#day 2 boston 22

[world-of-wales]

CATHERINE'S STYLE FILES - 2022

1 DECEMBER 2022 || The Princess of Wales visited Eastern Boston visited Piers Park in East Boston to see the changing face of Boston’s shoreline as the city contends with rising sea levels along with the Prince of Wales on their second day while on a 3-Day Trip to the city.

Catherine opted for -

'Peppe' Cashmere and Silk Turtleneck Sweater in 'Spice' by Gabriela Hearst

'Epper' Ribbed-Knit High-Rise Nidi Skirt in 'Spice' from Gabriela Hearst

Bespoke Brown Long Coat by Alexander McQueen

Gold and Diamond 'Maxi' Cupid Hoop Earrings by Daniella Draper

Bespoke Ankle Boots in Brown Suede by Gianvito Rossi

[animusrox]

TOP 10

Past Lives

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

How to Blow Up a Pipeline

Poor Things

Oppenheimer

Barbie

BlackBerry

The Holdovers

The Iron Claw

Killers of the Flower Moon

MY LETTERBOXD Grade A 11.    The Killer 12.    Beau Is Afraid 13.    Dream Scenario 14.    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 15.    Godzilla Minus One 16.    American Fiction 17.    They Cloned Tyrone 18.     Evil Dead Rise 19.    Eileen 20.    The Artifice Girl 21.   Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 22.    Talk to Me 23.    Reality 24.    Leave the World Behind 25.    A Thousand and One 26.    Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One 27.    Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. 28.    Theater Camp 29.   Carmen 30.    Merry Little Batman 31.    Priscilla 32.    Society of the Snow 33.    Infinity Pool 34.    Enys Men 35.    Sanctuary 36.    Rye Lane 37.    Skinamarink 38.    Monster 39.    Anatomy of a Fall 40.    Landscape with Invisible Hand 41.    Reptile 42.    Sisu 43.    Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game 44.    No One Will Save You 45.    Tetris 46.    May December 47.    The Zone of Interest 48.    V/H/S/85 49.    Dumb Money 50.    El Conde 51.    Arnold 52.    Maestro 53.    Napoleon 54.    20 Days in Mariupol 55.    Influencer 56.    The Creator 57.    Origin 58.    Thanksgiving 59.    Next Goal Wins 60.    The Boy and the Heron 61.    Bottoms 62.    Wonka

[Press Keep Reading For The Full Graded List]

Grade B

63.   God Is a Bullet 64.    No Hard Feelings 65.    Joy Ride 66.    Fair Play 67.     Cocaine Bear 68.    NYAD 69.    Asteroid City 70.    Nowhere 71.    The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster 72.    Divinity 73.    The Equalizer 3 74.    The Last Voyage of the Demeter 75.    Venus 76.    Butcher’s Crossing 77.    Somewhere in Queens 78.    The Persian Version 79.    Boston Strangler 80.    Polite Society 81.    Miguel Wants to Fight 82.    The Color Purple 83.    The Royal Hotel 84.    Saw X 85.    All of Us Strangers 86.    Fallen Leaves 87.    Ferrari 88.    Elemental 89.    Peter Pan & Wendy 90.    Renfield 91.    Cat Person 92.    Scream VI 93.    The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes 94.    BS High 95.    Blue Beetle 96.    Huesera: The Bone Woman 97.    When Evil Lurks 98.    Dark Harvest 99.    A Good Person 100.    Final Cut 101.    Knock at the Cabin 102.    Quiz Lady 103.    Leo 104.    Air 105.    The Super Mario Bros. Movie 106.    Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham 107.    John Wick: Chapter 4 108.    Beaten to Death 109.    The Wrath of Becky 110.    Passages 111.    Transformers: Rise of the Beasts 112.    Gran Turismo 113.    65 114.    Sick 115.    Sister Death 116.    The Blackening 117.    Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain 118.    Flamin’ Hot 119.    Nimona 120.    Cobweb 121.    Totally Killer 122.    What’s Love Got to Do with It? 123.     Sharper 124.    Unseen 125.    Dunki 126.    Bird Box Barcelona 127.    The Marvels 128.    Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Grade C

129.   Wildflower 130.    Freelance 131.    M3GAN 132.    Strays 133.    Sympathy for the Devil 134.    Creed III 135.    Chevalier 136.    The Marsh King’s Daughter 137.    A Haunting in Venice 138.    The Little Mermaid 139.    Silent Night 140.    Master Gardener 141.    The Flash 142.    Fast X 143.    The Pope’s Exorcist 144.    Saltburn 145.    Kandahar 146.    Stand 147.    Plane 148.   Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 149.    Fingernails 150.    Quicksand 151.    Fool’s Paradise 152.    Migration 153.    Rustin 154.    The Covenant 155.    Good Burger 2 156.    The Pod Generation 157.    Alice, Darling 158.    Insidious: The Red Door 159.    Missing 160.    Shotgun Wedding 161.    You Hurt My Feelings 162.    The Boogeyman 163.    Showing Up 164.    Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom 165.    Champions 166.    Consecration 167.    The Nun II 168.    Biosphere 169.    House Party 170.    The Exorcist: Believer 171.    Big George Foreman 172.    Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves 173.    Children of the Corn 174.    The Beanie Bubble 175.    Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Grade F

176.    Anyone But You 177.    Marlowe 178.    Paint 179.    Extraction 2 180.    It Lives Inside 181.    Deliver Us 182.    Trolls Band Together 183.    Finestkind 184.    Corner Office 185.    Wish 186.    Prisoner’s Daughter 187.    Pain Hustlers 188.    Foe 189.    The Mother 190.    Old Dads 191.    Ghosted 192.    Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken 193.    Haunted Mansion 194.    Mafia Mamma 195.    Five Nights at Freddy’s 196.    The Machine 197.    Justice League: Warworld 198.    We Have a Ghost 199.    What Comes Around 200.    Legion of Super-Heroes 201.    The Boys in the Boat 202.    Attachment 203.    Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre 204.    About My Father 205.    You People 206.    Meg 2: The Trench 207.    Pathaan 208.    Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire 209.    Assassin 210.    Dalíland 211.    Vacation Friends 2

Bottom 10

212.    Sound of Freedom 213.    Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 214.    When You Finish Saving The World 215.    Heart of Stone 216.    Family Switch 217.    Expend4bles 218.    Sweetwater 219.    Hypnotic 220.    80 for Brady 221.    Spinning Gold

[earlycuntsets]

mcr shows on youtube pt. 2 (2005 - 2007)

-> pt. 1 (2002 - 2005)

-> pt. 3 (2007 - 2011)

-> pt. 4 (2011 - 2023)

10/16/2005 connecticut expo center hartford ct - pablohoney27

10/19/2005 carpa neumatica del hipodromo de las americas mexico city mexico - emopinktears

10/21/2005 umbc fieldhouse catonsville md - XxXHollowChildXxX

11/04/2005 carlington academy brixton london england - jason is lost in japan

11/07/2005 carlington academy newcastle upon tyne england - tilly b

11/10/2005 ambassador theater dublin ireland - the academy is my beautiful romance

11/19/2005 razzmatazz 2 barcelona spain - xversa

11/29/2005 stade unprix montreal ontario canada - Smashingchemicals

11/30/2005 john labatt centre london on canada - prunejjuicebob

12/02/2005 muchmusic studio toronto ca - ATØMIC JĒY

12/04/2005 97x next big thing coachman park clearwater fl - obsessionbrazil

03/17/2006 emos annex austin tx - mason randall

04/29/2006 give it a name festival - earls court london england - angelsandairwaveshva

04/30/2006 give it name festival manchester evening news arena manchester england - huesoflife & xEyelashWishes

05/12/2006 sun god festival ucsd rimac field la jolla ca - hisuikirei

08/22/2006 hammersmith palais london england - the academy is my beautiful romance & GMarks1984 & batwife & juliehf

08/24/2006 meadowbank stadium edinburgh scotland - monroeville84 & emu1515 & darthjeebus666 & ZiCoChAiN

08/27/2006 reading and leeds festival little johns farm reading england - joe brady & gdmec182

08/31/2006 mtv vmas radio city music hall nyc ny -- jusyanotherkilljoy

09/06/2006 mtv2s $2 bill philadelphia pa - koi no yokan

10/05/2006 avalon los angeles - the academy is my beautiful romance

10/09/2006 the album chart show london england - xthankyou4thevenomx

10/11/2006 roundhouse london england - ATØMIC JĒY

10/12/2006 virgin megastore london england - the academy is my beautiful romance

10/13/2006 paradiso grote zaal amsterdam netherlands - skittyblackfire

10/14/2006 e-werk berlin germany - redoftherose

10/23/2006 vintage vinyl fords nj - vintage vinyl records

10/25/2006 axis boston ma - juliehf

10/28/2006 city park new orleans la - ohbabylevenin

11/09/2006 e-werk cologne germany - darthvaderlives

11/13/2006 university of liverpool liverpool england - xEyelashWishesx

11/21/2006 alcatraz milan italy - mychemicalitalia & gainlover

12/01/2006 96x electric christmas the norva norfolk va - the academy is my beautiful romance

12/03/2006 97x ford amphitheater tampa fl - sillybears

12/07/2006 key arena seattle wa - anja

12/08/2006 twisted christmas arco arena san francisco - christine kay

12/14/2006 cobb arena detriot mi - fobgirl08

12/31/2006 the pontiac garage nyc ny - the academy is my beautiful romance

01/19/2007 mount smart stadium auckland new zealand - the academy is my beautiful romance

01/29/2007 festival hall melbourne australia - the academy is my beautiful romance

02/07/2007 big day out adelaide showgrounds adelaide australia - the adademy is my beautiful romance

02/26/2007 wolstein center cleveland ohio - rival heart & awesomelexa & katie & sohos & sensesfail814

03/13/2007 ipayone center san diego ca - slownotstupid & shortygothops & sara513

03/14/2007 selland arena fresno ca - miserylovedme123 & m sims

03/16/2007 lawlor events center reno nv - hellasexyrocker12

03/27/2007 scottish exhibition and conference center glasgow scotland - 슬롯 아우디

04/02/2007 koko london england - ATØMIC JĒY (2) & dametokillfor

04/04/2007 elysee montmartre paris france - redoftherose

04/10/2007 kb hallen copenhagen denmark - 666noft (DANZIG COVER) - C4R17O

04/21/2007 universal orlando grand bash '07 universal studios orlando fl - aneiger & selbstmordflucht

04/25/2007 - nashville municipal auditorium nashville tn - thelaurelbush &

05/09/2007 centre bell montreal qc canada - the academy is my beautiful romance

05/20/2007 virgin festival thunderbird stadium vancouver bc canada - ATØMIC JĒY & the academy is my beautiful romance

06/01/2007 nürburgring, nürburg, germany - mcr shows

06/08/2007 download festival donington castle donington uk - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/17/2007 wembley stadium london england - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/26/2007 razzmatazz barcelona spain - the academy is my beautiful romance

07/01/2007 pier pressure frihamnspiren gothenburg sweden - the academy is my beautiful romance

07/04/2007 volksfestgelände pieschener allee dresden germany - cassnjason

07/25/2007 projekt revolution white river amphitheatre auburn wa - the academy is my beautiful romance

07/27/2007 sleep train amphitheatre wheatland ca - christine kay

07/29/2007 shoreline amphitheatre mountain view ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

07/30/2007 kevin and beans breakfast capitol records studios la ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

-> pt. 1 (2002 - 2005)

-> pt. 3 (2007 - 2011)

-> pt. 4 (2011 - 2023)

[cinnamongorll]

a fragile line - masterlist

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female OC Fic synopsis: three years ago, Juliet escaped her father's religious survivor camp, ending up in the Boston QZ. Juliet created a life for herself in Boston, desperate to forget the trauma of her upbringing. One day, Juliet arrives home to find a mysterious letter which forces her to return to her home town. Juliet can't travel the harsh post-apocalyptic landscape alone, so she enlists the help of the grumpy and, at times, frightening man she works alongside: Joel Miller. Tags: extreme slow burn, age gap, older man/younger woman, protective joel, jealous joel, hurt/comfort, pov third person, mutual pining, angst, sexual tension, friends to lovers, canon-typical violence, feral joel, parental abuse, eventual smut.

—————————————————-

Inspired by ‘Strangers’ by Ethel Cain, ‘Haunted’ by Taylor Swift, and ‘Francesca’ by Hozier 🫀

—————————————————-

read on ao3 - 38/38 chapters (179k words)

—————————————————

read on tumblr:

chapter 1 'Marked for death'

chapter 2 'Put it on me'

chapter 3 'Twice'

chapter 4 'Something in the way'

chapter 5 'Way down we Go'

chapter 6 'Hearing Damage'

chapter 7 'Slipped'

chapter 8 'Killer + The Sound'

chapter 9 'Carolina'

chapter 10 'Salt and the Sea'

chapter 11 'Tulsa Jesus Freak'

chapter 12 'The Night We Met'

chapter 13 'First Defeat'

chapter 14 'Who We Are'

chapter 15 'Bloodstream'

chapter 16 'Villain'

chapter 17 'NFWMB'

chapter 18 ‘Funny’

chapter 19 'Strangers'

chapter 20 'No Sound But The Wind'

chapter 21 'I'm Your Man'

chapter 22 ‘Running Up That Hill’

chapter 23 'My Tears Ricochet'

chapter 24 ‘Safe and Sound’

chapter 25 'House Song'

chapter 26 'My Body is a Cage'

chapter 27 'Happiness is a Butterfly'

chapter 28 'Illicit Affairs'

chapter 29 'The Last Time'

chapter 30 'If You Lie Down With Me'

chapter 31 'Breakers Roar'

chapter 32 'August Underground'

chapter 33 'Haunted'

chapter 34 'Bad Man'

chapter 35 'Can't Catch Me Now'

chapter 36 'Another Love'

chapter 37 'Francesca'

epilogue 'If I Go, I'm Goin'

[spicysighs]

Matty Healy + Taylor Swift Timeline

11/7/13: Matty talking about Taylor liking the band and being asked to tour with her.

1/21/14: Matty talking about Taylor liking the band. xx

3/31/14: Matty talks about being asked to tour with Taylor and turning it down. "That was cool. It’s like, ‘We can’t, but that is really nice, thank you very much.”

11/4/14: Matty is pictured wearing a deluxe 1989 album cover tee at his concert in Milwaukee.

11/8/14: Taylor reblogs the picture on tumblr and says they are her favorite band.

11/9/14: Taylor likes these two pictures of Matty wearing the 1989 t-shirt.

11/9/14: Taylor liked this gif-set of Matty talking about whether he’s a dog or cat person.

11/19/14: Selena Gomez, Taylor and other friends went to The 1975 show in LA. Video of them singing along to ‘The City.’

11/19/14: Taylor & Matty making a video for a fan. (Jamie’s daughter Kitty)

11/22/14: Matty follows Taylor on Twitter.

11/23/14: Taylor was pictured wearing a The 1975 band shirt.

11/23/14: Taylor likes these two posts of them wearing each others merch.

11/24/14: Matty dedicates ‘Robbers’ to Taylor. Supposedly he’s done this multiple times. xx

11/25/14: Taylor likes these Tumblr posts. And this picture of Matty.

11/26/14: Taylor likes this Tumblr post.

11/26/14: Matty likes Taylor’s post on Instagram.

11/26/14: Matty wearing the 1989 t-shirt again.

11/26/14: Matty talking about meeting Taylor "I met Taylor Swift, that was really nice." and when asked about possibly dating "I mean bloody hell, what am I going to do? Go out with Taylor Swift? She's a sensation, I wouldn't say no."

11/28/14: Taylor is rumored to have attended The 1975 show in Chattanooga, TN.  

11/29/14: Taylor likes this Tumblr post.

11/29/14: Matty signed this Polaroid for a fan, and the fan talking about the interaction.

11/29/14: Matty says he can’t kiss a fan because he’s taken.

12/2/14: Matty’s mom retweets this.

12/2/14: Matty likes Taylor’s Instagram post.

12/3/14: Matty about Taylor “Well, she’s amazing. She’s an amazing role model. And not only is she an incredible songwriter, she’s an incredible pop songwriter, which I think is even harder. I can’t speak highly enough about Taylor Swift.”

12/4/14: Taylor, Martha, Karlie and others went to The 1975 show in NYC. Where Matty dedicated ‘fallingforyou’ to her. Rumored that Matty missed the after-party and spent the night with Taylor. xx 

12/5/14: Taylor likes this Tumblr post about Matty singing ‘fallingforyou’ to her.

12/5/14: Matty’s tweet in response to articles about him and Taylor getting his name wrong.

12/6/14: Matty has a breakdown on stage in Boston, MA. In 2015 talking about the incident he says “There was girl stuff. There was family stuff. There was financial stuff. There was drug stuff.” 

12/6/14: Matty talking about a fan saying “I love you” to him. “What did I say to the poor fucking girl? ‘You don’t have the right to love me. You don’t know me. I love you but you don’t get to love me.’ Jesus. Can you imagine your favorite band shouting that at you? What a dickhead. What a horrible thing to say to a kid who fucking does love me.”

12/9/14: Matty at a show in NY “I was sad the other day as someone told me they loved me. And I said ‘No, you don’t. Not really.’ And today I told someone I loved them. And they said ‘No, you don’t.’ And it fucking sucks to hear that. Especially when you mean it. Don’t do that to someone. Don’t do what I did.”

12/14/14: Matty posts this on Instagram.

12/30/14: Matty deletes this Instagram post.

1/16/15: Matty denies dating rumors. Admits they exchanged numbers but “That didn’t really happen as much as it’d be amazing for me if it did, unfortunately it didn’t.”

2/25/15: They hangout at the BRIT Awards afterparty. (This weekend is when she met Calvin and they started dating)

2015: Matty & Halsey date and breakup.

11/15/15: Matty talks about Taylor in an interview “The things that surround her are like Barack Obama. I fell for her a little bit, but everyone falls for Taylor Swift” “The day after she’d been to a show of ours, someone sent me a screenshot of E! News with the headline ‘Who is Matt Healy?’ That freaked me out. I’m not ready to indulge in that world and I’m not ready to be judged by that world.”

12/8/15: Matty talks about reaching out to Taylor to have her in his music video.

Sometime in 2015: Matty & Gabriella Brooks start dating.

2/1/16: Matty talking about Taylor “She was a fan of the band and we just became friends, and we related to each other over how mental our lives were. But when you’re with people like Taylor, there are a million people flying around you the whole time, and this security guard is talking to that guy, and this guy is the new manager. I didn’t like the pace of it, because it makes me confused and I feel like I’m going to miss something. And being perceptive is one of the abilities that I like to think that I have.“

3/17/16: Matt Healy has suggested that dating Taylor Swift would have been "emasculating" for him because of her huge global fame.

3/18/16: Journalist who interviewed him writes an op-ed saying his words were misconstrued and "I saw an intelligent and liberal man wrestling with our culture’s gender roles."

3/19/16: He apologizes for said comments and calls Taylor "One of the most gracious, hard working, creatively gifted, and beautiful women that I have had the pleasure to meet."

6/1/16: Taylor & Calvin Harris breakup.

6/15/16: Taylor starts dating Tom Hiddleston.

8/17/16: Matty says he has Taylor’s number but “she’s probably changed her number by now.” And jokes “I keep texting her.”

8/30/16: Matty talks about Taylor on the BBCR1's Breakfast Show. They joke about Taylor doing jury duty.

9/6/16: Taylor & Tom Hiddleston breakup.

October 2016: Taylor & Joe Alwyn start dating.

10/27/16: Matty about Taylor in Rolling Stone “She came to our show, and you would have thought that Barack Obama had come out. I don’t know another person on the planet that would elicit that kind of reaction.”

11/11/16: Matty again denies he dated Taylor and says “She came to a show and we hung out. We fancied each other, but then we couldn’t have it go any further, because it would be like going out with Barack Obama.”

11/20/17: Podcast talking about Taylor & Matty.

12/3/18: Matty talking about his journal “It’s mainly stories that I write about my dreams of being in love with other popstars.”

12/4/18: Matty retweets a picture of Taylor.

8/28/19: Matty & Gabriella Brooks breakup.

9/23/19: Mentions wanting to produce an album for Taylor in an interview (at 13:48 & 32:00) “Taylor, if you ever want someone to help you set up the mics for your little acoustic record, just so you know, I’m there.”

9/23/19: Matty retweets and tags Taylor in a post quoting him saying he wants to produce an album for Taylor.

9/24/19: Matty tweets “Taylor Swift. With an acoustic guitar. Doing her ‘Nebraska’. Doing her ‘Blue’. Kill me.”

January 2020: Matty & FKA Twigs start dating.

2/12/20: Both attend the NME awards and hug. Beabadoobee (who Taylor is talking to in the video) about meeting Taylor that day “Taylor’s so ethereal, So badass, I was like ‘Holy shit!’ She was walking towards me and I’m like, ‘She’s going to Matty [The 1975] not me.’ And then she comes up to me and I’m like... I vomited in my mouth. I couldn’t believe it.”

2/20/20: Matty mentions seeing Taylor and wanting to work with her in an interview with Zane Lowe. “She was just stood behind me. I mean, I haven’t seen Taylor in years so it was actually a really nice room. But it, unfortunately, wasn’t the time for me to pitch my post-rock Joni Mitchell project.”

10/22/20: Deuxmoi posts these.

2021: Matty starts working with Jack Antonoff on The 1975′s upcoming album.  

November 2021: Taylor and Jack Antonoff start working on “Midnights.”

6/7/22: Matty & FKA Twigs breakup. 

8/9/22: Matty Healy shares Taylor Swift’s reaction to The 1975’s new album, with her saying “it’s so funny.” 

9/3/22: Matty says there will be no collab on Midnights. “I would love that! But unfortunately FAKE NEWS :(”

10/7/22: Matty tweets “You guys actually thought Taylor Swift was gonna have me on her album”

10/11/22: Matty on working with Taylor “Oh we’re not. We’d love to. Love to work with Taylor Swift. Love Taylor Swift, think she’s one of the best songwriters, but yeah, no we haven’t done that. We’d love to though.”

10/11/22: The 1975 discuss covering ‘Lover’ for the BBC live lounge.

10/12/22: Matty briefly mentions Taylor in a Zane Lowe interview (45:53).

10/18/22: Matty briefly mentions Taylor in a podcast (1:22:40) when talking about who they would like to see on the podcast. Interestingly enough her name seems to be cut from the video version of the podcast.

10/23/22: Matty posted on his Instagram to stream Midnights.

10/26/22: Matty posted he was listening to ‘Hey Stephen TV’ on his Instagram story

11/27/22: Matty said he worked on Midnights with Taylor but their versions didn’t make the cut (4:52). “We actually worked a bit on that, but then the version of it never came out.” “It was for reasons not to be criticized.”

12/21/22: Matty said ‘Chocolate‘ reminds him of Taylor “Tumblr, Doc Martens, Taylor Swift, the 1975”

‘Question…?’ Played in The 1975 pre-show playlist. (Don’t have dates because it happened multiple times)

1/12/23: Matty & Taylor before The 1975 show.

1/12/23: Taylor does a surprise performance at The 1975 show in London. Deuxmoi later claims they stayed up until 4 am talking (later confirmed in his profile with The New Yorker.)

1/12/23: Matty “I’m not kissing anybody in front of Taylor Swift, have some respect. in front of the queen? not happening"

2/2/23: Matty briefly mentions Taylor and the Ticketmaster situation (38:06)

February: Allegedly spent several days at a Los Angeles recording studio together.

3/15/23: Matty seen with Ana Salazar.

3/17/23: First show of The Eras Tour

3/22/23: Puff-piece comes out stating Joe and Taylor are ‘great together’ and ‘super supportive of her career’ and will be travelling to her ‘when he can’.

‘About You’ plays at the same time as the Lover MV has been playing on The Eras Tour pre-show playlist. (Don’t have dates because it happened multiple times)

3/29/23: Matty’s ex says “Things were going well until around March 29th then, out of the blue, he stopped replying to my messages and calls.”

3/31/23: Taylor changes The Eras Tour setlist from ‘Invisible String’ to ‘The 1’

4/7/23: Matty follows Taylor on Instagram.

4/7/23: Matty likes Taylor’s Instagram post.

4/8/23: Matty’s birthday.

4/8/23: It's announced Taylor and Joe have broken up.

4/8/23: Matty talking about love and how happy he is.

4/10/23: Matty deactivates his social media accounts.

4/10/23: Matty on why he deactivated “Everything happens in eras. The 1975 is a very eras band. And I think that the era of me being a fucking asshole is gonna come to an end.” and “I perform all the time and it’s my job and I love doing this, but I can’t perform off the stage any more as I just want to be a bloke.”

4/10/23: Matty says “Hey, I love you.” during ‘About You’.

4/10/23: Matty mouths “You know who you are.” and points during ‘About You’.

4/11/23: Matty “A call for something sincere and direct. That’s what we’re all looking for. That’s what I’m looking for. Maybe I’ve found it.. I’m feeling quite happy.” 

4/13/23: Deuxmoi says she got a tip that Matty & Taylor are dating. (19:16)

4/14/23: Matty cheering during ‘Me & You Together.’

4/14/23: Matty “Romance is nice when it works, this next song worked.” ‘fallingforyou’ starts playing “Oh it’s a different song, this song did not work.”

4/14/23: Before ‘About You’ “Ok, this is the one that worked.”

4/14/23: Matty mouthing “I love you” during ‘About You’ and saying “Fuck yeah, I win!” after it ends.

4/16/23: Matty’s “Yeah you will!” during ‘Happiness’ after the line, “I’m never gonna love again.”

4/19/23: Matty says “It takes bit to get here but its worth it” and “true story” before playing ‘Me & You Together.’

4/21/23: Matty plays a cover of ‘The Best of Me’ by The Starting Line. Take note of the lyrics.

4/24/23: Matty spoke about how he sees people listening to ‘She's American’ in three places: Manchester, Tokyo and Pennsylvania “that’s a whole other thing don’t worry about that.”

5/3/23: The Sun reports Matty and Taylor are dating and will go public with their romance at her shows in Nashville.

5/3/23: Matty introducing ‘Me and You Together song’, saying “I’ve got something real to tell you guys!”

5/3/23: Matty mouths “This is about you, you know who you are. I love you.” while playing ‘About You.’

5/3/23: Matty does a cover of ‘The Best of Me’ by The Starting Line again.

5/4/23: Matty introducing ‘Me and You Together song’, saying “So I’ve been trying to tell you guys” and “That’s right.”

5/4/23: Before playing ‘About You’ Matty mouths "This is why I'm happy. Who is it about? Who am I talking to?"

5/4/23: Matty is seen mouthing the words "I love you" before writing the letter T on the camera lens.

5/4/23: Matty saying “she sure is” before playing ‘She's American.’

5/4/23: Matty flies from Manila to Nashville. (Which is around a 20hr flight)

5/5/23: Matty at Taylor’s concert. Nashville night 1.

5/5/23: Taylor mouths “This is about you, you know who you are. I love you.” during ‘cardigan.’

5/6/23: Matty grabbing coffee accompanied by Taylors bodyguard after leaving Taylors condo.

