#completely alone out here in The Middle Of Nowhere until saturday when we move to town

[goodlucktai]

nothing makes you feel like a kid again like calling your mom in tears because your cat is sick 🫠

[asphyxiateher]

Only Monsters Come Out at Night

A/N: Debating on whether or not I should put this on AO3. Thoughts? Do I need to edit what I have before posting on my favorite website? Anyways, I’m really into horror and I’d like to try my hand at focusing on MC’s descent into madness while falling for her captors. Dimitrescu Sisters x OFC (Desdemona) Summary: Desdemona, her twin brother and best friend are on vacation in Romania when things go horribly wrong the moment they run out of gas. Desdemona has the misfortune of enchanting the monsters that decided to terrorize her group. 

        It was a cold, pitch black night in the northeastern mountainous region of Romania, a heavy fog enveloping the roads which made it nearly impossible for any source of light to pierce through the gloom. This did not bode well for Desdemona and her friends as they dared to venture through the treacherous weather in order to reach their destination. The humble village of Bran should have been a welcome sight by now although from where the unlucky travelers were currently stranded, Desdemona had her doubts. To make matters worse, her best friend, Veronica, shoved a crumpled map of Brasov, Romania into her boyfriend’s hands and demanded answers. Her hot-headed friend was teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

“Desmond, are you sure we’re headed in the right direction? None of this seems to make sense!”, Veronica exclaimed as she nervously rummaged through her shoulder bag for yet another cigarette. She struggled to light her cigarette this time, the harsh winter’s wind blowing hard against her bare hands caused them to shake violently.

 Desmond sighed in exasperation and ran his fingers through his messy chestnut brown hair, pushing wild dark curls away from his eyes.

“You think the shopkeeper gave us the wrong directions to fuck with us because we’re tourists? I knew we were gonna get shit signal out here in the bum fuck middle of nowhere but come on, the old guy looked knowledgeable. Can’t blame me for trustin’ him.” Desmond casually replied with a shrug. He then took a moment to straighten the map again before folding it neatly and tucking it into his pocket.

Desdemona was of the same mind as her twin. It seemed likely that the locals would be completely burnt out from the flocks of American tourists invading their hometown just to squawk about the castle that inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula. How exhausting it must be to constantly point out where to go to book a tour or who to call to arrange such things when the internet exists. In hindsight, Desdemona should have known better than to bug the polite yet obviously impatient shopkeeper about their vacation plans.

“Think about it, V, Desmond has a point. The guy probably gave us the run around for shits and giggles. You know, it would have been fine taking a wrong turn and then having to backtrack all the way back into town, but we should have just stayed the night at the Inn. Now we’re outta gas and it’s fucking freezing out here.” Desdemona added, now hugging herself tightly and occasionally rubbing her arms to keep warm for as much as possible.

Veronica growled but relented as she took a long drag of her cigarette, her foot resting against their rented vehicle. She took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. Snowflakes began to drift downwards, and it only fueled Veronica’s anxiety about being stranded in the middle of nowhere in the dark. “Alright, alright, we can either freeze to death in this piece of shit,” Veronica began as she kicks the van for good measure, “or we can freeze to death out there looking for shelter. I think I see a path over there that we can take to find what we need. It might lead us to people who can help us, or it might lead us to certain death. All I know is that we need to make a decision now, it’s starting to snow.” Desmond grins and wraps his arm around Veronica’s waist, pulling her close and pecking her on the cheek. “To certain death it is! Des, grab the essentials and let’s head out. According to the map, there are a few small villages in the surrounding area. Chances are we’ll stumble into one of them eventually and find shelter. We’ll get this mess sorted out.” Desmond eagerly stepped away from Veronica’s embrace and stepped towards the beaten van.

After a few moments of scrounging around for what they deemed important, Desdemona ended up with a backpack full of snacks, water, spare clothes, and the first aid kid. Veronica settled for an entire carton of cigarettes and a few spare lighters because you know, it was “absolutely essential” to her survival in a foreign land. Desmond found a flashlight and decided that going light would be preferable to him in case they ran into any trouble. They paved the way forward, following the path that strayed away from the lonely sliver of road. Turning back to get a final look at the abandoned van, Desdemona swallowed the surge of fear that was beginning to creep up on her. She had seen enough horror movies in her lifetime knowing that this probably wasn’t going to end up well for her little group. The logical side of her brain, what little rational thoughts she had left, gnawed their way through her brain begging to be voiced out and heard.

‘Turn back around, it’s safer to stay put and wait until morning! This is dangerous and you know it!’

Desdemona reluctantly glanced back at her brother walking ahead with Veronica hand in hand and the younger twin suddenly stopped in her tracks. Maybe she should stay behind just in case while her gregarious brother searched for help in these mountains; after all, he was far more easygoing and could easily charm the most stubborn of fools into helping him.

“Des, what’s wrong? I thought we all agreed that we should stick together.” Veronica called out to her, uncertainty lacing her tone as her eyes flicked back and forth between the van and a terrified looking Desdemona.

Nervously fidgeting in place, Desdemona struggles to settle the conflicted thoughts warring in her mind. She knows that staying behind and waiting for help would be the wisest course of action, but there was safety in numbers. There’s danger lurking beyond the vast expanse of mountains that surrounded them and she would be utterly defenseless if left alone. Desdemona’s instincts were begging her to go back to the van but the connection she shared with her twin demanded that she follow him through the sketchy path that would most likely lead to their demise. She couldn’t let anything happen to Desmond, she would never forgive herself if something happened to him out here.

With a shaky resolve, Desdemona straightened up and gazed back at Veronica with a small smile on her face. “I’m just nervous, you know. Desmond and I binge watched all the Wrong Turn movies last Saturday so being out here alone in the dark is uh, freaking me out a little. I’ll be fine, though, let’s just keep going.” Desdemona lied as she rushed over to her best friend who rolled her eyes at the revelation.

“No wonder you’re acting all sketch, Des. First of all, binge watching horror movies the weekend before your vacation was stupid as hell so now you’re all hyped up over nothing. Secondly, Wrong Turn sucks. Y’all should have binged Hatchet, Danielle Harris is so hot!” Veronica declared, eager to get conversation going as the three of them trekked through a rocky and narrow trail that led to who knows where.

Desmond was quick to reply in defense of his favorite horror movie franchise and Desdemona was thankful to hear them bicker back and forth. The conversation drowned out the sound of cold whispers tickling naked branches in the distance, the loud crunching of their footsteps on the snow-covered ground, and ravens crying out above them. It was so eerie and something about it all didn’t sit right with Desdemona. She hooked an arm around Veronica’s free arm and together they discussed their favorite horror movies. Veronica could tell her best friend was still a little spooked, so she pulled her closer until she was pressed against her side to provide as much comfort as she could give.

The trail continued to narrow the further they moved along but nothing they observed thus far gave the impression that that anything was out of the ordinary. When they reached a clearing, Desmond sighed with relief. His breath steaming the frigid air was nearly the only thing they could see ahead if it weren’t for the flashlight providing what little comforting light source they had. The snow fall began to pick up the pace but it wasn’t blinding, thankfully. Desmond brushed aside large shrubs and stepped further into the winding path, coming to a full stop when he realized what lay ahead of the weary travelers.

The trio stared in awe at the overpowering sight of a 15th century castle looming over a quiet village sheltering underneath a blanket of darkness, or what Desdemona assumed was its shadow. No amount of fog could hide the monstrosity that was the architectural brilliance of this castle that Desdemona saw before her very eyes.

“Desmond, honey, where the hell do you think you’re going? Don’t leave Dezzy and I behind!” Veronica suddenly shrieked as she sprinted after her overly excited boyfriend down the hill that led into the village. Desmond turned around and could only offer a sheepish smile with a shrug before eagerly running into the unknown. Desdemona tore her gaze away from the castle and spurred into action, jumping and running as fast as she could in order to catch up with her twin.

Desmond was energized by both the cool crisp air and the promising sight of civilization, but that energy was quickly drained out of him when he encountered something wholly unexpected. Veronica reached the eldest Hawthorne sibling and was about to admonish him for leaving the two frightened girls behind, but she was quickly shushed by Desmond. Desdemona quietly approached the scene, her eyes widening when she realized that this was not the village of Bran at all.

They had indeed reached a small village but it looked completely obliterated. The houses looked shattered and broken, as if something gigantic and menacing had come through and picked away at the people that once inhabited this community one by one. Desmond cautiously led the group forward, calling out for any signs of survivors. This wasn’t on the itinerary…

Veronica was on the verge of tears, her hands covering her mouth as she observed the tragic scene before her. Every now and then, she would step into a broken home and call out to somebody – anybody- only to step back out with a grim look on her face. She pulled out her cell phone and attempted to dial emergency services only to be met with disappointment.

“There’s blood.” Desmond says quietly. His eyes peer over the trail of fresh blood and fear grips him the moment the flashlight scans over the corpse of a rotting horse. “Fuck, that stench – we need to get the fuck out of here now!” Veronica cries, gagging and turning away from the horrific view.

Desdemona would have expressed an equally strong reaction had she not felt a sense of…wrongness abruptly assaulting the atmosphere. The moment they stepped foot into the village, the environment reacted to their presence and that did not sit right with Desdemona at all.

“Desmond, do you hear that?” Desdemona asked, her voice laced with terror. Desmond Hawthorne heard the fear in his sister’s quivering voice and it made him feel uneasy. “I don’t hear anything, Des.” He replies as he reaches for Veronica’s hand and squeezes it tight. The couple began to frantically look around them as they slowly backed into Desdemona. As soon as they grouped up again, both Veronica and Desmond wrapped themselves around the youngest sister. The oppressive silence sent a whole new wave of fear over the group before something insidious could be heard approaching them in the distance. Desdemona gasped when she heard maniacal giggling and it was getting louder. A fluttering of what sounds like wings -bats, ravens, perhaps- advancing towards the group sent chills down Desdemona’s spine. What the hell was coming after them?

Desmond flashed his light from side to side before it settled on the massive black ball of insects that instantly appeared before him. The insects dissipated and somehow revealed the shape of a human being wearing a dark robe and hood. The only thing he could truly make out was the color of a red pendant wrapped around dainty, pale skin and a blood smeared smirk. Desmond’s heart dropped in absolute horror and panic immediately set in.

“RUN!” He screamed, taking off with a terrified Veronica in tow. Neither of them looked back to make sure Desdemona was following. The flashlight dropped, and it briefly circled the ground. The flickering light revealed two other black masses of insects approaching the younger Hawthorne sibling who was paralyzed with fear. All she could hear in that moment was delirious laughter coming from the women that revealed themselves two seconds later, the insects dissolving into thin air right before her very eyes.

The crazed woman standing directly in front of Desdemona leaned forward and took her time sniffing her pretty prey who stared at her with petrified gray eyes. Desdemona found it alarming that despite the lunatic’s appearance, dried blood caked on her lips and unruly red hair and a wild, untamed look in her eyes, she found her quite…striking. Perhaps she was going mad. None of this made sense, how could this be happening right now?

“Mmm, sisters, look at what I found. Such a pretty young thing all for me and she smells oh so delicious.” The woman with the green pendant spoke, giggling madly at the profound effect she had on Desdemona.

 “Daniela, you’re delusional, she’s mine; I’m the one who picked up on her tasty scent!” The one with the red pendant spoke after she turned her attention to the only human who didn’t run from them.

The brunette with the yellow pendant reached over and yanked on Desdemona’s hair so hard back, Desdemona thought her life was over. She bared her teeth as she skimmed her nose across the young woman’s neck. Her tongue darted out between blood smeared lips and left a wet trail, causing the smaller woman’s breath to hitch at the unwelcome contact.

“Mmm, she smells so utterly divine. Bela, by the way, it wasn’t you who found MY new pet, it was me! You ungrateful wretches always want to touch what’s mine!” The hooded figure’s grip on her hair tightened and Desdemona whined, causing all three women to delight in her torment.

What Desdemona couldn’t figure out was what they wanted to do with her exactly and why they were fighting over her like three starved wild dogs fighting over a piece of meat. She needed to get out of there fast. “LET GO OF MY SISTER, YOU UGLY CUNTS!” Desmond’s angry voice broke through in the distance and all three creatures turned their attention on the young man who dared interrupt dinner time.

Desdemona decided this was the time to take advantage of their distraction and she quickly slipped away, sprinting as fast as she could to the nearest unoccupied house. Desmond, relieved that his sister broke free from whatever those things were, spun on his heel and ran the opposite direction. He could only hope that all three of them would make it out of this godforsaken village alive.

All three women threw their heads back and laughed wildly into the air as they knew catching their prey would be much more satisfying when they caught them alone in isolated surroundings. It added to their fear and it made the blood taste that much sweeter.

“The hunt is on, sisters. Leave the pretty plaything alive, but the others, we will present to our dear mother as gifts. We’ll make the new pet watch mother undo their very lives; it’ll only make her that much more delicious when we have our fill.” The one with the yellow pendant stated as she sniffed at the air, shuddering when Desdemona’s irresistible scent filled her nostrils once more.

Desdemona found refuge in a large house a few yards away and slammed the front door shut when she ran inside. She quickly assessed what she assumed was the living room, she found a bookcase and summoned whatever strength she had and brought it down in front of the door. She heard something clawing at the door the instant she blocked the entrance, the door shaking violently and mad laughter filling her ears once more.

Desdemona shakily reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, turning on the flashlight and began to look for another way out.

‘Jesus fucking Christ, Jesus Christ! What the fuck are those things!? Where’s Desmond? Is Veronica alright? How the hell do I get out of here? I just want to go home!’ Desdemona’s mind was running through a million thoughts per second but she couldn’t for the life of her settle on anything that would give her a moment’s peace. She was sobbing uncontrollably as she explored the dark home, her hands stretched out in front of her as she searched for anything that would provide answers to her problems. When she found a door near the kitchen, she cautiously opened it and cursed the eerie creaking sound that followed. It was discovered that the door led to a cellar of some kind and Desdemona rushed down the stairs without closing the door behind her. She slowly scanned the large open space and saw that this home had been recently ransacked or rummaged through. Clothes were scattered across the floor, furniture had been broken in half and tossed carelessly to the side but Desdemona found a hallway beyond the room she was in. ‘That must be the way out. Hurry up and grab something to protect yourself with!’

Desdemona carefully tip toed around the clutter, her phone flashing from side to side but to no avail, she couldn’t find anything that would prove harmful to whatever those monsters were outside. The woman nearly tripped over and fell when her foot stepped in something thick and wet, causing her foot to slip forward. Desdemona quickly steadied herself on a cabinet but it didn’t make her feel any better when she realized her fingers were covered in a thick, red substance.

Her breathing growing heavier, Desdemona flashed her phone light over to the cabinet only to find that it was covered in blood – a lot of it, to be exact and it was still dripping on the floor as though it were fresh.

All color drained from Desdemona’s face when she heard pained howling coming from the village; it was Desmond and he was screaming for help. Her twin was in danger and here she was selfishly trying to find a way to preserve her own life.

She quickly twisted around to run towards the howling but she stopped dead in her tracks when a black mass of insects appeared before her. The cloaked figure could only be identified by the color of her green pendant and a delirious smile plastered on her face. Fresh blood dripped down her chin and Desdemona’s eyes reluctantly followed the pool of blood forming at their feet. There was a sickle in her right hand and it was covered in blood, much to Desdemona’s dismay.

Desdemona began to tremble, overpowered by the frightening sight and the implications that followed a bloodied sickle carried by a madwoman. “The sound of your heart hammering against your chest is like music to my ears, pretty thing. Do not fret, my beauty, the moment we met I knew you were special. You’re meant to be mine, we’re meant to be!” She whispers madly, her tongue wetting her lips as her eyes rake over Desdemona’s body slowly and deliberately.

Desdemona doesn’t know what she’s talking about and she doesn’t want to know. Before she could form any kind of response, she’s pinned against the bloody cabinet behind her. She gasps in surprise and that seems to trigger the creature into action.

Desdemona screams as the hooded woman lunges at her collarbone and pierces through her skin with her razor sharp teeth. Desdemona weakly clutches at the woman’s shoulders, growing lightheaded from the sudden blood loss that was occurring. Feeling the woman about to collapse in her arms, Daniela pulls back and savors the taste of her blood. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she sloppily licks the blood off her mouth and regains what little self-control she had left to preserve her pretty plaything for a little while longer.

When dazed gray eyes meet hers, Daniela’s cold, black heart skips a beat. She had never seen anything more beautiful. So she raises her sickle, causing Desdemona’s eyes to widen in panic and Daniela can’t help but giggle a little.

“Don’t worry, my beauty, I’ll be gentle with you. The hideous man-thing and his bitch aren’t going to be as lucky as you, I hope. You deserve special treatment.” Daniela whispers, her fingers caressing her prey’s tear-stained cheek before swinging the sickle with full forced into the back of Desdemona’s thigh.

Desdemona remembers a high-pitched shriek escaping her but nothing else seems to come to mind after that. She remembers her vision blurring and a creeping darkness soothing her to sleep but what happened after, nothing. She enters the haunting abyss that welcomes her with black tendrils pulling her from reality, sleep coming to her easily. With better luck, she’ll never have to wake up again.

Only fools believe in luck as the nightmare has only just begun.

[hookingminor]

close quarters (3) - andre burakovsky

a/n: hi! sorry it’s been awhile I've been in the middle of moving and it’s been hectic! I hope this makes up for it since it’s a little longer than the other parts! anyway, like always, please let me know your thoughts and I hope you enjoy some jealous!burky and friend!josty sorry this is like all tys im so sorry lmao

word count: 3,928

one / two / three / four / five

-

The next morning Andre was out before you could even try to make up for the night before with apology pancakes. You lounged around the apartment for a few hours, hoping he would be back after practice but when the afternoon rolled around, you gave up. You had your own errands to run, and if he wanted to avoid you, you could avoid him.

It’s not like you had nothing to do except sit around all day, so you began your furniture shopping. The landlord had contacted you saying the unit would be ready for move-in a few days before the lease started if you needed it. Had it not been for the, now, awkward atmosphere you’d created because you couldn’t keep your libido in check, you would’ve rejected the offer and waited until the first of the month. However, you’d fucked up whatever shot you had with Andre and wanted to get out of his hair as soon as possible.

Though it wasn’t like he was around for you to be in his hair.

You would have made him aware of your plans had he been home, but from the hours of nine in the morning to nine in the evening, he was nowhere to be found. And when he was home, he was tucked away in his room and away from you. For a whole week, save for the three days he was on a road trip, Andre avoided you like the plague. The only times you saw him were in passing as you took turns entering or exiting the apartment.

It was a careful dance you both performed, tiptoeing around as to not bother the other person just in case that night came up in a conversation. Which was probably smart on Andre’s part because you did want to talk about it. He didn’t have to feel the same, but you wanted to apologize and clear the air at least. The last thing you wanted was for Andre to tell Tom, who would tell Taylor, how you came onto him wantonly. Your cheeks reddened at the thought of being humiliated like that.

So, for a whole week, you’d barely seen him. You spent your days out and organizing your stuff for your new apartment. You’d ordered all your furniture items and had them delivered to the building, frequently running over to guide the delivery men through the complex.

All you had left to do now was pack the few things you’d brought to Andre’s and return your spare key, which you’d probably just leave on the counter with a note that said ‘bye’ since you never got the chance to speak to him.

Your last day at his apartment was filled with packing your suitcase and bags, making about fifty laps through the rooms to double check that you had everything. You really didn’t want to have to come back because you forgot something stupid.

But honestly? At this point you’d just replace whatever you accidentally left behind with something new to avoid another awkward run in.

A knock sounded at the front door as you finished packing up the few spices you’d bought for the kitchen. Andre’s cooking skills borderlined on nonexistent and it’s not like he was going to use the chile and herbs so you figured you might as well take them with you.

You answered the door to reveal Tyson’s cheerful face, one that was way too cheerful for before noon.

“Uh, hi, Tyson,” you said, slightly confused at his arrival, “Andre’s not here at the moment.”

“I know. He’s at Gabe’s watching the game. I’m just dropping something off for him,” Tyson answered, ruffling the bag you hadn’t noticed he was carrying.

“Oh, well come in,” you said, opening the door wider for him to enter.

Tyson walked in and over to the couch, resting the bag against the coffee table. You let him be and resumed your packing, assuming he would be leaving soon anyway.

“Are you moving out already?” He asked suddenly, tearing your focus away from the box you were currently stuffing.

“Yeah,” you huffed out, “I found a new place on 36th. I’m just finishing up the last couple boxes and then I’m out for good.”

“Is Andre not helping you?” Tyson asked as he took a spot beside you at the countertop.

“No, we’re kind of… not talking at the moment?” you said, though it sounded more like a question, “I didn’t want to bother him with something I can do alone.”

“Not talking?” He repeated with a smirk, “Sounds like an interesting story, please share with the class.”

“It’s not that interesting, I promise,” you chuckled lightly, hoping to steer the conversation elsewhere.

“Andre, literally, never shuts up. If he’s not talking to you something obviously happened,” Tyson said.

You gave him a sideways glare to let him know you really didn’t want to talk about this, but he sat there expectantly as he waited for you to continue.

“I may or may not have tried to make a move on him,” you explained with a blush, “And it may or may not have been well received. And he’s been MIA for a week, so I haven’t had the chance to apologize.”

The smirk on Tyson’s face fell when you reached the end of your sentence and his brows furrowed instead.

“Wait, you’re telling me he turned you down? Burky? Turned you down?” He reiterated slowly.

“You don’t need to keep saying it. It was bad enough when it actually happened, I don’t need to relive it,” you muttered, breaking his gaze as your cheeks flamed even hotter.

“Sorry, I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I just don’t understand why he did that. He seemed pretty interested when I asked him about it,” he said. That caught your attention.

“You asked him about it?” You insisted, focusing on the last few words he said.

“I probably shouldn’t—,” Tyson stammered, noticing the mistake he made too late.

“No,” you interrupted, “No, you have to explain yourself right now. What did you ask him?”

Tyson looked at you hesitantly, and he knew there was no way out of this.

“I, maybe, asked him at the golf course after we first met if he was planning to do something, but he said no. Then I asked him if I could try something, just to get on his nerves,” he added the last part quickly, “And he said no to that as well.”

“So he’s not interested?” You asked, dumbfoundedly. At no part in Tyson’s story did Andre ever say he was into you.

“He definitely is. You should’ve seen him, he was so defensive. I think he just doesn’t want to try anything because of your roommate situation,” he gestured vaguely to emphasize his point.

“That’s so dumb, we aren’t even roommates. He was doing a favor for a friend. This was always temporary,” you countered.

“I never said it was smart, I was just saying what I thought,” Tyson held up his hands in surrender.

“Men are so fucking stupid,” you mumbled under your breath. If Andre was actually into you and not acting on it because of this, you were going to kill him.

“Yeah, I can’t say I disagree,” he said, laughing lightly.

“Well, I want to be out of here before he gets back, so I hope you don’t have any plans,” you sighed, taping off the last box you’d finished packing, “You’re helping me build furniture.”

“You don’t want to talk this out with him?” Tyson asked, moving from his spot to help carry a heavy box you were struggling with. You dropped your extra key on the counter before scribbling a note saying that you had everything moved out.

“If he wants to be an idiot, I’m not going to stop him,” you replied confidently, grabbing the suitcase and duffel bag you’d stashed by the door.

-

You drove yourself and Tyson to your new complex, and you were thankful for the extra hands so you didn’t have to make more than one trip.

Using your new key, you entered through the front door and were met with the tons of boxes you’d been piling up for a week now. You dropped your boxes and bags by the kitchen, which was the only uncluttered area of the whole apartment. Furniture covered almost every inch of the main living space, and you were internally dreading the hours it would take to build everything.

Tyson was just realizing just how much shit you had stocked up, but it was too late for him to back out now.

“This is going to take all day,” Tyson said, jaw falling open.

“I hope you’re good at reading directions then,” you replied, turning to give him a wide smile.

The next seven hours passed in a blur, most of it consisting of you shouting at Tyson for misinterpreting the instructions and him getting confused about which screws went where. You ordered pizza about halfway through the day, which led to more arguments about what toppings to get, but you’d rather die than eat a five meat pie.

Once the last piece of furniture was complete, your bedroom dresser, you both fell on the couch in a sweaty haze, out of breath and sore from lifting.

“Thank you for your help today,” you said finally.

“Don’t thank me yet, you’re going to owe me a favor one day,” Tyson replied, letting his head fall on the back cushion. You rolled your eyes at his statement, but he spoke again before you could say anything.

“Actually, I know what you’re going to do for me,” he said, sitting upright to look at you with a devious smile. You raised your eyebrows at his proposition, indicating for him to go on.

“You’re going to be my date to the charity dinner this Saturday.”

-

Despite your refutations, Tyson made it very clear you couldn’t get out of the event. At first, he blackmailed you with the furniture building and that you owed him, but that wore off quickly when you stopped feeling bad about soliciting him for help.

He called you about four times on the day of to make sure you were still planning on going.

