eyes and she just smiled. “You are such a spoiled little brat.”

“Dada. Steebie.”

“I’ll make sure Steve stays far away from you.” Julie crouches so that she is eye level with Lottie and grabs her face, her nails digging into Lottie’s cheeks. “Steve doesn’t even love you.”

“Am Steebie’s best girl.” Charlotte says after pulling away. She pushes Julie and with her strength she manages to not only make her lose balance but to be thrown across the small space and against the wall. Lottie makes a run for the hallway she just walked through but Julie gets in her way.

“I’m going to teach you a lesson on respecting people.”

*****

“Where’s Charlotte?” You asked the moment you walked back into the living room. “And where’s Julie?”

You didn’t even wait for a response as you moved to go look for Lottie. Bucky right behind you and the others went to search in different areas.

“Friday, where is Charlotte?”

“She is by the elevators Sergeant Barnes.”

You run down the hallway and as you turn the corner you’re horrified by the scene unfolding in front of you.

“Come here you fucking brat.” Julie says as she moves towards Charlotte and grabs her arm harshly. Lottie screams in pain and grabs at the hand grabbing her.

“Let her go before I end you.”

Julie spins around at the sound of your voice. She did it so quickly and with such force that she pulled Charlotte with her and straight into one of the glass walls. The impact causes it to shatter and you see red.

Bucky asks Friday to get everyone here while he runs towards Charlotte to get her out of the broken glass. The cries of your daughter only spur you on as you pin Julie against the wall.

“Are you fucking stupid?”

“She’s a brat, she pushed me into the wall with her freaky strength.”

“She’s a child and you’re fucking dumb for even thinking about putting your hands on her.” You say as you pull back and connect your first with her face.

One punch is all you managed to get before you’re pulled away. It doesn’t stop you from trying to grab her again and teach her a lesson for even looking at your sweet Angel wrong.

“Y/N, you have to calm down, Charlotte needs you.” Steve says as he pulls you further back.

“Get this bitch out of here.”

“I’m going to sue you and I’m going to take everything from you.”

“Yeah, good luck with that. I’ve already found all of your dirty little secrets and my lawyers can bury you in paperwork for the rest of your life.” Tony spits back.

“Get her out of here now!”

Nat moves to grab Julie’s arm and pulls her toward the elevator. Julie tries to get away from Nat and grab at you.

“You stupid bitch.”

Nat yanks her back and pulls her into the elevator.

“No, you Bitch.” Charlotte screams back in your defense between tears before the elevator door closes.

Everything was out of control. Charlotte’s birthday was ruined, she had been hurt, you were beyond angry and everyone was unsure of what to do next.

“Come here sweet Angel, let mama fix you up. Come on Henry.” You said as you took her from Bucky and left.

Steve’s heart was beating wildly out of his chest. He wanted to follow you just to make sure Lottie was ok. As soon as he took his first step Bucky stopped him and shook his head.

“I just want to make sure she’s ok.”

“She went through glass Steve of course she’s not ok. Just wait until I call you. Maybe make sure that crazy bitch is actually gone.” Bucky says before leaving.

Everyone starts to slowly and quietly leave while Steve just stands there unsure of what to do. His phone rings, breaking him out of the unfocused haze he was in.

“What do you want?” His tone was cold and full of anger.

“Your friend broke my nose. Aren’t you going to do anything about it?” Julie whined over the phone.

“I did do something. I got her off of you before she did more damage. You’re welcome.”

“She can’t go around hitting people. And your other friend threatened to make me disappear just because of what happened with the kid.”

“You hurt her daughter, what do you think she was going to do? Let you do it? Lose my number.” Steve snaps at her, deciding to ignore the comment about Nat.

“You’re breaking up with me because of a brat? Are you serious?”

“I’m breaking up with you because you showed me your true colors today. And she isn’t a brat, she’s a sweet kid.” He hangs up the phone and crushes it in his hands as it begins to ring again.

The elevator doors open and Nat walks back out as if nothing had happened. She pats his shoulder as she walks by him.

“I’ll go make sure Lottie’s ok and I’ll let you know. Why don’t you go up to your apartment?”

“Nat…” Steve’s eyes watered, he was overwhelmed with the whole situation. Never in his life did he think something like this could happen. Especially to Charlotte and because of him. Nat pulls him into a hug and he’s grateful but he wishes it was you or Bucky. He wanted to know neither of you were angry with him.

“Go, I promise to find you as soon as I know.”

Steve nods and turns towards the elevators. Shoulders slumped and head hanging low.

“It’s ok my sweet Angel, you’re safe. I just need to clean you up.” You murmured as you comforted a still crying Charlotte.

Your blood was boiling as you looked down at the cuts and bruises all over her face and arms. It was probably going to be a long night since she didn’t like the medbay but it was necessary.

“Henry, could you help me with your sister?”

He had watched everything happen since he followed you and Bucky. Currently he was shifting in and out of a translucent form. That only happened when he was overwhelmed emotionally.

“Are you going to hurt her because of what happened?”

“Of course not honey, she didn’t do anything wrong. I’m going to clean these because if I don’t then she can get sick and we don’t want that. But I need you to sit with her because she isn’t going to like it.”

With a pout of his own Henry gets up on the hospital bed. Following your instructions to sit back and hold his sister in his lap.

“Now Charlotte I have to clean all of these ok? It’s going to hurt a little but mama isn’t doing it on purpose. I don’t want to hurt you, ok?”

“Ok.” She says through stuttered breath.

Just as you put on a glove Bucky walks in. In his posture alone you can see he’s furious. It doesn’t help that he’s pacing back and forth and for a moment you remember his days as the winter soldier.

“Bucky,” you try to get his attention. “James.” His eyes snap to yours. “I need you to calm down or get out.”

“Aren’t you angry?”

“Extremely. But you’re scaring the kids and I can’t have that in here right at this moment.”

Bucky immediately softens his expression as he looks towards his babies. He walks over and sits at the other side of the bed.

“What do you need me to do?”

“Just be here with us.” You say as you begin to numb the areas that have small shards of glass.

Then your attention went to cleaning up the other cuts. They were small enough that they’d be gone in a few hours. Henry asks a thousand questions about what you’re doing which helps him stay distracted. After some crying, promises of more cake and a sleepover you got Lottie all patched up. Henry holds her hand as they walk out of the room followed by you and then Bucky.

“There’s the birthday girl.” Sam said.

The rest of the team cheered as Lottie and Henry got closer to the waiting room. Lottie looks around the room and pouts but walks toward Nat.

“Uppies?” She asks quietly and Nat picks her up happily.

“That was intense.” Bruce speaks up.

“Yeah, she’s gone right?”

“She’s gone.”

“She was insane. I mean how do you willingly hurt a kid like that?” Sam chimes in.

“Is bitch.” Lottie added and the talking ceased. Immediately the team starts to snicker and Lottie smiles.

“Don’t laugh. Lottie you can’t say that word, it’s a bad word.”

“Mama say it.” She points out as she looks at her father.

“Yeah but mama is a grown up and she shouldn’t have said it either.” Bucky tells his daughter.

“Sammie say it. And Buce say it. And to-“

“Ok kid that's enough. Maybe we can teach you that you don’t snitch on your uncles.” Tony cuts her off.

“Ok, this birthday has gotten out of hand. Let’s just call it a night and be thankful that that evil woman is out of our lives.”

“Bitch is bye bye?”

“Charlotte Elise Barnes.”

“What dada?” She smiles up at him and he can’t help but smile back.

“Don’t say that word anymore.”

“Kay. Can habe sleepover?”

“Yes we can, my sweet Angel. Say goodnight to everyone.” You take her from Nat before muttering. “I can’t believe her birthday was ruined.”

“Isn’t it a great thing that I planned a birthday bash for her on Saturday then?”

“I’m sorry what?”

“Saturday, birthday bash for our sweet Angel here. She deserves it. It’s going to be a pool party. I have everything handled and I even got the kiddo a new bathing suit.” Tony smiled once he finished talking.

“You know what, it’s fine with me. She deserves a do over.”

“Great because I already received the rsvps so it would have been very awkward.”

“Who is coming to this?”

“The Bartons, the Wilsons, and any agent that has kids.”

“Ok. We are leaving now.” You say and walk away to head up to your apartment.

After some quick showers and changing into fresh and warm pajamas the four of you had piled onto your bed. While trying to make up for the disastrous birthday party you let Lottie pick a movie to watch. Beauty and the Beast specifically, what a surprise. She fell asleep first, then Henry and surprisingly Bucky. You however could not even close your eyes as you stared at the ceiling.

There was one thing you had to do before you could even consider sleeping. With your attention on keeping Charlotte safe and then cleaning up her wounds you hadn’t stopped to think about Steve. Knowing how much he loved the kids, the guilt must be gnawing at him. You look over at the three sleeping forms, Henry laying on top of his father and Lottie tucked into his side, you get out of bed quietly and head to the only place Steve could possibly be.

****

You’ve heard it countless times, the sound of a punching bag ripping was unmistakable now. It was a sound that was burned into your brain from every time you’d found Steve in a gym. Late night sessions only meant one thing, he was sliding deep into a dark corner of his mind with feelings he didn’t know to express. You waited patiently at one of the benches as he hooked up another bag. His movements stopped before he began his assault on the bag again. Steve reluctantly takes the empty space beside you, the silence and the tension is awkward between you. You look over his features and know he’s already punishing himself more than necessary.

“So that was fucking wild.” You murmured. “Would you have visited me in prison if I killed her?”

“No.”

You look up at him surprised.

“I’d be planning your escape.”

You smile but he looks defeated. Still you wait patiently. After years of friendship you learned that Steve will talk about his emotions when he’s ready. There was no need to push.

“How is she? Is she ok? Was there any serious injury?”

“She’s fine, asleep. Most of the cuts are already gone.” You assured Steve and patted his back.

“How did Julie even get her in that hallway?”

“Yeah about that. You aren’t going to like the answer.”

Steve finally looks at you. His expression was a mixture of guilt and sadness.

“What is it?”

“Charlotte was at the elevators because she was looking for you. I saw the surveillance footage. Julie walked out of the elevator and cornered her. Told her some very untrue things and then Bucky and I showed up.” You sigh as you remember the footage. “Lottie was scared and she called out for us and then she called out for you.”

“I am so sorry.” He said, slumping forward and leaning his forearms on his thighs. “I was so stupid thinking she would be good for me. She was so sweet when we first met.”

“Steve, you didn’t do anything wrong, except maybe not tell me you were dating someone. Why didn’t you?”

“I didn’t want to take attention away from everything going on with the kids while you were in Wakanda. I thought by bringing her to the party she could see what my life was like and she could see who matters the most to me.”

“Steve, I’ll always have time for you. I couldn’t even go to bed because I knew you were upset. Now I know something else is bothering you, what is it?”

“I feel like I’m falling behind.” He admits and in moments like this you’re very grateful that your friendship has progressed enough that neither of you had to dance around your feelings. “Remember that conversation we had when we worked at Shield? About dating and wanting a family?”

It took you a moment but you remembered.

“Yeah. What about it?”

“I wasn’t ready then, I thought I was ready now. But I was wrong, so fucking wrong. I let my want of starting a family cloud my judgment. She isn’t a great person to begin with and now knowing I can’t even protect a child from getting hurt because of me… Lottie probably hates me and the worst was she tried to warn me.”

“Well, do you know what the best part about having kids is?”

Steve just shakes his head.

“They tend to forgive easily, especially those they love. And if there’s one thing everyone knows is that that little girl loves you so much.” You say as you look from him to the door.

