#he took katie's rudeness because yes he liked having a parents but also because of oliver

[thiamblogger]

cooper definitely fell first and harder!!

[kerie-prince]

change of pace

Fred Weasley x Slytherin!reader

requested: (@pinkdevile) hey bae, can i request a one shot or headcanon about fred being whipped by one of ron classmates that is a non-pureblood slytherin and kind of prodigy in magic and how would he react to her being a typical dry slytherin and being a prodigy and good at everything?

summary: What happens when a red lion who lives in the moment falls for a green snake with plans for her future? Romance, of course.

a/n: stereotypical, yes but i had fun writing this :) also, i know my posting schedule keeps changing, so sorry about that 🥺 i got lots of requests (thank you guys SO much!) and i'm trying to not make them all sound the same. i'm looking up synonyms and all that stuff lol

(gif cred)

You were the least Slytherin person in your house. But maybe that's made you even more of a Slytherin. Your traits were that of a typical member of the house of snakes. No, you weren't a rude bitch; you had ambition that rivaled that of a Gryffindor and it wasn't even one of their traits. You aimed for the stars and your pride proved that you could do that and more. You are the best witch of your class, and maybe even your school.

And it was this reputation that caught the attention of someone who is quite the polar opposite. You were calm and collected. He was a wild card and unpredictable. Fred Weasley had his eyes on you and was going crazy for you. It all started when one day, he was with his friends and brothers in the Great Hall during lunch when you had walked up to Ron and Harry, “Hey Ron, were my notes able to help you?”

“Yeah, loads. Thank you, Y/N.” Lee was in the middle of a conversation with his best friends when he noticed Fred wasn't responding to anything he was saying. “Mate, you okay?” When you walked to your table, Fred scooted closer to his younger brother, “Dearest brother, how are you?”

“What do you want?” Ron saw right through him. He knew when Fred wanted something from him, just like now.

“Well I’m offended that you would assume something,” Fred held a hand over his chest with a fake offended look on his face, “can’t a person ask about the well being of his baby brother?” Ron had a deadpan expression and Harry was laughing at Fred’s exaggeration. “Fair enough. Who was that?”

“Who? Y/N? She’s in mine and Harry’s class, why?” Ron had taken a large bite from his turkey leg.

“What’s she like?” Fred inquired. Ron thought about it for a minute, “Dunno, she’s pretty quiet.”

“If I didn't know any better, I’d say that Freddie here fancies someone,” George teased. The surrounding friends laugh and point towards Fred. “I don’t fancy anyone. I’m just asking a simple question.”

Hermione and Ginny later joined the group. “What’s all this fuss about?” Hermione questioned.

“Fred’s asking about Y/L/N,” Harry caught Hermione up to speed. “Why? You’re not thinking of doing anything to her, are you?” Hermione started to scold the older boy.

“Why is it that you lot always think I’m up to no good,” Fred sighed.

“Because you’ve never been up to any good,” Ginny teased her older brother. Fred rolled his eyes and turned back to try and find you at your table. You had a couple of friends with you and a small book in your hand as you ate. Fred was determined to get your attention somehow.

✿✿✿✿✿✿

You sat in the library by yourself. You had spent the majority of the afternoon grading first years’ papers for Snape’s class and working with Hermione and Katie on a project for Ancient Runes. Giving up your weekends to study wasn't all that bad. The feeling of being on top was rewarding.

It was funny; your parents had stopped caring about your grades all together because they already knew what they were going to read. Not that they weren't supportive or proud of you. At family gatherings on your father’s side, he loved seeing the looks on his relatives’ faces when he boasted that you were the best student at Hogwarts.

But they have told you on many occasions that it wouldn't kill you to have at least one E. They wanted you to be able to have a normal teen life and have fun. Go to parties, get in trouble every now and then. You assured them that you were fine and all and even believed it yourself. You never had interest in breaking the pattern you had set.

The library was nearing its closing time and you packed your things. When you walked out the grand doors, a tall figure came in front of you and nearly knocked down all the books you carried. His hands caught whatever you couldn't hold before it hit the floor.

“Sorry about that,” you looked up at the towering boy. Your breath slightly hitched at the sight of his attractive face. His cheekbones were defined and his skin looked soft. You didn’t realize that you were staring, nor that he was also staring at you as well. Finally, he spoke up and handed you the book he was holding for you. “I believe this is for you.”

His mouth moved, but you were so distracted that it didn't occur to you he had actually said anything until you saw him looking at you expectedly. “Oh, thank you.” You started heading towards the dungeons when he jogged towards and stopped in front of you. “Aren’t you in the same class as Ron?”

“Yes, how did you know that?”

“I saw you talk to him the other day,” he told you. “I’m Fred.” He reached to shake your hands but then pulled it back when he remembered that your hands were full at the moment.

Ah, so this is Fred you thought. You've heard of him, who hasn't? Years of being at Hogwarts, tales of him and his equally devilish brother creating havoc around campus have traveled from one student to another. How you two had never seen one another until this point was surprising. It’s not like Hogwarts was a large school, but it wasn't small either.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Y/N.” You nodded your head towards him to replace a handshake. Ten seconds of silence caused you to walk past him and return to the path to the dungeons. “W-wait!” Fred called out.

He stood in front of you once again, one of his hands positioned in front of you to block you from walking past him again. “Would you like to get a butterbeer tomorrow?”

If there was anything you didn't like, it was being put on the spot. And another thing? Your routine being disturbed. Your Sunday was all planned out. Helping Sprout with her greenhouse to earn extra house points, tutoring some younger years, and getting a head start on your homework that wasn't even due for another week.

“I’m sorry, but no.” You gave him an apologetic smile as you walked away. Once again, he ran in front of you but this time merged with you and actually caused all of your books to fall.

“Merlin, I’m so sorry,” he bent down to help you pick them up. Fred usually isn't this clumsy or nervous. He usually charms his way through anything, but he was becoming like putty out of nowhere. “Okay, well what about Honeydukes next Saturday?”

“Sorry, but no again.” You started walking away for the nth time and turned around to look at him for the last time, “Please don’t follow me again.” And you were gone. But did this mean that Fred gave up on any chance he had? No. Far from it. If anything, it gave him reason to want to try harder.

He walked all the way to the Gryffindor house and luckily found Hermione studying in the common room with Pavarti and Lavender. There was a spot open next to her and when Ginny was about to take the spot, Fred grabbed her arm and pulled her away to steal the seat.

“Um, excuse you, I was going to sit–”

“Tell me everything you can about Y/N,” Fred interrupted his sister.

✿✿✿✿✿✿

He had tried to learn as much as he could about you. Fred learned that you had the top grades. Much like Harry did, you had learned the Patronus Charm before not only before your own class, but even Fred’s charms class. Your dad's a wizard, and your mum's a muggle. But most importantly, you were a picture perfect student, and although you didn't have any apparent hobbies, you picked up just about everything with ease.

A couple of weeks had passed and every other day, Fred had made any type of excuse to come see you.

‘Oh, my next class is in this direction’ It wasn't.

‘I like that book, too!’ You were, in fact, not holding a book but your personal journal.

‘Funny running into you here!’ It was in the Great Hall during breakfast.

Now, you didn't hate these interactions. They didn't do anything to your routine, and they were actually cute attempts to get your attention. But you didn't think you had any time for anything else. Or anyone else.

“You should give him a chance, Y/N/N. Live a little. I think the top student can take a bit of time for herself at least once,” your friend Millicent advised. Astoria agreed with her, “He’s cute~.” You slightly blushed in your book and pushed their arms away.

“I’ve never been on a date before,” you whispered. The two girls looked at each other confused before turning back to look at you. “Huh?”

“I’ve never been on a date before!” You flinched when you realized your voice was louder than intended. Your friends laughed when you looked towards the Gryffindor table to make sure Fred didn't hear you. He was talking to his friends, so that meant he didn't. Only he did, but felt your eyes on him so he pretended he didn't.

“So this is the perfect reason to go out with him! Go ask him out,” Millie pushed. She was persistently tapping on your arm until you eventually stood up. You took a deep breath to gather confidence and walked towards the table of red and gold.

When Fred's eyes met yours, you turned around and walked out of the Hall. He stood up from his seat and chased after you. He kept bumping into people, including Filch in the hallways. Filch yelled for him to stop, but of course Fred ignored him and kept going.

Momentarily, he lost you in the crowd of mixed color robes until he saw you sitting by yourself on a bench under a tree. He walked towards your direction and asked you with his eyes if he could take the seat next to you. You scooted down more to let the tall boy sit down.

Neither of you said anything for a few moments. You fiddled with your fingers on your lap and he stared up at the sky. “Nice day, innit?” Fred started the conversation. “Yes, it is.”

“Good weather to go walking around Hogsmeade” Fred tried one last attempt in asking you out.

“It would be,” you accepted.

He let out a sigh in defeat, “I know I ask a lot, but maybe just this once– wait, what did you say?” You looked up at him and smiled for the first time. His heart skipped a beat and the butterflies fluttered about inside.

“I’ll go with you.” He was so excited that he jumped up and did an air punch of victory. You laughed to yourself and when he looked at you, you had an eyebrow raised. He blushed in embarrassment and scratched the back of his neck. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Promptly at 2 in the afternoon in front of the Slytherin dorms. Don’t be late,” you stood up with confidence. You walked back to the Hall to tell your friends, cheeks warmed and ears blushing. “So?” Astoria asked.

“It’s just a date, that's it,” you sounded nonchalant about it, but the smile on your face said differently. You were excited for your day with Fred and for all, unpredictable adventures to come.

A much needed change of pace.

—

requests open!

[the-hidden-writer]

And Into The Fire

Chapter 1: A Phone Call

Summary:  Months after the Mitchells saved the world, Linda gets a phone call asking if she's seen two defective Pal MAX bots. Powerful people are after Eric and Deborabot 5000, and it's up to the Mitchells to protect them.

Check reblogs for AO3 link!

A Phone Call

It all started with a phone call.

6 months had passed since the “robot apocalypse”, and the world had fallen back into normality. In fact, since the robot apocalypse was so brief, it was now nothing more than a memory and a conversation topic to use as small talk. Things like “Where were you when the robots took you?” or “What did you do inside the fun pods?”. All in all, life had gone back to normal.

But not for the Mitchells. No, their lives were probably changed for good.

Katie had settled well into college. Now that she finally had her Dad’s approval, she felt free to have as much fun as she wanted without the burden of letting down her family. She regularly sent them updates of her work, and it made her insanely happy when she heard that Dad had made an effort to watch them fully, even if he didn’t quite understand them. That was okay though. It’s the thought that counts.

Back at home, things weren’t the same without Katie. Every time one of them stared too long at the empty chair at the table, it felt like a little stab to the heart. The Mitchells were a team, despite their differences, and one missing member was enough to knock their whole household off-kilter.

But they’d still managed to form a similar routine to their old one, just with one less Mitchell. Just Rick, Linda, Aaron, Monchi… and Eric and Deborahbot 5000.

The addition of the two childlike defective androids to their family was the biggest change of all. Once Pal was defeated and everyone was free, the pair had simply stood and looked confused in the midst of it all. The Mitchells (still high on adrenaline) had turned to leave when Eric called out:

“Mother! Wait!”

When he had the family’s attention, he continued. “Are you… satisfied?”

“Huh?” Rick voiced all of their confusion.

“Are you satisfied?” Eric repeated in the same, dry (but strangely uncertain) tone.

When nobody replied, Deborahbot had attempted to clarify. “Are you satisfied... with our performance?”

It was at that moment that a feeling of dread began brewing in Linda’s gut. She knew little to nothing about robots, and less about computer language, but something about the way the bots were speaking resonated with her. Katie had gone through a stage a few years earlier where she needed validation to stay confident but was too anxious to directly ask for it. She wasn't even sure if robots could have anxiety, but...

The fact that this seemingly unrelated memory had sprung to mind was enough for Linda to make her decision.

“They’re coming with us.” She stated firmly, and that was that. Rick had tried to protest but his argument was weak and, after taking one look at the bots that helped save the world, he couldn’t say no to their wobbly faces.

So Eric and Deborahbot came home with them and unofficially joined the Mitchell family. Luckily for the Mitchells themselves, the bots’ shenanigans were enough to help fill in the void left by Katie. The family had found their routine, they weren’t being hounded by the press anymore, and they’d found their new normal.

And then one ordinary day, the house phone rang.

Before Linda (the only human in the house at that moment) had time to react, two identical shouts of “Unknown number!” came in from the living room.

Eric and Deborahbot announcing the caller had been endearing at first. Each time any phone rang, they would happily shout the caller’s name straight away.

However after a few months of it, as much as Linda hated to admit it, it had gotten old and more than a little annoying. But the boys couldn’t help it and it brought them pleasure, so Linda had decided to let it slide for the time being.

Then when the phone rang after a particularly exhausting day and the bots had called out the name of a work colleague, Rick snapped. He yelled at the bots in what Linda thought was a very harsh way- so harsh that she was certain that they would be crying if they could display human emotions.

Rick had felt extremely guilty later that night and apologised (due to Linda’s nagging) in the morning. The bots immediately forgave him, but Linda noticed during the following week they would fall silent whenever Rick passed them or when the phone rang. To try and make up for it, she promised them that they could shout the caller’s name whenever Rick wasn’t home. They’d hugged her when she said that, and Linda felt like she’d done something right. It was a nice feeling.

“Mother! The phone is ringing!” Deborahbot called, snapping Linda back to the present. She’d been lost in her memories for a moment, so she quickly ran to answer the house phone.

(The bots weren’t allowed to answer the phone for obvious reasons.)

“Hello?” She answered, smiling when she noticed Eric and Deborahbot peeking their heads around the door to watch her.

“Hi, uh, is this the Mitchells?”

The voice on the other end was familiar, but Linda couldn’t quite put a name to it. Was it a parent from one of her school’s kids? No, because then why would they have her house number. Then who?

“Yes, this is Linda Mitchell. Sorry, who is this?”

“Uh, hey, it’s Mark Bowman.” So that’s where she recognised the voice. It belonged to the man whose face had been plastered all over the news and had narrowly avoided jail time for causing the robot apocalypse.

“What can I do for you, Dr Bowman?” She asked, trying not to let the sneer into her voice. She also tried not to notice the way Eric and Deborahbot visibly stiffened (an accomplishment for them) at the sound of the name.

“Right, um,” the man sounded oddly hesitant, “as you probably know, I’ve been going through a lot of official checks, to prove that the robots no longer pose a threat and stuff.”

His hesitance made sense then. He was probably being held at gunpoint by the CIA.

“Mhmm.” Linda nodded while simultaneously using her free hand to shoo her boys away. She didn’t know whether they could listen in to phone calls or not, but her instincts were telling her that they would not want to listen to whatever their creator was about to say.

“Well one of those checks includes making sure that all the Pal Max bots are permanently offline, you get what I’m saying?”

Linda wishes she didn’t. “Yeah.”

“Let’s just say that one took a while. Each bot has a unique serial number and was designed to send out a notification to Pal Labs if they got completely broken. And since there are like, millions of these things it took ages to sort them out, haha.”

“Understandable.” Said Linda pleasantly, although her motherly instincts were firing off the charts.

“So, uh, long story short there are two of these Pal MAX bots still missing. The rest have all been accounted for from these distress signals, but these ones seemed to have disconnected from Pal servers before the mass shutdown. Since they’re still online I’m guessing they’re defective.”

Linda felt a sudden, impulsive urge to kill Mark Bowman. This was not a first-time occurrence.

“So this is basically a super long way of asking if you’ve seen any rogue Pal MAX bots still online anywhere? Maybe back when you were saving the world?”

She had to resist the urge to hang up right then and there. Instead, she put on her sweetest teacher voice. There was truly no better way to mask her emotions.

“Hmm, no, sorry I don’t think we did.” She paused. “Even if we did, if the robots are defective then surely they can’t be that dangerous?”

“That’s what I’m saying!” Bowman exclaimed suddenly before clearing his throat and composing himself. “But uh… these people wanna be thorough. Can’t risk another apocalypse, y’know?”

Linda was about to respond when she heard a strange beeping sound on the other end, accompanied by shuffling.

“Uh, thanks Mrs Mitchell sorry again about the apocalypse bye-”

She’d been hung up on before she had time to react to Dr Bowman’s words.

On the inside, she was glad that he hadn’t pressed further about the missing defective robots. She’d been half-expecting him to already know their whereabouts and for there to be a confrontation.

But there hadn’t, and he’d hung up, and something about the whole thing seemed off.

She began to formulate a plan in her mind. Firstly, her robo-boys’ safety was the top priority of the situation. Once Rick came home she could tell him about the phone call and they could think of protection methods more clearly.

All she knew for certain for the time being was that the bots wouldn’t be leaving the house for a while.

~-.-~

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

If the beeping wasn’t startling enough, the aggressive hand signals the agents were sending him caused him to panic.

He decided to hang up quickly. “Uh, thanks Mrs Mitchell sorry again about the apocalypse bye!” It probably sounded rude, but he really couldn’t care at this point.

“So…” he nervously began, looking up from the phone screen but not wanting to make eye contact with any of the agents. “Did you find anything?”

“The call was intercepted by two separate individuals.” One of the younger agents seated at a computer piped up.

Mark gulped.

“It seems as though we were right, Dr Bowman.” Said Agent Ward, the CIA woman who had first initiated the search for the missing Pal MAX bots. “They’re targeting the Mitchells.”

Taking a deep breath, Mark tried to calm his nerves. He’d lost almost everything in the span of a few months- a good chunk of his self-confidence included.

“Now what?" He asked. "You’re gonna warn them, right?”

“Find them yet, Travis?” Agent Ward asked another of the agents, ignoring Mark completely.

“Hey! You didn’t answer me!”

“We’ve managed to trace the interception to its sources, Ma’am.” The other agent replied, also ignoring Mark. “The coding here does look like Pal MAX, but we can’t actually access it. Since they’re online, the defences are strong. It would take a few days to get through the firewall even with Pal Labs resources, let alone commence a rewrite.”

The agents only turned their attention back to Mark when he snorted when trying to hold in a laugh.

“Of course it’d take ages,” he scoffed, “these are Pal bots. They’re designed to be pretty much impossible to be hacked by humans.”

“Well then,” Agent Ward towered over him intimidatingly, “you’d better get to work.”

Comments make my day! :)

[yangrdn]

Cherry Chap Stick

pairing: Mj x Fem!Reader

a/n: it literally took me MONTHS to finish this bc of lack of motivation and time. But oh my god ... it’s finally done!! Bad news: there’s gonna be a part 2 to this, because else I wouldn’t post it now. It’s my longest fic so far, but ig i’ll write more in future or also part it in 2 parts. enjoy!!

part 2

Summary: You ask your crush, or uses to be crush, for help

words: 2.3k

Warnings: none

my masterlist

→ → → → → → → →

Your heart drops at the sight of the two of them laughing at something he whispered into her ear. Peter and Mj have been spending a lot of time together lately and you don't know how to feel about it. You'd be happy, of course, but then again, you wish you could sit there. No, not with Peter, but with Mj. 

You look back down to your open spanish book and try to concentrate on the task, blocking out the giggles leaving her mouth after he told another, what seems to be, joke. Your mind is racing 100 miles a second trying to find out the answer to the question in your book and trying to listen to the two of your friends at the same time, until, finally, your teacher tells you to pack your things and gives you the homework for the next week. You quickly pack your things and storm out, trying not to walk with Peter and Mj, but you fail. 

"Hey!" You turn around to be met with Peter waving at you and smiling. You smile back and greet him with a quiet 'hello' before letting your head sink again. 

"What's wrong? You seem so...off?" he seemed to notice. Usually you're the one talking non stop and telling him about your week and other exciting things, so of course your sudden silence worries him.

"I just...I don't know. I'm just thinking." You sigh and turn your head to him to let him know you are ok. 

Your mind was racing 100 miles a second. Two days ago you thought you had a crush on your best friend, Peter, turns out you were wrong. So. Very. Wrong. You were sitting in front of your phone when you realized. Katy perry's voice repeating the words over and over again as you scrolled through the endless amount of videos with the same sound on TikTok. In every single video, the girl was kissing another girl and you just couldn't stop thinking about it. What if the girl could've been you and...her? First you thought it was Peter, but then you noticed the different feeling you got thinking about her and let your phone drop. This was all so new for you. 

"About what?" he asks, "you know, you can tell me anything. We're best friends, right?" he says now, much more concerned. You sigh and continue walking after you nod. 

You have only liked boys, and now a girl? At first you tried to excuse it as platonic love. I mean, friends are very close to each other, right? Like, hugging and kissing each other's cheeks? Or cuddling and wanting the other to care about you. But the way you thought about her crossed the line between friends and lovers already. 

You are sitting next to Peter at lunch, whilst Ned is talking about some new lego set he got a week ago. He seems excited so you try your best to seem interested and look like you're listening. But a certain someone keeps distracting you.

"Are you even listening?" Mj snaps her fingers in front of your face twice and laughs. 

"Huh? Uh, yes. I was just thinking...about," you look around the room, "someone." Ned's eyes widen as he sends Peter a look. 

"About someone? Uhm, who?" Peter sits up straighter and purses his lips, trying not to seem interested. You bite the inner side of your cheek and look at Mj, but her head is buried back into her book. 

You sigh. "It's no one, I gotta go." You take your backpack and leave the room, not daring to look behind you. 

After school you don't hesitate before packing your things and going out, leaving your friends confused behind you, calling your name. 

First thing you do is run into your room and close the door, after throwing our backpack on the floor. You let yourself fall face-first on your bed and lay there for some minutes on your stomach, thinking about today, and Mj. 

"Whyyyyy" you whine and turn around laying on your bed. You didn't even have someone to talk about it. You can't tell Mj, because she would ask how you found out and about who you thought. Ned? No, he would go and tell someone else, even on accident.               