5/6/23: Matty at Nashville night 2. xx

5/6/23: Matty & Taylor pictured arriving at Taylor’s condo together.

5/7/23: Matty at Nashville night 3.

5/11/23: Matty and Taylor spotted on a date with Jack Antonoff in NYC. More pictures here.

5/12/23: Matty at Philly night 1.

5/13/23: Matty at Philly night 2.

5/13/23: Taylor performs ‘This Love’ with no introduction.

5/14/23: Taylor plays a request of “Hey Stephen”, but doesn’t say who requested it.

5/14/23: Matty pictured at the VIP tent at The Eras Tour Philly night 3

5/15/23: Matty and Taylor pictured leaving a party at Electric Studios in NYC.

5/18/23: Article comes out saying Joe is 'distraught and slighted' over Taylor & Matty dating, saying he ‘trusted’ Taylor when she said they were just friends.

5/18/23 Matty entering Taylor’s NYC Apartment.

5/20/23: Matty’s ex talks about Matty and Taylor.

5/20/23: Taylor’s speech before playing ‘Question...?’  in Foxborough, MA. "I want you all to know that I've never been this happy before in my life. It’s not just with the tour, I just sort of feel like my life finally feels like it makes sense. And so I thought I’d play this song, which brings me a lot of happy memories."

5/20/23: Taylor plays ‘Question...?’ on night 2 in Foxborough, MA.

5/22/23: Matty dropping Taylor off at Electric Lady Studios.

5/24/23: Taylor and Matty leaving the Electric Lady Studios separately.

5/27/23: The Sun reports Matty and Taylor are moving in together.

5/29/23: Matty’s profile with The New Yorker comes out which includes multiple mentions of Taylor.

5/29/23: From The New Yorker “Healy found it annoying that, at a certain level of fame, celebrities can cultivate liberal auras while avoiding the risk of taking real political stands. (Swift, I thought, but didn’t say, seemed to be excepted from his critique.)”

5/29/23: From The New Yorker about Taylor & Matty dating “ Neither of their representatives would comment on the record, but I kept getting texts from people who knew them, and who insisted: this time, it’s real.”

6/5/23: Matty & Taylor reportedly break up.

6/6/23: People releases an article saying "There is no drama, and who knows what could happen again.” and "Taylor and Matty still care for one another but they are in the middle of world tours so both are incredibly busy. They've been friends for years and are still friends."

6/6/23: While discussing Taylor on his podcast (21:06) Zach Sang says "I'm like kind of friends with Selena Gomez. We've known each other for a very long time and we share a lot of close friends. And from what I heard like in the aura around Selena, Taylor was talking about Matty Healy like he was the one." 

6/11/23: Matty reactivates his Instagram.

6/11/23: Matty “You know what’s nice, playing songs in context“ before ‘Me and You Together song’

7/1/23: Matty mentions Taylor "I don’t wanna use this thing [the catwalk], it feels very democratic, it feels very… I mean Beyonce of course, Taylor, Machine Gun Kelly, whoever it may be… I don’t like it, it makes me feel exposed."

7/5/23: The Sun claims Matty & Taylor are back together and “want to make it work at all costs.”

7/5/23: People declines claims that they are together.

7/18/23: Matty briefly mentions Taylor “I speak about this a lot, the Tumblr times, the simpler days, the golden days. When it was just us and Taylor and Lana and Arctic Monkeys.”

7/22/23: Taylor removes ‘About You’ from The Eras Tour pre-show playlist.

8/7/23: Matty is seen with Meredith Mickelson at an airport in Hawaii.

August 2023: Taylor starts dating Travis Kelce.

September 2023: Matty starts dating Gabbriette.

December 2023: Multiple people receive miss prints of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” which appears to show the song “Slut” originally featured The 1975.

4/19/24: Taylor releases her new album “The Tortured Poets Department” where many songs are believed to be about Taylor and Matty’s previous relationship. 

[music-orthemisery]

Pre-Folie Release Madness of (p)2- A Timeline

After spending a few days in cuckoo bananas world thanks to the video re: Patrick's best man speech, @grandtreeangel and I have some things to slide across the table.

Between October 19, 2008 and November 7th, 2008, FOB played a series of shows leading up to the release of Folie a Deux. Each show featured a Pete/Patrick banter moment that, when put together, creates a very...interesting narrative.

October 19th - Birmingham, England show

Pete making a Top Gun reference to the $20 bar bet scene while Patrick plays the Top Gun theme song.

The scene in question: "Total carnal knowledge...of a woman this time, on the premises"

October 22nd - London, England show

First live performance of Patrick's "Love Lockdown" cover

Please see @grandtreeangel’s post HERE for more context on this totally normal thing Patrick did.

October 25th - Lille, France show

OG "my little cabbage" moment Pete, in French, says to Patrick, "You are beautiful, my little cabbage."

October 27th OR 28th - Blog post

Pete posts this on his Tumblr . It says 10/27, but there's some disagreement on time zones so it may be 10/28. EITHER WAY...

Originally, this linked to a clip from the movie Love, Actually. In this scene, a man confesses his love to a woman who is married to his best friend.

There's plenty of debate about this movie, scene, and storyline in general, but we aren't here for that right now!!!

Let's just focus on the facts:

Woman. Married. To BEST FRIEND.

The man was the best man AND the videographer at the wedding.

This whole moment is done secretly. He confesses, they kiss, she goes back inside and tells her husband it was just some carolers.

In general, this whole story arc is ripe with longing and unattainable love due to a marriage keeping the man from being with the woman.

I...wonder what this sounds like...

October 28th - Toronto, Canada show

Love Lockdown cover where Patrick says, "That's for you, Pete."

Again, Patrick being very normal!!!

October 29th - Blog Post

Pete contributes an entry to Bill's "Mondayeyes" poetry club on friendsorenemies.com:

Credit to @alphadog's post for this HERE

The entire poem is quite impactful, but a few lines of interest:

"Where do you get off?" or more like "how"

and...

"You chose this"

When Pete uses quotes, it's noted that this indicates things that have been said to him.

There are scents and spells that keep us coming together, there are sparks that keep us forever

The art of keeping up disappearances

Also, big hello to some Rat-A-Tat lyrics

Whenever I could make the sweat roll backwards and your pulse stream in reverse

(Big thank you to @dykeandyhurley for sending this to me)

November 6th - Boston, MA show

Pete shares the story about Patrick's best man speech.

Huge props to @predoom for finding this moment!

If you haven't seen Top Gun (?!), the context here is very important:

The line "Ice, fire, or clear," is said in the scene where Goose dies.

Scene: "Ice, Fire or Clear!"

Also, it should be noted that, to Pete, he is Goose and Patrick is Maverick.

The fact that Patrick picks this quote to say to Pete...in his best man speech...at PETE'S WEDDING. A quote said when Maverick LOSES Goose.

AND...apparently no one else in the reception quite...get's it. Pete is the only one who does. That line was just for Pete. From Patrick.

Of all the lines in that movie, he picks that one, from that moment.

Then, of course...

We have "The Kids Aren't Alright."

Featuring the lyrics:

Stuck in the jet wash Bad trip I couldn't get off And maybe I bit off more than I could chew And overhead of the aqua blue

Along with Pete's annotation:

November 7th - Philadelphia, PA show

Patrick sings Lullabye.

Take a peek at this post for all of that mess.

"Well, Bronx was about to be born!"

Sure, sure. I'm not DENYING the relevance there. Just. Go look at the post, damn it. Trust me.

And then...?

Nothing. They take a break, Bronx is born, and then they play a show in Columbus, OH on December 1, 2008. This whole little back and forth ends. Folie a Deux is released on December 10th and...well...we all know what happens after that.

[wub-fur-radio]

Let’s Beat Fascism!

It’s time to celebrate another uneasy Independence day here in what we used to unironically call “the land of the free” and Wub-Fur’s got another of our patent-pending eclectic mixes of quality indie rock (or is that quality mixes of eclectic indie rock?) for your patriotic holiday listening enjoyment. Featuring contributions from Mary Timony, Antietam, Sleater-Kinney, Wilco, Together Pangea, La Luz, and 11 more bands that hope to be able to continue celebrating freedom and democracy on future fourths of July.

Apologies to our cover model, the late, great Woody Guthrie, who reminds us that all them fascists bound to lose — but only if we all do our parts! Organize! Volunteer! Protest! Donate! Vote! Resist!

▶︎🎶 Listen on Mixcloud

Running Time: 1 hour, 15 seconds

Tracklist

Intro: This Land Is Your Land by Shakey & the Rockets [Excerpt] (0:22)

Summer (2:46) — Mary Timony | Washington, DC

Wake Up, Sleepy T (3:52) — Antietam | New York, NY

Sparks (3:34) — Program | Melbourne, Australia

Voice in My Head (ft. Reckling) (2:44) — Together Pangea | Los Angeles, CA

Kink (2:59) — VACATION | Cincinnati, OH

Strange World (4:12) — La Luz | California

Hunt You Down (3:23) — Sleater-Kinney | Portland, OR

Roll (3:09) — Charles Moothart | Los Angeles, CA

Decider (3:25) — Motorists | Toronto, ON, Canada

Annihilation (3:35) — Wilco | Chicago, IL

We Ain't Got Nothin' (4:48) — Psychic Temple | Long Beach, CA

Kutashta (4:36) — Parsnip | Melbourne, Australia

Star Strangled Banner (4:17) — Bad Hoo | Victoria, BC, Canada

The Iron That Never Swung (3:07) — neutrals | Oakland, CA

Heartbreak Kid (2:59) — The Vaccines | London, UK

The Apologist Effigy (2:37) — The Laughing Chimes | Athens, OH

Hey, Guitar (3:51) — Pernice Brothers | Boston, MA

All tracks released in 2024.

[mermaidgirl30]

✨Look for the Light Masterlist✨

Outbreak! Joel Miller x OFC

Decided to do a mood board for my fic “Look for the Light” 🩵 It’s on A03 as well and has a playlist. This one is a slow burn, action packed, twisty ride. I hope you enjoy! Their relationship is absolutely canon 😍 This is my very first fic, and I put my entire heart and soul into it and have been working on it for six months. I am so over the moon with how well this story came out and am just so proud of it 🥰 This is forever my baby, and I cannot wait to continue my writing and more Joel fics! I hope you enjoy this beautiful work of art I have put together. Comments and reblogs are always appreciated 😊

Rating: Explicit (18+ only MDNI)

Word Count: 187,394

Summary: Aly finds herself trying to escape the Boston QZ. What Aly doesn’t know is Tess is pairing her up with Joel to go on a dangerous mission to find Tommy. Will Aly survive the brooding, moody Joel or will she find herself falling hard for him? (This fic is in both Aly and Joel’s POV)

Tags: Angst, fluff, smut, slow burn, attempted sexual assault, kidnapping, enemies to lovers, unprotected p in v, gratuitous smut, original character, protective Joel, anxiety, ptsd, sexual tension, mutual pining, eventual smut, younger female/older man, grumpy Joel, death, violence

This is me trying is so Joel coded, and I got a lot of inspiration in this story from this song 🩵

Chapter 1: Introductions

Chapter 2: Escaping

Chapter 3: Knife Practice

Chapter 4: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Chapter 5: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Chapter 6: Panic Attacks and Blue Eyes

Chapter 7: What You Say Goes

Chapter 8: Thunderstorms and Heartbreak

Chapter 9: Safe, In My Arms

Chapter 10: Bow and Arrow Lessons

Chapter 11: Vacancy in a Cabin

Chapter 12: Taken

Chapter 13: David’s Territory

Chapter 14: What Town!

Chapter 15: Held Hostage

Chapter 16: Stay With Me

Chapter 17: Your Hand In Mine

Chapter 18: Slow Dancing In a Burning Room

Chapter 19: Back to the Lodge

Chapter 20: Taking David Down

Chapter 21: Burn It Down, Burn It All Down

Chapter 22: Liars

Chapter 23: Finding Ellie

Chapter 24: Welcome to Jackson

Chapter 25: Slow Hands

Chapter 26: You Are In Love

Chapter 27: Bubble Baths and Sweet Affections

Chapter 28: Guitar Lessons and Heart Strings

Chapter 29: Complications

Chapter 30: Protecting What’s Yours

Chapter 31: This Love

Epilogue : Proposal

Epilogue Pt II: Wedding Day

Soft - Extra little piece I wrote about Joel being in love

Trailer for my series 🥰

[gotham--fc]

Will You Stay Here For A While Dear? - A Hilary Knight Imagine

I'm back with the next part of my Hilary series! what part are we at now i forgor You can find the rest of the parts linked on my masterlist, as always I can't tell you what to do but you really should read at least part 1 and 2 before you read this, but you do you

This ended up way longer than I anticipated, so it only goes up to the end of preseason, which means there will be at least 2 more fics of "main story" to be written and whatever else my brain comes up with

It's about 11.5k words, so read at your own pace lol, and I hope you like it as much as you liked part 1 and 2!

Title comes from the song “Billy Liar” by The Decemberists (and was also chosen by @grapefruit-personified)

It’s no surprise Hilary gets signed by Boston.

She’s been pretty open with where she wants to go. Yeah, she’s taken calls with all the teams, but Y/N knows she’s not entertaining any offers that aren’t from Boston. It’s no surprise they offer her a contract, and it’s no surprise that she signs it. Y/N’s happy for her, she really is. Hilary is excited and Y/N is excited for her. Hilary’s been fighting her entire career for this moment and after years of being given less, she finally gets what she deserves. In Boston, no less. Y/N’s thrilled for Hilary.

Y/N gets calls too. She gets plenty of calls. She talks to all the teams, talks through expectations and goals and all that jazz. She doesn’t get any offers.

And it’s fine. Teams can only sign three free agents so it’s limited and that’s fine. She’s still recovering from her concussion, so it’s not surprising. It’s fine. Y/N knows she’ll get drafted, that’s not even a question. It’s just where she gets drafted.

It’s a rough few weeks with no security. At least Hilary knows where she’s going and she’s already figuring out her move to Boston, but Y/N can't do that. She doesn’t even know if she’s moving or if she’ll get drafted by Minnesota. She half hopes not, given it’s a 22 hour drive from Boston to Minnesota, but that’s not something she can dwell on. She feels sort of like she’s floating through space while she watches Hilary pack. She has no purpose or sense of direction, can only watch Hilary pack up half of the life they’ve built here together.

“Babe?” Hilary’s voice snaps Y/N out of her thoughts.

“What? Yeah? What?”

“You okay?” Hilary asks, “You were pretty spaced out.”

“Yeah, it’s nothing,” Y/N shakes her head, then starts again. “It’s just… I’m just thinking about the draft.”

It’s something she’s been working on, they’ve both been working on, sharing what they’re feeling instead of burying it down. Y/N’s first instinct is still to say everything’s fine, and she’s fighting against it, but it’s hard. She’s trying. They’re both trying. They’re doing better.

“What about it?” Hilary asks.

“You’re going to Boston.”

“I am,” Hilary waits expectantly for Y/N to continue.

“And I don’t know where I’m going. And it’s hard to pack or prepare when I don’t know what I’m preparing for. And… I don’t know if I’m going to get drafted by Minnesota and stay here while you go miles away to Boston.”

“We’ll figure that out, no matter what happens, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Hilary takes Y/N’s hands, “Wherever we both end up, whether it’s Minnesota or Boston or New York, we’ll figure it out. We’ve been through worse, we can handle a little distance if it comes to that.”

“Yeah,” Y/N mumbles, “It could be a lot of distance.”

“I’ll never be that far from you,” Hilary says, “Even if we’re far apart, I’ll always be here. I’m a phone call away.” Hilary tilts Y/N’s chin up so they’re looking at each other. “I know I hurt you when I went radio silent on you and I know it’s probably still in the back of your mind, but I guarantee you that I will never do that to you again. You don’t have to worry about me not being on the other side of the phone, waiting for you.”

“Promise?”

“Cross my heart.”

***

Draft day comes too soon and not soon enough. Y/N obsessed about it way too much but now that it’s here, she wishes she still had more time. Hilary isn’t here, she’s already in Boston setting up her new place. She said she’ll travel back and forth between Boston and Minnesota until training camp starts and she’s required in Boston full time, but that means Y/N’s alone right now and she thinks she might throw up.

She’s not technically alone. It’s the draft, so every player is here, including some of the already signed players. There’s players and agents and families and people from the league mulling around, Y/N’s own agent is a few feet away, chatting up a league exec about something. Even still, Y/N’s never felt so alone.

Then the draft begins. Y/N sits on the edge of her seat. She’s talked to the teams already so she has some idea of who wants her, but with every name called that’s not her, a pit in her stomach grows. She watches Boston go, and not pick her, New York, Montreal, and still her name isn’t called. She dreads Minnesota drafting her, but then they go and they don’t call her and she almost wishes they had. Finally, her name gets called. She gets up on shaky legs and walks to the stage. She shakes hands and hopes her hands aren’t sweaty, smiles for pictures and gets a mic shoved in her face as soon as she steps off stage.

“Did you know Toronto would draft you?”

“Um,” Y/N says, “I had an idea. I spoke to all the teams so I had an idea of who would pick me, so yeah, I guess I had an idea.” She didn’t.

“Are you excited to represent Toronto this season? What does it mean to you to play professional hockey in Canada?”

“Oh, it’s,” Y/N tries to think of what to say, “It’s indescribable. We’ve worked for so long and so hard to get a real professional league and I’m so excited to get started and Toronto is a great city, a great sports city with a lot of heart and a lot of history and a lot of hockey fans and I’m excited to be close to home.”

“Congratulations, good luck this season.”

Her agent takes her arm and drags her out of the spotlight and to a quieter corner. He begins talking contracts and all sorts of administrative work and Y/N just nods, everything going in one ear and out the other. Then, she has players, friends, teammates now, hugging her and talking about playing together and Y/N thinks she agrees to be at least five people’s roommate as she struggles to keep up with everyone talking and the lights and the noise. Y/N barely notices someone is leading her away until she’s in an empty hallway.

“You looked a thousand miles away out there,” Sarah Nurse says.

“I feel like I am,” Y/N says.

“You didn’t want to go to Toronto?” She asks.

“No, I…” Y/N rubs her eyes. She feels like she can’t see very well. “It’s not that. I’m not not happy with Toronto. I… I wish Hilary wasn’t so far away, but I’m not… I can’t fucking see.”

“You can’t see?!” Sarah freezes, “What do you mean you can’t see?”

“I’m… I just mean… I’m being dramatic,” Y/N says, “I just… everything’s blurry. It doesn’t look right. My head hurts. My ears are ringing.”

“Is it your concussion?” Sarah asks. Y/N shrugs. “You don’t have to go back out there. You can leave if you’re feeling bad.”

“Yeah,” Y/N says, “I’ve been so out of it lately. Hilary’s gone half the time and I was dreading getting drafted by Minnesota and she keeps telling me Boston’s not out of it, like they’ll draft me just because she wants me there. I have hopes on New York but I don’t know.”

“Toronto’s not the end of the world,” Sarah says, “And you and Hilary will be fine.”

“Yeah,” Y/N says, “Toronto. Yeah. Nursey I can’t go back out there. I feel like I want to lay in a dark room and try not to cry.”

“I’ll cover for you,” Sarah says, “Don’t worry about it.”

Sarah heads back out to rejoin the commotion and Y/N rubs her temples and pulls out her phone to call an Uber back to her hotel. When her phone turns back on, (she turned it off this morning when she awoke to what felt like a million messages from family and friends about the draft and what team she might end up on), she has a text from Hilary. Right. Because Hilary’s in Boston. Not here.

Saw the draft

Congrats babe call me when you get a chance?

Y/N calls her Uber first, then dials Hilary’s number.

“Hey babe,” Hilary says, “How was it? I thought I wouldn’t hear from you until later. I figured you would be celly-ing with your new teammates.”

Y/N doesn’t know why, can’t explain it, but she starts to cry.

“Shit, babe, what’s wrong? What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Y/N cries, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I just feel awful.”

“I’m sorry, what can I do? Are you at your hotel?”

“No, waiting for an Uber.”

“What hotel are you at?” Hilary asks.

“What does it matter?” Y/N says, “You’re not here.”

“I’m sorry I’m not there,” Hilary says, “I wish I was with you right now. I was going to order you food to your hotel, but I understand if you don’t feel like eating anything right now.”

“You could’ve been here.”

“Baby…”

“You wouldn’t be the only one! There’s more than just those who registered for the draft. You could’ve come, even just for the night,” Y/N says.

“You know why I didn’t come,” Hilary says, “We agreed I should stay in Boston. I’m still setting up my place and I’ve got interviews and press stuff and,” Hilary sighs, “You said you felt uncomfortable with people knowing about us and that me being at the draft would be more of a confirmation that you’re ready for. You don’t get to be upset with me about a decision we both made together.”

“I want you here,” Y/N says, still crying, “We’re gonna be apart for a whole season and I just wanna be with you while I still can.”

“I know it’s hard and you just found out we’re going to be separated, and I’m sorry you’re so upset. We’re going to be okay. The season will fly by and we’ll see each other in February for the Rivalry Series and then Worlds in April. And we’ll see each other when we play against each other and we’ll find times during the season to see each other. I know this is new to you but I’ve done distance before and we can deal with it.”

Y/N wants to say I knew we wouldn’t end up on the same team from the start and how will we see each other? With what money? What time? And I just started skating again who says I’ll make the Worlds roster and who says I’ll even be at the Rivalry Series and of course you have experience and I don’t I don’t need you rubbing it in.

She says none of this.

“Yeah,” She says, her voice weak and quiet.

“I’m sorry it’s so hard. I wish I could make it easier.”

“My Uber’s here,” Y/N says as her phone vibrates with the notification.

“Alright,” Hilary says, “Do you want to keep talking on your way back?”

“No,” Y/N says, “I’m tired. My head hurts. I wanna go lie down and go to sleep.”

“Okay my love, call me in the morning.”

***

It’s hard, being in Boston.

That’s not true. Hilary loves Boston and she loves being in Boston and she loves playing hockey and she loves playing hockey in Boston. It’s not hard being in Boston. It’s exciting, rewarding, everything she’s dreamed of and more.

It’s hard being in Boston when Y/N’s in Toronto and the draft is happening and Y/N got drafted to Toronto and Hilary can’t be there to celebrate with her and now Y/N is upset and Hilary isn’t there to comfort her. Hilary understands why she’s in Boston and she understands why Y/N wants her in Boston, but she also understands why Y/N wants her in Toronto too.

It’s a complicated situation. Y/N isn’t ready to be out yet. That’s fine. Hilary gets that. After all, Hilary has been there. She’s been young and new to the public and just wanting to focus on hockey and not turn every interview into “so you came out”. Hilary has to remember she’s had years in the spotlight to get used to all of this, the public, and the fans, and the questions. Hilary came out, Hilary’s out, and yeah, it’s all anyone could talk about for months after, but now it’s over. Now it’s normal. Hilary’s out, and she’s still a pro hockey player and she’s still American and she’s still prepping for Worlds and the new league and there’s more to talk about than her sexuality.

It's fine. Hilary gets it and she’s not going to pressure Y/N into something she isn’t ready for. It’s frustrating sometimes, sure, like now when Hilary has to stay in Boston because Y/N’s scared if she’s at the draft that people will figure out Hilary’s there for her, and now they’re both unhappy. Hilary will never say it, but she thinks Y/N is too focused on other people, and too paranoid about people finding out about them. People talk, and people will talk, and people are already talking, and that won’t change whether Hilary’s in Boston or Toronto, or if she posts that she’s in the same place as Y/N, or that they’re hanging out.

But Y/N freaked out last time Hilary said anything. When Hilary came out, when she announced she wasn’t single, it was too much for Y/N, so Hilary can’t push it. She’s screwed up enough times already that she won’t risk losing Y/N for good. And yes, Hilary’s made a lot of progress towards forgiving herself and she knows she can’t dwell on the past, and she doesn’t, but she came close to losing Y/N and she will not let that happen again.

***

“Why the long face?” Kess says when Hilary’s face pops up on FaceTime.

“This is my normal face,” Hilary deadpans.

“Yikes.”

“Aren’t you busy being a bigwig for the Penguins?” Hilary says, “Why are you calling me?”

“I’m still your friend Knight,” Kess says, “Even when you’re a bitch. And for your information, I’m the biggest bigwig you know, so don’t piss me off.”

“Sorry Kess,” Hilary says, “I’ve been in a shit mood lately.”

“I couldn’t tell.”

“I will hang up.”

“Tell me what’s wrong,” Kess says, “I heard you and your girlfriend are on different teams.”

“It’s not like we can’t do distance,” Hilary starts, “We can. It’s just… She wouldn’t let me go to the draft. She said it would too obvious I was there for her and she isn’t ready to be out yet. And she called me crying after she got drafted and it’s not like I can do anything from here. And she’s not flying back to Minnesota until tomorrow and my flight isn’t for three days.”

“Change your flight,” Kess says, like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

“I can’t,” Hilary sighs, “She doesn’t want it to be too obvious that I’m going back and forth to see her. So I can’t fly back the same day as her because then people might figure it out.”

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Kess!” Hilary shakes her head, “It’s not stupid. It makes her more comfortable, it just sucks knowing she’s upset and I can’t be there.”

“Hil, why does it feel like you came out just to jump back in the closet again?”

“I didn’t!” Hilary insists, “I’m still out, it’s not like I stopped being gay. Y/N’s not out and I respect that. I was in the closet for years, Kess, I was semi-famous and in the closet for years. And things are different now. Before I came out no one cared about us. The only people who gave a shit about women’s hockey were us and a handful of people during the Olympics. I didn’t have thousands of people on the internet talking about me. I was still terrified to come out and no one even knew who I was. Can you try to see what it’s like for her? She’s young, new in her career, dating an older woman, in a sport that’s growing exponentially by the minute.”

“I do see it, and I empathize, I really do,” Kess says, “And I’m not saying anything she’s saying isn’t valid, just that you have feelings too. And clearly you feel some type of way about all this secrecy and you are allowed to have feelings about it. She’s not the only one in this relationship.”

“I fucked up Kess,” Hilary flops down on her couch. Her new house in Boston is pretty sparse. She has half unpacked boxes everywhere, a TV that sits directly on the floor, a recently purchased couch and an Ikea bedframe that’s still not built so she’s been sleeping on a mattress directly on the floor. The couch was a godsend, arriving that morning, so at least she can sit somewhere, since her kitchen table and chairs have been delayed twice.

“I hurt her so bad,” Hilary says, “And I almost lost her for good. I love her so much Kess. I’ve never felt like this with anyone and I am so terrified that I’m gonna screw up and lose her again. I don’t think I’d ever get over her, I think I’ll love her for the rest of my life and then some.”

“Wow,” Kess chuckles, “I never thought I’d see the day. Playboy Hilary is gone, her fuckboy days are over.”

“They’ve been over,” Hilary says, “I’m not 21 anymore, I can’t spend every night getting shitfaced at a club and taking home strangers and still wake up at 6am for practice.”

“I’ve never seen you like this, with anyone. I thought she wasn’t right for you because you suddenly started acting different after you met her, but I see now that it was everyone else who wasn’t right. I’m sorry I didn’t see it before, and I’m sorry I fucked up too and gave her a concussion. That…” Kess blows air out her clenched teeth, “…was not my finest moment. But, moving past that, I’m really happy for you. However, if you keep pushing your feelings down it’s not going to end well. Look what happened last time.”