He turns his head just in time to watch Charlotte walk in. She wore her princess pajamas and was holding on to her pink teddy bear. Still sleepy and hair a mess she slowly got closer to the pair of you until she stood in front of you with a silent demand to be picked up. You turned her to face Steve. He was even more of a mess now that he could see the bruises and the few cuts that were still in place.

“What are you doing up and wandering around by yourself?”

“Wanted mama.”

You hum as you play with Lottie’s hair. Her focus though was on Steve, she looked almost sad as she stared at him.

“Are you ok sweetheart?” He asked after a moment. Lottie sighed at the question.

“Am steebie’s best girl?”

The question was asked shyly and with much more apprehension than a four year old should possess. The same question was enough to bring a super soldier that has seen enough war to last various lifetimes to his knees.

“Of course you’re my best girl. You always will be. No matter what anyone else says.” Steve takes Charlotte from you and brings her into a gentle hug. When he pulls back, Steve looks down at her. “I’m so sorry Charlotte.”

“Steebie is good. Lobe Steebie. No wike…”

“Don’t like what, sweet Angel?”

Charlotte looks at Steve and back at you and sighs before she whispers. “Bitch.”

Steve’s eyes go wide and you cover your mouth to hide the smile.

“Charlotte, your father said not to say that word.”

She looked around the empty gym and back at you before she shrugged. “Dada seeping.”

Steve laughs for the first time since he showed up for the party.

“Don’t laugh, she’ll think it’s ok to say it.”

“I’m sorry.” Steve shook his head before placing a kiss on Lottie’s forehead. “I love you too, sweetheart.”

Lottie yawns and blinks slowly up at Steve with a sleepy and sweet smile.

“I think we should get to bed.”

“Yeah.”

“Steve

“Yeah?” He says as he gives Charlotte back to you.

You deserve all of the happiness in the world. You’ll find your person when the time is right and then you’ll have everything you ever wanted.”

“If I could get just a fraction of what you and Bucky have, I’d be happy.”

“You’ll have a love that rivals ours.” You smile at him. “Now come on, you need your rest too. By the way, did you know Tony was throwing a birthday bash on Saturday for Lottie?”

He gives you a sheepish smile as you get into the elevator. You just shake your head.

“You should be happy that you’re my best friend.”

“Trust me I am. I never want to be on the other side of your protective mama bear side.”

“Good. Now I’m gonna get her to bed. Goodnight Steve and do me a favor.”

“Anything.”

“Don’t blame yourself for any of this, I know she doesn’t.”

“I’ll try. Goodnight.”

****

You walk back into the bedroom to find Henry and Bucky just as you left them, or so you thought. The moment you lay down with Charlotte tucked into your side Bucky turns his head toward you.

“How is he?”

“Better now, I hope. You know how he is. He blamed himself for what happened.” You whispered.

“I’m guessing seeing Lottie also helped him.”

“Yup, I’m surprised you didn’t freak out when she wasn’t in bed.”

“I asked Friday, she told me Lottie was heading your way. Was she ok seeing Steve?”

“Yeah, you know she’d kick us to the curve if it meant spending time with him.”

He chuckles at that before finding your hand and intertwining his fingers with yours.

“You were amazing today. With everything, not just the incident. I love you.”

“I love you more.”

Saturday rolled around faster than you would have liked. But the day was bright and hot, perfect for a pool party. Or in this case a water park because you should have known better than to assume a pool party for Tony was just using the pool. He had rented out as many inflatable water slides, bounce houses, ball pits, smaller pools and anything else water related he could. Game booths were set up to one side, a DJ was already playing songs. There were water guns and water balloon stations everywhere as well as towels for everyone. Tony had even gone as far as having extra swimsuits available for those who needed them. There were all kinds of food trucks and to top it all off a smaller version of the petting zoo he’d brought last time. The most important part of it though was the goat pen. All of the goats had on a version of the team's suits. It was ridiculous but you knew Lottie would love it.

The team stood to the side watching the birthday bash come to life as the guest walked from the parking lot to the entrance of the party.

You redid Henry’s messy little man bun to make sure he didn’t have to worry about getting his long hair in his face. Bucky was holding onto Charlotte who wore the bathing suit Tony got for her. A one piece bathing suit that looked like Belle’s yellow dress. Her hair was up in pigtails and she wore a sash that said birthday girl on it. She even had yellow water shoes to complete the look.

“Are you ready to have fun at your birthday party?” Tony asked Lottie.

“Is mine?” Lottie asked, wonderstruck at everything that was laid out before her.

“Of course it’s for you.”

“So nice. Tank you Tony.” She reached out for him to take her and her arms wrapped around his neck. “Lobe Tony.”

“Well I love you right back kiddo. Now how about we go have fun.”

“Habe fun.” Lottie claps in excitement and she’s whisked away by Tony, the rest of the team following close behind. Even Henry left you and Bucky behind as he ran alongside Steve.

Bucky takes your hand and you both take your time walking towards the festivities. As soon as you do though a water balloon hits Bucky straight in the chest followed by Henry’s giggles.

“Go get ‘em babe.” You say and let go of his hand. Bucky walks away slowly, it should be more intimidating but Henry just laughs before disappearing.

“Oh it’s so on.”

You look around to find Tony still had Lottie with him so you turn and find Wanda and Nat sitting back and tanning. They waved you over so you take the seat beside Wanda and the three of you just start catching up on everything you’ve missed the last three weeks.

****

You’re currently finishing up some ice cream with Bucky and the kids, sitting at one of the picnic tables in the shade when a security guard finds you. He’s polite and apologetic when he stops by the table.

“Ma’am I’m sorry to bother you but you’re needed at the entrance.” He smiles at you.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, your father is here and he asked if you could meet him there first.”

“Oh, thank you. Make sure you get some ice cream before you head back, it’s hot out.”

“I’m on duty ma’am but thank you.”

“If someone says something you send them my way.” You smile at him before turning to Bucky. “I’ll be right back.”

You head out towards the makeshift parking lot excited to see your dad after almost two months. This was all that was missing for the day to be perfect and you knew Lottie would be excited to see her grandpa. The smile you had on your face vanishes as you lay your eyes on your father. Standing beside him is your mother and your three siblings. You notice by his body language alone that your dad is pissed as he argues with you mother.

“Dad, is everything ok?” You ask once you stop in front of them. They all turn to face you.

“Hey Kitten.” He walks closer and pulls you into a hug. “I’m so sorry about this. I had no idea they were coming.”

“It’s ok.”

“Y/N, you can’t say hello to the rest of your family.”

“Hello mother. Hello everyone else.”

Beside your mother there was your older brother with his wife and daughter who was just a year older than Charlotte and your younger siblings. They were fraternal twins, one boy and one girl.

“What are you all doing here?”

Your mother scoffs. “You’ve never even invited us to your home and that is how you’re going to greet us?”

“Well no one other than dad has ever cared about me so why should I invite you here?”

“You are so dramatic Y/N. Our lives don’t revolve around you.”

“Loraine, don’t start.” Your father warned.

“Look, it’s my daughter’s birthday and if this is how you’re going to behave then you can leave right now because I won’t let you ruin this for her.”

“We just got the invitation, if you want us to go we will.” Luke, your older brother offered. You looked at him and then at his daughter who seemed excited to be there.

“Gwandpa!”

Lottie’s excited squeal came from the entrance to the festivities. As you turned you saw a yellow dot running full force towards you. Just behind her was Bucky and Henry. Your dad takes one knee and opens his arms to embrace Lottie. He’s almost knocked back with the force she slams into him and she giggles.

“There’s my princess. Happy birthday Charlotte.” Your dad pulled back to take a good look at her. “You’ve grown up so much and look at your hair.” He pulled lightly at one of the pigtails causing Lottie to giggle.

“Am big gwandpa. Am dis many.”

She holds up four little fingers to show him how old she is.

“That is a big girl, do big girls like presents.”

“Lobe pwesents.” She giggles again just as Bucky stopped beside you.

“Help an old man up Buck.”

“Sure thing Ed.” Bucky gives him a hand and pulls him up. Your dad excuses himself quickly to go back to his car.

“This is Bucky my boyfriend, Bucky this is my family. This is my mother Lorraine, my older brother Luke, his wife Molly and their daughter Olivia. And these are the twins Josh and Sofia.” You announce before looking down at the kids. “And these are our kids Henry and Charlotte.”

Your dad gets back just as you’re done with the introductions. There’s a bit of an awkward silence before your mother breaks it.

“They look nothing like you.”

You take a deep breath before answering. “If you plan on doing anything to ruin this party I will personally kick you out and smile while doing it. I don’t even know why you’re here but for the sake of my children I’m not going to cause a scene.”

You feel a little pat on your thigh and you look down at Charlotte.

“Yes sweet Angel?”

“Mama can pay wit new fwiend?” She asks as she points at your niece Olivia.

“You have to ask her parents first.”

Lottie turns around and looks up at your brother.

“Can pay wit new fwiend?”

“What do you say Olivia? Do you want to go play with Charlotte and Henry?” Your brother asks his very shy daughter. She only nods as she looks up at her dad. In turn he looks at you and you smile at him. “Ok you kids can go play.”

Lottie holds out her hand and Olivia takes it. Then she holds out her hand for Henry and they’re off running back to all the fun.

“I'll keep an eye on them.” Molly offers. “It’s good to see you again Y/N.” She says with a smile as she walks past you.

“Good to see you too.”

“I’ll go with her. I know how Lottie can be.” Your dad winks at you.

After they’ve gone you’re left with your mother and siblings. Bucky standing next to you with his hand on the small of your back.

“So, are we going to have any issues?”

“Nope.” The twins say in unison.

“No, I’d like Olivia to get to know her aunt, uncle and cousins.”

You smiled at your brother’s words and his subtle acceptance of Bucky even though your relationship barely existed. Everyone looks at your mother and even though she has sunglasses you know she’s rolling her eyes.

“Fine.”

“Good. Come on, I'll show you guys around.” You said it more to your siblings but your mother trailed behind.

Luke was quick to find Molly and your dad close to where the kids were playing. As soon as you’re in their sights Lottie comes up with Olivia by her side. It seems like they took to each other like ducks to water and you could at least be grateful for that. Olivia looks up at you, she looks very much like your brother when he was younger. She seems hesitant to say something but you crouch down at her level.

“Are you having fun?”

She nods.

“Did you want something? Maybe some juice or ice cream?”

She shakes her head and you smile softly at her. Olivia leans in and you mirror her.

“Do you know black widow?” She whispers with her hands cupping her mouth.

“I do, would you like to meet her?”

Olivia’s eyes go wide before she nods. You turn toward your brother silently asking for permission.

“I’ll go with you.” He says as he gets up from the table.

You look at Bucky who just nods in your direction.

“Come on Lottie, let’s find Nat.”

Lottie takes Olivia’s hand while you walk side by side with your brother. You find Nat not too far from where you were. Some agent was trying to chat her up. She looked bored at most so when she saw you she was quick to end the conversation.

“There you are, I was wondering where you went. And who’s this?” She eyed your brother and then your niece.

“This is my brother Luke and my niece, Olivia, she really wanted to meet you.”

“Hello.” Nat said as she crouched down to be at the girl’s eye level.

“Nat, habe new fwiend. Is olibia.”

“It’s nice to meet you Olivia, my name is Nat. Are you having fun?”

Olivia nods her head as she slightly hides behind Lottie. You shoot Nat a grateful smile as she continues to make conversation with the girls.

“She seems like a great kid.” Luke tells you.

“She is, she’s the extrovert out of the two of them. I think Henry will get there eventually.”

“You seem happy.”

“Extremely happy.”