Your parents? You don't know how Steve would react. Sure, he is very accepting and you don't think he would bash or embarrass you, but things were way different back then. Bucky? No, he would tell Steve. That leaves you no other chance but to go to your other best friend, Peter. Even if it means risking and telling him you had a crush on him, or at least thought you liked him in that way. 

You quickly jump out of your bed and grab your phone, which lays on the floor after you failed to throw it on your bed. 

The phone rings twice before you hear Peter's voice from the speaker.

"Hello?" 

"Peter, do you have a minute?" you ask, fumbling with your fingers and biting your bottom lip. Your voice probably shaes, because he immediately notices. 

"Uh, yeah. Did something happen? Should I come over?" You smile at him worrying and shake your head, forgetting that he can't see you. 

"Yes and yes. Maybe you can come over now? It's nothing bad, promise. I just...need to talk, y'know?" 

"Yeah, yeah. K, I'll be there in 10," he says and hangs up. 

You quickly lay your phone on your desk and run to the bathroom, washing your face and breathing in and out. How are you going to tell him? "oh yeah, hey Pete. So uhhh...I thought I had a crush on you because I was sad when I saw you and Mj together but turns out that I actually had a crush on Mj and was mad that she was with you." ? No, absolutely not. 

Your heart starts to beat faster after you hear a silent knock on your door. 

"Uh..come in!" You say and leave the bathroom to sit on the bed in the middle of your room. Your heartbeat is so loud and strong, that you're sure Peter can hear it the minute he enters your room. 

"Hey! Is everything alright? You sounded so...worried on the phone," he asks and sits next to you. 

"Uh..yes? I actually wanted to ask you something and don't know how to start..." You look down at your feet on the floor, knitting your hands and biting your lip again. How are you supposed to tell him you've fallen for a girl? Your best friend?

"What's it about? You know you can trust me, right? You're my best friend, I'll always listen to you." You smile at his tenderness and feel another warm feeling spread through you, which makes you stop for a second. But it's not the same warmth you get when talking with Mj or just looking at her. You sigh. 

"It's kind of complicated. I...like someone and 

don't know how to feel about it?" You look up and into his brown eyes. You catch him staring at your lips and quickly look away again, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in his presence. 

"Uhm...that's great?" he says, which comes out more like a question than a statement. 

"Who's it?" he digs in deeper.

 "Oh, is it Brad? Or Flash? Well, I don't think you're in love with Flash, because he-" 

"That's the problem," you calmly say whilst looking anywhere but at him. 

"Problem? So...it is Flash? Or someone else you can't ge-" 

"Peter, it's not even a boy!" you sigh and throw yourself back, now laying on your back and hiding your face in your hands. You feel a blush creep up your face and spread at the back of your neck. 

“Uh...what?” he asks, in hopes he heard you wrong. “You’re in love with a...girl?” he asks again. You feel tears prick your eyes at the way he says girl, as if he is filled with disgust. You nod once and risk moving your hands away from your eyes, opening your eyes and meeting his gaze. The moment he notices the tears in your eyes, his eyes soften too and he sighs. 

“I didn’t mean to sound so...rude. I just- it 's, ugh.” He sighs again and looks up. 

“I didn’t expect that, like, at all. Who 's it?” 

You sit up and take a look at him before speaking up. 

“Will you promise me not to judge?” you ask.

“I’d never, promise,” he says and shakes his head. 

“Uhm, it’s one of our friends. Her name’s,” you exhale, “Mj.” You immediately look away when her name leaves your mouth and squint your eyes, scared of Peter’s reaction. 

“I- Mj?” he asks, trying to make sure that he heard you right. You turn your head to him and nod, biting the inner side of your cheek, a habit you get every time you are nervous in a situation. He quickly lowers his head low, scared you would notice the tears filling his eyes at the mention of his and your best friend. 

These past days, he did notice your gaze resting on him and it gave him hope. Hope that maybe, just maybe, you felt the same towards him. But every time he would meet your longing stares and dreamy expression, Mj was next to him. So you didn’t look at him, you were looking at Mj this whole time. And Mj was only hanging out with Peter so often last week, because he asked her if she could help him, help him to ask you out. All the struggle to think about what you are interested in for nothing. 

“Yes? You’re- you’re not mad right? I mean, you like her a-” you get cut off by him.

“I’m not mad. And uhm...how did you find out?” he asks now, directly looking into your eyes. Your cheeks redden and you exhale before explaining. 

“Uhm, y’know how Mj and you have been hanging out a lot together, lately?” He nods. “Well, I thought you were the one I had a crush on because I got mad so fast...turns out it was her the whole time.” You feel him shift next to you and sit up straight, inhaling. 

“Uh-” His voice cracks and he coughs. “You..you don’t like me? As in, more than a friend?” You shake your head and sigh again. 

“No. Like I said; it was Mj this whole time, but I thought it was you because…, you trail off and look up at the ceiling as another rush of embarrassment runs through you. 

“Because?” 

“I did like you for a long time in 7th grade, but then when we met Mj and she started to hang out with us, with you, I guess I didn’t really think about how I lost feelings for you, and developed some for her.” 

“Okay, so what exactly do you want to do now? Do you- do you want to confess? I don’t kno-”

“Ughhhh, why’s life so complicated?” You let yourself fall back, back pressed against your bed and with your hands covering your teary eyes. Peter takes your hands and makes you open your eyes, looking up at him. He caresses his thumb over your palm and gives you a smile. 

“Do you want to confess to her? Like, tell her you’re..?” He stops and frowns.

“Bi? I mean, at least I think I’m bi...I’m still new to this, but I guess that’s it, I still have time to figure it out..so.” You shrug and sit up again. You are not wrong. You still had time to figure this all out, and at the moment, that was the label you felt comfortable with. You liked Peter, and then Mj. 

“Yeah, that. Do you want to tell her first and see how she reacts? I mean, you should feel comfortable doing that, so if you don’t, it’s ok. But it’d be better if you did- not that I’m pressuring you or anything. I really want you to feel comf-” You let out a breathy laugh as you feel your cheeks heat up again.

 You loved how much he cared about you, one of the reasons why you  thought about telling him first, before anyone else. He always wanted to make sure all his friends and important people, to him, were safe and felt comfortable with telling him important things. Like right now, he’s thankful that you trusted him enough to talk about this. 

“Peter, breath! It’s okay, really, I’m comfortable right now.” He nods and lets go of your hand again. 

“Thank you,” you look at him through your lashes and catch a smile from him. 

“Always. But what are you gonna do? Do you- do you want to tell your parents first?” 

“I don’t know. I just want to think about everything at first, and then later on tell someone else, y’know? Not tryna rush this or anything.” 

“Yeah, I get that.” 

For the rest of the day, you were thinking about how to tell your parents and if you were right or not. Your mind kept telling you that you don’t like her. Maybe it was just thinking she was pretty? Maybe you were just longing for touch and because she was not touchy, you liked the idea of hugging her and being the only one to do so. But maybe, the thought that kept you up the whole night, you were faking it all and still liked Peter and your mind was playing tricks with you. Regardless, you just couldn’t close your eyes and rest for a second, the thought of your parents, the Avengers or any other of your friends reacting bad and being disgusted. 

But then again, if they really loved you, they wouldn’t think any less of you. And you also didn’t know their views on these type of things, so you could be completely wrong. 

→ → → → → → → →

》feedback is appreciated!《

[uzumaki-rebellion]

“Stark’s New Intern” Chp. 13

Summary: Erik works the first day of the Stark Expo and makes a discovery...

"The most important time in history is, now, the present So count your blessings cause time can't define the essence But you stressin over time and you follow the Roman calendar These people into cloning like Gattaca, you can bet They tryin to lock you down like Attica, the African diaspora Represents strength in numbers, a giant can't slumber forever…"

Black Star—"K.O.S. (Determination)"

"When can we meet Tony Stark?"

The chunky white girl with the dark goth hair and stank attitude glared at Erik as he stood before a podium giving the introductory remarks to the two hundred plus fourth through sixth-grade students who were attending the morning children's track of the Stark Expo.

Erik squared his shoulders and glared back at her.

"It's rude to interrupt someone's speech without raising your hand when they are explaining what is about to happen. How about you wait and let me finish?"

The girl's lips curled up in surprise and she looked around as the other children snickered at her. She rolled her eyes at Erik and folded her arms.

"Now…to finish my remarks, I'd like to say that the Children's Expo is going to be filled with various activities that you can fully choose to participate in throughout the day. Lunch will be at twelve-thirty and provided for all of you inside the Learning Annex tent located right next to the convention center…what is it now?"

The same white girl raised her hand and Erik could hear a few exasperated sighs coming from some of the other kids there.

"Will there be gluten-free food provided, because—"

"Did your parents fill out the registration form and check off gluten-free?"

"Yes—"

"Then why are you wasting our time asking about it?"

"I just want to make sure—"

"We are providing gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, non-processed, locally sourced foods for those with dietary concerns. Anything else?"

Erik's lips curled into a scowl and a little Black girl with two tiny braids laughed out loud at his expression and quickly covered her mouth when he glanced over at her. She was the same girl that the chunky white girl had talked over at the beginning of Erik's presentation. He softened his expression at her and she visibly relaxed and dropped her hands on her lap.

He swiped his hand on his touchpad and the projected image floating behind him changed to a map of the expo space.

"Restrooms are located by following the blues lines on the walls and if you have questions or concerns, we have adult guides throughout the expo halls that can help you at any time…"

The same problem child's hand flew up.

"Stand up," Erik barked at the annoying girl.

The girl stood up, her lips tight, and her eyes still challenging him.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Katy—"

"Everyone, Katy wants some attention right now. She's been asking questions that could be answered at the end of my little talk. She's spent time whispering to people around her and being a distraction, and she has also been rude to many of you. So, Katy, the floor is now yours, we'll all just sit here and give you all the attention you want."

Erik stepped away from the podium and held his hands clasped in front of his waist.

The children stared at the girl and Katy's face, that had once been smug, slowly drained. His mother who had been a school teacher would've handled the girl a lot better, but Erik knew this type of child. He went to school with a lot of them like her. So used to being considered smart, gifted, and "special" all their life that they tended to become conceited and grew a holier-than-thou ass-hole mentality. If there was a high-income family attached behind them, they were even worse. Katy had made fun of some of the other kids who had asked good questions by belittling them with comments meant to make them look stupid. Now Erik was making her look stupid.

"Can we get back to me giving everyone information now?"

Katy said nothing.

"Sit down then," he said.

She plopped back down and he didn't hear a peep out of her for the rest of his presentation. At the end, he answered pertinent questions and released the youngins to adult handlers that matched the color-coded badges all the children wore. Forty minutes of talking, ten minutes sprinkled throughout with Katy interrupting, and twenty minutes of Q & A already had him drained from being around kids the rest of the day. He expected to hear from Tony about Katy from some of the adult handlers in the room who helped with supervision, but he didn't care. Don't start none, won't be none is what his Mama taught him.

"Are you giving a tour Mr. Stevens?"

Erik turned to see Athena making a child-sounding voice.

"Thank God no," he said with a big grin on his face.

"My track is over and the high-schoolers are going to eat lunch now, so I have a break. What do you have next?" she said.

"The Track C group. Junior high. I thought the little kids would like graphics better but they seemed to come alive more when I just talked to them and ignored my pictures."

"You're good at talking. You get excited about what your explaining and its infectious."

"It doesn't feel that way."

He glanced around. No one was watching. He cozied up to her and put a hand around her waist.

"Can I come back over tonight?"

"Be mindful, Sir," she teased, pushing back from him.

He kissed her on her lips.

He'd been swimming in her pussy for three days straight and shit was so good she had him daydreaming about her while he worked with the expo crew team to set up. He didn't even try to be discreet with her anymore because she had him hooked. She glanced around then rubbed up against him, letting her lips rest on his lush mouth.

"Could I borrow him for a second? Or do you need to hump his leg?"

Giselle stood with a palm pad in one hand and a bunch of teen badges in the other.

Athena stepped back from Erik.

"These are some badges for a few attendees who just arrived and weren't able to pick these up downstairs."

Erik took the badges from her. "You can pass them out at the beginning of your presentation. If there are some left because the attendees didn't show up, I'll take them back for tomorrow. We found some people trying to sell these outside."

"Alright," he said.

"Do us all a favor, try to stay professional and stop pawing at each other," Giselle snapped.

Athena rolled her eyes.

"I'll see you tonight, Erik," Athena said walking away.

Erik watched her swing her big hips in her tight ass slacks and he couldn't help but make a sound of approval under his breath. That was enough to annoy Giselle and she sucked her teeth.

"Don't be mad. I was tryna get with you, but you turned me down."

She ignored him and took her spot near the back of the room waiting for Erik's next session to start.

She cut her eyes at him.

"Be pissed at yourself…"

She crossed her legs and Erik noticed the deep split in her skirt and the sexy heels on her feet. Damn, she could still get it. He sat next to her. Giselle's fingers flew over her touchpad.

"I'll be professional, okay? Thanks for reminding me."

He patted her thigh and she moved her legs away from him.

"You plan on being mad at me all day?"

"I'm not mad at you."

"Jealous?"

"Of what?"

"Athena and me. You know we smashing."

"That's your business. No one needs to see it here is the point."

Giselle was cute when she was annoyed. The pout on her face was actually kind of sexy to him.

A surge of junior-high aged attendees filed into the space snagging seats. Erik stood up and headed to the podium. Checking his watch, Erik started promptly.

The junior high track was straight fire. The students were attentive, laughed at a lot of the graphics he put together for them meant to add humor to science and technology, and his Q & A session went over the allotted time because so many young people wanted to stay behind and talk to him. He had to finally type up his email and give it to the tons of questions that had to go unanswered. So many bodies flocked around him vying for his time. Giselle had to come rescue him, guiding him away from the crowd.

"They got you acting like Pepper," he joked.

"They bum-rushed you like you were Tony," Giselle said.

Her voice was pleasant. Actually friendly. He regarded her face with curiosity.

"You sound impressed."

"Actually, I was. You were great."

"Just great?"

"Okay…okay…that was a fantastic session."

"Ooh, fantastic. I leveled up in your eyes."

The expression on her face made her look open to him.

"You had lunch yet? I'm going to grab a bite and then I have to head over to the mini-lab and work there for two hours."

"No, I just had a latte earlier."

"Let's go eat…unless you have to go to your next station."

"I can eat."

He was surprised she agreed to go with him.

He steered her to the lunch pavilion in the tent outside the convention center, and they fixed themselves hearty plates of fancy catered food. They sat outside the tent on the steps of the convention building and ate their fill.

"Ah vitamin D," Giselle sighed, holding back her face to the sun when they were done eating.

She looked beautiful with her eyes closed, her lips slightly parted, and her hair resting on her shoulder. Erik ate his food while watching her sunbathe. He was still feeling her and didn't know how to get past her reticence toward him. She must've felt his eyes on her because her lids raised up slowly and for a second, Erik was lost in her face. He wanted to kiss her again and leaned forward toward her…and she was letting him.

"Hey, Devika!" Erik said pulling back from Giselle when his peripheral caught sight of her.

Tony's personal secretary strolled past carrying two bags.

"You need help?"

Erik threw away his empty plate and stepped to Devika. He took the bags from her.

"Thanks, Erik. That was a struggle," Devika said.

Her eyes took in Giselle.

"How's it going?" she asked.

"Good. I have to head over to the mini-lab. Where do you need to take these?" he asked.

"You're in luck, these actually need to go to the lab. The morning crew forgot to take these. Extra sample slides and tubes."

"Cool. I'ma head out. Holla at me later?"

His eyes gazed at Giselle.

"Maybe."

He grinned and walked with Devika.

"Are you two dating?"

"Me and Giselle? I wish."

"She doesn't like you?"

"I think she does, but she has this thing about being professional and not fraternizing while working together. Stupid."

"It's not stupid, Erik. Sometimes mixing business and pleasure backfires. I made that mistake once…"

Devika's eyes darted away from his and they both saw Tony walking toward them. Stark's eyes took in Devika and Erik knew immediately who she was talking about.

"Stevens," Tony said.

"I'm on top of stuff."

"I know you are. Lab?" he said pointing the bags.

"Yeah."

"I'll head over with you. I have a free twenty minutes so I'll show a little face…Devika I need to cancel dinner with Hartzel and Cook tonight."

"This is the third time—"

"I know. I just don't have the energy for those guys right now."

Tony walked ahead of them and Erik kept up with the bags. Devika pulled out a tablet and canceled Tony's evening plans.

The mini-lab was a replica of one of Stark Industries' actual working labs. It gave students the opportunity to see real-world applications with hands-on experience first-hand. Tony swept in to the usual fanfare and Erik handed off the lab supplies to another intern.

Erik walked around the finished lab and was shocked to see a microscope that he wanted to use back in L.A. but had no private access to. There was also other equipment he needed to be able to test the vibranium. The irony. The shit he needed but couldn't use in Los Angeles was right in front of him for little kids to play with.

Erik walked over to Samira the lab coordinator.

"Is there an evening shift?" he asked.

Samira glanced at her tablet and swiped the screen a few times.

"I have enough people, but if you want to hang out—"

"Yeah, put me on the list," he said while calculating what he would need to be able to run a discreet experiment out in the open.

###

Erik slipped past Samira and three other interns as they shut down the mini-lab for the night. He volunteered to power down all the science equipment, clean them, and pre-set them for Saturday morning so Samira and company could go eat dinner and take off early.

The vibranium was in his pocket and he moved to the back of the lab and snagged the tools he needed to take a sample of the metal and test it. He needed to be in and out of the convention center by ten and it was already seven at night. Three hours to do as much as he could to learn the properties of the metal. He would have to use episcopic illumination carefully. He had several options to choose from, so he opted to use crossed polarizing filters first until he saw that the amount of equipment in the lab was extensive enough to go full out. He decided to go with a differential interference contrast using unstained samples of the vibranium. Time was of the essence.

He worked fast and printed up results as they came, erasing any traces of his use of the equipment, including printouts of data. He felt jumpy as he heard footsteps move back and forth in the front of the entrance.

By the time he collected what data he could in the amount of time that he had, Erik was already strolling to his hotel room with his head full of wonder. Vibranium was not from earth. It had no trace of any elements found on the planet he walked on. His father and his people had been using something literally from outside of the world. The discovery actually made his hands shake as he took out his room keycard. He was excited. Dumbfounded. Even more curious. Aroused in a way that made his skin tingle.

He opened his door and across the hall, Giselle opened her door and put an empty room service tray on the ground.

Dressed in a hotel robe, her eyes met his as she stood up.

"You're back late," she said, a sly smile on her face.

Erik walked over to her door and slipped his left hand behind her neck and his right hand around her waist. Giselle's eyes had that same look she gave him at lunch, and when he crashed his lips on hers, he knew he wasn't leaving her until what needed to be done was done.

Chapter 14 HERE

###

Tag List:

@fd-writes​ @soufcakmistress  @cherrystainedlipsbaby @tclaybon  @thadelightfulone

@allhailqueennel @bartierbakarimobisson @cpwtwot @shookmcgookqueen @yoyolovesbucky

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@tyees @eye-raq @writerbee-ffs @chocolatedream30 @childishgambinaa @mygirlrenee​ @nahimjustfeelingit-writes​ @taterfics​

[goldlenbee]

⧼ maisie williams, cisfemale, she/her / I’m good by the mowgli’s + scuffed up boots paired with oversized sweaters, waking up early to watch the sun rise, copious amounts of caffeine. ⧽ ━━ hey, isn’t that BEATRIX UMBRIDGE? i read a daily prophet article on them, once ; the TWENTY-THREE year old [ half blood ] WITCH is a [ GRYFFINDOR alumnus who has gone on to be a POTIONEER]. i’ve heard they can be quite RELIABLE & INTELLIGENT, but i don’t know… they came off very SCATTER BRAINED& IMPULSIVE in that interview. it really is hard to know what to believe these days though, isn’t it?

Basic Information

Full name: Beatrix Umbridge

Nickname: Bee

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Asexual

Romantic orientation: Aromantic

Date of birth: November 20th

Nationality: British

Blood Staus: Halfblood

Appearance

FC: Maisie Williams

Glasses?: yes, but she typically wears contacts.

Tattoos: she had three tattoos, one of a spadille on her ankle, one of the solar system on her back, and a trail of six little bees done in different colors, that is over her heart.

Piercings: one piercing in each ear, as well as a cartilage piercing in her right ear.

Clothing style: she typically wears jeans with oversized sweaters, sweatshirts or tshirts and a flannel, very relaxed. She doesn’t care much about matching, she prefers comfort.

Standard Accessories: Her most standard accessories are her sparkly gold combat boots, that she wears almost religiously, and a gold bee necklace her parents gave her when she started Hogwarts.

Personality

Positive Traits: Determined, intelligent, excitable, empathetic, reliable, hardworking, passionate

Negative Traits: Impulsive, Scatterbrained, Stubborn, smothering, agitated, explosive, over-protective

Likes: Fantasy novels, Potions, her family, caffeine (doesn’t matter the kind, but her favorites are coffee, and Diet Coke), sunrises, penguins, bees, her cat.

Dislikes: chickens, birds in general, her aunt and grandfather, people who don’t believe in second chances, squash and zucchini

Good at: Potions, rewriting song lyrics to make funny parodies, finding out random fun facts.

Bad at: remembering where she put things, speaking up for herself (for anyone else sure, herself not so much), singing.

Habits: She wears two rubber rings, one on each middle finger, and when she is nervous, or trying to concentrate, she will absentmindedly chew on them, she usually fiddles around with a hair tie she keeps attached to her belt loop, and she will tap her fingers together to whatever rhythm while she thinks.