“I’m serious, Y/N. If you’re not ready to leave when I get there in an hour, I’m taking you as is. And if you don’t want to look like a slob when you see Burky, I suggest you be ready,” he insisted for the hundredth time.

“I promise you I’ll be ready. Now I’m hanging up so I can shower,” you groaned out, tired of his constant chiding. You ended the call and tossed your phone on the bed. You’d come to terms with being kidnapped for the evening, but a part of you still wanted to ditch last minute just to upset Tyson.

After your shower, you dolled yourself up, putting on the new dress you’d bought for the occasion. It was a form fitting black number, not short enough to be scandalous but still hugged your chest in the most flattering way possible.

Maybe you had gotten it with the intention of wanting to make Andre feel at least a little jealous, but that was beside the point. If he didn’t want to ask you out, you wanted to make him eat his words.

You were finishing the final touch-ups with your makeup when your phone rang once again.

“Hello?” You answered, not needing to read the ID to know who it was.

“I’m parked out front,” Tyson said.

“I’ll be down in five,” you replied.

“Wearing something presentable, I hope?” He said, voice raising at the end of his sentence. You didn’t answer him, deciding it was better that he saw for himself just how presentable you were.

Tyson’s reaction was everything you hoped it would be and more. He leaned against the side of his car, scrolling on his phone when he heard your heels click across the pavement.

Giving you a low whistle when he saw you, he tucked his phone back in his pants before clapping loudly.

“Wow,” he gushed, “Can I get a spin?”

You laughed at his praise and gave him a dramatic turn, flipping your hair for extra effect.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to impress someone,” he hooted, opening the passenger for you.

“Play your cards right, and you might get lucky tonight, Jost,” you teased, sliding yourself across the seat.

“In another life, baby. Another life,” he said wistfully, climbing into the driver’s side.

The drive to the arena took less than thirty minutes, but the time passed quickly as you updated Tyson on your new job and he explained what you were to expect from the night. It was mainly just for the big donors, much fancier than the regular events they did for ticket-holders.

He mentioned that it would be filled with inane conversation that bored him to death most times, but he’d have an excuse to be more lenient on the mingling since you were with him. You weren’t quite sure how that worked, but it didn’t matter much to you.

“Do you know if he’s bringing a date?” You asked timidly when he’d parked the car.

“The guys usually don’t bring dates to fancy events like these unless they’re serious about them, so no. It’ll mainly just be the wives tonight,” he answered.

“Then why are you bringing me?” You asked.

“What can I say? These events are a little boring, and I am in desperate need for some drama,” he replied with a sly smirk, and you knew agreeing to this was already proving to be a mistake.

“Great,” you whispered to yourself, “I can’t wait.”

Tyson ushered you into the vast space that was now decorated with a stage and multiple tables where the ice rink would normally be. Servers floated around with flutes of champagne, and Tyson swiftly snatched two when one passed by. Handing you a glass, he offered his arm for you to take, and you both made your way to the large group of hockey players who stood with their significant others.

Gabe was the first to notice the two of you join the group, welcoming you with a bright smile.

“Josty! About time! Everyone else is already here,” his voice boomed across the table and everyone else’s gazes flickered to the two of you.

“Who do you have with you?” Gabe’s wife, Mel, asked.

“I’m Y/N,” you said, introducing yourself and reaching over to shake her hand.

“This is Burky’s roommate that I told you about,” Gabe said to his wife, but everyone at the table heard. The few guys nodded in agreement, now giving you longer looks to take you in.

“Actually, we’re no longer roommates,” you chuckled, “I moved into my new place last week.”

“Andre wasn’t around to help her move, so I stepped up. She’s here to repay that favor,” Tyson added, making it clear to everyone there that you weren’t actually together on a date.

“Ah, I see,” Gabe said knowingly, and all the guys exchanged a look. It was clear there was something being said that also wasn’t, but you didn’t know anyone well enough to call them out on it or ask.

“I hate to steal your date away from you, Y/N, but us guys have to go do our rounds,” Gabe said after a moment, pushing his chair out to stand up. You knew he would’ve been whisked away from you eventually, but at least he was leaving you with a group of women who seemed nice enough.

-

Andre’s eyes found you the instant you walked through the doors. He would’ve been completely blown away by how gorgeous you looked tonight had he not seen who you’d come with.

You’d come with Tyson.

His friend, Tyson. The same friend who egged him about you a few weeks ago.

Andre instinctively stood up a little straighter, peering over the head of whatever donor he was currently talking to. Tyson was leading you to the team’s table, your arm wrapped around his.

How did Tyson even know you? As far as he was concerned, the only time he’d met you was that one day in his apartment. It didn’t seem like he’d gotten a good chance to talk to you that morning, and Andre doubted Tyson would be as bold as to ask for your number in front of the guys.

The donor was listing off some statistics from the season, but everything went over Andre’s head as he watched you mingle with the group. Only now was he noticing your attire for the evening: a tight black dress where your breasts were spilling over tastefully.

He felt his chest tighten as he saw Tyson’s hand drift from your arm to the small of your back. You tossed your hair over your shoulder as you took a seat at the table, and the other guys excused themselves.

Andre saw them begin to disperse into the crowds, and he took this as an opportunity to excuse himself from his conversation, hoping Z could continue on without him.

He maneuvered his way through the busy bodies, apologizing when people would call out his name to engage in discussion. Stepping into Tyson’s path, he cut the young forward off with a gentle, but firm, hand to his chest.

“Got a second, Josty?” He asked quickly, pulling him aside before he could agree.

“What’s up, man?” Tyson asked.

“You brought Y/N as your date?” Andre questioned even though he knew the answer, “I didn’t know you guys talked.”

“Yeah, well, I stopped by that one day to drop off your shit, and she was packing. It looked like a lot, so I offered to help. We drove all her stuff over, and I helped build some furniture,” Tyson explained casually, as if the answer was common knowledge.

“And you asked her here on a date?” Andre asked, but there was more bite in his voice than he intended.

“Is that a problem?” Tyson retorted.

“I told you to leave her alone,” Andre insisted.

“Why? Do you have feelings for her? She told me about the disastrous night you turned her down, so I don’t think it’s that,” Tyson recalled, crossing his arms for effect, “If you’ll excuse me, I have to go talk to some people.”

Tyson walked around Andre’s tall frame, leaving the man to simmer alone.

Andre didn’t want to admit that Tyson was right, especially to him. Andre was into you, and he’d fucked up any chance he had when he panicked and ran away.

He regretted his decision the minute he closed his bedroom door behind him that night. He closed his eyes and let his forehead hit the door, kicking himself for ruining the moment. You were right there in front of him, lips plump and ready to be kissed, and he panicked.

Andre hadn’t expected that night would take a turn and that you would be looking up at him with lustful eyes, and he didn’t know what to do. He overthought the situation, and before he could process what was happening, he was pushing you away and running down the hall.

Now, the same point was being driven home once again. He fucked up. He didn’t kiss you, and then ignored you, and now you were here looking hot as fuck and on the arm of someone who wasn’t him.

Andre saw you leave the table and make your way over to the bar. Before he could stop himself, he was following you there, his excuses becoming even more short when people tried to grab his attention.

“Hi,” he said, catching your attention as you waited for the bartender to return with your drink.

“Oh, hi, Andre,” you replied curtly. You were wondering how long it would take for him to see you out; not that you were awaiting his arrival, though.

“You look great tonight,” he complimented as he fidgeted with his hands.

“Thanks,” you said, tapping your fingers along the bartop.

“I’m sorry about the apartment thing. I would’ve helped if I had known you were moving,” Andre persisted.

“You weren’t really around for me to tell you about it,” you declared, “And don’t worry, Tyson handled it.” Except Andre was worrying about it. He was worrying about Tyson handling you, and he wanted to not think about that.

“I’m sorry about all of that,” he apologized again. Andre wasn’t one to be at a loss for words, but it seemed he never could find the right ones around you.

“Again, don’t worry about it,” you placated, giving him a reassuring smile though reassured was far from how you wanted him to feel. Thankfully, your drink had come and Tyson had appeared at your side.

“There you are, babe,” he said to interrupt your conversation. His hand reached over to lightly grasp your hip and pull you gently into his side, “I haven’t seen you in awhile, I just wanted to check in on you.”

Andre didn’t bother to try and hide the murderous glare he was giving Tyson for pulling you away. You felt the tension between you increase tenfold, and you brought it upon yourself to break it before they started yelling.

“We should get going, but I’ll see you around, Andre,” you said, breaking Andre’s focus so he turned his gaze to you. His eyes softened immediately, and you could see the remorse hidden behind them. You gave him a shy smile before allowing Tyson to lead you away from the table.

You’d walked about twenty feet before Tyson opened his mouth again.

“He’s seething,” he said quietly, leaning down to say it into your ear. You knew Andre could see you, and you knew this little gesture would upset him even more.

“Good,” you said happily. It was only fair he suffered a little bit if he was going to be a dumbass.

“I’m going to get my ass kicked at practice on Monday,” he muttered.

“I bet if we leave now he’ll be even more furious,” you suggested, turning to give him a pleading look.

“You really want me dead, huh?” Tyson chuckled, steering you towards the front entrance.

“Hey, it was your idea to bring me. This is on you,” you emphasized.

“I know, I’m hoping I don’t regret it,” he sighed, “We’re getting ice cream on the way back.”

You laughed at his statement, nodding your head in agreement. You’d had enough social interaction tonight, and the pot had been thoroughly stirred thanks to yours and Tyson’s charade.

Andre watched from afar as you and Tyson left the arena, his hand resting near your ass as he escorted you to the exit. Tyson stopped occasionally as he said his goodbyes to those who tried to talk to him, probably making up some excuse as to why the two of you needed to leave.

Andre still had a bit of time left before it was acceptable for him to leave as he had drawn the short end of the stick this time around. His hands tightened around the glass he was currently holding, blocking out whatever Mikko was trying to tell him. Andre was glad he hadn’t driven tonight because he planned on getting trashed before the night was over to get the images of you and Tyson together out of his mind.

[phantom-curve]

44 for willex and au of your choice! If you’re still taking prompts

Oop this prompt invaded my brain and ran off into the sunset. I definitely didn’t mean for it to get as long as it did, but here we are! From the gimme a chance AU, I give you 3 times Willie sat on Alex’s lap +1 time Alex sat on Willie’s (these span the time between all the other one-shots I wrote for Willex in this universe!)

#44: sitting on the other’s lap (Rated a heavy T for some adult themes and language. Also available on ao3!)

1.

Willie hardly ever thought about it anymore. When they were out in public, when they were at the studio with Luke and Reggie for band practice, when they were just hanging around one of their apartments, he never really thought about them in terms of dating. He kind of more thought about them in terms of forever. Not that he was rushing anything, but more that there was a kind of aura around Alex, a kind of energy, that had a way of sinking into Willie’s very bones and saying hey, I’m gonna stick around for the rest of your life that made him think in terms of absolutes. Alex was an absolute. Willie was totally a-okay with that.

The thing that bothered him though, was the fact that Alex didn’t seem to get it.

He still waited for Willie to offer his hand to hold. He didn’t kiss him unless Willie made it painfully obvious that he was okay with that. He hadn’t even managed to get him to spend the night yet because Alex always came up with a reason to go home before Willie could even try to extend the invitation.

And it wasn’t that Alex wasn’t into him. He was. He so totally was. Willie knew that. But it was like he was afraid to own up to it. Which Willie could kind of understand. They had talked about their families and while Willie was lucky to be fully accepted for who he was at home, Alex’s parents were a different story.

They weren’t outright cruel, they had still provided the necessities in the form of food, water, and shelter while Alex had been living at home, but they didn’t love any more. They didn’t talk, they didn’t help, they just ghosted along as if they had never been a part of Alex’s life in the first place. It seemed worse than outright hatred, but Alex claimed it was better than nothing. After all, it had meant that they didn’t ask where he had been or where he was going or when he would be home, which had kinda been a dream as a high schooler. Other kids had wished they had that kind of freedom, Alex told him. Not worth complaining about. It had basically been like having roommates, which was great practice for when he moved out and actually had roommates, Alex said, and Willie pretended all of that was normal because he could tell Alex wanted it to be. They didn’t talk about how now that Alex was living on his own his parents had completely dropped all communication with him. Willie just made a note of it and decided he would make up for all that affection Alex had been missing out on.

So, Willie carried on the way he was used to when it came to being interested in someone and in a relationship with them. He complimented Alex, gave him cute little nicknames, and generally tried to see how often he could manage to make the other boy blush. One of the most successful tactics he had found was sitting in Alex’s lap, especially when he least expected it.

Like right now, in the middle of a Sunset Curve practice.

Luke had been getting frustrated with part of the melody of a new song or something, and Reggie had finally told him to just jam it out until he found the notes he was looking for, and Alex had paused his drumming, tucking his sticks into one hand, and reaching down with the other to grab the large water bottle he kept at his feet when he played. He watched the way the light caught on Alex’s hair as he flicked it off his face, turning the blonde strands into spun gold. Found himself mesmerized by the lines of Alex’s jaw and neck as he tipped his head back to rehydrate. His feet moved on their own, pulling him over to his boyfriend’s side like Alex was a magnet and Willie was made of metal.

Alex quirked a brow at him as he lowered the water bottle, but Willie didn’t say anything. Just grinned and plopped himself down right on Alex’s lap, even though he knew the stool was only meant to hold one person’s weight and Alex had grumbled more than once over Luke and Reggie messing with it. Alex didn’t grumble at him though. Especially not when he looped his arms around the other boy’s neck and leaned forward to place a kiss against his temple. Alex’s cheeks blushed Willie’s favorite shade of pink, the one that almost matched the hoodie he always wore.

“You looked a little lonely over here. Thought I’d come say hi.”

“Hi.”

Alex’s lips parted as he breathed out the word, his eyes softening the way they did every time Willie looked into them for a beat too long. Willie felt his smile widen. He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the scent of sweaty band boys and fresh linen and Alex’s honey vanilla shampoo. Alex started to slip his own arms around Willie’s waist, his head tilted up as his gaze fell to his lips. And then an extra loud guitar chord rang out through the amps and Alex jumped, nearly dumping Willie on the ground.

“Alright, lovebirds, enough! I figured out what was wrong with the chord progression. I just gotta switch it from a G chord to a...”

Willie tuned out, never fully able to follow along when Luke got going on a musical tangent. Instead, he pressed one quick kiss to Alex’s lips and stood, slipping out from behind the kit to return to his original position on the couch set up across from where the boys stood to play. Alex watched him with a soft smile and starry eyes before giving his head a quick shake and refocusing on Luke, cheeks still tinged that pale pink that made Willie’s heart soar. Willie tucked the memory away with all his other favorite Alex moments and watched the band get back to it, head bobbing along as he watched his boyfriend shine. And if he made sure to keep his gaze firmly focused on Alex, winking every now and then just so he could see that blush creep back in, well no one else had to know about that but him.

2.

Surprisingly, the hardest part of dating a guy like Alex, a guy who was beautiful and effortlessly sexy and regularly doing something that gave literally anybody a free pass to ogle him for as long as his band was up on stage, was the fact that his boyfriend seemed to have no fucking clue just how attractive he was. And he was also shockingly bad at knowing when someone was hitting on him. Willie was pretty sure if he hadn’t asked Alex on a date after running him over, the guy would have never made a move. And that was afterWillie spent 20 minutes openly flirting with him and dropping ten-ton hints as he helped him clean up and bandage his wounds. It was simultaneously adorable and exhausting, because it meant that sometimes Willie had to watch people chat up his boyfriend while Alex awkwardly bumbled his way through what he assumed was a friendly conversation.

Willie, as a rule, did not get jealous. Jealousy was for people who had trust issues, and Willie trusted Alex more than he had ever trusted a single other person before. So, he wasn’t jealous, per se, as he made his way through the crowd, eyes locked on the back of the guy casually leaning over where Alex was sitting alone in a booth against the wall. He was actually a bit concerned because Alex looked uncomfortable, and he hadn’t thought to tell him that he was gonna make it to the show tonight, which had seemed like a romantic idea at the time but obviously wasn’t because Alex was drumming one of his hands against his thighs and tapping his fingers against the back of his phone on the table in front of him with the other.

He was probably waiting for Willie to call him, because that was something Willie had been doing now that he had gone pro and started traveling for competitions on the weekend instead of showing up at Ebbie’s to cheer on the band from the front row. He had been a little late to snag a front row spot this weekend, barely making it for the last couple of songs in the set. But he had made it, because the competition had ended up getting rained out and Willie had braved the hours of Saturday evening traffic back to LA so that he could see his boyfriend in person instead of through a phone screen.

His boyfriend who was now being hit on by a complete stranger in a crowded bar where Luke and Reggie were nowhere to be found. Willie frowned slightly as he watched Alex draw back into the booth a bit more, both hands picking up speed as they continued to mindlessly tap out a rhythm. No, Willie wasn’t jealous. He was mad that this dude wasn’t picking up on Alex’s cues and backing off. So, now that he was only a few steps away, he skipped forward and made his presence known.

“Hey Hotdog, you looked pretty good up there tonight.”

Alex’s face lit up like the 4th of July, his green gaze skipping past the guy invading his space and latching onto Willie like he was seeing the sun for the first time. Willie felt his lips curve into a soft smile. The unknown guy straightened a bit, eyes skipping back and forth between Alex and Willie, brow furrowed. Willie didn’t have the capacity to help the dude connect the dots, because all he could focus on was Alex and how fast his expression had changed upon hearing Willie’s voice.

“Willie.”

Alex’s tone was quiet and awed, like he had conjured Willie up out of thin air. His hands stilled, and Willie couldn’t resist anymore. He slipped past the stranger who was finally starting to back up and step away, hands raised slightly as if to say sorry, bro, didn’t know you had a boyfriend, and wormed his way into the booth, settling himself on Alex’s lap. Alex leaned forward, his head falling to rest in the crook of Willie’s neck, breath stuttering out and sending a wave of goosebumps across his skin.

“I didn’t think you were coming tonight.”

“Comp got cancelled. And I missed you.”

Willie dropped a kiss on the top of Alex’s blonde head, breathing in the distinct honey-vanilla-laundry scent that always got a bit more intense after a show. Alex’s cheeks warmed, Willie delighting in the fact that he could actually feel the blush against his own skin, and his lips moved against the hollow of Willie’s throat.

“I always miss you.”

The words were tempered with gentle kisses and Willie thought he might melt into the floor right there on the spot. He didn’t censor his next words, let the longing bleed through so Alex understood just how badly he wanted to be with him.

“Come home with me tonight then. I think six months of dating is long enough to move into sleepover territory.”

Alex’s arms squeezed around his waist for a brief second, Willie biting his tongue as he listened to Alex’s breath hitch and then pick up a bit faster than before. He pulled his head out of Willie’s neck, mouth open to answer, when the other two-thirds of Sunset Curve suddenly arrived at the table in their typical whirlwind fashion. They called out happy greetings as they clocked Willie’s arrival, slipping into the other side of the booth. Willie smiled and tried to focus on what they were saying so he could beat back the disappointment of not getting an answer. He only startled slightly when Alex’s lips were suddenly at his ear.

“Six months of dating is definitely long enough. Take me home, pretty boy.”

And Willie felt his own cheeks heat, prayed that Luke and Reggie wouldn’t spot the change in the low light as he settled himself further into Alex’s embrace. He kept himself occupied with linking his fingers through Alex’s where they still wrapped around his waist and tried not to think too much about finally getting to sleep next to the guy he was falling more in love with every day as he counted down the minutes to bar close.

He wasn’t even surprised when he woke up in the morning and realized a feeling of homecoming had settled fully and deeply into his heart and soul. At some point in the last six months home and Alex had become synonymous anyway.

3.

The worst part about getting in a car accident and breaking his leg in three places was the fact that Willie couldn’t skate for several months while he recovered and went through physical therapy and all the other bullshit necessary to make sure he was strong enough to compete at a similar level as before. His sponsors had been understanding and Willie was able to do little things here and there to fulfill his contracts, so he wasn’t too worried about any of that for the time being. Mostly he was just bored and fidgety. But it was okay, because the best part about getting in car accident and breaking his leg in three places was having Alex as his caretaker while he recovered.

Alex, who had shown up at the hospital when Willie was still groggy from surgery and climbed into bed with him and kissed his bruises and told him he loved him. Alex, who had come back to the hospital every chance he got for the week Willie was stuck there post-op. Alex, who had practically moved into Willie’s apartment once he was sent home, even though they had both agreed they weren’t ready to live together yet, because Willie needed someone to help him get to and from the bathroom and shower and Alex was obviously his first choice despite the fact that Willie had three capable roommates who had offered to help.

Alex was the best part about his recovery, hands down. Except for the fact that he seemed to think Willie was made of glass now.

They were supposed to be having a movie night at the Sunset Curve apartment. Willie had gotten his cast off and been switched to a walking boot earlier that day, and he had told Alex he would come by after he left the hospital because he needed a break from the same four walls of his bedroom. Luke and Reggie had sent a text that they were picking up a pizza and drinks, so Willie had hoped for maybe a little bit of make-out action on the couch before they got back. Instead, Alex had fretted and fluttered about, forcing Willie to lay down on the couch with his leg elevated while Alex plumped his pillows and asked him a million times if he was feeling okay. Willie had been about ready to tackle Alex just to get him to shut up, still healing leg be damned, when Luke and Reggie came back.

Then it had been an argument over what to watch with Reggie insisting they hadn’t watched Star Wars recently even though they definitely had, and by the time the yellow words were rolling across the screen Willie realized Alex had opted for the floor next to the couch instead of the actual couch itself. He had his arm stretched out along Willie’s hip, but it wasn’t nearly enough contact. So, Willie swung his legs over the edge of the couch and stood, before unceremoniously dropping himself down directly in Alex’s lap. Alex let out an indignant huff, rolling his eyes as Reggie turned to shush him.

“Willie, what the hell? Get back on the couch, you need to rest your leg.”

Willie rolled his own eyes, snuggling further into Alex’s chest, winding his arms around the back of his neck to play with the blonde hair that was a bit overgrown at the back.

“No, I need to cuddle with my boyfriend. You keep acting like you’re gonna hurt me if you touch me and its honestly pretty rude. I’m not that breakable.”

Alex made sound of protest in the back of his throat, his hands waving around and above Willie’s booted leg.

“Obviously you are very breakable!”

“Yeah, in a fight with a car,” Willie snorted, sighing and refusing to budge even an inch. “You could never hurt me. C’mon, baby, please?”

Alex flushed from head to toe. Willie didn’t usually break out the softer pet names unless they were alone because they kind of made Alex blue screen, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Willie pressed a kiss against Alex’s throbbing pulse as well, in for a penny, in for a pound and all that.

“Guys,” Reggie whined, “can you like...take it to the bedroom or shut up? Some of us are trying to watch the Empire strike back here.”

And Alex, sweet, beautiful, perfect Alex, scooped Willie up like he weighed nothing at all, cheeks still pink and eyes unfocused in a way that told Willie his mind had taken a nosedive into the gutter. He couldn’t help but laugh, clinging on so that he wasn’t complete deadweight in Alex’s very capable arms.

“Dude, seriously?” He heard Luke call out, but the sound was muffled quickly behind Alex’s bedroom door as it closed, the lock clicking into place.

“That wasn’t fair.”

Alex’s tone didn’t match his words, his voice going breathless as he snuggled both of them into the bed, his hands sneaking under the hem of Willie’s crop top to skim along his ribs.

“All’s fair in love and war, babe.”

Willie let Alex swallow the sound of his laugh, lips meeting for the much-anticipated make-out session he had been hoping for earlier. Movie night was forgotten. By the time the sun was rising, Willie was pretty sure he had convinced Alex exactly how not breakable he was.

+1

Alex wasn’t usually the one to initiate physical contact. Willie was completely at ease handing out kisses and hugs and linking their fingers together whenever it suited him, but Alex wasn’t quite as uninhibited. He had gotten better over the last year or so of dating, but he still wasn’t quite as casual with it. It was easier when they were alone, Willie’s lingering glances and complimentary words making him feel bold and confident.

It was kind of a running joke between them, the fact that Alex had initiated their first kiss so suddenly only to then spend the rest of their relationship holding himself back a bit. And even though Willie never meant it as more than a tease, Alex had been genuinely trying to change that about himself. He had started therapy and he was doing the work to unpack all of the ways his parents had fucked him up over the years. He was learning and growing, and not just for Willie, but for himself. It was nice.

Okay, it was really fucking hard and stressful. But it was also kind of working. Alex had found himself feeling a lot less anxious, especially when Willie was out of town competing and Alex had flashbacks to the car accident and other minor injuries Willie had sustained while on the road. He had learned some new coping mechanisms, and he had started to be a bit freer with his own physical affection. Which definitely had some very nice side effects.

Side effects like finally being the one to make Willie blush and blank out for once.