“I probably don’t have the right to ask or anything but… does he treat you right? I mean I know about his past and I’m not judging him or anything but I just want to know that you’re ok.”

Luke had always tried his best to keep you safe when he could but he was also a child. Eventually he did as he was told, mostly staying away from you. If he didn’t he’d get in trouble too.

“He does, Bucky is a wonderful man and father. He’d do anything for us.”

“That’s good. I’m glad you found someone, you deserve to be happy.”

“Thank you. I’d like to maybe set up a day so the girls can play. Maybe a weekend so that you can stay over or even have the kids do a sleepover.”

“Yeah, we can manage that.”

You smile up at your brother before turning back to the girls and offering to play some games with them.

****

Steve runs up to you with a smile on his face. It was nice to see him back to his old self. His eyes drift from you to Luke.

“Hey magnet,” he gave you a cheeky smile. “Where’d you go?”

“I was meeting my family at the parking lot. Steve this is my older brother Luke, Luke this is Steve.”

“Wow, it is such an honor to meet you.” Your brother sticks his hand out excitedly. But you could see Steve’s expression change slightly.

“I thought I’d never get to meet the rest of Y/N’s family.”

“Steebie look, habe new fwiend.” Lottie comes up to the three of you. “Is olibia.”

“This is my niece.”

“Hello darling, are you having fun?” Steve asks as he crouches down. Lottie immediately getting closer to Steve could wrap his arms around her. She rests her back into his chest. Olivia nods shyly at him before she gives him a smile. “Well that’s good. Lottie, have you seen your brother?”

“Bubba wit gwandpa.” She points towards the picnic tables.

“Eddie’s here?”

“Yup.” You say. “I’ll walk back with you so I can introduce you to everyone else.”

Once you’re at the table again you introduce Steve to the rest of your family, your sister in law and younger siblings gawk at shirtless Steve. Always a gentleman Steve shakes hands but you can see his jaw clench when he reaches your mother. He’d seen you cry enough times over this family to know she was the main cause of it.

“Henry, did you want to do that water balloon fight now? We can sneak up on Sam and Clint.”

“Yeah!” Henry shot up out of his seat.

“I’ll bring him back in a bit.”

“Hey doll, wanna go play with the goats?” Bucky had turned to Lottie.

“Can pay wit olibia an goats?”

Your mother scoffs. “Should you really be allowing Olivia around her for so long? I mean we don’t know the child. She could be a bad influence.”

You could hear the metal plates of Bucky’s arm adjusting as he clenched his fist. Immediately you put your hand on his forearm and squeeze. A silent request to let you handle it.

“They’ve been playing just fine.

“Really mom?”

“Why would you say that?”

Your dad, Luke and Molly speak up. Lottie doesn’t understand what’s going on so she just looks up at your brother with hopeful eyes

“I’ll go with ya Buck.” Your dad offers. “Come on girls, let's go see the goats.” The girls happily start walking away from the table still holding hands.

Bucky silently gets up from the table and walks away stepping in line with your father.

“What is wrong with you?”

“What? I know we’re all thinking about it.” Your mother shrugs her shoulders.

“Ma,” Henry reappeared across from you on the table, startling everyone else. His smile was brilliant and his eyes were bright and you can’t help but smile back at him. “I got uncle Clint in the face with a water balloon, twice.”

“You should see how many more times you can get him before he gets you.”

“Ok.” He says happily before running and then literally disappearing into the crowd.

“He turns invisible?” Josh asks.

“Yup.”

“That’s Awesome.”

“What about his sister?” This time it’s Sofia asked.

“She can see the future.”

“Oh great two more freaks.” Your mother mutters but it was loud enough for you to hear.

It was enough to make your blood boil. To your surprise your siblings and Molly came to the kids' defense. But you stood up and grabbed your mother by her arm and pulled her in the direction of the building. This conversation was a long time coming and you weren’t going to do it in public.

You made it to the closest conference room available, shutting the door behind your mother and your siblings. It took you a moment to compose yourself because of years of mistreatment and full on neglect on your mother’s part.

“Don’t you ever talk about them like that ever again.”

“Why are you always overreacting?”

“I am not overreacting, you are just cruel. You always have been, you’ve always treated me differently than them.” You motioned toward your brothers and sister. “I had no choice but to accept it but I won’t allow you to disrespect my family.”

“Your family?” Your mother scoffs. “One freak raising two more. That man is just playing house with you. Do you think he really wouldn’t be out there looking for someone better? I mean I know he’s a murderer and everything but still, he could do so much better than you.”

“Mom!” Luke yelled. “That’s enough.”

“What Luke? Don’t tell me you aren’t thinking the same thing. He’s playing house with a freak just so that she can raise his two kids. It’s pathetic even for you.”

“That’s enough! I didn’t ask for any of this.

What did I ever do to you?”

“You were born!” She yells. “From the first moment you started showing signs you were weird, absolutely everything revolved around you. It was exhausting. We had to change everything about our lives to accommodate you and somehow you still managed to hurt us.”

“I didn’t ask to be born with my abilities but you chose to treat me the way you did. I’m sick of your attitude and the way you made sure none of my siblings ever wanted to be around me. You treated me like the black sheep of the family for something I had no control over. And on top of that you were always so abusive.”

“Abusive?” Eddie asked behind you. You whipped around to find your dad accompanied by Bucky and Molly. You assumed the latter had gone to find them. “What abuse?”

“It’s nothing dad.”

“Bullshit.” Luke spoke up and the twins nodded in agreement. “If you don’t say anything I will.”

“There is nothing to say, she’s being dramatic like always.”

“She’s not, dad.” Sofia spoke up. “It only happened whenever you were gone.”

“Mom was horrible to Y/N. She would tell us that Y/N was going to kill us because she couldn’t control herself. Mom would keep her locked up in the basement for hours.” Josh looked in your direction. “We’re sorry for everything, we know better now.”

Bucky moved towards you, he pulled you in and wiped away the tears you had started shedding. This was too much, the heartbreak on your father’s face was making the room feel too small.

“Why did no one else say anything? Why didn’t you?” Your father looked from your siblings to you.

“I was a scared kid.”

“Kitten…” you could see the guilt in his eyes before he turned to your mother. “Everyone get out.”

“Dad

“I said out.” His tone is not leaving space to argue.

The moment the door is closed you can hear him yelling at your mother. Bucky pulled you away from the shouting and into his chest. You sobbed into his chest as he comforted you.

“Don’t.” He whispered before you heard your brother behind you.

“She’s my sister.”

“Yeah? Then where were you when she needed you? Once you grew up you were free to make your own choices and you chose to keep quiet. You left her alone and made her think she wasn’t loved.”

“I’m gonna go find the kids.” You pulled away from Bucky and gave him a sad smile.

“Y/N, can we talk, please?”

“I don’t really want to talk right now.” You say over your shoulder.

Before you take a step the door to the conference room opens and your mother looks furious. It was the same look that she would use to terrorize you. It was full of anger, disgust and hate, but those were her true feelings towards you. She walked toward you with purpose. You froze on the spot, breath caught in your lungs as the same fear crept up on you. At that moment you weren’t highly trained in hand to hand combat or an avenger. You hadn’t been through multiple near death experiences. No, in that moment you were a little girl

Bucky was one step ahead and as your mother lifted her hand to slap you, just as she had done some many times before, he stopped her. The look on her face mirrored the horror in yours as she looked at the black and gold pattern of Bucky’s arm.

“Let go of me, you murderer.” She raged.

Bucky turned her so that she would face him and took a step toward her. With every step he took she would move back one until she hit a wall. His left hand rested against the wall near her head, his eyes were dark and face held a murderous expression.

“You don’t get to hurt her anymore.” Bucky said through gritted teeth. Although he was channeling the winter soldier more than anything.

“You touch me, I'll make sure you go to jail.”

“And you think I wouldn’t smile in my mug shot? You leave right now and you never come back. And she isn’t a freak or weird, she’s a great woman,an amazing friend and an incredible mother. You don’t deserve to be breathing the same air as her. Get out.” Bucky said before stepping back. Everyone in the hallway hadn’t dared to move as they watched him.

“Luke, Sofia, Josh let’s go.”

You shut down at that point. It’s what always happens. They did as they were told, they didn’t think about how much it hurt you that they never really stood up for you or protected you. Your mother started walking toward the door confidently thinking your siblings were following her. She turned around and glared at them.

“I said let’s go.”

“No mom.” Sofia shook her head. “We want to stay.”

“Josh. Let’s go.”

Josh shakes his head and steps closer to Sofia.

“Luke?”

“Mom, we're done doing what you tell us.”

“Do you see what you’ve done? You’ve broken this family.” Your mom tells you.

“Lorraine you’ve done enough. Leave.”

“Fine but I don’t want any of you to look for me once you realize the mistake you’ve made by choosing this freak and her so-called family.”

She glared at you one last time and walked out. You can see a security guard just outside escorting away from the building and the party. Once the door closed you felt like you could breathe again. You looked at your siblings and then at your dad who took a step closer to you but you held your hand up.

“I need a minute.” You whispered and then walked away.

****

You gave yourself thirty minutes. Just half an hour to cry before pulling yourself together to celebrate your sweet angel’s birthday the right way. You washed your face and headed outside.

The afternoon went by a whole lot better. The team was aware that something had happened but they didn’t pry and you were thankful for that. Your family tried to talk about it but you shut them down immediately, the day wasn’t about you. You decided to focus on Charlotte and Henry and do anything and everything you could to see those beaming smiles on their faces.

As the sun was setting Tony gathered everyone around the dance floor and brought the team and your family to the front. He presented Lottie with another cake and everyone that was there sang happy birthday. She giggled just like she did the first time.

Once the sun finally set and most of the guests were gone you asked your family to stay. Bucky was kind enough to set them up in the apartment he once occupied. While he did that you made sure the kids showered and then you did as well. Charlotte had asked if she could have a sleepover with Olivia and neither you or your brother could say no.

As you finish tucking the girls in you can hear whispered voices coming from Henry’s room. You get closer to the door to hear Henry and your dad talking.

*****

“So you’re mama’s dad?” Henry asks.

“Yup, and that makes me your grandpa.”

“What do grandpas do?”

“Oh well we can do all sorts of things. We have fun together, give you candy and extra dessert even if your parents say no. Especially if your parents say no. We can go fishing together. As a matter of fact I’m gonna take you and your dad on a fishing trip real soon.” Eddie explains.

“Would you love me? Even if I’m a freak?”

“Why would you think you’re a freak?”

“I heard that lady say it. She told mom she was a freak and that she was raising two more freaks. I know mama was sad about it but she didn’t want to show it. Who was that lady?”

“Did you disappear and follow them in?” Henry nodded and Eddie sighed. He looked at Henry before pulling him out of bed and sitting him in his lap.

“That was your mom’s mom.”

“But she’s so mean. Mama isn’t mean, mama is good. She always takes care of us and gives us hugs and kisses when we’re sad. Why can’t her mama do that?”

“I wish I knew Henry. Your mama is so good and she has so much love to give. I think that’s why she’s such a good mama. And she deserves to have people that love her just as much. But to answer your other question, yes, I do love you and I don’t think you’re a freak. You and your sister are special like your mom and while there will be people that won’t accept you, you’ll always have your family that will love and support you.”

Henry just nods while looking up at his grandfather.

“Now do you want me to read you a book before lights out?”

“Yes please.”

“Alright kiddo get into bed while I get a book.”

****

You turn away just as Bucky walks back into the hallway. He quietly follows you into your bedroom and watches you walk around finishing your nighttime routine. Bucky settles down in bed and the moment you join him he pulls you into his lap. He lets you cry for as long as you want while he holds on tightly.