Hobbies: reading, writing, going for walks, rocking out to some muggle music, running, playing quidditch just for fun (she refused to even attempt to try out for the Gryffindor team, she was not about to try and compete against Katie, Angelina, or Alicia for a chaser spot, no thank you)

Fears: Birds (expect for penguins, they are cute, but like all other birds, no thank you.) Being left alone, people giving up on her, failing at everything she tries to achieve, public speaking

Family

Father: Chester Umbridge (Squib)

Mother: Florence Burton (Halfblood)

Siblings: Benjamin Umbridge (17), Bentley Umbridge (17), Bailey Umbridge (16) and Barcley Umbridge (13)

Paternal grandparents: Orford Umbridge, Ellen Cracknell

Maternal grandparents: Reginald Burton, Elsie Burton Née Wilson.

Uncles: Robert Burton (Maternal), Eugene Burton (Maternal), Archibald Burton (Maternal)

Aunts: Alice Burton née Lewis (Maternal) Rebecca Burton née Harris (Maternal), Dolores Umbridge (paternal)

Pet: Buttercup (Her tortishell cat)

Social standing: Middle Class

Family background: Her father is the younger brother of Dolores Umbridge. When their parents divorced, his mother took him, while his father took Dolores. He kept his last name though, for reasons he still won’t explain to his children. Him and his mother lived in England, where he met Florence over the summer of his eighteenth year. They hit it off immediately, and eventually fell in love. They were married at 23, but not before her mother revealed that she was a witch. Her father was skeptical, due to his past with the wizarding, but they fell in love and did get married. They have been married almost 25 years now. Bee’s mother’s family was much more welcoming, and has been a constant in Bee’s life.

Magic

Wand: English Oak, Dragon Heartstring core, 12 ¾ inches, Solid

Hogwarts house: Gryffindor

Mirro of Erised: She sees herself, with her family around her, telling her how proud they all are of her, she has just been appointed the new potions master of Hogwarts.

Boggart: Her family leaving her alone, telling her that this time she finally messed up too much, that they were giving up on her.

Patronus: Tonkinese Cat

Amortentia: Pine trees, apple cider scented candles, wood burning fire

Biography

Prologue

Beatrix Umbridge, otherwise known as Bee, is the eldest of the five Umbridge children, born to Chester and Florence Umbridge, and the niece of the “famous” Dolores Umbridge. She grew up in a very warm and loving household, and as the eldest of the children, held a level of responsibility that helped shape her as she grew older. Often stepping in to help care for her siblings, she found herself the nurturing one out of the children. She would do whatever she needed to ensure they were happy and healthy. From a young age, this did not always apply to herself as well, she would get into trouble in school for her reckless and impulsive behavior, from little things like forgetting to do her schoolwork, to bigger issues like thinking it would be a fantastic idea to climb to the top of the tree in the school yard, but then refusing to climb down out of a fear of falling. Her childhood was full of mostly happy memories though, smiles, warm hugs, and love all around.

Years at Hogwarts

When she got her letter at 11, she was very excited. Her mother, aunts, and uncles had gone to Hogwarts, and only had good things to say about the school. She came from a family of many different houses, so she didn’t really have her house set on any house in particular, but she kind of hoped she would be a ravenclaw like her aunt. She was pretty shocked to be placed into Gryffindor, but she enjoyed her years of schooling within this house. Her first four years went by about as typical as any school year involving Harry Potter could, honestly she didn’t even know what was going on with the close encounters with death each year, she didn’t realize anything had happened until they got points or something at the end of the year, like many other students.

Her fifth year though, it was hell. That was the year her aunt infiltrated Hogwarts. Her aunt was about the worst person Bee ever had the displeasure of knowing. Her fake sweet demeanor really got on Bee’s nerve. And of course, no matter how many types Bee said she hated her aunt, everyone, even her own housemates, assumed she would help her aunt. She didn’t even get told or anything about Dumbledore's army when it was first made. Sure she joined Dumbledore’s Army her seventh year, but still. It was rude. As her aunt got worse though, people began to avoid her more and more, until she felt all alone, like she always feared. It was not a pleasant year, and while yes, she has forgiven her friends, she believes everyone deserves a second chance, that doesn’t change the fact that even to this day, the memory of that year still hurts.

Her sixth year went by smoother, and before she knew it was her last year. The next eldests of her siblings, the twins, were in their second year, and Bailey was in her first. She remembers that year, and was thankful for the hideout within the room of requirement, hiding her siblings in there until she could figure out a way to get them out safely. It was a terrifying year, and honestly she tries to forget about it. She did fight in the battle for Hogwarts alongside, and was lucky to walk away with no major physical injuries.

After the Battle, she returned to Hogwarts, acing her N.E.W.T’s. She doesn’t remember much about her last year, other than it just being done.

Now

Now Bee is a potioneer in diagon alley, and lives in a small apartment with her cat, Princess Buttercup. She visits her family each Sunday for dinner, and will always begin gushing about her sibling when asked about them. She enjoys going out with friends, and spends some of her free time in the local library reading more fantasy adventure novels. She is working on her dream of becoming the new potions master when Professor Slughorn retires. She has grown since she was at Hogwarts, but still is the forgetful, reckless, and empathetic girl she was as a child.

Wanted connections.

I am basically up for anything but a couple basic ones would be:

Chaotic friends: these are the friends that encourage her recklessness, and go along with her crazy ideas. She isn’t the best at slowing down, and neither are they, burn bright until you burn out, right?

Mom friend: okay so like I feel like this is important for her. Bee is all for making sure others take care of themselves, and is a caring person, but like also her solution to all problems has to do with fighting someone (she claims to be joking). She also has no sense of caring for herself. Like she will do her best to support all of her friends, but she is forgetful when it comes to doing things for herself. This friend could possibly be the person who just sometimes checks up on her, and makes sure she is taking care of herself, and not too in her head.

Cuddle buddies: we have a cuddler. Yes Bee is a very big cuddler. She is aroace, and personally doesn’t see the appeal of relationships, but man, she is all for platonic cuddles. She is the type that especially after a long day just wants a really long hug, and is pretty affectionate with her friends, so like these friends would be the ones that are okay with the affection, and return her hugs and cuddles and what not, because yeah. Platonic cuddles for the win.

Enemies: Bee doesn’t like the implied meaning of hating someone, but man, this person/these people just piss bee off so much. Like she can not stand being in the same room as them. She doesn’t like them and they don’t like her. We could totally work out why they don’t like each other.

Former classmate: could be friends from Hogwarts that she had classes with, students from her house, or just someone she randomly befriended within school. They could be friends prior to fifth year, either making up or not, they could be friends she made post fifth year, someone she met during her fifth year, or someone that definitely wasn’t very nice to her during Umbridge's reign. The possibilities are endless.

Ex: okay so like before she found out her orientation, she dated one person. She had never really been interested before, and when some of her friends asked who she liked, she, for whatever reason, decided that she would say this person's name. They set her up with this person, and it wasn’t a bad relationship at all, actually by all standards this person was the perfect significant other. She just realized that there was a disconnect between what people told her she should be feeling and what she felt. She was honest to them about this, breaking it off in a way she believes was amicable They could have remained friends or maybe they no longer talk, we can figure that out.

But yeah, here is Beatrix’s intro! XD Thank you for reading!

[aidanchaser]

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Everyone Lives AU

Table of Contents beta’d by @ageofzero, @magic713m, @ccboomer, @aubsenroute, @somebodyswatson

Chapter Ninteen The New Keeper

Ginny’s leg bounced nervously. The large white doors of the hospital wing had been closed for nearly twelve hours while Madam Pomfrey, Professor Snape, and Professor Slughorn worked furiously to counter the poison coursing through Ron’s veins. She had been stationed outside the doors of the hospital wing for those twelve hours with Harry, Neville, and Hermione.

Dean had come by and waited with her for a bit, but when it had become clear that there was nothing to be done, he had left. Lavender had not been by at all, and considering what Ron had said to Lavender when he had left the common room, perhaps Lavender wasn’t interested in coming. Ginny’s parents had arrived an hour ago, but they were up in Dumbledore’s office having an intensive conversation that Ginny had no desire to be present for, not when she could be here, closer to Ron.

Harry had told them how Ron had been poisoned in Slughorn’s office, after taking an unfortunate dose of Romilda Vane’s love potion, and Ginny was furious. She wasn’t entirely sure who she was angry at — perhaps at everyone. At Slughorn for giving Ron the poison. At Ron for drinking it and for eating those Chocolate Cauldrons. At Romilda Vane for making the Chocolate Cauldrons in the first place. At Fred and George for selling love potions. She was just so angry.

And she was also terrified.

A warm hand squeezed her leg gently and the bouncing stopped. An entirely different anxiety that had nothing to do with Ron being poisoned coursed through her as she looked at Harry.

“He’ll be alright,” Harry said.

Ginny’s face grew warm and her mind no longer had any interest in the mundane act of thinking, but she managed to nod. The parts of her bare leg that he touched turned oddly cool as his hand retreated. She forced herself to think about anything but Harry’s hand on her leg.

“You don’t think Slughorn did it on purpose, do you?” she asked.

Harry shook his head. “He could have slipped something into Ron’s drink… but why?”

Ginny could not think of any reason someone would want to poison Ron. He was a git at times, mulish, and rude, but he could also be incredibly considerate, and he was largely well-liked. Even if he wasn’t one of Slughorn’s favorite students, she could not imagine Slughorn hurting Ron intentionally.

Then the doors opened, and Harry, Neville, Hermione, and Ginny all stood. Professor Snape, heavy black robes framed by the tall white doors, looked over them. Then, without a word, he headed down the corridor. His silence only increased Ginny’s anxiety, until a sweaty and breathless Slughorn waddled out and gave them a relieved smile.

“He’ll be just fine. You can go in and see him,” Slughorn said, and Ginny felt so relieved she could cry. She didn’t, though. She blinked back her tears and pushed past Slughorn to Ron’s bedside.

He was still incredibly pale, and his lips tinted blue, but Madam Pomfrey was beside him, calm and collected.

“He’s incredibly lucky,” she said, and pushed a stopper into a glass bottle. “Without Potter’s quick thinking, I’m not sure he would have survived. He’ll need to stay here for another week, taking essence of rue. I don’t know that he’ll wake any time soon, but you’re welcome to sit quietly.”

Ginny pulled a chair up; so did Neville and Hermione.

Hermione had been strangely quiet all day. She had not said a word since Harry had told them what had happened. Her face was ashen as she took a seat by Ron’s bed, and her lips pressed tightly together. She did not even look at Madam Pomfrey. Her eyes were fixed on Ron as she took a seat.

Harry remained standing at the end of Ron’s bed, and Ginny, unable to look at Ron’s pale face and blank expression, focused on Harry’s death-like grip on the white iron frame of the hospital bed.

None of them said a word; they only listened to Ron’s strained breathing, interrupted periodically by unintelligible murmurs.

The hospital wing doors opened moments later and Fred and George strode in. George carried a colorful package, which he set on the bedside cabinet, and he took a seat beside Ginny.

“This isn’t how we imagined handing over our present,” George said.

Fred stood beside Harry. “Yeah, when we pictured the scene, he was conscious.”

Ginny was not especially surprised to see them, but she had not expected them so soon. “You were already in Hogsmeade?”

“We were thinking of buying Zonko’s,” said Fred. “A Hogsmeade branch, you know, but a fat lot of good it’ll do us if you lot aren’t allowed out at weekends to buy our stuff anymore. But nevermind that now — how exactly did it happen, Harry?”

Harry seemed eager to recount the story once more, as if talking about it just one more time might provide a missed detail or clue to catch the culprit. He had already told Dumbledore, then McGonagall, then Madam Pomfrey, then Hermione, and finally Ginny. He repeated the events once more for Fred and George.

“Ron ate some Chocolate Cauldrons from Romilda Vane. She meant them for me, back at Christmas, and she’d spiked them with a love potion.”

Ginny noticed that Harry left out just where the love potion had come from this time.

“Ron was out of his mind — insistent on nothing but Romilda. He even punched me when I tried to suggest he was joking about wanting to meet her. So I took him to Slughorn to get an antidote. Slughorn mixed it up just fine, and Ron looked like he was back to normal, though maybe depressed, which Slughorn said was natural when coming down from a love potion. So Slughorn suggested a pick-me-up and opened up a bottle of mead. He was just giving a short toast, but Ron drank before Slughorn finished and he… he went all stiff and had some sort of seizure. He was foaming and turning blue, so I searched through Slughorn’s potions supplies for a bezoar, and then I got it down his throat and his breathing eased up a bit. Slughorn ran for help, McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey turned up, and they brought Ron up here. They reckon he’ll be alright after a week or so…”

“Blimey, it was lucky you thought of a bezoar,” said George.

“Lucky there was one in the room,” Harry said.

Ginny took in a slow, controlled breath, afraid her anger or fear would overwhelm her. She wanted to be grateful to Harry, but she was afraid of that feeling, too.

“Do Mum and Dad know?” Fred asked.

“They’re with Dumbledore now,” Ginny said. “They should be back soon.”

“So the poison was in the drink?”

“Yes,” said Harry. “Slughorn poured it out —”

“Would he have been able to slip something into Ron’s glass without you seeing?” said Fred.

Harry shrugged. “Probably, but why would Slughorn want to poison Ron?”

“No idea. You don’t think he could have mixed up the glasses by mistake? Meaning to get you?”

Ginny frowned. “Why would Slughorn want to poison Harry?”

“I dunno,” said Fred, “but there must be loads of people who’d like to poison Harry, mustn’t there? ‘The Chosen One’ and all that?”

Ginny raised an eyebrow. “So you think Slughorn’s a Death Eater?”

“Anything's possible.”

“He could be under the Imperius Curse,” suggested George.

“Or the poison could have been in the bottle,” Ginny countered. She had only been to a few Slug Club meetings, since Harry so often scheduled Quidditch practice on top of them, but she did not think Slughorn was the type to poison his students. “If it was in the bottle, it might have been meant for Slughorn himself.”

Fred snorted. “Who’d want to kill Slughorn?”

“Dumbledore reckons Voldemort wanted Slughorn on his side,” Harry said quietly. “Slughorn was in hiding for a year before he came to Hogwarts. And… and maybe Voldemort wants him out of the way. Maybe he thinks he could be valuable to Dumbledore.”

Neville and Harry exchanged a glance, and Ginny wondered what they knew that she didn’t. She had been glad when Harry had shared the prophecy with her and their friends back in September, but he hadn’t had a serious conversation with her since. She couldn’t remember if they had even talked about anything besides Qudditch.

“Slughorn said he’d been planning to give that bottle to Dumbledore for Christmas, right?” said Neville. “So maybe whoever poisoned it was trying to poison Dumbledore.”

“Then the poisoner didn’t know Slughorn very well,” said Hermione. Though she hadn’t been crying, she sounded as if she had been; her voice was raw and stuffy. “Anyone who knew Slughorn would have known there was good chance he’d keep something that tasty for himself.”

“Er-my-nee,” Ron murmured, the most intelligible thing he’d said since they’d gathered around his bed.

Everyone stayed quiet for a moment, listening for Ron to say something else. His murmurs, however, were no longer comprehensible.

“Couldn’t be about Quidditch, could it?” Fred suggested, though he appeared more serious than Ginny had been earlier. “First Katie Bell, now Ron….”

“I can’t see anyone trying to bump off a Quidditch team,” George said.

“Wood might’ve done the Slytherins if he could get away with it.”

Ginny hadn’t known Oliver Wood too well, but she remembered Fred and George’s stories about him. She believed it.

“I don’t think it’s Quidditch,” Hermione said, “but I think there’s a connection between the attacks.”

“How d’you work that out?” asked Fred.

“For one thing, they both ought to have been fatal and weren’t, although that was pure luck. And for another, neither the poison nor the necklace seems to have reached the person who was supposed to be killed. Of course, that makes the person behind this even more dangerous in a way, because they don’t seem to care how many people they finish off before they actually reach their victim. Tonks suggested they were inexperienced but maybe they’re just reckless…”

Harry looked ready to add something, but the infirmary doors burst open again, and Ginny’s parents hurried to Ron’s bedside. Molly grabbed Harry immediately and pulled him to a tight hug. “Dumbledore’s told us how you saved him with the bezoar — Oh, Harry, what can we say? You saved Ginny,” she kissed his cheek, “you saved Arthur,” she kissed his other cheek, “and now you’ve saved Ron,” she kissed his forehead.

“Er — I didn’t really —”

“Half our family does seem to owe you their lives, now I stop and think about it,” Arthur said. Ginny had not heard her father cry often, but he sounded on the verge of tears now.

Madam Pomfrey appeared from her office just then, and informed them that no more than six visitors were to be allowed in the hospital wing at a time. Hermione and Neville stood immediately, and said their good-byes. Harry, after wriggling his way out of Molly’s arms, followed them.

Molly, who was apparently not done doling out kisses, pulled Fred into a hug and kissed his cheeks, perhaps just because he was nearest. Ginny, however, was not exempt. A moment later Molly let Fred go to pull Ginny out of her chair and into a bone-crushing hug. Ginny loved her mother, but had never been one for these kinds of affections. She was far too much like Fred and George. Still, she knew her mother had every right to be emotional, considering the circumstances. Ginny, too, knew she had every right to be emotional, and allowed herself a few restrained sobs into her mother’s shoulder. If she couldn’t cry her fear and anger out into her mother’s shoulder, where else was there to put it?

The Weasley family spent a few hours together by Ron’s bedside. Quiet conversation about Fred and George’s shop seemed frivolous, so no one said more than a few words about it. Even the brief discussion Arthur attempted about Ginny’s term fell flat. Nothing mattered except Ron’s well-being, and there was not much more to say about it.

It was just past eleven when Molly insisted that Ginny head upstairs to bed. Ginny protested, but she also knew there was nothing to be done sitting at Ron’s bedside. Reluctantly, she kissed her mother goodnight and hugged her brothers and her father. Fred pinched her ear, like he had done so often when they were younger, but it felt half-hearted. Ginny did her best to smile at him anyway.

She took the secret passage hidden behind the tapestry to Gryffindor Tower. It led out onto the fourth floor, just a few staircases away from the tower, but a familiar voice kept her from stepping out into the corridor. She paused with her hand on the thick woven fabric that separated her from the conversation just beyond.

“He does not trust me.” Snape’s frustration seemed to echo down the corridor, and a familiar but far quieter voice was not far behind it.

“Nor would I, considering how much time you spend hanging off the arm of the Dark Lord.”

“Which I do on his orders!”

Ginny strained as close to the tapestry as she dared, trying to make out who the second speaker was.

“And you do it extremely well,” the second speaker seemed to purr.

“Yet he confides much more in a boy who is incapable of Occlumency, whose magic is mediocre, and who has a direct connection into the Dark Lord’s mind!”

As the voices passed her, Ginny dared to peek her head out and saw two dark haired figures pause their walk not far from her hiding place. Snape’s long, billowing cloak was easily recognisable, and his sallow face was illuminated by the lamps along the walls. The other, however, was turned away from her, and she could not make out any more than his long dark hair and slender figure.

“The Dark Lord has learned to fear that connection. He will not try to possess Harry again. Dumbledore is certain.”

The voice was so familiar to Ginny, and she could not understand why she could not place a name to it. It was no professor, no Auror….

“I don’t understand how he can be so sure.”

“The Dark Lord’s soul, maimed as it is, cannot bear close contact with a soul like Harry’s.”

“Souls? We were talking of minds!”

“Yes, well, we aren’t here to discuss Harry’s mind, nor the Dark Lord’s soul, should he have one. We’re here to discuss the second student to narrowly escape death thanks to someone’s failures.”

The voice clicked in Ginny’s mind suddenly. It was not a professor, nor an Auror. It was someone she would never have expected to see at Hogwarts. It was Regulus Black.

“My failure?” Snape snarled. “You are closer to the boy than I am —”

“And yet I am not in a position to inspire much confidence,” Regulus said. “I can only observe. And I did not observe him purchase a necklace nor drip any poisons into bottles of mead.”

“What have you observed, then, from your position?”

“He’s stealing Polyjuice Potion from Slughorn and giving it to his friends. Then he disappears to the seventh floor. I can’t seem to find him beyond that. And tell me, what have you learned from your brief interrogations?”

“He tells me nothing. He shields his mind. He will not confide in me.”

“So you are derelict in your duty, and you wonder why Dumbledore doesn’t trust you?”

Snape’s upper lip curled back to retort, but Regulus Black’s form dropped to the floor as he shifted into the sleek black cat that Ginny had once adopted and called “Llewelyn.” Regulus, it seemed, was finished with the conversation. Snape could continue it, but he wasn’t going to get any response from a cat.

Ginny waited until the echo of Snape’s footsteps had died away before hurrying the rest of the way to Gryffindor Tower. She knew that she had to share what she had heard, and wondered if it would be worth it to wake Harry. Fortunately, she did not have to make that decision, because Harry and Neville were still up, sitting together by the fireplace.

They both stood when she burst in.

“How’s Ron —”

“Fine,” Ginny said in a hurry. “Listen — you’ll never guess what I just heard —”

She did not bother to ask why the two of them were sitting up so late, or if she had interrupted something important between them. She hurried to one of the chairs by the fire and told them everything Snape and Regulus had said. While Neville’s eyes grew wider with each word, Harry’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

“He said that exactly?” Harry asked when she was done. “That ‘Dumbledore doesn’t trust you’?”

She nodded.

“Dumbledore told me, in no uncertain terms, that he trusts Snape. Why would he lie?”

“But Regulus was just antagonising Professor Snape, wasn’t he?” asked Neville. “He was always like that at Grimmauld Place, intentionally getting on Professor Snape or Mrs Weasley’s nerves, or fighting with Sirius. I’ve always thought he liked causing trouble.”

Ginny, while she had never thought of Regulus as the sort to incite a fight, had the sudden image of Llewelyn batting glasses of water off of her bedside table and knocking things off of the mantlepiece at the Burrow. Perhaps Regulus was truly cat-like in all of the ways Sirius was dog-like.

“And he said he saw Malfoy on the seventh floor?” asked Harry.

“They didn’t say it was Malfoy they were investigating,” Neville pointed out.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Who else? I saw Regulus Black on the map, in the Slytherin common room. He was hanging out around Malfoy and his mates. The seventh floor… what could he be doing there?”

