#house under the rock california

[hometoursandotherstuff]

And, now from the archives of Life Magazine, a funky flashback to the 1950s Flying Saucer Conventions.

These B&W photos document the convention, from the quirky attendees and their campsites, the UFO memorabilia, the bustling scene that once surrounded this now lonesome boulder and best of all, a look inside the secret home that once lay beneath the giant rock.

So, how did a man come to live under a rock in the California desert?

In the 1930s, an eccentric German immigrant called Frank Critzer, dug out a subterranean home under the giant rock. He lived there alone, isolated from society with nothing but a radio antenna on top of the rock to stay connected to the outside world.

In 1942, the police came to investigate rumors that he was a Nazi spy and Frank died from a self-detonated dynamite explosion in his own bunker. They thought that he was a spy because of his radio antenna. But, he was just a radio enthusiast who wanted to be left alone.

After his death, Frank’s only friend, a former aircraft inspector named George Van Tassel, became the giant rock’s new tenant in 1947. 

In addition to being an aviator, he also liked to dabble in the telepathic channeling of alien life.

In a few years, George went from living a simple life with his family in the rooms Frank Critzer had dug out under the Giant Rock, to building his own restaurant on the site, a small airstrip, and an extra-terrestrial research center.

The UFO center would play host to his annual Giant Rock Spacecraft Convention, attracting more than 11,000 people at its peak.

Tassel’s onsite research center, nicknamed “the Integratron“, was believed by many to have some pretty special powers– 

Including ‘anti-gravitational and time traveling capabilities provided by extra-terrestrial life on Venus.’

For nearly 20 years it became the dream pilgrimage of every UFO nut enthusiast in America.

Let’s take a look at the UFO style of the day, beginning with the wonderful hats.

And the flying saucer accessories. 

What the hell is that?

It was also something the whole family could enjoy.

The dome-shaped ‘Integratron Center’ still stands near the giant rock, and after  Tassel’s death in 1978 there were plans to turn it into a disco.

Instead, the new owners turned it into an off-beat tourist attraction offering “sound baths,” claiming it to be “the only all-wood, acoustically perfect sound chamber in the U.S.”

It was built from instructions from Mars. I don’t know, except for the bus, clothes, & lack of hats, the people are pretty much the same.

As for the rock, in the year 2000 it fractured in two when a large piece broke off, revealing its white interior granite. Sadly, it’s covered in graffiti. 

https://mojaveproject.org/dispatches-item/giant-rock-space-people-and-the-integratron/     //  messynessychic.com   //  life magazine

[mediumgayitalian]

When Nico asks him out, there is vomit on his scrubs. His hair is disgusting. The bags under his eyes are actually the size of Texas, and he was born there so he says it in good confidence.

Also, it goes right over his head.

“Gods, yeah,” Will sighs, relieved. “Yeah, I could —” He laughs, a little hysterically, scrubbing his hand over his face and trying to blink the sudden onslaught of dizzy away. “I’m starving. I am — tired of this stupid room. I could use dinner out.”

“Great,” Nico says, rocking back on his heels. He twists his skull ring around his finger, like he does when he’s nervous, but there’s a tiny twitch at the corner of his mouth that Will has learned, in the past few weeks of his help in the infirmary, is a smile. “I’ll — um, I’ll pick you up at seven?”

Will glances down at the rapidly-drying splatter of vomit spreading from his right shoulder all the way down to his belly button. The nasty brown-yellow colour of it clashes so violently with the mint-green of his scrubs that it might be a felony, actually. The one whole spaghetti noodle smack in the middle of it does not help.

“Yeah, I’ll need at least that long in the shower.”

Nico’s face goes through a very complicated string of emotions. “I think you look nice,” he offers.

“You and I have very different definitions of ‘nice’, di Angelo,” Will snorts. He gestures behind him. “Bye, Nico. I’ll see you in a few hours?”

“Right. Bye, Will.”

“Hey, first name status!”

“Shut up, Solace. Go change your shirt.”

Will snickers, jogging down the Big House stairs with a backwards wave. He hustles past campers jogging towards their daily activities, ducking into the Apollo cabin before someone can ask him for something.