“Yeah,” Hilary rubs her face, “Yeah. You’re right Kess.”

“I always am Knighter. Now get off your ass and finish unpacking your sad, empty house before I have to sic Keller and Brandt on you.”

***

“Are you okay stud?” Y/N tugs at the hood of Hilary’s hoodie as she looks out into the backyard at the dogs chasing each other. Hilary jumps a little and despite the surprise, her cheeks are slightly pink like they always are when Y/N calls her that.

The name started as a joke, after they watched Grease together for the first time. The next day, as Hilary tried to get “chang-chang, changity-chang-shoo-bop” out of her head, Y/N told her to “tell me about it, stud,” and Hilary turned the brightest red she ever has and didn’t respond for a full minute. The name stuck, and Y/N brings it out when Hilary’s least expecting it to watch her turn red and flustered.

“You’re quiet this morning,” Y/N continues.

“Sorry,” Hilary says, “I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Us,” Hilary grabs Y/N by the hips and pulls her in. Y/N puts her palms on the sides of Hilary’s neck. “I was thinking about us, our life, how much I love you.”

“Yeah? Tell me more.”

“I was thinking…” Hilary backs Y/N away from the door, “… that I love you more than anything and I would never do anything to hurt you, or upset you, or ruin what we have, you know that right?” Y/N pulls away a little.

“I feel like I should be worried.”

“No, you have nothing to be worried about,” Hilary says, “I’m not trying to worry you. I just want you to know that I love you and I want you to be happy and I want both of us to be happy and as in love as we can be.” Y/N gives Hilary a look that says and? “I just wanted to talk to you and I don’t want to fight and I don’t want you to think I’m pressuring you or invalidating your feelings, I just want to share how I’m feeling, no strings attached.”

“Wow therapy really did a number on you,” Y/N says, “Where did my emotionally stunted girlfriend go?”

“What I’m trying to say is that I understand you not wanting to be out and not wanting people to know about us and I would never ask you to do something you’re not comfortable with. I have been feeling like… I hate that I wasn’t there with you at the draft. And I hate that I’m not going to be with you this season and I hate…” Hilary sighs, “I want to be with you. I want to see you as often as I can, and I’m worried that you will get scared or anxious about people finding out about us that I won’t be able to see you. I understand the fear and the concern and I’m not suggesting you come out or that we start flaunting our relationship, but I want to be able to come visit you in Toronto without having to hide where I am or who I'm with. Do you... Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“Is that… Are you…” Y/N huffs out a breath then fully pulls away from Hilary. Hilary watches helplessly. “Are you saying you want me to come out?”

“No!”

“You want me to… what? I either come out or I don’t, I don’t know what you’re asking me.”

“I’m not asking you for anything,” Hilary reaches out, but Y/N backs away, “Please, my love–”

“Don’t Hilary,” Y/N says, “Don’t.”

Hilary’s arms stay outstretched, in limbo. Y/N opens her mouth, then shuts it, then leaves, the front door slamming breaking the silence.

Things were so good. Hilary was happy. Every moment with Y/N made her giddy and her cheeks hurt from smiling but she couldn’t help it because every moment with Y/N was the happiest moment of her life. They spent the week following the draft going on dates, and spending every day together, staying in, going out, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was they were together. Even with the looming separation, they couldn’t be happier. And Hilary had to ruin it. Like always.

“Fuck!” Hilary swears.

The dogs start barking and Hilary lets them in. Hilary feels drained. She feels… like it’s over.

***

Y/N comes back hours later. Dinner is cold and wrapped in foil in the oven, Hilary’s poor attempt at keeping it warm, but the food has been sitting in there for at least an hour. Hilary didn’t eat, couldn’t eat, while she waited. The idea of food made her sick to her stomach, but she didn’t want Y/N to be hungry when she came home.

Hilary hears the door from where’s she’s distractedly moving clothes from the washer to the dryer. Laundry needs to be done and Hilary would’ve paced a hole in the floor if she didn’t do something, so she’s in the laundry room, wet clothes in her hands. She doesn’t say anything, not sure if Y/N wants to see her or talk to her or ignore her. She doesn’t move, barely breathes, and waits.

Y/N finds her soon enough. She charges into the room and Hilary isn’t sure what to expect. She expects Y/N to start yelling, with the determined look on her face. She certainly doesn’t expect Y/N to slap the laundry out of her hands and hug her tightly. Hilary hesitates for a moment, completely caught off guard, then hugs back, even more confused than before.

“I’m sorry,” Y/N mumbles against Hilary’s shoulder. “I should’ve heard you out. I should’ve stayed. I didn’t get what you were trying to say and I got frustrated because I hate not understanding things and ever since my concussion I can’t process things right and I’m so mad I’m still dealing with my stupid head, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you and I’m sorry.”

“Don’t call your head stupid,” Hilary says and feels stupid for focusing on that. “I like your head the way it is,” she finishes lamely.

“I’m frustrated,” Y/N says, “All the time and I get what you’re trying to say. I get what you mean.”

“Yeah? You sort of understand now? I wasn’t trying to upset you, I just… I didn’t want to hide it from you.”

“I know,” Y/N says, “Amanda Kessel explained it to me.”

“What?”

Hilary pulls back abruptly. She feels like she’s getting whiplash from this conversation, from this whole day. In what universe does Y/N talk to Amanda Kessel? Hilary didn’t even think Kess had her number, and Y/N definitely doesn’t have Kess’s. Until now, Hilary supposes.

“I was really mad at you and I felt like you were backing off or, like not being clear on purpose so that I wouldn’t get mad? Like it felt like you wanted something from me but you refused to say it outright. And…” Y/N looks away. “And she’s your best friend and I figured if anyone knew what you were trying to say she would. And she did. She told me what you guys talked about. And then we talked about concussion stuff and it was kinda nice.”

“You… It was kinda nice?” Hilary says, bewildered, “Nice? Wh – I’m so confused. You talked to Amanda Kessel about me and it was nice? I thought you hated her.”

“I contain multitudes,” Y/N says.

“I’ll say.”

“Come on, let’s not have this conversation surrounded by your stinky laundry,” Y/N starts leading Hilary out of the laundry room.

“It’s clean!”

Hilary follows Y/N to the living room and sits on the couch. Hilary has no idea where this conversation will go, so she stays quiet.

“I’ve been unfair to you,” Y/N begins, and Hilary wants to argue immediately. “I’ve been making it all about me. After my concussion and… everything, things became about me. You took care of me and I got used to that. I haven’t been focusing on you at all. It’s going to be hard to be away from you and I hate it and I wish we were closer and I can’t change it and I got all in my head about coming out and people figuring out why we go see each other all the time. I never thought about how you feel about everything.

“I’m not ashamed of you, or trying to hide you or us. I never want you to have to hide part of yourself for me. I wanted you at the draft. I wanted… I wanted to come to Boston while you were getting your new place. I just want to be with you, all the time. I get scared and I let my fear control me. I don’t want to not see you because I’m scared people might find out. I don’t want to go a whole season without seeing you. I also don’t want every time we see each other to be spent stuck in one of our places, not going out or posting something. That’s what you were trying to tell me, wasn’t it? That you’re fine not being out with us, but that you don’t want the fear to dictate how we act.”

“Yeah,” Hilary says, “If I was better at speaking, yeah. That’s what I was trying to say.”

“You’ve been doing interviews for how long now?” Y/N teases, “And you’re not good at speaking yet?”

“Shut it or I will dump my dirty, stinky laundry on your face.”

“You said it was clean!”

***

They know the season is coming, but before it does, the Rivalry Series comes first. They have two games early November, then a few days to themselves before training camp starts. They tease each other good naturedly about it as they pack. They both know the Rivalry Series is important prep for Worlds, but they also know it doesn’t really mean anything. The results don’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but it’s fun to pretend like they do. And they both know that even if it doesn’t matter, they’re still going to give it their all and get pissed if they lose.

They fly out to Arizona together before separating to their respective teams. Y/N gets to the hotel Canada is staying at and gets her room key. She doesn’t know who she’s rooming with this camp. Jill isn’t here, and Y/N is upset about that. She feels like she hasn’t seen Jill in forever and she doesn’t know when she’ll see her again. She knows Jill’s been dealing with injury, but she hoped she would still be okay to play.

Her roommate is Jenner, which she finds out when she opens the door and Jenner is on the one bed Facetiming her kids. Jenner waves as Y/N puts her bags on the empty bed. She says a quick hello to Jenner’s kids, even though they don’t remember who she is. She doesn’t stay long, to give Jenner some privacy and to find her teammates she hasn’t seen in a minute.

It doesn’t take long to find Emma Maltais and Jamie Bourbonnais. They’re filming some Tiktok together and they’re loud enough about it that Y/N hears them from all the way down the hallway. When they see her Emma gasps and runs over. Emma hugs her while talking what seems like a mile a minute.

“Oh my god, thank god you’re finally here, Clarky’s being such a buzzkill and she won’t film with us but that’s okay because you will, right?”

It doesn’t really matter if Y/N wants to or not, she never really can say no to Emma Maltais. It’s something about her constant excitement, her puppy dog eyes, but Y/N can’t risk upsetting her. So she agrees and she lets Emma and Jamie direct her on what to do. It’s fun and it’s what Y/N misses when she’s in Minnesota and doesn’t have her national team teammates around. They record a couple and eventually they convince Clarky to join in and they record a couple more.

They goof around for hours and Y/N feels relaxed and happy about how this camp will go.

The US isn’t staying at the same hotel, but they’re not far, so Y/N gets to see Hilary when they both have free time. Hilary delivers her coffee when Y/N has early morning practices, and Y/N ends up crashing a few USA team bonding nights by sneaking into the hotel with Hilary. It’s easy to forget about hockey when they’re not on the ice and Y/N enjoys spending time with her team and Hilary and Hilary’s team, until she fails at sneaking back into her room the night before the first game and Jenner fixes her with a look that makes Y/N feel like a child.

They lose the first game. It’s a frustrating, 3-1 loss where every blocked shot, every puck that got stolen, feels like the hockey gods have it out for them. Hilary scores the first goal, then assists USA’s second. Y/N can tell Hilary’s feeling good as they head off the ice, Hilary’s loud voice echoing through the halls. Y/N feels like shit. She couldn’t do anything to help her team, and she wanted to come back firing from her concussion, show that she’s even better than before. Instead, she fumbled two passes, had all of her shots blocked by a defender so they didn’t even make it to the net.

They lose the next game too. The US goes up early, and Canada spend the rest of the game trying to catch them. Every time Y/N starts to feel like they’re back in it, the US scores, or someone takes a penalty and by the time the game ends, Y/N’s ready to wipe this whole camp from her mind.

If 3-1 is frustrating, 5-2 is humiliating. Hilary didn’t score, but she got two assists. Hilary comes away from camp with four points and two wins. Y/N leaves with zero points and zero wins and the belief that her time with the national team has come to an end.

She still has to see Troy Ryan though. He’s her coach now, all the time, and Y/N likes him, they all do, but she just had a horrible camp in front of him and now she has to fight for a spot on a roster and hope he hasn’t already decided her fate.

***

Training camp almost sneaks up on them.

It can’t, not really, because it’s marked in the calendar and they are all too aware of how few days they have left together. Hilary’s place in Boston is already fully set up, her having more time to prepare, and Y/N’s place is getting there, and she has the help of Sarah Nurse, her roommate. Even though they can both afford to live alone, Sarah argued there’s nothing worse than returning home to an empty house every day and Y/N can’t argue with that. So at least Y/N doesn’t have to be in Toronto all the time since Sarah’s there and can pick up packages she ordered, or set up the living room furniture with the help of their teammates who are already in the city.

The date looms over them, even as they try to ignore it and just enjoy their time together. Y/N finds herself doing things she normally hates, or wouldn’t do, just to do them with Hilary. They work out together, that’s normal, but Y/N wakes herself up at the ass crack of dawn to go running because Hilary is. She watches shitty TV shows that Hilary is obsessed with that she could not care less about, just to sit with Hilary on the couch for hours. They only have two full days together before they’re required to join their teams for training camp. Y/N does everything she can to spend as much time with Hilary as possible.

Y/N wakes up the morning of her flight and wants to bury her head under the blankets. She feels Hilary shift and shut the alarm off. Y/N groans when Hilary’s arms come back around her.

“Good morning sunshine,” Hilary says. Y/N responds with another groan.

“We should just stay,” Y/N says, “We should retire and live here forever.”

Hilary chuckles.

“You don’t mean that,” Hilary kisses Y/N on her head.

“I don’t wanna go,” Y/N says quietly, “I’ll miss you too much.”

“We’ll see each other in a couple of weeks for the Rivalry Series and we’ll have some time off at Christmas, and then once the season starts we’ll play each other every couple of weeks and we can see each other on off days,” Hilary says, “I’ll miss you too, but the season will fly by and then we’ll be together again."

"Yeah, you’re right,” Y/N turns in Hilary’s arms until they’re facing each other.

“We gotta get up if we’re going to get to the airport on time.”

The morning is quiet. They eat breakfast in silence, Y/N going over her mental checklist in her head, making sure she’s packed everything. Hilary’s on her phone, no doubt going over the traffic report. Hilary's flight is later in the day, and Y/N told her not to get up early and to wait until closer to her flight to head to the airport, but Hilary insisted on going with Y/N, even if that meant waiting at the airport for hours.

“We should be okay for traffic,” Hilary says, breaking the silence, “You all packed?”

“Yeah, you?”

“Yeah.”

After they finish eating, Y/N washes their dishes while Hilary brings their bags to the door and calls for an Uber.

As they drive, Y/N stares out the window at her former home, not knowing when she would be back. (That’s a lie. She knows when she’ll be back, she knows the schedule, she knows when she’ll be back in Minnesota). She looks at Hilary. She doesn’t know when she’ll see Hilary again. (Another lie. She knows they’re all going to Utica for preseason. She knows Hilary will be there).

At the airport, Y/N tugs her hood up and ducks her head. It’s hard to remain inconspicuous with Hilary fucking Knight beside you, and Y/N feels the tips of her ears burning with each step they take. Hilary, to her credit, is trying not to draw attention to herself. She has a hat pulled down low and sunglasses on, but she’s still Hilary Knight and a hat and glasses won’t change that.

They get through security fairly easily, both of them experienced travelers that they’re prepared ahead of time with all their documents ready. Y/N knows she’ll have to go through customs once she gets to Canada, and she hates that she has to do that and Hilary doesn’t, because Hilary’s staying in the same country. Y/N’s not upset at playing in Canada. She’s Canadian, she loves being in Canada and playing in Canada, it’s not that. It’s the fact that Hilary isn’t that gets her. She spent so much time worrying about Minnesota and the 22 hour drive that she forgot to consider the Canadian teams and the 10+ hour drives and the border. Even if they flew to each other they have to cross a border and go through customs.

Hilary goes with Y/N to wait by her gate. They find a table to sit at and set down their carry-ons. Y/N wants to put her head down on the table and fall asleep. Hilary seems wide awake, no doubt the coffee she drank before they left. Ever since Y/N had to quit coffee because of her concussion, she never went back. She sleeps better, she’s less anxious, she gets less headaches, and sure while she would like a quick caffeine boost on mornings like this, she’s okay.

“Do you want something to eat or drink?” Hilary asks, “I can go find something while you stay here with our stuff.”

“Some tea?” Y/N asks, “Can you fill up my water bottle too?”

“Of course, good idea.”

Y/N watches Hilary walk away from her and has to close her eyes. Even though Hilary is coming right back, it still feels like she’s leaving, moving further and further away with every step she takes. Y/N’s glad her flight is first. She won’t have to watch Hilary walk away.

Y/N doesn’t want to use up all her phone battery before she even gets on the plane, so she tries to find something to entertain herself while she waits for Hilary. She brought a book, but she doesn’t feel like reading. She ends up staring out the window at the tarmac and watching the planes take off.

“Having fun?”

Y/N jumps when Hilary sits beside her, placing her tea and water bottle in front of her. Y/N thanks her and blows on the tea to cool it down a bit.

“I know it’s probably not as good as, uh, Tom’s right?” Hilary says. Y/N rolls her eyes.

“It’s Tim’s and you know it,” Y/N says, “And Timmies isn’t known for their teas. They have them but they’re just regular tea bags in water. But they really went off with the double double. I might have to go back to coffee.”

“Nah, I bet you’re going to spend all your money on their little donuts.”

“Hilary you cannot be this dense,” Y/N says, “You lived in Canada before. You know they’re called Timbits. I can tell you’re just trying to rile me up.”

“And it’s working right?”

Y/N turns her head away so Hilary won’t see her smile. Hilary laughs, leaning into Y/N’s space and trying to get Y/N to stop avoiding her eyes. Y/N thinks of ‘accidentally’ spilling her tea on Hilary’s lap, but decides that’s probably a really bad idea. She settles for sticking her tongue out at Hilary instead.

Hilary brought cards, because of course she did, and she deals them a hand of Go Fish. After a few rounds, they switch to War, and then Slap, until others around them started giving them dirty looks, then they switched back to War. They’re halfway through a game of Crazy 8s when the PA announces Y/N’s flight.

“I don’t want to go,” Y/N says and she feels like a broken record with how often she says it.

“It won’t be for long baby,” Hilary stands up after Y/N and pulls her in for a hug. Y/N leans into it and tries to memorize Hilary’s scent and her voice and everything about her.

“Promise you’ll always pick up the phone?” Y/N asks in a small voice.

“I promise, cross my heart, scouts honour.”

Y/N reluctantly pulls away and grabs her bag. She hesitates, staring at Hilary, until the PA announces her boarding call again and she turns to the line that’s started moving. She hugs Hilary again and turns away quickly before Hilary can see the tears forming in her eyes.

The only problem with not having to watch Hilary walk away, is having to walk away herself, leaving Hilary standing by herself in the middle of the airport, feeling Hilary’s eyes burning into the back of her skull until she turns the corner and knows she’s out of sight.

***

Hilary supposes Y/N has a point.

Ever since Y/N’s concussion, and maybe for their whole relationship, things have been about Y/N. Not that Hilary’s been ignored, or neglected, but Hilary has spent most of her time trying to make sure Y/N’s happy, that Y/N’s okay and comfortable and comforted. It isn’t until she’s in Boston, alone, that she realizes she’s not okay.

It’s not that she didn’t realize what playing on two different teams means, of course she knows what that means, it’s just that… she didn’t quite process it. She focused on making sure Y/N was okay, that Y/N would be okay with the distance, that she didn’t focus on making sure she was okay.

Y/N never wanted to talk about Boston. She never wanted to hear Hilary tell her Boston was still an option, that just because they didn’t sign her didn’t mean they wouldn’t draft her. So Hilary didn’t talk about it, but it was always in the back of her mind. It was best case scenario for Hilary. She plays professional hockey in a city she loves, and her girlfriend stays by her side. Of course that wasn’t guaranteed, so Hilary accepted that New York would be okay. New York isn’t that far.

Of course, Hilary couldn’t rule out the Canadian teams. Montreal would be fine, a little farther, and sure there’s the rivalry, but Hilary doesn’t care about that. Hilary went through every scenario in her head, but she never really let herself think of anything but Boston. Hilary didn’t want to stress about something that hadn’t happened yet, so she didn’t. But that just meant she wasn’t prepared to hear Toronto announce Y/N’s name.

She wasn’t prepared for how helpless she felt, listening to Y/N crying over the phone and not being there. She wasn’t prepared for them both packing up their house, and having to split their belongings. Hilary wasn’t prepared to remember or decide who owned what, and who needed what where. She wasn’t prepared to go to the airport and then get on different flights.

The first day of training camp is tomorrow, so tonight Hilary is home and trying to prep. She’s packing her hockey bag, making sure she has everything, that nothing got misplaced in the move, and she notices her favourite towel is missing. Then she remembers it’s Y/N’s towel that she kept taking. And suddenly Hilary wants to cry.

She doesn’t. She doesn’t because she’s a big girl and they haven’t been separated for that long and Hilary can handle her girlfriend being in another country for a few weeks. It’s nothing she hasn’t done before.

She doesn’t call Y/N. Her finger hovers over Y/N’s contact before she redirects. Keller pick up on the second ring.

“What’s up Knighter?”

“Are you busy right now?” Hilary asks.

“I was about to go restock my fridge since I don’t think a singular open can of tuna will cut it for dinner, why?”

“Can I come with?” Hilary asks, “I mean, I don’t want to ruin your plans. I just… I’m bored. Wanted to see if you felt like hanging out.”

“Sure Knight,” Keller says, “Come over.”

***

“So,” Keller says as Hilary pushes the cart behind her, “You were bored enough to come get groceries with me?”

“Sue me for wanting to hang Keller,” Hilary says, “I could’ve called anyone.”

“And you still called me,” Keller turns around to wink at Hilary and stick her tongue out. Keller puts something in the cart. “How are things with the wife?” Keller asks. Hilary almost chokes on her own spit. “Heard she’s in Toronto. How are you holding up?”

“I’m fine,” Hilary says, “I’ve done distance before.”

“Not what I asked, but okay.”

“I’m fine!” Hilary insists, “It’s not like she died. She’s in another city. I can talk to her whenever.”

“Another country.”

“It’s not even a different time zone.”

“Do you really expect me to believe you were that bored? That nothing else is going on?” Keller says, “Do I need to call Kess and get her to beat it out of you?” Hilary sighs.

“I just miss her. Don’t laugh at me.”

“I’m not laughing,” Keller says, “Why don’t you call her?”

“We talked last night,” Hilary says, “And I’m fine. It’s not a big deal.”

“You’re only allowed to call when you’re in bed?” Keller asks, “Is it a sex thing? Do you only call to have phone sex?”

“You are the worst friend I have,” Hilary says, “It’s not… I can’t tell her. I’m supposed to be handling this better. I told her we would be fine. I can’t call her now and tell her I’m not fine. I’ll be fine. I just don’t have anything to do and I just think about her when I’m alone and bored. I’ll be fine when training camp ramps up and I have something to do.”

Keller stares at Hilary for a moment, not saying anything, then:

“You’re a real idiot, Knighter, you know that?”

***

Hilary is always thrilled to be on the ice, even for training camp which has a weird atmosphere of players knowing they have a spot and treating this like regular preseason, and players who know their spot’s not guaranteed so they play their hearts out every minute.

The first few practices aren’t very smooth. No one really plays well, but that’s to be expected. They’re coming from all over, different teams, different leagues, and it takes time to learn and build chemistry with each other. Hilary leaves practice feeling like crap even though she knows she shouldn’t, and she tries to act like the older, more experienced player, tries to take on the leadership role of telling everyone not to sweat it, that it’ll come, but it’s hard when she doesn’t believe what she’s saying.

Things get better. They always do. The team gets used to playing with each other, the coaches find consistent lines so they’re not switching it up every five minutes. Hilary feels confident about the season.

Her and Y/N talk as often as they can. It’s not as much as Hilary wants, but she has to make do. They have skype dates, which suck in comparison to real dates, but seeing Y/N’s face, even through her laptop screen is better than nothing.

It’s a few weeks of training camp and then the final rosters are announced. Hilary feels bad for the girls who get cut. It’s the reality of only having six teams and a limited number of spots. She knows she can’t make it better, but she still makes a point to reach out to all of them and compliment them on their playing and tell them to keep it up. The league will expand and there will be more spots and Hilary doesn’t want anyone feeling like they’ve lost their chance.

Training camp ends and preseason begins. Hilary feels like she’s going to vibrate out of her skin. All the teams are going to Utica. Y/N is going to Utica. Y/N is going to be in the same city as Hilary.

Their first game is against each other.

Hilary hates when she has to play against Y/N, but she also kind of loves it. She loves riling Y/N up, getting under her skin, watching her get increasingly annoyed by Hilary, and then having her joking lecture Hilary about it after the game. Hilary likes it when she wins and gets to gloat and brag about her win, but she also likes when Y/N wins because the easy, joyful confidence that borders on arrogance looks really damn good on Y/N. Either way, Hilary reasons, she walks away from the game as a winner.

Hilary doesn’t end up playing, Courtney Kessel deciding to rest her and a few other players, and to see what the rest of the players can do. That was her justification to Hilary when she told her she wasn’t dressing, that she already knows what Hilary can do, what she brings to the team, and she wants to see what everyone else can bring. Hilary gets it, even if it annoys her, and not just because she doesn’t get to play Y/N, but also because she hates having to watch from the stands and not being able to do anything for her team on the ice.

Boston loses, 5-2, and it’s preseason so it doesn’t matter and winning or losing isn’t the point, and Hilary knows that so she joins the team in the locker room and nods along as their coaches go over what they did well and what they need to work on.

Y/N’s waiting for Hilary outside the locker rooms. She’s freshly showered, her hair still wet and dripping on her shoulders, and she wears a smug smile that means Hilary’s in for a night of insults and brags.

“We both have games tomorrow,” Hilary says before Y/N can say anything, “So don’t expect me to stay up late listening to you gloat about a preseason game against undrafted invitees.”

“You’re no fun,” Y/N leans up on her toes to kiss Hilary.

“Come on,” Hilary takes Y/N’s bag from her. It’s not her hockey bag, that one gets handled by the equipment staff, so it's not big or heavy, but what kind of girlfriend would Hilary be if she let Y/N carry her own bag after she played a full game of hockey.

“I’m not going to play tomorrow,” Y/N says on the way back to the hotel.

“That makes sense,” Hilary says, “Make sure everyone plays and rest those who are already a guarantee.”

Y/N is quiet for a few moments. Hilary glances a look over at her and Y/N’s hands are shoved deep in her pockets and she stares down at her feet. It’s such a contrast to how Y/N looked at the rink. The smugness, the happiness seems to be sapped out of her and Hilary doesn’t know why.

“I’m pretty sure I’ll get cut,” Y/N says.

“What?” For a second Hilary isn’t sure she heard right.

“I’ve been playing like shit. Coach already took a risk on Spoons and she’s got more experience than me. He’ll want her more than me, and I just keep showing that I’m not back to where I was before my concussion and I’ll probably never be.”

“That’s bullshit,” Hilary says. Y/N scoffs. “I mean it! All of us are rusty, no one is at their peak and that doesn’t mean you’re going to get cut. You’ve played one preseason game, no one is expecting you to play like you’re in midseason form.”

“I played like shit at the rivalry games and I’ve been playing like shit all training camp. You’re not rusty, you got four points at the rivalry games. I bet you’ll score tomorrow and I’ll be lucky if coach even lets me ride the bench for the season.”

“Y/N…” Hilary doesn’t know what to say. Y/N’s been making great progress with her insecurities, understanding that one bad game or one bad practice doesn’t determine what kind of player she is, and this conversation feels like they’re back to square one. Hilary wants to rant and rave about how amazing Y/N and how hard she is to play against and list every good play Y/N’s made in her entire career, but Hilary knows Y/N won’t hear it. At least not right now.

“Do you think he’ll cut Spoons too? Or Maltais? She didn’t get any points today and she took a couple of penalties,” Hilary says.