“Why does it matter?” asked Neville. “It sounds like Dumbledore’s asked Snape to look into this, and he’s asked you to take care of something else!”

“I don’t see why I can’t do both.”

“Dumbledore’s given you a mission?” Ginny asked. “For the Order?”

“Er — no — not exactly.” Harry hesitated, like he was debating on whether or not he would let Ginny in on a secret.

Ginny, who had been kept out of so many parts of her brothers’ lives, was not about to let Harry keep something from her. “Tell me,” she said, and Harry listened.

“He thinks Slughorn is hiding something, something connected to Voldemort, and I’m the only one who can get it from him.”

Now Ginny understood Harry’s exchange with Neville over Ron’s hospital bed. She wondered what it was that Slughorn had that was so valuable to Dumbledore, and why he wouldn’t hand it over. Slughorn, as fussy and flattering as he was, did not strike her as the sort to protect Voldemort.

“Suppose that means you’ll have to start going to Slug Club meetings,” Ginny said.

“If he has them again.” Harry picked at a loose thread on the sleeve of his red t-shirt. She wondered if it was the same red t-shirt she’d noticed him wearing the other day.

“He hasn’t risked being alone with me since I asked him after Potions,” continued Harry. “I thought maybe after he gave Ron the antidote to Romilda’s potion, had a glass of mead, but — well, it wasn’t very good mead.”

“You’ll come up with something,” said Neville. “You have to.”

Harry did not look encouraged by this. “Thanks, Neville.”

“Why you?” Ginny frowned. “He dotes on Hermione at least half as much.”

Harry shrugged, but Neville said, “Because Harry’s the Chosen One and not — not anyone else.”

Harry looked up at Neville, sharp understanding in his brilliant green eyes. “So you know, then?”

Neville nodded, and turned his eyes away from Harry to the fire. “When you told us the prophecy, I remembered how close together our birthdays are. So I asked my Mum and Dad about fighting You-Know-Who, and it all fits. Everything you said… it could’ve been me too.”

“Except you aren’t marked.” Harry rubbed his forehead. “Voldemort didn’t choose you.”

Ginny felt a chill travel down her spine. Not from Harry’s use of Voldemort’s name, but from the way he spoke of being chosen. It was a burden, and the mention of it sparked something close to anger inside of her, but she could not quite put a name to it.

“No,” Neville agreed. “You’re the only one who has that power… that gift he doesn’t know about.”

When she was younger, the idea that Harry was something special had been attractive to her. The knowledge that he had survived something unsurvivable and had faced the unfaceable appealed to her own love of bravery. But she’d outgrown that early fascination — she’d had to. Harry didn’t feel anything more for her than her brothers might have, and it was silly to hang girlish hopes on that. So Ginny had gone out with other people, and the glimmer of Harry’s heroism had faded. Many people were brave, herself included.

“Prophecy or not,” Ginny said, “I’ll still be fighting Voldemort.”

“Yes,” Neville echoed, “I think we all will.” He smiled, though it looked difficult for him. “Harry, you’re not fighting alone. You do know that, right?”

This, too, did not seem to cheer Harry. “Yeah,” he said. Belatedly, he added, “Thanks,” and stood. “I think I’ll get some sleep. Er — Ginny, if you don’t want to come to practice tomorrow evening, after what happened to Ron and all —”

“Of course I’ll be at practice,” she said. Quidditch was an excellent way to get her mind off of things. She was always eager to get on a broom. “I suppose with our match in a week, you’ll have to find a new Keeper….”

The grim expression that clouded Harry’s face suddenly had nothing to do with Voldemort nor the prophecy. “Oh — er, I’ve done that. Or rather, McLaggen’s already asked, and I didn’t know who else I’d have picked.”

“Alright,” Ginny said, as casually as she could manage, “but if I nick Peakes’ bat and bash McLaggen over the head, you have to promise not to kick me off the team.”

“Don’t think Gryffindor could manage if we lost another Chaser, so I suppose I’d have to let you stay.” Harry yawned, and wished them good night. Neville went up to bed as well, leaving Ginny alone by the common room fire.

McLaggen was a bit of a sore spot for Ginny. Ginny had gone out with plenty of people in the last two years, but she had never bothered with someone as full of himself as McLaggen. That had not stopped McLaggen from claiming that they had gone out together, and it seemed that no matter how many times she refuted it, the rumour continued to plague her. Others had made similar claims, following McLaggen’s example, and she’d garnered herself a reputation among the other students. It did not bother her much what others thought of her, but McLaggen bothered her a great deal.

However, she was willing to set aside her dislike of McLaggen for the sake of the Quidditch Cup. McLaggen had been a consistent Keeper in tryouts, and she was determined to crush Zacharias Smith for his commentary during the Gryffindor-Slytherin match. Slamming her broom into his commentator’s box may have sent a message, but that message was not strong enough for Ginny’s taste.

Unfortunately, by the time the Hufflepuff match arrived, Ginny was no fonder of McLaggen. In the changing room, as everyone suited up in their scarlet robes, McLaggen was giving them his attempt at a rousing speech. It meant going over a lot of strategy in a little bit of time. Peakes’ and Coote’s eyes were glazed over, and Dean and Demelza were inspecting each other’s broom for loose twigs. Harry was strangely absent.

McLaggen launched into a tangent on how important it was for Peakes to swing high, and Ginny was about to grab Peakes’ bat and show McLaggen just what a good swing looked like, when Harry sprinted into the room.

“Where have you been?” she snapped at him as Harry grabbed his robes.

“I met Malfoy.” His voice was muffled by the robes as he dressed.

“So?”

“So I wanted to know how come he’s up at the castle with a couple of girls while everyone else is down here….”

“Does it matter right now? And didn’t Neville tell you to leave it alone?”

“Well, I’m not likely to find out, am I?” Harry fixed his glasses and grabbed his Firebolt. “Come on, then.”

Ginny turned to the rest of the team, who stood nervously. It wasn’t much of a rousing speech, but she said, “If nothing else, let’s show Smith what we’re worth.”

Dean grinned at her, and Demelza nodded grimly. Peakes and Coote gave her nervous smiles.

McLaggen strode out onto the pitch. “Tricky conditions!” he said, as the team took in the patchy clouds and intermittent streaks of bright light that filtered through them. “Coote, Peakes, you’ll want to fly out of the sun, so they don’t see you coming —”

“I’m the Captain, McLaggen,” Harry interrupted. “Shut up giving them instructions. Just get up by the goal posts!”

Ginny scowled up at the sky to avoid scowling at McLaggen or Harry. Their practices this past week had contained many similar arguments, and though McLaggen did as Harry said, he never seemed to do it for very long.

Harry met the Hufflepuff Captain and fellow Seeker Summerby in the middle of the pitch. Ginny crouched over her broom, ready for kickoff. The two captains shook hands, Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and Ginny shot into the air after the Quaffle. Unfortunately, Smith got there first.

“And that’s Smith of Hufflepuff with the Quaffle,” the announcer’s voice drifted over the Quidditch pitch. “He did the commentary last time, of course, and Ginny Weasley flew into him, I think probably on purpose, it looked like it. Smith was being quite rude about Gryffindor, I expect he regrets that now he’s playing them.”

Ginny grinned as she and Dean came alongside Smith and pinched him until he fumbled the Quaffle and she scooped it up. She felt emboldened by Luna Lovegood’s commentary, particularly as Luna said, “Oh, look, he’s lost the Quaffle. Ginny took it from him. I do like her. She’s very nice.”

As nice as it was to hear Luna praise her, Ginny had to turn sharply to avoid a pair of well-timed Bludgers, and she lost the Quaffle in the maneuver.

“But now that big Hufflepuff player’s got the Quaffle from her. I can’t remember his name. It’s something like Bibble — no — Buggins —”

Ginny shot after Cadwallader, the actual name of the Chaser who’d taken the Quaffle from her, and was furious to see McLaggen shouting at her for her fumble, so focused on criticising her, that Cadwallader launched the Quaffle right past his ear and scored ten points for Hufflepuff.

Ginny swooped down to grab the Quaffle, while Harry shouted, “McLaggen, will you pay attention to what you’re supposed to be doing and leave everyone else alone!”

“You’re not setting a great example!” McLaggen snapped back.

Ginny ignored them both and scored ten points for Gryffindor.

Luna continued her commentary, noting on occasion who had the Quaffle, and suggesting that Smith’s inability to hold onto the Quaffle for longer than a minute suggested he was suffering from “Loser’s Lurgy.” However, she seemed more interested in the shapes of the clouds than the score of the game.

“Seventy-forty to Hufflepuff!” McGonagall shouted into the megaphone as Demelza scored.

Ginny shot after Cadwallader, who had picked up the Quaffle, and saw that Gryffindor’s hoops were now entirely unguarded.

“Oh look!” Luna said. “The Gryffindor Keeper’s got hold of one of the Beater’s bats.”

Ginny decided that she couldn’t care less what McLaggen was doing. She caught the Quaffle after Cadwallader threw it through the center hoop, then shot to the Hufflepuff end of the pitch. She had just managed to score when there was a large crack from the other end of the field. Ginny turned in time to see Harry falling from his broom. Her stomach lurched as if she were the one falling, and even when Peakes and Coote caught Harry before he hit the pitch, her stomach still felt as though it might drop right out of her. Peakes and Coote passed Harry off to Madam Hooch, who hurried him up to the hospital wing, but play did not pause.

With a muttered curse, Ginny scanned the skies for the Snitch. She did not think Dean and Demelza could manage without her, so after a cursory glance, she swooped after Smith and Cadwallader. At least the Hufflepuff Beaters Pearl Lais and Korban Kirk did not take advantage of Harry’s injury. They launched the Bludgers away from the game until Peakes and Coote were able to resume play.

Ginny did her best to keep an eye out for the Snitch while maintaining a hold of the Quaffle, but it was hard enough to manage one Quidditch position on her own, let alone three — for McLaggen had all but abandoned his duty as Keeper and was pursuing Summerby, though the Snitch was still nowhere in sight.

With Gryffindor down a Seeker and a Keeper, it was no surprise when Summerby caught the Snitch and McGonagall, over Luna’s description of the bird nesting in the commentator’s box, called the final score at three-hundred and twenty to sixty.

Ginny touched down and marched towards McLaggen, determined to beat him bloody, right there in front of McGonagall and the entire school, but Peakes grabbed her arm.

“We’ll get him after,” he hissed in her ear.

Ginny was able to hold back her temper, but only just. She hurried into the changing room, pulled off her robes, and left them there on the floor. Without a word to her team, she headed up to the hospital wing. Ginny was certain that if anyone tried to speak to her before she knew if Harry was truly alright, she would lash out at them, regardless of who they were.

As such, she was the first one up to the hospital wing to see Harry — apart from James, Lily, and Sirius, who must have left the moment Harry was injured.

“Hey, Ginny,” James said with a wan smile as she took a seat between Ron and Harry’s bed. “We heard the final score.”

Sirius sighed. “At least the commentary will be something to remember.”

“How is he?” Ginny thought that if Sirius was making a joke, Harry must be okay. Still, she needed to hear it said.

“He’ll be fine,” Lily said. “Madam Pomfrey said he cracked his skull. She wants to keep him overnight. We just thought we’d stay until he woke up.”

Ron was sitting up in bed, and did not look terribly put out by Gryffindor’s loss. Ginny supposed that he must be fairly happy that McLaggen had done so poorly. It meant he would be welcomed back to Gryffindor’s team with no reservations.

“Did you give McLaggen what for?” Ron asked.

“No, but I thought a Bat-Bogey Hex over dinner might do it,” she said.

“There’s not much to do about someone like McLaggen,” James said grimly. “There will always be players like him and if this loss won’t straighten him out, I can’t imagine much else will.”

“Don’t think he’ll be a player much longer. As long as no one else on the team gets poisoned or cursed.” Ginny glared sharply at Ron.

“I can’t help being poisoned,” Ron protested. “It’s not my responsibility to make sure the team’s in fighting shape for our last match. That’s Harry’s job.”

“Then tell Harry to shape up for it. If he can’t decide between stalking Malfoy or showing up on time to games, then I’ll end up deciding for him.”

Lily frowned. “I knew he was suspicious of Malfoy, but… stalking him?”

Before Ginny could explain — or find a suitable lie — the doors to the hospital wing flew open for Dean, Demelza, Peakes, and Coote.

“Is he okay?” asked Peakes. “I never gave McLaggen my bat — he just took it —”

“He’s alright,” James assured him. “It wasn’t your fault.

“McLaggen’s just an arrogant, no good —” But before Ginny could finish her curse, Madam Pomfrey hurried out of her office.

“Six visitors!” she said brusquely. “I have been very clear about that this week. Six only!”

“But us four are here for Ron,” Demelza said brightly. “And that makes four for Harry.”

Madam Pomfrey was not convinced, and insisted that two had to go.

“It’s alright,” said Ginny. “We can go.” She led the Gryffindor Quidditch team out of the hospital wing, and as soon as the tall white doors closed, she began plotting with the team exactly how they were going to exact their revenge on McLaggen.

[calligraphist-artemisia]

Across Time and Space (Chapter 5)

Summary: Sequel to I’ll Take Her Place.  Slav is showing off a piece of experimental equipment, when it malfunctions and blasts Katie and Keithir to another universe. At the same time, it drags Pidge and Keith over into theirs, effectively swapping places. With their fate resting in the hands of Slav, will they be able to get back home? Or are they stuck to live the rest of their lives in the wrong universe?

Also posted on AO3 and fanfiction.net under the username “kishirokitsune”.

Sorry this one's a few days late! After only having two short chapters for the last updates and then taking a week off for Kidgeweek, I thought you all deserved something longer. I hope you all enjoy it!

Edit 6/6/19 - fixed a mistake where I left out an entire line of Hunk’s dialogue (where he’s teasing Lance about snoring)

Chapter 5

ORBITING OLKARION – CASTLE OF LIONS

“You have a son?” Hunk asked softly.

He and Lance had been rendered speechless with surprise after the newest revelation, which also included the fact that Keithir was Galra royalty.

Keithir tugged a small, violet colored device from his pocket and tapped at the screen for a moment before passing it over to Hunk. “His name is Yorak.”

Hunk “aww'd” over the picture, which was of Keithir and a small Galra child perched on his shoulders, both grinning at the camera. He took a few ticks to look it over before handing it to Lance.

Lance cocked his head to the side. “Don't take this the wrong way, but he doesn't look anything like you, Katie.”

“He's adopted,” Katie explained, amused. “There was an outcry from some of the Galra when we got married. They worried that any cub we had would be too human to lead, so when the opportunity to adopt Yorak came up, we took it.”

“He's the nephew of my father's top commander. Yorak's parents were killed in a raid on one of the outlying colonies, but his uncle isn't the best with kids, so he asked us,” Keithir said, taking the device back from Lance.

“Your reality sounds so nice. No war, you two are married with a kid...” Hunk paused. “But what about us? I mean, the Hunk and Lance of your world. You haven't talked much about them.”

Lance brightened up. “Yeah! Am I married? Is she pretty? I mean, obviously, since it's me-” (Hunk snorted in amusement.) “-but is she?”

Katie covered her mouth to hide her grin.

Keithir put his device away, while struggling to keep his composure. “Ah, well... you're both happily married,” he said elusively, kind of enjoying dragging it out.

“Yes!” Lance happily pumped a fist in the air. “What's she like? I wonder if she's someone I'll meet in the future. Or maybe I already know her! Is it Allura?”

Hunk stared at them with wide eyes. “I'm married?”

“On a serious note, are you both sure you want to know?” Katie asked. “We already know how different our realities are, and I don't want to make things weird for all of you. Just because it happened one way for u, doesn't mean it'll be the same for you.”

“Now I really want to know,” Lance said, eagerly leaning forward.

Hunk looked a little more apprehensive about what they had to say, but there was still a burning curiosity there that made him want to know. “It'll be nice to hear what we're like in a reality that isn't mind controlled by Alteans, like in that one that we ended up in a few months back. Not that we ever actually saw ourselves there. Just this odd version of Shiro...”

That statement nearly derailed the entire conversation, except Hunk refused to say another word about it. It was a sneaky tactic and as frustrating as it was to have a potential answer for how to get home, Katie mentally applauded him for that bit of cunning.

“We're revisiting that,” Katie told him.

Hunk nodded.

Keithir looked as though he was about to demand carrying on with that line of conversation right then and there, but with a look from Katie he stayed quiet. They had teased Hunk and Lance enough and they deserved to get their answers. Then the two could tell them more about their other interaction with a different reality.

“When we left, the two of you were visiting Nalquod to renew your wedding vows for a fourth time,” Katie said, giving them a moment to process the information.

“I, uh,” Lance stammered, looking wide-eyed at Hunk. He cleared his throat, struggling for a moment, and then gave his friend a lopsided grin. “Anything you want to tell me, buddy?”

Hunk appeared mildly uncomfortable. “I don't – I mean, not anymore! There was this teeny little crush I had, but I'm over that, I swear!”

There was a moment of silence as Lance gaped at him. Clearly that wasn't a response he had expected. He recovered fairly quickly and jokingly responded with: “I can't say I blame you. I am pretty cool.”

Hunk let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and relaxed, relieved he hadn't messed things up between them with his revelation. It felt good to come clean after hiding it for so long. “Yeah, you are. Unfortunately, you also snore and that's why I knew we wouldn't work.”

“I don't snore!” Lance protested.

“As the person who was your roommate at the Garrison, I'm uniquely qualified to say that yes, you do,” Hunk teased.

“Oh yeah? Well you-! You, uh...” Lance paused as he tried to think of a good comeback. “You hoard food and don't share!”

Hunk gasped in mock outrage.

Katie and Keithir sat back and enjoyed listening to their friendly banter back and forth. As much as they wanted to hear a possible solution to their problem, they understood their friends needed a few minutes to reassure one another that nothing was going to be weird between them.

“You know, I don't think we ever told Shiro about Sven,” Hunk said, seemingly out of the blue. He shared a glance with Lance, who followed along with the change of topic with an easy shrug.

“That whole day was weird. It's kind of like we all agreed to never talk about it again without actually saying we'd never talk about it again,” Lance said. “Because, honestly, Shiro's alternate self was probably the least weird thing about it.”

That was it.

That was what Katie and Keithir were waiting for.

“You guys saw an alternate reality and got back home on your own?” Katie asked, sounding amazed. “How did you do it? Tell me everything!”

“It all started when we picked up on this Altean distress signal...”

ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS

Someone was knocking at the door.

Pidge wasn't sure how she should handle it. Allura had payed them another visit to bring them food and an update, promising that she'd have more answers in the morning, which Pidge assumed meant they were being left alone for the night.

So who was knocking at the door? And why was Keith taking so long in the bathroom? She knew he liked to be alone, but it was getting ridiculous.

She stood, glancing at the bathroom and then to the main door as whoever was there knocked again. “H-hello? Allura, is that you?”

“Katie?”

Not Allura.

And not Shiro either. Or anyone she whose voice she recognized.

What was she going to do? Allura and Shiro specifically said they wanted to keep the number of people who knew about the switch to a minimum; understandable, given that Keith was a Galra prince in that reality.

Had she stayed quiet, she could have just ignored them until they went away, but it would be rude to do that after speaking up.

“Just a second!” Pidge called out, hoping that Keith would wonder what all of the noise was about and come out to help her.

No such luck.

Pidge quietly grumbled as she shuffled over to the door, where she took a deep breath and stood up straight before opening it. A tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and the faint trace of a beard stood on the other side, blinking down at her with oddly familiar eyes. He stared for a moment and Pidge shifted, thoroughly uncomfortable.

“Sorry,” he blurted out, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. “Shiro told me what was goin' on and that I shouldn't bother you, but I had to come down and make sure you kids are alright.”

The automatic response of “we're okay” hung on the tip of Pidge's tongue even as she tried to puzzle out who the man was. He was human, that much was obvious, but beyond that she honestly had no idea. She ended up giving no answer as Keith exited the bathroom at long last.

She turned to face him when she heard the click of the bathroom door in time to watch him go perfectly still, his eyes wide as he took in the sight of the man standing in the doorway. He swallowed thickly and (to Pidge's immense surprise) tears welled up in his eyes.

“Dad?” he asked, his voice breaking.

Pidge's heart clenched as she registered the pain in his voice. She could only step aside and watch, feeling as though she was witnessing something so deeply personal that it would be wrong for her to stay, as Keith broke down and his dad strode across the room to comfort him.

But Pidge had no place to go. All she could do was watch, helpless to do anything.

She reached up and rubbed her eyes, blinking back her own tears that threatened to fall. In that moment, listening to Keith try and talk, she began to realize just how little she knew about her teammate.

Hunk and Lance talked about their interests and families all the time and she'd heard so many stories of Shiro from her dad and Matt; even Allura and Coran, when they were in the right mood, would tell stories of Alfor and the way things were on Altea.

But Keith had always stayed quiet. Everything she knew about him was what she observed for herself and when it came down to it, it wasn't enough.

“It's alright, son. It's alright. I'm here now,” said Keith's dad.

Pidge didn't know how long they'd be stuck there, but she was going to use that time to her full advantage. She'd get to know him better and convince Allura to let him spend more time with his dad, on top of helping Slav with whatever he needed. It was a lot, and she was sure she'd find more to add to her list, but she had the determination and drive to see it through.

Keith spent an hour talking to his dad and recovering from the shock of getting to see him again. He never could have imagined being in a reality where he was still alive, but there he was: older, but still the same as he remembered.

Saying goodbye felt like an impossible task, even with the promise of another visit, and the moment his dad walked out of the room, Keith sank down onto the bed, completely drained.

A few seconds later, the space next to him dipped down as Pidge settled in next to him.

With a start, Keith realized she'd been in the room all along and he hadn't once stopped to consider how uncomfortable she must have felt standing there and watching. He guiltily looked over at her. “I'm sorry, Pidge.”