It shouldn’t have been a big deal. They had been dating for over a year, they regularly spent the night together, they were fully committed to each other. They had sex for Christ’s sake, so nothing should have felt like too much intimacy wise. And it didn’t. Until they were at some BBQ for one of Willie’s skater friends and Alex started to feel a bit overwhelmed, but instead of taking himself into the bathroom to have a quiet moment and pull it together, he found Willie, sitting next to a fire pit with a beer in hand. He didn’t even think twice before dropping into his lap and snatching the can from Willie’s grasp to steal a sip.

The contact was instantly comforting, and Alex suddenly realized that must be why Willie was constantly crawling into his own lap. It felt cozy and safe in his boyfriend’s arms, every part of him warm and close enough for Alex to inhale the scent of coconut shampoo mixed with cherry Chapstick. It was only when he went to return the beer can to Willie that he realized he had kind of frozen. For one second, Alex let himself panic that he had gone too far, done something wrong that would end up ruining everything, and then he realized Willie was breathing a lot faster than normal, one of his hands finding purchase against Alex’s waist and squeezing. The conversation carried on around them, but time seemed to stand still within their own personal little bubble.

“Alex, you cannot just do that and expect me not to want you six ways to Sunday now.”

Willie’s breath was hot against Alex’s neck, his words coming out fast and furious like he had to say them all now before he couldn’t speak at all. Alex felt his cheeks warm as he turned his head slightly to meet Willie’s eyes. His pupils were wide, cheeks the kind of ruddy dark brown that Alex had learned meant he was definitely blushing too. The fingers on the hand that was clenched around Alex’s hip danced across the thin strip of skin between his pants and his shirt, drawing a series of patterns across Alex’s side that made him shiver. Willie groaned beneath him, the sound breathless and just loud enough for Alex to hear. He smirked, wiggling a little like he was trying to get more comfortable.

“Lex, I swear to God I will make out with you so hard right in front of all these people. It won’t bother me. You gotta stop it unless you’re willing to risk that.”

Alex kinda wanted to risk it. Knowing he made Willie feel that out of control was a huge rush. God, he really should have taken advantage of all this physical stuff a lot earlier, huh?

“You wanna make out with me here, or you wanna make out with me back at your apartment?”

Alex kept his voice hushed, dipping his head so his lips were right next to Willie’s ear. Willie shuddered beneath him and then downed his beer in one long swallow. He nudged Alex to standing, following him but not moving out from his spot slightly behind him as his hand fit itself more snuggly into place along Alex’s waist.

“Gents,” he addressed the other skaters scattered around the fire with a two fingered salute, “Lex and I gotta get going. Got some plans to take care of.”

Alex tried not to snort and blush at the obvious undertone to Willie’s words. The rest of the group had no such qualms, hooting and hollering as Willie practically dragged Alex out of the back yard, hand raising to give them a middle finger when Alex heard Max call out get you some, Stewart! Alex laughed, stepping up close behind Willie as they came around to the front of the house, voice dipping low in a tease.

“Jeez, Wils, who knew sitting in your lap would do it for you?”

Willie turned without warning, catching Alex before he could trip into him and surging forward to connect their lips in a kiss that featured a bit more teeth than usual.

“You do it for me, Alex. It’s all you, all the time. God, I fucking love you.”

Alex didn’t get a chance to respond before Willie was pulling away and ushering Alex into his car. He linked their hands together on the console between the seats, and Alex didn’t even complain once about his speeding. He was too busy thinking up all the other things he could do to make Willie lose it in public like that again. He had a lot of time to make up for, and the rest of their lives to do so.  

[03sonika05]

PINK

Yeonjun x reader

Genre: fluff

He was the first boy you were friends with. Having grown up next door to each other, you and yeonjun used to be practically inseparable. You walked to preschool together, learnt how to ride a bike together, and even had sleepovers on a regular basis.

He was the first boy to break your heart. It was strange, because the two of you were never even together. But at some point through middle school, he left you. You never even noticed it. He simply drifted away, changing his group of friends, his interests, his personality, everything. He became the choi yeonjun, athletic, attractive and charming. The boy who had it all. And you were just y/n.

“The project will be worth 45% of your grade”, your teacher called out. Thoughts of the taxing, boring homework you had ahead of you plagued your mind all morning. It was a group project, and you were supposed to find out who your partner was the next day. You prayed it was a good student, you couldn’t afford to lose marks just because of another student’s incompetence. You just hoped you would get along with them.

“Y/n and yeonjun, since the two of you came in late, you will have to pair up for the project”. You blinked in surprise. No. You must have misheard the teacher. There’s no way you were working with him, of all people. However, when you looked towards the pink haired boy and caught his gaze, you knew that you will, indeed, be working with the one person you can’t stand. For eight weeks. Wonderful.

“Y/nieee!! Wait for me!”, his annoying voice called out just as you were leaving. In a huff , you turned around to see him giving you a goofy grin. You almost smiled back at him. “What?”, you said, choosing to give him a cold glare instead.

The glare didn’t work. “So I was thinking, why don’t I come over to your place tomorrow? For the project.” Great. So now he wants to come over. “We can just work at the library, yeonjun, you don’t have to come”, you told him. There. That should work.

“Well I want to. I miss your mom’s cookies. Plus, the library will be closed tomorrow, it’s Saturday.”

Damn it, he was right. And what was this about the cookies? So he won’t even acknowledge the fact that he was the one who left the cookies. He could have had the cookies, but chose not to. Giving him a grunt in response, you ran home. To hide the damn cookies.

“Yeonjun? Yeonjun! Are you even listening to me!?”, you asked, for what seemed to be the hundredth time. “Huh?”. He was gazing out of the window, not listening to a word you were saying. He hasn’t changed. You shook your head. “We need to decide on the era that we want to represent in this assignment”,you explained. “Now i was thinking-

“Let’s get some ice cream.” Your mouth hung open in surprise. They had so much work to finish and all he cared about was ice cream!? “Come onnn y/nie, I know how much you love strawberry ice cream with those disgusting rainbow sprinkles”.

Maybe it was the puppy dog eyes he was giving you, or the fact that he remembered your favourite flavour, but you found yourself nodding.

The two of you had settled into a routine. You would meet up after school everyday, work on the project, get some food, and to your dismay, raid the fridge for your mom’s cookies. Sometimes you wondered why he had so much time to spare. Didn’t he have soccer practice? Or a bunch of friends to hang out with?

Nevertheless, you were content with this. It seemed just like the old times, when it was just you and him. Not to mention, the two of you worked well together. With your practicality and his creative flair, you were sure to get an amazing grade. So yes. You had a comfortable routine.

That is, until, yeonjun decided to be an idiot and forced you to come to a party. You didn’t do parties, you had no interest in watching a bunch of strangers get drunk and behave like animals. And yet, you found yourself in a classmates house, amidst loud music, alcohol, teenagers, and some disgusting looking chips.

You had been here for two hours now, and yeonjun was nowhere to be found. He was probably with one of his friends, or busy flirting with one of the many girls that circled around him. After waiting around for a while, you decided to take matters into your own hands. You couldn’t help but feel jealous. He didn’t need you at all. It was almost as if he was leaving you all alone. Again. You shook your head. It didn’t matter. You were here, so you might as well have some fun.

The flashing lights were what you liked the most. The room was practically swimming, and you could faintly make out the silhouette of the girl you had recently made friends with dancing in front of you. The booze was working wonders. You simply moved your arms to the beat of the music, and let yourself float away.

“Y/n!? Y/n!!”. A yell brought you to your senses. You were lying on a strange bed and your clothes, for some reason, were soaking wet. Which was unfortunate because it was freezing. “What the hell were you doing?! You can’t just go to a strangers place and get that drunk??” You looked up to see a very worried yeonjun looking at you. His hair looked tousled, like he had been running his fingers through it multiple times.

“What’s going on...where are we?”, you asked him. All he did was glare at you. “It doesn’t matter where we are, I’m taking you home.” You didn’t exactly like being treated like a child, but you didn’t have any energy left to argue. He probably sensed that, because he spoke more gently now. “ Look, you just got really drunk and then got dared to jump in the pool. It would have been really funny, if you knew how to swim. Which, as far as I remember, you don’t.”

The car ride to your house was silent. You were completely drained, and he seemed to have too much on his mind.

“I’m sorry”, you whispered. It almost felt as if you were apologising for something else entirely. A lost friendship. Because deep down, you missed him.

In a few minutes, you were dressed, sobered up, and tucked into bed. Your parents weren’t home at the moment, and yeonjun seemed determined not to leave your side. Which was probably for the best, because you could feel a horrifying fever coming your way.

“I like your hair. I love pink.” You had no idea why you said that. You felt almost delirious from the fever at this point. You couldn’t really focus on much, except for the movement of the ceiling fan, and the boy lying down beside you.

“You do?”.

“Yeah”.

“I remember how obsessed you used to be with pink.At one point you insisted on eating only pink food. That’s probably why I love this colour.” He whispered the last part.

You couldn’t stay awake any longer. His soft voice and comforting presence were all you needed to fall into a deep sleep. And that’s what you did. You slept, oblivious to the gentle fingers caressing your face, or the low voice apologising to you over and over again.

@magicalstellar

[angelbabyszn]

Oh it's okay. Would you consider writing a Cesar x Reader story where Reader is Oso's little sister? Like Cesar and Monse has a fight and shows up at Oso's house in the middle of the night and Oso calls out for Reader? Then fluff between Cesar and Reader?

Honestly (Cesar X Reader)

Requested!

Masterlist

N/N - Nickname

"Y/N, make sure you are home straight after school. I want to say bye before doing this big mission with the gang." said Oso, your big brother as he turned down another street in his car with you in the passenger's seat taking you to school.

"Please don't tell me y'all are robbing again. That's what got Spooky locked up the first time. I swear, I don't know you no more." you said as you looked out your window, not looking at your brother upset.

"I'm still the same brother. Just maturity hit me." said Oso. You rolled your eyes knowing he's nowhere near before he joined the gang.

"Not in a good way." you said underneath your breath but Oso heard it.

"Don't say that! I'm offended that you think I'm not the same person! I am!" shouted Oso while glancing at you. He pulls up at Freeridge High.

"Yeah, whatever. Home after school. Got it. Bye!" you said while quickly getting out of the car and shutting your door.

"Wait!" shouted Oso through the closed window that you heard but you ignore him. You started to walk down to enter the school's property.

A few moments later, you saw Oso's car slowly moving along beside you on the street in the corner of your eye but you ignore it and continue walking like he's not there trying to get your attention.

A moment later, you heard Oso beeping his horn at the wheel repeatedly while moving slowly down the street. Some students notice and look at you puzzled.

You growled furiously and in embarrassment. You know Oso won't stop until you go talk to him again.

You quickly go over to his car and open the passenger's door to see him with a huge goofy grin. He was glad that he got your attention again by slightly embarrassing you.

"How about we go to the beach on Saturday and have fun like we used to as kids? To prove that I'm still the same brother you knew three years ago." asked Oso, looking at you happily. 

You look at him furiously because he had to embarrass you today before the school day even started.

"Really?" you said with a small smile, changing expressions quickly.

You can't remember the last time you hung out with your brother. You miss when both of you stayed up all night, beating each other in video games, and playing on the beach, your favorite place to hang out together.

"Really. I miss hanging out with my little sis. I'm going to take a break to spend time with you this weekend. I know I've been distant from you but the only reason I joined was to keep you protected in the first place." said Oso looking at you, seriously.

You are grateful that the gang protects you but you miss your time with your brother. You don't know how much time you have with him before something happens. It scares you he's the only family you have left.

"Well, okay. Great. Now, can you please not embarrass me at school?" you asked looking at him with puppy eyes. This usually works on him.

"Y/N. I'm a Santo. That s*it doesn't work no more on me." Oso said and you pouted with your arms crossed against your chest. causing him to laugh.

"Bye Santo." you said and you shut the passenger door and start to walk towards the school again. Oso rolls down his driver window and pokes his head out the window. 

"Bye, N/N! Love you!" shouted Oso with a smile. You look back at him to see him.

"Love you!" you shouted back and you entered the school. 

You did a relieved sigh until you were pulled to the side by two familiar people.

"Jamal. Ruby. Oh my god." you said after jumping from both of them pulling you to the rest area of the school.

"Sorry Y/N. We got big problems." said Jamal looking at you all tense.

You look at him concerned and turn your head to Ruby quickly nodding in response.

"What's the problem?" you asked and Jamal and Ruby look at each other with the same idea in their head.

You look at them in confusion and are afraid because you have absolutely NO idea what they are thinking of.

"Oh my gosh, are you guys forcing me to do something I don't want to do?" you asked annoyed.

"Um...kinda?" said Ruby uncertain, making you even more confused as you looked at your two guy friends in front of you.

-

"I've just missed her so much." said Cesar crying on one of the tables in an empty classroom on the second floor.

Jamal, Ruby, and you just look at Cesar with weird faces as he cries in front of you.

"So...what do you want me to do?" you asked looking at the guys beside you with a puzzled face.

"Comfort him." said Jamal with an obvious face, making your eyes widened.

"Guys, no! I told y'all I'm not being the mom of this group again!" you said looking at them annoyed

"Why not? You're so good at it!" said Ruby looking at you with bright eyes.

"This whole friend group doesn't take my advice and does the exact opposite of what I said!" you said and cross your arms against your chest.

"Come on, Y/N. He needs you. Monse broke his heart again." said Ruby.

"Why should I even bother? He's gonna get back with her tonight. We ALL know that!" you said rolling your eyes.

For some reason, you felt your heart burn, making you feel hurt through your body but you ignore it.

"Y/N, please." said Jamal softly and you turned from him to Cesar looking at you upset.

You groaned and handed your backpack to Ruby quickly which caused him to lose balance a bit by the weight. You walk over to Cesar and sit next to him.

"There, there." you said looking at Cesar while carefully patting his back. He looks at you crazy, making you chuckle.

Cesar seeing you laugh a bit makes him gain a small smile and he chuckles back. 

"Y'all are weird." said Ruby and the final bell rang for first class.

Jamal and Ruby quickly left without saying goodbye knowing the gym teacher would be furious if you're late.

Cesar fixes himself as you grab your backpack off of the ground Ruby dropped rushing out.

You walk out of the classroom and start heading to English until you hear your name. You turn back to see Cesar jogging up until he starts walking the same pace as you.

"Thanks for comforting me." said Cesar, looking at you while holding his backpack with the left strap on his back. 

"You're welcome? I don't think I did anything for real." you said chucking, making Cesar have a small smile on his face.

"You actually did. You beside me, having your hand on your back," He grabs your left hand softly after he stops walking. You stop walking and look down at your hand he was holding. 

You look back at him to see a small smile on his face as he looks down at you.

"And looking into my eyes, makes me all better. I appreciate you, Y/N. A lot. Don't ever think you're not using your talent for nothing. I will always appreciate it." said Cesar. Your eyes widened as you felt your heart skip a beat a couple of times by what he said. 

"Oh wow. Thanks, C-Cesar. I've never thought you would say anything like that." you said, stuttering a bit as you looked at his eyes, still amazed.

"I got it from N/N. You know her?" asked Cesar looking at you with a grin, making you giggle.

"I'll pass it to them." you said playing his little game and both of you chuckled.

You start walking to your class again leaving the touch of Cesar's hand with yours. You were about to open the door to English until Cesar quickly opened it for you.

"Thanks."

"No problem, N/N. See you soon." said Cesar with a smile on his face making you return it.

"See you, Lil Spooky." you said and you enter your first class. 

Cesar closes the door after you enter and he feels his heart melting in happiness. He was finally able to have a conversation with you alone.

He turned around in another direction to go to Biology. What he or you didn't realize was Monse was right behind you listening to the whole conversation going on.

"What did I miss?" asked an exhausted Jasmine as she stood next to Monse. Monse looked at her weird trying to figure out why Jasmine was out of breath.

"Youtube...Security...number two...drop phone...need puff." said Jasmine trying to speak while catching her breath answering Monse's question that she thought of.

Jasmine stands completely up again, pulls out her inhaler out of her boobs, and takes a few puffs.

"Cesar and Y/N. I think he's falling for her and completely forgetting about me." said Monse. She was starting to feel a way about both of you possibly together by what she just saw. 

"Really? I can talk to her. Tell her to stay away from your man! She can't take him! She's not his girlfriend! You are! Got all of that goodness from puberty along with some good-"

"Please stop." said Monse, looking at Jasmine weirdly. Jasmine quickly stops and starts to stand awkwardly.

"I'm getting back with him." said Monse and she walks away to her class, leaving Jasmine confused in the hallway.

"Monse! You wanna talk about it?!" shouted Jasmine down the hallway at Monse but she ignored her.

Jasmine groans in annoyance and she turns around and starts walking sluggish. She has to get her phone back from security that probably grabs it from the floor now. 

She was in the middle of filming her first video of her new series on her YouTube channel, "Dear Jasmine." and that dude security just had to stop her.

-

"Go away." you groaned in your sleep in your bedroom as you heard the doorbell ring for the third time.

You fell asleep after watching movies all night while eating your favorite snacks and texting Jasmine trying to get with Ruby.

It seems like you and Jamal were the only ones only to have sense in this group when it comes to relationships and it's sad to say that. They just don't listen to you.

"N/N. There's somebody here to see you." said Oso on the other side of your closed door.

"I said go away!" you shouted angrily waking up from your sleep angrily. 

Your hair was all over the place on your head and your clothes you have on were at uncomfortable spots on your body while standing on your bed.

You slowly turn your head to your door with an angry face to see Cesar and your brother, Oso at your door looking at you shocked.

"Hi Y/N." said Cesar with a shy smile looking at you nervously.

You really don't care anymore what you were looking at right now. You know you were looking rough and if he can't talk to you like this, you'll kick him out of this house.

"The beast is awake! Ain't she a beauty? What a sight!" said Oso in a fake excited seller voice to Cesar with a goofy grin trying to hold his laughter. 

Oso eventually laughed out loud with tears coming out of his eyes from laughing too hard. Cesar chuckled a bit. making you offended at both of them.

You quickly grab one of your pillows from your bed and scream angrily as you throw your pillow across your room to hit Oso. It caught him off guard and it caused him to lose his balance a bit.

"Bye, beast! Leaving with the Santos! Don't have too much fun." said Oso, looking at both of you with a serious face at the last part. He threw the pillow back on your bed and left the house.

"I'ma kill him once he comes back." you said underneath your breath and you turn your head to see Cesar staring at you kinda nervously.

"Um... sit in the living room. I'm going to get myself..."you looked at your full mirror in the corner of your room to see your appearance. "Together."

"Okay." said Cesar and he quickly left out of your room while closing the door behind him.

You got out of your bed and quickly fixed your appearance. You got your clothes comfortable again and fixed your hair back to it earlier today.

You grab your phone to walk into the living room with a very nervous Cesar. You sat next to him and looked at him concerned. 

"So...what brought you here?"

"You and Oso are siblings?" asked Cesar and you nodded with an obvious look on your face.

"I guess that counts as another thing we have in common, huh?" said Cesar and you look at him confused.

"What I mean is-you know-we both live with our siblings with no parents." said Cesar stuttering on his words while trying to glance at you. He couldn't hold it for long. 

"What's going on?" you asked and Cesar glanced at you again, trying to figure out what to say.

"Me and Monse fought again." said Cesar and you slap your knee in annoyance.

"Cesar, do you even like her?! Do you think all of these fights are a huge red flag that both of you are not compatible?!" you shouted at him and he looked at you with no expression of how to respond to that.

"What's really going on? Tell me right now." you said and Cesar sighs and turns away.

"You better turn back at me, look into my eyes, and tell me the truth. Now." you said, taking his chin and bringing his head back around to look into his eyes again. You have enough with his intention with Monse and you want to end this tonight. 

He looks into your eyes and starts to move his mouth but no words are coming out. His eyes move to your lips for a moment and back to your eyes.

"Well?" you asked and a moment later, Cesar closed the distance and kissed you. Your eyes widened by his contact, not knowing what to do.

You were feeling surprised, happy, regretful, you couldn't believe what was happening but you know you have to end this now.

You push him away and look at him with shocked eyes trying to figure out what just happened.

"Why did you do that?!" you shouted looking at him confused and surprised standing up from the couch.

"I can't pretend I like somebody else no more. You're the one I want." said Cesar while grabbing your hands but you quickly pull them away.

"No! Cesar, did you not realize what you just did?! You just ruined your relationship with Monse! Oh my god, she's going to be furious at me! She doesn't want to be my friend anymore if she finds out about this! Our friend group going to fall apart again all because of yo-"

Cesar grabs you and kisses you again to stop you from talking. You slowly start to kiss him again until you quickly push him off again.

"Will you stop doing that?!" you shouted and Cesar puts his hands up like he didn't do anything.

"Oh my god." you said unknowing what to do and sat back down on the couch. 

"Y/N, please listen to me." said Cesar and he looks at you nervously.

"The only reason I started dating her because of you. I thought you won't go with a guy with me so I moved on and she just caught feelings once we started hanging out more than friends. The only reason, we keep on having these fights because of you. She knew I have feelings for you but never mentioned it until tonight. I don't have to hide my true feelings anymore." explained Cesar. 

Your heart skipped a beat by what he just confessed making you scared what was going to happen next.

"So...what happens with your relationship with Monse?" you asked worrying about Monse.

"I don't know. But I know, I want to be with you." said Cesar as he grabs both of your hands. He leans them to his mouth and kisses both on top of your hands. 

"Cesar..."

"Please. I'll fix all of this. I need you. I want you. I've tried so hard to not come up to you and give you kisses every single day. I'm falling for you. You gotta tell me you're feeling the same thing. Don't tell me that we don't have a connection because we definitely do. Please..."said Cesar looking into your eyes trying to please his case.

You don't know what to do now. Oh course, you want him. So much. He just confessed in front of you. All of this information. You never knew that he kept in his mind for who knows how long.

"Cesar, I know we have a connection. I've always been avoiding it because of Monse. What would she think? What should the school think? Jamal? Ruby? Spooky? Oso? Jas-”

"Who cares what people think. I want you to be mine. I can't leave without you as my girlfriend." said Cesar and you look down and away from Cesar.

Cesar lifts your chin back up to look towards him again.

"Do you want to be with me?" asked Cesar softly and you opened your mouth open but no words came out.

Cesar's eyes dropped as he felt disappointment. You kissed him out of nowhere, causing a warm feeling though his body. 

He kisses you back immediately and it turns into an amazing kiss. A kiss that has been waiting for so long to be made that was full of yours and Cesar's feelings for each other.

Both of you ended the kiss and looked deep into each other's eyes, breathing heavily from the kiss.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow. Promise." said Cesar.

"Promise is a bit of a strong word, don't you think?" you asked and Cesar chuckles. 

"Come here." said Cesar with a grin as he pulled you closer to him and onto his lap making you giggle.

"You better not do anything to ruin this relationship, okay?" you said and kiss him on the forehead.

"No, I want a real kiss." said Cesar upset.

"Not until you fix things up tomorrow. Deal with it." you said and Cesar rolls his eyes in annoyance.

Cesar fixes everything up with Monse the next morning and she accepts his apology. She apologizes for her actions in the relationship that cause it to break.

Monse and you spend time together and you were better friends with her than before.

It makes you so happy that she was cool that you were dating Cesar now. You were now more comfortable being with the guy you have feelings for forever. 

[pergaias]

excerpts from books i’ll never write ; ii

the varying lengths of these excerpts mess with me  and my perfectionism istf - some are long, like this one, others are short, but hey - all of them lead to the same place. nowhere. 

this is the entire first chapter of a story that i will never finish so um - enjoy ?

title: checkmate word count: 3030

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 ‘YOU THINK YOU’RE FUNNY, RIGHT?’

“VENETIA VERNE, INTERN FOR The White Knight Herald.”

Venetia Verne was done. Done with her job-- being a reporter only sounded fun in theory-- done with her outfit-- what in the world was she thinking-- and of course, done with Octavia Tyrell.

Tavi. Her buttercup. 

Venetia was pretty sure her eyes were so swollen that her cry-fest would be painfully obvious, and was also pretty much positive that she looked like a wreck. 

Not even the fancy perfume she stole from Octavia last night would mask the smell of abject heartbreak.

Seventeen years old but acting twenty-three, Venetia always prided herself for being mature, collected, and a total bitch. 

Of course, the bitch part was usually used affectionately-- Tavi had always called her you bitch! as an endearment, just like the way Venetia used to squeeze her hand and whisper buttercup.

Seventeen years old, but acting twelve when it came to breakups.

“Right this way, Miss Verne,” a female assistant led her across the hall, and Venetia surreptitiously straightened her skirt out. She had chosen a dove-colored skirt and a very vintage white blouse-- vintage chic had always been her style, even though Tavi always pushed for her to look more preppy-glam.

As if. Octavia managed to look like Elle Woods but black-and-white. Venetia was stuck as a Forties poster ad.

“Thank you,” Venetia tried for a smile, but it came out vaguely grimace-like. Had she spent all night crying? Possibly. Was she tired of life, the universe, and everything? Also possibly.