“No, of course not. He’d be stupid if he did.”

“I wish you would grant yourself the same grace you give others,” Hilary says, “I wish you could see yourself the way I do.”

Y/N doesn’t answer. She doesn’t say anything the rest of the way back, and she pulls Hilary into her hotel room and drags her onto the bed. Hilary’s normally the big spoon, which is fine with her because she loves getting to hold Y/N, but tonight, Y/N pushes at Hilary until she rolls over, her back to Y/N. Y/N tucks herself against Hilary, her arms around Hilary’s waist and her nose pressed between Hilary’s shoulder blades. Hilary grabs Y/N’s hand and holds it tightly.

***

Y/N doesn’t play the next day. She sits with the other players who aren’t dressing and watches Toronto lose 5-4. She heads down to the locker room with the rest of the team and listens to Troy Ryan’s speech.

“Could’ve used you out there,” Blayre pats Y/N’s shoulder as Troy finishes and the team begins to trickle out.

“Oh my god yes,” Nursey pipes up, “Imagine if we had her in the neutral zone.”

Y/N doesn’t really know what to say. She doesn’t know what they think she could’ve done, and she doesn’t think she’s allowed to say that she doesn’t think she would’ve done anything if she had played.

“So,” Nursey nudges Y/N, “Should I vacate the hotel room for you and Hilary tonight or are you kicking her roommate out?”

“What? Oh,” Y/N fumbles around with her bag just to give herself something to do, “I don’t uh, probably, uh, I don’t know. I don’t know what Hilary wants to do.”

Everyone’s starting to trickle out of the locker room, so Y/N thinks it’s alright if she does too. She’s not looking up when she leaves, just wanting to get out of the arena and away from all things hockey as soon as she can.

“Hey Hilary Knight!” Sarah’s voice booms, “Do I get to stay in my own hotel room tonight or should I find somewhere else to sleep?”

Y/N’s head snaps up, and there’s Hilary, standing in the hallway, waiting for her.

“Nah,” Hilary says, “We kicked you out last night, Brandt can figure it out.”

“What are you doing here?” Y/N says to Hilary once the team has mostly dispersed from the hallway, “Don’t you have a game, like right now?”

“Yeah,” Hilary shrugs, “But we had to wait for you guys to clear off the ice first so.”

“We’re off the ice, so you should be on it,” Y/N says. Despite her words and her tone, Y/N is actually touched that Hilary’s here. Hilary, who should be with her team, who should be warming up, who should be using these precious preseason games to build chemistry with her new team, who should be acting as captain and putting hockey first over everything, is here, waiting outside another team’s locker room for a few minutes of conversation with her girlfriend.

“I’ll go in a sec,” Hilary says, “I just wanted to see you. I’ll text you when I’m back to the hotel? If you’re up for it we could grab dinner and hang.”

“I’d like that,” Y/N says. Hilary makes a move as if she’s going to leave, and Y/N drops her bag on the ground, and hugs Hilary tight around the waist. Hilary hugs her back immediately. Y/N closes her eyes, buries her head in Hilary’s chest. Y/N forces herself to pull back after a moment, she knows Hilary needs to go. Hilary doesn’t let her go far though, pulling her back in to give her a few pecks before letting her go.

“You really need to go,” Y/N says, “And I’m gonna miss the bus.”

“It must be the end of the world if you have to stay and watch me play and ride back with us later.”

“I’d rather not be put on house arrest for the rest of preseason. You know Troy would find a way to keep me away from all the other teams.”

“Yeah,” Hilary grimaces, “You better go.”

***

It doesn’t quite sink in until later, what being on two different teams means.

Yes, Y/N knows what it means and she knows they’ll be living in two different cities, she knows this. She’s been grappling with it since the league was announced, since before they even knew they were going to be on different teams. It occurs to her, later, when Y/N is giving Nursey an apologetic look as Hilary shows up at their hotel room, that they’ve been living in some sort of a bubble.

The Rivalry Series, preseason, they’ve been on different teams, but in the same place. They’re still seeing each other every day, no matter how brief, even if it’s just passing each other in the hall, they still see each other. They spend every night in one of their hotel rooms, falling asleep in each other’s arms.

Hilary flops on Y/N’s bed like it’s her own, throwing her beanie on top of Y/N’s suitcase on the floor. She grabs the tv remote and flips through the hotel’s limited channels. She sits with one arm behind her head, her legs crossed over each other, sweatpants low on her hips, shirt rising up. Y/N doesn’t even notice Nursey leaving.

“Are you just going to stand there staring at me all night?” Hilary teases. Y/N rolls her eyes and joins Hilary on the bed. Hilary shifts instinctively, letting Y/N fit under her arm. Hilary’s still channel flipping.

It strikes Y/N then, that she doesn’t get this anymore in less than a month. She only gets Hilary for another week or two at most. And then all she’ll get is a handful of times when their teams play each other. It makes her want to cry. In fact, she does, lowering her head and trying to make sure Hilary doesn’t see.

Hockey has always been Y/N’s safe place. Whenever she has doubts or insecurities, or when her brain won’t shut off, or when she just needs to be good, she has hockey. She’ll shoot pucks in a net in the driveway if she has to. Wherever she is, whatever is going on, she’s always had hockey.

With her concussion, Y/N didn’t have hockey. She didn’t have that escape when she needed to forget the world. And even now, even though she can play again, hockey doesn’t turn her brain off. She gets in her own head about hockey now. She’s not 100% yet and she doesn’t know if she ever will be and every second she’s on the ice, she’s paranoid about how she’s playing and every time she’s near the boards it’s like she can feel the phantom presence of skaters behind her, ready to shove her again. Every time she takes a hit she panics that she’s hurt her head again.

She realizes in that moment, hockey isn’t her escape, Hilary is. Every time she needs to shut her brain off, she’s turned to Hilary. When the media, when her head, when her fear threatens to consume her, she has Hilary to distract her until she feels better. And she realizes that soon Hilary will be miles away, hours away, and she won’t be able to just go to Hilary or have Hilary come to her and make it all better.

Oh god, Y/N thinks, how the hell am I going to last a whole season without her?

***

After preseason, the next leg of the Rivalry series comes. It feels like the month goes by so quickly, but Hilary loves it. She spends the whole time playing hockey and hanging with her friends and being with Y/N. She’s fought so hard for this league and now that it’s here, she’s spending every moment soaking it in and being grateful that it’s finally here.

The first game is in Kitchener. Y/N’s not from Toronto, but her hometown is only a few hours away, so she always talks about Toronto like it’s home. Whenever someone asks Y/N where she’s from, she’ll say Toronto. It took Hilary months to learn that Y/N didn’t actually grow up in Toronto.

“It’s just easier,” Y/N explained, “People know where Toronto is. I don’t have to try and explain where I’m from and everyone would just ask what the nearest big city is, or if it’s near Toronto. It’s just easier.”

Kitchener isn’t Toronto, Hilary knows this, but it’s only a few hours away. Y/N’s family will be at the game. Hilary hasn’t not met Y/N’s family, but apart from a few phone calls where she stuck her head in to say hi, she hasn’t really met them. At the Olympics, Y/N’s family had been there, but she wasn’t ready for them to meet Hilary, she wanted to wait until the Olympics were over. Then, her concussion, and they were almost broken up, and well, there just hasn’t been a good time.

If asked, Hilary wouldn’t say she’s nervous. She’s met lots of people’s families before, her partners’ families, her friends’ families, and everyone loves her. Hilary is actually really good at the ‘meeting the family’ thing that she never worries when someone’s relative approaches her. However, she loves Y/N. She loves Y/N more than anything and she doesn’t know if they know anything about their almost breakup or how awful Hilary was or if they know that it was partially Hilary’s fault that Y/N got a concussion.

What Hilary is mostly concerned about is that they know about all of it and they’ve already decided they don’t like her. That they’ll tell Y/N they don’t approve and Y/N will break up with her, for good this time.

It’s a bit dramatic, and Hilary knows how much Y/N loves her. Everything has been so good. A couple of bumps with the draft and being on different teams and not being out and they’re finally in a good place with all of it. They’ve been through so much and come out on the other side that Hilary knows Y/N isn’t going to throw everything away, throw her away, no matter what her family says.

It still makes her nervous though.

In the end, none of it really matters.

The US wins in overtime and Hilary and her teammates celebrate the hard fought win and going up 3-0 in the series. After the game, the locker room talks, and everyone finds their way to the buses and talks of what they’re going to do to celebrate when they get back (quietly, where the coaches can’t hear because they technically have a curfew because they have to leave for the next game tomorrow and they’re supposed to be resting and recovering) Hilary backs out of the celebrations and goes in the opposite direction of the bus. She’s already cleared it with the coaching staff and promises to be back in the hotel before curfew and she meets Y/N and her family in the parking lot.

“Hey, good game,” Hilary says to Y/N, “Too bad we were just better.”

“Shut up Hil,” Y/N rolls her eyes and gives Hilary a quick hug. Hilary turns to Y/N’s parents and offers her hand.

“Hi, it’s nice to finally meet you – oh.”

Y/N’s mom ignores the hand and hugs Hilary. Y/N’s dad shakes her hand after the hug ends and as they walk to the car, Hilary doesn’t feel like an outsider, she feels like she’s part of the family. She pulls Y/N close to her side, kisses the side of her head, and keeps her smile pressed to Y/N’s hairline.

“What are you smiling about?” Y/N asks.

“I love you,” Hilary says, “I’m happy to be here with you. I’m happy to be a part of your life. I could do this forever with you, you know that?”

“Forever’s a long time,” Y/N says.

“Not with you it’s not.”

Hilary turns her head away and sees Y/N’s mom watching them, a smile on her face. Hilary doesn’t know what she was worried about.

***

They have a bit of a break for Christmas. Not a long one, but enough time to have the actual holiday off. The first game is January 1st, so they basically get Christmas Day off and are told they should report to their teams ASAP. Hilary’s fine with that, having lived the professional athlete life long enough to be used to missing holidays or just barely making them at all.

Hilary and Y/N had floated the idea around of spending Christmas together, but with their families in separate places, they decided to spend Christmas with their own families. Hilary wants to spend Christmas with Y/N, especially since they’re about to be separated for five months, but she sees her own family so little as it is, that she doesn’t have the heart to tell her mom she can’t come.

Hilary’s figuring out flights when she calls her mom to sort out their plans.

“Is it just you or is Y/N joining us?” Cynthia asks.

“Just me Mom,” Hilary says, “She’s seeing her family.”

“Is that what you want?” Cynthia asks.

“I want to spend it with her, but she doesn’t get to see her family ever and I respect that.”

“You know I love you and I would love you being here, but I don’t want you here if you’re going to spend your whole time on the phone with her. If your head is where she is then that’s where you should be too.”

“Mom,” Hilary says, “I can’t do that. It’s Christmas. I already made plans to come home.”

“You haven’t booked flights yet.”

“Mom.”

“I won’t be upset if you do come home,” Cynthia says, “You know I love whenever I get to see you, but I don’t want you sulking around my house on Christmas because you’d rather be somewhere else. We’ll come see you during the season and you’ll have the whole offseason to come see us. If you want to be with her, you should be with her.”

***

Y/N loves seeing her family. She hasn’t been able to be home much in recent years. She loves being home, but she can’t help being a little distracted. Hilary texted her ‘good morning’ earlier, but since then, Y/N hasn’t heard anything. It’s not the end of the world, since Hilary is probably busy with her own family, but it still bothers Y/N.

“How are you feeling about the season?” One of Y/N’s cousins asks. Y/N snaps back into the conversation.

“Oh, uh, I think it’ll be good. I’m excited to play,” Y/N says, “I’m… I’m nervous, because of my head, but the docs say I’m all good to play and hopefully no one’s gonna knock me head first into the boards again,” Y/N laughs.

Y/N keeps up the conversation, even though she’s half focused on her phone and the lack of message notifications. She’s too distracted to notice her own family looking at their phones, and too distracted to notice her mom getting up and opening the front door.

“It’s not fair that Y/N gets her present early,” Y/N’s cousin speaks up. Y/N looks up in confusion and almost chokes on air.

“Hi baby,” Hilary says, standing in the living room, bags at her feet, looking tired.

“Wh… What are you doing here?” Y/N stammers.

“Surprising you,” Hilary answers with a smile.

Y/N’s mom tells Y/N to take Hilary up to her room and get her settled before dinner. Y/N does, still in shock that Hilary’s here.

“I thought I might at least get a hug,” Hilary says once Y/N closes her bedroom door behind them, “After all, I did just fly all the way here to spend Christmas with you.”

Y/N takes Hilary’s bags from her, and drops them on the bed. Then she pulls Hilary into a hug. She takes a deep breath, taking in the scent and the feel of Hilary being here, with her.

“What are you doing here?” Y/N asks, not letting Hilary go.

“I want to spend as much time with you as I can before the season starts. I’m going to miss you so much.”

“I’ll miss you too,” Y/N says.

“Should we go back and join everyone?” Hilary asks. Y/N shakes her head.

Hilary did all of this, flew all this way, coordinated with her family, gave up Christmas with her own family, to spend it with Y/N. It almost hurts, how much Y/N loves Hilary. Y/N loves her so much, and she’s never felt as loved as she does with Hilary, and here, in her room, with the sounds of her family’s laughter downstairs, and with Hilary’s arms around her, Y/N can’t help but think how lucky she is.

And how much the next five months will suck.

[luvangelbreak]

Deprived

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 matthew sturniolo x layla venita (female!oc) summary: everyone knows the story of the bad boy and the good girl but what happens when the school's most popular boy, Matthew Sturniolo, and the girl who notoriously is never there, Layla Venita, cross paths. warnings: none? word count: 1.2k a/n: hi!! this is my first fanfic on here so im still getting used to the tumbler format but this will be a series. pls lmk ur thoughts or feelings or concerns or all of the above <3

pov: third person

Layla walked down the busy hallway, making a B-line for her locker that was further away than she needed it to be. She didn't want to be at school any more than she had to. The only reason she still went was to ensure she didn't get expelled for her attendance or lack thereof. Her shoulders were slouched as she pushed through the busy narrow hallway, her peers rushing to their classes.

The bleached blonde girl didn't care if she was late to her English class, it was the easiest class for her to pass even if she wasn't there. As the hallway started to filter out, she reached her locker and quickly punched in the numbers on her padlock. She swung the door open lazily, regretting her choice of rolling out of bed already but knew she might as well follow through with her choice now that she was here.

After throwing her bag into the locker, sliding her phone into the pocket of her black sweatpants that matched the black hoodie she wore. As she always did, she had her black leather jacket over the top since the cold Boston air seeped into her hoodie easily. She left her headphone in, grabbing her books for English even though she knew she would barely use them. She slammed her locker closed, easily heading to her English class now that no one was in the hallways.

She reached the closed door that was her class, swinging the door open and instantly felt the eyes of her peers bore into her. She closed the door, her teacher giving her an unsatisfied look but clearly not surprised.

"Layla, you're late," her teacher stated the obvious and Layla resisted the urge to roll her eyes, hearing that sentence at least twice a day.

"I'm aware," she replied blandly, earning a scowl from her teacher.

"Take a seat," Miss Piler demanded and Layla didn't respond as she slid through the students, eyes pouring into her. She brushed their looks off, being used to it by now, "And take your hood off."

Miss P glared at Layla as she sat down in the back left of the classroom. With a sigh, she slid the hood off of her head, her hair still covering the headphone that was playing music at full volume in her ear. The lesson continued as per usual but Layla could feel someone looking at her as she stared at the wall blankly.

She turned her head to the right to see a pair of blue eyes staring at her from across the room. She instantly recognised the cocky smirk that was plastered on the brown-haired boy's face, rolling her eyes as she looked back to the wall in front of her.

"What are you looking at dude?" Chris whispered to his brother who was looking to his left before he spun around to face Chris again.

"What?" Matt whispered back and Chris leaned back, looking over his brother's shoulder at what he was looking at, realising he was looking at Layla.

"Why were you staring at her?" Chris questioned, keeping his voice low so that the teacher wouldn't scold them. Matt shrugged, a smirk still on his face as he looked back to whatever the teacher was writing on the whiteboard, hardly paying attention.

"Was just looking," Matt mumbled back, giving a vague answer. He heard all the rumours about Layla, how much bad news she was. He also heard all the rumours about himself, all of the lies that people conjured up to make him seem better than he was. He wondered if it was the same situation with Layla, if the rumours about her were lies people made up to make her seem worse than she was.

The rest of the class, his mind wandered to all the things he had heard about her, realising that he never paid much mind to her. That wasn't unusual for him, he never paid much mind to most people except his immediate friend group.

Layla sat in the corner, drumming her fingers against her desk to the beat of the songs that played in her ears as she scribbled random doodles on her paper. Since English was the one subject she found came to her easily, she spent it daydreaming. She wondered why Matt was staring at her, he had never paid any mind to her before.

She didn't want to let it bother her, people stared at her all the time at school. But for the most loved guy in the school to be staring at her, it felt weird. He only paid attention to his friends on his hockey team and the cheerleaders that were always neat and tidy with their hair and makeup done pristinely, their outfits put together and a tad bit revealing but never enough to get dress coded.

Before she knew it the bell rang loudly through the school, interrupting her thoughts and students lept out of their chairs, desperate to talk to their friends in the hallway before their next class. Layla followed behind her peers, always being the last one to leave the room and the last one to enter.

After doing her routine of trudging her way back to her locker, grabbing more books she needed for her next class and being told she was late, again, she realised she would have to continue this cycle until her lunch break which was at 5th period.

+++

Layla had finally made it to her lunch break without leaving the school and she decided that she would give up on her last classes of the day, her brain already half-fried from the math and social studies classes she had just endured. She pulled her bag out from her locker, throwing the heaping pile of math books back into her locker with a groan. She suddenly felt a presence next to her and she looked to her left to see none other than Matthew Sturniolo.

"Hi," he beamed at her, leaning against the locker beside hers as he crossed his arms, his letterman jacket rustling as he did so, "I'm Matt."

"I know," she blandly replied as she started placing the books that she needed to take home into her bag.

"You're Layla, right?" he asked, earning nothing but a quick glance at him from her deep brown eyes, "I don't think we've ever actually talked."

"I wonder why," she mumbled sarcastically, only driving Matt to talk to her more. She observed him from her peripheral vision, taking note of his brand new blue jeans and white air forces.

"What class do you have after this?" he asked, clearly wanting to keep the one-sided conversation going that she had no interest in. She slid the bag onto her shoulder, sliding her hood back on.

"None," the quick reply from her didn't stop the dark-haired boy's attempts to talk to her further.

"What do you mean?" he asked, pure confusion on his face as she slammed her locker closed, turning to face him with a deadpan look.

"As in, I'm leaving," she spoke slowly as if she were speaking to a child and Matt nodded, biting his lip so he could think of something to say before she left.

"Mind if I come with?" he asked hopefully and she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

Not thinking he was serious, she replied with, "Knock yourself out."

She began walking down the hallway, hearing the rattle of lockers behind her as she walked towards the exit with her squeaky old white high-top converses. By the time she reached the door, she heard a pair of footsteps jogging down the hallway and she turned around to see Matt holding his backpack on one shoulder with a smile still on his face. With a roll of her eyes, she opened the door and he followed behind her shortly.

[world-of-wales]

CATHERINE'S STYLE FILES - 2022

1 DECEMBER 2022 || The Princess of Wales visited Greentown Labs and Roca Inc in Chelsea along with the Prince of Wales in Boston on their second day while on a 3-Day Trip to the city for the 2022 Earthshot Awards.

Catherine was in -

Cranberry Blazer Jacket by Roland Mouret

'Axon' Side Zip Wide Leg Pants in Cranberry by Roland Mouret

Pussy Bow Blouse in Blush Pink

Gold and Diamond 'Maxi' Cupid Hoop Earrings by Daniella Draper

Burgundy Calfskin Boy Flap Bag with Enamel Handle from Chanel

'Gianvito 105' Pumps in Burgundy Suede from Gianvito Rossi

[puckgoss]

okay everyone… the deep dive you’ve all been very patiently waiting for… i recommend putting on the “the departed” “the godfather” or “goodfellas” soundtracks while reading this!

thanks to the anons who sent in info about all of this. huge thanks to the anon who was able to reveal some personal information about the family (from the same town).

when i got an ask saying sway’s gf’s family is (ex)-mafia i went looking for proof, and that sent me down a huge rabbit hole… 

IMPORTANT NOTE: this is currently under editing/review as i add/clarify further info

Links to Alessandra’s IG & Alessandra’s VSCO

Alessandra’s Background

Alessandra is 21 years old, turning 22 at some point this year (2002 birth year). She graduated high school in 2020 (source).

Alessandra’s family is from Leominster, Massachusetts. They lived there for many generations. Alessandra grew up in a home described as a “chateau” with horses and a dog. A picture of the house can be found below, up to you to decide whether it looks like a chateau or not. The town rumor is that they are ~7th Generation Italian Royalty. They used to vacation to their home on the coast of Puerto Rico during February vacation every year. They still go there often, as you can see on her social media accounts.

She now lives and works in the Northend of Boston. Her and her sister (Anina) are in the same big friend group and have both been described as nice, fun, private, and quiet. Her sister works as a “marketing intern” according to LinkedIn. Alessandra’s job is unknown. They and some of the Bruins players frequent Lincoln in Southie in Boston.

Alessandra has been dating Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman since ~Fall 2023. Apparently Alessandra and Jeremy are very cute together in public.

Salvatelli Family Background (Maternal Side)

Here is a family tree to help you visualize this:

Alessandra’s mother (Monique) and aunt (Toni) operate Paisano’s Pizza and Spirits, which they have done since 2019, although the business has been in the family for many years.

In 2007, the restaurant had their liquor license suspended for two days after finding its owner (Toni) hindered a police investigation. Here is an excerpt from the article, the link is here but it’s paywalled.

If you guys want to learn how to bypass hard paywalls on Google Chrome, let me know!

Essentially, Toni’s boyfriend got in a bar fight, and Toni (one of the owners) rushed him out the back door then did not comply with a police officer’s request later that night to give him the security video.

In 2023, the restaurant posted on their Instagram account congratulating Alessandra on running the Boston Marathon.

The restaurant is located in a hole in the wall strip mall and has mediocre reviews.

The article linked above mentions that Toni (and Monique) are the daughters of John Salvatelli, a former City Councillor. He and his brother Robert Salvatelli were both city councillors in Leominster for many years - Robert since at least 1999 and John since around the same time. In early 2005 Robert was voted in as City Council president, supported by his brother John.

Robert Salvatelli retired from this role in 2015. John was a City Councillor for 10 years. Previously, Robert was a teacher and principal at one of the town’s elementary schools.

Iacaboni Family Background (Paternal Side)

Note 1: Their surname is sometimes spelled Iacaboni, and sometimes spelled Iacoboni. I found articles using both spellings referring to the same people.

Note 2: David was Frank Sr.'s stepson. His mother is unknown.

1980s & 1990s

source

Frank Iacaboni Sr. was convicted of being a major player in a multimillion-dollar bookmaking ring.

He "has been paying tribute to the Mafia for years", according to law enforcement sources.

In the mid-1980s, Frank Iacaboni Sr. complained that convicted Boston mobsters Robert Carrozza and Dennis (Champagne) LePore ransacked his home and made off with an estimated $250,000, according to sources.

Police say Burton (Chico) Krantz, the region's preeminent bookmaker, mediated the dispute, in which Iacaboni agreed to pay his tribute without complaint, and the Boston Mafiosi agreed not to kill him.

1993

Sources say David Iacaboni, who was adopted by his stepfather, always resented his father's failure to acknowledge him. But they say, the Iacabonis apparently made some form of reconciliation several years ago when David Iacaboni returned from a brief stay in Florida. That rapprochement ended, however, when David Iacaboni and his wife, Lori, were indicted in 1993 for marijuana trafficking.

Sources say Frank Iacaboni tried to file criminal charges against David for allegedly selling a Corvette he had given to Frank. The elder Iacaboni had also blamed his son for a December 1993 fire at his home. No charges were ever filed, however. After David Iacaboni and his wife were sentenced to 10 years in prison last January, David Iacaboni approached US Attorney Donald K. Stern, offering to lead authorities to the body of Richard Tuttle Jr. in exchange for his wife being released. Stern agreed to the deal.

September 1995

A suspected prowler was killed and a police officer was seriously wounded outside of Frank (Alessandra’s grandfather’s) Iacaboni's house.

Frank’s son, David, who I believe is Alessandra’s paternal uncle, was convicted in the murder of a man in July 1995.

(source)

(source)

January 1996: (source)

FBI agents raided the home of convicted bookmaker Frank E. Iacaboni, shortly after the start of the Super Bowl. No arrests were made, but FBI agents, assisted by state and local police, confiscated some cash.

"It was a sad day for gamblers in Leominster," said one source, who asked not to be identified.

Iacaboni's ranch-style home at 640 Union St. was the scene of a bloody shootout in September after a man opened fire on two police officers who were investigating a complaint of a prowler.

Police sources have said the man may have been trying to steal gambling money from Iacaboni. The shooting is still under investigation by state police.

FBI spokesman Pete S. Ginieres said he could neither confirm nor deny Sunday's raid.

However, Leominster Police Capt. Thomas J. Bisol said local police helped FBI agents execute a search warrant at Iacaboni's house.

Bisol said other homes in the city were also searched. Bisol declined to provide any more details.

"This is an FBI matter," he said.

On Sept. 15 1995, two police officers were called to Iacaboni's house to respond to a call of a prowler outside the home.

Officers Dwayne Flowers and Thomas R. Kent found John J. MacNeil in the garage of the house. MacNeil, 47, charged at the two officers, firing from two hand guns.

MacNeil was killed by police after exchanging more than 26 rounds of gunfire. Kent, 32, who was shot in the chest by MacNeil, is still recovering from his injury.

Police sources at the time said they were investigating the possibility that MacNeil was sent to the house by Iacaboni's estranged son, David M. Iacaboni.

MacNeil was a cellmate of the younger Iacaboni at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility. Police sources said they were looking to see if David Iacaboni sent MacNeil to his father's house to steal gambling receipts, or to kill his father, or to do both.

The police sources said Frank Iacaboni was known to keep large amounts of cash in a safe inside his house.

Frank E. Iacaboni was one of 18 people arrested in 1983 on gaming charges as a result of a state police investigation into illegal gambling. He pleaded guilty to 21 counts of using a telephone for gaming and 13 counts of conspiracy to register bets. He was fined $4,250.

Wednesday, Jan 24 1996:

David Iacaboni was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison for killing Richard A. Tuttle Jr. of Lancaster in November 1989.

The younger Iacaboni pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Middlesex Superior Court in Cambridge. He told authorities he killed Tuttle during an argument about a drug sale.

2002-2008: Charges laid, legal documents, case notes

In March 2002, Frank Iacaboni pleaded guilty to charges arising out of his operation of an illegal gambling business.

From 1995 through March 1998, Iacaboni conducted an illegal sports gambling operation in and around Leominster, Massachusetts. Iacaboni's business included a few different "offices" headed by individuals hired to take bets from gamblers over the telephone. Iacaboni also ran a "football ticket" business; bettors paid between $1 and $10 per "ticket," a card on which they checked off four or more predictions in dozens of upcoming games.