“Sorry? Sorry for what?” she asked, sounding genuinely confused.

“I – the whole thing with my dad. I didn't think.” He had no idea how to properly put it into words. He just knew that apologizing was the right thing to do.

Wasn't it?

Pidge frowned. “What? Keith, no. You don't have to be sorry for that! He's your dad! I'll admit I wasn't expecting that and next time I'll leave the room, but that's not something you need to apologize for. If anything, I feel bad that I couldn't give you more privacy.”

“That's not your fault either,” Keith pointed out.

He started to see what she meant though; neither of them were at fault. They were rooming together under strange circumstances and all they could do was their best, which meant that he needed to pull it together.

He'd never been the best at that without a little help, but he though he could do it for Pidge's sake.

She smiled up at him. “It's getting late. We should sleep.”

“Oh, yeah,” Keith responded, getting up to look around some more. There had to be some extra blankets somewhere. Or maybe he could use a couple of towels? It wouldn't be ideal for sleeping, but it was better than nothing.

“Keith, what are you doing?”

“You can take the bed,” Keith said, debating with himself over whether or not it was right to go through the closet. Even if it did belong to another version of him, it still felt like an invasion of privacy to open up something so personal.

“And where will you sleep? On the floor?” Pidge asked, sounding as though the very thought was absurd.

When Keith turned back to her, it was to the sight of her rolling her eyes.

“And what would you suggest?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Pidge mirrored his pose. “In the bed.”

Keith's jaw dropped. Had he heard that right? She couldn't really be suggesting they share the bed, could she? It wouldn't be appropriate! “But that isn't – I can't!”

“Why?”

“It isn't right, Pidge!”

“Why?” Pidge repeated, uncrossing her arms. “Give me one good reason why. Do you think I'm going to molest you in your sleep or something?”

“What? No!” Keith protested.

Pidge pressed on. “Okay, then are you planning on doing something to me?”

Keith shook his head before she even finished speaking. “No! I'd never do that to you. Or anyone else!”

“Then I really don't see what the problem is,” Pidge said with an air of finality. “There's nothing wrong with two friends sharing a bed. And look, it's big enough for both of us to spread out without touching! If it really bothers you, then we'll figure something else out, but I'm not going to let you sleep on the floor.”

Friends.

Keith stared at her with wide eyes.

That was the first time she'd ever referred to him as a friend. The first time anyone – outside of Shiro – had done so. He knew most people didn't need to hear it in order to know it was true, but it made it feel so much more real to him to be able to hear it.

Pidge was his friend. Close to his heart in such an unexpected way.

He looked at the bed and then back at her.

“Okay.”

OLKARION – VOLTRON COALITION HQ

If Katie thought the Slav from her reality was unhinged, he had nothing on the manic personality that was the Slav rambling on in front of her. No one seemed to know what to do except let him keep talking, as any attempt to redirect him let only to frustration.

He rambled on about probabilities and had two panic attacks over whether or not he knew how to breathe, before focusing on Katie and Keithir with razor sharp attention and falling silent for the first time since they entered the room.

It was so unsettling that Katie thought she'd rather listen to him lose his mind over Shiro stepping on a crack in the floor again.

“Fascinating,” he murmured, looking them up and down. “You two really are from another reality! How spectacular!”

And just like that, the moment was broken as he unleashed a tidal wave of words that left them all scrambling to keep up. Details of his own theories intermixed with almost incoherent ramblings of someone who rarely knew what was happening in the world around him, punctuated by brief moments of what was almost clarity.

Katie started to wonder if he'd really be able to help them after all.

“And you two are married!” Slav said, sounding delighted as he broke away from detailing how parallel universes differentiated from alternate realities. “Congratulations, by the way!”

“Thanks?” Keithir replied, completely baffled. “We've been married for eight years.”

“Not for that! For the baby!”

Katie's breath caught in her throat, one hand automatically rising to her belly.

Keithir was even more bewildered by that statement. “But Yorak's four,” he said, looking to Katie for assistance. He took one look at her and knew there was something more to it than that. “Katie?”

Guilt clawed its way through her chest. “I was going to tell you and then all of this happened and I... I just didn't want you to worry. You're already worrying so much about all of this!”

She knew she was babbling and needed to calm down and breathe, but it was so hard! It was the completely wrong way for Keithir to find out. They were supposed to be on vacation! They were supposed to be sitting back and relaxing, not stuck in the middle of a ten-thousand year old war with their only hope of getting home resting in the hands of a complete lunatic!

Slav blithely continued on, unaware of the distress he was causing. “A little princess! Quite the honor for Galra! Or is that another reality...?” And just like that, he was off on another topic.

Keithir ignored him, stepping in front of Katie to block out everything else and give her something familiar and comforting to focus on. He lifted up her free hand and gently kissed hr knuckles. “We're having a baby?” he asked softly.

Katie nodded, her whole body trembling as she sucked in air. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner.”

That was a discussion for another time, when they were both calm and there was no one else around to interrupt.

“You wanted to surprise me,” he guessed. “Well, I can definitely say that I'm surprised.”

She giggled, lifting her head to peer up at him with teary eyes. “We're having a baby. A princess, if Slav's right.”

“Awww!”

“Hunk!” Lance hissed.

Hunk looked mildly abashed. “Sorry! It's just that they're so cute! And they're having a baby! Can you imagine it? A little Pidge and Keith running around!”

“Which means that it is even more imperative that we return them home quickly,” Allura said, stepping forward. “There must be something we can do. Slav, do you have any ideas? Perhaps a beacon of some kind?”

Slav looked panicked by the very idea. “Are you crazy? Do you have any idea the very horrors that could attract to us?!”

“Okay, then lets not do that,” Shiro spoke up before Slav could go into details about said horrors. “Could we build something that any other versions of you would be able to hear or know about?”

Slav swayed and opened his mouth to say something, but Shiro grimaced and held up his hand.

“On second thought, never mind. That sounds like a bad idea.”

Keithir wondered if it had more to do with not wanting to potentially deal with more than one version of Slav than whatever nonsense was about to spew out of the genius's mouth next.

“What if we use the Lions?” Hunk suggested. He looked uncomfortable as everyone's attention shifted to him. “Okay, I know we figured that we can't use Voltron to travel through realities, since we don't know where we'd end up, but I've been thinking about it since our conversation last night-” (He nodded to Katie and Keithir.) “-and since the Lions all exist in both worlds, maybe we could use them as some kind of focal point. There had to be some kind of connection between them and if we use that, I bed we could trace it back to their reality!”

“But that still leaves us with the problem of how we'd do that,” Katie pointed out, frowning as she considered the idea.

“Aren't we supposed to have some kind of 'mystical connection' with the Lions? Maybe we just do more of those mind bonding exercises like we did when we first got the Lions.” Lance blinked as everyone turned to him instead. “What? No good?”

“Actually, that's a very good idea,” Allura said, sounding surprised. “It's worth a try, unless Slav has a better idea?”

Slav stood there for a moment, not blinking or speaking.

Allura sighed. “Slav.”

“Oh, you mean me?” he asked, pointing at himself with all four left hands.

Allura's right eye twitched as she struggled to retain composure. “Yes. I mean you.”

“Okay.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone waited for Slav to catch up and answer.

“What was the question again?”

Everyone groaned and prepared for an even longer afternoon than expected.

[drrameyfanpage]

Just a Walk in the Park: Chapter 9

Author’s Note: I’m so blown away by the people who comment and like this story. Thank you guys so much!

Tag List: I’m sorry if I missed anyone! Let know me and I’ll add you.

@hopelessromantic1352 @fangirlingmum @perriewinklenerdie @radlovedreamer @paisleylovergirl  @usuallyamazinglyaverage @drakewalkerfantasy @msjpuddleduck @lu-ciq @radical-gecko @cordoniaqueensworld @timmagicktoad

Alexandra’s holiday shift passed rather quickly. She stuck mostly to Ethan’s side getting a few good cases. They fell into a comfortable routine. He was still rude and insufferable most of the time but she understood it better now.

Sunday had her up early. She gotten the ingredients she needed the day before to make homemade apple crisp. She honestly couldn’t believe she was going over to Ethan’s home. It made her nervous and yet gave her a warm feeling.

Sienna and Jackie were working, so there was no one to stop and question her as she all but skipped out the door.

Ethan eyed the backpack Alexandra had at her feet. “Planning on stealing more clothes of mine?”

She looked at him sharply and found him trying not laugh. “You’re not funny.”

He glanced at the jacket before pulling away from the apartment. “Maybe you should though. That can’t be keeping you warm any longer.”

“I have a winter coat, I just don’t like wearing it.” She shrugged.

“Maybe at least wear a scarf and gloves.”

“Yes, dad.” She gave him a salute before looking at the window and missing the unpleasant look on his face.

She realized they were headed downtown towards the waterfront. He took a few turns before going into the underground parking of a tall building. He carried her backpack as they headed for the elevator. She couldn’t help but to notice every parked car seemed to be expensive.

He pushed the front door open and let her enter first. There was a small hallway with the kitchen to the left and an entry table to the right but at the end of the hall it opened into the living room with large windows looking out at the water.

“Wow.” She said as she headed straight for them looking out at the amazing view he has.

He put her bag down by the couch before walking up behind her. “It’s why I got this place. I love all the natural light. Sometimes we never make it outside during our shifts, I didn’t want to come home and feel the same way.”

“It’s a beautiful view.”

Ethan looked at her. “It is.” He said simply. “Which is why I pay too much and have too much room.” Changing the topic for him back to the apartment.

He points to the left past the living room to another hallway. “First door on the left is the bathroom. Next door is the guest bedroom. Door across the hall from that is my bedroom and the first door you’ll see on the right is my office.”

She glanced in the direction he pointed and couldn’t help but to wonder what his bedroom looked like. “Make yourself at home, I’m going to start putting stuff on to cook.”

She picked her backpack up and followed him into the large kitchen. An island separated it from the living room. She took a seat on one of the bar stools pulling items out of her bag for the apple crisp. Alexandra can’t help but to watch him move effortlessly around the kitchen. He rolled the sleeves up on his dark red dress shirt exposing his forearms to her.

“What are you making?” He nods to stuff on the counter.

“Apple crisp.” She grins. “I’ll need a deep pan I can stick in the oven.”

He points to several draws and cabinets telling her what’s in them. “Help yourself.”

They worked alongside each other in the kitchen. At some point she convinced him to put on Christmas music.

“What’s your favorite holiday?” He asked handing her glass of eggnog and settling next to her on the couch. They spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen and was now just waiting for things to finish cooking.

“Christmas! That’s easy.” She curled her feet under her. “You?”

“Hmm. I enjoy Halloween a lot or should I say October. The change in the air, the leaves.”

“So Fall is your favorite season. I’m surprised you didn’t say Christmas with being from a big family and having your sister’s kids.”

“In a way I feel like the magic of Christmas is really only magical through a kids perceptive. Seeing my nephews makes me sad sometimes.” He shrugged putting his glass on the coffee table.

“It’s a good thing you have me because clearly you need to find someone who loves Christmas. I love the cheesy Hallmark movies and cookie making. I love going to see lights.”

The smile on her face was contagious and he pictured her bundled up against the New England cold looking at lights. He would have to take her for a drive through some of the neighborhoods that were known for lights.

“Do you want kids?” She asked.

The smile dropped from his face. “I don’t know honestly. I’m not sure what kind of parent I would be.”

“We’ll after watching you with baby Ethan, I would say a good one.” She smiled resting her hand on his arm.

“What about you?”

“Of course. At least two.”

“What happened to your mother doesn’t scare you?” He asked before he could think about it. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have asked that.”

“I won’t lie and say it doesn’t, but isn’t the risk worth the outcome? You and the person you love have created something together. That’s more magical than Christmas.”

The urge to pull her into his arms and never let her go was strong. He fought against it though.  He couldn’t ruin her career or her rosy outlook on life by tangling her up with him.

“Tell me about your family.” She nudged his thigh with her foot.

“What do you want to know?”

“Anything. You’ve met my dad and apparently you two are going to a future baseball game together.” She laughed.

“Far enough. My oldest sister is Jessie and she’s a lawyer in New York City. Next is Katie who is a stay at home mom of three boys ages 4 to 8 and her husband is Todd. Todd is a building engineer. My little sister is Jennie and she is a high school art teacher in upstate New York.”

“Should I call you Ethanie from now on?” She giggled.

He shot her look, “Please don’t.” Without thinking he tickled the bottom of her foot closest to him sending her into a laughing fit.

“Fine. You win.” She breathed pulling her foot back towards her. “What about you parents?”

“Ah, mom and dad. My dad is a retired lawyer and mom has always been a stay at home mom.”

“I see your sister followed in his footsteps.”

 “She did. He wanted me to also.”

“Certainly he’s proud of the choice you’ve chosen.”

“Not at first. He came around though. My mother saw to that.”

“Are you a momma’s boy?” She grinned.

He shrugged. “I may be her favorite.”

Their conversation continued to flow until dinner was cooked. They sat at the kitchen island eating. He shared stories about the trouble his nephews always cause at holidays. She told him about holidays with just her dad.

“I hope you’re not wanting to get rid of me right away.” She said pulling a dvd from her backpack. They had just finished loading the dishwasher.

“A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving?” He eyed the dvd case.

“Please.” She pouted.

“Fine.” He huffed playfully.

“You wouldn’t happen to have blanket I could use?” She asked as she settled in the middle of the large couch.

He returned from down the hall with a soft dark grey blanket. He handed it to her before taking the dvd from her. She made herself comfortable. He sat down beside her and she offered some of the blanket to him.

“How kind of you?” He joked taking some.

She rested her head on the couch close to his shoulder as they watched the cartoon. He only payed half attention to it, as he took in this moment. It seemed like every time they were together he was more relaxed then he had been in years. There was something about Alexandra that set his mind at ease.

Ethan drove her home after the movie was over. They were both back on shift the next morning, so he didn’t want to keep her out too late.

[broken-heartedgirlff]

Chapter 32~ Family Feud (Part 2)

Nobody wins when the family feuds But my stash can't fit into Steve Harvey's suit I'm clear why I'm here, how about you? Ain't no such thing as an ugly billionaire, I'm cute Mmmmm Pretty much If anybody gettin' handsome checks, it should be us Fuck rap, crack cocaine Nah, we did that, black-owned things Hundred percent, black-owned champagne And we merrily merrily eatin' off these streams Y'all still drinkin' Perrier-Jouët, huh But we ain't get through to you yet, uh What's better than one billionaire? Two (two) 'Specially if they're from the same hue as you Y'all stop me when I stop tellin' the truth 

Chapter 32- Family Feud (Part 2) 

Olivia

I honestly didn’t want to be here. I wish I wasn’t in this position because I wasn’t in the position to be asking for favors. But here I am. I literally have been standing outside his office, trying to get myself to knock on the door, but I never could.

With me wanting to adopt Aiden and Jeremiah wanting full custody, I couldn’t be our lawyer. It was a conflict of interest so I had to recuse myself from the dealings, but I needed to ask the best attorney and partner in our firm that dealt with situations like this all the time.

He just so happens to be my ex-boyfriend, Jordan.  

I tend to stay away from him, because I felt extremely bad by hurting him. Especially with my injuries causing me to miscarry our baby, and he had plans to propose, but I couldn’t deal with his pain, as well as mine, and my feelings for Jeremiah coming back. It was horrible. We never really talked about it, but we had a mutual understanding to not talk about it.

“Olivia, if you’re not going to come in, please go to your office.” He said, from sitting at his desk

I sighed and I walked in the room, closing the door because people don’t need to know my business.

I sat in the chair across from his desk, he just continued writing and I sat there and stared at him. I truly didn’t know how to have this conversation, but I needed it for my family and for Jeremiah.  

“Are you going to talk, or are you just going to stare at me.” He spoke while looking up.

I sighed, “I know I’m not in any position, but I need a favor.”

He chuckled, “You’re right, you’re not in any position.”

“Jordan, I-“

He put his hand up, stopping me from talking and asked: “What is it?”

“I want to adopt Jeremiah’s son Aiden and we want to file for full custody, taking away Avery’s rights.”

“You want me to help you adopt your ex-husband’s son, the son that caused your divorce in the first place?”

I nodded, biting my lip. I knew exactly where this was about to go.

He cleared his throat and sat up, putting his hands on the desk, “You do know, that because you are divorced, it will be extremely hard for you to adopt him. You can’t just be living in the same house.”  

I couldn’t look at him, but I said “That won’t be a problem.”

“Since when?”  

“Since last weekend.”

He shook his head, “You remarried Jeremiah.”

I nodded my head, “It was inevitable. We love each other and I just, I missed my marriage. Having what happened to me, put this in perspective, I’m sorry. I’m also sorry that we never really had the chance to grieve… I just couldn’t live in that”

He looked at me and sighed, “No need to explain, I get it.”

“You’re not mad?” I honestly wanted to know because yes, I love Jeremiah, but I also loved Jordan at one point and I never want to hurt him.

“I mean, I have no reason to be mad, you were completely up front with me when breaking up with me. I was pretty upset that you dismissed our baby like it was nothing, because I also was in pain, just like you.”

“I never meant to cause anymore pain, but I’ve been through miscarriages and it’s not something I am willing to talk about freely. Trust me Jordan, I had no plans in remarrying Jeremiah, or even getting back with him, it just happened that way.”

He nodded, but didn’t really speak anymore. So,we kind of sat quietly, I didn’t want to overstep but I needed an answer because J and I want to get this done, as soon as we can.

“Will working with us, cause any problems?” I asked.

He shook his head, “No, I’m actually back with my baby mother.”

That was a surprise to me, it’s not that they hated each other, but She kept his daughter away from him, due to personal things. So, they always kind of fought.

“Are you happy?” I asked him

“Are you?”

I smiled, “I am, we basically reinvented our relationship and we have grown from our past, He loves me and I love him. I am happy.”

“I am happy that you’re happy. I am as well, I get to see my daughter every night and I am getting closer to her mother, we are moving forward.”

“And that’s the only thing that matters right.” I smiled to him,

“I’ll help, but Jeremiah and I need to sit down and talk before we can proceed.”

I nodded, “That’s fine, I can make that happen.”

I got up to shake his hand, and he rolled his eyes, got up from his desk and hugged me.  

“Does Rack know y’all remarried?” He said with a little sarcasm behind his voice,

I stood back from the hug, and I looked at him,  

“God no, none of the family knows yet. They won’t know for a long time.”  

Kamryn

Picking up the girls from X’s place, low-key has become my favorite part of co-parenting, maybe it’s selfish, but I love fucking him.

He’s the only person I have been with ever, and I’m focused on raising my girls, not dating. But a woman has needs.  

Walking up and knocking on the door, X came and opened the door.

“You’re early, today.”

I looked at him like he was slow, he knows I come early… so that I can cum early.

“X, stop playing you know that I always come early.”

I was slightly confused, but I know for a fact he knows what’s going on. Instantly, he slaps his forehead.  

“I forgot to tell you, I can’t today. I have business to deal with. So it’s great that you came early because I need to go. GIRLS! MOMMY IS HERE!”

I just looked at him in complete disbelief, he knows that I am here to have sex, get the girls and leave. So for him to flip the script, I was pissed.

The girls ran downstairs with their things and instantly hugged me.  

“What’s the matter mommy?” Mari said.

“Nothing baby, cmon, let’s go. Daddy has got work today.” I said spitefully, just so he knew I was pissed.

“I’m sorry Kam. I just-“

I shook my head, “I don’t care, Do you X”  and walked to the car putting the girls in, and pulling off. 

---

We were at the ice cream shop, because Mari and Mani bugged the hell out of me, just so that they can get ice cream, plus I was in a bad mood. I wasn’t really paying attention to the girls and their conversation, I was scrolling on my phone, when Mari said something that caught my attention.

“How do you feel about Daddy’s Girlfriend Mani?” She asked licking her ice cream.

“New Girlfriend?” I spoke causing them to look up at me.

“Yeah, She’s pretty nice I guess. She cooked us dinner the other night.” Mani said

“She cooked you dinner?” I furrowed my eyebrows, I was starting to get pissed. How in the fuck could this nigga not tell me he’s dating someone.

Do I have claim on him, absolutely not, we’re separated and getting divorced, but we agreed that we would talk before introducing the girls to a significant other. He’s breaking the rules of Co-parenting, and that’s just rude.

“Yeah, it was okay, but it wasn’t good like yours mommy.” Then both girls looked at me and smiled, I love them but I know those smiles, and they know exactly what they’re doing.

I didn’t raise idiots.

“What do y’all know.” I said sitting back in my chair crossing my arms.

They looked at each other, but didn’t say anything.

“Fine, I guess this is y’all last ice cream, for a long time.” I threatened.

“Okay, it’s Katie’s little sister Callie.”

I looked at them shocked, “Does she spend the night at Daddy’s house?”

“We aren’t supposed to tell you. Daddy is gonna get mad that you know he’s dating her.” Kamari said

I nodded my head, Oh Xavier…. How little do you know me.

I chuckled, I smiled, “I’m not mad, and I won’t tell daddy that I know, we’re breaking up. He can date whomever he’d like.”

The girls took my calmness as a good thing, and went back to talking about whatever they liked.

I picked up my phone going on Instagram, I went to my blocked section and clicked on the only name in my list. Callie_California

Looking at her page, here she was posting pictures of her and Xavier… from now and even when we were married.  

I wasn’t mad, I was beyond FURIOUS

But I wasn’t about to let him or her know, that I knew about their relationship or the fact that I was this angry.

But I do know, that I am about to Ruin this little bitches life.

Katie

Along with me being in jail, I have to go to required counseling. Which, I think, in itself, if very interesting and peculiar.

I had to come to terms that I am a murderer, because I wanted to be with Dominic. I chose to bring the gun in the court house, and I chose to shoot that judge, the guard, Olivia, Mason and the one that hurt the most Dominic.

Because of my terrible actions, I will never be able to raise my daughter, another woman is. I think, that’s what is killing me.