For the record, the answer was not forty-two. Screw the flying dolphins and their musical number about fish.

The assistant nodded, her hair in a bun so tight that Venetia’s scalp sympathized. “Our director is quite excited to meet you, Miss Verne-- he says you’re the best in your generation, and our boss at the Herald has never been more excited about a high school prospect-- you must be doing something right.”

Venetia tried for another smile, but this one looked like a leer. The assistant smiled sympathetically, her heels clicking rhythmically against the tiled floor of the building. She was probably tired of everything, too-- the office had the feel of a morgue. 

As Venetia trailed behind her, her mind kept wandering to Tavi’s coily dark hair, her rich laugh, the way her brown eyes caught the light and turned to gold. Tavi’s lips on the other boy’s, her hands reaching up his shirt--

Venetia broke off. Octavia didn’t know she saw-- to Octavia, everything was still all well and good. Of course, Tavi was used to having everything she wanted. Spoiled, rich, princess bastard--

“We’re here, sweetie,” the assistant motioned to an imposing-looking door, a slightly condescending note to her voice. 

“I appreciate the concern, but it’s Venetia, love.” Venetia allowed herself a smirk at the now-shellshocked assistant before opening the door herself.

Venetia Verne had no interest in being polite or heterosexual. 

“Hi, Dad,” Venetia deadpanned, plopping down in front of the central feature of the office-- a heavy, fancy desk-- and all but putting her feet up. Today was just punch after punch after punch-- of course, Venetia could have rescheduled, but all that bitch energy had to go somewhere, right?

“Venetia.” Cyprian Jung looked no different from the day he divorced her mother, choosing a career and a fancy business conglomerate instead of a wife and tenacious daughter.

Let’s face it. Venetia was still just a little bit bitter. Just a little. 

“Hi. Venetia Verne, intern for the White Knight Herald.” Venetia kept her coy smile, putting emphasis on her mother’s surname. “My final high school project involves me reporting on the crimes of--”

“You’re reporting on the crimes of the White Queen?” her father’s face snapped up, dark hair and hawkish nose and slanted eyes the color of pond scum. 

“Yes,” Venetia said primly, her eyes narrowing. 

“Venetia, sweetheart,” 

“Don’t sweetheart me.” 

“Venetia.”

“Venetia what, Father?”

“Venetia, do you know why I let you interview me?” Cyprian sighed, stroking his nonexistent beard with two fingers. Like, if he actually had one, Venetia was so going to pull an Aang-and-Firelord-Ozai and yank him down by the stupid goatee.

Think calm thoughts, Ven. Less violent, more… Passive-aggressive? Put salt in his coffee instead of sugar?

“Because, like you said. I’m the best of my generation.” Venetia’s gray-green eyes glittered. “And as we both know, the pen is greater than the sword.”

“What do you need to know?” 

ON CYPRIAN JUNG

AS HARD AS IT may be to believe, Cyprian Jung wasn’t always a douche CEO and The Worst Father of the Year. 

Once upon a time, Cyprian might have been Venetia’s favorite person in the world-- but Venetia always skips over that information, and more often than not, likes to pretend that her father didn’t exist. 

Because being raised by a single badass mother sounded a lot cooler than “yeah, my dad decided that his business was a better child than I was, lolol”

But when an new upstart reporter’s article landed on his desk one drizzly Monday morning, Cyprian was shocked to realize that his very gay, very disappointing daughter was the one who wrote it.

Now, we can go two directions here. We can say that Cyprian was so proud and so moved by his daughter’s shrewd reporting skills and her article, or we can say that Cyprian saw something in his daughter that he realized he could exploit, like any good, cunning businessman.

Venetia Verne, who looked-- and acted-- nothing like her father (who seemingly embodied every single fucking Asian stereotype-- how did he even do that?) was proud that she was her mother's daughter.

She hated every resemblance she had with Cyprian, of which she unfortunately had a multitude.

And here comes the plot twist: Cyprian Jung, even though he seemed like he didn’t care for his daughter at all, did. 

That was why he called her into his office on an unnaturally-bright Saturday, the day after Venetia and her girlfriend went to a Friday night house party and Venetia stumbled in on her girlfriend in the middle of a hot make-out sesh with a boy.

And before Venetia turned to her mother for advice on her problem, and before she decided to become who she wanted to be for herself, her father would do one good thing for her.

And it would be the only good thing that Venetia would ever, grudgingly, accept that he did.

1.2 ‘CALLING ME DRUNK WHEN IT’S TOO LATE AT NIGHT’

VENETIA CAME BACK FROM her interview with her father a little satisfied and a little angry. 

Satisfied because she had the outline for her next article all set out and ready to go-- complete with quotes from her father about the White Queen-- and angry for two reasons. 

One, because her father really thought that way? Screw him. 

And two, because Venetia had always gone to lunch on Saturdays with Octavia at their favorite boba shop, munching on Taiwanese food and complaining about how difficult ‘life-ing’ was. Octavia had always managed to make Cyprian (and her own father’s) bigoted ideals about feminism (and gay culture, honestly) seem funny.

Venetia pressed her lips into a tighter line as she finally got out of her father’s ice-cold office building and onto the street, where the motion and movement of the city slowed, if not stilled, her thoughts.

Her flat shoes dragged against the gritty pavement as Venetia trudged towards, actually, Venetia didn’t know where she was going. She just kept walking, her bag over her shoulder and one hand brushing against the folds of her skirt.

Venetia hated not having purpose. Saturdays were hard because those were the days that lacked the most schedule-- school days had school, with designated wake-up and go-the-fuck-to-sleep times. Saturdays were full of freedom, and Venetia Verne didn’t know what to do with it.

So she continued walking, wishing that she had something to do. There was always lunch with Tavi to look forward to, or thrift shopping if she wanted. She could walk around the city aimlessly, or she could go home and mope around--

In her bag, her phone buzzed insistently. Only one person ever texted and didn’t call-- Tavi.

Tears burned the backs of Venetia’s eyes, and a lump formed in her throat. Octavia was probably calling wondering why she wasn’t at the shop yet, knowing about her girlfriend’s affinity for punctuality and structure. 

Octavia was just going to ignore it.

She didn’t confess to a fuming-but-hiding-it Venetia last night that she had cheated, nor had she acted any differently. With her cheerful I love you, bitch and her insistent flirting with anyone who spared her an appreciative glance but her fake assurances that she was Venetia’s and Venetia’s alone.

Venetia’s fingers tightened around the material of her skirt, twisting the fabric until she was positive the texture would be printed onto her fingers. Her calculating eyes swept over the people around her, dresses in shades of black and white and navy. All business suits or pencil skirts.

Her phone buzzed again, and Venetia ignored it further. 

If Octavia was going to ignore the elephant in the room, Venetia sure as hell wasn’t going to point it out. She remembered the way her stomach had dropped when she pushed the door open looking for her jacket, the way that outrage pulsed through her veins, tempered by shattering disappointment. 

If Venetia had marched in and screamed at Octavia, what would it have changed? Tavi was used to getting everything she wanted. 

So Venetia had gently shut the door and crashed into a different-- thankfully unoccupied room-- and splashed her face with the coldest tap water she could get, staring directly at the bathroom light so she wouldn’t cry. 

Venetia hated crying, hated showing any form of vulnerability. Because Venetia Verne was a sphynx, carved out of stone. Her father had always called her Sphynx, because when she was upset she tended to not show it. 

Well, Venetia’s resting bitch face was downright legendary.

If Venetia had said something, what would it have changed? Octavia, skillful with words, would have laughed and said that her girlfriend was drunk, or sleep-deprived, or both. 

And Venetia knew that she herself would have believed it. 

Octavia could paint pictures with words in a way that Venetia had never seen before-- and her mother was a supervillain. 

And that was the other reason why she was angry.

Because her mother was the White Queen, and her father’s opinion made her blood boil.

It really puts opinions into perspective when people are ignorant: if you uploaded a picture of yourself to an internet forum-- not saying that it was yourself-- and asked people to describe it, what would they say?

Venetia’s phone kept buzzing.

Her fist kept clenching.

And the spiral-- no, noose-- of her thoughts tightened. 

1.3 ‘TELLING ME TRUTHS THAT YOU KNOW ARE LIES’

“OKAY, AM I ALLOWED to be done with this?” Venetia fumed to her secondary best friend Gray, who Venetia was positive was sick of her. She only came running over to the mild Australian boy when she lost another of her friends, and ditching him once she made a new one. If Venetia wasn’t such a heartless bitch, she would have felt bad for the way she treated him.

“Yes, you are,” Gray said patiently, trailing meekly behind her.

 “Well, good,” Venetia snapped, storming through the halls of the local high school.

The rest of her dreary Saturday had come and gone in a whirl of anger-grief-bitching-stress eating, and Sunday the same. 

“Hey, Ashie!” Venetia was in a seriously pissy mood, and decided then and there that she was going to call everyone by obnoxious nicknames only that day. Asheton Shore, who adamantly went by Shore, was her first victim.

“It’s Shore!” the boy bellowed.

Behind her, Venetia heard Gray scurry behind a wall of imposing-looking seniors. “Ashie,” Venetia drawled, walking closer to him. Her skirt swished with each step she took-- while Asheton Shore’s close companion Maeren Sepia liked vintage too, Venetia always secretly knew that her style was better.

“Fruck,” Shore muttered-- no, it was Ashie, Venetia told herself firmly. 

“Come on, Venetia.” Gray was back, his eyes shifting around nervously as he carefully took her by the arm and steered her away.

“Damn it,” Venetia hissed, digging her fingers into the material of her skirt. 

“Okay, I know you’re--” Gray cringed, “bitching about the whole Octavia thing, but--”

“You can say the word bitch, Gray.”

“I don’t want to call you a bitch, Ven.”

“Oh my fucking god, Gray. When you think of the word bitch you should think of my face.”

“I don’t like cursing.”

“Fuck that.”

“I don’t like you.”

“Right back at you, Gray.”

“You’re such a bitch.”

“Thanks.”

Venetia huffed; Gray bit his lip, sighing. Yes, he was very much done with Venetia and her bullshit. Venetia herself was done with Venetia and her bullshit. 

Like Ashie, Gray went exclusively by his last name. Then again, when you had a name like Devlin-Tibereus, you wanted to purge that name from your memory. And ‘Asheton’ didn’t even seem so bad if you had the misfortune of being named Devlin-Tiberius Gray-- the Second.

And no, Venetia was not allowed to call him Take Two.

“Come on, we’re going to be late to class.” Gray was tugging at her sleeve insistently. Sometimes Venetia thought of him as an insistent-yet-adorable puppy, the kind that was a total sweetheart until they gave up and peed on your carpet.

“I wanna ditch,” muttered Venetia, who was very acutely aware that Octavia would be attending the same class. 

And even though Venetia spent a weekend moping around mooching off of Octavia’s Netflix and eating half-melted ice cream, ghosting Octavia when she tried to call, and doing everything except think about Octavia-- which was a form of thinking about it-- she wasn’t ready to face her. 

At all. 

Gray blew out a breath-- yes, he was very, very sick of her already.

“Let’s ditch.” Gray said suddenly, planting his feet and nearly throwing Venetia off-balance. 

Venetia gaped. “Where the fuck is Gray and what did you do with him, Take Two?”

“I am not take two! Ven, how many times do I have to tell you? Come on, let’s ditch.”

“You’re finally speaking sense, Gray.” Venetia patted his back appreciatively as they blew past the classroom they were supposed to be in and towards the exit. “About time.”

Gray smiled, flashing his elusive dimples. “No shit.”

1.4 ‘YEAH, YOU THINK YOU’RE FUNNY, RIGHT?’

“SO,” VENETIA SAID LAMELY, her feet dragging against the dusty pavement as she and Gray trudged away from the school, casting furtive looks over their shoulders to make sure that they weren’t being followed. “How’s Teddy? Do people still get to call her Taffy?”

“Taffy’s fine,” Gray said, and didn’t elaborate. Venetia didn’t press-- she knew she was already pressing her luck with her friend-- if Gray could even call her that-- by dragging him with her.

Teddy-- or Theodosia-Amélie Frances Gray-- was Gray’s little sister, who was affectionately called ‘Taffy’ by her close friends and family. Venetia wasn’t sure if she fell in that category, but like most only children, she had a fascination with siblings.

Like how both Gray and Teddy had the same smile and mousy hair and dimples, but they shared different things with their parents, like how Gray and his mother had the same nose but Teddy had the same pattern of freckles across her cheeks.

“That’s nice. Where do you want to go, coffee?” Venetia asked, and suddenly laughed. Out here there was no Octavia, no pressure, no teachers breathing down her neck as she struggled through trigonometry. 

Gray’s elusive dimples flashed. “Coffee sounds nice-- as does the idea of ditching, honestly-- and you can rant to me about Octavia. You know, you shouldn’t call her Octavia or Tavi. What about Tyrell?”

“Why shouldn’t I call her Octavia?” Venetia asked, bemused. 

“I don’t know!” Gray grinned. “Maybe… I don’t know, Octavia sounds too nice. I’d say ‘call her a bitch’--”

“But I’m the bitch.” Venetia finished, mirroring Gray’s grin. She and Gray always clicked-- no matter how Venetia abandoned him or pushed him aside for her other friends-- not that she had any, which was the irony of it-- Gray was always waiting with his remarks and banter and coffee-fueled highs.

“Exactly.”

“I really am a bitch, you know. Makes you wonder how Buttercup-- I mean Tavi-- I mean Tyrell-- fell for me in the first place.”

“Eh, probably the bitchiness itself.”

“True, true.”

Gray grinned again. “I missed you-- which probably is the wrong thing to say, but hey-- Taffy tattles on me for swearing all the time, while you swear just as much--”

“More. I swear more than you, Tibe.” Venetia smirked and quirked an eyebrow, and Gray sighed. 

“I’m never going to win that argument, am I?” he asked, half smiling. 

Venetia winked-- or tried to, since she couldn’t wink to save her life-- and nudged Gray’s shoulder with her own. “Never, Take Two.”

“You know, I can call you Veni Vidi Vici.”

Venetia scowled. “My mother really had something against me naming me Venetia Lavinia, didn’t she? Veni Vinny Verne, I mean, seriously?”

Gray smiled, flashing his dimples again. “Someone’s in good spirits.”

“Just drink your damn coffee, Gray.”

“Just let us get to the damn coffee shop, Verne,” Gray mimicked her tone, his wavy hair bouncing as he walked. 

“You’re almost as annoying as,” Venetia paused to snap her fingers, “whatshisname Lock. Lochlan Ryals-- don’t some people call him Cinnamon?”

“Lock?” Gray asked, his eyes lighting up. “That’s a compliment.”

“Well, I sure didn’t mean it that way,” Venetia said dryly, her eyes trained on the coffee shop that was coming into clearer view.

“Well, time to order coffee black as my soul,” Venetia said brightly, swinging the door open and following Gray inside.

“Yeah, right,” he muttered, but he was smiling.

“I’m hilarious,” Venetia deadpanned, tossing her pin-straight hair. 

“You really do think you’re funny.”

Venetia smirked. “Yep, I think I’m funny, right?”

[lynelovespopculture]

THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF ZELDA CHAPTER 17-WITCHES IN A MORTAL WORLD

 AS CORDELIA FEELS HER FRIENDS DIFTING AWAY FROM HER, FAUSTUS MUST DEAL WITH VERY UNWANTED ATTENTION FROM NINA.

 The silence in the car was deafening.  Once or twice, Cordelia felt brave enough to turn her head to look at her father.  Usually, she could gage how her father was feeling just by looking at him, but now his face was just as unreadable as her mother’s usually was.  Still, Cordelia knew she had to say something to defend herself. After all, she didn’t do anything wrong.

“Dad,” Cordelia started. “I had nothing to do with whatever the Warners and that new girl were doing in that bathroom. I swear, I was only there a second before Becky came in.” Becky Mercer was the hallway monitor, who had entered the girls’ room right after Cordelia did. Becky incorrectly assumed that all 5 girls were in on this together, so all 5 girls were hauled off to Mr. Putnam’s office. Unfortunately, Faustus and the new 8th grade teacher, Mrs. Robinson, were already there. Cordelia felt very uncomfortable having her father there as Becky described the scene in the bathroom. When it came time to leave, her friends gave her dirty looks, as if it was her fault. “I swear I had nothing to do with it.”  Cordelia stressed.

“I know.”

“You do?"

“Of course, Cordy,” Faustus turned to his daughter, smiling. “I know you know what real magic is. It’s sure not a painted piece of cardboard made by Parker Brothers.”

“So, you’re not mad?”

Faustus shrugged. “Why should I be? If you say you weren’t involved…”

“I wasn’t.” Cordelia insisted.

“I didn’t know that the triplets were interested in magic.”

“Nor did I. But I suspect that their new friend, Sara, could be  at the heart of it. She claims to be a wiccan.”

“A wiccan!”  Faustus scoffed. “It’s a false word used by mortals to made themselves feel powerful. Besides, all I have read says that real wiccans died out with the age of  the pagans and there  has not been any pagans in Greendale since before you  were born, Cordelia.”

Cordelia knew that it was time to change the subject. “So, why were you in Mr. Putnam’s office anyway?”

“Well, while your friends were trying to start the 2nd fire of the day, Theo was dealing with the first one. You see since both the 8th grade classroom and the library  are  burned and therefore will  be unusable for several  months, Mrs. Robinson and her class have nowhere to go and since our  class happens to the smallest one this year-“

“They’re going to move the 8th  grade in with  us.”  Cordelia finished.

“Yes.”  Faustus confirmed.

“Do we even have that kind of room to share?”

“We should, once we move some desks and things around. What I can’t tell you is how they expect 2 teachers to run 1 classroom.”

Cordelia didn’t know either, so she just shrugged and looked out the window.  They were passing city hall when she saw a happy  brunette couple on the front steps. Cordelia thought she knew the woman, but she couldn’t quite place her.

 “There, that should do it!” It was Friday afternoon and Faustus and Nina were finish moving the last desk. They had been working afterschool all week to rearrange the room. 8 graders on 1 side, 7 on the other.

“Now you can all move in Monday.” Faustus smiled.

“Great! After bunking down in the cafeteria all week, it will be nice to enjoy lunch again, not have to rush to dismiss  my class early for it every single  day.”

They both laughed then Nina came closer.  “Seriously, Mr. Spellman, I’m really grateful to you for taking me in.”

“Oh, think nothing of it.”

“No, I mean it. If I can do anything, and I do mean anything, to thank you, just ask.”

Faustus’s smile remained on his face right up until Nina goosed him.

  “What?!  Oh no, Faustus, she didn’t do that.” Zelda giggled.

It was late that night, Faustus and Zelda were alone in their bedroom.  Faustus was telling his wife about his day.

“Oh yes, she did!” Faustus insisted. “And I didn’t misread or misunderstand the situation. That foolish woman walked straight up and goosed me! She willingly and knowingly grabbed my left buttocks with her hand and squeezed, hard.  So hard that I think she left a mark.”

Zelda burst out laughing. Faustus felt annoyed. Zelda was the only woman he had ever been faithful to.  Hecate knows that he had no plan or desire to change that, ever! Still, was it so wrong to want the woman he loved to be a tiny bit jealous? That he would comfort her and calm her fears by telling her, truthfully, that he immediately stepped, (okay, more like jumped), several steps away from Nina and told her that he was flattered but very happily married. Was that too much to ask? Faustus supposed it was as Zelda continued to laugh.

“I’m glad this amuses you, dearest. I know that I’m pushing 400, Zelda Spellman, but I thought that another woman being attracted me isn’t that humorous.”

“It isn’t humorous at all.” Zelda was instantly serious.  “I wasn’t laughing at that. You’re a very handsome man, darling. No, I was laughing at the irony.”

Faustus was completely lost. “What irony?”

“Her name.”

“Nina?”

Zelda shook her head. “No, Faustus. Mrs.  Robinson. A woman name Mrs. Robinson made a pass at you! Have you never seen the movie, the Graduate? All that’s missing is for that woman put her leg on a chair and the camera to pan under her leg.”

Now, Faustus was the one laughing.

Zelda smiled. “Remember, dear heart, sexual harassment goes both ways.”

“I’ll remember that. In that meanwhile, I have a question for you,” Faustus leaned forward and tucked some fingers into the knot of Zelda’s bathroom and gently pulled his wife into his arms. “Will you seduce me, Mrs. Spellman?”

“I thought you would never ask.” Zelda smiled and kissed him.

 Ever since they were 7 years old, Erin, Emily, Erica and Cordelia had a deal with their parents. As long as they kept their grades up, the girls were allowed to have sleepovers once a month. They took turns at each   other’s houses. That 1st Saturday after the start of 7th grade, it was Cordelia’s turn to host the triplets and she was excited about it. True, she saw her friends all the time in class and hung out with them outside of school quite often. But something was off this week, namely…Sara. It wasn’t that Cordelia didn’t like Sara, the girl had done nothing to her. It was just that she had known Warners a long time and knew that the sisters had loud, different personalities.  So, why were they seemingly turning into Sara’s yes men? Cordelia tried to bring the subject up to the triplets but they all stared at her like she was crazy. It was like Sara was voted president of a club, a club that Cordelia wasn’t even sure that she belonged to. Of course, they would play with other kids sometimes but the sleepovers were always just for the 4 of them and that’s why Cordelia was so excited for it. That’s why her heart sank when she heard Mr. Warner’s car pulled up and Cordelia saw at the window that the sisters had brought Sara with them.  Still, Cordelia knew it would be rude to turn Sara away so Cordelia swallowed her disappointment and welcomed all of her guests. The girls usually bunkered down in Cordelia’s room but 5 girls didn’t fit, so they made themselves comfortable in the living room. 3 hours into the sleepover, Sara turned to Erica.

“So, are you going to ask her or what?”

Cordelia immediately felt ill at ease. “Ask me what?”

“Cord, you know those old books you have in your attic?” Erica started slowly. “We were wondering if we could go take a look at them.”

“You mean, my cousin Ambrose’s collection?” Cordelia asked, knowing full well that’s exactly what they meant. “Why would you guys want to look at that?”

“To see if Sara could find a spell in one!” Erin said excitedly.

Of course. Cordelia forced herself not to roll her eyes. After never talking about it ever before, the triplets talked about nothing but magic all week long. The only difference between this week and any other, as far as Cordelia knew, was Sara. Still, Cordelia knew she better play it cool.

“You guys don’t want to go up there. It’s nothing but dusty 1st editions of Charles Dickens and Jane Austin.”

“And you’re sure you can account for all the books up there?”

It was comments like that made Cordelia think that Sara was annoying.

“Trust me guys, if I would come across something as cool as a spell book, I would share it with you.”

The triplets agreed and the subject was dropped, or so Cordelia thought. In the middle of the night, Sara woke up the triplets and said that she found books to look over right there in the living room.

“Should we wake up Cordelia?” Emily asked in a whisper.

“No,” Sara whispered back. “She’s only try to stop us or slow us down.”

They all took an armful of books and went into the hallway, leaving Cordelia in a deep sleep on the sofa.

 1 hour later, the triplets were ready to give up.

“There’s nothing here.” Whined Erin.

“Hey, I think I found something!” Declared Erica, but her smile faded quickly. “Never mind, these words aren’t in English.”

Sara took the book from Erica and immediately started to chant words that the triplets could not understand, leaving the sisters to stare at each other. Soon, a fog of green smoke rose up out of the book.  It floated away to the left and into the Spellman dinning room.  By the time the girls had turned the corner, the smoke had turned into a 7-foot green monster. Erin gasped and Erica rushed to cover her sister’s mouth. Only…she wasn’t fast enough for the noise caught the monster’s attention.

“I have been awakened.” The monster boomed at them. “Once I dispatch with you 4, no one can stop me from spreading my brilliant fear.”

“Boy, did you pick the wrong house.”

The monster turned toward the new voice and then the girls saw who was in the doorway.

“Mr. Spellman?”

“Warlock!”  The monster’s growl was so loud that it woke up the 3 people in the house who were still sleeping. Zelda came out of her room and met Jake in the hallway.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.”  He answered.  

Meanwhile, in the living room, Cordelia opened her eyes, pushed herself up by her elbow and saw by the dying firelight that all the sleeping bags, 2 on the floor, 1 on a chair and 1 on the sofa across from her, were empty. “Um…guys?!”

After getting up, Cordelia was met at the door by her mother and brother.

“Cordy, what’s happening?”

“Don’t know, Mom, but my friends are gone.”  Cordelia saw the books in the hall and brushed by her brother. “Oh no! I told them not to go upstairs and sort through Ambrose’s collection.”

“They can’t! They might find a spell book!”

Little sister gave big brother a dirty look. “Jeez, you think so?”

Another noise came and Zelda ran into the other room. Cordelia was right behind her and Jake stayed behind just long to pick up the only book that was still opened. They stopped right behind the girls and Sarah. They also beheld the monster with their only eyes. After Jake shook off the shock, he turned the page in the book he held and spoke a sentence.  Instantly, the monster howled in pain and then it disappeared. As it did, green goo spat out of the monster’s mouth and landed on Faustus’s face.