“I’ve got you, sugar. Just let it out.”

“Today was a lot. I didn’t expect to see them here. I almost ruined everything.”

“Oh baby no you didn’t.” Bucky put a hand under your chin so that he could make you look at him. “You handled that very well, even when she was insulting our kids. I’m so sorry you had to deal with that as a kid.”

“Is it sad that it wasn’t even as bad as what I got?”

“Just a little, but you don’t have to worry about her anymore. You have me and the kids, the team. And your family is here.”

“They stayed.” You whispered.

“They chose you this time. And that should count for something.”

“It does but I don’t know where to go from here.”

“It’s not your job to fix it, it’s theirs. But we’ll figure it out tomorrow.” Bucky moved you two around until you were both lying back all cuddled up.

“Thank you for being there for me today.”

“You don’t have to thank me, protecting you and the kids is my job. I’ll go up against anyone that tries to hurt you. It doesn’t matter if it’s your mom or hydra, I won’t stop until you’re safe.”

You knew he was right. Still you voiced your thanks again. The next day would bring on new emotions and old wounds would be open but hopefully you would be going in the right direction. A chance to finally have a relationship with your own siblings and give the kids more people to love them.

Ch 21

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#my little love series #Bucky Barnes x reader #bucky barnes series #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #girl dad!bucky barnes x reader #boy dad!bucky Barnes x reader #charlotte barnes #henry barnes

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cosmic-nopedog · 2 months

Note

Could you possibly share more of your kirakira swap au... it is very inch resting to me!! (also- cute art :D)

THANK YOU, I AM GOING INSANE WITH NO ONE OTHER THAN MY BROTHER TO TALK ABT THIS OH MY GOOOOODDDDDDDD

ok ok so, its a very simple swap au as i've said and im gonna be shooo honest with youo, its ciel x ichika, i like the ship i think they are cute together SO ITS GOING TO HAPPEN, BUT ANYWAYS THIS IS GOING TO BE KINDA LONG

In this au, ichika is a fairy from strawberry mountain, and goes off to paris to learn about sweet making like ciel in the og, however unlike ciel, she goes alone and does learn from jean pierre and gets shot into the lime light, but the thing is that she kinda feels like somethings missing.

yeah she makes a lot of kiraru with her technique alone and her passion for sweets making but it feels a lil.. empty, she is a very lonely girl and at the beginning very clumsy [its still ichika cmon dsfjn vg] so she kinda also has this like BIG imposter syndrome thing going on, she masks it well enough for PR and what not but shes kinda worried that this all is just a big stroke of luck and some day shes going to inevitably fail.

I will say i do have kind of a storyline in mind so bear with me dfkjbnjkdf.

Anyways, she goes on her life in paris as Uzuki Ichika: Prodigy Patissiere [am still making the au so bear with me for there will be changes here n there] and nothing more, UNTIL, she runs into Usami Satomi [aka Ichika's mom in the og storyline] and they talk, and she learns that Satomi is a doctor and lives in strawberry mountain and all that stuff and shes in paris temporarily as part of her job, and i want them SOMEHOW i've yet to really think about all the details to develop a sorta soft ish guardian&kid relationship like, thats not ur kid but might as well be type thing.

ANYWAYS, after enough time [yet to be determined] i feel like ichika starts confiding in Satomi alot of the feelings she has going on and Satomi brings up the idea of taking a break and going back to like her home town, and Ichika does agree and all [BUT I WANT SOME REALISM HERE RIGHT not too much tho we still have fun,] but does bring up the fact that she probably wont have a place to stay if she does so [excuses cus she could very much so stay with the fairies] and CORRECT ME IF IM WRONG but a long time ago i did read something about how if you know like, a family in a country well enough they can like take u in for some time? like Adopt you so tospeak AGAIN I MIGHTVE HALLUCINATED THIS but if not yeah, THATS what happens.

So shes staying with the Usami's! yay! well just the dad cus Satomi does have to travel cus of her job n what not, and goes back to strawberry mountain to hopefully clear her head and maybe remember why she did all of this in the first place.

THATS THAT ON ICHIKA, which im going to be sho honest with you, shes the one i've like thought abt the most, mainly cus i like making the pink cures depressed kdsnbjkfdb BUT ALSO because shes in SUCH a situation and i find that inchresting.

I WILL ALSO SAY, im not swapping everyone, just ciel n ichika, mainly cus i find making ichika a fairy and ciel a cringe fail amateur patissiere very fun and inchresting BUT I DIGRESS.

NOW, AS FOR CIEL, shes a normal girl that has just moved into strawberry mountain, ysee, she is originally from strawberry mountain but moved out at some point in her life and decided to sort of move back in to take care of her grandmother who still recides in there, Rio also came along with her cus I LOVE MY SIBLING DYNAMICS OK.

SPEAKING OF, the way i see their dynamic is that they are very close and yes they stil have their shared interest in sweets and what not but ciel is more of a What happens if I double the amount of batter type interest and Rio is more of a Watches 3 bilion youtube videos on alot of recepies that he sometimes asks ciel if they can try out. Which ofcousre has a very diverse rate of success kdjfhbjbk.

They have the Passion and all the Feelings into it but Not alot of technical skill, I do think they meet Pekorin the same way Ichika met Pekorin in the og story, AND I DO WANT TO MAKE RIO A CURE, HE WILL BE A CURE I WILL MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

OH speaking of, i did kinda change Ichikas and Ciel's cure names, Ichika is now Cure Meringue and Ciel is now Cure Velvet.

AND THATS PRETTY MUCH WHAT I HAVE LIEK SOLIDIFIED AS OF RN!!!

I do have some liek spare thoughts here and there like, Ichika and Pekorin Have a sybling dynamic slash are actual sisters and at somepoint i want ichika to get stained in shadow maybe same with Rio but i have yet to figure out a cohesive storyline for that, BUT I WILL FIGURE IT OUTTTTT!!!

Also do NOT spoil me shit, I have NOT finished Kirakira Precure as of rn, IM CLOSE BUT NOT THERE YET.

LAST THING: i will call this AU very simply Strawberry Meringue Au

That is all.

#asking for barking #borks into the void #asks #Strawberry Meringue AU #THIS IS VERY LONG BUT I AM ILLLLLL

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dannythedog · 2 years

Text

Collage by @stardust-chords-enthusiast

Pairing: Sam Kiszka x fem!reader

Word Count: 11.1k

Summary: You've grown up with Sam Kiszka as a best friend. As the two of you get older, you realize your feelings may be morphing into something more. What will happen when Sam finally invites you to the annual Kiszka lake trip where a string of crimes have taken place?

Warnings: mentions of marijuana, alcohol consumption, swearing, body image issues, talk of death

A/N: I just want to thank @gretavanfran for encouraging me to run with this idea and offering to help me write. We've never written something like this before so we're a little nervous to post this lol but feedback is appreciated and let us know if you want a part two!! We have so many more ideas for where this can go and would love to share with you guys

“Let’s go!” Sam calls from the front door of your house. The patience in his voice is wearing thin and it makes you zip your bag faster, accidentally pinching the skin of your forefinger. It’s time for the annual lake trip the Kiszka family takes at the beginning of summer. Sam usually opted to take his other best friend Danny, leaving no room for you, but this year there was an extra space. You’ve known Sam since seventh grade, the both of you meeting on the junior debate team. He was the only student who actually challenged you and he liked your passion, so you two quickly became inseparable.

Heaving your duffle up, you rush to the door. “Sorry,” you breathe. “Just had to make sure I didn’t forget anything.”.

“Yeah, yeah, just give me the bag so we can get going.” Reaching for the bag on your shoulder, Sam lets out a breathy chuckle.

“Wait, Sam, I ha-,” you were quickly interrupted by the long haired man.

“I already checked the back door, walked through the house and unplugged everything. Bug, everything’s going to be okay. Learn how to relax a little, alright?”

“I’m always relaxed,” you mumble in a grumpy tone.

“Oh really? When’s the last time you genuinely had fun without having to worry about anything?” He got you there, you were always anxious - anxiety was practically your name and overthinking was your game. You couldn’t help but think about if everything was going to plan, constantly worrying about safety. Except for when you're with a certain golden retriever boy. Sammy. He was fearless and lived life without a care in the world, that’s why you believed that you two quickly became friends. Opposites attract after all - he made the overthinking disappear in you and you made him pay more attention to the things that surrounded him.

After tossing the bag into the back seat of his beat up Jeep Cherokee where his own luggage rests, he clambers into the driver’s spot. “My mom’s gonna be so mad if we’re super late. She only agreed to let me drive as long as I was semi on time.”

“Well, maybe you should’ve let me drive,” you tease. The entire Kiszka family had a bad habit of being late, something that irked you to your core. Turning your head to look at the man in the driver seat, you watch in amusement as he lets out a scoff, throwing the car in reverse. He places an arm on your seat and checks for traffic both ways before entering the road.

“What, so we could be there four hours early? Leave at six am? No thanks, I’d rather sleep.”

“You know, backing into a main street is illegal right?” Now turning to face you, Sam dramatically rolls his eyes and flashes you that beaming smile of his.

“Bug, I want you to relax on this vacation. Mommy and Daddy won't be there to make sure you dot your I’s and cross your T’s.”

As much as you hated to admit it- Sam was right. It’s been forever since you’ve actually relaxed. On top of your chronic over thinking - your parents watched you like a hawk. They always told you the strictness was because they wanted you to get into a top of the line college. Ever since you got the acceptance letter from the University of Michigan, you were expecting them to ease up. Wrong - if anything they tightened the reins more. Even though you were eighteen and freshly graduated high school, you had to practically get on your hands and knees begging them to allow you to accompany Sam all while reassuring them a million times that Sam’s parents were going to be there.

“I am relaxed. Let’s get going. You know we'll never hear the end of us being late from Jake,” you breathe out, crossing your arms across your chest. As if his smile couldn’t get any bigger, it was practically ear to ear as he watched you slowly come to the realization he was right.

“Aye aye, Captain. No more funny business. Wouldn’t want to keep Jacob waiting,” he replies to you in a teasing tone, while throwing the car into drive.

A warm breeze pours through the windows as the journey starts. It rustles the haphazardly placed locks on Sam’s head, a messy bun being his go to for the summer, and it somehow manages to make him look softer. Your eyes trail down to his plump lips, only landing there briefly before moving onto his outfit. He dons a denim button up that only has the bottom few buttons done, a pretty tiger’s eye pendant resting on the exposed skin of his chest, a pair of the tiniest khaki shorts you’ve ever seen, and of course his trusty Birkenstocks. While his outfit was casual, it still made you feel a little frumpy. You just wore a pair of black biker shorts and a tie-dye shirt, two sizes too big, with some black Tevas.

“So why couldn’t Danny go this year? Not that I’m complaining, I’m really happy to be invited.”

His brown eyes glance over to you for a moment, lips forming into a small frown. “His family planned their own vacation. It’s kind of ass that I’ve never invited you before, huh? I’m sorry that I’m an idiot.”

You wave him off, trying to play it like you never felt an ache in your chest when you watched the family drive off every year. “I get it, it’s a boys thing. No biggie.”

He still looks guilty despite your casual reassurance, but doesn’t press any further. Sam really did feel bad that he never invited you before. He wasn’t sure if you would like hanging out with him and his family for a week straight, emphasis on his brothers. His older twin siblings could be a lot sometimes. Josh was a little over-friendly and Jake could be too cold. Inviting anyone on vacation was asking for trouble - especially a girl and most definitely if that girl was you. The twins have known you for just as long as their little brother had. But Sam knew that they wouldn’t let up on the teasing - it would be relentless.