I have yet to see Andrea, and Dominic sends my mom pictures, and she sends them to me. But I am literally going crazy since I gave birth about 6 months ago. She seems like the biggest and happiest baby and she doesn’t even know who I am.

Most days, I consider killing myself, because is it worth it?  I don’t get to live and be with the love of my life. I don’t get to raise my daughter, my son is dead. I just don’t see the brightness in me living anymore.

Standing in line I was waiting for the phones to call my mother, or Dominic, I didn’t really know which way I was going to go.  

I wonder sometimes in here, how my life would be if Giselle never came back or even if the ruling would’ve went my way. If Giselle wouldn’t had came back, Dominic and I would’ve been married for about 6 months. Andrea’s birthday is Dominic and I’s wedding date, that’s why she’s so special, and DJ would’ve been going on 2 or so. We would’ve moved into the new house that he was having built for us, I would’ve been happy and in love, and now look at me. Miserable, alone and in jail.

Going to the phone, I knew exactly who to call. The person who never lets me down.

“Hello?” He answered and I smiled, hearing his thick italian accent

“Kaitlin Rossi.” I answered as the automated system told him the inmate that was calling, I was hoping he’d accepted the charges.

“Hello, Alexxandra.”

“Hi Papa, I miss you.”

“I miss you too Alexxandra. Your mother is not around for you to talk to.” He spoke

“I know papa, I called to talk to you.”

He sighed, “Alexxandra-“

I cut him off before he could say something else, “Daddy, please. Mom is colder than usual. The whole family has disowned me, I don’t have my daughter or my son, I’m not married, I’m in jail. Please just talk to me.”

He stayed quiet. I knew he was contemplating disobeying my mothers orders, but he knew as well as I did, she would see the call on the phone bill anyways.

“Daddy?”

“I’m here, Alex.”

I teared up at hearing my childhood nickname, “Where did I go wrong daddy?”

“You went wrong when you decided to marry a man still in love with his wife. and when you decided to have children with him.”

“Dad-“

“No Alexxandra, I should’ve had this talk when you first brought him home. You should’ve married the Carmicheal’s boy. Pure Italia. Like Me, like Baba and Bubbie. You and Alessandra like Macacas, Alessandra is a mistress and you’ve killed people.”

For Papa to call Dominic, a racial slur… that was low, and I knew he was about to do what the rest of my family did. Disown me.

“Papa!!  You forget that Noah’s dad is black, and you raised Noah like your own. Mamma is even half black and you fell in love with her. You can not call DJ or Andrea or even their father that!” I defended them no matter the consequences

“NON MI INTERESSA! ALEXXANDRA! I need to go”

“Papa, per favore.” I begged

“Dont call unless your mother is home. I will not speak unless she is around.”

“Pa-“

Before I could even finish calling out his name, he hung up the phone. Angry at the last person i had in my corner leaving me, I slammed down the phone onto the receiver.

I kept slamming the phone, cutting my hand and snatching the phone out of the wall.

But I didn’t care.

Giselle

Here we were, on this “date” that Dominic  forced me on. I was pretty quiet the entire time, but I knew that wasn’t going to last because I couldn’t stay mad at him for long. Especially when he was in my face, it was easier being mad when I didn’t live in the house and saw him everyday.

Living back in the house, has been quite an adventure. Mason was excited and happy. I literally had to drag Angel to the house. She kicked and screamed and wasn’t happy.

My daughter told me and Dominic “I hate you.” at least a million times in the first hour of us living at the house. She didn’t help with Andrea and she barely said anything to anyone except Mason. Do you know how exhausting it is to speak through a little boy who barely talks himself.

“Can you stop picking with your hair and talk to me?” He asked, making me come out of my thoughts.

I slowly let go of my hair and looked around the room, it was very romantic, but I wasn’t going to fall in the trap,. “What do you want talk about?” I said above a whisper.

He shrugged, “How awful Angel has been.”

I chuckled, “ She’s been through a lot, that’s the reason why she acts out.”

“Is that why you acted out with your father.”

I rolled my eyes and smirked a liitle, “You liked it. and I didn’t act out.” I picked up my wine and took a few sips of it.

“You did, and when you did, I would give you that good dick and you wouldn’t act out anymore.” He smirked taking a swig of whiskey, and his comment caused me to almost spit out my drink.

“Shut up.” I said laughing, which made him laugh

“I miss your laugh, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard it.” He spoke sadly

I shrugged, “I haven’t had much to laugh about since I was about 14.”

“Why cant we be like this Gi? Smiling, laughing enjoying life together.” He said reaching out for my hand, but I quickly took my hand off the table.

“Because.”

“Because what?”

“Because you had 2 babies with another woman, because you almost married a psycho bitch who almost murdered you, my cousin, and my son. Because I was kidnapped and left raising mason by myself. Because you had to raise Angel her entire life without me. and because, every single time I let myself love you again, something detrimental happens.” I said exasperated

I didn’t even know all of that was in me. I thought I was over the children with Katie, but I didn’t realize that I still held resentment towards a lot of things when it came to our relationship.

“Hell, Angel hasn’t been through what we have.” He said cynically

“Exactly. I don’t think it’s good for us to be together Dominic. Why cant you accept that?”

“Because I love you, and I’ve loved you through 2 kids with another woman and almost marrying her. Loving you through you being kidnapped, raising mason and me raising Angel. You view it as a negative, but I view it as the world pulling us apart, but no matter what, we find each other. I cant give that up, you’re the only person that it happens with. That should say something.”

I sighed and started playing with my hair again.

“Fine. Let’s talk about it all then Gi. I want to clear it all up, I’m serious.”

Before I could respond back, the waiter came back with our food, once he left, I said “Okay.”

----

Five and a half hours later, we talked about everything that went wrong in our relationship, but hearing his side of everything, put it all in a different perspective for me.

“I never want you to ever think that I ever stopped loving you, because I didn’t. I just, I thought you were dead, Angel needed a mother figure, I couldn’t be bitter anymore.” He mumbled.

I nodded, “I didn’t. I never did, but I just didnt expect to be replaced. Imagine if you were me and I said Mason needed a father figure, how would you feel?”

“Yeah, I’d be pretty pissed too.”

“If we do stay together, do you expect me to replace Katie and adopt Andrea?” I asked

It took him a while to answer and I knew he was trying to pick his words wisely.

“First of all, if we do stay together and you officially adopt her, I would want you to be okay with it and for it to be your idea. I never want to force you into something that you aren’t comfortable of doing. Secondly, I would never expect you to replace Katie for her. That’s her mother, but she’s a risk towards her. The agreement I have with Katie’s mother is that you’d help raise her and that she’ll go to see Katie when we see fit. and I know that even if we didn’t stay together that you’d probably treat her like your own anyways.”

I agreed, because it was true, I wouldn’t want her to feel separate from Angel or Mason, regardless of how she was brought in the world, she’s Dom’s child and Angel and Mason’s sister.  

“I mean, at this point, I’m okay with helping raise her, but I’m a little apprehensive when it comes to adopting Andrea. I would like to see how things work out with us.”

He smiled, “So, you’re open to ‘seeing how things work out with us’”

“Yes D. I am open, but if this doesn’t work, I’m not trying again.”

He beamed once I said that, I just shook my head.  

“You know, maybe you can help me come up with a name for Andrea, I dislike ‘Andrea’”  

“What’s her whole name?”

“Andrea Dominique Rossi Cartier. I was thinking Andy or something? I don’t want to change her name, I want Katie to feel that she has a connection to her, but I don’t like it.”

“How about calling her, Dominique, like we call Mason, Mason. His first name is Dominic.” I suggested.

“Dominique? I like it.” He smiled

[s-nebul0sa]

I just realized there are some asks left... The rest? 😉😄

Are you kidding me?!

Not what I meant when I said ‘ask me stuff I’m in the mood to answer questions’. 😂😂

1. The meaning behind my url:

I wanted S_Nebulosa or something but that was already taken… so I had to come up with something and somehow that’s how I came up with this. No deeper meaning.

3. How many tattoos I have and what they are:

One tattoo of 3 snowflakes.

5. Piercings I have:

I have pierced ears and that’s it.

7. Biggest turn offs:

When someone has a weird air/moves weird or something. Idk sometimes when I see someone I instantly know I dislike something about the way they move or hold themselves. It’s really vague and weird but it is what it is. Also being mean or rude. Cancelling stuff last minute for reasons like ‘also had plans with someone else’ because you could’ve just put stuff in your agenda and let me know before I was all hyped up and ready to meet… and chewing with an open mout.

9. Tattoos I want:

A star Katie drew but maybe with something else or made into a nice design or something.

11. Age:

23

13. Life goal:

Be happy, nice job, kid(s), spouse. Oh no! Have my parents come visit me instead of the other way around because I’m so independent and mature. That’s more attainable.

15. Relationship status:

Single

17. A fact about my life:

You’re assuming I actually have a life?

I have too many hobbies and I’m too attached to them to quit anything but it’s also getting in the way of stuff like uni…

19. Middle name:

Don’t have one

21. Are you a virgin?

I’m a cancer

23. What’s your sexual orientation?

I’ve given up labelling myself. Or maybe accepted that I don’t want to label myself. I don’t know. I just use (umbrella term) gay. Also something on the asexual spectrum probably.

25. Someone you miss:

I honestly don’t really miss anyone.

27. First celebrity you think of when someone says attractive:

First celebrity I think of when anyone says anything (positive) is Katie… what a surprise.

29. One insecurity:

Only one? I guess… my body

31. Have you ever taken a picture naked?

No

33. Have you ever kissed a member of the same sex?

Like, quick peck on the lips? Or actual kiss kiss? The latter; no. The former; yes. In a play for a scene. And my sister, mom and grandma probably.

35. Have you ever danced in front of your mirror?

Maybe when I was little but not as a teen or adult.

37. Have you ever been dumped?

No, that’s the benefit of never having had a relationship.

39. Have you ever gotten in a car with people you just met?

I don’t think I have.

41. Have you ever snuck out of your house?

No I didn’t really have anywhere to sneak off to and I wouldn’t dare anyway.

43. Have you ever been arrested?

No omg my mom would have me killed. (I know I’m an adult but my mom is still scary when she wants to.)

45. Have you ever met up with a member of the opposite sex somewhere?

Well, I do occasionally manage to have friends. So, yes. If this question is meant as in, like, a booty call or something; then no.

47. Have you ever had a crush on your neighbour?

No. I don’t really know my neighbours here and my parents’ neighbours are families with kids I used to babysit so that would’ve been very inappropriate and awkward. But thankfully I just didn’t seem to ‘do’ crushes until recently.

49. Have you ever slept in a bed with a member of the same sex?

Yes. Is this supposed to be scandalous (for straight people)? I used to sleep in my mom’s bed with her when my dad was away for business (alternating nights with my sister and sometimes on the last night if it was an odd number of nights we both got to sleep there). And my sister has a double bed and sometimes I ‘sleep over’ with her in her bed. And I’ve shared double air mattresses with friends before for sleepovers and once on a school trip where the boat back had broken or something so we were sent to a hotel that only had double beds…

51. Have you ever been on a plane?

Yes, multiple times.

53. Have you ever slept in until 3?

Probably not. That’s really late. Might’ve stayed in bed until 3 (or later) staring at the ceiling or spending time on my phone but I don’t think I ever managed to sleep until 3.

55. Have you ever laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by?

I have.

57. Have you ever played dress up?

Yes, I used to love dressing up as a princess. We also have this (dumb, sorry, I’m opinionated) thing here where people dress up (not Halloween, we don’t celebrate that) in February or March. (It’s called carnaval.) In primary school we had to go dressed up on the Friday before.

59. Have you ever been lonely?

I’m a lot lonely and very often…

61. Have you ever been to a club?

Yes, I think so.

63. Have you ever touched a snake?

Maybe? Look at my memory failing me. Probably not because I think I’d have remembered and it would’ve freaked me out so much.

65. Have you ever been suspended from school?

No, goody two shoes, remember?

67. Have you ever been in a car accident?

Not a big one but on the way back from a holiday with friends some truck tried to merge into our lane by driving through our car. Didn’t work. Had some damage to the pain but mostly his own truck got damaged. Was a whole deal with the police and stuff and him not speaking any language any of us spoke… and I was a little shaken. But all ended well and insurance covered our damage. Or he did. I don’t know. It was my parents’ car. I handed them the papers we got from the police and they fixed it with insurance and stuff.

69. Have you ever witnessed a crime?

Omg yes when I was like a super tiny kid. Maybe 3 or 4. (Wait, is a crime different than an offence or something? Idc. I want to tell this story now.) I vividly remember it because I was sitting in the car while my mom was packing the groceries in the trunk and a man took a woman’s bag/purse and ran away. She started yelling at him and chasing him and it spooked him so much he dropped it. It made a huge impression on me even though I probably made it bigger in my mind than it actually was.

71. Have you ever been lost?

Yes, at summer camp we were lost once during a night scavenger hunt/walk/quest thingy. I don’t know the translation. And because of my sublime sense of direction I get lost all the time and thanks to modern technology find my way again.

73. Have you ever felt like dying?

Like I was dying or like I wanted to die? Yes to one of those two.

75. Have you ever sang karaoke?

I’ve played singstar or some equavalent before during birthday parties.

77. Have you ever laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose?

Damn no I’m glad I haven’t.

79. Have you ever kissed in the rain?

No

81. Have you ever made out in a park?

No

83. Have you ever glued your hand to something?

I’m me so I must’ve. Definitely to paper but I don’t know if I glued it to something else ever.

85. Have you ever gone to school partially naked?

No, the least I’ve probably worn was shorts and a t-shirt (and underwear and socks and stuff).

87. Have you ever sat on a rooftop?

Yes, my internship had a rooftop terrace thingy.

89. Have you ever been too scared to watch scary movies alone?

Have I ever not been?? I’m usually too scared to even watch scary movies with other people…

91. Have you ever been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on?

No and nowadays with phones and stuff, I would not appreciate it at all. That thing’s expensive and not water resistant.

93. Have you ever broken a bone?

Yes, broke my thumb (not all the way through) and splintered off a tiny piece off bone in my pinky. Those are two separate occasions.

95. Have you ever laughed so hard you cried?

I have

97. Have you ever cheated on a test?

Yes. In the second year of (Dutch) high school, my history teacher would not pay attention at all during tests and I didn’t like history tests because of all the dumb facts (that I now know can be really useful and give you an idea of when stuff happened in relation to other stuff). So, I had put my book on my lap. Also, during Spanish because we knew the test would be to write a letter so the entire class just pre-wrote it using google translate and printed it to tape it inside their dictionary. I did too.

99. Have you ever met someone who didn’t seem real?

No and this seems odd too because everyone is real… but maybe I just never feel like a person isn’t real but me meeting them isn’t real or something… idk

[tylerseguin]

quarter past midnight: chapters 2 & 3

CHAPTER 1: [X]

Pairing: Tyler Seguin x Reader

Characters: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, John Klinberg, Katie Hoaldrige & Reader

Summary:  You and Jamie have been best friends forever and you have one very important rule: we don't date each other's family members. For most of your life, that's not a problem but after having been gone for a couple years, you come back to Toronto and suddenly, something starts to happen between you and Jamie's cousin, Tyler. This could potentially screw up your most important friendship but there's just something about Tyler Seguin that drives you crazy.

Warning: There’s gonna be smut, eventually but it’s safe now.

Notes:  I definitely was inspired by The Kissing Booth movie so you'll 100% see some references to that.

You can also read it on Ao3

Chapter 2 & 3 summaries: You go over to Jamie and Tyler's for the first time since you moved back and Tyler dares to stroll half naked in his own apartment. Rude. Oh and then you go brunch with Jamie and the mention of a party is brought up.

Chapter 2

You'd arrived to your parents house two days ago, had spent the whole day setting up your room yesterday and finally, you were able to visit Jamie today. He'd been working the past couple days and so, hadn't been able to come help you out but it was Saturday now. That meant you had the whole weekend to spend with him. Maybe you wouldn't be moving in with him but you had every intention of spending most of your weekends there. That was something you were comfortable doing. You'd thrown a couple of articles of clothing and a toothbrush in a backpack and drove to Jamie's. It was 11am and you knew he was awake. The both of you were so excited to see each other. It had been about a month since the last visit but that was only because you were so busy with finals, there was no point in him visiting you. So, naturally, you were beaming and couldn't wait to get there. You even stopped at Starbucks to get you both some coffee. The plan was to hang out a bit at his place and then go out for brunch but coffee was always necessary to start your day. Even if you'd get unlimited refills at the restaurant, you needed an iced latte to drink before you even got there.

You knocked twice at the door and then simply walked in. You'd been to Jamie's apartment before - just never when Tyler lived here - but you weren't thinking about the other roommate. Besides, it was just a thing you two did no matter where you were. At each other's parents' house, at your old dorm, at his apartment, wherever. "I'm here!" You called out, carrying the two drinks into the living room. You barely had time to put them down on the coffee table when you heard someone run towards you. "Jamie!" You squealed, turning back in time to be pulled into some strong arms and twirled around. He could lift you up and carry you around just like that. Sometimes, it made you freak out a little but you knew he could handle it. Besides, you just wanted to get one of those famous Jamie hugs. He basically wrapped his whole body around you and made you feel so safe, so at home. There was a huge grin on your face when he put you back down onto the ground. "A month apart is way too long. We're never doing that again. Ever." He told you sternly and you nodded. "Yes, sir." You teased. "Ugh, I'm so happy to be back. Please remind me of that when I start complaining about being back at my parents' place." Jamie smiled softly at you and squeezed your shoulders. "Hey, remember what I said. You can crash here any-" He started saying but you waved him off. "Don't even think about it. I'm not moving in with two...boys." You wrinkled your nose as you looked over the messy state of their apartment. "Oh, shut up. It's not that bad." Jamie laughed.

"Yeah, okay. Sure." You rolled your eyes and pushed at his chest. "Go! Get ready so we can get some brunch, I'm starving!" You two were planning on hanging out here for a little bit but honestly, their apartment really did need a good cleaning. You'd much rather go out than stay in here. Walking over a pair of socks and pushing aside a dirty tshirt on the couch, you sat down and grabbed your Starbucks. You sipped on it while playing on your phone. You'd already seen everything on your Instagram feed but there was nothing else to do while you waited. Jamie was in the bathroom getting dressed or fixing his hair, you didn't really know but you hoped he'd be quick. So, when a door opened, your head quickly snapped up and was ready to go but it wasn't Jamie. It was a very shirtless Tyler Seguin in only a thin pair of boxer briefs. Your heart dropped and you were honestly not sure if your jaw had followed. All you knew was that you were eye fucking his body hardcore. You'd looked him over before, sure, but never this intensely and obviously. He just walked straight out of his room and to the bathroom door. "Yo Jamie." He banged on the door. "Hurry up." Your eyes had followed him, now taking in his back muscles down to his ass. When the fuck had he gotten this hot? Well, he'd always been good looking and you'd drooled over him time and time again but there was a sudden hunger inside you. You'd never wanted to drag him into bed before but it was definitely something you were experiencing now.

Had he seen you check him out? He'd just strolled so casually in his half-naked glory, not pausing once. Wait, did he even see you? Hopefully, he hadn't because you really didn't need...fuck. Tyler looked over his shoulder and winked at you, making it clear that he knew exactly what was going on in your head. "Hey you, long time no see." He said in his damn seductive voice or maybe that was just his normal voice. Shit. You blushed furiously, frowned and looked back down to your phone as if anything could be more interesting than his body. The image of him in those thin underwear would forever be in your mind and you had absolutely no problem with that. He may be off limits in reality but Jamie never said you couldn't be all over him in your fantasies. "Go put some pants on, Tyler." You groaned, acting childish and pretending to be grossed out by his delicious looking body. "Aw, but I like making you drool. It's cute." He retorted and you looked up, gasping in shock and threw the nearest sofa cushion in his direction. He laughed, successfully catching it as the door opened. Jamie strolled out, staring at the two of you in confusion but brushed it off immediately. "Ready?" He asked you and you immediately jumped up to your feet. "Absolutely. Let's go." You grabbed his Starbucks and handed it to him on your way out...but not before looking back one more time at Tyler, resting against the bathroom door with an amused smirk on his lips.

Chapter 3

"So, Ty and I are planning to have a party at our place next Friday." He told you as he shoved some eggs in his mouth. The mention of his cousin's name got you out of your daydream. "Hm? Oh yeah?" You hummed, zoning back into the conversation. What about Tyler? Damn, seeing him earlier had really done something to you. To be fair, it probably had to do with the fact that you hadn't gotten laid in almost a year. You had a boyfriend for a short while back in Montreal but school had completely consumed your life. That relationship easily fell apart and you hadn't bothered finding another guy, not even for a one night stand. So, yeah. Seeing a man look so good in his boxers had awakened your sex drive for the first time in what felt like forever. "Are you even paying attention to anything I'm saying?" Jamie teased you and gently kicked your shin under the table. You rolled your eyes and kicked him back. "Yes, I am. I heard what you said, you're having a party on Friday." You repeated, kind of surprised that you'd even registered that but were pleased with yourself. You did feel a little bad because you'd been distracted ever since you left the apartment earlier and hadn't been paying much attention to Jamie but you would now.

You grabbed the maple syrup and started pouring it all over your pancakes before speaking. "Am I invited to this party?" You asked with a teasing smirk, knowing very well that he would never not invite you somewhere. Hell, Jamie would probably invite you to third wheel one of his dates if he knew you had nothing to do. That was just the kind of friendship you guys had. Everything was out in the open, except for these dirty thoughts you were currently having about his cousin. It was his turn to roll his eyes. "Obviously, you idiot. Besides, I kind of need you to help me out with something..." Jamie began, not giving you the time to respond. "I know this is juvenile but I was wondering if you could invite Katie for me? The last time I saw her, it was on St-Patrick's day and I was so drunk. If you do it, she might actually show up and I can redeem myself somehow?" He grinned at you, one of those cheesy grins that always won you over. He was too adorable and you could never deny him anything. Jamie had always had a crush on Katie Hoaldridge but he was never able to talk to her. It was ridiculous considering how much of a handsome catch he was but he was also such a dork. Your dork of a best friend. So, you smile sweetly at him and nodded. "Of course, I will. I can even be your...wingwoman or whatever." As if you had any talent with that in the first place.