Zelda watched her husband as his lip quivered and she came closer. “Darling, are you alright?”

“Please, don’t leave me, Zelda.”

“Leave you?”

“I know you can have Mambo Marie or anyone in the realms that you desire. But no one can love you like I do. Hecate, I love you so much, Zelda! Please don’t leave me, dearest, please!” Now openly sobbing, Faustus sank to his knees and clung to Zelda’s nightgown.

Unsure what was happening and not sure what to do about her husband, Zelda sighed and looked back at the children. “Cordelia, take your friends back to bed. Jake, perhaps you can fetch the girls some hot coco to calm them down.”

“Calm down?!” Erin shrieked. “Are we just going to ignore the fact that the R rated version of Shrek just came and went? What was that? Why is Mr. Spellman now crying?”

Erin had a million more question as a fuming Cordelia gathered her friends and led them back into the living room. “I thought I told you not to go to the attic and look for books.” Cordelia’s tone was very much like a disappointed parent.

“We didn’t,” Sara shook her head. “All the books we found, came from that cabinet.”

But I locked that up myself before you got here. Cordelia thought silently. For the 10 minutes, Cordelia tried and failed to come up with an explanation for what had happened.  She was so grateful when Jake came in with the hot coco. Emily remarked how yummy the cinnamon was. Cordelia’s mug didn’t have any for she knew that the cinnamon was laced with aunt Hilda’s kitchen magic, designed to make her mortal friends forget the events of this night.

  The next morning, Faustus woke up   with a splitting headache.

“Darling, you’re alright!” Zelda rushed to his side. “How are you feeling?”

Faustus groaned. “Did anyone get the plate of that truck?”

Zelda smiled. “There was no truck. Turns out that our friend, the not-so-jolly green giant is a demon. A fear demon, to be exact.”

“But why did I get hysterical last night and then I remember…nothing else?”

“Well, you were crying so hard that Jake and I couldn’t even think so we put you under a sleeping spell and put you to bed for the night. As Cordelia tended to her friends, Jake and I were able to study that spell book and that’s how we discovered it was a fear demon.”

“But why did I cry at all?” Faustus asked.

“It’s the fear demon’s green goo.  Once the goo made contact with your skin, it made you believe that your greatest fear had come true. Given, how you asked me not to leave you, does your greatest fear involve me?” Zelda asked gently.

Faustus sighed. “As a matter of fact, my greatest fear is you realizing what I already know. That you can do so much better than me.”

Zelda clicked her tongue, sat beside Faustus on the bed and took his hand. “Darling, that’s simply not true. I will never leave you, never! Why won’t you believe me when I say I Iove you just as much as you love me?”

“Because I’ve never been that lucky.” He muttered.

“Will I do.” Zelda insisted and kissed him long and deep.

After gently stroking his wife’s cheek, Faustus got up and reached for his robe. “1 final question, dearest, how long should we punish Cordelia for showing off in front of her friends?”

Zelda frowned. “I’m not sure Cordy did this. She seemed just as shocked as Jake and I was and she’s never behaved like this before.”

“If Cordy didn’t do this, then who did?”

Zelda shrugged as Faustus put his arm around her. As they went downstairs and toward the kitchen, Zelda explained how they were able to rid Faustus of the demon’s goo   by using the strongest anti-spell they had. The one Faustus had discovered himself when they first found LJ and she had spelled Cordelia as a baby. In the kitchen, they saw Jake, who was sitting on the kitchen island, eating a bowl of cereal.  Ambrose and Prudence were at the table, studying a book.  The sleep over guests were gone but Cordelia, still in her pjs, was pacing back and forth.

“Dad!”  Cordelia ran up to her parents as soon as she saw them. “Are you alright? Are you okay?”

Faustus reached down and tucked a stray red hair behind his daughter’s ear. For the past 12 years, 1 of Faustus’s greatest joys in life had been able to raise and claim Cordelia as his own since the moment she was born. Something fate had cheated him out of with his other 3 children. The fact that she was also Zelda’s child was just extra icing on a very sweet cake. The way she ran up to him, coupled with the heavy concern in her eyes made Faustus feel bad he had accused her of anything. He bent and kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m perfectly fine.”

Zelda sat down at the table, addressing Ambrose and Prudence. “What are you 2 doing here so early on a Sunday morning?”

“I called them,” Jake explained. “I know you and I studied the spell a lot last night, Mom, but I thought it couldn’t hurt to call in the expert.” Jake pointed his spoon at Ambrose. “Especially since Cordy still says she’s innocent.”

Cordelia rolled her eyes. “I am!” Cordelia insisted. “The only thing I’m guilty of last night is of falling asleep.”

“I believe you, Cordelia, and I believe the evidence does too.” Ambrose said calmly.

“You found something?” Zelda asked.

Ambrose nodded. “This just happens to be 1 of the oldest spell book in the whole house. The demon summoning spell would have had to be performed by someone who   could speak perfect Latin.”

“And we all know that my Latin is very far from perfect.” Cordelia cut in.

Prudence was confused. “So, the Warners did this?”

Her little sister shook her head. “No, no, no. Erin, Emily and Erica don’t speak a word of Latin nor do they know any magic. I’ll tell you exactly who did that spell. It was the new girl from school, Sara Reed. It was her.”

“Do you really think so?” Faustus asked his daughter.

“I’m certain of it! The triplets have slept over here hundreds of times and nothing bad ever happened until last night when they brought Sara with them.  Hecate, it was Sara’s idea to go upstairs to haunt for books.”

“Is this Sara girl magical?” Jake asked.

Cordelia crossed her arms. “She’s a self-proclaimed wiccan.”

“But a wiccan isn’t magical, none that we’ve ever seen anyway.” Prudence pointed out.

Cordelia shrugged. “I don’t know who or what Sara truly is but I know now that my gut instinct was right. I don’t trust her.”

 Cordelia was in a bad mood for the rest of the day. She was still angry on Monday morning when she entered the school and the 1st thing she saw was the triplets and Sara huddled together in front of a poster. After a heavy sigh, Cordelia went to join them.

“Well, ladies, it seems that it’s play season yet again.”  Emily said as her sisters moaned.

“What? Don’t you like plays?” asked Sara.

Cordelia was now near enough to hear her friends and she was happy. She was happy because they were talking about normal stuff confirming that the hot coco had worked. Also she was happy because she knew the problem about the play without having to ask, unless Sara.

“This school does a play 2 times a year, in the fall and in the spring. But the only play they ever put on, year after year is Death of a Salesman.” Emily explained.

“They?” asked Sara.

Well, the play is mostly done by the 7th & 8th graders.” Erin said.

Erica lit up. “That’s us this year, guys. Maybe we could request a change of the play.”

“That a great idea!”

The 4 girls turned to see Cordelia.  The triplets greeted their friend warmly, but as Cordelia noted, Sara did not. The girls had no more time to talk since the bell rang. But Cordelia managed to block Sara’s way.

“I was just wondering how did you learn how to speak Latin?”

Sara shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know a word of Latin.”

No wonder I don’t trust you. Cordelia thought as she watched Sara walk away. You just lied straight to my face.

The school day didn’t get much better. Since this was the 1st day that grades 7 and 8 were sharing a classroom, it was fitting that their 1st assignment was a joint 1. The whole class has 2 weeks to research and write an essay about their family trees. Later that afternoon, it was announced that some of the 7 graders, including Cordelia, would been bumped up to grade 8 English.

“I’m very excited about the first novel we’re going to read.” Mrs. Robinson declared. “It was 1 of my favorite when I was your age. It’s The Witches by Roald Dahl.”

Faustus overheard all this and didn’t have to look up to know that his daughter had cringed.

 “So, what do you think your father will say when you tell him you’re dating a white guy?”

LJ smiled and shook her head. “I don’t think my father will have anything to say about it. Mostly because he’s a white guy himself. I didn’t tell you because, well, it just slipped my mind.  That’ s how unimportant it is to me. I hope that’s not a problem.”

“Not at all. I just needed another reason to say we’re dating.”

It was a week later and it was lunchtime at the hospital. After 3 weeks of spending every spare moment together, LJ Spellman and Peter Watson are very happy because last night they both decided that they were officially dating.

“My family is very important to me.” LJ told Peter as the 2 doctors sat down with their food trays. “In fact,” LJ reached into her pocket and fished out her wallet. “I always have this with me.” LJ said as she placed the photo in the middle of the table and slid it over to Peter. “See the tall guy with the black hair in the middle there? That’s my father, Faustus.”

 “I had no idea you had such a big family.” Peter said, studying the picture.

 “It’s not that big. It just looks like it because we have the whole gang here.” LJ got up and went closer to Peter to guide him through the picture. “I’m 1 of 4 children. The girl with the platinum hair here,” LJ pointed, “is my older sister, Prudence. The boy next to my father is my twin brother, Jake and this is Cordelia, my baby sister. And this is Zelda, my stepmother-“

Peter frowned. “You have a stepmother? Ug, I’m so sorry. I’ve 2 stepmothers of my own and, well, there a reason why they called evil stepmothers.”

LJ shook her head. “I’m sorry if you had some bad experiences, but it’s not like that for me. Zelda is wonderful, in fact- “LJ sighed, how to explain the insanity cure to a mortal? “Look, I know how insane this will sound, but I swear to you that all of it is true.”

“Okay,” Peter said slowly.

“Jake and I were babies when we were kidnapped by a…would-be cult leader.” LJ continued. “The man was insane and sexiest. He taught us all the wrong values. Thankfully, when we were 16, Jake and I were returned to our father. It wasn’t easy having to relearn almost everything and basically how the real world worked. But our father was there for us every step of the way. So was Zelda. I was so mean to her in the beginning but she refused to give up on me or Jake. Whatever or whenever we needed her, she was there. Even though she had a 5 month old at home and a whole school to run, she was never to busy to help us or hold us, whatever we needed. Zelda wanted to adopt Jake and me right from the start but she waited until we wanted it too.  Our birth mother died in childbirth, so Zelda is the only mom Jake and I have ever known.”

Peter was impressed. “Wow, I’m sorry for my earlier comments. You obviously love Zelda very, very much.”

LJ smiled and then pointed out the other people in the photo. Her Aunt Hilda, Uncle C and cousins, Ambrose and Sabrina.

“They all seem delightful. When can I met them?”

LJ blinked. “You want to meet my family?”

“Yeah, I want to find out for myself if they’re as cool as you” Peter said before kissing her.

  Early the next morning, Faustus was at his desk when Nina came in and without a single word, closed the door and sat in his lap!

“You’ve been holding out on me.” Nina sing songed.

Meanwhile, Faustus could barely be bothered to look up from his work. “No, I’m not.  As I told you before, your makeshift desk is over there” Using his pencil, Faustus pointed to the corner “and if you require a new chair, I suggest you get yourself one.”

“No, it’s not about that. You told me that you were happily married. You lied, Fausty.”

“No, I did not.  And don’t call me Fausty, ever!”

“But you did lie,” Nina insisted. “I asked around and that is how I learned that you are famous or should I say I infamous, for cheating on your wife.”

Faustus made a face. “You asked? Who did you ask?”

“You know, just around town.”

Faustus was furious, standing up and Nora rolled off him and would have crashed to the floor if she hadn’t awkwardly grabbed the desk.

“Where do you get off?” Faustus demanded. “Running around town, asking everyone about my personal business!”

“Look, I’ve respected your marriage up until now- “

“Are you kidding me? In the 3 weeks that we have shared this classroom, all you ever do is come on to me, shamelessly flirt with me, use any excuse to bump or brush up against me and talking in double meanings. Often in front of our students, 1 of which is my own daughter!”

“I won’t tell your wife, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Faustus sighed deeply. This was truly like talking to a brick wall. Actually, the brick wall would be more of an upgrade. “I don’t care if you talk to my wife because there’s nothing to tell her.”

Nina shook her head. “That’s not what I heard, and you know the saying, once a cheater, always a cheater.”

“I’m no longer a cheater! I am not that man anymore!” Faustus declared. “And comparing my 1st marriage to my second is as pointless as comparing day and night. Judging from that look on your face, I can tell that you didn’t know that I’ve been married twice, which proves just how little know about me.”

“Then why don’t enlighten me?” Nina came closer.

“Fine!  But because it’s almost class time and I have no desire to tell you my life story so let me give you the cliff notes. I was blackmailed into my 1st marriage.  Since we met less than a month before our wedding, I didn’t even know Constance when we got married and when we did get to know each other, I didn’t like her. Yes, I cheated on her, a lot, because I was so unhappy. I was trapped in a   marriage I never wanted. My faith doesn’t allow for divorce and worse of all, I had to sit by and watch as the only woman I’ve ever love go out with men that were beneath her.  Aside from my twin children, nothing good came out of my marriage with Constance. When she died, I was finally free to marry my Zelda and it was the best thing I ever did.  It’s been 13 years and I still thank all the stars in the sky every day for that woman and the family she gave me. My marriage to Zelda has given me a happiness that I never knew existed. I used to think that you needed power to be happy, not so. As long as I know my children are safe and I get to wake up next to Zelda each morning, I am perfectly content. You see, Zelda is my very best friend as well as the love of my life and I would never do anything to willing hurt her. For I would be completely lost without her.”

Nina crossed her arms. “You told me about yourself. Now, let me tell you about me. Back in New York, I’m considered a legend. Once I’m interested in someone, that’s it. He’s mine. A man has never refused to share my bed.”

“Well, you know the saying, there’s a 1st time for everything.” Faustus returned.

Nina sighed as she unbuttoned half her top, exposing her bra. “Does this give you any ideas?”

“You know, it does.”

Finally! Nina thought as she smiled, closed her eyes and puckered up for a kiss. Only there was no kiss, and Nina could only feel a tiny movement of fabric. She opened her eyes to see Faustus now had his back to her. She looked down to see that he had buttoned her blouse back up. She was going to call out to him when the bell rang and the children flooded in. After attendance, Nina had an announcement.

“As I told you on Monday, your request to do a new play has been approved. After taking your suggestions all week, I’ve decided to go with the Warner girls’ and Ms. Reed’s idea.”

At her desk, Cordelia frowned. She had no idea that they had submitted a play idea, and the triplets used to tell her everything.

“As per their suggestion,” Nina continued. “we will be doing a watered down version of The Crucible by Arthur Miller. For those of you not in the know, this play is about the Salem witch trials.”

That is when Faustus and Cordelia sighed and buried their faces in their hands at the exact same time.

[elizaviento]

A Promise of Things to Come

Note:  This is for @smudgethistledraws  :)

*****

A Promise of Things to Come

(Stan Pines x Reader)

SFW -- 2650 words

*****

Before my knuckles could make contact with the front door of the Mystery Shack, it was flung open unceremoniously by the most adorable and energetic creature imaginable – Mabel Pines.

“You’re finally here, hurry up – come in!”

In fact, I was 10 minutes early.  But, try telling this ball of energy that.  

Before I could reply, she grabbed my hand and practically dragged me up the stairs to the attic bedroom she shared with her twin brother.  Catching only a small glimpse of Stan as he lounged on his worn chair in the living room, he tossed me a wink before disappearing from view.  Naturally, I could feel my cheeks burn as my heart skipped a beat.  And, naturally, Mabel was the first to notice.  

“Hey!  You’re here now to teach me to draw, not to fawn over Grunkle Stan,” she chided as she slammed her way through the attic door, startling Dipper who was situated on the floor with about a hundred sheets of graph paper surrounding him.

“Oh hey,” he greeted as he gathered his wits.  He had obviously been deep in thought, no doubt mapping out a new dungeon for his next game of DD&moreD.

Waving to him casually, I glanced around the room which was littered with half packed boxes and I was reminded that the summer was rapidly coming to a close.  The twins would be returning to California by the end of the week and my weekly private sessions with Mabel would be coming to an end.  Which also meant my opportunities to snag precious time with Stan would be coming to an end, as well.  He and his twin brother, Ford, would be resuming their seasonal sailing trip around the world, leaving the Mystery Shack back into Soos’ capable care.  And I – I would go back to my day job; art teacher at the local high school. 

“Dipper, where are my art supplies?” Mabel questioned her twin as she tossed items from boxes in search.  

“How should I know?” he asked, annoyance lacing his tone as he gnawed on the end of his ink pen so hard, I was afraid it would explode in his mouth.  “You’re the one who packed them away.”

“But you should have been watching me!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation.  Catching a hint of color from the corner of my eye, I strolled over to a box situated next to Mabel’s bed and pulled her pallet of watercolors from inside.  “You found them!”

Snatching the pallet from my hands, she then dove into the box to retrieve the remainder of her supplies.  

“Uh, Mabel – it seems like Dipper has claimed most of the space up here today.  How about we have today’s lesson in the kitchen?”

Dipper glanced up at me, displaying an appreciative smile as Mabel agreed and yanked me back toward the stairs.

--------------------

On our way to the kitchen, I was able to sneak one more peek at the man I’d been quietly admiring all summer before settling in at the table with Mabel and all of her supplies.  For our last lesson, I gave her free reign to create whatever her heart desired as I casually day dreamed.  In the living room, I could faintly hear Stan and Ford planning their fall adventure and I mentally inserted myself into those plans; imagined myself at Stan’s side, supporting him unconditionally.  In fact, I’d do so regardless of a fantasy trip around the world, if only given the opportunity.  

And, why hadn’t I received that opportunity?  I couldn’t quite say, to be honest.  The brief interactions I’d had with Stan thus far included his poor, but endearing, attempts at flirting and my bashful giggling.  It was nearly impossible to spend time with him alone due to one of the kids or his brother constantly milling about.  And now, with the summer coming to a close, I’d probably not see him again for the better part of a year.  

Sighing to myself, I was only brought back into the moment when the snap of Mabel’s fingers, just inches from my face, pulled me from my brooding.  

“So, what do you think?” she asked, holding up the painting she’d just completed of her and her pet pig, Waddles.  Mabel had picked up the techniques I’d taught her rather well and her own unique style emerged quite early.  In truth, she was incredibly talented.

“It’s great, dear,” I assured, taking the small canvas from her hands to inspect it closely.

“Really?!  Oh, I’m so glad because it’s a gift for you!  I want you to keep it to have something to remind you of me and Waddles.”

Peering over the canvas at the young girl’s beaming smile simultaneously warmed and clinched my heart.  I refused to accept any form payment when I’d agreed to tutor Mabel but I supposed taking this token of her affection would be fine.  And, it was quite well done as Mabel was a natural talent.  

Glancing at my watch, I was disappointed that our final session was coming to a close.  It was finally time to say goodbye.

I kept the affair as short and sweet as possible, hugging each twin in an almost vice like grip.  Dipper was utterly adorable as his round cheeks flushed crimson and he stuttered his farewell.  Mabel gave as good as she got, crushing my ribs with force I didn’t think was possible within her tiny body.

And, by the time I’d made my way to the door, the living room was deserted.  I’d missed my chance.  That is, until I somberly stepped out onto the front porch and collided with something large and solid.  

“Woah, watch where you’re goin’ there, toots,” a deep and gruff voice rumbled from the object blocking my path.  A voice that was delightfully familiar and set a rush of warm dopamine through my circulatory system.

“I – I’m so sorry!” I stammered, gathering my wits as Stan wrapped his large hands around my biceps and peeled me from his front.  “I was just on my way –”

“Say, whatcha doin’ this coming Saturday?”  

Now a foot between us, I glanced up toward his face to catch him peering down his nose at me.  But, his eyes were soft; a hit of a smile playing on the corners of his mouth as he awaited my reply.

I felt a bit silly as I admitted, “I have no plans.  Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was – uh – wonderin’ if… ya know, if you’d maybe wanna catch dinner with me?”  Awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, a slight blush crept up from his neck to dust his cheeks.  It was utterly endearing.  He actually seemed anxious at the prospect of my refusal.  “The kids leave on Friday afternoon and Ford and I won’t be packing up until the following week, so I thought –”

“Of course, I’d love to,” I replied before he could somehow talk himself out of it.  “I’ll meet you here at 8:00 pm.”  Then, I stepped around him and headed to my car without another word.

--------------------

When Saturday evening finally arrived, I spent an exorbitant amount of time fussing over my hair, makeup and outfit.  Checking the time every 15 minutes, the butterflies in my stomach seemed to be having a ticker tape parade.  Then, with half an hour to spare, I drove the path that would lead me to the disheveled shack in the middle of nowhere.

What I’d expected when I arrived was far from what I was actually presented with.  Instead of finding Stanley Pines in his normal attire, casually lounging on the ratty couch situated on the front porch, I was greeted with a dapper man in a proper suit holding a bouquet of flowers that appeared to be hand picked.  

Parking my vehicle, I was startled when Stan moved with impressive speed to make it to my door before I could open it myself.  Tucking the flowers under one arm, he fumbled with the handle until it popped open and I gawked at him in confusion.

“Hey, don’t look so shocked,” he mumbled as he offered me a hand, which I gingerly took.  “I can clean up semi-decent when the mood strikes.”  

Speechless, I took the offered bouquet and allowed him to lead me toward the shack.  But, words continued to fail me as we entered, due to the sight before me.  

Someone had taken the time to thoroughly clean.  The shack was spotless, from ceiling to floor and a pleasant aroma wafted toward me from the kitchen.  

Someone had helped him arrange this.  And, since the twins had departed the day prior, that only left one person.  However, I knew better than to give Stanley’s twin brother any credit in this matter.

“I hope you don’t mind staying in,” he hedged, shifting his eyes toward me to gauge my reaction.

“Of course not.  What smells so good?”

“Um, well –” he took the flowers from my loose grip and popped them into a drinking glass filled with water on the kitchen counter, “–chicken parmesan…?”

The uncertainty in his voice earned a giggle from me as he escorted me to the kitchen table.  Everything had already been set up and served on mismatched dishware.  There were two long stem candles placed in the middle of the display, flickering a soft glow on the meal that, indeed, resembled chicken parmesan.  Silently thanking Ford for the valiant effort, I took a seat in front of one of the placements with a smile that I was certain resembled that of a lovesick teenager.

What was all this?  Why had Stan gone through all the trouble when he could have easily taken me to Greasy’s Diner?  Why had he even asked me to dinner in the first place?  Most of our previous interactions had been brief and surface level.  An intimate setting, such as this, begged familiarity or the promise of it.  Or – or maybe I was reading far too much into a kind gesture?  

I was suddenly pulled from my inner contemplation when Stan yanked the other chair from the table and plopped down across from me.  He seemed a bit stiff and awkward and he reached for the bottle of red table wine and poured himself a tall glass before scooching the bottle toward me.  Taking his lead, I poured myself a glass as well and attempted to settle in.  

Dinner was, surprisingly, easy and carefree.  Stan proved to be an excellent conversationalist and had fantastical stories that kept me on the edge of my seat during the duration.  Soon, I found myself pouring my third glass of wine and my inhibitions were being softened around the edges as my smiles and giggles materialized with ease.  

“Ya gettin’ tipsy there, doll?”  Waggling his eyebrows, he tipped the wine bottle toward me before taking a swig directly from it.  

“I could ask you the same question,” I countered, taking a larger gulp than was necessary from my glass.  Another giggle passed my lips as Stan lowered his glasses to peer at me from above the rims.  Suddenly stunned by his beautiful eyes, I covered my mouth with the back of my hand and averted my gaze.  

“Why did you ask me to dinner?”  The words tumbled from my mouth before they'd even fully formed in my mind and the humiliation crept up from my chest to burn my cheeks.  I wanted to take them back – stuff them back down my throat and swallow them whole.  But, it was too little, too late.

Luckily, though, the wine had kicked Stan’s cockiness into high gear and he was more than willing to explain.

“You’re cute,” he stated simply, running a large hand through his hair.  “I’ve also caught you making eyes at me.  Couldn’t let that opportunity pass by, now could I?”  Then, he laughed; a booming baritone that seemed to vibrate from his body, travel across the distance between us and tingle the tips of my fingers and toes.

I had no retort.  Mostly because the wine was coursing through my veins delightfully, but the truth was undeniable.  

“Well, I’m glad you did.”

“Me too, doll.”

The conversation continued to flow, easy and effortless.  Stan encouraged me to tell a story or two of my own when his reserve had finally been tapped.  He even appeared interested as I spoke instead of the slightly annoyed demeanor he always wore.

Eventually, though, the conversation grew scarce and the wine ran dry.  It was late and I became hyper aware of the fact that the two of us were completely alone in the shack.  Briefly, I wondered where Ford could be.  But, I hadn’t seen him all evening so it was probably safe to assume that he’d taken refuge elsewhere for the evening.  

And, that realization sent a rush of adrenaline directly to the base of my spine.

“I should probably get going.  I have plans to meet a friend for breakfast tomorrow.”

It was a poor excuse, but an excuse nonetheless.  As much as I wanted to spend time with Stan, I didn’t want to move too fast and squander my opportunity for a meaningful relationship.

“Oh, of course, yeah.  I’ve – uh – got important things to do too, ya know.”