Unbeknownst to you, they would wait until you left the room or have your back turned and would always make kissy faces at the younger boy - mocking him about how in love he was with you and how you were his ‘little secret girlfriend’. Sam could take the teasing one day at a time, but he felt like a whole week’s worth of teasing would be too much for him to handle. So, he always opted to bring Danny. Plus, he wanted you all to himself, but no one had to know that.

“Hey, you know what I brought?” He grins a little too widely. “Check my backpack. The small pocket in the front.”

You reach into the back, very obvious suspicion settling across your face. Pulling his beat up tie-dye bag into the front with care was not an easy feat. It was stuffed full and piled under a bunch of other luggage. With just a bit of grumbling, you dig into that small pocket and pull out a baggie filled with joints.

“Sam!” you hiss. “Did you forget your parents are going to be with us?”

He reaches over and gives your arm a gentle shove. “See? This is what I was talking about earlier. You never have fun without worrying about everything.”

“I’m sorry,” you sigh and put the baggie back. “You’re totally right. I don’t know why I got weird about it.”

Your face flushes and you feel embarrassed. He was right. Why couldn’t you let loose and just enjoy this time being close with Sam? Don’t ruin this for yourself.

“Hey,” he says softly, that same frown from earlier returning.

“No, it’s okay. You are right. It’s not often I’ll admit that, so take it while you can,” you grin.

The few hour drive is peaceful, filled with laughter and good music. Sam never fails to keep you entertained. That was another checkmark on the long list of things you adore about him. You weren’t sure how Sam didn’t realize you were falling for him. You didn’t try to make it obvious, but you figured he would at least see the little things - the way you’d always make sure to have his favorite snacks around, wake up at absurd hours to make Walmart trips, how you’d do just about anything he asked. Honestly, you’d probably follow this man to the depths of hell if he asked you to.

“Where are we?” you garble, not noticing that you drifted off at some point, finally waking when Sam turns onto a rather bumpy back road.

“About five minutes from the house. Our place is in a pretty secluded spot, not many neighbors.”

The road is covered with rocks and potholes, making it impossible for your bodies to stay still, rocking side to side with each bump and sway of the vehicle. Lush trees fill the spaces on either side of the road and overtake your senses. It’s hard to see through the thick greenness of the vegetation, but it’s beautiful and makes everything feel so serene. Like you weren’t still in your home state of Michigan. The trees began to thin the closer you got to the house, opening to a small clearing with a great view of the sparkling lake. You could see an expanse of sandy beaches spread out at the back of the property with a hole dug out near the house as a makeshift fire pit. There’s a small dock a bit further down with an old rowboat attached to it, gently bobbing in the mild waves.

Sam parks his Cherokee next to the family’s Suburban and shoots you an excited smile. “Ready for the chaos?”

“As I’ll ever be,” you scrunch your nose at him.

The both of you pull yourselves from the car to collect your bags. The thick summer air soothes the goosebumps that formed from the air conditioning that Sam insisted on blasting. He claimed the AC barely worked at the lake house.

“OI!” a voice rings from above you, disrupting the gentle call of some sparrows. Your eyes flick up to see the long haired twin leaning dangerously over the railing of a balcony.

“It’s about time you made it!” Jake spins around and heads back inside before either of you can answer. Your eyes trail from the balcony to take in the rest of the house. It’s a moderately sized cabin-esque looking building with sloping green roofs that match the color of the doors and window frames. The rustic vibe is a little cheesy and slightly outdated, but it’s welcoming.

“Hi, Bug,” Jake grins when he emerges from the front door. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

You think you can hear Sam grumbling about how that’s his nickname for you, but you ignore it.

“C’mon inside. We saved a room for you two.” Jake takes the bag off your arm and offers a side hug, giving you a gentle squeeze.

You flush at the thought of sharing a room and possibly a bed with Sam - you hadn’t considered that when you agreed to come along. His parents were pretty lenient but you figured you’d be sleeping on one of the couches.

The house offers reprieve from the unforgiving sun. Despite being quite cold only minutes ago, you can feel a bead of sweat trickle down the back of your neck. The inside isn’t as cheesy as you thought it would be. There were picture frames hung up along the walls, displaying memories from previous trips. One of young Sam catches your eye and brings a small smile to your face. He’s submerged in the lake with a bright orange life jacket on that looks like it could strangle him at any moment, smiling widely with little gaps in his teeth.

“We’re here!” Sam calls out and ventures towards the bedrooms.

Just like clockwork, the shorter twin pops his head into the hallway. “This one is your room.”

The three of you meander to the room Josh was currently in, only half wondering why he was in your room anyways.

“Shut up!” Sam gasps and almost drops his bag, trying to think of something else to say but his mouth just hangs open. Out of the corner of your eyes you could see the twins beaming - not wanting to be left out, you poke your head into the room and see a lanky, curly haired man lounging across the queen sized mattress.

“Hey, guys,” Danny says with a shit eating grin. “Heard you might have extra room.”

Finally over the shock of seeing his best friend, Sam turns to his brothers with confusion written all over his face.

“Mom and Dad didn’t come this year. They figured since we’re ‘all grown up’ that we’d want a week here alone. We coordinated the Danny part just because it was fun,” Jake speaks nonchalantly.

Sam simply can’t contain his excitement any longer and bounces on his best friend, rambling on about how much fun they’re going to have.

“That was sweet of you guys,” you murmur to Jake, watching as his face twinges pink. He simply shrugs and sets your bags near the dresser. Once the enthusiasm calms a bit, the other three clear out of the room to let you and Sam unpack. Your eyes travel over to the queen sized bed over and over, worry settling deep into your chest.

You clear your throat. “I can take the couch if you want. Or I could see if maybe Danny wanted to switch rooms.”

Sam doesn’t even look up from putting his shirts into a drawer as he chuckles a bit. “Why would you do that?”

Your face scrunches in embarrassment. You’re not sure why you’re embarrassed about this discussion. It’s just Sam. Just your best friend who you are hopelessly falling for and now have to share a bed with. Not a big deal at all.

“Just wanted to give you options, that’s all,” you say a little too defensively, praying that he couldn’t see the pink blush starting to cover your face.

“I think you’re trying to get away from me. I can’t stop you from taking the couch, but I promise I really don’t mind if you sleep with me. In fact, I think I’d like it if you joined me.” Sam flashes you a smile as he finishes unpacking. With that he walks out of the room, leaving you to internally panic about what his words could possibly imply. Was he just flirting with you? Or perhaps it was just your feelings muddying his statement.

Fingers tug on the hem of your shirt, startling you out of your panicked daze. It’s Jake inquiring if you’ll come out to swim with everyone since it’s ‘hot as balls outside.’ Not giving you an option to say no - or to even give him an answer, he makes his way over to the door and slams it shut. Rolling your eyes at the loud noise, you head over to your bags, silently thankful you brought your good bikini. Lifting up your shirt in hopes of changing into the swimwear sooner than later, you found yourself being interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Startled by the intruder, you whip around at a lightning speed to find Sam and Danny casually standing in the doorway.

“Don’t you guys know how to knock?” you huff out at the boys.

“Sorry, we didn’t expect you to be changing already. Sammy boy just needs to grab his trunks,” Danny speaks softly, shooting you an apologetic smile as he makes his way into the room sitting down on the bed. Sam, on the other hand, seemed to be frozen in his spot. Geez, what is up with him today.

“You going to come in or are you going to keep standing there like a creep?” Danny chuckles out at Sam. It worked. You watch Sam as he keeps his eyes on the floor, heading over to the dresser, reaching in one of the drawers and pulling out his favorite pair of red bottoms.

“I…Sorry. C’mon Danny. Let’s go downstairs.” Sam ignores your eye contact and walks over to the long haired curly man sitting on the bed, pulling him by his shirt sleeve over to the door and making sure to close it.

Deciding not to think about the way Sam was acting, you quickly change into the baby blue and white floral print bikini. Standing in front of the mirror, you take a second to study your reflection. This swimsuit was new and if you were being honest with yourself, you were absolutely terrified to bring it at first. After all, this was supposed to be a ‘family trip’ and you didn’t want to have Sam’s parents look at you in an ill mannered light. Why would they? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s the fact your boobs were practically spilling out of the cups and the bottoms are leaving little to the imagination.

You couldn’t help but to have some insecurities cross your mind when you thought about if Sam would like this specific suit on you. Sure, you’ve been around him countless times in the water, but you always wore a one piece. After graduating high school, you felt yourself trying to be a little more bold in your outfit choices. Not to mention that Sam always likes his girls to be on the skinnier side and you just so happened to be a little bit more curvy. Fuck it, what do you have to lose. You trot down the stairs, slowly building up more and more courage to walk out to the lake where you could see the four boys splashing around through the window.

“Ooh mama! Looking good!” Josh yells as you approach the lake, making the other three boys turn around to take a glance at your form.

Their watchful eyes make you feel bashful, especially after Sam’s weird reaction in the bedroom. You try to fight the urge to cover your body up but it’s slowly winning. Every dip, bump, and stretch mark suddenly feels like a neon sign that reads, ‘Look at me! I’m insecure!’. Feeling defeated, you grab your towel and begin to wrap it around your torso as walk slowly to the beach.

The sun’s rays are vicious. Sweat is already beading at your brow and the tops of your shoulders feel hot. A small breeze ripples through the trees and gently caresses over your heating skin, giving slight relief.

“Put your towel down! Get in!” Danny calls out as he splashes water at an unsuspecting Jake. This earns him a punch to the shoulder and a small grumble.

You hesitate, insecurities still running wildly through your mind. What if they laughed at you? What if Sam was disgusted by your flaws? You knew you wouldn’t be able to handle that.

“Hey, let me see you,” Josh encourages. “I’ve never seen that bathing suit on you before. Is it new? Do a little twirl for me!”

“It’s just a bathing suit,” Sam bites at his older brother. This makes you clutch your towel tighter to your body and cast your eyes to the sand. You knew it. Sam thinks you look hideous.

Watching the boys in front of you - you couldn’t possibly think of actually going into the water and exposing yourself to them. You know that Sam takes after his older brothers when it comes to finding his type in women.

Plopping down into the grass and giggling to yourself, you watch as Josh rolls his eyes and smacks the back of his younger brother’s head.

Trudging through the shallow water in your direction, he lifts his chin as a beckoning gesture. “C’mon, Bug. Get in the water.” Your knuckles were practically white from how hard you were gripping the towel now that Josh was stalking through the sand.

“Josh, I don’t feel like it.”

“I will carry you in there if I have to.”

“You and I both know that’s not a possibility,” you spit out at him, trying not to let your insecurities show. Instead of replying, Josh moves even closer to you and starts looking like he was trying to figure out where to place his hands to hoist you up.

“No. No. No. Stop right there,” you protest.

“Relax. I’m not going to hurt you. Just come into the water.” Josh looks to you with pleading eyes. Fuck those, baby cow eyes get you everytime. Reluctantly nodding your head, you get up - but not without making sure the only thing keeping your sanity was wrapped around you securely.

“You won’t need that in the water,” Josh hums at you as he takes your hand in his, leading you over to the dock.

“I know. I just want to leave it on the dock.” He looks like he doesn’t want to believe you at first, eyeing you suspiciously, but ultimately choosing to drop the issue at hand.

While you’re distracted with Josh, Sam’s eyes are glued to the two of you. What the hell is he doing? Why are his hands on her like that? Sam didn’t care that you were friendly with his brothers. He actually loves that you get along with them, but his fear was steadily coming to fruition. You were his person and his brothers seemed to have no problem robbing you from him just as they did with Daniel.