It’s been a busy few weeks.

The Giant War was…well. It’s over, now, is the point, but it was not without casualties, and it was not without injury, and injury, and injury. Plus the flu that just had to hit right before the Romans were about to head back to California. Will has spent more nights in the infirmary in the last few weeks than he ever has, including after the Titan War. Understaffed does not begin to cover it. He had to beg Cecil for his secret Redbull stash after his third straight day on his feet, praying to his father, his aunt, and any other god who was listening to keep his hands from shaking. Without Nico’s help — well, he doesn’t want to think about how things would have gone without Nico’s help.

He’d slept through his promised three days in the infirmary. Will had restitched his werewolf scratching (—his werewolf scratches his fucking werewolf scratches his fucking shitting goddamn werewolf scratches that he stitched with sewing thread and left for gods know how many days and Will is going to quit his job, he is, he is going to live in a hut in the Florida Everglades and chase questers away with a fucking broom—) as he slept on the first day, then spent the next days glaring at him in seething jealousy.

He had wanted to sleep. He had wanted to sleep so godsdamn badly. And yet. He was plastering salve on the translucent fingers of a dumbass who pushed himself too hard.

“You can’t tell me what to do,” Will had mocked, ignoring the yelled you’re losing it, Willy! from Kayla as she passed by. “Nyeh nyeh nyeh. I can shadow travel wherever I want. Nyeh nyeh nyeh. Catch me I’m about to pass out. Nyeh nyeh nyeh.”

“I never asked you to catch me,” muttered Nico, groggily, and Will had screamed.

Not his best moment.

Luckily, his string of colourful cursing had killed any idea that Will was scared of him, or something, and the list of chores he’d doled out the second he made sure Nico could walk had put the idea in the grave.

He still can’t quite believe that Nico actually, like…listened. But he’s a good bandage cutter (very accurate) and, as a super fun bonus, the Romans were all scared of him, so when they tried to get out of their cots while their limbs were literally hanging onto them by a thread, Will just had Nico stand behind him and glare at them until they sat their asses back down.

(“You are without a doubt the best nurse I’ve ever had,” Will had grumbled, sticking his tongue out at Austin, who lazily tried to trip him. Nico had rolled his eyes, huffing as if he thought Will was joking.)

“Wow,” says Cecil, sitting in Will’s bed for some reason. He rakes his eyes up and down his body, whistling appreciatively at the towel around his waist. Will rolls his eyes and starts digging through his dresser drawers. “Look at you! So human-like! No zombie eyebags to be seen!”

“Showers don’t erase eyebags, dick for brains.”

“True, but you’re so hot when you’re not covered in blood and vomit that I can overlook them.”

“Kiss my ass, Cecil.”

“Really? Is that permission?”

Will laughs, admitting defeat. He tugs on a pair of boxers, then tosses a few clothing options on his bed.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s good to be out, Zeus’ beard. Nico’s taking me to dinner; d’you know if it’s cold in the city? And I should probably wear real shoes, right, Annabeth mentioned something about New York bacteria —”

“Woah, woah, hold on, William, pause there for a second.”

Will looks up, frowning. “What?”

“Nico’s taking you to dinner?”

Cecil’s eyes are wide. Reflexively, Will pats his chin, paranoid he’s got something on his face.

“…Yes? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing! Nothing, nothing.” Quickly, Cecil schools his face back to its usual smirk, leaning casually against the bedpost. (He misses. Mercifully, Will decides to let it slide and wait for him to straighten himself. He’s a good friend, like that.)

“Well, obviously something.”

“Nope! I’m just —” He softens. “I’m glad you’re taking a break, Willy. We’ve been worried about you. Remind me to send him a lock pick set.”

“Most people send fruit,” Will suggests gently. He cuffs Cecil playfully on the jaw, rolling his eyes when Cecil catches his hand and presses a loudly exaggerated kiss to it. “Or flowers. Also, don’t call me Willy.”

“Sorry, Willy.”

“Gods, you’re infuriating.”

“Mhm. And yet you adore me. Oou, wear the grey plaid shirt, it makes your eyes look bluer. And for the love of Hermes, do not wear shorts.”