Scrambling from the table, he approached me and offered me his hand in the same manner as when he’d met me at my car.  The endearment hit me hard and actually felt tears prick my eyes as I slipped my hand into his.  Seconds later, he had me to my feet and slyly tucked and hooked my arm around his in a guise to steady me as he led me toward the front door.  Even though I wasn’t anywhere near intoxicated, I allowed him this reprieve and reveled in the warmth of his body where we touched.

Soon – too soon – we were standing on the front porch of the shack, a warm breeze caressing my cheeks and tousling the loose strands of my hair.  This one singular moment was perfect and I would have been content for it to last forever.

That is, until I felt Stan’s gaze bore into me and I was compelled to tip my face upward to lock my eyes with his.  

His expression was soft and somehow sweet – expectant.  Something seemed to crackle in the atmosphere between us, drawing us toward one another like the pull of a magnet.  I was powerless to resist it, even if I’d wanted to, so I nearly melted when Stan gently cupped the back of my neck and coaxed me toward him.

His lips were firm yet yielding as they molded around my own.  Almost chaste in their gentleness and my heart swelled with thick emotion.  I returned the kiss with as much fervor as I could muster, slightly opening my lips to encase his before swiping my tongue very lightly on his bottom lip.  It was a promise of things to come… later.

Then, just as soon as the kiss began, it was over.  The warmth and pressure now a ghost upon my lips as he pulled back and released me.  I was slightly dazed as he chucked and slung one burly arm around my shoulders.  

“Don’t lose my number while I’m gone this fall, huh?”  The uncertainty in his voice made me smirk.  Did he actually think I’d forget about him?

“Impossible,” I replied, pointing toward the bumper sticker Mabel had plastered on the back of my car with the Mystery Shack’s telephone number in large, bold font.

“Good girl.”

The End.

[itzleon345]

Dianakko Week  @dianakko-week

Day 6: Space/Stars

I’ll Be Back

Read it in AO3 here!

Summary:

“Who are you talking to?”

“The Rod, I’m sure he was taking care of me”

“Yeah, I’m also pretty sure he was”

“Hey hey hey! Don’t worry Diana, I’ll be back before you even notice I left, it’s just a small trip to the Moon Forest, in and out!”

A young Asian girl was saying to her blonde girlfriend while she was shoving random things inside a medium size red backpack

“I know Akko, but either way, I’m not comfortable with you going to a fairly new magic forest in the middle of nowhere just because you can speak with fairies, there are a lot of witches that can speak with them! I know how to speak with them! Why did they have to choose you?”

Diana exclaimed angrily, she just couldn’t believe why out of nearly every witch in Europe the “oh-so-prepared” explorers had to select her girlfriend, yeah, she knew Akko was a great witch and a really brave person but, why?!

Then of course, she didn’t doubted about the capabilities of her girlfriend, she just was worried about the fact that the Moon Forest was discovered barely two years ago after the restoration of magic, and it wasn’t explored at all, there were still places that no one dare to pass thanks to the fact that maybe in those specific spots were living all kinds of magical creatures, dangerous magical creatures to be more specific.

“It’s just going to be a month, and Diana you know why I’m the chosen one, and always remember, it might be dark inside, but there are still stars shining in the sky, I’ll come back here in a month and we are going to have a date, what do you think of that?”

Akko said with her bag already in her back, she was wearing the most comfortable clothes she had, denim jeans, a pair of black sports shoes, a white t-shirt and a red hoodie, her wand was tied up in her waist with her old Luna Nova red ribbon.

The reason why she was the witch chosen among all of the ones in Europe was that she was once the wielder of the Claiomh Solais and the savior of magic, therefore a lot of people believed that she had some kind bond with magical creatures, this belief has not been proven yet but either ways the explorers preferred to have her by their side, also is worth to say that even if Diana was also once kinda the wielder of the Shiny Rod and the savior of magic she didn’t were selected because of her responsibilities as the head of the Cavendish house

“Also, the forest is not so far from the manor, if somehow I’m late you can always go to look for me”

She said while she gave her girlfriend a kiss on the lips

“Now let’s go, I’m running late and I’m sure James must be mad by now”

It was a peaceful Saturday night, and even if Diana was a little sad because Akko was going away she knew her cute girlfriend was right, there were still stars shining on the outside, her personal star was not going to abandon her, it was just a couple of weeks and then she would be back with a lot of scrapes in her arms and mud in her face, just like it always has been

“Alright sweetheart, but promise me you won’t be doing anything too reckless, I love your scars and all of that but I would prefer not to have to heal more of them… and… you know I’ll miss you, so just come back to me, okay?”

Both of them were now on the front door of the Cavendish manor, the night was a little cold but it wasn’t annoying at all

“Yes, Diana! Don’t be too worried about me, I’ll be fine! There’s nothing that Atsuko Kagari can’t handle!”

The crimson eyed girl said with a mock tone while she was making exaggerated poses

“I know you’ll be fine dearie”

Diana let a sight escape from her lips as she looked up to the night sky

“And you know I’ll always come back to you, so, when you look to the night skies don’t think of goodbyes, think how I’m right here by your side, if my memory is still in your mind then it means that I had never really leave you”

The brunette said with sweetness, and before she left the house she took the face of her beloved girlfriend and she gave her a quick kiss on the lips

“I love you Diana! See you next month!”

She took her broom as she muttered “Tia Freyre”, and the she left

“I love you too”

Diana went back to the inside of the manor with a strange concern

—————————

It was Saturday in the morning, Akko was coming back from her trip today and Diana was a little to excited, since Akko left something in her gut started telling her this trip was a very bad idea, she didn’t knew why but she was really worried about her girlfriend, anyways, today was the day and she was extremely happy.

From what she knew Akko was probably arriving at noon, so she started her day as usual, she ate her breakfast and she started working on a couple of papers about the new magical-centric hospital she was going to open next week…

*10:30 AM*

It was an hour and a half for Akko to arrive, and Diana knew it, the anxiety didn’t let her continue working so she decided to go change to a casual attire, Akko promised her they were going to have a date once she got back, the Cavendish knew it wouldn’t be an elaborated date because Akko was coming back from a long trip to the forest and the girl was probably tired.

The clothes she choose where a simple button-up white shirt with a blue vest above it, a pair of denim jeans and casual shoes, nothing too formal

*11:50 AM*

Just ten more minutes and Akko would be knocking the door calling for her saying that she was hungry or something like that

*12:15 PM*

Akko was just probably running late as usual

*1:00 PM*

What is one hour? Diana waited for weeks, she could handle a couple more hours

*8:00 PM*

“She is running late, there’s nothing to worry about”

Diana said to herself one more time

*10:00 PM*

After ten long hours Diana finally heard an insistent knock on the front doors

“It has to be her, Anna can you please receive Akko? I’ll be in the kitchens serving some snacks for her”

Diana asked to her maiden as she started walking to the kitchens

“As you please young lady” . . .

“Lady Cavendish, your presence is required at the entrance, someone is asking for you”

One of Diana’s butlers said to her as he entered the kitchen

“Isn't Akko the one that had just arrived?”

Diana asked with confusion

“I’m afraid the one requiring your presence isn’t miss Kagari”

He replied

“Then who is it?”

“They claim to be James McClain”

Diana was confused, James McClain was the leader of the crew Akko was going with to the forest, why was he in her house and not her girlfriend?

“Tell them I’ll be there shortly Carter”

“I’ll tell them young Lady”

The man said as he stepped out of the kitchen, leaving Diana alone with her thoughts . . .

“Diana! Thank the Nine you are here!”

A black man exclaimed with relief when he spotted the blonde girl

“James, it’s nice to see you too, before you say anything I need to know, where’s Atsuko?”

Diana greeted the guy with coldness

“That’s exactly why I am here, Akko is still in the forest”

James said with nervousness while he scratched the right side of his head

“W-what!? Explain yourself now!”

Diana demanded to the guy with brown eyes, also, until now Diana notice the way he was dressed, his shirt was ripped from the left side of his neck letting see a really ugly-looking scrape, his curly hair was a complete mess, and his jeans were burned to the upper part of his calf

“Wait, I think it would be better if we have this conversation inside, also those wounds need to be healed”

She said a little more calmed as she let James enter the manor . . .

“And you guys just leave her there?! All alone!”

Both the blonde and the brunette boy were in a living room talking about everything that happened in the forest a couple of days ago.

After Diana healed James wounds, he finally told her why her beloved girlfriend wasn’t in her house, he said that four days ago when they were exploring a new part of the forest they were attacked, he at first didn’t recognize the beast that attacked them because they escaped from the place as fast as they could.

————

“Is anybody else hearing that sound?”

A guy with blue hair asked to his crew after hearing something scratching a tree

“Don’t worry Arthur, it’s probably just a squirrel”

Someone said to him with no worries

“Yeah… just a squirr-“

The Arthur guy started saying but a scream interrupted him

“Everyone! Run!”

Akko, the witch that accompanied them, yelled as she started casting offensive and defensive spells…

————

James said that that was the only time Akko used any kind of defensive spells, he said that before the attack the trip went without any problems, then, he told Diana that today in the morning when they were going back to the entrance of the forest they again hear the mysterious scratching sound they hear the day of the attack

————

“Guys…”

Arthur said in a fearful whisper

“Shush Arthur, Akko, what do we do?”

A girl with green eyes asked as she shut up her partner

“I don’t think there is a safe escape route right now, unless we want to either go back to the forest or guide the beast to Wedinburgh”

Akko whispered back to the girl with nervousness

“Do you have any ideas James?”

The brunette asked after a couple of intense seconds passed

“I don’t know! You are the witch here!”

He whispered-yelled to her

“Whoa, thanks for th-“

“Roaaaaaar!”

Before Akko could end her sentence a petrifying roar interrupted her, it was so powerful that no one dared to move, and thanks to that they finally discovered what the beast was.

An imposing chimera was in front of them, his lion head was the one that roared, his goat one was pointing at them with its horns and the one from the dragon was looking at them with rage

“Hey there little kitty”

Akko finally said as she get out of her shock, she took out her wand with clumsiness while she was slowly approaching to the beast

“Hissss!”

Now it was the dragon head that made a sound

“Yeah, that’s completely understandable, of course I know what you are saying”

The crimson eyed girl was getting even closer to the chimera, wand now in her right hand

“Now we don't have the time to play kitty, maybe you would like to go back to your house? I’m just saying…”

“Rooooaaaar”

The lion head roar again as the goat head started hitting some trees with its horns, while the beast was doing that Akko took out some sort of note of her sweatshirt pocket

“We don’t have much time, James take this and give it to Diana, tell her I’ll be fine that I’ll be going home someday”

The beast once again turned its three heads to the explorers and when it was about to jump to them Akko screamed the first spell that came into her mind

“Blaecus!”

Akko’s wand glowed in a blinding shine as the spell hit its target, the beast screamed in rage as the dragon head released powerful flames to the forest floor

“And now is time for you to run guys! I’ll catch up with you later”

The witch said as she suit herself in a battling position

All of that happened at ten in the morning, he said, but they didn’t leave the forest until 8:00 pm waiting to Akko to come back, thing that obviously didn’t happen so they just left as fast as they could to alert any other witch they knew

————

“Yes, she is probably still in the forest, but don’t worry Diana she is a powerful witch, I’m sure she’ll be back, and if for some reason she takes to much time to return we could always go to look for her”

James answered to the young woman as he took the note out of his pants pocket

“Also, here is the note Akko told me to gave you, I don’t know what it says, so take it, it’s yours after all”

He handed the note to Diana

Dear Diana, if you are reading this then it means I’m not home yet, therefore it also means something happened here in the forest, probably some sort of problem with some kind of magical beast, if the one delivering this is James then it probably means there’s nothing to worry about, anyways, I promise you I’ll make it through the night, and you’ll never have to feel alone again, I’ll come back soon, see ya!

-Sincerely yours, Akko

Diana read the note slowly making sure she read it right.

Akko was still all alone in a unexplored forest full of all kind of beast, yeah it was totally fine, she is promising she is coming back soon, nothing to worry about at all, she is promising she’ll make through the night, she is sure that Diana would never have to feel alone again, Diana star is still shining she is just a little too far to spot it but she will come back

“Thank you James, I would offer you to stay the night because it is pretty late, but I can’t, sorry”

Diana said with no apology in her voice while she accompanied the man to the doors

“Yeah, I understand, anyways, I need to get home to tell my sister I’m back, I’ll tell you if I find out something about Akko, bye!”

“Bye!”

After he left Diana went to her backyard to stargaze a little, for some reason the night sky always got to calm her nerves but tonight it didn’t worked, everytime she spotted a star she thought about the eyes of her cute and clumsy girlfriend, about how she was all alone in the middle of nowhere probably looking for a way to come back home, but after some anxious and depressing moments Diana finally saw a constellation that did pacified her, it was the Big Dipper, it was the Shiny Rod, it was all Diana needed to see to know Akko was still safe and sound wherever she was

—————————

Three days had already passed and there was no sign of Akko, James told her the Monday morning that if Akko didn’t appear by Friday night they would be going back for her with a new crew full of witches and wizards, Diana was thankful for the gesture but it didn’t calmed her nerves at all, that’s why she was still awake in her room, waiting for someone that was probably injured in the middle of a dangerous forest.

It was two in the morning of the Wednesday and Diana was about to cast a sleeping spell on herself when she saw a green light moving on the forest, it wasn’t very bright and it was probably going to fade very soon, it was moving in the direction of the manor in slow motion, it was like if someone was trying to get out of the place in most stealthy way they could muster, she didn’t reacted until she spot the figure of the person that was approaching to her state

As soon as she saw that disheveled brunette hair she knew who was coming home, she got out of her room the fastest she could and she run to her garden, when she tried to cast a quick light spell she realized she left her wand in her room, but she didn’t cared at all, the light was coming closer and the features of the person were becoming clearer, a cute and tired Asian face, long and dirty brunette hair, and a pair of beautiful and shining red eyes was all Diana needed to start crying, the relief she was feeling was nearly overwhelming.

“Diana!”

She heard the person screamed with happiness

“Diana I’m home!”

She heard again, and she knew this wasn’t some sort of vivid dream, her star was finally home

“What took you so long?”

She asked with relief in her voice as she opened her arms for a very needed hug

“You know, the usual, I was playing with a Chimera and it’s cute babies”

Akko answered with a chuckle as she throw herself into Diana’s embrace

“It sounds tiring, do you want to go to sleep?”

“Yes, just give me a second”

Akko looked up to the night sky and she said

“Thank you for leading me home! I owe you a big one!”

She yelled to apparently no-one

“Who are you talking with?”

“The Rod, I’m sure he was taking care of me”

“Yeah, I’m also pretty sure he was”

——————————

I know it’s late, I know it probably has to many mistakes and I know maybe doesn’t counts as “Space/Stars” but I don’t care, gays (guys) I hope you enjoy this thing product of my Mexican Insomnia©️ There are 3 Easter Eggs I hope you guys can find them!

Background Song: here!

[nymphigeon]

Roses Have Thorns

♡ Pairing; Jungkook x Reader

♡ Genre; Angst, Fluff, Fantasy!AU, Supernatural!AU, S2L, Student!Jungkook, Wizard!Jungkook, Angel!Reader, Demon!Reader, Student!Reader

♡ Warnings (for this chapter); Swearing, mentions of stabbing, an attack

♡ Rating; NC-17

♡ Words; 2893

♡ Summary; A girl forced to live in fear because of her own power. Even though she isn’t supposed to exist, she wants to live. She’ll just make sure that she breaks herself over and over until there is nothing left of her. He, of course, won’t let her.

Series masterlist

 Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three

Chapter Two

“Haeun? Is this yours?” You ask as you walk into your mansion’s private library. In the middle of the library stands a long table with chairs all round. Only one of the chairs is taken. “I found this glass looking thing in my room, but I can’t remember having anything like it.” You open the palm of your hand to show the item mentioned.

Haeun doesn’t look up from her book, but somehow still knows what you’re talking about. “It’s a regeneration crystal. As long as you keep it on you the crystal will heal all wounds until it’s drained of power. After that you can keep it as a pretty rock or throw it out if you wish. A gift from one of mother’s clients. We all have one.”

Despite spending her time reading a book, she couldn’t have looked more bored. You can’t read the title on the cover with the way she’s holding it, but if you had to guess it’s probably something college related.

“Why would they gift regeneration crystals? They’re crazy expensive and it’s not like one of us gets stabbed every day.” You look at the tiny crystal in your hand with a puzzled look. For the longest time these crystals were thought to be a myth. Something someone thought of while writing their newest fantasy thriller.

Everyone claiming they had one got called crazy and eventually, nobody spoke of them anymore. Too scared to be criticized by a large number of people, these owners of the regeneration crystals got silenced.

It wasn’t until a group of researches accidentally stumbled upon a small warehouse filled with the crystals that the supposed myth was proven to be reality. A few powerful witches had been creating them, hoping to be able to distribute them among those joining the military.

Back then the crystals weren’t nearly as powerful or small as they are now, but as a myth proven true all the tabloids were filled with the news. Obviously the researches saw money in the crystals, and instead of giving them to those that needed them for free like the witches wanted, they sold them off to those with power.

Needles to say the creators were angry and stopped producing them. Some say they still created the crystals in secret, giving them off to the ones they trusted as soon as they were done so nobody could selfishly steal them, though this was never confirmed.

It wasn’t until a few years later that researches found another type of witches who were able to make them. These individuals had a completely different mindset compared to the original inventors, and decided to team up with the researchers, creating the crystals to sell them.

Sadly, both types of witches that were able to produce these see-through stones slowly died out, leaving just a handful all over the world. The crystals got rarer by the day, prices skyrocketing. If you’re lucky you’ll meet a nice witch sometime during your life who will create you a free crystal. If not, you must be ready to pay a fortune.

“Should you really be talking though? If anything you need it the most out of us all.” She closes her book after placing a bookmark in between pages. “Nobody is trying to harm me Haeun.”

Your older sister never seemed to particularly like you, and you’ve never been able to find out why. Out of your three siblings, all older than you, she’s the only one who seems to hold a grudge against you. By now it’s almost an everyday occurrence, wondering why she was the only one that had to stay home besides yourself, while the others moved out when they finished high school.

“Because you’ve been protected by a stuck-up entitled brat your whole life.” She glares at you and pushes her chair back to stand up, clearly not wanting to be in the same room as you. “You’re lucky you’re mom’s child. She’s probably the only person who would go through such great lengths to make sure you’re safe.”

Being the youngest child, you’ve always sought for the validation of your older siblings. That worked two times, or more specific, it worked for the two twins in the household. Your 24 year old brother and sister adore you, always calling to make sure everything is okay back home. Haeun though, can’t seem to hold that same energy.

“You truly speak like a fully-fledged demon.” You do not wish to fight with her, still, you also can’t just let her get away with her words. Perhaps this is your own way of trying to show her that she hurt you.

“I’d like to remind you that your own mother and like half of your family tree is full-demon.” She seems to think your distress is amusing, happily replying to your insults. “You’re the only one whose personality matches one as well.”

Somewhere you were hoping she’d comfort you, apologizing for her words. “If I’m so bad then why is nobody hunting me down? Why am I not the one being protected?” You can’t do anything but look at the ground and stand there, not knowing what to say.

Haeun, noticing your lack of answer, walks up to you so she can deliver her following words right in your face. “You know, criminals aren’t supposed to be protected.” Walking past you, she gets to the exit of the room.

“I didn’t do anything.” Once again you’re trying to hold back tears. Why do you have to be such a cry baby? “Keep telling yourself that. Hopefully it’ll come true one day.” Is it her mission to make you feel as miserable as she possibly can?

“Is it so wrong to just want to feel safe?” You whisper, but her sensitive ears still hear you. “In your case, of course it is.” With that she walks out, letting the door fall closed behind her. With her she takes the little confidence you managed to build up for yourself.

The loud thud of something – or rather a bunch of things – falling wakes Jungkook up. Complete silence follows the sound, almost as if it was never even there. The still tired boy groans, rolls over, and gets ready to fall back asleep. It’s Saturday, waking up at any time before 1 pm is way too early according to him.

Just for a second Jungkook debates whether he should go check if everything is okay, but quickly dismisses the thought. Nobody is screaming out it pain, so it should be fine. Except if said person fucked up so bad that whatever fell instantly killed them.

Jungkook sighs and accepts the fact that he might be a teensy bit worried. He yawns, not caring to block his mouth, and sits up in bed. There’s not much his eyes have to adjust to, as the room is still completely dark thanks to his blackout curtains hanging in front of the windows. The curtains were hell for his basically empty bank account back when he bought them, but damn do they do a good job at keeping the light out.

He can’t tell what time it is, but his droopy eyes tell him it’s definitely nowhere near noon yet. Getting out of bed, Jungkook puts some socks on his bare feet. It’s no secret that their laminate flooring is almost always freezing in the mornings. There was even a time when Namjoon was sure some evil spell had been casted on their floor, doing his best to get rid of it. Needless to say, that didn’t go very well. Turns out no evil spell was on the floor, their bitchy apartment just loses heat really fast.

When Jungkook walks out of his room he calls out for the only other person living there. “Namjoon?” He squints at the light coming through the living room windows. Both Namjoon and Jungkook have their own room, so there was no need to get any curtains for the living room. It would just have been a waste of money, although Jungkook is thinking of buying some for his poor eyes.

Nobody answers his call. Did these things just fall on their own then? Jungkook is quite sure he doesn’t live with a pair of ghosts, so he shuffles a bit further into the room and calls out again. “Is everything okay? Where are you?” He raises the volume of his voice a bit, hoping that it will help.

He can’t help but lightly cringe at the way he sounds, having forgotten he only woke up a few minutes ago and his voice is still laced with sleep. “I’m here Jungkook.” This time Namjoon responds to the call from the kitchen.

Jungkook walks over to the kitchen to check on the current situation. “What happened? I heard something falling and-“ Abruptly stopping his speech, Jungkook’s eyes widen as soon as he reaches the doorway.

The kitchen floor is an absolute mess. Food laying everywhere on top of what seems to be a dozen of broken eggs, with Namjoon’s form desperately trying to clean at the side. “Wha- How did you…” It takes him a moment before he can manage to form a proper sentence, not sure if what he’s seeing is real.

“Why is there food all over the floor?!” Jungkook nearly screams in shock. Luckily none of his snacks ended up on the floor, having no need to be refrigerated. They are still safely tucked away somewhere in one of the cupboards.

“I wanted to take something out of the fridge without moving the rest in front of it, but as you see, it kind of failed..” Namjoon looks guilty. Not only did he throw hard earned money on the floor, he also woke his roommate up in the process. Two things he likes to avoid.

Jungkook internally face palms, but doesn’t show it on his face. “This is what you get for being lazy.” Although he probably shouldn’t be saying that, as he is usually the lazy one. Jungkook bends down to get a towel from one of the lower cupboards. Initially he was going straight back to sleep after seeing what happened, but he’d feel bad if he just left Namjoon alone here.

“No worries, I’ll help you.” He smiles at his friend, trying to somehow comfort him. “Thank you.” Namjoon scratches the back of his head out of embarrassment, before audible sighing. “I’ll go get the mop.” He lets Jungkook know before walking out. This was not how Jungkook imagined he would be spending his Saturday morning, but at least nobody got hurt.

“Eleanor.” She didn’t need to turn around to know who was standing behind her. Having heard his voice for years now, the sound is most familiar to her. Comforting, soft, caring.

“It’s getting cold, so I brought you a jacket.” Elenora smiles and takes the jacket her husband offers her. “Thank you.”

The temperature dropping hadn’t been on her mind, too deep in her own thoughts. She’s thankful for the garment, instantly feeling a lot warmer.

“What do you think of the flowers?” Elenora asks Minho right after he sits down next to her. “I planted them before my sister brought the kids over, since Juwon likes them.” A small smile is plastered on her face at the thought of her excited nephew.

“They’re pretty, I like them.” He feels her eyes on him and looks down to meet her gaze. Having been caught, Elenora quickly turns her head in the opposite direction. They have been married for quite a few years, but sometimes she still acts like a high school student having a crush.

“I’m glad.”

Silence follows. Minho wasn’t planning on staying outside with her, but now that he’s here he might as well enjoy the fresh air. Besides, something feels off, a pull keeping him next to her.

“Am I a bad person?” The silence get cut by an unexpected question. “Eleanor-” “I’m making sure that someone who shouldn’t have power, keeps her crown. At this point I’m just spreading propaganda.”

She sighs and rests her head in her hands, covering her face. “I’m trying to keep someone safe by helping those with ill intentions. Does that make me a bad person?” She isn’t necessarily looking for an answer, she knows there is none.

“I agreed to it. If that makes you a bad person then I’m one too.” Scooting closer, Minho takes her hands from her face, squeezing lightly. “Angels can’t be bad, that’s exactly what they’re known for, what gives them their name.” She lets out a sad sounding chuckle. Despite everything, she can find a little enjoyment in the statement.