Aug 13, 2002 - U.S. v. Iacaboni

Oct 21, 2002 - U.S. v. Iacoboni

Mar 30, 2004 - U.S. v. Iacaboni, other source

April 2005: Indictment handed down on charges of racketeering against 12 men

October 2008: Outline of the criminal case below

March 2009: (source) (source)

In March 2009, Arthur Gianelli, Dennis Albertelli and his wife Giselle, and Frank Iacaboni of Leominster (Alessandra's grandfather) were on trial in federal court for numerous crimes.

Mary Ann Gianelli pleaded guilty to 19 counts of racketeering, money laundering, filing false tax returns, and illegal structuring of cash transactions. Under a plea agreement, the federal government dropped an additional 141 money laundering counts against her.

Her husband was Mafia associate Arthur Gianelli. She helped him run his illegal gambling business after he was indicted on federal racketeering charges in 2005 and placed under house arrest.

Mary Ann Gianelli's sister, Elizabeth, is married to John J. Connolly. Connolly is a former FBI agent who was convicted of federal racketeering charges for protecting long-time informants James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi from prosecution. He was also convicted of murder in Florida in November 2008 for plotting with the two gangsters to orchestrate the 1982 slaying of a Boston businessman.

Arthur headed a sprawling criminal enterprise whose members were involved in gambling, money laundering, loan sharking, arson, and extortion. Him and his three co-defendents listed above, including Alessandra’s paternal grandfather Frank Iacaboni, committed hundreds of crimes between 1999 and 2005.

Millions of dollars flowed through the organization's gambling operation, which took bets on football games and later shifted its operation from Massachusetts to an Internet operation in Costa Rica. The organization also created phony companies to hide profits. Gianelli had ties to the Mafia, making weekly payments to reputed New England underboss Carmen "Cheese Man" DiNunzio.

Note: for more info on the Patriarca crime family (Carmen is now the boss), there are links at the end of the post under Appendix A.

One of the victim’s of this organized crime crew was Boston Bruins Hall of Fame goaltender Gerry Cheevers. He was threatened by a leg breaker for not repaying a loan.

Gianelli, Dennis Albertelli, and Frank Iacoboni were also charged with arson for allegedly plotting to burn down the Big Dog Sports Grille in North Reading in 2003 in an attempt to intimidate the owners into selling them another bar that they were poised to open in Lynnfield.

November 9, 2009: (source)

Frank Iacaboni was sentenced to 15 years and 3 months in federal prison and fined $10,000 for his role in a gambling and extortion ring.

He was sentenced in U.S. District Court on charges of racketeering conspiracy, extortion, use of fire to commit extortion, attempted arson of the Big Dog Sports Grille in Reading Nov. 13, 2003, and operating illegal sports and football card gambling businesses.

The Judge noted that he received 29 letters on Mr. Iacaboni’s behalf, including those from a state representative and a city councilor. Those two letters were from state Rep. Dennis A. Rosa and Ward 4 City Councilor Robert A. Salvatelli, both of Leominster. (Alessandra’s maternal great uncle!).

Summary of Findings

Alessandra’s maternal family is extremely powerful and well-connected in Leominster. They have held/still hold positions of power in schools, government, and local business. Her maternal great uncle vouched for her paternal grandfather when he was charged by the federal government for multiple crimes in association with the Mafia. Her paternal uncle was convicted for murdering a man in 1995.

Her maternal family owns the Paisano’s pizza "restaurant", but this is only the tip of the iceberg. It is very likely that their businesses are all fronts for money laundering, illegal gambling, tax evasion, and more. At the very least, her maternal family has been involved in trying to lessen the charges for her paternal family.

Hope you all enjoyed this deep dive ☕️

Appendix A

Patriarca / La Cosa Nostra Crime Family

The bosses of the Boston Mafia

Alleged Underboss of the New England Family of La Cosa Nostra Sentenced to Six Years in Prison

New England mafia underboss Carmen DiNunzio back on the streets

Old Patriarca Famiglia: The Cheeseman Cometh?

VIDEO: How The Mafia CONQUERED Boston | The Patriarca Family Part 1

VIDEO: How The Mafia CONQUERED Boston | The Patriarca Family Part 2

VIDEO: Current State of the Patriarca Crime Family

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Matt Bors’s “Justice Warriors: Vote Harder”

On SEPTEMBER 24th, I'll be speaking IN PERSON at the BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY!

There's no political satirist working today quite like Matt "Mr Gotcha" Bors, whose 2023 masterpiece Justice Warriors just got a timely – and brutally funny – sequel, Justice Warriors: Vote Harder:

https://www.mattbors.com/store/p/justice-warriors-ffzgn

You've doubtless seen Matt Bors's work, which has repeatedly attained viral liftoff, most notably with his Mr Gotcha strips, easily one of the most useful additions to online political debate in internet history:

https://thenib.com/mister-gotcha/

Last year, Bors, along with Ben Clarkson and Felipe Sobreiro, published Justice Warriors, a postapocalyptic cyberpunk graphic novel in the vein of Warren Ellis's classic Transmetropolitan:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/22/libras-assemble/#the-uz

Justice Warriors is the tale of Bubble City, a domed enclave walled off from the teeming masses of the UZ (which stands for "Uninhabited Zone" – see what they did there?). Bubble City runs on vibes, therapy-speak, social media nonsense, memes and garbage hot-takes. And while there's a lot of broad satire here, the thing that makes Justice Warriors stand out is how its creators do the relatively straightforward futuristic exercise of asking themselves, "What if deeply unserious nonsense was taken seriously?"

Others have done this before – Mike Judge's Idiocracy, say – but Bors, Clarkson and Sobreiro attain a density of sight gags, trenchant wordplay, and outrageous cyberpunk imagery that is just next level. Think Al Jaffee meets William Gibson, with art direction by Vaughn Bode, who's had one too many at the Mos Eisley Cantina. To that, mix in all kinds of MAD Magazine style fake ads and social media postings, layering joke on gag, all of it walking the fine line between "you gotta cry" and "you gotta laugh."

Justice Warriors did big numbers, selling out three printings, and now the gang is back together for the sequel, Vote Harder, which drops just in time for the final, all consuming election-season media apocalypse.

Vote Harder sees Bubble City facing its first election in living memory, as the mayor – who inherited his position from his "powerful, strapping Papa" – loses a confidence vote by the city's trustees. They're upset with his plan to bankrupt the city in order to buy a laser powerful enough to carve his likeness into the sun as a viral stunt for the launch of his comeback album. The trustees are in no way mollified by the fact that he expects to make a lot of money selling special branded sunglasses that allow Bubble City (and the mutant hordes of the Uninhabited Zone) to safely look into the sun and see what their tax dollars bought.

So it's time for an election, and the two candidates are going hard: there's the incumbent Mayor Prince; there's his half-sister and ex-girlfriend, Stufina Vipix XII, and there's a dark-horse candidate Flauf Tanko, a mutant-tank cyborg that went rogue after a militant Home Owners Association disabled it and its owners abandoned it. Flauf-Tanko is determined to give the masses of the Uninhabited Zone the representation they've been denied for so long, despite the structural impediments to this (UZers need to complete a questionnaire, sub-forms, have three forms of ID, and present a rental contract, drivers license, work permit and breeding license. They also need to get their paperwork signed in person at a VERI-VOTE location, then wait 14 days to get their voter IDs by mail. Also, districts of 2 million or more mutants are allocated the equivalent of only 250,000 votes, but only if 51% of eligible voters show up to the polls; otherwise, their votes are parceled out to other candidates per the terms of the Undervoting and Apathy Allotment Act).

Despite the structural advantages afforded to Mayor Prince – like the fact that residents of District 12 on floors 120-145 of the Bubble each get 2048 votes, while District 1 (floors 1-7) only get a single vote – he's not taking any chances. Officer Schitt (a humanoid poop emoji) and the lovelorn Officer Swamp (an anthropomorphic catfish) are each prowling the Uz . Swamp – suffering from a head injury and gripped by a delusion that a TV cowboy has sent him to infiltrate the Flauf Tanko campaign – is playing spy/provocateur, while Schitt hunts dangerous subversives.

What unfolds is a funny, bitter, superb piece of political satire that could not be better timed.

The paperback edition of The Lost Cause, my nationally bestselling, hopeful solarpunk novel is out this month!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/09/11/uninhabited-zone/#eremption-season

[princessdimondheart]

💀COD: Modern Warfare II Masterlist💀

🚫No Requests🚫

🔖 Taglist

Guide:

🔪- violence | 😭- angst | 🔥- NSFW 18+ MDI | 🥺- fluff

Note: Posts irregular. Any x Reader posts are usually female unless marked otherwise. All character headers are created by myself so please don't use without permission. I DO NOT give permission to repost on other sites, translate or otherwise copy/plagiarize any of my works. Thank you.

Last Update: 4/20/2024 USA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~☽⭐︎☾~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Task Force 141

That Time of the Month | TF-141 x Reader | Oneshot | 🥺

➖ Reader gets her period.

It’s The Dog | Ghost x f! OC | 🔪😭🔥🥺

➖A Ghost and a woman and a dog…. What could go wrong?

Prologue | Ch.1 | Ch.2 | Ch.3 | Ch.4 | Ch.5 [Soon]

Hot Tamales | Ghost x Canis + TF-141 + Los Vaqueros | Oneshot | 🥺

➖ Canis is homesick so she makes everyone some tamales. The team loves them.

Interlude: It’s The Puppy | Canis + Riley | Oneshot | 🥺 [Soon] ➖ The time Riley came into Canis’ life.

Tells | Ghost x Secret Wife! Reader | Oneshot | 🥺

➖Johnny meets his L.t.’s wife after realizing that he should have known about her long ago. 

Friendly Ghosts in the Shadows | Ghost x Reader | Oneshot | 🔪 🥺

➖Reader runs into Task Force 141, after they completed their mission, under not so good circumstances. Ghost is intimidating to certain people and he walks her home.

Until I Found You | Ghost x Reader | Oneshot | (Soon)

➖(Summary soon, in process of writing)

The Twins | Ghost x Reader | Oneshot | 🔪😭🥺

➖Ghost meets the children he never knew he had… but in the worst case scenario.

Rave | Gaz x Reader | Oneshot | 🔥😭

➖How Kyle met the love of his life while covered in holo glitter.

Sea of Cortéz | Price x Daughter! Reader x OC | Oneshot/Series TBD | 🔪😭

➖While John conversed a lot with his daughter through text, the last time Price physically saw his daughter was several years ago. The Captain learns that his daughter isn’t who he thought she was. Now just who the hell was on the other side of that damn phone?

Ch.1 | Ch.2 | Ch.3 | Ch.?

Incorrect MWII Quotes:

1 - Ovulating | Ghost x Reader

2 - Proposal | Soap x Reader

3 - Pink Mug | Ghost x Reader

4 - Your Son | Ghost x Reader + Soap

5 - Dress Up | Ghost x Reader + TF 141 + Shepherd

6 - Pspsps | König x Reader

7 - Baby Knife | Ghost x Reader + Baby #2

8 - Section 8 | Canis (It’s The Dog) + Riley + Instructors

9 - Wake Up~ | Ghost x Reader + Soap | Video

10 - Bloody Carpet | Price + Teen! Reader + Mrs. Price

11 - He Don’t Bite | Canis + Riley + AQ Member

12 - Like a Tree | König x Reader

13 - .exe | Ghost x Pregnant! Reader

14 - Kabedon | König x Reader

15 - Happy Birthday | Ghost x Reader + TF-141

16 - Boston Tea Party | TF-141 + Reader

17 - Cucaracha | Roach x Reader

18 - Burn Them Off | Soap x Reader

19 - Period. | TF-141 + Reader + Dumb Privates

20 - Boobs | Ghost x Reader

21 - Double. D. | TF-141

22 - Bed Sheets | TF-141 + Reader | Halloween

23 - Sunset | Soap x Reader

24 - Turducken | TF-141 + Reader | Thanksgiving

25 - GRADUATION | Ghost x Reader + TF-141

26 - New Year | TF-141

27 - Valentine’s Day | TF-141 + Reader

[gretavangroupie]

Vigilance (Chapter 22 Part 2)

Word count: 18.7k

Pairings: Jake x Reader, Sam x OC

Warnings: Alcohol, Cursing, Dramatic Themes. Angst Including: Talks of Infidelity, Toxic Themes, Stalking, Arguing, Yelling, Extreme Portrayal of Sadness, Crying, Abandonment, Heartbreak, Talks of Illness, Extreme Illness, Hospitalization, Talks of Death and Dying, Domestic Violence, Domestic Abuse, Verbal Abuse, Physical Violence. Talks of Pregnancy, Pregnancy Complications, Pregnancy Loss/Termination. Smut Including: Kissing, Touching, Fingering, Oral F!Receiving, Oral M!Receiving, Penetration, Rough Sex, Voyeurism. Fluff.

This story is a collaboration with my best pal @gretavanmoon.

SAM POV

“Is there a faster setting for these windshield wipers? Cause these things are shit.” You asked Elle as you pulled into the tiny neighborhood in Cape Cod, peering through the thick falling raindrops to see if any of the buildings looked like the one in the Air BnB photos. You’d flown into Boston and rented a car, the perfect small-town birthday getaway, all planned by your lovely Elle. 

“Oh, there it is, babe! That one on the corner. It says we can park on the street.” Elle said, pulling on the rain boots she’d ditched the minute you got in the car. 

You pulled the car up as closely as you could to the front door of the tiny old house, situated perfectly on a row of about ten others that looked just the same. “It’s so cute!” Elle muttered.

“I can’t even see it, it’s raining so hard!” You yelled over the loud drops pounding on the sunroof. “Let’s wait a second while it calms down before we take everything inside.” 

“Mmm…okay.” She complained. 

“So anxious to get inside, babe…?” You said, running your hand over the back of her head. 

“Maybe. Yes. I’ve just planned this so quickly in the last few days, thinking we were gonna be out on the road instead of getting to do something special. I just can’t believe we actually made it, is all.” She leaned back into your touch, calming her jittery and excited nerves. 

You offered her a smile. “I’m excited too, babe. I can’t believe we made it either, honestly. And thank you, for planning this. You’re the best.” You sighed, watching as the rain let up a bit. “We should be soundchecking right now.”

“I’m sorry, love. I know you’d rather be out there playing.” She relented. 

“No, no. Not rather. Not rather at all. It’s just you get yourself in this mindset to go and do something like that, it takes a long time to get yourself there. Then it just stops. But it’s okay, shit happens. Jake needs to heal more than anything. Top priority.” You said, giving her a little smile. 

“Yes. Top priority. He will be okay, babe. Just needs some time.” She said, clicking the toes of her boots together. “Ready to go in now?”

——

You’d spent the afternoon making yourselves at home in the little house, a quaint place right on the water. The air still had a wintery feeling, but it didn’t stop the place from slowing down. You’d decided to take a walk down into town once the rain turned to a drizzle, seeing what all you could find in your short stay. It was straight out of a Hallmark movie; Main Street still bustled with people and tourists even this time of year. 

You picked out a few spots you wanted to come back and visit, making mental note to remember them. Restaurants, record stores, gift shops…everything you needed in one little place. 

It had gotten fairly late, and after a tiny takeout dinner, you had retreated to the oversized couch to watch a movie as you both let the jet lag set in. 

“So tomorrow. Your birthday. You pick what we do, the whole day.” Elle said as the two of you cuddled up under a blanket when the movie was over.  

“The whole day?” You said, scratching your peach fuzz. 

“Yep. Morning into night.” 

You picked her legs up from the floor and brought them to rest in your lap, massaging her muscles. “Hmm, well I think we should start off taking a shower, and you can wash my hair with that smelly-good stuff you have…” you let your hand travel up her leg, fingers digging into her thigh. 

“Then we can walk down to that Bread & Roses place and get coffee…then spend the day just exploring, maybe go out on the boat and see the humpbacks…” your hand ghosted over the hem of her sweatpants, fingers slipping in just barely as she let her eyes bore into yours. 

“Mmmhm, then what?” She said. 

“Then we can come back and get ready for dinner, you can put on that sexy black dress I saw you put in your suitcase…” your hand snuck below her waistline now, hand grazing over her heat. She smirked hard. 

“You saw that, huh?” She asked, clicking her tongue. “That was supposed to be a surprise, Sammy.”

“It still will be, baby. You never cease to surprise me. So then we can go get some seafood, and drink too much wine…” you watched as she began to lose composure at your touch, as you slipped a digit between her folds. 

“Way too much wine…” she breathed, arching her back just a little. 

“Wayyy too much…” you agreed, allowing your hand to go to work as you maintained eye contact. 

“Then we can cuddle up right back here again, and do this again…and again and again…” you slipped your middle finger inside her as her legs fell open under the blanket, and her jaw fell slack. 

You sat still, half of you wanting to grab her and take her into the bedroom, the other half wanting to sit here and undo her, with her completely at your will. 

You watched as her hands stayed under the blanket, gripping your thigh underneath you. Her face was contorting into beautiful and blissed-out expressions as you worked, hooking your finger slowly deep inside her. “Again and again?” She panted. 

“Uh huh, as many times as you want…” you replied, moving your thumb to make tiny swirls on her sweet spot. 

“How’s that feel, baby? Feel good?” You asked her, voice low and gravely against the sound of the rain picking back up again. 

“Yeah, feels so good…”  she moaned a high pitched sound, letting you know she was enjoying herself. “But Sammy, it’s your birthday. You should be the one getting all the special treatment.”

“Eh, yeah maybe. But watching you like this…it’s it’s own special kind.” You began moving your pace a bit faster, adding another finger inside her. 

Her head tilted back as her hands gripped your leg harder, completely falling apart right here on your lap. She hummed and gasped for air, her knees opening and closing over and over. 

"Sammy, please…keep goi-"

 “We’ve got three whole days for you to treat me, baby. Right? You gonna do that for me later, too?” 

She nodded hard as her hips began to grind up into your hand. “Of course I will baby. Whatever you want. It’s all yours...” She brought her eyes to yours again, giving you a look that came straight from another world. God this woman…

You brought your face closer to hers, gritting your teeth. “You know what I want right now, Eleanor…go ahead and give it to me…” you growled in her ear. 

Seconds later she was coming undone at your words, riding out her high as you continued to move your hand in and out of her, mouthfuls of pitiful words falling from her lips. You swear you could never get enough of her like that, and you weren’t sure you would ever get tired of it. Even if you got nothing in return, just watching her fall apart at your mercy was enough. 

“Fuck Sam, that was…a welcome surprise.” She laughed, letting her arm fall over her eyes. “I like the idea of us just doing that kind of thing over and over and over again..” She sat up a bit, wrapping her arms around your neck. “What time is it?” 

You clicked your phone screen on the table. “11:49.” 

“Close enough.” She popped out from under the blanket, and dashed into the bedroom and then into the kitchen. You heard the refrigerator door open and close, and a few seconds later she was coming back into the room with a plate, with a lit candle sticking out of something on the top. 

“Happy birthday to Sammy, happy birthday toooooo Sammy…” she sang, a giant smile on her face as she held her hand in front of the flame while she walked. She set the plate down in front of you. “Make a wish, silly!” She beamed. 

You smiled hard at her, rubbing your hands together as you closed your eyes, making a scene out of making your wish. 

For the love of all that is holy, please let this discussion I’m about to have with Elle go smoothly, please don’t let her leave me, and please help her to know that she’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me…

You opened your eyes, and blew out the candle. She clapped her hands and took the candle out, bringing the plate up in front of your face. You could hardly make out what it was in the dim light of the room. 

“That smells amazing, what is that?” You asked. 

“My granny’s old recipe for homemade cinnamon rolls!” She answered, running her finger along the top of it, taking some icing and licking it off. 

“When did you make these?!” You asked. 

“When you were out running errands the other day. Here, try some…” she handed you a fork and you both dug in. 

“Holy shit, Elle. That’s the best fuckin thing I’ve ever eaten. Please marry me tomorrow.” You said with a full mouth. 

She blushed hard. “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach!” She laughed, sitting back onto the couch and covering herself with the blanket. You placed the plate back on the table, and laid back with her. 

You were trying your damnedest to find the right time to talk to her, tell her what you’d done. You knew it wasn’t going to be pretty, and you absolutely expected the worst. You deserved anything she threw your way, and you’d prepared yourself for her to pack her things and leave when you got back home.

But for right now, her yawns were becoming more and more frequent. And you decided it could wait until tomorrow. For now, you’d let yourself enjoy the peace of her presence, just for a little while longer. 

“Happy birthday, Sammy.” She said as she gave you the sweetest look, adoration filling her to the brim. It hurt your heart, to know that tomorrow you’d probably be breaking hers. 

——

The next morning you and Elle walked hand in hand along the beach, picking up shells as you sipped your coffees. It was chilly and breezy, and the beach wasn’t too crowded just yet. There was more rain in the forecast though, calling for heavy showers and colder temperatures all night. 

“Oh my god babe, look!” You suddenly called out, picking a shell up from the sand and bringing it over to her. “It’s abalone! This is my favorite shell!”

You both examined it, cleaning off the bits of sand to let the iridescent rainbow colors shine through. 

“Guidance.” Elle said. 

“What?” 

“These symbolize guidance, within like, relationships and love.” She went on, giving you a tiny sweet smile. “Are you looking for guidance with something, Sammy?”

Uh, fuck. Yeah, kinda. Wow. 

You shrugged, gulping down a hard swallow. “Guess it’s always cool to have a little extra help from the…ocean, hah.”

Elle giggled. “So how does 23 feel?” She asked, pushing her heavy waves behind her ear. The oversized sweater she had on was draping over her shoulder, sitting perfectly on her tiny frame. 

“Feels like 22 but cooler.” You answered, kicking through the icy water, sticking the abalone in your pocket. “How is 24?”

“It’s the best year I’ve had yet.” She smiled, always being the glass half-full type of person. 

“It has been a good year, hasn’t it?” You answered. “Except for, well, our most recent bummer. Hopefully this doesn’t set the pace for the rest of tour…”

“I hope not.” Elle went on. “You wanna walk down to the pier and get a sandwich or something?” 

The two of you made your way to get lunch, stopping at little gift shops along the way. You’d ended up underneath the pier after you ate, the air slowly getting cooler as a drizzle blew in. Elle was standing next to one of the pier beams, looking at all the clusters of barnacles stuck to the sides. 

“Elle sells sea shellllls…” you sang as you approached her. “Ew, that’s gross. What are all these things?” You asked, flicking away at some of the crusty old growths. 

“Don’t take them off! They’ll die if you remove them!” Elle swatted your hand away. 

“Shit, my bad.” You hopped back, hands up in surrender. 

“Look, babe…” she pulled her arm in front of her, gently grabbing a tiny shell from the cluster. “Ammonite…” she said, bringing it close to her face. 

“Well great, now it’s gonna die!” You complained. 

“No, this isn’t a barnacle, dummy. It’s an ammonite shell. Do you know how rare these are? And look, it’s opalized…” She said quietly, the wind blowing her hair in front of her face. 

“No, I don’t guess… how do you know all this stuff?” You inquired, truly impressed that she did. “You didn’t even grow up near the ocean…”

“I know a lot of cool things, Sammy.” She said blankly, still closely inspecting the perfect spiral shell, in pure awe that she found it. 

“Why don’t you keep it? I can make you a necklace or something out of it.” You suggested. 

“Really? Can you?” She said, finally smiling. 

“Sure. Couldn’t be too hard. Little dremel action. I’ll figure it out.” You promised her. You knew you’d give her anything in the world if it meant she’d give you that sweet smile again. 

“I’ll wear it every single day. Never take it off.” She said, slipping it in her coat pocket for safe keeping. 

“And what does the mighty ammonite shell symbolize, oh Wise Knower of All Things Ocean?” You teased. 

She rolled her eyes and laughed again. “Change. Just, change.”

——

The rain was falling heavier now, as you and Elle munched on your seafood takeout, opting to stay in with your dinner and wine instead of going out. She’d set the table nicely, lit candles and transferred all the food from the to-go boxes onto nice plates. You cracked a few windows, letting the smell of the rain mixed with the ocean air blow in slightly through the house. You were nearing the bottom of your first bottle of Chardonnay, fully intending on starting the second bottle the minute it was empty. 

“Babe, you didn’t have to put the sexy black dress on, I was just kidding.” You joked. 

She scoffed. “Of course I did, it’s your birthday. Gotta wine you, dine you, and give you a show. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t?” 

You giggled. “I’m also glad you got oysters. You know what they say abou-”

“Sam. We all know. You say it every single time we eat oysters…” she rolled her eyes as she sipped her wine. 

“What? No I don’t, it’s true though…” you defended yourself. 

“I know it is.” She sighed. “That’s why I ordered them.” 

“That’s my girl…” you gave her a flirty and devilish laugh. “You’re already killing me in that dress, it’s…truly something. Hope these oysters work their fuckin’ magic…” you said. 

She stood from the table, swishing her hips from side to side, knowing she was giving you a show. “All finished, Samuel?” She asked in a sultry voice  as she leaned down low, putting her boobs in your face as she took your plate. 

“Yes…all done…” you were quickly falling into her trap, getting more turned on with every passing second just by watching her.

“I’ll do the dishes later, we’ve got other things to attend to, hm?” She said, walking back over and straddling you in the chair. She brushed your hair back, hands wrapped around your face as she took you in. Finally she connected her lips to yours, brushing her wine-soaked tongue into your mouth. Her hands wrapped around your head and your neck as she started kissing you harder, giving you immediate indication of exactly what she wanted. God, you were already so turned on, but, you were also bursting at the seams to tell her. You had to talk to her, right now.

You pulled away quickly. “Stop. Elle, stop.”

“What, babe? What’s wrong?” She said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. 

You began to stand the two of you up, hand in hand, walking to the couch to grab the blanket and lead her into the sunroom. The wall was nothing but big windows, a perfect view of the now stormy waves blowing up onto the beach. There was another giant couch in here, plush and white and covered with pillows. You sat down, motioning for her to join you. 

She sat, and you threw the big blanket across you again. “What is it, Sam? You’re scaring me. Is something wrong?”

“No. Well, yes. Yeah, actually.” You took a breath as you took her hands under the blanket, preparing yourself for the storm that was about to hit. The guilt was eating you alive. 

“Elle, you know I love you more than anything, anything in the entire world, right?” You prefaced, looking her directly in the eyes. 

“Yeah, I know. God Sam, what? What is it?” She asked, anxiety setting in. 

“Just let me…” you huffed, running a hand over your face. “That night, in Vegas. I, uh. I did something really bad, Elle.” You felt a lump form in your throat, watching as her eyes filled with dread. 

“After Jake left, and you got sick and went to sleep, um. Y/N and I went to smoke, and…things kind of…”

“No, Sam. No…don’t…” she said, letting go of your hands. 

You stayed steadfast in your confession. “We hooked up, Elle. Behind your backs. I did it, and…I have no excuse at all. It just… happened. And we both had immediate, immediate regret. It was the most stupid decision I’ve ever made in my life, Elle. And I can never take it back. I will never forgive myself, ever. You don’t deserve that, you never did. And I put our relationship in jeopardy. After everything we built. And I’m so, so sorry baby.” You began to cry a little, seeing the look on her face. She stayed silent. 