Jamie was laughing, clearly relieved. He really was throwing this party so that he could get a second chance at getting the girl of his dreams and you were so here for that. "You know, this is basically your welcome home party." He mentioned after taking another huge bite of his food. "Bullshit." You ripped off a piece of toast and threw it at him. "This has nothing to do with me and everything to do with Katie Hoaldridge. I'm just a simple pawn in this whole masterplan." Jamie took the toast and popped it in his mouth, smiling all goofy. "Okay, maybe but more people will show up if we label it as such, though..." You had been cutting your pancakes and suddenly paused when he said that. "Oh, come on. I've been gone for, like, 9 years. Who would remember me or want to come to a party for me?" You asked seriously before taking a bite of your pancakes. You'd had a lot of friends in high school, sure, but you'd stopped talking to everyone after one or two years in Montreal. You didn't actually think anyone still considered you as their friend anyway. "Well..." He began. "Some of guys have been mentioning you to me. You remember Klingberg?" You frowned in confusion. "I mean, I remember him but why would he mention me?" You asked, reaching for your coffee. This conversation had taken quite a turn.

"C'mon, we post pictures of us on Facebook all the time and you haven't unfriended him. He sees you on there and he thinks you're hot." Jamie waggled his eyebrows at you. That was a good thing about your friendship. Even though he was a guy and was basically your brother, he never got overprotective and got in the way of you dating guys. Instead, he was usually the one encouraging you and introducing you to people. "Wow..." You made a face, thinking this through. "John Klingberg, huh?" He wasn't anything like Tyler but since you couldn't act on your sexual frustrations with him, you might as well find someone else to hook up with. Your best friend was staring at you with an excited look, desperately wanting to help you out with your dating life. "Alright, fine." You sighed, giving into him. "You can tell him to go for it." You chuckled and continued eating your food. So, friday night was going to be a very interesting one, to say the least. You had no idea what to expect but you couldn't say that you weren't looking forward to it. You definitely needed a good party, some booze and maybe even some sex.          

[to be continued]

[statierogers]

Hello Neighbour - Steve Rogers

Title: Hello Neighbour

Pairings: Steve Rogers x Reader

Summary: Steve just sucks at hiding his real Identity. (post Civil war)

Words: 1510

Warnings: None

Genere: Gonna go with Fluffy.

A/N: Okay I got inspired to write this while I was sweeping our veranda last week. Cap didn’t come by there. :D

- Katie xx

My Masterlist

Your name: submit

What is this?

(Y/D/N) - Your dad’s name

(Y/M/N) - Your mom’s name

°°°

Retirement was something to look forward to for most people. Well, not for Steve Rogers. Maybe it was because none of those people were forced to retire. Steve was still in his best days. He was over 70 years old but had the body of a 25-year-old. He could still chase those bad guys around if it weren't for the fact that he was a wanted fugitive — just some annoying detail for him.

After he freed his friends from prison, Steve had to lay low. His decision was Michigan. A small village called South Lake (I just made this up btw). He lived in a quiet neighbourhood. This was what he wanted pre-serum, to live in a place like this with a wife, a couple of kids and a dog. But when he joined the army, he wasn't so sure anymore if this was the right life for him.

At first, he shut himself in his house. Not making contact with anyone. Until it got too dull for him, so he decided to help out around in the neighbourhood. Funnily enough, his disguise which consisted of a beard he grew and flannels held up. That or people just didn't care enough. His life was quiet for weeks. Nothing really happened here. Not until one day a black Audi drove into the driveway of his neighbour's house.

The cute little house belonged to (Y/D/N) and (Y/M/N) (Y/L/N). Steve was currently chopping wood in his backyard when he saw a young woman leave the car. And God was she stunning. Her hair flowed over her shoulders, framing her beautiful face, that had a smile on it the moment she heard the dog barking. She wore boots and skinny jeans and a trench coat. Steve knew she must have been from a city somewhere. Her stylish clothes, sunglasses, and the fancy bag didn't fit in here. His eyes followed her as she entered the house. He felt like he had seen her before. Her face was somewhere in his memory, but he couldn't place it.

It took Steve three days to see the woman again. And this time he couldn't believe it was the same person. Because there she was, in wellingtons and her hair in a ponytail. She was sweeping the fall leaves of the veranda while humming some song he didn't know. He watched her for a bit. Still thinking he knew her. After a while, he realised it was creepy to stare at her like this. He decided just to go over.

"Ma'am do you need some help?" he asked while stepping onto the driveway.

She stopped sweeping and looked up at him. She propped her hands on her broomstick and slightly raised her eyebrows. The woman looked somewhat suspicious of his kindness, definitely from the city. Steve decided to try to introduce himself.

"I'm Steve…the neighbour," he said, pointing at his house dumbfounded.

The woman gave him a once over. This was the friendly neighbour, Steve, her parents had told her about. The moment she had entered the door on Wednesday, her mother had tried to set her up with him. She kept on talking about how strong and handsome he was but also how kind. She didn't know then that this Steve was Steve Rogers. And she was a hundred percent sure her parents did not notice that their neighbour was a superhero. She saw it the moment she looked into those eyes. She had met this man before. About five years ago in the Battle of NY. He had saved her from one of those creatures. She also knew his situation. The government declared him a dangerous man. Something about him not signing something: he wasn't supposed to be here. He was a fugitive. All though she didn't believe that. How could someone like Captain America suddenly be evil? Especially someone who saved her life. And maybe it was because of this or because he was looking at her with a carefree smile she never saw him with on TV, but she decided to play coy.

"So, you are the guy that helped fix my Dad's old motorbike," she said with a smile.

Steve nodded slowly. It was weird seeing him like this, in a blue flannel and with a beard. At least he stayed true to his colours.  It made him look more approachable. It took away his intimating stare. It made him look…normal. Like he was just a neighbour.

"Yes. I did," he answered.

(Y/N) nodded and gave him a quick smile. She stepped down the stairs of her veranda and stretched her hand out. He was quite a bit taller than her.

"I'm (Y/N)," she introduced herself.

His hand shook her's, and she couldn't help but stare at his muscled arms. She couldn't deny how handsome the ex-soldier was.

"My Dad said you are quite good at the heavy lifting. I have a few bags of garden soil to be lifted to the bed in the back garden," she mentioned and tilted her head in the direction of the pickup truck.

Steve agreed to help her with a smile. She didn't know why she asked him; she could do it herself.  And this was Captain America she had to use his strength to her advantage. He grabbed two bags and lifted them with ease while she hosted one up.

"So, Steve. What brings you to South Lake?" she asked him.

They started walking around the house to the garden gate that was wide open. Steve shrugged his shoulders. He decided to stay as close to the truth as he could with his answer.

"Well, It's an escape, really from the city life. I used to live in Brooklyn," he explained.

(Y/N) nodded and decided to see if he would tell her who he was. She was curious how he would lie his way out of it.

"Oh, really? I live in Brooklyn. I used to live up in New York. Man, I still miss this flat. So sad…Oh, drop them here," she said and pointed at the floor next to the flowerbed.

He did as told. It took (Y/N)'s dog less than a second to leave his comfortable spot in the garden and start sniffing at the bags of soil. He probably thought there was food in there. (Y/N) was watching him smiling.

"What happened to your flat?" Steve asked, staring at the dog.

Okay, maybe she was playing with him.

"It got destroyed in the battle of New York. That was a crazy day. I even met Captain America. He saved my life," she said innocently and waited for his response.

Steve realised now why he knew her. It was true. He had saved her. Her talking about him made him very uncomfortable.

"Oh really… I have to go now," he said, pointing behind him.

(Y/N) had to suppress a smile. She was just messing with him. He turned around and started walking off. He didn't want to be rude. But the conversation made him wary of her. Something was wrong.

"Yea, of course. Was nice seeing you again Cap," she called after him.

Steve froze. She knew. Crap. He would have to leave now. He didn't want to threaten the beautiful young woman, but he would if he had to. Slowly he turned around. Shocked. His surprise was even bigger when she had a genuine smile on her pretty face.

"No worries Steve. I won't tell anyone. I still owe you one for saving my life," she said.

And Steve believed her. Maybe it was stupid. But she looked so genuine and nice he couldn't not believe that face. He nodded the relief clearly seen on his face.

"Thank you (Y/N)," he mumbled, giving her a nod.

The smile on her face made his legs feel like jelly for two reasons. First, it was beautiful, and he had never seen a woman look at him like this and second, it scared him. She knew who he was. And she shouldn't. It was dumb of him to think that no one would ever find out. But that it had to be her bothered him. What would she think of him?

"No problem neighbour," she said and squatted next to her dog, putting her hand in his fur.

It didn't matter that she knew. He would just have to call a few friends if word got out. He lifted his hand to give her a small wave. Then he turned around to walk out of the garden.

"The captain seemed to understand because

the next day the cap' went out and drafted a band.

And now the company jumps when he plays reveille

He's the boogie-woogie bugle boy of Company B."

Steve couldn't stop a smile spreading across his face as he heard her sing the song.

[libraryofrewrita]

Chapter 14: The Komainu Brothers and the Construction Battle Site

“Nyaattee…wake up!”

Nate rose out of bed after Jibanyan yelled at him and after checking to make sure that his parents had fallen asleep, Nate summoned Baku to take his place in bed. After he got dressed and got out the door without waking up his parents, he sent Whisper over to get Katie.

*****

When Katie saw Whisper floating in her room, she had Whapir to take her place in bed, got dressed, and sneaked out with Whisper. She grabbed her bike and rode over to Nate’s house. She waved at Nate as he was getting his own bike.

Let’s get this over with!

After getting Jibanyan into Katie’s bicycle basket, they turned on the little light on their bikes and took off towards the shortcut that would take them towards Downtown Springdale. Jibanyan was grumbling about wanting to ride on Whisper’s back, but since he wasn’t walking, he couldn’t complain too much.

“I really, really hope Terror Time doesn’t activate right nyow.”

They stopped at the crosswalk in front of Piggleston Bank, pressed the button for crossing the street, and looked around. After not seeing any strange fog and the crosswalk light turned green, they continued to ride over to the construction site.

*****

They skidded to a stop in front of the wall in front of the construction site and after making their bikes disappear into the charms, Whisper floated up to see if there was anyone that would keep them from stepping inside the site or worse, call the police. The last thing the group wanted was to have to explain to a bunch of adults that couldn’t see Yo-kai that they were meeting a fox Yo-kai to find out why he was messing with people on Flower Road.

“There’s one guy here, but I think he fell asleep. We can probably sneak past him if we’re quiet enough.”

“Kyubi better have a good explanation for this when we find him.”

The group didn’t head into the area to the construction site just yet, staring at the large building in front of them. At this point, it was almost close to completion. On one hand, that meant the building had walls to block out the elements and no one would see them climbing on the structure. On the other hand, there would probably be some unfinished floors, blocked stairways, and many dangerous ways to get around. The group had to whisper to avoid accidently waking up the guard or drawing unwanted attention.

“I don’t know, guys. Is it really worth it?”

“Tengloom’s here, remember?”

Nate sighed softly.

That’s right. We really need that upgrade.

“Okay, let’s head in and hope that Kyubi isn’t tricking us into getting in trouble.”

The group quietly walked in, thankful that they didn’t have to worry about leaving their bikes in the area, further getting them into trouble if they were to be discovered.

“Hold on!”

Whisper stuck an arm out and the group stopped as Whisper looked around.

“I thought I sensed something.”

“Whisper, not to sound rude, but are you sure it’s not your imagination? It’s pretty late and there’s a chance that Terror Time might hit us or that we might get caught by someone.”

“Nate, when I say I sensed something, I sensed something.”

“Whisper’s right. I can sense it too.”

The group looked at Katie, who seemed to be concentrating on something.

“There’s two figures, about Jibanyan’s height. They’re hiding in the construction site for some reason.”

Whisper was amazed.

“Wow…I mean…wow. Katie, I had no clue that you could sense Yo-kai auras. Why didn’t you say something? Did you just develop this power or something?”

Katie shook her head.

“No, I’ve always been able to detect strange auras. When I was younger, I would call them ‘feelings’ because I didn’t know the proper term until recently.”

Before the others could ask her about her aura-sensing powers more, she walked into the construction site.

“Yep, there’s a lot of Yo-kai in here, but I think the Yo-kai Whisper sensed was over…here.”

The rest of the group went into the construction site as well and went over to where Katie was. She was near a pile of random construction materials where they heard two voices speaking to each other about…something. The voices were too quiet to understand, other than that the speakers might be from the countryside.

“Excuse us?”

The two voices shrieked and the group saw two pairs of glowing eyes, one pair of blue eyes and a pair of green eyes, from the pile of construction materials.

“K-kyubi! We were just-”

“Waitwaitwait. You two are looking for Kyubi too?”

The two pairs of eyes seemed to blink in confusion before they widened in shock.

“Oh my swirls! We’re so sorry! We thought you were Kyubi, zura!”

One of the Yo-kai walked out, revealing himself to be what Nate could only describe as a white lion-dog with green eyes, two red swirls on his cheeks, and a pair of blue, firey eyebrows carrying a green pouch on his back. The other Yo-kai that came out was identical to the first Yo-kai, but he was light brown, had blue eyes, darker brown firey eyebrows, which were the same color as the swirls on his cheeks, and he was carrying a blue pouch on his back.

“Eeee…komainus!”

Katie’s eyes were sparkling as she squeed about how cute they were. Jibanyan and Nate were confused at Katie’s behavior while Whisper looked up something.

“Ah! These are the Komainu Brothers or the Koma Brothers for short.”

Whisper gestured to the white komainu.

“This is Komasan, the eldest of the two. The brown komainu is Komajiro, the youngest. I have to admit, I didn’t expect to see any komainus here in the city. They usually hang around in the mountains, countryside, basically anywhere where a shrine can be located.”

Komasan shuffled his feet slightly.

“Komajiro and I had to leave our shrine in the country due to something happening in the Yo-kai Realm that could effect us. We came to this city looking for someone that could help us find a place to live until things can get sorted out. We ran into Kyubi earlier today, but he told us to meet him here. I really don’t understand why, but who are we to argue with a powerful Yo-kai like him?”

The group was now concerned. There had to be a reason for Kyubi to send the two komainus here to the construction site on the same night he told them to meet him.

“Who are y'all? Are y'all trying to find a place to live too?”

The group shook their heads.

“Oh no. We already have a place to live. I’m Katie Forester and this is Nate Adams, Jibanyan, and Whisper. We have to meet Kyubi too, for a different reason, and maybe if we all go look for him together, we can figure out why he wanted us to meet him here.”

Two bright lights shined from the komainus as a pair of Yo-kai medals flew into Katie’s hands.

“Thanks, y'all!”

The komainus each hugged one of the kid’s legs and as Katie pocketed the two Yo-kai medals, she looked around and saw an Eyepo.

“Umm…Whisper? Why is there an Eyepo over there?”

Whisper turned to where Katie was pointing with a confused expression on his face.

“Huh…I don’t remember that being there. Do you want to…use it or something?”

Katie nodded and went up the the Eyepo. She touched it and after looking over the Yo-kai medals they had on hand, she switched out Negatibuzz and Buhu and replaced them with the Komainu Brother’s medals and also decided to bring Dimmy back into the group, replacing Walkappa.

“Okay, there’s some escalators over there we can use to climb to the next floor.”

The group of six headed towards the escalators, noticing that there was a purple Watch Lock door with a large S.

“Okay, we might be coming back later. Not in the near future, but later.”

They kept walking until they found an escalator that wasn’t blocked off. They walked up the escalator, thankful that it was stable. Komasan was shaking as the group got off. Nate looked at the shaking komainu.

“What’s wrong?”

Komasan looks at the group, which has gone further ahead and asked Nate,

“Can I tell you something, Nate?”

Nate nodded and knelt down to Komasan’s height. Komasan shuffled his feet and said,

“I’m trying to be brave for Komajiro’s sake, but I can’t handle this, zura. I’m homesick, I can’t understand city life, and I was too much of a scaredy-cat to talk Kyubi out of arranging to meet us here at the construction site.”

Nate petted Komasan’s head.

“We’re all nervous about meeting up with Kyubi here. We don’t know why he wanted to meet us here, but we’re going to go find out!”

Komasan was confused by Nate as the two of them went to catch up with the rest of the group.

How can he be so calm when we’re facing danger? We’re about to meet Kyubi, one of the most powerful Yo-kai in existance, and he’s treating it like we’re taking a stroll through the countryside, even though he admitted that they’re all nervous about meeting him. How does he do it? How do they do it?

The group looked around the area as they were carefully walking around.

“Whisper?”

“Yes, Jibanyan?”

“If we ever find Kyubi, remind me to kill him.”

“You know that Kyubi is a S rank and you’re a D rank, right?”

“I’ll smack him, then.”

“Can I talk you out of doing that, Jibby?”

Jibanyan had a slight blush on his face when he heard Whisper call him that and didn’t answer right away.

“Jibanyan?”

Jibanyan shook his head to clear his mind and said,

“…Maybe.”

The group looked around and saw that any escalators that could easily take them to the top floor was either blocked off by a gate that wasn’t a Watch Lock door or they couldn’t get to them safely.

“I remember seeing an escalator downstairs that might be able to get us to that side safely, but I don’t remember if there was a clear way over there.”

Whisper looked over to see a rope and a metal girder that was the only thing connecting the area they were in to the area the rope was located.

“Good news and bad news, everyone. The good news is I found a way to get down that might get us to the escalator we need to take.”

“That’s great, Whisper! What’s the bad news?”

Whisper pointed to the rope.

“It’s over there.”

The group walked over and looked at the metal girder.

“We’ll have to go one at a time. Whisper, would you mind holding my hand?”

Katie got on the girder and after seeing it not wobble, Whisper took her hand and started to walk with her across the girder until she got there safely.

“Made it! Go get the others!”

Whisper helped Nate walk across the girder and started to help the Komainu brothers across, starting with Komasan, then Komajiro. When he came to get Jibanyan, he held a paw up and shuffled his feet in embarrassment.

“Can I…ride over on your back?”

Whisper blushed, thankful that the others couldn’t see his face at the moment, and said,

“S-sure…”

Jibanyan climbed onto Whisper’s back and held on as Whisper floated over to the rest of the group as they were climbing down the rope. Whisper just floated down with Jibanyan on his back and let Jibanyan hop off as the Koma Brothers hopped off the kid’s backs.

“I’ll go ahead and see what we have to deal with.”

Whisper floated out of the room and found not only the correct escalator, but also the Tengloom they had to fight for the upgrade. He floated over and practically dragged the group over to battle Tengloom.

*****

One battle later…

Tengloom disappeared into a puff of purple smoke and Whisper was celebrating.

“Yes! We’re a step closer to having the best watch in the world!”

Whisper was doing some sort of silly dance as Katie took his arm and dragged him along with the rest of the group.

“Sorry for not putting you two in battle, but we want to save you in case there’s a big battle with Kyubi.”

The Koma Brothers nodded in understand, Komasan being secretly relived that he didn’t have to battle yet, but was nervous about a possible battle against Kyubi. Sure, his Soultimate was pretty powerful, but would it have worked against Kyubi? Probably not, seeing as they were both Fire Attributes. As they walked up the escalator, Komasan felt the nervousness bubbling in his chest. At this point, it felt normal to him, but back home, he wasn’t always this nervous.

*****

Admittedly, he wasn’t the strongest komainu. That title belonged to his older brothers, Komane and Komiger, and his ancestor, Komashura. Komasan, Komajiro, and their mother, Komama, were more like pacifists, in that they didn’t fight unless it was absolutely necessary.

The two brothers spent their days lazily laying in the grass at their shrine, playing in the small river nearby, and transforming into humans to go to the nearby town to get ice cream and mingle with the humans in the small village. Life was perfect for the Komainu Brothers until one day, they got a letter saying that their shrine had been targeted by a group of Yo-kai that hated humans and any Yo-kai that supported being friends with humans. Komane and Komiger had already gotten the news and had helped Komama move to their vacation house in the Yo-kai Realm, but before Komasan and Komajiro could join the rest of their family, the portal to their vacation house closed suddenly and they were forced to find a new shrine quickly.

They hopped on the next train out of their small village and got off at what they hoped was far away enough from the war that separated them from their family. The two brothers had been wandering around Springdale for days, trying to find somewhere to live that hadn’t been taken or targeted by the human-hating Yo-kai when they met someone that promised to have Kyubi, who was the guardian of Flower Road, help the two find a place to live. The brothers were estatic that they would soon have a place to live in, but when they actually met Kyubi face-to-face, he told them to meet him at the construction site that night if they wanted a place to stay and disappeared without explaining why.

They were very terrified as they entered the construction site and they both hid the moment one of the Yo-kai that lived in the consruction site tried to attack them. Komasan had promised himself that he would be brave for Komajiro, but it was proving to be very difficult.

*****

Komasan snapped back to reality as he found himself at the top of the escalator with the rest of the group. Whisper had went over to check on him while the group tried to figure out which way to go.

“Komasan, is everything alright?”

Komasan shook his head.

“No…I was forced away from my home, I have to find a way to contact the rest of my family, and I don’t even know what I’m doing.”

Whisper placed a hand on Komasan’s shoulder.

“Kyubi probably thinks that we’re all scaredy cats, but we’re going to prove him wrong. We’re going to show him why he shouldn’t underestimate us and get what we need from him once and for all!”

The two Yo-kai went back to the group and as the group walked down the hallway, Komasan stopped and looked around.

“Hey…are any of y'all…getting the feeling that someone is watching us?”