“There’s a first for everything.” He smiles at her, stroking the back of her hands. “No one is ever 100% good, but I’d like to think you are.” They say love makes you blind, and maybe she is, but she doesn’t really care.

“Then you are too.” No hesitation in his voice. She isn’t sure what makes him say that, but she’ll believe his words for now.

“We’ll figure out a way to satisfy everyone eventually. It just takes time of course. I trust the story won’t end badly.” He isn’t sure how to comfort her or how to give her an answer. All he can do now is support her. “I do hope so.” She lays her head on his shoulder, hoping that perhaps all her problems will disappear if she just forgets about them.

Jungkook usually loves the fact that the stores in town are open until late. He can’t even count the amount of times he went out at night to restock the snack he ate during the day, thanking the Lord for the gift of convenience stores.

Right now though, he hates it. Had the stores been closed by now, Namjoon wouldn’t have pushed him out the door to do the weekly grocery shopping, and Jungkook could have still been playing the new game he bought a week ago to which he ended up getting addicted to.

Well he wasn’t really forced out of the door, more like Namjoon convinced him to go. Damn him for having an important appointment with his project partner. Who wants to do school work during the weekend anyway?

“I should have everything now.” He murmurs while peering into the plastic bag dangling from his arm, looking back and forth between its contents and the shopping list to make sure he didn’t forget anything.

Jungkook probably bought more ramen than needed, but as long as he didn’t forget anything it should be fine. Even though it’s Jungkook who does most of the cooking in the house, Namjoon isn’t scared to scold him whenever he forgets something. Ridiculous, It isn’t even his fault the fridge ended up empty.

Realizing he still needs one of the vegetables, he turns around, walking back to the store he just came from with sighs and curses leaving his mouth. All he wants to do is go home and just get this done. There is nothing likable about eggplants anyway, when will he ever use them to cook?

Luckily for him, he won’t need to go back after all. Though, giving your life for not having to get an eggplant may seem a bit much. Not that he really has a choice in the unfair trade anyway.

Jungkook’s steps are fast, arriving at the grocery store as soon as possible is the only thing on his mind. It’s not until the clock strikes 9 pm exactly that he is forced to stop, an incredible heat closing in on his spot.

Someone somewhere screams. People everywhere start running in opposite directions, blindly clashing into each other. A few trip and fall, crawling to safety between the legs blocking their path. Others faint, their heads not being able to make sense of what’s happening.

Nobody minds them, forcefully stepping on the bodies of those on the ground. With the way people are moving it won’t be long before the entire street is empty. It’s complete chaos.

Jungkook, still standing where he stopped, looks up at the sky, searching for the cause of all this madness. He regrets it instantly, having probably been off better without knowing what was about to end him. Nothing could have ever prepared him for the sight.

About to set fire to everyone and everything, a massive blue fireball is raging his way. The bag he was holding falls to the ground, his eyes widening. It’s not hard to guess who the sender is. Luna is still after him.

It’s like time suddenly slows down substantially. The fireball is still so far away, yet also way too close. A memory of Namjoon chanting an extinguishing spell flashes through Jungkook’s mind, but is all too soon forgotten. Maybe if he had actually paid attention at that time he would be able to save himself now.

Frozen with fear, his feet refuse to move. He can’t do anything. Shivering all over, Jungkook crosses his arms in front of him as a way to shield himself. Maybe if he can’t see anything, it will cease to exist. And thus he closes his eyes as tightly as he can, waiting for the burning hot impact. He had long accepted his fate. It’s over for him.

[coyotesongwriting]

Home - Ch. 3

Chapter 3 - Fresh Start

Chapter Summary: Bucky’s gone, and so are you. What happens when you find out some big news?

Word Count: 3222

Author’s Note: Thank you so much for reading this story and I hope you enjoy it. I’ve tried a new writing style for this fic and I can definitely say it’s not my cup of tea but I love the story anyways!

Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters so don’t sue me please. I just really like them haha

Previous Chapter              Series Masterlist

May You weren’t sure where you were headed when you left the compound, but you knew you had to go as far as you could. For the next two weeks, you wandered wherever the road took you in the Ford Explorer Fury had gifted you. At first, you traveled down to Florida and spent a few days on the coast. The smell of the fish that seemed to permeate the harbor areas left you feeling ill though, and you decided it was time to move. You slowly made your way along the southern coast, stopping in New Orleans for a few days to take in all the sights you’d always wanted to see. You even did a few of the cheesy ghost tours, a part of you hoping that maybe you would receive a sign from Bucky, but knowing you wouldn’t.

As you drove through Texas, you took the old two-lane roads through the middle of nowhere. On one hot summer day, you were driving when you saw a dog on the side of the road. The large German Shepherd mix was tied to a pole on the side of the road, a piece of paper that said ‘free’ taped to it above his lead. The dog had been tied out in the heat with no water for who knows how long, and without a second thought, you loaded him up into your car. Pouring some water into your hands, you gave him a bit before rushing him to the vet in San Antonio.

According to the vet, if you hadn’t come along when you did, someone would have found a dead dog in the summer sun. The vet scanned him for a microchip and was able to find out his name was Rex. His owner’s information was all outdated though, and when they asked what you wanted to do, you didn’t hesitate to say that he was staying with you. You found a hotel room nearby and stayed for the two days Rex spent at the vet, waiting for him to be given a clean bill of health. Every day, you went to visit him for as long as you could. He was always happy to see you and seemed to know you had saved him from a slow and horrible death. You constantly were texting the Avengers pictures of Rex, and Clint immediately claimed him as his godson.

When the day came that you finally got to pick him, you took him to the pet store where you bought him all the supplies he’d need, a nice collar, bed, leash, food bowls, treats, all of it. That night, Rex climbed onto the bed next to you and fell asleep with his head resting on your stomach. For the first time since losing Bucky, you finally slept through the night.

Back on the road, you drove until you reached Sedona, Arizona. There, you decided, was going to be your first stop. The beauty of the surrounding mountains and cliffs surrounded you, and it was completely unlike the forests and meadows you’d called home in upstate New York. The desert was never going to be the place you’d permanently settle down, but it was the perfect place to spend a few months, to heal before attempting to build a permanent life somewhere with Rex.

You found a small apartment on the outskirts of town with a balcony overlooking the cliffs and made it your own. It didn’t take long before you found a job at one of the diners in town working as a cook. You settled into the different lifestyle quickly and made a new routine, one that was reliable and without danger.

In the mornings, you’d take Rex for a jog on the hiking trail behind the apartments. By the time it started to heat up, you were back at the apartment, and Rex was relaxing. You’d go to the apartment’s gym where you’d do some basic exercises, even if you weren’t an Avenger anymore you wanted to be sure you were in shape just in case something happened. After that, you got ready for your shift and went to cook for the dinner rush.

Every day, you checked in with Nat and Sam, and usually one of the others. Everyone wanted to make sure you were doing alright and to be honest, you were. Things were hard of course, and you missed Bucky, you always would, but you were learning to live a new life. One that wasn’t haunted by the ghost of him. One where you didn’t have to worry every day about whether or not your friends would die in front of you.

June A month after getting settled into Sedona, you received a phone call from Steve. It was a late Tuesday night, and you’d just finished your shift at the diner, and you were walking back to your apartment down the quiet streets when you answered.

“[Y/N], we have to make the announcement” Steve’s voice was soft, careful as he spoke.

The warm night air seemed suddenly suffocating. You’d been so wrapped up in your own guilt that you forgot that to the rest of the world, Bucky was still alive somewhere, doing his job as an Avenger. When he first joined the team, he’d gotten mixed reviews from people on the street. Half the people they ran into feared him, blaming him for what he’d done as the winter soldier. The others seemed to understand and were more than willing to welcome him on as one of Earth’s Defenders. Over the years, he had managed to change the doubter’s minds and it wasn’t long before there was even fan merchandise being sold of him. Unlike Tony, he hadn’t relished the spotlight and tried to stand back whenever he could.

While you and Bucky had been more than happy to come out as a couple to the team, you’d decided to keep your relationship private. Since you always wore a photostatic veil when you were in public as one of the avengers, you didn’t want to make things awkward if someone saw him out with you when you weren’t wearing a disguise. He didn’t need the bad publicity if someone saw him kissing you with and without the veil. Besides, it was nice having something for just you and the team, one part of your life that didn’t belong to the world.

The realization struck you, the moment the world found out about his death? He’d be everywhere. You may have left the Avengers in the hope of avoiding his ghost, which still followed you, but the moment it was announced you’d see his face everywhere. The news coverage that would come was sure to run nonstop for days. There’d be a public funeral service.  Bucky’s death would surround you once again, and this time you’d have no choice but to wait it out.

“[Y/N]?” Steve’s voice drew you out of your thoughts, reminding you of his presence.

“Y-yeah. Can you give me a little bit? A few days. Please. I just need to be ready.”

“Saturday, we have to do it then. People are beginning to ask why they haven’t seen him around lately and we can’t keep hiding this. There’s going to be a lot of questions” he paused before continuing, “People have been asking about you too.”

“Okay. That’s fine, that’ll work” your voice was nervous, trying to reassure yourself it would be alright, “What are you going to tell them about me?”

“You can still come back, you know. We miss you. Even Tony misses you.”

“I know. But I’m not coming back. I can’t. I can’t do that. I can’t watch one of you die again. I can’t do it again.”

“I can’t say if you come back you’ll never be in that position again, but we need you. It’s not the same without both of you…”

“No. I know, I miss you guys, I get it. But I can’t - won’t - go through that again”

“I just worry about you. Bucky wouldn’t want you to do this.”

“Bucky’s dead, Steve. We don’t know what he’d want, but he’d want me to be happy and I can’t stay there and pretend everything’s fine, okay?”

“Come home, [Y/N].” Steve’s voice lost the softness, his stubbornness setting in.

You could feel the frustration in you rising as Steve’s attitude changed. You’d been more touchy lately, but who wouldn’t be after losing the person they were meant to spend the rest of their life with?

“I am home.” you slid your key into the lock of your front door and were greeted by Rex’s wagging tail.

“You know what I mean.” he sighed, frustrated.

“No. No, I don’t. Because the complex isn’t my home, not anymore.”

“[Y/N]-”

“Look. I have to go. I just got in and I’m exhausted. You’re making the announcement on Saturday. I get it.”

“Come home. Please.”

You didn’t answer him, merely hanging up the phone. You set your phone on the small entry table by the door and leaned back against the door behind you. Sliding down, you sat on the floor, back against the door as the tears overwhelmed you again. You were getting better, truly. You could usually get through the day without crying by this point, but sometimes things were just too hard.

Looking back all you could see were the mistakes that were made. The things you could have done to save him. And in your darkest times, when it seemed like dawn would never come, you blamed Steve. If he hadn’t made you wait, you could have gotten to him in time. You could have warned him. You could have gotten him out of there, and you wouldn’t be here today. Blaming Steve wasn’t fair, you knew that, but sometimes it was hard to forget that.

Rex nuzzled his way into your face, and your hands closed around him, pulling him close as you broke. While you may have saved him, he’d more than repaid you since you brought him home. On the days you felt alone, he was always by your side. When you didn’t even want to get out of bed, he was there nudging you and making sure you got things handled. When you broke down at night, he was happy to lay with you and offer you a listening ear.

The night passed slowly, seeming to creep by. You slept in fits, but Rex was there every time you woke up. His calm presence lured you back to sleep every time. In your dreams, Bucky was there by your side again and things were good, things were happy and you got to relive some of your favorite memories.

The next morning, you called your boss, asking for Saturday and Sunday off. You’d been working every night since they hired you on. Not having days off meant you could live in the same routine day in and out, no surprises or confusion. Your manager quickly approved the request, and you began to plan.

Saturday came, and in the early morning hours you packed up your car with some supplies and Rex and set off on the five-hour drive to Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. The forest there would give you the perfect chance to ride out the worst of the news coverage, give the world a chance to get over the shock while you were away.

You shut off your phone, knowing that if you left it on you’d be too distracted by what’s happening to focus on getting on getting away. The drive was nice, and you kept the music soft, not in the mood for anything loud at the time. On your drive to Sedona after finding Rex, you’d learned he was one of those pups who truly loved car trips. His antics as you drove kept your mind off the reason for the trip.

The towering pines and cool mountain weather enveloped you as pulled into the campground. The campground was all but deserted, only one other camper nearby and for that you were grateful. When you planned the trip, you feared that the campground would be busy and you’d be surrounded by couples and families, unable to get the chance to escape. Instead, you were able to focus on the peace and quiet of the forest.

The weekend passed quickly, too quickly for your liking. You and Rex spent the time hiking throughout the forest. Rex was eager to see it all, his exuberance reminding you that he was only a year old. For that, you were grateful. The idea of losing him, your only anchor left in the world, left your breath stuttering. Watching him bound after a squirrel, stopped by the leash, brought a quick burst of laughter from your lips, and with that, you left fears of losing him behind.

During your hike on Sunday, you stumbled upon a herd of wild horses. When you’d first decided to camp here you’d heard they had wild horses here, but you figured you’d never be lucky enough to see one. They were off in the distance across the meadow from you and didn’t seem bothered by your presence. The band stallion watched you for a moment when you first left the trees but quickly turned his attention back to his family, his mares too busy keeping an eye on their roughhousing foals to worry about you. You watched them with Rex for an hour before the herd moved on.

Monday morning seemed to arrive in the blink of an eye, and the dread you’d managed to put out of your mind all weekend crawled back in. Packing up the car, you kept eyeing the phone in the center console, terrified of what you would see when you inevitably turned it back on. For a long moment, you considered just not. Just leaving the phone behind, taking Rex, and running back into the wilderness.

But you couldn’t. Bucky’s death lay heavy on your shoulders, and you couldn’t face yourself if you had run from what happened. No, you had to face the music. And so, you did. The drive back to Sedona was a much more somber trip than the drive away, and you found your mind constantly wandering back to your phone, to what you’d turn it back on to find.

It wasn’t until you were back at your apartment with Rex napping at your feet, that you turned on your phone. It began to flood with notifications, emails from news organizations, and companies chiming in on his death. Texts from the avengers trying to check in on you grew more worried as the days ticked on. Quickly you shot off a text to them, letting them know you were okay, that you’d taken the weekend to go camping and hadn’t had phone reception. Almost immediately, you got responses from Nat and Sam, telling you they’d been worried. Steve’s response was to yell at you for scaring him. You didn’t text him back.

July It wasn’t until you’d been settled in Sedona for two months that you realized something was wrong. At first, you’d chalked missing your period off to stress, who wouldn’t be stressed after losing someone like that? But after four missed periods, you knew it was time to take a test. After your jog that day, you came home with three different kinds of tests, unsure what you hoped the answer would be. Within 15 minutes, the results were in.

Calling around, you were able to get a doctor’s appointment the next day for an official pregnancy test. Nerves ate at you about the idea of being a single mom, and a big part of you contemplated packing up and going back to the Avengers. If you chose to stay away from the Avengers, you’d be denying your kid the chance to really know their family, and your friends turned family the chance to know their niece or nephew.

The next morning your blood was drawn and within a few hours, they had the official results. You were pregnant. It wasn’t just a batch of faulty tests, it was definite. While the idea of going home to the Avengers, of having that support system,  was a huge draw, you feared that going back would put you back in the same mental place you fled to get out of. With a baby on the way, could you really risk that?

You pulled out your phone, dialing Nat and before she could even say hello, you spoke, “Hey. Can you get everyone together?”

“Yeah, is everything okay?” she asked, before letting out a loud whistle. Clint loved to joke she’d trained them like dogs because they’d always come running when she whistled once.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’d just rather only tell this all once”  you let out a nervous breath as you waited.

Within a few seconds, everyone had gathered on Nat’s line and after a quick round of hellos, you took a deep breath before blurting out, “I’m pregnant. About four and a half months along.”

The silence that came across the line was deafening, and you waited anxiously to hear how they’d react. Steve was the first to speak, “Y-you’re pregnant? With Bucky’s kid?” his voice was unsure.

“Yeah. Went to the doctor today and got it confirmed. I’m due in early January” you bit your lip, pulling it between your teeth nervously.

“Congrats, kid” you could hear the smile in Clint’s voice, and you let out a nervous breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding, “I guess I shouldn’t call you kid anymore though, huh?”

“Probably not” you chuckled softly.

“What are you going to do, [Y/N]?” Tony chimed in.

“What am I going to do?” you repeated back curiously, “I’m going to have my kid and raise them up the best I can.”

“Are you sure you’re up for that?” Steve’s voice was quiet.

“Yes I’m sure I’m up to raising my own child, Steve.” your voice was hard.

“That’s not what I meant. I just - I meant you could always come back. You don’t have to do it alone.”

“I know what you meant, Steve. And no, I’m not going to come back because I’m pregnant. If anything, this just tells me I made the right call. I don’t want to raise a kid in that world, always having to wonder if I’m coming home or if they’re going to lose someone they love too.”

“You don’t have to rejoin us, you can just come home, you don’t have to fight.”

“Steve, no. I’m finally doing alright out here. I’ve got Rex, and soon I’ll have my kid, and I’m moving on. I’m not going to just move back to the compound because I’m pregnant. Women do this on their own every year. Look, I just wanted to share my news I wasn’t looking for a fight. I’m going to do what’s right for me and my kid” by the end, your voice was a low growl.

For a long moment, no one spoke. When silence began to echo down the line, you hung up and began to go about your day, hoping to forget their apparent doubt in you and your ability to be a good mom. You didn’t.

Next Chapter -> 

Taglist OPEN:  @he-is-chaotic-she-is-psychotic @queenoftheunderdark @redfoxwritesstuff​ @brokenthelovely  @collinsstanharbour​  @samsgoddess​ @redhairedfeistynerd​ @winterisakiller​

[virgyvandijk]

19

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

Virgil knows the day is coming, so he's not surprised.

Things have been weird for months, but they've been even weirder since that night at Jordan's house. He's still training with the group, but he's making sure he can stay away from Virgil. They've not spoken a word since Jordan accused him of plotting to break up his marriage.

(Which, although it's not too far from the mark, he definitely didn't. He's thought about it, of course, but when it came down to it, he learnt a lot about what kind of guy he is).

People have noticed, because of course they have. Jurgen has promised not to get involved and said he isn't taking sides, and James is looking at Virgil a little strangely, which might also be because he thinks Virgil isn't pulling his weight in training, so. Adam has straight up told him to fuck off three times this week though, so he definitely knows.

Virgil is starting to feel like he's not all that well liked around here. The only person that's willingly staying close to him is Joe, which is nice of him. He's probably only doing it because he feels bad, but Virgil isn't going to complain. He needs a friend right now.

Joe's been biting his tongue for days when he finally asks.

"So what's going on with you and Hendo then?" He asks, trying to sound disinterested (and failing). Before Virgil can deny anything, he adds: "Don’t pretend you don't know what I'm on about. It's written all over your guilty little face, Virg. Something is going on and I want to know what, because Hendo is never like this with anyone."

He thinks about lying. Making something up - <em>he just doesn't like me, that's all. Sometimes people don't get on</em> - but one look at Joe's face and he sighs dropping his head.

"Jordan and I are soulmates," he says quietly, following the shouted instructions to stretch out.

"Isn't he married?" Joe asks, stretching down to touch his toes. He's still looking at Virgil, although he doesn't seem to be judging him (which is what Virgil was expecting). He seems completely, entirely neutral, which can only be a good thing.

"Yeah. His wife's soulmate died when she was a teenager and he just - gave up on me, apparently," Virgil says. He shrugs, trying to pretend that he doesn't care, but there's a crack deep in his chest and getting wider and wider every day. He doesn't know how he's going to survive this. "He's got kids. A mortgage. A whole life, without me. I can't step in and ruin that."

"But things were okay, weren't they?" Joe asks, frown etched into his face. "I assume him training at home was because of that, but then you were okay. For ages, you were fine. We thought it had all blown over."

"His wife invited me round for dinner a couple of weeks ago," Virgil says. He's trying to swallow back the lump in his throat but it's almost overwhelming by now, so he looks away. His gaze lands on Jordan, and he looks back at Joe so quick he feels like he's got whiplash. "She knew. I think she could just tell, you know? Because I didn't say anything, but then she confronted him about it and he kicked off, assumed I'd done it on purpose."

"Did you?" Joe says. It's a valid question, but.

"No," Virgil whispers. "I'd never do that. His family is beautiful. Bec is amazing and his girls are gorgeous and they're all so perfect together. There's no room for me in his life and that's okay. I mean - it's not, not right now. But in time it will be okay. I'll be okay. I haven't got any other option."

Joe doesn't say anything. If he notices when Virgil reaches up to wipe his eyes, he doesn't say anything.

"Okay," he says carefully. "Just know that you can talk to me about it whenever you want, yeah? I'm always here for you."

That might be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to him.

.

He doesn’t bring it up again until a while later. They're in Rome, on the back of an incredible win, but all Virgil can think about is the fact that Jordan is in the room next to him. It's like Joe could tell, because he burst in not long after they got back and made himself comfortable on the big plush chair in the corner, chatting about everything and nothing and not expecting a reply.

It's nice. Inane. 

But Virgil's mind never stays occupied for too long.

"Joey," Virgil says, although it's slightly hesitant. He knows that Joe said he could talk about it and he hasn't got anyone else, but still. He doesn't know if it's a good idea. "Can I… just talk about Jordan for a bit?" 

Joe shuts up immediately.

"Of course you can!" He says, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. He realises though, and grimaces, holding out a placating hand to Virgil. "I knew you'd struggle being in the room next to him. What's on your mind?" 

"Um," Virgil says dumbly. He doesn't quite know how to explain it, so he closes his eyes and swallows, difficult through his dry throat, and tries again. "I keep having dreams. But they're not… dreams. Not imaginary stuff. It's memories, things that happened in my last life. The one I shared with Jordan. I just… miss him. So much. And the dreams don't help."

"What was it like?" Joe enquires politely. He's resting his cheek on his hand but he seems gently interested. "Your last life."

"Good. We were happy - eventually. We made that happiness for ourselves, though," Virgil says, nodding slightly. He loves thinking about the good times they shared. It's the only thing that gets him through, sometimes. "We met in the trenches of World War Two. He was fighting because he had to, and I signed up to the allied forces because there were no jobs going and my mum was poor."

"Me and Tam have never been like that," Joe says. He's got that familiar thousand yard stare that everyone gets when they think about their past lives. "We've been royalty, members of a tribe, peasants - but we've always been together. Found each other. I can't remember a time when I was without her."

"Lucky for some," Virgil says, smiling sadly.

"Shit - I didn't mean-" Joe says, but Virgil cuts him off.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Virgil says dismissively. He's got bigger things to worry about than Joe putting his foot in it. "Can think of better times and places to love another man, to be honest. The forties wasn't all it cracked up to be."

"How did you manage?" Joe asks, voice small. "Especially in an environment like the army."

“We didn’t – act on it, not until after we both left,” Virgil says, tipping his head back against the wall. He can hear Jordan’s TV on in the next room, and he closes his eyes to try and picture the scene properly. “As soon as I walked onto the base and saw him, in the bunk next to mine, I knew. I knew as soon as I saw him that he was my soulmate. I felt like I’d come home.

"We were just best friends. People didn’t suspect anything back then, as long as we didn’t get too close. But I told him I loved him every day, and he said it back. As soon as the war was over and we were discharged, we started planning our life together. Found a little cottage in the middle of nowhere and moved in. We were miles away from the nearest village.” 

"That sounds like a nice life," Joe says, smiling slightly.

"It was," Virgil confirms. "We used to work on the farms around the cottage. They gave us free food in the summer so we could save up for the winter months when there wasn't much to do, and I used to go to the village market on a Saturday morning. We had all the time in the world, just for us. Nobody bothered us, and if they knew we were together - the farmers or the stall holders - they never said anything. They left us alone, which was just the way we liked it."

"Didn't people treat it differently?" Joe asks, frowning. He seems deeply enthralled with the story Virgil is telling him. "Like, you're soulmates. You can't help that you've fallen for another man. It's fate."

"People will always be homophobic, Joey," Virgil says quietly. The prospect makes his heart hurt. "Fate doesn't mean a damn thing to bigots."

"I'm so sorry," Joe whispers, and lapses into silence. It's comfortable, not awkward, but also sad. Full of what ifs. Virgil hangs his head.

"I wish I never remembered," he says fiercely. He's not sure if he means it or not.

"Virg --" Joe says, sounding completely bewildered and a little bit out of his depth. His eyes are wide and he looks like he doesn't know how to handle this.

"I mean it," Virgil says. He's still unsure, though. "Every day it gets worse and worse. I had to watch him die, Joe. I held him and he died in my arms and he begged me to find him and I never gave up, not once. But he did. He gave up and now I'm the one who has to suffer. I wish I'd never remembered. I wish I wasn't in love with somebody so cruel."