“I’m so sorry. I should have told you immediately after it happened. But I’m stupid, I guess. I don’t expect you to forgive me. Hell, ever. But I just… wanted to tell you. I couldn’t lie to you any more.” You bit your lips together as the tears fell. You felt relief, but not the good kind. 

After a few seconds of hell, she finally spoke. “Does Jake know?”

You nodded. “Yeah, he knew the night it happened. I’m so sorry Elle. They both begged me to tell you, even threatened to do it themselves. But I made them promise me they wouldn’t. It had to come from me.”

"So you lied to me, all that time. All the times we had sex…you told me you loved me, you…” she shook her head, standing from the couch. “You lied to me, Sam. For a good while, why did you-"

“I’m so sorry Elle. Yes I did, I lied to you. And I…I don’t know why I did. I guess I just, everything with Jake happened so fast, and it was so scary, and I was in a weird headspace with that, and worrying about him. And then tour got postponed, I just– I should have told you. As soon as it happened. And I apologize for making that horrible decision. It was thoughtless, Elle. And you don’t deserve that. Neither does Jake.”

She shook her head, letting everything hit her as she sat back down on the other end of the couch. She wiped away a few stray tears. “I think I need a minute. Can you…”

“Yes. Whatever you need. Just, come back to me, soon. Please Elle. Please don’t leave.” You begged, walking slowly to her and holding out your hand. She didn’t grab it. She looked away, pulling a pillow from the stack and curling her body around it, looking out the windows as the rain pounded. 

Fuck. 

What now? 

You retreated back into the kitchen, blowing out the candles and closing the windows. You kept your mind distracted and your hands occupied, cleaning up the table and doing the dishes. You cleaned the entire kitchen, wiped down the counters and even scrubbed the sink. 

She just needs a minute. Just needs some time. 

After you cleaned until there was not a thing out of place, you grabbed your acoustic from the case in the bedroom, sitting back on the couch in the living room to play a little, hoping it’d bring you some solace. 

What came out first was the Age of Machine riff that you wrote so long ago, on a rainy day just like this one. You remembered the day you played it for Jake, thinking it was just going to be something he brushed off. 

“Wait, wait…what was that? Do that again.”

“That’s fuckin' scary, Sam. God damn…let’s keep going with it.”

Your fingers plucked away as your mind raced over what had just happened. Was she crying? Should you go in there?  Then it hit you, her favorite song. 

You began to strum the first few chords of Anthem, hoping she’d hear and come back in and be ready to talk. You hummed along, remembering again when you all wrote it. How simple it was. No frills, nothing fancy. Just good guitar, simple percussion, and really powerful lyrics. 

You played for a long while, moving then into something else entirely, big foreboding bellowing sounds then tight and cheery ones, letting the thoughts running through your mind come out through your hands. Darkness fell completely in the house, and you started to worry about Elle, and if she would ever come back. 

“Sammy.” You finally heard. You popped up, turning around on the couch to face her. 

She walked over slowly, eyes puffy and red and face swollen with tears. She sat carefully on the edge of the couch as you sat up, wanting nothing more than to console her. 

“I was going to sleep with Jake that night.” She said finally. 

“Uh, yeah? You…you were?” You were caught off guard, knowing that that night had gotten really wild really fast; you knew that while you were busy with Y/N, Jake and Elle were entertaining themselves. You remembered though, not harboring much feeling about it. 

“Yes. We talked about it. We were going to…because we assumed you guys were going to, too. Well, at least I assumed…” she scooted a little closer to you as you listened. “Jake and I were…very close that night. And I even texted him and apologized for coming on too strong. But, then Josh called, and I got sick…” 

“Yeah, yeah baby that’s exactly how it went. And that’s when I made my decision.” You answered. 

“Sam, stop.” She shook her head. “I’m not mad at you, really. I’m… very disappointed. That you lied. Y/N too. My best friend, your best friend.” You nodded. “But that night was so crazy, so uninhibited, we were all, all over the place…I’m sure you were all surprised at me and Y/N taking things where we did, and that’s something else I never really talked to you about. We never…none of us ever talked it through. I guess I know why now…”

“Jake, was he…?” She asked. 

“Pissed? Yeah, unbelievably so. Elle, they aren’t together anymore. They’ve been broken up for about a month. Well, since that night. They’ve been lying to us all to keep morale up, keep things normal. But, yeah. They broke up.” You explained. 

“What?” She said. “No, fuck! God, Sam. What on earth…”

You nodded, feeling sad for them, too. 

“When I texted Jake to apologize, he didn’t tell me that. He barely even remembered he and I being so…close. Sam, if things hadn’t gotten stopped, I was…” she caught her words, shaking her head as she tried to speak. “I was going to ask your permission. I was going to see if you were going to be with Y/N. Because I was going to be with Jake.”

Hm. Okay, well. This conversation wasn’t on your bingo card for the night of your 23rd birthday. 

You leaned back on the couch. “What a fucked up situation.” You relented. “But, you aren’t mad at me? How is that even right, Elle? I cheated on you.”

“Yeah, you did. And fuck you for that, truly.” 

Deserved that. 

“Absolutely, yes. Keep cussing me out. Fight me, slap me if you want. Catch a plane and leave, go back home and pack your things, I get it. I deserve that, because I don’t deserve you, and your heart, Elle. Your big, beautiful, smart, intense and over caring heart. You’re a million times the person that I could even think about being. Just when I think I have shit figured out, you always come and knock me on my ass with something better. You make me want to be better, Elle. All the time.”

“When I’m challenged with something, anything at all, I literally ask myself, ‘What would Elle do?’ I swear to god I do that at least once a day. You inspire the ever living fuck out of me. You make me laugh, because you’re always so unapologetic about being your pure self. When you left, that first time, I swear I didn’t know how I was going to make it. You disappeared, and I was lost for so long, Elle. And when you came back, god, it was like I was whole again.” 

You held your head in your hands, listening as a low roll of thunder rumbled in the distance. You thought about Y/N, and how for the longest time, both of them took up space in your mind. Your feelings for them were the same, in love with two people at once. But then, out of nowhere, it hit you. 

You moved to Elle, taking her hands in yours. “When I picture my future, when I’m older and we slow down, or whatever. It’s always you there with me. It always has been. Watching Jake in that hospital bed, and watching him fight to breathe as they took him away, his face turning blue and purple as he reached for me, it kinda. Ah, it…” You felt tears beginning to come, now. You hadn’t told Elle about that yet. She squeezed your hands again as you pinched the bridge if your nose, pushing that visual away. 

“I watched him go through something that I should have never seen, Elle. It kinda made me realize what’s important in life, cheesy as that sounds. And later he told me that he saw nothing but Y/N’s face as he was blacking out. It made me start thinking…” you were crying hard now. “If that were me, I would see your face. I’d want to see yours. The last person I’d think about, it would be you.”

She sighed deeply as she dried your tears. “Sammy, babe…”

“I love you, Elle. Way too much. So much that it scares me, sometimes. Because…I don’t know what to do with my emotions. You make me feel a way that I’ve never ever felt before. And it’s terrifying. And I run from it. I don’t know why, but I do. Maybe that’s why I made the decision that I did that night. Because I still didn’t want to admit it to myself.”

“Admit what, Sam?”

You took her chin in your hand, bringing your face close to hers. 

“That I meant what I said when I was eating that cinnamon roll last night.” You said nervously, every nerve ending in your body on fire. 

Finally, finally, she laughed. Rolled her body back on to the couch and laughed. In absolute stitches.

 “I’m not marrying you tomorrow, Sam.”

You giggled at her display, feeling like three million pounds had been lifted from your body. You chased her, laying over top of her on the couch, bringing your faces close together as she brought you into her embrace. 

“No, not tomorrow…”

——

The storm had intensified, thunder and lightning coming every minute now. You and Elle had spent the last half hour curled up with each other, doing nothing at all but being intimate. Talking, laughing, apologizing and explaining…you let more secrets be shared with her that night than you had ever shared with her before. You got down into the roots of some things, telling her detailed stories and experiences, and letting her know how much you cared for her. 

It felt like you had reconnected with her on a cellular level, somehow, and you were thanking your lucky stars that she even was letting you sit with her. It was definitely not how you saw your night going when all of this began. Maybe blowing out that candle really worked. 

“Can I kiss you, Elle?”

The very fiber of your being felt like it had been reset, all the reasons you loved her flowing back through your body like a flooding river. The way she kissed you back, the way she touched you, felt like the very first time. You didn’t deserve this…

“I’m nervous, for some reason…”

You picked her up and carried her slowly to the bedroom, never disconnecting from her lips the entire way. You laid her gently on the old mattress, the iron bed frame squeaking as she fell. She still had her black dress on; it accentuated her curves so perfectly and was cut right at her mid thigh…she slid one strap down, pulling it to sit low on her shoulder, before pulling the whole dress down and off, revealing her black lace set. She made intense eye contact with you, bringing her knees toward her chin as she reclined on her elbows.

“Stop giving me those eyes, Eleanor…you know I can’t say no when you do that…”

“Then don’t tell me no…”

You reached down and took your boxers off, letting them fall to the floor as you inched yourself toward her on the bed. You were positively dizzy, the feeling of her skin on yours igniting you into a fire that blazed differently than it ever had before. Her mouth connected to yours in such a way that felt like you were bonded together, feeling every tiny touch and movement as if it were magnified. You were still anxious, nervous for some reason. Like you were about to sleep with her for the very first time. But she comforted you, kissed your sweet spots, walked you through learning her body again. 

“Don’t be nervous, Sammy. It’s just me…it’s okay…”

“I know, baby..but the way you touch me sometimes…god.. I swear I could love you all day, and all night for the next hundred years and I’d still never get tired of you…”

It was something brand new. She pushed you back into the pile of pillows, crawled over top of you and flipped herself around with her back to you as she straddled your lap. What a fucking view. She leaned down and connected her sweet mouth to you, licking and pulling and pushing, hands in a soft fury to prepare you for her. Your hands reached down and pulled at her hair, directing her throat to be just where you needed her without forcing her…in and out…her mouth was pure euphoria..hot and wet euphoria. 

“You not gonna touch me, Sam?”

Her free hand reached back and ran a finger along the lace barely covering her ass, pulling it to one side as she invited you to touch her. You pulled it more to one side, and her back arched hard for you, revealing her dripping entrance as she continued to close her throat around you. You brought your hand to her, feeling her wetness soak your fingers. “Mmhm…” she hummed around you, causing your dick to jump in her mouth. “Keep feeling me Sam, keep touching me like that…”

The visual was insane, the lightning like camera flashes into the room, each time burning the erotic images into your mind. Your fingers were working her, deep and slow as she hummed her lips around you, bringing you closer and closer…you were sure you’d never felt her like this ever before. 

“So gorgeous, my Eleanor…your mouth feels so fucking good baby…”

She arched more for you as her mouth popped hard off the top of your dick, the loss of contact almost bringing tears to your eyes. “Need you to fuck me into this mattress, Sam. Can you break my back, baby?”

You were putty. Melting and running all over the place. You pulled her back, disconnecting her mouth from you as you brought your tongue to her entrance, suddenly feeling the need to taste her. So fucking delicious. You let your tongue delve into her as far as it could go, reaching into her as she pushed herself backwards onto your face. 

“Fuck, Sammy…yeah…” 

She was whining as you ate her, flipping and flitting your tongue into her as the thunder rolled louder now. Right as you felt her body begin to shake, you repositioned yourself, standing high on your knees behind her as you pulled her panties to the side again, ripping them just a tad in the process. You teased her, the head of your dick begging to push all the way into her, fill her up with everything you had. 

“Do it, Sammy please…I can’t wait any longer, fuck…”

She buried her head in the bed, her hands reaching into her hair to grasp it. “Huh uh, my job…” you fisted her hair, tightening it around your hand and pulling her head back slowly, but forcefully as you slowly entered her. Thick and sticky and so ready for you, she felt like heaven. Her sounds alone were enough to get you there, so you pulled back harder. “Arch it for me baby, I know you can do it…” 

Her body was at an almost 90 degree angle as you fucked slowly and languidly into her, pushing as deeply as you could go, one hand tangled in her hair and the other pulling on her hip…giving you leverage to move her into just the right spot. She spread her legs a little, lowering herself into the bed a bit more, and allowing her to fuck back into you. 

You both were moving slowly, her body dipping low with each thrust and meeting you perfectly as you hit her g spot. “Don’t fucking stop, Sam…right…fucking…there…” she was whining, mewling and purring sounds into the air. 

“You want it harder, baby? Think you can take it?” You asked as she nodded. The thunder was clapping now as her asscheeks hit your thighs repeatedly, her muscles flowing like shockwaves with each hit. 

You pulled yourself out, earning a groan of displease from her. Hand still tangled in her hair, you stood from the bed and pulled her along with you, walking her to the wall by the bed. You gently pushed her against it, letting her cheek fall flat against the white paint. You lifted her left leg up, hitching the back of her knee in the crease of your elbow. 

“Spread for me, babe. There you go…”

And you entered her again, pushing her into the wall. She was considerably tighter like this, and the new position garnered you almost complete control. She was almost unable to move at all. But her sounds continued to fill the room…you knew she was loving it just as much as you were. 

“I’m close, baby…almost there…” she said, breathless and sweaty as you fucked up into her. 

“Hang on, go with me…I’m right there too…goddamn you’re so fucking tight…”

Your name poured from her mouth as you poured into her, bodies shaking together as you pressed your front against her, her forehead rolling against the sheetrock. When your head came back into one piece, and her body stopped jerking, you snuck your hand around in front of her, between her legs, finding her clit and immediately rubbing small circles. 

You went insane on it, flicking it from side to side as you continued to press her into the wall, your still-hard dick resting comfortably inside her. Her cries sounded almost close to tears. You kissed the back of her neck, biting into it as you felt her writhing again. 

It surprised her, the overstimulation making her shudder. Her body stiffened as you worked your middle finger over her already swollen bud, begging her to let go again. Her walls were still squeezing around you, still inside her. You almost felt like you could let go again, yourself. 

“I know you’ve got another one in there, baby. Let me have it…give it to me again…”

Her hand reached behind her and grasped your shoulder, pulling your torso against her back, fingers digging into your shoulder muscle like she was holding on for dear life. 

Within seconds she was soaking your dick all over again, her knees threatening to buckle as she doubled over. Her cries were almost pathetic, shrieking and breathless as she came again. 

“There it is, just for me…so gorgeous Eleanor…” you growled into her ear. 

When she finally came back to life, you pulled yourself out of her, but still kept a firm hold around her limp body, walking her carefully back over as you both crashed back onto the bed in pure exhaustion. 

After a few minutes, she perked up lying on her elbow, looking at you with so much love in her eyes. 

“What?” You asked, smirking as you rolled to rest on your elbow too. 

“Do you really want what you asked me while you were eating the cinnamon roll?” She peeked through one eye. Her words made your stomach drop and your mouth go dry. 

“Yeah, I do. One day, down the road. I can picture it…” you rolled over to your back, looking at the ceiling. “Three kids, maybe four. All really close in age, so they can grow up together like we did. I want to find a big house with a bunch of land, so I can have a massive garden. And a bunch of dogs. Giant kitchen with tons of windows…and all four of my pianos in different rooms. I’m gonna teach all the babies how to play every instrument that I can, whatever they want to learn. The house will be filled with music all the time. And I wanna write songs about them, and for them…that’s what I want.” You huffed a breath, looking back over to her. 

“And you know what the best part will be?” You asked. 

“Tell me.”

“That you’ll be making those cinnamon rolls for us every week…all the time…the kids will love them…” you brought yourself over to kiss her. “And they’ll love you… and I’ll love you…until we’re old and gray, baby. Until the day you tell me not to. I promise. I promise, I promise…” 

—

JAKE POV

You hear her alarm go off on her phone, startling you from your sleep. Her face turned towards you as her own eyes fluttered open. She squeezed them back shut as she reached over to snooze her phone. You smile realizing it’s another morning you’ve woken up and she’s still in bed. 

It’s warm under the sheets, you don’t blame her for not wanting to leave. If it were up to you the two of you would stay cocooned in the sheets all day. She throws her arm over her eyes blocking out the morning light, trying to get those five extra minutes. You lay there just looking at her, watching the rise and fall of her chest as she fights to get back to her dream.

Minutes later when her alarm sounds again, she rolls over towards it and groans, grabbing it from the charger and laying it on her chest. 

You reach your hand out and place it on her arm, “You better get moving baby, Josh will be here soon.”

“I know, but I am so tired, we stayed up too late watching last night. I fell asleep in here, again.”

“We can take a break from watching if you want to.” you offer.

“No! I mean, we don’t have to. I just need to force myself out of here.” she giggles.

“Every night I ask you if you want me to take you back in there and you say no…You say you want to stay…” you goad.

“Ugh, I know Jake, sue me…” she says, tossing the blankets off of her, and standing from the bed. 

“Don’t be like that…You know I don’t want you to anyways. Like waking up to your face.” you smile.

She steps into the bathroom and shuts the door; your signal to start the coffee before she has to leave. It had been several nights since the family dinner and each one of them was spent twisted together watching a TV show until the both of you fell asleep. At least that was your excuse for it. 

As the coffee pot started to gurgle, you grabbed a to-go mug, and waited for the pot to finish brewing. You leaned against the counter, scrolling through your phone as she stepped into the kitchen. She was in a pair of crimson colored leggings, and had on a sports bra that matched. Her hair was in a high ponytail braid down her back, resting just at the criss crossed straps of her sports bra. Shit she looked practically edible. 

She had your flannel tossed into the bag hanging from her shoulder, and her birkenstocks in her hands, dropping them to the floor to slide into them as she approached you. 

“Again, is there any type of viewing package at the yoga place.” you said, pouring the coffee into the mug.

“No, Jacob…” she says, rolling her eyes and reaching out to grab the mug from your hands. 

You look at her again, somewhat jealous that Josh gets to spend the morning with her, looking like that. Fucker. 

“I will be back after, okay?” she said, spinning on her heels.

“Hey, wait…” you asked. 

You swallowed nervously as you grabbed her free hand in yours, “You wanna go do something tonight?” 

She furrowed her brow, “Like what?” 

“Something fun, just us. Like we used to.” you offer, feeling your heart beat out of your chest. 

“Oh, like a date?” she smiles.

“Do you want it to be a date?” you ask hopefully. 

“Yeah, I think I’d like that.” she grins, squeezing your hand. 

“Okay, yeah, then like a date.” you say, releasing her hand. 

You see Josh’s car pull up through the front door window, and look back to her, “Your ride is here…Be careful okay, check your surroundings…all of that…” 

“Okay, I will I promise and Josh is with me. But…I’m excited… for tonight.” she smiles walking down the hallway. You are right behind her, ready to close the door, but as she slips out she spins around and places a barely there kiss on your cheek. “See you later…” 

You smile as you watch her ponytail swing as she jumps into the passenger seat of Josh’s car, waving through the window as they pull away. 

—

You spend much of the morning racking your brain for ideas of what the two of you could do tonight. You’d never felt so much pressure planning a date before, but then you realized. It’s Y/N, she won’t care what you’re doing as long as it’s you she’s doing it with. You knew just what to do, and you knew she would love it.

You grab a quick shower and dig through your closet, looking for something to wear down to the studio. Today would be your first meeting back with the guys to start practicing for the South American leg of tour starting up. You were itching to get your hands back on your guitar, ready to turn the amps to one hundred and just rip for a few hours. 

Shortly after 11:00 you heard the front door open, and heard her setting her things in the hallway, kicking off her shoes.

“Jake?” she called.

“Up here!” you called out to her from the music room, checking out the strings on your guitar. 

You hear her climb up the steps and round the corner, still looking gorgeous as ever.

“I’m back…” she giggled.

“I see that.” you smile, twisting the knob on the headstock.

“You excited to go play today?” she asked, leaning against the wall. 

“Hell yeah, but you know what?” you asked.

“What?”

“I’m more excited for after…” you smiled.

“Yeah? What should I wear on my date with Mr. Jacob Kiszka this evening?” she smiles.

“Mmm…” you hum, rubbing your lips, “A dress. But bring a sweater or something.” you answer. 

“I think I can work with those requirements… I’m gonna go take a shower, but, have fun today and don’t over do it, okay?” she pleads. 

“I won’t, I won’t, promise.” you answer, sliding your guitar back into the case, and locking it. 

“I’ll see you tonight?” she asks.

“Not soon enough.” you smile, watching her blush and run down the stairs. 

Your phone buzzes in your pocket and as you pull it out you see a familiar name cross the screen.

misscarsonneely: Guitar question? I’m sure you’re never going to see this.

You smirk, it is a miracle you saw it.

You: I probably have an answer…

misscarsonneely: Wow, I can’t believe you saw this. Okay, so I have been feeling a little inspired lately and decided to put those new strings to use, but when I play it sounds…bad? Like off kind of? Maybe I just suck? Lol.

You smile and laugh, knowing exactly what the problem is. 

You: I usually never check my messages to be honest, surprised I saw it too. How about you text me instead. I’ll get you fixed up.

You send her your number and wait for her message to come through, adding the new contact to your phone.

Carson

11:23pm: Have I reached the guitar guru hotline?

You

11:24pm:  You have. So I think what you are describing is it being out of tune which happens sometimes when you put higher tension strings on. Could you maybe send me a video so I can be sure?

Carson

11:28pm: Do NOT laugh at me, it is the only song I know.

11:28pm: *Attachment*

You open the video and let it play, stifling back the laugh that escapes you when you hear ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise’ ringing out terribly through the speaker.

You

11:30pm:  Okay, yes. So the strings I put on your guitar are all I had to choose from, and they are high gauge and high tension so they are putting your guitar under a little more stress than it's used to, so it is spinning the knobs itself to release that tension and its causing your guitar to lose its tuning. It’s probably going to do that a few times until the strings are settled, so just re-tune your guitar and you should be set. Well, until next time. ;)

Carson

11:32pm: I swear I’m not an idiot. I really did tune it yesterday and it sounded fine so when I picked it up today and it sounded like that I never thought that maybe it was just out of tune. God I’m sorry I bothered you with that.

You

11:35pm: No, I know you’re not. You just aren’t used to those type of strings. Asked Sam to grab some to give to Josh, and that's probably all I had in my kit. 

Carson

11:36pm: And I appreciate it soo much. Thank you again for doing that. 

You

11:37pm: My pleasure Miss Carson, let me know if you need help with anything else.

Carson

11:38pm: Thanks Jake. Promise I won’t bug you with more stupid questions. Lol

You

11:39pm: I can assure you you’re not bugging me. Not in the slightest. 

Carson

11:40pm: Good to know ;)

You stare at the message for a bit before locking your phone and shoving it into your pocket. You grab your guitar case and make your way downstairs, grabbing your keys and heading out the door, set for the studio feeling happier than you had in weeks.

—

It felt good to be back to it. God it felt good. But it felt even better knowing you’d be back on the road soon. As much as you were enjoying your time at home with Y/N you craved to be out seeing the world. And it was even better when she was there with you. 

You started small, playing through a few songs, working your stamina back up to what it was. You had another week or two before you left for South America and you were convinced that if you just came in and did a little bit everyday, you would be back to where you were. Almost like muscle memory. 

After a particularly long jam session you checked your phone seeing that it was damn near time to leave to make it home in time to get ready for your date. 

You slung your guitar strap over your head and turned off your amp, unplugging the pick up and beginning to pack up your things. 

“Damn Jake, what lit a fire under your ass?” Sam asked. 

“I gotta get out of here. Have plans tonight.” You replied flicking your glasses down over your eyes. 

“With who…” Danny winked.  

“Your motha…” you said in your best British accent. 

“Good. Go. In fact what the fuck is taking you so long? Get outta here…” Josh said, shooing you out the door. 

You turned to the guys and offered them a quick wave as you stepped out the door ready to wine and dine your favorite girl. 

—

You stepped into the front door and deposited your guitar case against the wall, calling her name through the echoey house. 

When you heard no answer you called out again, “Y/N? Where are you my love?”

“Jake?” She said, stepping out into the hallway as she fastened her earring. You nearly stopped breathing at the sight of her. 

“Sorry babe, didn’t hear you come in!” She smiled walking over towards you. 

“Is this okay?”’she asks, running her hands over her navy blue dress nervously before looking up at you. 

“Everyday I think there’s no way you could possibly be more beautiful and everyday I wake up to just that. You look gorgeous.” You say, seeing the blush creep across her face. 

“Jake…” she whines. 

“It’s true. I’m going to change clothes and then I will be ready to go, okay? Why don’t you have a glass of wine and I’ll be out in a minute.” You say. 

She nods and flits off to the kitchen as you turn on your heels heading for the bedroom. You had stewed over what to wear for your date all morning, finally deciding on a pair of pinstripe slacks and a black button up. You knew she liked it, and she was always particularly handsy when it came to you leaving your shirts open, so it seemed like the natural choice. 

You kick off your jeans and your t-shirt and throw them in the hamper, hearing a knock on the closet door. You spin around and see her standing with a wine glass extended towards you. 

“Can’t drink alone…” she coos. 

You take the glass and laugh, “You’re not supposed to see me like this until after, baby….” 

A short and sweet ‘hm’ leaves her lips as she spins away to let you finish dressing. You sip the red wine and feel your insides warm as you fasten the bottom buttons of your shirt. You slide on your slacks and a pair of loafers before picking a necklace from your wall. 

You give yourself a once over in the mirror and step into the bathroom to spritz yourself with cologne, taking a deep breath and tossing back the rest of the glass of wine. 

She’s sitting on the couch in the study, lazily scrolling through her phone as she sees you step out. Her eyes scan over you top to bottom lighting your chest on fire. Her gaze grows dark and she bites her lips together stifling back the words that want to escape. 

Reaching a hand towards her, you ask, “Ready my love?”

—

“Two for Jacob…” you said to the hostess. She grabbed two menus and guided the two of you to a small candle lit table in the corner of the restaurant. 

You pulled her chair out for her, letting her sit before pushing her in. You took the chair across from her, laying your napkin across your lap as she perused the drink menu. 

“Can’t believe you got us a reservation here last minute… you know this is my favorite place in the city.” She smiled shyly. 

“I know it’s your favorite and when I called earlier to see if they had any availability tonight I wasn’t hopeful but by some stroke of luck…” you trailed off. “Anyways, I’m happy they got us in. Fate I guess.” you smiled. 

“Thank you, Jake… for doing all of this. For planning this and asking me…” She said. 

“Of course baby, wish we could go out more. But I was thinking, how about when we are out on the road, you and I sneak off and find somewhere cool to eat in the long stop cities. Just us. Keep working on us…” you say, reaching for her hand. She laces her fingers with yours and you smile feeling her hand in yours. 

She nods her head excitedly, rubbing her thumb over yours. 

“Okay good. Can’t imagine being on the road without you, you know. Want to see the world with you.” you admit, seeing her eyes grow teary. 

“Me too, Jake.”

A few minutes later the waiter arrived to take your drink orders, both of you opting for specialty cocktails, sure to have both of you feeling more relaxed in a matter of minutes. 