As he watches you sit on the edge of the dock he hopes and prays you’ll look at him, but only sees your eyes follow Josh’s form into the water. His chest tightens when Josh grabs your legs. “What are you doing?” you panic slightly. The older twin simply gives you his widest smile before pulling you into the depths.

The lake is colder than you expect it to be and it shocks the air from your lungs. It’s a good few seconds before you can let out a screech at Josh. He clutches you tightly to him, not caring that you’re desperately grabbing at the sopping fabric of your security blanket as it drifts away with each of his movements. “See? Not that bad, huh?”

He was right. Being submerged covered you in a way and it felt nice to cool off. “Okay,” you break. “It’s not horrible, but you’re a real dick for pulling me in.”

Sam can’t stand seeing his older brother’s hands on you. They way they hold you so delicately. It feels far too intimate to Sam. There’s this horrible clawing in his stomach that pulls him to the shore and up to a grassy area, listening to your giggles as you splash around. Having fun without him.

Your eyes finally drift over to Sam when you notice him get out. Water droplets cascade over his tan skin like rivulets and his thin frame is stretched out to soak up the sun. He’s completely in his element. You think he looks most beautiful like this. Sam has always loved nature - he begs you to come on mini hikes that turn into impromptu picnics of trail mix and granola bars, long trips to the beach where you spend your day swimming and kayaking, hell, he even loves it if you just come lay in his hammock with him.

“Alright! Me and Danny will be partners, so that leaves you and Josh,” Jake declares. You tear your eyes from your best friend and look to his older brother - that honestly could be his twin - to give him a questioning look. Jake rolls his eyes. “I just said we’re playing chicken.”

The insecurities begin to creep back into your mind and you quickly glance to the sunbather only feet away.

“Stop that,” Josh murmurs. “Climb on my shoulders. I’ll swim under water.” You don’t know how he knows what you’re thinking, but you don’t have too much time to question it before he’s swimming between your legs and hoisting you into the air. The curly one lets out a warm chuckle as he hears the shriek leaving your lips. You think you see Sam start to sit up as he sees his older brother securing his hands around your thighs even more- claiming it had something to do with ‘safety’.

“She’ll need all the safety she can get,” Danny teases. “Jake and I are gonna kick your asses!” “Are you sure about that? What if we have a plan?” You grip onto Josh’s hair, knowing you don’t have a plan. You just hope it’s something easy to go with. “Like a sneak attack! Get them!”

Josh lurches forward and your hands fly up to push at Jake’s taut shoulders. Surprisingly, his spontaneous plan does work and you manage to knock the opposing team over. Unsurprisingly, this lights a fire inside of Jake. The next half hour is constant games of chicken, switching teams, hitting the water a little too hard, but still no Sam. One final stinging slap against the small waves does you in. You put up your white flag and head to the beach, fingers and toes beyond pruny anyways.

“Decided to come join me?” The brunet sunbather mumbles as he senses your presence - eyes still closed.

“How’d you know it was me?”

“I always know when you're around.”

“Uh-huh. Sure,” you mock him.

“Peter Parker has spidey senses and me? I have y/n senses.” Your best friend sits up, grabbing your hand and giving you a little tug. It seems like he was trying to get you to lay down with him, but you weren’t budging, the insecurities creeping back in. Sure, you’ve laid down next to Sam before, but that was then and this is now. Something about the air in between you two feels different. The only problem was that you weren’t sure if it was good or bad.

You try to pull your hand from his soft grip. “I’m gonna go grab another towel.”

“There’s room on mine,” he replies, wiggling his eyebrows.

“No there’s not.”

Sam wasn’t going to waste another moment. He needed to stake his claim in front of his older brothers, you’re his. Suddenly you feel the air leaving your lungs as you’re pulled downwards. Expecting to hit the ground, instead you are met with a soft groan and the feeling of hot skin.

“See? There’s room.” Opening your eyes from the sudden impact, you’re face to face with a tan chest. Slowly lifting your gaze, you see Sam with his eyes shut, smiling sheepishly at you.

“Sam, I’m on top of you.”

“I know, I like you like this.” Peeking an eye open, Sam was met with the visual of your mouth parted in shock, trying to find the right words to say. He could see the gears turning in your head. You felt the boy beneath you taking a deep sigh before parting his lips.

“Bug…don’t act so shocked.”

“Sam, just let me go please,” you try pleading with the man.

“No, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about this….and now seems like the perfect moment.”

Trying to move yourself into a sitting position, you’re met with failure as sunkissed arms wrap around your back tighter, holding your body close to his. You could feel your chest getting tighter as the nerves course through you. He has no idea what kind of effect this is having on you and you really don’t want him to find out.

“Awww look at the love birds.” Of course Jake would have to ruin a moment like this.

“Yeah right,” Danny snorts. You hated to admit it, but that single laugh alone had you ready to cry.

“Shut up guys. You know it’s not like that,” you mumble, pulling yourself out of Sam's embrace. You swear that you see Sam’s eyes glaze over with hurt, but that quickly disappears with him chuckling and smiling.

“I’m hungry,” Jake whines, rubbing his stomach - looking over at his twin slowly making his way over to the group.

“That sounds like a you problem,” Sam grumbles as he sits up. What is up with his attitude today?

“No, it's Bug’s problem.” Jake makes a move towards you to grab your hand and hoist you up, but is stopped by his younger brother swatting his hands away. Josh and Danny let out eerie chuckles trying to ease the awkward tension that was forming.

“How is it my problem?”

“Cause I want one of your grilled cheeses.”

“I told you the re-“

“Zip it.” Jake grabs your arm, pulling you to your feet. “We can’t have Sammy knowing that I’m the only person you trust with the recipe. Think about how jealous he’ll get.”

The two of you start towards the house. “You know he heard that right?” You whisper to Jake as he loops his arm into yours.

“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing, Bug. Trust me,” Jake winks at you.

You grip his arm tighter and don’t speak until you’re in the safety of the kitchen. You find that Sam was right, the AC doesn’t work very well in this cabin.

“Alright, spit it out,” Jake says, not bothering to look at you while he grabs the ingredients. “I can see it all over your face.”

Other than Sam, you were the closest with Jake. When he was younger he was very quiet and wasn’t in your face like Josh was and you found comfort in that. He made you feel comfortable. That meant you could tell him the things you couldn’t tell Sam. As your feelings for Sam grew, Jake could see past your little unbothered facade. He’s been there through every up and down.

“I don’t know,” you groan and plop into a chair. “He’s just being so weird. One minute he’s normal and happy, then the next he’s moody and avoiding everyone. And don’t think I didn’t notice that you purposefully put Sam and I in the room with one bed. You’re setting me up.”

He laughs and flits about the kitchen preparing the meal for everyone. “I thought you’d appreciate that. You could always share with me.”

Flipping him the bird didn’t feel like it would be enough, so you throw a random pair of socks that you see balled up on the floor at his head. He ducks and lets a belly laugh fill the room. “Come on, y/n. It won’t be that bad. I really was just trying to help you out. How about this,” he sets an old, worn spatula on the counter and approaches you. “I’ll help you this week. We’ll get Sam to notice you the way you want him to.”

You eye his outstretched hand. This could potentially end your friendship with Sam if it goes badly, but you decide you couldn’t pretend much longer. So you grasp Jake’s calloused hand, putting all of your trust into this shake. “Deal.”

———————-

After some much needed food and a couple of beers, the boys decide that it would be a good time for them to go down to the pier and do some fishing. You opt to read the book that’s been sitting in your bag forever, figuring you could sit on the front porch so you have a perfect view of the boys on the dock. ‘Life can’t get better than this,’ you think and let out a big sigh. The buttery beams of the sun wash over you, bringing the feeling of sleepiness that you knew oh so well. Hours must’ve passed, you found yourself waking up to the feeling of someone trying to pry the book out of your hands.

“A Court of Roses and Thorns? I didn’t know you read fantasy,” Sam smiles in small victory when he peels the book away from you, closing it and moving it to the table beside the chair.

“I know, I usually read nonfiction but I’m trying something new. Don’t hate,” you mumble to him as you slowly stand up from the chair, stretching out your back in the process.

“Hate on you? I could never,” Sam whispers. It was almost as if he was terrified of you hearing the little confession that left his parted lips.

“How long have I been out?”

“Well, considering it’s dark now, I’m gonna say about a few hours.” You look the boy over and see that he put his hair back into a low bun. You were always a sucker for that hairstyle. You take advantage of Sam being quiet and study his face some more. He looks good. It was only day one of this vacation and the sun gave him a kissable tan. You weren’t sure how you’d be able to survive the rest of the six.

“So...what do you think about a movie night?” Sam suggests, throwing you a side smirk when he notices that you were checking him out. You silently thank god that it’s dark out, you didn’t want Sam to see how flushed your cheeks are.

“With your brothers?”

“No. Just you and me. Jake said he wants to have a bonfire,” he points towards the direction of the small pit that sits in the middle of some thoughtfully placed chairs.

“I mean, sure. Yeah, we can do that.”

A loud voice nearly has you jumping out of your skin. “Nope. Nada. Not happening. You have to be joking with us. I don’t want to be an uncle yet,” Jake bursts through the door of the cabin, protesting the movie night idea. Casting a glance over to Sam you see him rolling his eyes. You could tell he was starting to get fed up with his brothers interrupting everything.

“Jake, c’mon. It’s gonna be so comfy inside. Can’t I join you guys tomorrow?” You ask the man, with a little bit of confusion lacing your voice. He was supposed to be helping push you and Sam together, not keep you two separated. He gives you a look that lets you know you won’t be winning that battle, so you let the older man drag you over to the pit where the other two boys were standing. Looking over your shoulder, you could see Sam trudging behind you, obviously not wanting to participate tonight. Maybe he was hoping just to have alone time with you.

“Bug, we’ll make you a weiner!”

“Josh, I don’t want a hot dog right now.” Your body betrays you by letting out possibly the loudest stomach growl the group had ever heard.

“Clearly that’s a lie. Plus, we know how much you love sticking them in your mouth,” Danny tries to speak in between laughs. You could tell that he’s proud of himself for that joke.

“Relax, Sammy boy, no one’s gonna try to steal your girlfriend,” Jake teases as he slaps his back, trying to change his little brother’s mood. Based on what you could see through the flames of the fire, Sam’s face was red - beaming with frustration.

Sam seems to ignore his brother’s ‘girlfriend’ comment as he sits down in the seat directly across from yours, separated by the fire. Jake plops himself into the chair next to you, mysteriously pulling out an acoustic guitar.

“Where’d you get that?” you nod towards the guitar.

“Darling, I’m full of tricks,” Jake shoots you a wink, absentmindedly strumming the guitar. Looking around, you notice there was a black guitar case lined with a maroon velvet laying on the ground - instantly feeling dumb for asking him where got the acoustic from. If anyone knows Jake, then they always know there’s bound to be a guitar somewhere around him. Sure he was in college for business, but everyone knows being in a band was his true dream.

“Jake you gonna play us Wonderwall? Or tell us all about how you’re meant to be a rockstar?” Sam snickers at his brother. What has gotten into him today.

Sam was truly fed up with his brothers. Especially Jake. Every fear he ever had about bringing you to the lake had happened. Why couldn’t they just let him have something good for once? Sam had fully been planning on telling you about his feelings at multiple points in the day. He even made it obvious that he was being serious, but no one cared.

Looking across the flames, you sat in awe of your best friend. A pain forms in your chest as you think back to a certain night sophomore year where you were sat in the same position.

“Wooooo!”

“Sam, stop yelling! You’re gonna get us in trouble.”