There's nothing else he can add to that.

send me a prompt

[violetsystems]

#personal

I can’t really tell if my mood is better or worse on Sunday mornings rather than the typical Saturday.  Things have reached a point where it’s just not worth explaining how awful life can be.  My life story at this point is slightly more convoluted than a side job in Cyberpunk 2077.  It’s also seemingly just as insignificant.  That is until I realize I’ve been writing here weekly for over two years at this point.  I’ve been posting on this platform for what seems like over a decade.  The value of this kind of journaling has been impossible to gauge.  I just paid a full year for LinkedIn to keep my career contacts alive.  I post in the hashtag cybersecurity almost every day.  I have a solid list of five contacts that follow my company.  I post the zero day news as it happens.  I promote my brand and employability.  As if this is the only thing that is valuable.  A twenty year resume with management experience that gets picked over by AI and human just the same.  I also forget sometimes I’m a musician.  I was reminded last night when I posted the RP Boo “Bangin’ on King Drive” video.  I was at that video shoot.  Years ago I would just run into Bu in the street with his wife randomly.  I appear nowhere in that video as I was edited out much like I was the only artist edited out of a Pitchfork review for a footwork compilation from Japan that protested Nuclear proliferation.  If there were any more alarming trend for me it’s that most of what I try to succeed at is locked beyond a brick wall.  I sit here from week to week trying to figure out ways to keep myself from disappearing.  I worry about where I can actually pivot and when.  I lay awake at night alone in my bed calculating what my runway for cash positivity is before I have to leave this city altogether.  It sometimes feels completely futile and useless.  Everybody in America is winner take all when there’s nothing left to take.  It’s cutthroat and we’re all in this together at the same time.  The amount of bullying I have to process per day has left me broken down and angry ninety percent of the time.  And yet angry is a shitty look for me.  I lose at video games all the time.  And lately I feel as if I’m living in one.  To explain that any further gets into some territory of oversharing.  I’ve written paragraphs upon paragraphs about my life here.  And yet nobody seems to acknowledge I exist other than here.  Which leads me to believe a very few amount of people actually have the reading comprehension over 140 characters to look deeper into someone’s life, liberty and value therein.  I think sometimes that it shouldn’t be this hard.  That something is very wrong and deeply troubled about it all.  And there’s not much I can really do about the things I’m up against when it’s only me fighting it from day to day out here.  So I’ve fallen back to what I know.  We are still very much in the middle of a pandemic.  I’m happy the relief bill has passed.  I’m waiting to pay my taxes until it’s official.  Which puts me back in the same mood I’ve been in the last eight months.  A complete state of abandon.  This nefarious field of people watching you every day waiting to pin something on you.  It never comes because I know better than to fall back into that trap as much as I can these days.  

The worst of this mindfuck is over for me.  I don’t actually really care too deeply about how wrong things are.  Mostly because I’ve done my best to make due under impossible circumstances.  You’d think someone like me after all these years would have something to celebrate.  I kind of do.  My birthday didn’t matter to anyone really out here much last month.  It was a clear indicator that I had no real peers out here anymore.  As evidenced as how everyone in footwork I helped back in 2014 has literally just ghosted like the rest of my professional network.  I had a couple of things to fall back on.  But it’s impossible to fall back onto anything when people would rather pretend you didn’t exist.  I’m always supposed to read into these psychotic projections by society because somehow I’m supposed to realize more is expected out of me.  I can’t figure this out completely.  Like I brought all this upon myself.  That’s the vibe I get from day to day.  That because I don’t share my plans, agenda, or strategy with the real world I’m shit out of luck.  The irony is that I do share it verbatim.  Week to week.  In a very coy, oblique way this is true.  But I am also a writer.  This is another talent I’ve been taught by society that has no value.  I wrote emails for my bosses for years on my days off.  On my birthday even.  This doesn’t mean it is worthless.  The audience is out there.  If it weren’t I would have quit sharing my feelings a long time ago.  I’m fairly aware at some point I’m going to have to put this all behind me.  Hopefully when the world wakes up and returns to normal like nothing ever happened.  That’s going on as we speak and I don’t even have a vaccine in my arm.  It’s a constant state of fear and missing out projected back at you.  That the reason I’m not happy is totally because of what I choose to take on in my life.  And I’m supposed to get the message when people don’t actually communicate.  I had this strange realization yesterday when I discovered all my videos were closed captioned.  I watch movies with subtitles all the time simply because I love to read.  My videos barely get ten views if that.  I often think content is content.  If you put it out there someone will eventually find it and wonder about it’s value.  In the age of semi-spiritual machines it’s true that the algorithms seem to be the only curators out there listening.  Everything I say out loud is transcribed and mothballed somewhere on Siri’s or Alexa’s servers.  When I take a screen shot of the things I say off the top of my head, I’m often aware that something acknowledges I actually said them.  It’s just nobody human really wants to pay attention. They are hardcoded over my videos as proof of the value of my words.  Not like you can sell the speculative value of it yet.  The first tweet is being auctioned off as a NFT and you wonder how worthless I have to feel at this point.  I’m sure we all feel a little of this deep down.  Disconnected and in some sort of weird emotional exile.  I think it just makes me realize more of what I am connected to.  A history of authenticity.  A life that trades the catwalk for the streets as brutal and unforgiving as they are.  Nobody can stop talking shit about me.  But it’s almost always a hallucination.  For a person who puts it all out there, I must be a shitty fucking writer.  I can spend week to week writing the same thing.  That I’m completely abandoned and ghosted out here on my own.  And how it’s less unsafe and more simply a degraded quality of life when it comes to my rights as a human being to be happy.  I’m supposed to get the message when nobody can bother to read mine.  The writing is on the wall I guess.

So instead of pining on and on about it which I just did for two paragraphs, I still look for solutions.  I still broadcast weekly to let people know I’m still alive.  I make funny jokes to myself and screencap them to mask deep emotional scarring that is no fault of my own.  I literally feel trapped and under duress almost all of the time.  And yet, I don’t really have the luxury of taking the shit when I’ve had the hope choked out of me until I can’t breathe.  If the answer is to keep ignoring the problem, it’s hard to be me.  Because nobody can leave me alone.  No one seems to have any sense of dignity as to what I’ve been through.  I never claimed to be a victim.  That’s not really me.  I’ve survived and been resilient.  I can see that working a six figure corporate job in New York or China is probably more worth my time in the not so distant future.  I can also see that I’m worth more than what people sell me short for.  I know we are in a dangerous time of confidence tricks.  I don’t really have much to lose other than cash positivity.  I can wait this out until the end of the summer for sure.  And then I start to think about spending another winter being hunted and shunned at the same time.  Mentally I can’t fuck with this city after what it’s done to me alone.  I can’t keep being a superhero for people who can’t be bothered to understand how painful it is to be taken for granted after all these years.  I just give up on everything in the past that isn’t working and move forward as best as I can.  Just like they threw the entire contents of my office in the trash I can let it go.  There is a very real emotional exhaustion I have to deal with from day to day.  The level of psychological torture and abuse I’ve witnessed first hand in this city is at a level that is unlawful and unhealthy.  I know too much about what it’s all connected to.  And I know I’m better than all of this.  I don’t know how to proceed.  And this is a very real and dangerous situation that I am stuck in the middle of a shark tank feeding frenzy of well meaning but rabid idiots and the pricks that prod them with a sharp stick.  I don’t have a future here in this city.  I don’t have a future in this state or country if you wanted me to be real about.  And yet I have so much potential if I just hold on for one more year.  For one more decade.  For another forty years when they turn my blog into a NFT after my death like I’m the next Van Gogh.  Everybody will talk about how they knew me and how tortured an artist I was.  I was so misunderstood and it was beautiful.  They’ll fund a school with the proceeds that kicked me out the door because I was a blight on their payroll and budget.  And I’ll be a digital ghost just the same.  I feel like that very ghost now every waking fucking moment.  It is a pain I cannot describe in words.  It is a suffering that is goaded on in the worst syndicate driven way.  I have nothing good to say about any of this shit anymore.  I have no more room to break down and make things worse for myself.  I just have to adjust my schedule and manage my emotions with it all because it’s my fault.  This is the message I keep hearing in my head projected by silent looks as I picked up my prescriptions on foot avoiding everyone who wants to see if it’s true.  If I really am the bogeyman.  The source of the problem.  Someone to blame.  The scapegoat for everything that is wrong with the world.  Convenient but ultimately not worth my time to humor.  Which is why I don’t really know what to do anymore other than to stay inside and wait for justice.  If there’s anything poetic about it, it’s that it runs pretty seamlessly at 1440p.  Much clearer resolution than what this city wants to offer me after what it’s put me through.  <3 Tim

[aprilqueen84]

When You Least Expect It (5/?)

A/N: Here is the next chapter, this is probably my favorite chapter so far and I hope you love it as much as I loved writing it. Also a huge thanks to @hollyethecurious for being my new beta.

Summary: Killian and Emma had been wanting to start a family for a while now but not had any luck. Soon they would learn that the best things happen when you least expect it. Except not everything is as is seems.

Tag List: @hollyethecurious, @xemmaloveskillianx, @resident-of-storybrooke, @winterbaby89, @nikkiemms, @jennjenn615, @kymbersmith-90, @kmomof4, @lieutenantpirate, @teamhook, @ilovemesomekillianjones

“The Calm”

Two days later on a beautiful Saturday morning, the three of them were on their way to the docks to begin their voyage. As soon as Emma pulled into the lot, Henry was out of the Bug before it was even in park. “Someone’s excited,” Emma chuckled as she and Killian got out of car.

“Aye love, it’s not everyday that a young man gets to sail a fine vessel like the Jolly Roger by himself,” Killian said giving her a cheeky grin as they made their way hand in hand down the docks.

Henry was waiting for them impatiently at the bottom of the gangplank. “Finally! Come on let’s go,” he said as he raced up to the deck.

When Killian and Emma made it onto the deck, Killian walked over to Henry and clasped him on his shoulder, “Henry lad, calm down. it’s not wise for a captain to be impatient because-”

“Because impatience make for mistakes, I know. I guess I’m just a little nervous,” Henry said. Contrite in his behavior, he looked over to Emma. “Sorry, mom.”

Emma smiled at him and put a hand on his arm. “It’s ok, kid. It’s alright to be a little nervous, but we know you are going to do great, and just know that Killian will be right there if you need him, okay?” He nodded his head at her and she gave his arm a squeeze. “Alright, let’s get ready.”

After they prepared the Jolly to set sail, they were off with Henry at the helm. He guided them smoothly out of the harbour and into open waters. Their destination was a small stretch of beach about ten miles down the coast, isolated but still within Storybrooke’s limits.

Emma stood by the railing staring out at the water when Killian came up behind her and slipped his arms around her middle. She smiled and leaned back against him. “Hey! How is everything going?”

“Fantastic, love He’s such a natural,” Killian said with pride in his voice.

Emma turned to face him, looping her arms around his neck. “Well of course he is. He was taught by a former Royal Naval lieutenant and pirate.” She said, beaming up at him.

He gave her one of his bashful smiles. “You flatter me, Swan. But honestly, he is such an amazing sailor, just like a Jo-” he stopped, catching himself before he could finish his sentence. “Sorry love, I almost misspoke,” he said with his head downcast.

Emma brought her hands up to his cheeks, and lifted his head to have him meet her eyes. “Hey, it’s okay. He is just as much of a Jones as he is a Swan, a Mills, and a Charming.” She pulled him into a hug, stroking the back of his neck soothingly. After they pulled away from each other Emma said, “I am so happy that you think of Henry as your son, okay, and I am so glad he has you in his life.”

He looked at her tenderly “I am so grateful to have both of you in my life.” He leaned forward and captured her lips, their arms tightening around each other as they completely lost themselves in the moment.

“Oh come on guys! Really?” Henry called out to them in disgust.

They broke apart looking sheepishly at Henry. “Sorry, lad,” Killian said. Though, he anything but.

Henry just shook his head and pointed out in front of him. “We’re here. Killian, is this a good place for us to anchor?” he asked as he began to steer the ship parallel to the shore.

“Aye Henry, keep the old girl steady and I’ll drop the anchor.” Killian moved over and pulled the lever that dropped the anchor, while Emma went below deck to collect their bags.

Sometime later, after they had some lunch, Emma sat on a blanket that they had placed on the sand and watched Killian and Henry sword fight. She smiled fondly at them, always amazed at how much Henry had learned from Killian over the years. The two of them made a flurry of movements that ended in Henry disarming Killian with a twirl of his sword.

Henry stared down at Killian’s sword laying on the ground before he gave a excited shout, while Killian let out a hearty laugh. “Excellent, my boy! First rate technique.” He picked up his sword from the sand and sheathed it then walked over to Henry and gave him a clap on the back. They spoke quietly to each other before they both nodded their heads and turned to Emma. “Did you see that, Swan? The perfect disarming.”

“It was amazing, kid,” Emma praised.

“Oh it was nothing,” Henry stated with a shrug of his shoulder.

“Now don’t be modest, lad. You bested me, and not many people can say they have beaten Captain Hook in swordplay,” Killian said beaming with pride.

“Killian’s right you were excellent, Henry.”

“Thanks mom, Killian,” he paused, looking down the beach then back to them. “Hey, I’m going to take my sketch book and go draw for awhile.” Henry bent down to open his backpack and pulled out his book and pencils.

“Okay, kid but stay kind of close alright? We are going to be heading back soon,” Emma told him as Kilian settled down next to her on the blanket. Henry nodded his head before heading down the beach.

Killian turned to Emma with a devilishly handsome grin as soon as Henry was out of sight. “Alone at last.” Leaning forward, he caught her lips in a passionate kiss, his hand cupping the back of her head as he pulled her flush against him.

Emma let out a muffled gasp of surprise, not expecting him to be so bold with Henry so close. “Mm... Killian, wait a minute.” She pulled back slightly breathless, but that didn’t deter Killian. He began placing feather light kisses to her cheek then started down her neck. “Hey easy tiger, what about Henry?” she said, putting a hand to his chest and pushing him gently back.”

“Don’t worry, love. Henry is not going to bother us,” he said playing with a lock of her hair.

Emma gave him a confused look. “What do you mean?”

“That my gracious step-son is giving his mother and I a little alone time,” he informed her with a raise of his eyebrow.

Emma stared at him for a minute before remembering the two of them talking after their sword practice. Suddenly, her eyes went wide, “Oh God! Please tell me you two didn’t agree to-”

Killian stopped her with a wave of his hand. “Swan stop, it’s not like that. This was all Henry’s doing. He wanted us to have some alone time together today,” he told her hoping to calm her.

She relaxed a little. “Really?”

“Aye, it was a bit of a surprise to me as well, love. Why do you think he brought his drawing supplies?” He stood suddenly and held his hand out to her. “So, how about it Mrs. Jones, care to go for a romantic stroll with your husband?”

She smiled at him and placed her hand in his to allow him to pull her to her feet. “Lead the way, Captain.” He lifted her hand and placed a kiss to her knuckles before tucking it into the crook of his arm, leading them down the beach, arm in arm.

xx

When they eventually made their way back, Henry was waiting for them by the blanket. “Hey kid. You weren’t waiting very long, were you?”

Henry shook his head. “Nah, I just got back myself,” he said as he put his things back into his backpack.

They decided it was time to head back home. As they were packing up, Emma noticed that Killian kept looking off into the distance. “Killian what’s wrong?”

“There’s storm clouds rolling in,” he said pointing to the sky.

Emma turned to look in the direction he was pointing. Dark, almost pitch black clouds could be seen on the horizon, and were coming toward them fast. “I thought it wasn’t supposed to rain today.”

“It’s not,” he said concerned. “We need to get back to the Jolly, now!” They hurried and gathered the rest of their things.

When they made it back to the to the ship the wind had picked up, and rain was just starting to come down. “Henry! Help me tie everything down. Emma, go below deck and close the portholes,” he commanded, going into full captain mode.

When Emma came back up, Killian and Henry were tying the last rope to the wheel. While she had been below deck the weather had gotten worse. The rain was now coming down in sheets, hitting her skin like shards of glass, and the waves were beating against the sides of the ship with enough force to rock it.

Killian spotted her by the hatch, holding on to it after a gust of wind engulfed them. “Emma!” He called out to her, but it was obvious she could not hear him over the howling winds. He grabbed Henry by the arm, and they made their way over to her. “Are you alright, love?” She nodded her head and held onto him tightly.

“Killian, what’s going on?” Emma shouted over the deafening wind.

“I don’t know love, but you and Henry need to get below deck,” Killian said while gently pushing Henry towards the open hatch.

Emma shook her head. “What about you?”

“There are still a few things I need to tie down, and then I’ll follow,” he explained, turning her towards the hatch as well.

As Henry started down the stairs, Emma faced Killian. “No! You can’t stay up here, this storm is getting worse.” No sooner had the words left her mouth, a bolt of lighting came out of nowhere and struck the bow of the ship, the force of which sent them falling onto the deck.

Killian rolled, taking the brunt of the impact. “Are you are alright, Swan?” he asked as they slowly made their way to their knees, his hand going to her cheek.

Emma nodded her head. Her eyes suddenly widened and she scrambled over to the hatch door that had slammed shut. Yanking it open, she yelled, “Henry!” as Killian came to her side.

There was silence for a second until Henry’s voice called out “Yeah mom, I’m fine!”

Both their bodies sagged in relief that their son was okay. “Stay there lad, we’re coming down.” When Killian faced Emma, he saw her eyes wide with fear at something behind him. He turned, and what he saw made his blood run cold.

Coming toward them, almost in slow motion, was a wall of water about one hundred feet high. They both sprang to their feet.

“Bloody Hell!” he exclaimed.

Emma looked to him. “Killian, what do we do?” she asked, her voice trembling in fear.

Killian looked at Emma, then to the wall of water that was getting closer. “Nothing more we can do but brace ourselves” he said as he pulled her closer.

They heard the sound of rapid foot falls on deck. “Mom! Dad!” Henry yelled as he reached them, “I saw it coming through the window.”

The three of them huddled together on the deck, arms around each other, not knowing if this was going to be their final moments together. Emma looked at the two most important men in her life and pressed a hand against each of their cheeks. “I love you both so much,” she said tearfully.

She pulled them close, eyes tightly shut, waiting for the impact when suddenly everything, the rain, the wind stopped. They lifted their heads and watched in amazement as the wall of water disappeared, and the sky became clear right before their eyes.

They looked at each other in shock. There was absolutely no trace of the storm. Other than being soaked to the bone, it was like it never happened.

“What the hell just happened?” Emma asked in disbelief.

Killian stared out in front of them, thinking. He had seen many storms over his long life, and there was only one reason for a storm to appear and disappear like this one had. He looked over to Emma and Henry, “Magic.”

xx

“No!” The cloak figure yelled in anger as she stood over a bowl sitting atop the table. She had been so close to getting The Savior and The Pirate removed from the picture. She didn’t know how it happened. The spell was perfect and undetectable, it should have worked. She was running out of time, she needed the child’s magic, and she would get in no matter what.

The End

[emotionsofthesoul]

Chapter 4 _ Porque Placerville?

The week went by in flash. The girls stayed in touch all week and even called each other before bed two nights in a row. It was now Saturday and they couldn’t be any happier to wake up and see each other.

Valentina went to pick up Juliana who gave the driver directions to where they would be eating. Before they went to pay, Juliana got them a pair of popsicles the restaurant owners make and handed one to Valentina. They headed back to the car and Valentina told her driver to drop them off on 21st and J St.

As they walked around, Valentina took some pictures when she saw something interesting but continued with her popsicle.

“Oye Juliana, this is the best paleta, I’ve ever tried. Thank you. Y los tacos? Ni se diga. Great choice.” Valentina told Juliana honestly.

“Thanks. I love that place. It’s my favorite. I mean I don’t really know any other places but I wouldn’t change that for the world; they remind me of home. Anyway, I have a question. Why Placerville of all places? Everything is here in Sacramento, your family’s company is here, your school is here? Why do you live in the middle of nowhere?” Juliana asked genuinely interested.

“Well, that’s a great question and has an even better story. When my mom was 22 she came to California on Vacation and she was driving towards Lake Tahoe to meet some friends and thought she was lost. She stopped to ask for directions and she just so happened to ask my dad who was also on vacation and had no idea. They chatted for a bit and turns out they were both from Mexico City. They exchanged numbers and she went on her way. When she returned to Mexico City they reconnected and eventually fell in love and decided to get married. They always said Placerville would be the perfect place to raise a family so when the time came, they made the move. We’ve been there ever since. My dad chose Sacramento for business because it’s the nearest city and it’s where the state capitol resides.” Valentina said thinking fondly of the story her mother used to always tell her.

Juliana smiled tenderly at Valentina, “Val that’s so sweet. Tell me a little about your mom, was she as amazing as you are?”

“She was incredible Juls. I was very young when she passed but she was always so kind to everyone around her. She taught me how to use my first camera. I got my love for photography from her. One of these days you should come over so I can show you her images, we have them all around the house. Every now and then when I miss her I just sit in my room and stare at her favorite picture. When she passed it became my only outlet. She taught me so much and I just wish I could have had more time with her but I guess everything happens for a reason. She’s the one that taught me to take care of everyone around me including our beloved employees. For instance Chivis, she’s been like an aunt to me. I love her so much, she was there when my mom died and helped the family grieve. She became our rock and I don’t know where any of us would be without her. & Alirio, that man is a saint. He’s been my driver since before I can remember and he’s always so protective of me. My parents knew him back in Mexico and according to Alirio, when I was born my mom called him and offered him the job saying they were going to need someone to protect their princess and they wanted that someone to be him. He’s protected me as his own ever since.” Valentina said finding a bench as they reached K and 13th.

As they reached the bench that said HEAR THE ART. It gave Valentina portrait idea. She told Juliana to sit there and pose. She snapped an image using the rule of thirds and having Juliana sit in front of the word HEAR and have THE ART to her left. Valentina wanted to capture the real art that was Juliana Valdes.

“Val, thank you for sharing that with me. Your mom sounds like she was great woman and mother. I’m sure she’s taking care of you every step of the way. I’m glad you had a good support system.” Juliana said genuinely now that they were sitting on the bench facing each other sitting crisscross apple sauce.

“My dad eventually shipped me off to Canada for a year to try and distract me. & I guess it worked, I had my fun. I met a boy named Charles who I actually lost my virginity to, we tried everything together. I’ll tell you sometime Juls, I’ve had 3 boyfriends and honestly sex has never been what everyone says it’s supposed to be like. There weren’t any fireworks. Not even with the last guy.” Valentina said trying to change the sad subject.

“Neta, wait so you’ve never actually fallen in love?” Juliana asked surprised because the girl in front of her has the biggest heart and wears it on her sleeve.

“Really. I don’t know, I don’t really believe in it, you know. I mean I guess it happens for some like my parents and now my dad and Lucia but I don’t know. I’ve always seen love as a reason, an excuse really, to sell things on the 14th of September. I mean February. See I don’t even know the date. If I’m honest there’s probably something wrong with me. But what about you, how have your experience been?” Valentina said in a joking matter.

“Val there’s nothing wrong with you. I’m sure one day you’ll find someone you can be 100% comfortable with and feel everything everyone says is possible. As for me, there’s not really much to tell. I’ve never dated anyone let alone had sex.  I’m not in a rush though.” Juliana said.

“Wey estas hablando en serio? No!” Valentina said laughing.

“Ya Val don’t make fun of me!” Juliana said holding onto Valentina’s hands.

“No babe I’m not laughing at you! You have a world of possibilities to explore! This is incredible! It’s the best news I’ve heard all day!” Valentina said completely excited for her friend.

“Stop Val, please.” Juliana said shifting her gaze to her lap.

“Don’t worry, you’re not missing anything.” Valentina said with a smile and a giggle.

They continued on their walk down 13th and reached the capital grounds. Valentina showed Juliana around, from the Rose Garden on 15th to the state capitol and all the memorials in between. They took some pictures around there and returned back to K St. Valentina took Juliana by the hand as they walked under the interwoven trees by the IMAX and showed her Maya’s Kitchen telling her it’s her favorite restaurant and they must come back on a girls day just to eat there. They walked down K until they reached 7th and Valentina took Juliana around the Golden 1 Center showing her all the little details what were put into that block only the eye of a photographer could catch. She showed her the fancy hotel that was made just for the arena. Then they walked across the bridged over traffic and cut through the little shopping area to reach the tunnel towards Old Sacramento. Valentina gave Juliana a very interesting tour full of rich history and funny facts of that little town. She took her to her favorite place in all of Old Sac, Evangeline’s Costume Mansion. She  showed Juliana the details on all three floors and they ended up buying halloween costumes. Well, more like Valentina insisted on paying for their costumes and persuading Juliana to be Lena Luthor while she dressed up as Supergirl. By the time they were out of Evangeline’s they were starving so they went over to Steamers and had a pair of burgers and raspberry lemonade. Afterwards they continues their tour and Valentina snapped images of Tower Bridge right as the sun was setting. They decided to buy tickets to the Ghost Underground Tour and Juliana scared Valentina multiple times during said tour.

As the night came to a close Valentina called her driver to pick them up outside of Candy Heaven. On their ride home Juliana agreed to visit Valentina’s home that following Monday.