———

At seven o’clock sharp, there’s a knock on the doorframe.

“Uh, hi?”

“Nico!” Will says brightly. “Hi! You don’t have to wait by the door, dorkus. Come in.”

With a second of hesitation, Nico steps in. The usually creaky floorboards are silent under his black Chucks. Will chooses to believe that’s on purpose, because it’s cooler.

“You can sit if you want! Unless we gotta leave right away. I wasn’t actually sure, are we just going to McDonald’s or something? Also, I told Cecil he couldn’t come, I figured three would make it a party or something but lemme know if we’re bringing friends along and —”

“We’re not,” Nico interrupts.

“—tell them.” Will blinks at him, then smiles. “Just you and me, then.”

Nico clears his throat. “Yeah.” He glances up at Will, and away again, like he can’t hold his gaze for too long. He looks a little flushed. “You, uh. You braided your hair.”

“What? Oh!” Will touches the French braids on either side of his head, smiling. “Yeah, I finally had the time. Keeps my hair back better than much else. Hey, Nico, you good? You looked flushed, maybe you should —”

Nico catches his hand. He smiles.

“I’m fine, Solace. You just look nice, is all.”

Will snorts. “No kidding. Anything’s better than the vomit shirt.”

———

Nico refuses to answer any of his questions about where they’re going.

Or, well. Will asks him and endless string of questions and receives only hums or nods in response, except for the odd huff of laughter when Will pouts.

“C’mon! Can’t I just know where we’re going?”

“You’re about to.”

“I mean now, Death Breath.”

“Well, now I’m definitely not telling you.”

“Ugh.”

Nico places a fleeting hand on his elbow as they reach the base of Half-Blood Hill, stalling him.

“Wait.”

Will pauses, listening. His heartbeat picks up. Monster? Monsters?

He glances over at Nico, noticing the tension in his face, the twist to his mouth, the —

Oh, no he doesn’t.

“Hold it, Gerard Way!”

Nico startles.

“What?”

“I know that face! You are not shadow-travelling us to the city, no way, no how, do you want to dissolve —”

“Will,” Nico interrupts, laughing softly, “Will, trust me for a second. Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

Nico blinks. Will flushes.

“That was fast.”

“Well! Well.”

“I’m not shadow-travelling,” Nico promises, changing the subject when it’s clear Will has nothing to say. “I’m just summoning our ride. I promise it won’t drain me.”

“…Fine.”

Rolling his eyes fondly, Nico screws up his face again. The tiny freckles on the bridge of his nose are more obvious when he wrinkles it. Will has to shove his hands in his pockets to keep from touching them.

One moment, there’s nothing but empty road in front of them. The next, there’s a massive fucking limo, driven by what Will can only describe as a ghoul.

“There,” Nico says happily. “Our ride!”

He jogs over to the sleek black limo, leaving Will gaping. With a quick hand to keep the driver from getting up, he opens the back door, gesturing broadly.

“C’mon, Sunshine.”

Will recovers quickly. He’s never been in a limo before — hell, he’s hardly ever been in cars. He slides into the black leather seats, gaping, barely noticing Nico ducking in and closing the door behind him.

“Cleveland and Merrick, please, Jules-Albert.”

Limos are crazy.

If hotel mini bars were, like, physical places rather than tiny bottles in mini fridges, they would look like limos. The windows are tinted, so the interior is dark, illuminated a softly glowing red by strips of LEDs. There is an actual TV screen, although it’s not on. Will feels like James Bond.

“Gift from my dad,” Nico explains. “He knows he can’t always be there to drive me around, so he got Jules-Albert to take me places. He’s cool. He even answers to me, technically, and not my dad, so if anything happens back here he won’t snitch.” Nico gets so violently red he damn near goes invisible under the LEDs. “Not that — I mean, it’s more like —”

“That is so cool,” Will breathes. “Oh my gods, Nico, you are literally the coolest demigod in the world.”

“Hah,” says Nico weakly. The limo (!!) slows to a stop. “We are — here, let’s go!”

Nico practically throws himself out of the limo. Will takes one last look, thanks Jules-Albert, and hurries out after him.