As they arrived you tapped your glass to hers, “To our first date…” you smirked.

“And hopefully not the last…” she replied with a playful smile.

You both sipped your drinks, carrying on normal conversation and talking about all the cities you’d be traveling to in the upcoming months. You both ordered your food, and as you waited you checked the time on your phone to make sure you were still looking good.

“Have a hot date?” she asked with a smirk.

“Sure fuckin’ do…” you grin, “I was just making sure we’re good on time. Our next activity starts at a very specific time…”

“Oh, we are doing something else?” she asks.

“Yep, this is going to be a proper first date. When we are done here I am taking your to the movies, where I am going to spend half of it working up the courage to hold your hand.” you say.

“Oh gosh, well I will make sure I position my hand on the armrest just right to make it not look super obvious that I want you to.” she laughs.

“Can’t wait.” you smile.

“What movie are we seeing?” she asks.

“Well, that was the hard part. There were hardly any options. We have tickets for The Northman. I know it’s not really your thing but we can pick another if you don’t want to see that.” you offer.

“Jake…Do you think we’ve been watching The X-Files every night because I am really into alien mystery shows?” she asks.

“Um…” you hum.

“We could be watching Antiques Roadshow and I wouldn’t miss a single night…” she says.

“And why’s that Y/N…” you coax.

“You know why.” she smiles shyly.

“Tell me, I want to hear you say it.

“Because I just want to be there with you. Lay with you…Want to feel you run your fingers over my arms, and hear your laugh, and feel you twirl my hair between your fingers and kiss my head when you think I’m asleep.”

“So you aren’t leaving on purpose.” you smile.

“Absolutely on purpose.” she smiles.

“So don’t.” you reply, locking eyes with her across the table. 

You feel her foot brush your leg and you swallow back the overwhelming urge to kiss her, and thankfully the waiter arrives with your food, putting a stop to your sudden urge.

The two of you continue to talk as you enjoy your food, downing another drink and sharing a few more laughs. You check your phone again, and see that you are right on time, as long as the bill comes in the next few minutes.

With the sign of your name on the line and the toss of a few bills on the table you are walking hand in hand down the sidewalk towards the movie theater, buzzing from the alcohol flowing through your body.

“Does my date require any concessions?” you ask, playfully. 

“No your date is miserably full from dinner, but if you want something you should get it! I can’t even remember the last time you went to the movies.” she says.

“I can’t remember the last time I went either…” you say rubbing your lips. “Come on, let's go find some good seats.” you say, clasping her hand in yours as you step into the musky smelling theater, ready to hold her hand for the next two hours straight.

—

Obviously, the two of you rushed to the very top row of seats in the theater against the wall, any other seats simply not making any sense. You took the seat to her left, removing your jacket and setting it in the seat beside you. The advertisements before the previews began rolling, and your heart rate began to pick up. Why did you feel like you were 14 again, on a date with a girl you’d had a crush on for two whole weeks? 

The two of you shared a few glances, her hands folded and rested comfortably under her chin as her elbows balanced on the armrests. Suddenly the lights went down, and the previews started. The quick heart rate from earlier got even worse. You didn’t know if it was the nerves from being on a real actual date with her again, or the fact that you were so starved for her touch after the week you’d had, but you found your insides rolling around on themselves with want for her. Her touch, any kind. 

You looked at her with your peripheral, the light from the screen bouncing off her face. She smirked a little, feeling your eyes on her. You made it through the five or six new movie previews, but you couldn’t name one. All you could think about was the gorgeous girl to your right, shoulder to shoulder with you. 

Finally the lights went down even more, and you noticed that the only other people that had made it into the theater was another couple around your age, who had chosen to sit down in almost the front row. A theater almost to yourselves. 

The opening credits began, the loud music rattling the walls and chairs. You felt your palms begin to sweat with nerves, so you wiped them across the thighs of your pants, and rested your elbows on the armrests, jokingly fighting Y/N to claim the spot. You heard her laugh through her nose, moving her elbow around to make room for you. 

“You know, if you wanted the arm rest all you had to do was ask.” She whispered, bringing her mouth to your ear. Instant chills. “And if you want to hold my hand, all you have to do is grab it.”

She pulled back, turning her attention back to the movie. Deep breath, it’s just Y/N. 

You held your hand out, palm up, and she happily laid hers in it, interlacing your fingers with hers and squeezing tightly. Okay, good. Okay. 

You looked to her, smiling ear to ear. The feeling of holding her hand was sending bolts of electricity straight up your arm, and you began rubbing your thumb across her knuckles. 

The movie went on, you only paying half-attention to it. In an act of confidence, you brought her hand to your lips, lying a long and sweet kiss to her palm. She started gushing, shying away and giving you a smile so sweet you felt like melting. She then repeated your action, kissing each of your fingertips and then your palm, her mouth parted and half open as she slowly laid kisses all over your scarred hand, like she remembered where she pulled each and every shard of glass out all those years ago. 

Then, she did something that caught you so completely off guard that you felt your head spin. She brought your pointer finger slowly into her mouth, running her tongue along it, closing her lips tightly around it, and lightly biting the tip…shit. You exhaled, getting so extremely turned on from such a simple act. Then, she switched your fingers, stretching it all the way to the back of her throat. 

Fuck.

When she finally removed it, you were writhing in your seat. She turned back to the movie like nothing had ever happened. Your heart was beating in your ears as you decided to meet her energy, snaking your hand down to her thigh, letting it slip underneath her dress, and grip the tender part of her muscle. You watched as she scooted forward just a bit in her seat, obviously enjoying this game so far. You took it further, letting your hand travel higher and higher until your fingers were ghosting the fabric of her thong. 

The next thing you knew, her hand was mirroring yours, traveling with a tight grip up the inside of your thigh. Shit shit shit. She didn’t slow down, she didn’t shy away. Her hand lightly grazed your bulge, before completely gripping it in her hand. You couldn’t stop yourself from looking directly at her, but the expression on her face was begging you to touch her more. 

You let your hand go up further, touching her through her panties. You held eye contact as you both touched each other, driving the other absolutely insane. You were hoping and praying that she would move to unbuckle your belt, and like she was reading your mind, she did. 

Your free hand moved to help her, your chest already heaving. She kept her eyes trained on the movie while you maneuvered your belt and zipper, and when you got everything unlatched, her finger tips sunk below the waistline of your boxers, pulling them out so she could reach her hand all the way in. 

Fuck what is happening shit shit…

You felt your already damaged lungs lose every bit of air at her touch, her hand gripping your dick and squeezing it, moving her hand as much as she could with it still tucked away in your boxers. 

You gathered your thoughts quickly…two can play this game, baby. You let your left hand pull her thong to the side, wasting no time in going straight for the place you knew would drive her wild. God, she felt so perfect. You’d almost forgotten…her hand on you mixed with the feeling of her on your fingers was making your vision blur. She scooted down in the seat a bit more, giving you more space to feel her completely. Should you…?

Just then, the door to the theater slammed, and in walked another couple, coming up the stairs and taking their seats near the middle of the theater. You closed your eyes, sighing a frustrated huff while you glanced to Y/N, her opposite hand covering her mouth. 

She started to giggle. She removed her hand slowly, and you did the same. She was trying hard not to laugh out loud, holding her nose closed as she caught her breath. 

“What the fuck are you laughing at?” You whispered, readjusting yourself in your slacks. 

“We’re acting like a couple of horny teenagers feeling each other up in a damn movie theater, and we almost got caught. It’s just funny, okay?” She laughed again through her strangled whispers, causing you to feel a chuckle leave your chest. It was kind of funny. 

After you calmed down a little, you leaned in close to her ear, sharing the armrest now. “Doesn’t change the fact that even though I’m not a teenager, I’m still extremely fuckin’ turned on right now and I want to leave this movie as soon as humanly possible.” 

She took a deep breath, teeth gritted tightly as she watched the screen. “Let’s go.”

——

You both made a mad dash out of the theater and toward the car, the brisk night air bringing you back to reality for the time being. What the hell just happened in there? As you made your way through the parking lot digging for your keys in your pocket, Y/N rushed up beside you, taking your hand in hers as you walked. Oh. 

You gave her a knowing glance, and she gave you a glare that could’ve killed you. She really wants this to keep going…get it together Jake.

You both hopped in the car, and you started up the engine, backing out of the parking space. When you got on the road, you cleared your throat. Neither of you had said a word since you left the theater, and frankly, you had no idea what to say. All you knew was that you were absolutely starving for her, and the tension between you was so thick you could almost see it. Was this really happening? It’s been over a month…

You let your left hand drape across the steering wheel and your right balance on the console, nervously running your fingers over your lips. 

“Are you anxious, Jake?” She finally broke the silence. 

Uhhhh…

You cleared your throat once again, feeling the threat of a tiny cough tickle your throat, still not completely rid of your illness. “Yeah,” your voice cracked. “Yeah not gonna lie, Y/N, kinda anxious.” You told her truthfully. 

“Me too.” She said meekly, sinking into the chair. 

You reached your hand out for her again like you had in the theater, letting her grasp your fingers with hers. Still feels so perfect. 

“Do you wanna go home? Or…” you asked, making sure she had the same thoughts as you. 

“Yeah. Let’s go home.” She said. 

“What uh, what about the rules?” You asked her. 

“Well, we didn’t break rule #1, and we kinda broke rule #2…”

“We broke the fuck out of rule #2, babe.” You laughed. 

“Yeah, well. I guess, since we never um. Stated a rule #4, it doesn’t really, technically exist, right?” She offered. 

Holy fucking shit she wants to do it. 

“Yeah I…I don’t remember us saying that one was in the book, do you?” You replied nervously. 

She shook her head from side to side. “Won’t change anything though… We’re still, not…”

You nodded. “Right. Yes. Won’t change anything at all. Still very much…not together.”

“Right. Not together.” she said, looking at you longingly.

You brought her hand to your mouth again, this time not letting it leave your lips until you were pulling down your street. 

——

HER POV

Did he really want to do this? Should you do this? As the car pulled up to the house he put it in park and shut off the engine, as he turned to look at you. Your hands were still clasped together but now rested on your lap. Your brain started to swirl with panic. Would this undo everything?

“Jake, I’m sorry I did that in the movie theater. I shouldn’t have.” you said quietly.

“No, I… It’s okay. I liked it…I’ve…missed your touch.” he replies.

“You have…” you question.

“Are you kidding me? Yeah baby…” he scoffs. “Come on, let’s go inside…”

You nod and open your door, stepping out onto the sidewalk as he rounds the front of the car to meet you. Your brain was still rushing with want but you knew in your heart that you shouldn’t. You shouldn’t be with him like that until the two of you were back together. Right?

“I can see you overthinking it.” he smirks, unlocking the front door. 

“I’m not…I’m just…I’m scared it will undo all the progress we’ve made. That part of our relationship was always solid. I’m just scared we will fall back into how things were…” you explain.

“And what’s wrong with that?” he says, stepping inside and tossing his keys on the table.

“I was a terrible person. Partner��I just want to be what you need in a partner and back then, I wasn’t. You deserve better Jake.” you say.

He steps up to you and grabs your arms looking into your eyes, “I can assure you that you are everything I need. Everything I deserve. Everything I want. If you want to wait, it’ll fuckin’ kill me, but I will wait. I will always wait for you, Y/N. Okay?”

He slides his hand down your arms and twists his fingers with yours.

“Are you sure you aren’t mad Jake? I feel like I just teased you so bad, and you planned the most perfect date and now I am leaving you high and dry…We shouldn’t have taken it that far…” you say.

“Baby this was never part of the plan. I never expected anything. I just wanted to take you out, have a little bit of fun outside of the house. Everything else was just extra. And honestly just feeling your hand on me even if just for a minute was enough.” he pauses. “I mean I guess I was kind of expecting a kiss at the end of the date…” he says playfully.

“So walk me to my door and maybe you’ll get it…” you tease.

He releases one of your hands as he walks you to the guest room door pausing as you turn to face him, “Thank you for the date. It was so much fun…I hope we can have another one day…” you taunt.

“Mmm it’s looking pretty good so far…” he smirks, leaning his head towards you placing his hand on your cheek as he presses his lips to yours. You wind your hands around his waist and pull him closer to you. He pulls your bottom lip between his, sucking at it gently as his tongue swipes over it. You open your mouth just slightly to let him in, a gentle whine leaving your mouth. 

“Mmm fuck…” he growls as he pulls away. “We have to stop. I want you so bad. I’m sorry Y/N. Anyways, thanks for coming with me tonight. I hope you… sleep well…” he says, stepping back from the doorway. 

You twist the door knob and step inside, “You too…” you breathe, your head still rushing with want. 

You close the door softly and stand there, heart pounding as you think about his mouth on yours, his lips, his hands on your skin. Your body fills with goosebumps and your breath catches in your throat. Next thing you know your hand is reaching for the door knob throwing it open ready to run straight to his room, but as the door flies open he's there, leaning against the wall.

“Jake…” you breathe.

“Baby…” he replies, pulling you into him. 

Your mouths reunite once again but this time it's faster, more frenzied. Both of you positively dripping with need for the other. You tangle both of your hands into the hair at the base of his head as your lips fight to kiss every inch of his. His hands reach down and cradle your thighs, pulling you up to wrap your legs around his waist as he walks both of you as quickly as he can towards his bedroom. 

Your lips never part from him, kissing his jaw, his neck, fuck… anywhere you can reach. He kicks open the door walking straight to the bed and dropping you onto your back into the fluffy duvet. 

He steps back from you, unbuttoning the last buttons of his shirt and throwing it to the floor. He kicks off his pants and rejoins you on the bed, hovering over top of you as his lips connect to the skin of your neck. He brings one of his hands to your chest, grabbing your tits as frantically as he can. His fingers hook into the strap of your dress, sliding the fabric down your shoulder to reveal your bare chest. 

“Goddamnit Y/N…” he breathes. 

You squirm underneath him, desperate to feel his lips on your skin again. 

“Tell me you’re sure.” he demands.

“I’m sure! I’m sure! Please!” you beg.

He pulls your dress the rest of the way off of your body, leaving you both in just your underwear. He studies you, his eyes running over every inch of your body like it’s the first time he’s seen it. Your eyes flick to his nervously as his gaze grows darker. 

He runs his hand down your chest, and over your stomach, letting his fingers graze your heat as he swipes them down your legs. Your hips buck up into his feeling his hardened length brush your skin. 

He sees the look in your eye when you feel it, a smirk pulling up the corner of his mouth. “Every fuckin’ day. Every day I have to fight that off. I’m not gonna fight it anymore baby.”

“Please Jake…” you beg. 

His fingers hook into the lace of your thong all but ripping it from your body as he uses his knee to spread your legs. You’re breathing heavily, your chest rising and falling quickly as you wait for his touch. 

“Where was I…” he said, swiping a finger through your wetness. 

“Somewhere like here…” he said, pushing two fingers inside of you, causing your back to arch up off the bed. 

“Yeah, yeah. Right there, huh baby…” he growled. 

His free hand comes up to twist one of your nipples between his fingers, a whine leaving your lips at the sensation. “You always have made the prettiest sounds.”

He hooks his fingers up into you, as he lowers his lips to your other nipple, sucking it into his mouth and biting gently. 

“Jake…” you moan.

He releases his mouth from you, continuing to pump his fingers in and out, “Yeah baby?”

“I can’t wait. Please. Just…please.” you beg, reaching to pull his boxers down.

He pulls his fingers from you and pushes his boxers the rest of the way off, kicking them to the floor to join the rest of your clothes. 

Your eyes travel down his torso to his dick, before you flick your eyes back up to his. 

He snaps his fingers and points to the top of the bed, “Get in the middle.”

You quickly move yourself backwards as he crawls onto the bed between your legs. He bends down, licking a hot stripe up your center, as you sigh into the air.

His left hand comes up to rest next to your head as his right grips his length and drags his tip through your folds.

“Jesus Christ Y/N, I swear to god I’m not going to last five seconds.” he pants. 

“If we’re going to break the rules, we are going to fucking break them.” you breathe.

With a grunt he presses inside you and a whine rips from your chest at the feeling. He is breathing heavy over top of you, trying to keep his composure as your insides adjust around him.

“Fuck me, you are so tight. Feels like the fucking first time I felt you around me…” he pulls his hips back to try to start moving, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he lets out a breath.

“Shit, yeah I need a second.” he pleads.

“Jake, I need you to move. I need you to fuck me right this second.” you beg.

He swallows harshly and pulls back, before pressing into you again with a deep groan. You can see him fighting it, he wants to give you what you want. He wants this to last the rest of the night. You can feel every sweet inch of him as he moves inside of you, your walls clenching around him with every thrust. 

“Jake…fuck…fuck I missed you. I…” you breathe, digging your nails into his back. 

He attaches his lips to yours, licking into your mouth as he starts to move quicker, hitting your sweet spot with every stroke.

He lowers his lips to your ear, whispering into it as he works both of you towards release. 

“You feel so fuckin’ good baby. My gorgeous fuckin’ girl…” he growls.

He starts to roll his hips, causing his tip to slide against your g-spot in slow meticulous strokes as he presses his hand to your pelvis to increase the pressure. You cry out in bliss as the sensation takes over your body.

“Feel good? Feel good when I fuck you like that? Been thinkin’ about it for weeks. The things I was going to do to you when I finally got you back…Better than I imagined baby. You always are…” he whispers.

He pulls out all the way, grabbing your knee and hooking it up over his hip as he presses all the way in to be fully seated inside of you. You clench down around him, and his eyes shoot open to lock with yours. 

“I can’t hold it…” he breathes.

“Don’t…” you pant.

“Want you to cum with me.” he begs.

“I’m there… just keep going…” you answer.

He brings his thumb to his mouth, licking it before pressing it to your clit making rapid circles. You arch up into his touch, and whine.

“Yeah just like that love, you’re so close. My good girl, let me have it. Let me fill you. Can I do that? Can I fill my girl?” he coaxes.

“Please Jake! Fuck!” you cry, a tear springing from your eye.

“Now baby, right fuckin’ now!” he says, grabbing your hips and pulling you impossibly closer to him as his cock jerks violently inside of you. You feel the fire blaze through your chest as your release washes over the both of you, completely tearing your consciousness apart. He grunts your name as his warmth fills you, the room filled with breathy moans and whimpers.

He releases his grip on your hips trying to slowly pull himself out of you without making a huge mess, but as he pulls out, it spills out of you and onto your legs. He groans as he watches, his eyes flicking to yours, which you’re sure are completely blissed out. 

He brings himself to lay on top of you, pressing his lips to yours over and over, until you’re both giggling and smiling. 

“I’m sorry we couldn’t go longer. I…It’s been a month without you…” he says, rolling off of you and onto his side.

“Jake…I was barely holding on too. But…” you pause.

“But what…” he asks, running his finger down your sternum.

“But I want more.” you whisper.

“Oh thank god…” he says, turning your body onto your side, and pulling you into him. He lifts your leg and positions himself at your entrance, slowly pushing inside of you.

“I don’t know if I will ever get enough of you Y/N…” he whispers into your ear. 

His hand reaches around to the front of you swirling his fingers over your clit as you arch into him. 

“Oh fuck stay like that, keep your back arched like that, holy fuck…” he begs slowly thrusting in and out of you. He continues to whisper sweet praises into your ear as his hand travels over your body so softly, so gently.

His hand comes back up to wrap around your front holding you tightly to his chest. Suddenly you feel the air between you shift, this is no longer frenzied and furious sex, no, somewhere it shifted into slow and tender love making. There were no more harsh movements, there were no more dirty phrases. It was just you and him. The both of you showing each other you’re still here. You’re both still in there, loving each other, through it all. 

He pulls out of you and you spin to face him, near tears as he presses his lips to yours in a kiss you know is laced with love and adoration. He pulls your hips towards him, as you part your legs to let him back in. He presses into you until he is fully seated and breathing in deeply the scent of the two of you together. 

You wrap your arms around his neck as he slowly pushes and pulls in and out, his eyes never leaving yours once. 

“Remember, that night in the hotel room, I told you to stop telling me you loved me.” he says, continuing to move. 

“Yeah…” you breathe.

“Please don’t…” he begs.

You press your lips to his, your tongues tangling together as he moves inside of you.

“Why did you say it?” you ask.

“Because it was killing me that I couldn’t say it back…I never stopped loving you.” he answered, starting to pant. 

“I found out right after that, what I did. Crawled into bed with you. Just wanted to be close to you. Had to tell you I loved you too. Couldn’t breathe until I said it. You didn’t hear it, but…” he continued.

“You do?” you ask.

He grabs you and rolls to his back, bringing you to sit on top of him. You spin around to face him, repositioning yourself on top of him, as you begin to roll your hips slowly. 

“Y/N there is nothing in the world that you could ever do that would keep me from loving you.” he answers. 

You lift off of him before dropping back down, repeating the motion until the both of you are crumbling closer to your second orgasm. 

His hands guided your hips, as he talked you through it, his touch tender and loving as he spilled into you for the second time. You rolled off of him and into the bathroom to clean up, opting for a quick rinse in the shower before you both returned to the bed. 

You helped him change the sheets and he disappeared down the hallway, returning with your pillow and your cell phone. 

You pulled on one of his t-shirts and a clean pair of underwear before you slid into the bed next to him and cuddled into his side. 

“Hey baby?” you asked, into the dark room.

“Yes?” 

You rolled closer to him and looked up towards him, “What do you want to do for your birthday?” 

“Hmmm…That…” he giggles. 

You dig a finger into his ribs, “No seriously…”

“I am being serious.” he laughs again.

“Jacob…” you warn.

“I don’t know. I just want to spend the day with you…See Josh, and the guys…nothing fancy. Just want to do this. This feels good. Makes me happy.” he answers.

“Okay, okay…” you say, pressing a kiss to his bare chest. 

“Are you excited to go to South America in a few days?” he asks.

“I am excited, I have always wanted to go to Brazil.” you answer. 

“I can’t wait to take you, it's so beautiful there. There are so many cool places to eat and things to see…” he gushes, “...and to spend every night just like this…” 

“Jake… we… won’t spend every night just like this though…” you say.

“What do you mean…” he asks, turning towards you.

“We…we’re in separate rooms, remember?” you remind him.

“No…cancel it, change it, or whatever…You sleep with me damn near every night Y/N…I’ve kind of grown partial to it…”

“I know baby, but this is part of that growing up thing I am working on. I think we need to stay separate while we are on tour. At least while we aren’t together…”

“I don’t want to be separate. I want to go out, play our shows, eat good food, and make love to my girl every night.” he says. 

“Jake, we can’t do that either…” you say nervously.

“What so this was just…Just a one time thing?” he asks, stopping the hand that's been rubbing your arm.

“No…I don’t know, I don’t know what we are supposed to do but I feel like we need to limit it as much as possible. I know it will be hard but we have to… try.”

He lets out a sigh, “Okay, well, if that’s what you want, I’ll do it.”

“It’s not what I want Jake, but it’s what we need, as a couple. To keep rebuilding our relationship, without using sex as a buffer.” you say.

“I know. I just, need you…sometimes.” he admits.

“I know babe, me too. And I think sometimes is…fine. We just need to wait until neither of us can take it anymore and then…” you pause. “Think about how good it felt just now…”

“Fucking perfect.” he answers.

“Exactly, and I feel like emotionally our relationship is getting so much better. If we can just keep… doing what we’re doing…I think we can be together again and I can be the person I want to be for you.” you say.

He pulls you into his chest and kisses your head, “I know baby. I want you to be happy. I’m so glad you are still coming with us. With me. Still want to go eat at cool places with you. We can do that, right?”

“Yeah babe, we can do that.” you say reaching up and pressing a kiss to his lips. “And for the record I am fully intending on sleeping just like this all night long.” you say wrapping your arm around his waist and nuzzling your face into his neck.

“I’d be sad if you didn’t.” he says, wrapping his arms around you. 

You both start to drift off, your mind swirling with thoughts of Jake and Brazil, when your phone chimes on your nightstand. Your eyes pop open and you roll over to grab it, squinting as you read the name.

Elle

11:47pm: We need to talk.

You lock your phone and set it on the nightstand, swallowing nervously as you return back to Jake.

“Who was it baby?” he asks, voice groggy and still half asleep.

“It was Elle. She wants to talk…”

—

The next morning you woke up almost exactly how you’d fallen asleep, tied and twisted with Jake, your limbs sweaty underneath the heavy covers. The memories of the night before came swirling back as the muscles of your insides began to throb. It really had been a while. But you welcomed the uncomfortable sensation, truly being thankful you could fulfill your human needs so effortlessly with him. 

His hair was overtop of your face, just where you liked it. He stirred beside you, flipping his face to the other side, taking his locks with him. Then he propped up on his elbows, rubbing his face before looking at you with the sweetest smile. 

“Mornin' sunshine.” You said, taking in the sight of him grinning with all his teeth. “You look like you got laid last night.”

“I’m on cloud fuckin’ 9, baby.” He giggled shyly, rolling himself to you and placing his elbows on either side of your head. “Actually got to sleep with the hottest girl I’ve ever seen last night.” He went on, laying sweet kisses to your lips. 

“Oh really? How was that?” You played along. 

His tongue brushed inside your mouth, instantly bringing back that feeling of want that lived deep in your bones. “Fuckin’ amazing. Perfect. I’d give you all the details, but…” he clicked his tongue. “Unfortunately I probably won’t get to do it again for a while, she said she wants to take things slow.”

“Ahh, that sucks. Well, maybe from time to time, when you’ve both built up so much tension…” you let your hands travel down to grip his ass, letting your fingernails dig in and pull him toward you, pressing his morning hard-on directly to your heat. 

“…you both can talk about it again. Ya know, just hooking up every once in a while. You’re both adults, right?” You suggested, leaving the conversation open ended. 

He moaned through a little cry, pushing himself against you again. “We are both adults. Nothing wrong with some healthy sex every once in a while, right?” 

You pressed your lips to his again, licking into his mouth as you felt him hold himself back. “Nothing wrong with it at all…” he mumbled. “God you’re fuckin killing me again, Y/N. I gotta get up. Gotta go, do something…anything…” You giggled as you watched him walk to the bathroom, still completely nude. “Let’s go get coffee.”

——

Half an hour later, the two of you were sitting outside of your favorite coffee shop, sipping from your cups and sharing an oversized blueberry muffin. 

“My abs are sore.” Jake said quietly as he stirred his coffee. 

“Sore? From what? We hardly lasted five minutes each time…jeeze. Must be out of shape…” you shook your head at him playfully. 

He scoffed. “Ugh leave me alone, it’s been a while. Plus I haven’t exercised in like, two months. I almost died of fuckin’ pneumonia and laid in a bed for two weeks, did you forget?” He spat back, sounding bratty as hell. 

“Hm. Well. Guess you’ll just have to build that stamina back up then, won’t you?” You winked. 

The courtyard in front of the coffee shop was semi crowded, lots of people with dogs and baby strollers. You watched as a young mom pushed a double carriage to the table beside you, parking it there and pushing the sun visor up to reveal two sleeping baby boys. 

“Is anyone using this table?” She asked, taking her backpack off. 

“No, no. All yours.” Jake smiled and moved a chair out of the way for her. 