No one noticed the giant humaniod Yo-kai staring at the group through an open window and faded away before they turned back to the window.

“There’s a lot of Yo-kai here, so it would feel natural that you believed someone was watching you, Komasan. Let’s keep going, everyone!”

*****

The group eventually found another set of ropes and went up the rope that would take them to the top floor. They saw a lot of Yo-kai in the building of course and had battled with them, but only managed to befriend a Blazion. As they walked, Katie told the Komainu Brothers about what the group had done before. To Komasan, it all made sense now that he heard it.

They’ve gone through more danger than someone in a fireworks display! No wonder they’re so calm about meeting Kyubi!

They were getting close to the area where they suspected Kyubi would be, so they stopped and healed up.

“Okay, everyone! Let’s get to the bottom of this once and for all!”

The group saw the nine-tailed fox just floating on the balcony-like area that was strangely big enough for the whole group and their Yo-kai companions.

Okay, this is getting weirder. Kyubi told Nate and Katie to meet him here, we meet the Komainu Brothers, who were also told to meet Kyubi here, and he’s floating above an area that’s just big enough to us to battle on. Just what is he planning?

Whisper had to shake the thought out of his head as the group went to confront Kyubi.

“Took you all long enough. I thought I was going to have to get you myself.”

Whisper started shaking as he was in front of Kyubi. Kyubi was still powerful enough to smack him into the next country with one of his tails if he wasn’t too careful. Even Jibanyan seemed to be regreting ever thinking about smacking Kyubi as payback for being so dodgy about giving them information.

“Kyubi! Why are we here?! Couldn’t you have told us why you cursed Flower Road without forcing us to come here so late at night?! And why are Komasan and Komajiro here too?! What are you playing at?!”

Whisper was about to put himself in front of Nate in case Kyubi attacked, but the kitsune rolled his eyes.

“None of you really know the truth about all of this, do you? Especially since I just lead you to the true culprit!”

The building started to shake as Whisper quickly grabbed Nate and Katie to keep them from falling while Jibanyan and the Komainu Brothers grabbed their legs to balance themselves.

“You want to protect Springdale, don’t you? Well, go for it!”

Kyubi flew away from the group, being more dodgy about the whole thing.

“Hey!”

The group ran out to the ‘balcony’ and Kyubi chuckled childishly as he flew farther away.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

The building started to shake again as Kyubi bowed.

“I bid you farewell, little ones.”

A giant hand came up from behind Kyubi and he disappeared before it could make contact with him. The hand then smacked down on the area where the group was, barely just missing them.

“Maasssi-faaaccceee…”

The group soon came face-to-face with a giant humaniod Yo-kai and prepared to battle.

*****

Whisper was looking up the creature that they were about to fight.

“Massiface, weak points are eyes and forehead. It is best to blind this Yo-kai so that he’ll miss more often.”

Massiface slammed his hand onto the ground, making a bunch of stuff fall on the attacking party.

“Ow!”

“Ack!”

“Tell!”

Thankfully, there wasn’t a lot of damage done to the attacking party and Tattletell healed Cadin as Jibanyan used his tail flames to get a hit on Massiface.

“I got one of his eyes!”

Cadin used Cicada Cut and he hit all of Massiface’s weak points and Tattletell threw a nearby rock at the eye Jibanyan had managed to hit earlier, forcing Massiface to close his eye in order to get it to heal. The attacking party would’ve celebrated, but they had to get his other eye closed or they would get hurt by whatever attack Massiface planned next. Tattletell and Jibanyan focused their attacks on the other eye while Cadin attacked Massiface’s forehead.

“Do you think they’ll make it, Nate?”

Nate took Katie’s hand and squeezed it to comfort her.

“They will, Katie. We’ve gotten this far with them, didn’t we?”

She nodded and sighed.

“You’re right, Nate.”

Massiface tried to flick Cadin, but since Cadin was on the side where his eye was closed, Cadin was able to jump out of the way before he could be hit and attacked the other eye. However, just as he managed to land a hit on it, Massiface opened his closed eye and flicked Tattletell, inspirting her.

“Tell…”

“We have to switch out and purify Tattletell!”

Before the kids could switch out the front party, Massiface unleashed his Soultimate, Massive Swat, and managed to get the attacking party down to low health.

“Switch them out! Switch them out!”

Nate switched out the front party and placed Dimmy and the Komainu Brothers in front and Katie started working on healing and purifying the others as the same thought started to form in everyone’s mind.

I hope Komasan and Komajiro are up to this.

Komasan felt panic rising in his chest. He and his brother had to help hold off this giantic Yo-kai until the others had been helped, but the only time they had ever fought like this was during their practice battles with their older brothers.

It’s one thing to be fighting with my brothers because we can stop at anytime to take a break, but we can’t do that with this Yo-kai. We have to defeat him or get him weak enough for the others to deal the final blow.

Komajiro sent a lightning attack towards the eye that had been injured by the party currently in the back and Dimmy smacked Massiface’s forehead, only to be flicked away and taking damage.

I have to this…for Komajiro, my family, for my new friends, and to prove to Kyubi that I’m not the scaredy cat that he thinks I am!

A spark ignited in Komasan as he sent a flame towards Massiface’s recently opened eye and made it close again.

“Komajiro! Let’s prove that we’re worthy of being guardians someday!”

Both komainus closed their eyes and a strong aura started to surround them as they prepared their Soultimates.

We’ve only done a double attack once, but if we can pull it off, we can defeat Massiface once and for all!

Both komainus snapped their eyes open.

“Spirit Dance!”

“Wild Zaps!”

A barrage of flames and lightning came from both komainus as both attacks hit Massiface and made him faint.

*****

The group watched as Massiface disappeared into purple smoke and the aura surrounding the Komainu Brothers faded away. Both brothers fell to their knees and started to pant from using so much energy.

“Oh my swirls, that took a lot out of us.”

“Do any of y'all have any milk?”

Katie digged out two bottles of milk and handed them to the komainus, who quickly downed the drinks in two seconds. Nate then broke the awkward silence.

“What was that just now?! Are you guys normally this powerful?!”

Komasan shook his head.

“Nope, that was the Guardian Spirit that inhabits us komainus. It’s only to be used in extreme circumstances, but I considered this to be extreme enough. The reason Komajiro and I activated it at the same time is due to our bond as brothers.”

The group nodded as they went back into the building, just wanting to go home and not bother with Kyubi anymore.

“Huh…I didn’t think you were that powerful.”

The group stopped and turned around and saw two Kyubis. The one wearing a white lab coat and wearing glasses was giving the other Kyubi a death glare for some reason and the Kyubi on the receiving end of the death glare was becoming very sheepish as he said,

“What? I said I wouldn’t let them get hurt too badly.”

“Why didn’t you deal with this youself?”

“For the sake of Lord Enma, my reputation was being ruined by this jerk and I’m too busy with other stuff to deal with him! You know that!”

The glassing wearing Kyubi gestured to the group as a whole.

“I meant, why did you bring them into this?”

“The other komainus were either helping their families or dealing with something else and these kids have been building up a reputation, so I figured, why not test their ability against Massiface and I’ll add the komainus to the mix to see what happens.”

Kyubi turned to the group and said,

“It might be a surprise to you, but I like living in the Human Realm and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon, but I will warn you. There are bigger things ahead for you, so be on your guard.”

Kyubi bowed and disappeared. The glassing wearing Kyubi just sighed and turned to the group.

“Sorry about him. He means well, but he has a very odd way of showing it.”

Nate tried to remember where he heard that voice before, then it hit him.

“Mr. Barton? Is that you?”

The glassing wearing Kyubi turned into their science teacher, proving Nate was right.

“Mr. Barton, if you’re a Yo-kai, why are you teaching elementary school students?”

Mr. Barton had a smile on his face as he said,

“I made a promise to a friend that I would help human children grow into wonderful people, so I took up teaching at the first school I found that had an opening for a new teacher, Springdale Elementary. Sure, teaching science wasn’t exactly what I had in mind at the time, but I managed and besides, it’s not like elementary schoolers need to know the more complicated sciences right now. That’s what junior high and high school is for.”

“Umm…Mr. Barton? Is there any chance you can help us get out of here? It took us forever to find a way up here and I’m pretty sure that it’ll take forever to get back down, not to mention that the guy sleeping outside might have woken up by now and we can’t really afford to get in trouble with our parents.”

Mr. Barton turned back into his true form and said,

“Well, considering that Kyubi didn’t think this far ahead, I might as well.”

Nate and Katire each took one of the Komainu Brothers and Jibanyan had hopped onto Whisper’s back, claiming that it was so there wasn’t any added weight to either child, but they all had their suspicions about Jibanyan’s actual reason for riding on Whisper’s back. Mr. Barton wrapped an arm around both Nate and Katie and lifted them up with no difficulty as he flew over Downtown Springdale with Whisper and Jibanyan following him. The group was amazed by how small the town looked from where they were and Mr. Barton dropped them off on the roof of the elementary school.

“There we go. Hopefully, no one should notice us up here. I’ll walk you through the school so that the Yo-kai living here won’t attack you.”

“Couldn’t you have dropped them off closer to their houses?”

“Yeah, but then someone would freak out about a Yo-kai potentially kidnapping a pair of kids.”

“Point taken.”

Mr. Barton took out a set of keys and unlocked the door to the roof and lead the group through the school before taking them out the side door.

“Get home safely now, okay?”

He pocketed the keys and petted Nate and Katie’s heads.

“Oh! Just so you know, if you need any help with anything, you can find me here all summer or somewhere in the area if I’m not here.”

The group waved goodbye to Mr. Barton as they all walked back home, quickly hiding from anyone that might recognize them and tell their parents.

“Hey, Whisper? Why didn’t Terror Time activate this time?”

Whisper shrugged, just as confused as Nate.

“Happens randomly, I guess. I could’ve sworn it was an every night thing, but maybe things have changed since my imprisionment.”

“Oh, right! About that, Whisper…how are you on catching up with everything you missed out on?”

“I can’t tell you exactly how much I have learned or need to learn, but it’s more than what I knew before.”

Nate accepted that and realized something.

“Oh, right! We need to find a place for the Koma Brothers to stay!”

“They can stay with me. I have room and I wouldn’t mind having them hang out with me.”

“Really, Katie? You’d let us stay?”

Katie nodded.

“Of course! We’re friends, after all!”

As they parted ways, sneaked back inside, filled out what they had learned and done that night into their books, and went to sleep.

Previous Chapter: https://libraryofrewrita.tumblr.com/post/163577845314/chapter-13-preparing-for-the-confrontation Next Chapter: https://libraryofrewrita.tumblr.com/post/165847511224/chapter-15-ghostly-rumors

[shrugman]

all of them

alright buddy here we go

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk?idk man probs cereal 

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day?no it feels like jack frost hit me with his dick

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books?rn a plane ticket

4: how do you take your coffee/tea?milk and sugar because I love death

5: are you self-conscious of your smile?I like my closed mouth smile but you’ll have to kill me to get me to use teeth

6: do you keep plants?I try

7: do you name your plants?always

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings?poetry 

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself?yeh

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach?on side, one leg curled up under me like a flamingo, hand on the tiddie

11: what's an inner joke you have with your friends?okay first of all *friend, second of all; cheese pizza

12: what's your favorite planet?ur mum lmao

13: what's something that made you smile today?stephanie 

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?800 succulents and 400 pillows

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!“Gliese 581 c wants to kill you“

16: what's your favorite pasta dish?Alfredo 

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair?purple, did it. also jet black but not worth the risk tbh

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up.....stairs

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it?I have a poetry book I guess

20: what's your favorite eye color?all

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that's been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces.I got it at an antique shop and it’s a smiley face back pack but I left it with katie because she needed it more than I did

22: are you a morning person?no

23: what's your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations?die

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets?My one true love, Stephanie

25: what's the weirdest place you've ever broken into?abandoned hotel on base

26: what are the shoes you've had for forever and wear with every single outfit?I wear by black boots every day but I’ve only had them for like 4 months

27: what's your favorite bubblegum flavor?cherry lime

28: sunrise or sunset?set

29: what's something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing?When I make Stephanie laugh over snapchat she sends me a picture with her mouth wide open and idk it always makes me smile

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared?I spent the last month in fear I’d be killed by terrorists 

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks.this is too many questions 

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends.nah

33: what's your fave pastry?anything cherry tbh

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it?Teddy Bair was a gift from my dad to my mom but I loved him so much I stole him and he became mine. He’s on my bed at college with me rn

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often?I like gel pens and I color with them

36: which band's sound would fit your mood right now?TOP

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean?I like it cleanish but it’s always messy because that’s my biggest depression problem 

38: tell us about your pet peeves!people not shutting up ever

39: what color do you wear the most?black 

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what's it's story? does it have any meaning to you?I have a locket my sister got me like 10 years ago that has a picture of us

41: what's the last book you remember really, really loving?tbh idk

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it!It’s in Japan and Katie and I used to spend hours there together. It’s where we really became friends 

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with?the astronomy club lmao

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything?never

45: do you trust your instincts a lot?about certain things

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of.I really don’t want to 

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe?kale

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today?the dentist. yes

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought?I haven’t in a while bc I have no way to play them

50: what's an odd thing you collect?tears

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them?Stephanie- true friends 

52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far?Have there really been any?

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them?Heathers is my favorite movie

54: who's the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face?this is a rude question

55: what's the most dramatic thing you've ever done to prove a point?at this point I don’t even know

56: what are some things you find endearing in people?when they have little things that make them light up

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics?no

58: who's the wine mom and who's the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why?I’m the vodka mom and Stephanie is the vodka aunt and we both are the wine gay cousin 

59: what's your favorite myth?tbh idk

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?I do but I can’t think of a specific fav

61: what's the stupidest gift you've ever given? the stupidest one you've ever received?mean question 

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind?I drink ALL JUICE ALL DAY

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?leave them be and then organize them every now and again

64: what color is the sky where you are right now?idk prolly dark blue/black

65: is there anyone you haven't seen in a long time who you'd love to hang out with?I always wanna see Stephanie 

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like?black roses and light pink accent flowers

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel?sad

68: what's winter like where you live?cold

69: what are your favorite board games?monopoly 

70: have you ever used a ouija board?I’m not THAT white

71: what's your favorite kind of tea?no

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you'll forget it?nah

73: what are some of your worst habits?yeah we don’t have time for that

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns.v good v pure best person on planet 

75: tell us about your pets!dog!!!!!!!!!!!!

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren't?so many things

77: pink or yellow lemonade?yellow. Idk what makes it pink

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub?please stop bringing them up

79: what's one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you?i dunno

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why?white. no I live in a dorm

81: describe one of your friend's eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of.wow it sees 

82: are/were you good in school?for the most part

83: what's some of your favorite album art?I like the all about us cover

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones?the only one I want rn is one matching stephanie 

85: do you read comics? what are your faves?who do u think i am

86: do you like concept albums? which ones?idk

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives?Heathers, Ghost Busters (2016), Creepy Hanna Doll

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy?I like stick figures that show emotion

89: are you close to your parents?yeah I think

90: talk about your one of you favorite cities.I like Fredericksburg because it’s boring as fuck but it’s one of the only places that I can even kinda call home

91: where do you plan on traveling this year?too many places

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch?give me it all

93: what's the hairstyle you wear the most?down with nothing done but blow drying it

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday?It’s Matthew’s today :D

95: what are your plans for this weekend?cry

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot?push it off for SO long

97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house?can’t remember, Capricorn, Slytherin 

98: when's the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it?idk for hiking 

99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them.whenever I’m really really sad I listen to Iris on repeat 

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why?I guess future because I don’t wanna go back. But also I don’t think I even want to risk skipping 5 years because who knows if I’ll miss out on something I really wanna be here forThat took FOREVER ily 

[drennalynspast]

[ funeral, fashion, interview ]

Thursday, May. 01, 2008

[last thursday]- i turned in my autobiographical sketch to the counselor.  she told me i should stop by the next day because she wanted to give me a letter.  i was wondering if it was some kind of immediate rejection letter or something because i turned the biography thing at the last minute. 

[friday]-- yeah...i dunno what the hell that strange feeling was. it has been a while since i experienced it.  the sun was shining brightly that day too.  i got the letter and opened it outside the office.  'congratulations....'  apparently i was able to obtain an interview for pharmacy school.  that moment i saw the letter, i felt so elated.  

i never felt so thankful in my life.  i wonder if it is a sign that god is telling me not to give up.  but definately...that interview letter must made me accepting of who i am.  it makes me believe that i somehow do have potential.  i told my parents when i came home that day.  they said that it was a good sign and seemed to be pleased. 

[saturday - the funeral] - yesterday and today...went to some prayer services and mass for my deceased 'uncle'.  staring at his body in the casket was quite uncomfortable to bear.  he did look soo young to see an unfortunate mishap. his body was darkened due to the spread of the cancer.  honestly, i believe that i loathe funerals... just because people annoy the hell out of me.  a lot of the male relatives and friends of the family took 9827492 pictures. 

i swear, am i in fucking hollywood?  during the church mass, there was a cameraman who was filming the audience, shining the light upon our faces. ugh.  i personally find it disrespectful.  sure, our culture may use this as an excuse to embody the experience by taking photographs...but really? 

how often do people actually go back and look at the 9834983 photos they take? not very many people do.  i also view this photograph taking an outlet for these camera guys.  it's some form of activity they do just to kill time/be busy and elude whatever they are thinking. hi, escapism no?  

when they were lowering the casket into the ground, my aunt had difficulty letting go.  she told them to stop.  'it's not supposed to happen..'  there was a person filming her crying and in that stressful moment.  it was as if they were shoving the camera up in her face.  wtf....>.> do people not have respect?  

i admit...i laughed a couple of times during the funeral.  my cousins, sister and i were talking about stuff.  anyways.. i wish the best for his family.  it's been a while since i saw my 2nd cousins.  they look so different.  but i see that they have potential to succeed well in life.

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

[fashion rocks] -  later on saturday, my parents let me go to norman to visit jack.  he and his friend ('shannon') are on organization that plans events for the school campus.  he and she planned a fashion runway show that was to occur outside.  they spent a lot of hard work planning the event.  they had to scout for models, find stores that would donate clothing, and take the models to go to the mall to fit/choose their clothes.

i can imagine the stress they had to go through.  it was disappointing how not a lot of people showed up as they had imagined.  (and i felt sorry for the guest band too for not receiving a large crowd). overall, i felt like it was a good job.  there were a lot of events that went on in ou campus that night, so managing to get people to show at his event was a good thing.  

after the event, jack and his friends wanted to stop by this after party that was hosted by one of the models.  we came to the house and saw some weird shit.  i mean...you see a lot of weird people.  and this older man walked out of one of the rooms. 

the host girl said, 'hi, i want you to meet my dad'.  wtf...i mean. lol @ parents in a party with their children.  they had drunk kids, alcohol and a hooka thing in the house.  it's kinda weird to have your parents party with you.  zomg i'm so kewl because i can party with my child!!!111  yeah, we left after we they met the parent(s).

we headed back to shannon's apartment just to hang out for a while.  jack said he was going to lie down for a while on shannon's bed.  shannon eventually headed to her bed too.  'katie' and i were in the living room. it was pretty late :/.  i was going to spend the night at jack's apartment  i felt like it wasn't going to happen. 

 i forfeited the couch and resorted to lying on the hard floor. it was damn cold in the apartment too.  somehow i was fucking pissed.  you have no idea...i mean... leaving your guests uncomfortable like that?  the fact that they just randomly left to go to sleep without saying anything?  i tried to keep my cool and realize, yeah they were fucking tired from all the work they did for the event. 

i was on the verge of rage - for i was tempted to call my sister and have her take me to her house.  then again, i realized it would be quite rude of me to leave abruptly without a word.  

fuck that, i went into one of shannon's roomate's room.  the door was open and i went in and slept in the dark - on the floor of course.  jack eventually came in the room in the middle of the night and apologized.  he had no intentions of staying the night, and he took me to his place and i slept on his bed.  damn, thank goodness.  

 faked about how i felt and said, 'it's okay, i know you're tired and all.  i didn't want to wake you up etcetc.".  but he felt really sorry. hahha this made me forgive him and i forgot i was an ass.  

but yeah....comes to show you how i can be so damn nice and allow myself to suffer just to assure comfort in others.  it pisses me off so much.  why the hell am i like this. really..i don't know. i felt soo pissed at people, but on the other hand, i had strong concerns about how i didn't want to hurt people.  or rather..i didn't want them to be mad at me.  :/

[this wednesday]  i called my 'friends' and asked them to help me with my interview.  y'know, do a mock interview and shit.  fuck, i'm using them. but they seemed okay with it.  they helped me a lot really....they asked me what i was going to wear.  and one of my friends offered to lend me her black blazer thing.  hell yes,  it fit so well on me. the blazer i bought looked like shit (was done at the last minute).  i am very thankful that these people are so helpful.  in a way, i am relieved that they don't seem bothered by me and they put a lot of effort into helping me.

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

[the interview] - damn, i swear, if i didn't practice with my friends yesterday...i would have been screwed.  but i am so effin glad it was over.  i had time to think of my responses yesterday, so i was prepared to answer his questions.  he seemed to really like me.  he wished that i would get into the fall.  

he was amused at my hobby in art.  'never in my 14 years of teaching, have i ever interviewed someone who could draw fantasy creatures.  people usually say sports or reading as their hobby."  hell yeah.  i think i hit the right spot.  at the end of the interview, i felt pretty confident it turned out well.

in reality, the counselor told me a lot of the interviews usually go well with the students.  the whole admissions committee will have to narrow it down based on other things as well.  my pcat and gpa are meh.  i honestly dont' know if i can get in.  but...fuck damnit, so far...i'm somehow proud of how far i have come. it makes me realize i do have potential.  

if i don't get in, i'll just try harder.  i was given a chance.  and i can't let this chance ruin my life and discourage me at all.  i will use the chance as an opportunity for improvement. the end.