———

“You gotta be kidding me.”

“What?” Nico looks at him defensively. The corner of his mouth twitches. “I thought it was pretty funny.”

Apollo Restaurant Diner, reads the garish, flashing yellow sign. Seniors half-off!

Will nudges Nico’s side as they walk in. “You should ask for the discount.”

“Keep it up and you’re paying for yourself, Solace.”

Nico guides them into a booth by the window before he can say anything. In seconds, a server is strolling up to them, popping their bubblegum and grinning.

“Welcome to Apollo’s, where if we don’t predict your order, it’s free! I’ll get you guys some sodas, and…hm. Fries to share, I think.”

They’re off, ponytail bouncing, before either of them can say anything.

“Well,” says Nico after a moment. “I guess we’re having fries.”

Will snorts. “You love fries. You love anything fried and battered, because there is nothing you love more than poor decision making.”

“Caught me, Solace.”

“Aw. I thought —”

Their server pops back in with their sodas, nodding as they thank them.

“— I thought I was bumped up to first name status! You called me Will earlier.”

Nico slurps obnoxiously at his cherry coke.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Did too!”

“Not a jury in the world will believe you, Solace.”

Will blows his straw wrapper at him. Nico barely dodges, laughing — a real, open laugh, where some of the guard drops from his shoulders, where his smile is wide enough to show his teeth, where his dark eyes cringe near shut.

“You’re so lame. Get your stupid straw wrapper away from me.”

Will feels like he doesn’t respond for ages, mesmerized by the crooked curve of Nico’s smile. There’s mischief in that smile, and oddly it makes shyness bloom in Will’s chest, it makes the tips of his ears red, makes him duck his head.

Will’s saved from trying to come up with a comment by the massive — truly gigantic — platter of fries set between them.

“Holy shit,” breathes Will, alarmed.

“Holy shit,” breathes Nico, eyes wide. The smile grows wider. “Holy shit!”

Will’s stomach growls. He’s reminded how truly hungry he is, and without another word, the two of them dig in.

They end up ordering another platter. Will theorizes that, in total, they eat at least seven whole potatoes.

“How many fries do you think is in one potato?”

“A yukon?” says Will. “Like, twenty-five, at least. Wait, hold on, pass me your napkin, lemme do the math.”

“Gods, you are such a nerd.”

Will loses count of how many times they refill their sodas. Too many. Camp food is usually very healthy — as head medic, Will has to set an example, but it’s just Nico, here. Will eats himself into a minor food coma and relishes in it. When Nico asks if he wants to order one of the giant milkshakes, he doesn’t hesitate.

“Duh. Strawberry.”

“Gross, Solace. Vanilla or nothing.”

“Basic ass bitch.”

“At least I’m not vying for strawberry!”

By the time Nico gets up to go get their bill, the sun has long since set. Will realises he forgot to put his watch back on after his shower, and has no idea what time it actually is.

“Nine-thirty ish,” Nico says, opening the limo door for him. “We’ll be back at camp at ten.”

Will grimaces. “Fuck. Will Jules-Albert chill overnight? If we try to go back to our cabins, the curfew harpies are gonna eat us.”

“Scared, Solace?”

Nico’s eyes are bright and teasing. Will wonders how the hell other campers find him so frightening — the little twitches of his mouth are so obvious. Some people are just oblivious.

“Of course I’m scared, you dickhead. What am I gonna do, sing a hymn until they go away?”

Nico snorts. “You worry too much. They’re afraid of me, you know. They’ll steer clear.”

“You have a lot of confidence in how much you scare people, which is crazy for someone who’s five eight.”

“Oh, piss off.”

Will grins. “Never.”

The drive back to camp feels shorter than it is. The limo’s seats are stupid comfortable, and Nico is a warm presence beside him, and more than anything, Will is exhausted. Last time he slept was — Thursday? He’s pretty sure? He definitely slept on Wednesday, and he’s pretty sure Kayla locked him in the back office with a pillow on Thursday. But maybe that was this morning.

“Will, hey.” A cool, calloused hand brushes over his forehead, and he leans into it, humming. “Get up, you loser. We’re here.”