“C’mon, Bug! Live a little,” Sam slurred at you, slinging his arm around your shoulder. He was drunk off the bourbon that his older brother just had to provide him with because it was ‘homecoming’. You rolled your eyes every time Jake said that. Maybe it was something that your parents engraved into your brain. God, you could hear the lecture from them already. Bitching at you for letting yourself be surrounded by ‘drunken idiots’.

You weren’t positive about the exact moment you started to like Sam, but one thing was for certain. This year you realized you were in love with him. It happened in between all the study dates, the late night texts and the random phone calls to see what you were up to.

But tonight? Tonight felt different. Granted, you guys were each other's dates to homecoming, but something just felt different. You couldn’t quite place what the emotion was. Maybe it had to do with the way you two slow danced tonight - your arms placed delicately around his neck, while his hands were wrapped around your waist, pulling you close. His toffee colored eyes staring into yours-giving you soft smiles all night, not to mention all the little touches and forehead kisses.

Your mind kept wandering back to those moments as you looked up at the man, watching the soft orange glow flicker across his face. His eyes were closed and he was starting to sway, you knew what this meant - you had approximately five minutes to get him up to bed or someone would have to carry him up there. You look around to see if there was anybody sober enough to help you get the lanky boy up the steps with no avail.

“C’mon, Sammy. Let’s get you to bed.”

“Bug, are you trying to seduce me right now?” Rolling your eyes, you let out a huff as the tall boy leaned more of his weight onto you, trusting that you would be able to get him upside and to bed safely.

“Sam, I know you're plastered, but you’ve gotta help me out here.”

“I always help you out. You’re my girl.”

You knew better than to believe his words, after all he was drunk and just rambling. Hearing the words ‘my girl’ was your downfall. You hated the way it made you blush. You silently thank god that you were able to make it into his room in one piece. After plopping the boy down onto the twin mattress, you were wondering how on earth you were going to get this boy changed. Finding a pair of sweats and grabbing a loose shirt, you turned around to find Sam standing in front of the bed.

“I thought I told you to stay on the bed.”

“Ooo. Bossy. I like it.” You knew he was a lot to deal with when he was drunk, but this was new.

“I’m not being bossy. I just want you to go to bed. I’m tired.”

“I don’t want to go to bed.”

“And why’s that?” You replied back, mocking the way he was whining.

“Cause you’re not gonna be here for me to cuddle.”

“Sam. Stop. You don’t mean that.”

“I do mean it,” Sam responded, stomping his foot like a two year old having a tantrum in the middle of a grocery store.

“No you don’t.”

“Stop telling me what I think,” he demands.

“Sammy, I know you. You don’t mean it. I’m not the girl you go for. Just please go to bed.” Your heart is aching with every word you speak.

“You can’t see it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve had a thing for you for the past two years.”

“No you haven’t,” you scoff. As much as you wanted to believe him, you just couldn’t.

“Yes I have,” he insists. “Why don’t you believe me?”

“Sam, look at you and then look at me. We don’t go together.” Your arms were crossed and your eyes found purchase on anything but him. His gaze never let up.

“Bug, you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.”

“Please stop.” You could feel your breath slowly leaving your body as the young boy made his way to stand in front of you, placing a finger under your chin tilting your head up - silently begging for you to make eye contact with him.

“I wish you could see yourself the way I see you,” Sam whispered as he licked his lips. He leaves your eye contact briefly to look at your lips and then looks back into your eyes. Closing your eyes trying to find the right words to say - you were interrupted when you felt a pair of chapped lips meeting your soft ones.

Not believing what was happening, you opened up your eyes, only to be met with the sight of Sam’s eyes still closed focused on the task at hand. Closing your eyes, you could feel yourself melting into the kiss and slowly kissing the boy back. Sam could finally feel you relaxing into him - taking it as a sign to wrap his arms around your waist, pulling you in closer, running his hands through your hair. Not pulling or tugging, he was just holding you there.

Sam shoved you away when he heard the wooden bedroom door being opened and slammed against the beige wall. Looking over at the intruder, you could feel your chest tighten up again when you saw that it was Sam’s other best friend.

“Did I interrupt something?” Danny quizzed the couple in front of him, noticing the swollen lips and rustled dress shirt.

“Nope,” Sam replied nonchalantly.

After going to the bathroom that night, you decided to crash out in the boys basement, not being able to find it in yourself to face Danny after he walked in on the tender moment in between best friends. Waking up the morning afterwards, it took a couple of minutes for the realization of what happened- Sammy kissed you. Not only that, but he told you that you were the most beautiful person he ever saw. How were you supposed to address this situation with him?

Part of you wanted to run for the mountains and never face him again. Realistically you probably could live off the grid - but that would never happen, your parents would forbid it. Deciding that you needed to just talk to him, to figure out where you guys stood, you found yourself climbing up the steps of the quiet house. Placing your hand on the doorknob to turn it, you stopped yourself upon hearing muffled voices on the other side of the door.

“So you kissed y/n last night?”

“Dude. I fucked up.”

“But I thought you liked her?”

“Y/n? No, I think it was just the alcohol talking.” You could feel your heart breaking in two as you registered the words being spoken.

“How are you gonna fix this?”

“I just gotta tell her that it was a mistake. It meant nothing. I regret it.”

If only you could be in the room and see the raven haired boy shaking his head at the lanky haired man laying on his bed hungover.

The sudden feeling of a warm hand squeezing your knee brought you back to reality. Following up the arm of the man touching you - you were met with Jake’s coffee irises giving you the same sad sympathy look he had given you the morning after the kiss. You didn’t mean for any of Sam’s brothers to get involved with your relationship with him, but it just happened. After hearing Sam say the word ‘regret’, you ran outside onto the back porch in hopes of calming yourself down.

Instead you were met with Jake smoking a cigarette and asking if you wanted to talk about it. Did you want to talk about it? It just so happens that your brain was telling you not to, while your heart had the opposite. You needed someone just to listen to you and the mysterious twin just happened to be there. That was the moment you and Jake became close. He held you as you cried - repeatedly telling you that his brother was a ‘fucking idiot’ and ‘if he doesn’t see how amazing you are, fuck him’.

After that much needed pep talk from Jake, you pushed your feelings deep down inside and kept things as normal as you could with Sam. Meanwhile you and Jake were growing closer, but it was nothing in comparison with his little brother - the only issue is, Sam doesn’t know that. You were unaware of the fact that there were countless times the boys had been fighting over you. Well, more like it was Sam screaming at his brother to leave you alone and to stop trying to ‘fuck you’. Jake would just look at him and give him a little smirk that would just push Sam over the edge.

Jake moved his hand from your knee as a twig snaps in the dense woods just feet away from the group. Everyone’s attention is focused on the sound and you could feel your heart rate pick up. “What was that?”

“Probably just a deer,” Sam mutters as he peers into the darkness of the foliage.

“What if it’s that killer?” Danny says all too casually. Your palms begin to sweat and you shoot him a death glare, challenging him to tell a cruel joke again.

“What, you didn’t hear about it? It was on every local radio station around here.”

Sam meets your eyes then looks back to Danny. “No, we didn’t listen to the radio on the way here. I had my road trip playlist going.”

“You know how he is. ‘The radio is too mainstream,’” you roll your eyes, quoting Sam perfectly.

Josh’s grin almost makes it seem like he could be the killer. “Oh, so you really don’t know then, huh? Well, when we got here we heard that there were several dead bodies found in the woods and the lake. They’d all been murdered.”

Your skin begins to crawl. You had just swam in that lake. The woods that once felt so serene now seem dark and foreboding. Like something was lurking, waiting for the right time to slip through the darkness and into the house of some poor, unsuspecting vacationers.

“That’s not funny,” you mumble.

Josh’s head snaps to you, looking near evil. “No, it isn’t. Not funny at all.”

“Cut the shit, Josh,” Jake scoffs. “Josh is just being a dickhead, but they are telling the truth. There were bodies found around here and they never found the killer.”

“What do you mean they never found the killer?” The hairs on the back of your neck standing up as you felt like something or someone was watching you through the trees.

“Guys, knock it off. You’re scaring her,” Sam orders and moves his chair to sit next to you. “Hey, they’re just being douchebags. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“All jokes aside, the story itself is true. They never found the killer.. Rumor has it, one lady was slaughtered. Completely butchered. I guess the killer left a blood trail, the cops followed it into the woods. It stopped after twenty feet….whoever it is….they know how to hide. There really were bodies found around here, about three miles north. But, I doubt anything will happen to us. He probably left town. Well, I’m hoping he did,” Danny attempts to comfort.

“Danny,” Sam reprimands.

While you’re appreciative of Danny’s efforts, your stomach is queasy with fear. You don’t feel happy and carefree anymore. The moon shining down on the lake isn’t comforting like it once was, it’s ominous and holds secrets. The blowing wind seems like small whispers filled with said secrets.

“Can we go inside?” you ask quietly, eyes frantically scanning your surroundings. Feeling a hand cover your own, you recognize it immediately as Sam’s based on the way a crooked pinky finger is grazing against your own.

“Hey, it’s okay. We can go in,” Sam murmurs as he laces your fingers together. It doesn’t take more than a small tug to get you out of your seat and heading towards the house. The rest of the guys decide to join you, hastily cleaning up their mess.

“Now you two can have that movie night,” Jake ribs. “We’ll be joining you, though.”

Josh immediately launches into a list of movie suggestions, but you can’t find it in you to care. Between the scare of the murders and the jumble of feelings for Sammy, you just needed to stare mindlessly at a screen for a while.

The boys settle on the movie Psycho. You’re not sure if they’re intentionally trying to be dicks or not, but your mind is too busy to scold them. After gnawing on the skin of your thumb for a solid fifteen minutes, Sam slings his arm around your tense shoulders. The room is dark save for the glow of the tv screen and lamp that was hardly ever turned off, everyone is quiet. It could’ve been one of those world stopping moments you had with Sam whenever he danced along the boundary of friendship and maybe something more. The atmosphere was all wrong though. With the tension in the air and Jake’s worried eyes glancing at you periodically, there was no way you could indulge in this sweet moment.

Halfway through the movie, Jake stands abruptly. “I don’t remember if I put the fire out.”

“It’s been long enough. It probably went out by itself,” Josh mumbles, almost entirely distracted by the movie.

“Do you really want to be responsible for a forest fire that could kill all of us? I’m going to check.”

He moves through the living room and grabs his pack of cigarettes before breezing through the door. Your gut twists at the thought of Jake going out there alone. What if that killer was still around?

You know you’re probably overreacting, but the sinking feeling in your chest wouldn’t let up, so you start to pull from Sam’s grasp. He only wraps around you tighter, shooting you a half smile.

“I wanna go with Jake,” you whisper, trying not to disturb the other two boys.

Sam’s full brows furrow, grasp still not letting up. “Why? He’s fine out there. We can see him through the window so we’ll know if something happens.” Standing your ground with a pointed look, the boy sighs and rubs your arm. “I would really like it if you would stay with me. I’ve missed you today.”

Oh. Your resolve melts a bit at his statement, some warmth returning to your heart. The puppy dog eyes he’s giving you are absolutely killer. How could you deny him? You sink back into your spot, safely tucked into his side and decide that Jake could wait until the movie was over. After all, you were being a little ridiculous about all of this.

But when the movie is over, Jake is no longer in sight. Anxiety nearly consumes you as you lift from the creaky old couch and press your nose against the dusty pane of the window closest to you. “Guys? Why isn’t Jake back? Why can’t I see him?”