“Got some tiny ones there.” You said. 

“They’re three months old today. Meeting my friend to celebrate their milestone with some coffee and way too much sugar!” She laughed. 

“Oh, I bet you need all the caffeine you can get, huh?” You said. 

“That’s an understatement…” she laughed as she waved her friend over to join her. 

You and Jake sat in silence for a while, people watching and finishing your coffees. You started thinking, right then and there, about something that you truly hadn’t thought hard about in years. Something that, until recently, you’d buried away so far in your brain that you’d nearly forgotten, and the fact that you’d almost forgotten made you sick. A part of your life that you didn’t discuss, that you didn’t bring up, that was a secret from everyone you loved. 

“What’s wrong baby? You’re being kinda quiet…” Jake interrupted your internalization. 

You perked up. “Oh, nothing. Just kinda sleepy still.” 

“Okay. We can take a nap later, if you want.” Jake suggested. 

“Yeah, that sounds good to me, babe.” You answered blankly. 

You both glanced over to the mom again as one of the babies woke up and started crying. You watched as she picked him up to console him, and watched as the other one instinctively opened his eyes at the sound of his brother’s crying. 

“Ya know, me and Josh always used to wonder which one of us would end up with twins, since there’s such a big chance of that happening through generations. I always thought it’d be him.” Jake said. 

You watched as the second baby moved his head around, eyes darting side to side, looking for his counterpart. Your heart nearly shattered into pieces. Even as young and tiny as he was, he looked lost, like his compass was going haywire…

“Watch it be Sam.” You responded. 

Jake’s head snapped your way. “Really? You think? Why?”

You shrugged. “Just would be funny. Hey, you think your brothers would wanna come over for dinner tonight?”

“Yeah, probably. I think Sam and Elle are back, Danny texted me last night-”

“No, Jake. Just your brothers. Your blood ones.” You interrupted, earning a very strange look from him. 

“Uh..I guess. I can… ask them. Why just them?” He pressed. 

Your mind spun around as you tried to pull an excuse to get the three of them alone together. 

“I want to talk to them. You. Just you three. About… everything.” You only half-lied. “Together, as a family.”

“Okayyyy, yeah, I’ll text them now. Uh, our house? 5:00?” He said, pulling out his phone. 

“Perfect.” You took the opportunity to take your phone out as well, pulling up the text from Elle. 

You

10:31am: Coffee tomorrow?

——

The rest of the day proceeded normally, you and Jake went home and did end up napping the rest of the afternoon away, him walking on eggshells at the uncertainty of why you wanted just Josh and Sam to come over this evening, but never pressing the issue with more questions. 

“I’m starting the pasta babe! They should be here any minute!” Jake yelled from the kitchen as you finished up some laundry. 

“Sounds good! I’m almost done here!” You shut the lid to the washing machine, nerves suddenly overtaking your body. You felt your face flush pink, and your stomach flipped over, making you feel sick. You leaned backwards onto the machine, fanning your face as the blood finally traveled back to your brain. 

You rushed into the guest room, pulling the drawer to your nightstand open to reveal your barely-yet-used journal. You flipped to the last few pages, finding the old photograph perfectly safe there. 

Fuck, you can do this. 

Little did Jake know, you weren’t okay. You were terrified. And you were about to share with them your deepest, darkest secret. 

——

“…and it wasn’t even the priest, it was his barber all along!” Josh had finished up with a twenty minute long joke, sending the four of you into stitches. 

“That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard, Josh. My god.” Sam said. 

“Well, it made you laugh didn’t it?” Josh retorted, making Sam throw his hands into the air. 

Dinner was drawing to a close, and you knew the guys were getting antsy with their curiosity of asking them here tonight. All three of them. 

“Another bottle, guys?” You said, standing from the table and clearing some of the plates away. 

“Yeah, sure. And also when you come back, can you bring the reason you asked just us two to come over tonight?” Sam snapped, turning around in his seat to face you. Fuck you, Sammy. 

You turned to shoot daggers at him, only to be met with three of almost the exact same face staring back at you. You dropped the plates into the sink, admitting defeat. 

You slowly walked back over to the table, taking your seat. The three of them leaned in closely, watching your next move. You cleared your throat. 

“Alright, alright.” Deep breath. “So, this…isn’t easy to say…so forgive me if I get, a little emotional, okay?” You asked, looking to all three of them, the people you loved most in this world, looking at you with so much worry and concern in their eyes you could explode. 

“We grew up together right? Since we were babies, and stayed so close all these years, so I feel like I can trust each of you, even after all the bullshit we’ve been through, what I ultimately was the cause of, right?” 

They all nodded, speaking quietly that yes, of course you could trust them. 

“Sam, my very first chosen friend. Always there for me and always my rock ever since we could walk. I think you know me better than I know myself, and that’s a little terrifying. Always calling me out on my shit, and helping me fucking cause it, too.” You giggled, hoping that one day all of the stuff that happened in Vegas could become a joke. 

“Well, ya know...” He laughed. 

“Josh, you’re such a good big brother to them. And to me, you always were. You don’t even know you’re doing it, but you keep all of us so grounded and so in line, and so in love with life that you should win an award. And thank you, for helping me here lately. Taking me out of my comfort zone and under your wing. I don’t think you know how much I appreciate it.” 

He nodded a sweet you’re welcome.

“And Jake, what the hell. Where do I even start? I’m so excited about this new life we’re building together, and how supportive you’ve always been of me. All the shit I put you through, it’s been some of the most horrible and beautifully messy times of my life. And I’m so thankful for you and all you do for us.”

“I’m also so proud of you guys.” You said, looking to Jake and Sam. “After all that shit in Vegas, you two can still find a way to love each other. And I am so wholeheartedly sorry about how that all went down. From the bottom of my heart, I swear.” 

Jake reached over and grabbed your hand, squeezing it tightly. 

“I don’t know if you know, Jake, but Sam watched you go through something really traumatic in the hospital, and when he told me about it, god, it tore me to shreds. Seeing the love you guys all have for each other, it…” you couldn’t stop the tears that were forming in your eyes, as Jake squeezed your hand harder. “It made me realize some things. And I don’t want to run from it anymore. I want to share…everything. With you guys. With my family. Even my secrets.”

All three of them adjusted in their chairs, curiosity and apprehension written all over them. You stood up, went into the guest room, and re-emerged with your journal. You sat back down, and flipped to the very back page. You pulled the tiny photograph that was stuck between the pages, seeing it one last time by yourself before it became not only your secret, but theirs, too. 

You turned it around so all three of them could see. 

Sam and Jake simultaneously sat back in their seats, physically blown away by what you were showing them. 

A blurry black and white sonogram image of a baby. Your baby. The one you never got to meet. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay…it’s neither of yours…look at the date…” you said to them as you realized their instant state of panic. 

“January 14, 2017.” Sam said, his breath falling out of him with relief. “Oh my god…”

“Baby, what the fuck is going on? What is this? Your name is on this…” Jake said, letting his emotions start to rise. 

“Yeah, Jake. That’s because it was mine. Mine and Andy’s.” You relented. 

You watched as their faces were painted with happiness, then shock, then sorrow.

“I never got to meet this baby, because right before I found out, Andy started showing his true colors in a more public way. Remember the night of the New Years Eve party? When he found us out on the porch?” You looked to Jake. 

“The night he put his hands on me there, left bruises on my arms…all the horrible things he did even before that, you know. Well, I found out two weeks later. I didn’t tell him I was even going to the doctor to find out for sure.” Your tears finally decided to run over. “The night before my appointment, he was drunk. We got into an argument, he pushed me so hard into the wall that it busted a hole through. I thought for sure that if I was pregnant, I would have lost it that night, anyway. So I fought him off of me for another hour or so, let him pass out on the couch. The next day at my appointment, lo and behold, the baby was alright. But I wasn’t.”

“I was so devastated…the nurse at the clinic saw the bruises on me, noticed how much of a shell of a person I was, slipped me a brochure for noticing the signs of domestic abuse. God, it threw me for a loop…I never even thought that that was what I was enduring, all that time. Seeing it there on paper, that Andy was abusing me while I was being told I was most definitely going to be bringing his child into the world. It…fucking…” you were sobbing hard now, finally feeling the weight of the subject coming to the light like a weight off your entire being. 

“I had to make the hardest decision of my entire life, that day. I had to decide. I had to keep myself safe, and I could barely do that. Andy was getting worse by the day. The thought of having to bring a baby…god, I couldn’t even…” you took a deep breath, feeling Jake’s arms wrapping around your back, pulling you tightly into him. 

“Fuck, Y/N…” he cried into your hair. 

You continued. “I never told Andy about it. I kept it a secret…from everybody. I felt so ashamed. A few weeks after I had the procedure, one of Andy’s fraternity brothers’ girlfriends decided to let it slip that she knew I was there…she worked at the clinic and recognized me I guess. Bitch. Completely against the fucking law, but. They told Andy, and he was infuriated. Said that I took something away from him without him even knowing he had it. Hated me for it, called me horrible things. Thinking back now, maybe I should have told him. I guess I could have given him that much. But honestly, things were getting so bad that I truly don’t think that tiny thing would have survived another night of its mother being thrown into the dining room table.”

Jake’s arms held you steady, his hands rubbing across your skin. You finally got the gumption to look at Josh and Sam, both of them absolutely fraught with sadness, tears falling hard from both of their faces. You could tell they were dying to speak, but neither of them had any clue what to say. 

“The reason I’m telling you all of this is because you deserve an answer. I’ve lied about it for months. That’s why he’s stalking me. That’s why he’s been following us everywhere, breaking in and stealing your things…He’s obsessed with giving me what he thinks I deserve for taking that away from him. I’m scared he’s not gonna stop until he gets it. He’s getting worse, he’s in it too deeply now.”

Josh’s hands were folded in front of him, covering his mouth as his leg bounced up and down. Sam had his head hanging from his fingers laced through his hair, staring at the tiny photograph. Jake finally released you, squatting beside you to speak. He brought both hands to your face, slowly drifting his thumbs under your eyes to catch the tears that just wouldn’t stop coming. 

“I love you so much, Y/N, I swear to god I do. I’m so sorry…” he whispered, pulling up to embrace you again. You let your arms wrap around him, your safe place, your home. He’d finally told you he loved you, after weeks of not hearing those words fall from his mouth. 

“I love you too, Jake.” You said through cutting sobs. “I’m so sorry I never told you, told any of you. I should have been honest from the get go. I was just too afraid to tell the truth of why he was following me. Could’ve saved us a lot of difficulty.” 

“No, no no…” they all chimed in unison. 

“No, Y/N. That was something you didn’t have to share with us. You could’ve kept that secret for as long as you needed to.” Josh said. 

“Yeah, this is him being crazy, not you. Don’t worry. We’ll keep you safe. All of us will.” Sam added. “He’s not gonna get what he thinks he deserves. We won’t let him.”

“Yeah, no way that fucker is getting anywhere near you ever again.” Jake added. 

You nodded. “I’m trying really hard, guys. I’m trying to be better. I think getting this off my chest was the real start of it.” You said, tears staining Jake’s shirt. “I’m ready to heal.”

The other two silently made their way over to you and Jake, wrapping their arms all around you and each other as they held you in their own cage of protection. 

You weren’t sure how long you stayed like that, all embraced together, but right then you knew you’d made the right decision in telling them. They harbored no blame, no judgment, no ill feelings toward you. Just love. Devastatingly perfect love. 

——

After a few minutes of silent sobs and embarrassed tears, the four of you stood to gather yourselves. 

“Well, that was a lot, sorry guys.” You laughed nervously, stepping away a bit. 

“Please stop apologizing, Y/N. There’s nothing at all to be sorry for. If anything you should be patting yourself on the back, for sharing that with us. That’s a huge step.” Josh said. 

“Yeah, babe. Don’t be sorry to us. We’re all gonna get through it together. One step at a time, okay? We won't leave you.” Jake said, rubbing your shoulders from behind. 

Sam walked up and took you in a giant embrace, his chin resting on your shoulder as he spun you in little half circles. “Can’t believe you held that in for so many years…I’m–I’m so sorry, Y/N.” His whisper was quiet in your ear. This was the closest you’d been with Sam since…

“Thanks, Sammy. It’s alright. In a dark place for way too long…ready to walk away from it.”

He pulled back, taking your head in his hands. “And we’ll be right here to hold your hand as you do. Okay?” You nodded, more tears forming as you felt his familiar comforting touch. He laid a sweet kiss to your forehead, and backed away. A little more light conversation added some happiness to the heavy atmosphere, and you suddenly felt yourself become extremely exhausted. 

The air changed, and Josh and Sam caught the drift that it was time for them to go home. “Thanks for listening to me, guys. Means more than you know.” You told them as you walked them toward the door. “I’m gonna tell Elle and Daniel soon, so. Just wanted you three to know first.”

They nodded, sending you more sweet goodbyes as they shut the door behind them. You turned to see Jake leaned against the countertop, his face completely sunken in with an expression that didn’t make sense. 

“You wanna go for a walk or something?” He said. 

You sighed, walking back over to wrap yourself up in him. “No, I gotta clean up the kitchen.” You said. 

“No, baby. That can wait until tomorrow. It’s fine.” Jake replied. 

“Okay…kinda wanna go lay down again.” You laughed. 

You walked under his arm back to the bedroom, changing into something comfy, and sliding back under the covers with him. He took you up in his arms, pulling you close as you let yourself finally breathe. 

“I don’t know what to say, babe. I’m proud of you for being strong, though. I can’t believe you went so long holding that in…I couldn’t imagine what you’ve been going through keeping that to yourself.” Jake said, laying his cheek to your hair. 

“I almost called you. That day I went to the clinic. I didn’t want to be alone, didn’t want to go by myself. But, I just…”

“You should’ve called me! I would have gone with you, talked to you…” he said, voice rising. 

“You were in Europe, Jake. Not even in the same time zone. But, I did it. Got through it. It all…worked out…” you said, squeezing him tighter. 

“I know…I’m so sorry baby.” he whispered. 

You took another deep breath. “Jake, there’s more, though…”

He pulled back a bit, looking at you sternly, pity on his face. “More…?”

You buried your face in his chest. “After everything with the baby, in the year or so after, when I’d go to my annual checkups, they told me it was a miracle I even conceived at all. And after the procedure, I was left with a lot of internal scarring. Lots of… strange complications. Told me it would be extremely difficult for me to even get pregnant ever again, without intervention.”

“Fuck, babe…” he mouthed. You felt his body go limp.

You sat up, able to look him in the face now. “That’s why…that’s why I never told you about it. I didn’t think you’d want me anymore, if you knew I might not…” 

“Shit, Y/N, no. No no no, please don’t.” He sat up and squeezed you again, more sobs rattling through your chest. 

“It’s not fair to you, Jake. You deserve that. And I was selfish in not telling you, but I just love you so much, and everything was so scary and crazy, I didn’t want you not in my life…”

He pulled away, grasping both of your hands in his. “Listen to me, Y/N. You’re it for me. Okay? You always have been. I’m ready to have you any way you are, no matter what. Please, don’t for one second think that I think less of you. Ever. You’re the most amazing thing in my life and I’m not ever letting you go.” 

“But what if I can’t give you what you’ve always wanted?” You cried. 

“You are what I’ve always wanted, Y/N. Only you! As far as that goes…we will figure it out, babe. You and me. We’ll make it through all that together, okay? We have tons and tons of options. I’m not even worried about it.” He pulled you into him again, qualming your tears as he soothed you. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, but first we have a few places to stop along the way.”

“You think we will get there?” You breathed.

“Yeah baby… I know we will. I think about it almost everyday.” he says. 

“You do?” you whisper.

“Yeah Y/N. I…I know you’re the one. You always have been. I was stupid to ever let you go. I’m not going to make that mistake again. I swear.” he says, pushing the hair from your face.

“I love you Jake.” you say, wrapping your arms around his neck.

He pulls you down on top of him, holding you close to him as he kisses your head, “I love you too Y/N. I always always will. Until the day I die. I swear it.”

As you let him hold you, your mind raced again but a little more peacefully now, knowing that this was just the beginning. You’d started on a brand new journey, and family had taken on a whole new meaning. Facing it head on was going to be the challenge, but you felt stronger than ever. Ready to weather a new storm, with your compass heading set toward calmer seas. 

But in the back of your mind lingered a persistent demon, one that had haunted and tormented you for years on end. And though you felt safe here in your lover’s arms, you knew that the storm was still brewing, waiting, ready to wash you away the second it could. 

.

.

.

.

.

.

When someone we know and care about is impacted by domestic violence, it is hard to know how to help. But friends and family are important in supporting people experiencing domestic violence so they feel empowered to leave. Waiting for the perfect words could keep you from seizing the opportunity to change a life.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, there is help. All it takes is one call to the 24-hour National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or Text START to 88788 to discuss your situation.  

For more help identifying the signs of domestic abuse visit this site for tons of helpful resources.

If you are pregnant and unsure about your feelings or what to do next, we recommend calling the All-Options Talkline at 1-888-493-0092 from anywhere in the United States or Canada. All-Options offers unconditional, judgment-free support for people in all of their decisions, feelings, and experiences with pregnancy, parenting, abortion, and adoption.

Vigilance The Outtakes : Disruption

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Matt & Me🎀

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

a story heavily based on Priscilla Presley’s Book “Elvis & Me” based in the 1950’s - 1970’s.

fem! reader x singer! matt

disclaimer!! - in no way am i saying matt would ever support or do these kind of things, for the sake of the book certain unethical things do happen at times.

y/nn = your nickname for any confusion🩷

Chapter 10

It was the era of the Polaroid and the beginning of videotape. He was the director and I his star acting out fantasies. We dressed up and undressed, played and wrestled, told stories, acted out our fantasies, and invented scenes. Whether it was dressing up in my school uniform and playing at being a sweet, innocent schoolgirl, or a secretary coming home from work and relaxing in the privacy of her own bedroom, or a teacher seducing her student, we were always inventing new stories, and eventually, I learned what stimulated Matt the most.

Almost every night I made quick trips to the local drugstore to buy considerable amounts of Polaroid film. Some of the cashiers knew me, and I wondered if they suspected what we were doing.

I put on dark glasses to “disguise” myself, but ended up looking even more conspicuous as I’d sweetly request twelve packs of Polaroid film while making excuses like, “Gee, the others must have been defective. I just can’t seem to get them to come out right,” or “You’re not going to believe this, but someone stole my film.”

Making it in and out of Graceland was no easy feat, either. I’d pass Mr. Stall at the gate at odd hours of the night, smiling and waving hello, returning shortly with the same smile and the same wave. I was sure he harbored some suspicious thoughts about what I was doing.

Matt laughed when I told him. “It’s all in your mind. He’s no more thinking anything than a dog sleeping.”

“Well, what if he starts spreading rumors, like I go out at night?”

“It might create some excitement around here. This town’s dead. Boston needs a little gossip!”

Matt and I both loved creating these sexual fantasies and it seemed to bring us closer together. I had no previous sexual experience to compare with his inventive sexuality and I was ready to indulge him any way I could. Being in the fast lane, he was exposed to every pleasure available in life. Ordinary thrills sometimes were not enough, especially when he was under the influence of powerful drugs.

At first I was totally open to Matt and many of his ideas. I lived for those moments we were alone. I was careful to say little that might jeopardize my bond with him. I fulfilled his needs, and his beliefs became mine. Under no circumstances were his ideas or playfulness perverted or in any way harmful.

A few days after he came home, he led me to his long black limousine and we sped off to one of Boston’s most exclusive boutiques on Union Street for some after-hours shopping, just as we’d done in Las Vegas. While the boys milled around the shop and the store’s sales staff tried to look nonchalant, Matt got a big kick out of having me model dozens of stunning dresses and suits and coats that were so stylish I was doubtful I could wear them. I was still an insecure teenager.

“Matt,” I said, wearing a sexy gold lamé gown that clung to my every curve, “these clothes are too sophisticated for me.”

“Sophisticated?” he said, regarding me admiringly. “What’s sophisticated? You could go around wearing a feather and that would be sophisticated.”

“Well, bring me a feather then.”

We spent four hours at that shop and during that time, I had a personalized lesson in the Matt Sturniolo Fashion Course.

As I tried on dress after dress, Matt delivered a running commentary on color. He liked me in red, blue, turquoise, emerald green, and black and white—the same colors he himself wore. He liked solids only, declaring that large prints took away from my looks. “Too distracting,” he said. He hated browns and dark green, colors inextricably associated in his mind with the Army.

Exhausted and a little confused about my new look, I walked out of the shop dressed in a sleek black linen suit with four-inch highheeled shoes to match. With Matt sitting proudly beside me, the guys loaded the trunk of the limo with armfuls of packages, and I felt very special.

Back at Graceland he had me model all my new clothes again for Grandma, who patiently sat through a long two hours of changes. I was Matt’s doll, his own living doll, to fashion as he pleased.

It was the early sixties, when clothes and makeup veered to extremes. Women’s eyeliner was heavier, their hair more teased, and their skirts shorter than ever before. All the rules I’d learned about dressing and applying makeup (less is more, the simpler the better) were being broken, and men seemed to love it. Matt certainly did. If I went a little light with the mascara or black eyeliner, he’d send me back upstairs to apply it more heavily.

Matt liked long hair. When I’d cut mine without asking his permission, he was shocked.

“How could you cut your goddamn hair? You know I like long hair. Men love long hair.”

He wanted it long and jet black, dyed to match his because, as he said, “You have pretty eyes, baby. Black hair will make your eyes stand out more.” He made a lot of sense to me and soon my hair was dyed jet black, like his.

The more we were together the more I came to resemble him in every way. His tastes, his insecurities, his hang-ups—all became mine.

For instance, high collars were his trademark, not because he especially liked them, but because he felt his neck looked too long. He never felt comfortable unless he was in a customized high-collared shirt, though in a pinch he’d turn the collar up on a regular shirt as he had when he was in school.

When he told me that the collar I was wearing on a particular blouse was too small for my “long, skinny neck,” I too began wearing high-collared shirts. Why not? My sole ambition was to please him, to be rewarded with his approval and affection. When he criticized me, I fell to pieces.

The Pygmalion nature of our relationship was a mixed blessing. The most fundamental thing at this stage in our life together was that Matt was my mentor, someone who studied my every gesture, listened critically to my every utterance, and was generous, to a fault, with advice.

When I did something that wasn’t to his liking, I was corrected. It is extremely difficult to relax under such scrutiny. Little escaped him. Little except the most salient fact of allthat I was a volcano about to erupt.

There were evenings when he’d send me back upstairs to change clothes because my choice was “dull,” “unflattering,” or “not dressy enough” for him. Even the way I walked came under review; he told me to move more slowly, and for a short while, he had me walking around the house with a book on my head.

I appreciated his interest, but I hated having to hear him remind me of my shortcomings so many times, and each time having to promise him that he’d never have to tell me again.

Would I ever be able to live up to his vision of how his ideal woman should behave and appear? She had to be sensitive, loving, and extremely understanding, meeting unusual demands any average woman might reject. This included being left behind when he made spur-of-the-moment, questionable “business” trips.

She had to be pretty and she had to possess an offbeat sense of humor to survive all the joking at Graceland. Often I’d walk into Sunday afternoon football gatherings and hear inside jokes about the cute all-American cheerleaders. Eventually I found myself thinking like one of the guys. “Nice tits and ass,” I’d say to myself. “A little heavy in the thighs, but the face makes up for it.”

Matt had a strong aversion to wearing jeans. As a poor boy, he had no choice but to wear them and he never wanted to lay eyes on another pair. That applied to everyone in the group.

His firm ideas on my wardrobe didn’t make it easy for me to go out and buy clothes for myself. One day I came home proud of a dress I’d just bought and couldn’t wait to put on. I knew he didn’t like prints, but this was a blackand-white flowered silk that I thought very special.

The first words out of his mouth when he saw me were: “That dress doesn’t suit you. Does nothing for you. Takes away from your face, your eyes. All you see’s the dress.”

As he tore me apart I started to cry. “Are you quite finished?” I inquired. I didn’t give him a chance to answer, bolting for my bathroom and slamming the door.

A few minutes later I heard his voice from the other side of the door: “You gotta keep away from those large prints. You’re a small girl, Sattnin.”

I opened the bathroom door and snapped, “Okay, I’ll return the fuckin’ dress.”

Matt fell to the floor laughing; eventually I joined in, unable to stop myself. Once again I’d compromised my own taste.

He ignored no aspect of my appearance, including my teeth. He took me to his dentist, told him to clean my teeth and give me a thorough examination. He was to look for probable cavities only and should I need any fillings, they were to be made of white porcelain. To him a mouth loaded with gold or silver was an eyesore.

He was equally fanatical about posture. If I slumped, he’d straighten my back. When I’d look up at him and wrinkle my forehead, he’d smooth it out—or tap it—telling me not to get in that habit. I didn’t like him rapping me, so I learned that one fast.

When we came home from the movies one night, I was getting ready for bed and he was in his office playing the piano. I came in to listen, propping my foot on the bench where he was sitting. He looked down at a small chip in my nail polish and I immediately withdrew my foot from the bench and started making up excuses about why it wasn’t fixed. “I’m going to have my pedicure tomorrow,” I promised.

“Good,” he said, “cause that doesn’t look like my Little Girl’s. You should always keep them looking nice.”

I was leading a double life—a schoolgirl by day, a femme fatale by night. Our evening appearance downstairs usually resembled a grand entrance. Even when our only intention was to have dinner, we always dressed for the occasion. Matt might wear a three-piece suit with a brocade vest and a Stetson hat. Under his coat he always carried a gun. He’d given me a small pearl-handled derringer and I carried it in my bra or tucked it into a holster around my waist. We were a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde.

Matt loved films, and we went to the Memphian almost every night. He was still renting the whole house after regular hours since he couldn’t attend a movie without being mobbed. One of the guys always lined up several films in case Matt didn’t like one of them or decided to see as many as three or four in a row. We usually arrived around midnight, our limousine pulling around to the back of the Memphian. From there we’d proceed into the side door like a royal couple leading their court.

Already seated in the theater were the usual crowd of thirty to fifty local friends and fans. Matt always sat in the same seat—with Nate Doe to his right, me to his left.

Before calling “Roll ’em!” he looked around the theater to make sure everyone was seated. He was an acutely aware person and could immediately spot any unwanted or unfamiliar faces. If any new faces were sitting too close to him, Matt suggested they move elsewhere. He was more lenient with the girls. He might not demand they move but he certainly wanted to know who they were, and should they object to being asked for this information or smart off in any way, he would not hesitate to have one of the boys escort them out, telling them never to come back.

There were times Matt rented the entire Boston Fairgrounds after closing and we all  spent hours on our favorite rides. We tried such daredevil feats on the roller-coaster as seeing who could stand the longest with both arms outstretched as it whipped and twisted around the track again and again.

Matt loved the bumper cars and would team up with the entourage against some locals. They’d spend the night seemingly trying to kill each other, laughing and bruising themselves like tough little boys while we girls watched and cheered them on. After several hours my own enthusiasm waned.

Excerpt from: "Elvis and Me" by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley. Scribd.

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a/n - hope u enjoyed this chapter!!🎀