Will groans. “Five more minutes.”

The soft, gravelly chuckles are the most musical things he’s ever heard. “Up you get, Sunshine, or I’ll let the harpies eat you.”

That gets Will up fast. He shoves Nico away, who’s still snickering at him, grumbling as he crawls out of the limo.

“It’s like you want me to die of stress.”

“Nah.”

They wave goodbye to Jules-Albert, who disappears in a blink. Halfway up the hill, a hand closes around his. Will glances over to Nico in surprise, but he looks resolutely ahead.

“I can feel you freaking out.” He clears his throat. “I told you, Solace. I’ll protect you.”

“That’s not what you said,” Will grumbles, but it’s hard to get his attitude across when his cheeks ache from smiling.

Nico ends up being right — the harpies steer clear of them. He looks very smug about being right, smirking all the way up to the Apollo Cabin door. He walks him up the creaking steps, pausing at the door. He lets go of Will’s hand, which is kind of a bummer. Will had liked holding his hand — physical proof that Nico was becoming more comfortable with him.

“So,” Nico says, rocking back and forth on his heels.

“So,” Will parrots, grinning. He grins wider at Nico’s scowl, gently illuminated by the soft glow of the Apollo cabin. “I had fun tonight, Nico. I needed that.”

Nico’s whole face softens. “Yeah?”

“Yes.” Will smiles at him again. “Thank you.”

For a second, Nico’s slight smile melts into a more serious expression. Will finds himself lingering, searching Nico’s face. Waiting.

Quick as a dart, Nico leans up and presses a kiss to Will’s cheek.

“Oh,” Will breathes, eyes wide. His fingers come up and brush the spot Nico kissed, skin tingling.

Nico looks at him nervously. “Was that okay?”

It takes Will a solid few seconds to answer. Even then, it’s not any recognizable words — more of an embarrassing hnnnnngh wha.

Nico grins. “Goodnight, Sunshine.”

“Nico — wait.”

“Harpies, Sunshine.”

Will could swear he sees Nico’s shoulders shaking with laughter as he walks away. Which — huh! Pardon! Excuse.

“Nico! Was! Was this a date!”

“I’ll see you in the morning, Will.”

“Nico!”

Nico disappears down the bend without answering. Will manages to catch the curve of his smile before he goes.

He doesn’t sleep a wink.

[aestheticaltcow]

Fatherhood: Billy Hargrove

Billy met you when he moved back to California after graduating high school and turning 18. He got a job working at an autobody shop. He watched you pull up in a baby blue 1969 Bronco; he was the first one to come up to ask you what kind of help you needed. You thought he was cute and hoped to run into him again.

While driving home after work, he noticed that same Bronco in the parking lot of the local grocery store. He didn’t want to seem like a stalker, but seeing you twice in one day felt like a sign.

He was right to ‘run into you’ at the grocery store- you asked him if he wanted to hang out that weekend, and the rest was history. 

Your relationship moved ‘quickly,’ saying ‘I love you’ after a couple of months, moving in together at six months, and engaged within a year of knowing one another. Your friends thought you were insane, and so did your parents- until they saw just how happy Billy made you.

After a small wedding on the beach, the two of you enjoyed a few years of married bliss before deciding to start your family. You wanted ‘like a million’ kids. Billy wanted to make you happy but couldn’t suppress his fears of being like his father. ‘Billy, you’re nothing like him- you’re different, love.’ as much as you tried to reassure him, it could only do so much.

You wanted to tell Billy you were pregnant in some cute way, but he beat you to it when he was emptying the bathroom trash, ‘Holy shit.’ he muttered under his breath before going back inside the house to ask you if it was true. When you nodded, he hugged you tightly and promised to be the man you saw him as.

Watching your body change throughout your pregnancy made Billy feral. Knowing you were having his baby- it just did something to him. He’d rub your feet and hands at the end of the day to help alleviate swelling pains. He’d help you rub cocoa butter on your bump to help with stretch marks. He went to every appointment and listened as you summarized parenting books to him. 

When the two of you found out you were having a boy- Billy tried not to think about the pain Neil had put him through; he would be the father he’d wished for as a kid.