Josh groans as he stretches out, foolishly opting to take a seat on the hardwood floor for the entire length of the film. “You know Jake. He’s probably off on one of his late night excursions.” The eldest joins your side after a moment, brown eyes scanning the darkness. “Look, he’s right there at the dock.”

There is a silhouette standing along the edge of the water at the beginning of the dock. It was far enough away that you couldn’t see any features, but the outline was there. You strain your eyes looking at the form. Was that Jake? You couldn’t tell.

“Are you sure?” you worry. “How do you know?”

Josh claps you on the back, an amused smile gracing his youthful face. “I’m his twin. I think I could pick him out of a crowd of probably like, a thousand.”

“Let’s go to bed, okay? You’ll see Jake in the morning.” Sammy comes up behind you wrapping his arms around your midsection pulling you away from the window and towards the stairs.

“None of you guys are going to check on him?” You ask them, trying not to be annoying but you just can’t shake this unsettling feeling in your gut.

“Bug, he’ll be okay. Besides, we have this cool thing called twin telepathy. I know when something is wrong,” Josh tries to reassure you.

“Y/n. He’ll be coming in at any minute. He’s gotta help me with the kayak’s tomorrow and you know he hates getting up early.” You took a deep breath continuing your journey up the stairs, trying to have faith in Danny’s sentence. Maybe I’m overthinking this. Deep Breaths y/n.

Sam left you in the bedroom alone for a total of five minutes to change before you found yourself calling out for him frantically - you’ve never heard the man move faster. At lightning speed Sam came crashing through the door searching for your figure. Nestled into the wall closest to the window, the boy could see your hands shaking uncontrollably. Stalking his way over to you, wrapping you up in his arms, whispering ‘you’re okay’ into your hair.

“S…Sam. There’s something in the woods over there,” you tremble into his chest, shifting all your body weight onto him, seeking as much comfort as you possibly could.

“Bug, there’s nothing out there.”

“Yes there is! I just saw the bushes move. There’s something out there watching us.”

“Y/n it’s pro-”

“Don’t tell me that it’s just a deer. It’s the killer Sam. I know it is,” you cut Sam off desperately. To be fair, your intuition never lied to you when it came to things like this. “We need to leave now.”

“Look at me.” He didn’t give you a chance to object as he put his fingers under your chin, firmly tilting your head up. “I will not let anything happen to you. Okay? I’m gonna kill the guys. They shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Well, I’m glad they did. Sam I'm not crazy, there’s someone watching us.” Your gaze returns to the forest. You know you saw something. You hadn’t imagined things like this before after hearing your fair share of campfire ghost stories. There was something different about this time. Something sinister. “Let’s go to bed okay? I think today’s just been long and we just need to sleep it off.”

“Okay,” you sigh and feel his hands tugging you towards the bed as you keep looking out the window. Your intuition was screaming at you to get out of there as fast as you could. Crawling into bed, you opted for the spot closest to the door incase you needed a fast escape tonight.

“Nuh-uh. Move over,” Sam grins, towering over your figure that’s already nestled into the sheets and slowly dozing off.

“I’m comf-”

“Don’t even finish that sentence. Move it missy. I need to be by the door.” Sam starts pulling the comforter away from you, acting like he was about to sit on top of you in hopes that he would make you giggle. He knew your mind was racing about the possibility of the killer breaking into the lake house - he needed to try to take your mind off of it, even just a little bit.

“Okay, okay. Bossy.” You find yourself starting to get nervous as the reality kicks in that Sam is laying next to you. Flinching as you feel his forearm rest against yours, you take it upon yourself to roll over onto your side, facing the wall. You couldn’t possibly bear to face him in such a moment that seemed as intimate as this.

If you were facing him, you would’ve seen the way that he was staring at you, having a fight with his inner monologue that told him to roll over and pull you into him, but he was scared - scared that it would ruin the friendship although Sam knew that this was his moment. Now or never. Everytime that he tried to tell you how he felt, one of his brothers had to interrupt the moment. Following his heart this time instead of his head, he pushes himself up against your back, throwing his arm over your midsection. Your eyes fly open at the action, you knew that you were going to be in close proximity - you just never expected this.

“Relax,” Sam murmurs into your ear. Fuck maybe he felt me tensing.

“I am.”

“No you’re not. Just let me hold you for a minute.”

“I’m going to go look for Jake,” you mumble, moving his arm off of you. Trying to find an excuse to get away from him. Thinking about how he must’ve drank in those five minutes you were parted, there was no way Sam was sober and speaking to you like this. Finally succeeding and moving his arm, you sit up, getting ready to crawl out of bed when you hear Sam letting out a groan behind you.

“Why are you so worried about Jake?” The boy explodes. Shocked by the sudden outburst, you turn around to find him sitting up, red in the face. He was pissed.

“Sam, he’s outside by himself.”

“Bullshit.”

“Excuse me?” At this point you were out of the bed making your way over to the dresser, looking for a sweatshirt to throw on before you went outside.

“I said bullshit, y/n. Just tell me that you’re into my brother instead of leading me on.”

“Instead of leading you on?” You whip around to face him, hands trembling from the confrontation.

“Wow. Do you need a hearing aid or something? Do you know how obvious it is that you like Jake? The way you’ve been hanging all over him since sophomore year? You’re supposed to be the person that’s closest to me, yet you still decide to go after my big brother. Newsflash, y/n, he’ll fuck you and leave!”

Sam’s posture is rigid, face and bare chest flushed with passion of the moment. You hate yourself for thinking he looks pretty.

“Sam, what are you talking about?”

“You’re fucking unbelievable,” Sam spits out at you in a venom laced tone.

“Me? Me? I’m the unbelievable one?”

“That’s what I just fucking said.”

You scoff and tug your sweatshirt over your head. You can’t believe what he’s saying to you. He had the audacity to call you deaf, yet didn’t realize just how blind he truly is.

“Tell me,” you seethe. “Tell me when I’ve been all over your brother, Samuel.”

He rattles off different instances, starting with sophomore year and how you suddenly grew close with Jake. He told you his perspective of those secret moments with the older Kiszka, not knowing you were actually lamenting over your own best friend. Sam suddenly grows quiet and his chest heaves. “I just wish I could be that person for you. I want that to be me. I have looked up to Jakey for so long - my entire life - and somehow I keep falling short. Even with you. I just want you to feel the same feelings I feel for you.”

Your lower lip trembles and your nails dig into the flesh of your palm. “Don’t,” you say through grit teeth. “Don’t say that to me. Especially when you regretted it so much last time.”

His honey eyes that are darkened with distress flick from the comforter to look into yours, pink lips shaping into a small ‘o’. He stares at you for a moment before whispering, “You heard that?”

“I had my hearing aids on that night.”

“Y/n…I didn’t mean it.”

“Please stay over there. Don’t come closer to me,” you plead with Sam as he gets out of bed and starts moving towards you. As much as you want the comfort of him holding you - you have to stand your ground and admit to him how much he destroyed you at that moment.

“Please...just listen to me.”

“You’ve got two minutes,” you bite, leaning back against the dresser and crossing your arms.

“I was fifteen. I was scared, y/n. My brothers would tease me about you being my secret girlfriend all the time and I just- I don’t know, Bug. There’s no excuse for it. I don’t regret our kiss at all. If anything, I regret not coming to you the next day and kissing you again…this time sober.”

You hate to admit it - your heart is aching as Sam expresses his feelings. Maybe this is the universe finally bringing us together.

“I came downstairs that morning looking for you. You know where I found you?” You shake your head at the man in front of you, trying to hold back tears as he makes his way slowly over. His large hands cup your face, gently rubbing his thumbs over your cheeks.

“I saw you outside with Jake. He was holding you…something I should’ve been doing, not him. I got closer to the screen door and I realized you were sobbing into his chest. I thought you regretted the kiss. I figured the tears were because you didn’t want me the way I want you, so I just pretended that it never happened. I stood by on the sidelines, hiding how bad I wanted you, y/n.”

“You want me?” You try blinking away the tears and Sam catches the single drop that rolls down your right cheek, gently wiping it away.

“Why wouldn’t I? I’ve been in love with you for the past two years. Thanks for noticing by the way.” Sam presses his forehead against yours, letting out a soft chuckle.

“I’ve been in love with you too,” you whisper, looking into his honey irises.

“God, we’re idiots.”

Both of you softly laugh whilst staring at each other, trying to press this memory into your mind. You silently wish that you could see this look of love on his face everytime you close your eyelids.

“Hey, Sam?”

“Yes, bug?”

“Kiss me.” Your heart is pounding, but not in the uncomfortable way it had been for the last hour. Any worries you had are thrown out the window. Your mind is enveloped with Sam’s presence, his scent. He consumes you.

“Well, if you insist.” You find yourself closing your eyes as Sam leans forward, finally capturing your lips in his. It was short and sweet - nothing less than electric.

Pulling away, you two start giggling uncontrollably.

“Can’t believe we haven’t done that since we were fifteen,” he chortles and pulls you flush to his chest. His visage grows serious as he gazes down at you, strands of hair falling and framing his face. “I’m not gonna run away this time, I promise. This time I’ll show all of them that I love you and that you are mine.”

The electric feeling flows from your lips down to your toes at his confession. This situation didn’t feel real. “I believe you,” you whisper. “Now let’s go to bed.”

The two of you lay side by side, but quickly end up being wrapped in each other. You’re almost certain that you’re flying, floating through some dreamland that only your brain would cruelly make up. You’re terrified that you’ll come crashing to the ground and none of this will be real. But in the morning, he’s still there. His soft locks are splayed around him after having fallen out of his bun in the night. Supple lips are parted as gentle breaths escape him. He’s an angel. You decide you wouldn’t leave his side until he woke. This is the perfect time to admire him uninterrupted.

“You know it’s rude to stare right?” You flush with embarrassment knowing that you just got caught in the act.

“Sorry.”

Sam grins, looking down at you laying on top of him with your face as red as a tomato. He loves watching you get flustered.“Why are you apologizing? I didn’t say I hate it.”

“How’d you sleep?” you mumble as you tuck your head back into his chest, wrapping your arms around him and squeezing tight. You couldn’t believe that this is real. Sam is yours.

“Really?”

“What?”

“We’re doing small talk now?” Sam giggles.

“I’m nervous. I don’t know what to say.”

“Stop. It’s just me, Bug. I told you last night I'm not going anywhere.”

You open your mouth to reply, but you’re cut off by the sound of pans hitting the floor and a loud ‘fuck!’ from the kitchen. Both of you laugh out loud at Josh’s exclamation.

“We should probably go down there.” You pull yourself from his arms and slowly make your way over to the door, pausing to look back at the god-like man in bed. “You coming?”

Sam moans out a small protest. “Why? We can stay here. We don’t need to interact with them.”

“He’s gonna burn the house down without supervision. You can stay here, but I’ll be damned if we all die in a house fire,” you joke and head out of the bedroom. It’s only a few seconds before you hear the padding of feet behind you and a set of bony fingers rest on your hips. He presses a kiss to your hair and descends the creaky stairs.

“Morning,” Josh grins as he spreads out ingredients for a large breakfast. “Day two at Camp Kiszka! How are you feeling?”

You steal a glance at Sam, forcing back a secretive smile. “I’d say we’re feeling pretty good.”

Before Josh can even ask why, the screen door is slamming open. Danny rushes in, looking pale and frantic. That same dreadful feeling from last night returns and his expression sends shivers down your spine.

Sam steps forward. “Dan, what’s wrong?”

Danny stands there shaking and wide eyed then nearly chokes over his words. “J…Ja..”

“C’mon, Danny, spit it out!” Josh moves beside the six foot man, slapping him on the back.

“Jake’s dead.”

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