Joseph Anothy Hargrove, 8lbs 14 oz, 19 inches, was born August 15, 1991. Billy was in love the second he laid his eyes on the infant; he had your eyes- how could he not fall in love with those eyes all over again?

In the early months of Joseph’s life, Billy felt useless. He tried his best to help and became inactive as Joseph got older and slightly less dependent on you. His favorite time of day was the early mornings he’d spend with Joseph; you’d be asleep in your shared bedroom. Billy would sit in the rocking chair in the corner and hold Joseph against his bare chest, ‘I got you, baby. Daddy’s always gonna be there.’ 

Billy kept that promise. Whenever his son needed him, he was there. He coached Little League basketball and even took a turn being the leader of his Boy Scout group. 

Both of you taught him how cars worked- although you’d sneak away after a few minutes to give the boys their bonding time, you loved how Billy relaxed when he was with Joseph.

Billy had broken the cycle.

[zegrasdrysdale]

[ let it snow ] t. zegras

day two of malia's christmas fic marathon

paring : Trevor Zegras x fem!reader

summary : (Y/N) braves it through the snow to get some coffee since her machine in her apartment is broken. Then everything shuts down and she's suddenly stuck inside the coffee shop with two employees and one customer that isn't bad company.

warning(s) : none :)

author's note : if this is a stupid plot then pls tell me. be brutally honest bc i'm not even sure if this is an okay plot or not

༺═──────────────═༻

She was praying the entire time she walked half a mile to the only open coffee shop. She prayed that it would still be open when she got there.

The snowstorm kept her at her apartment with her broken coffee machine. This is the only shop she could find within a mile that was open since she couldn't drive in the snow. She needed her coffee so she can get some work done while she's stuck at home with a rare day off from work.

The wind and snow whip through her hair that is exposed to the harsh weather. She's sure that her nose might fall off despite being tucked under a scarf because of how cold it is in New York at the moment. Her body is bundled up in multiple hoodies and jackets and she has on a pair of leggings under the sweats she's wearing under all of the layers. Even through the snow boots she has on, her toes are rock solid.

She loves living in Bedford, but she hates the cold and the snow. She wishes she moved to California or something when she graduated in the spring.

When the door opens, she's sighs with relief. There is only one other person in the dining area along with two employees behind the counter. She begins to defrost as she walks to the counter.

"What can I get for you?" the barista asks her as she brushes the snow out of her hair.

"Can I can a mocha latte with almond milk and light sugar in the biggest size you have?" she questions.

The barista nods and as (Y/N) pulls out her debit card, she says, "It's on the house since you walked from who knows where in this storm. Don't worry about it."

She thanks the barista and waits for her drink by the pick up counter.

While she waits, she realizes that the guy sitting at one of the tables is looking at her. (Y/N) tries not to stare back but she can't help but notice how cute he is. His brown hair is wild but she can tell it has some fluff to it. His greenish-blue eyes are looking at her softly and he has a small smile on his lips. He has on a hoodie that has "Ducks Hockey" written on the front of it with an "11" on his chest.

"I hope you didn't actually walk very far to get here," he comments as (Y/N) is handed her drink. "The weather isn't the best. It's supposed to get worse before it gets better too."

She shrugs and sits at a different table so she can sip her warm cup of coffee. "Only about a half a mile," she tells him. "How far did you walk to get here?"

"Took an Uber from the other side of town so I'm stuck here," he says. "I'll be here for a while since Uber isn't sending out drivers in the snow and I have nowhere else to go around here."

(Y/N) is shocked by that. "Why would you take an Uber from the other side of town in this?" she asks. "That's risky. You didn't think that you might get stuck here?"

He shrugs and turns in his seat so he can talk to her. "I'm only in town for a few days to visit my family for Christmas," the nameless guy tells her. "This is my favorite coffee shop and I wanted to grab some since I don't live here most of the year."

A phone rings somewhere in the shop and (Y/N) sips her coffee. She basks in how warm it is while she looks outside at the storm that has seemingly gotten worse since she walked through the door.

As she's worrying about she's going to be getting home, one of the baristas comes out from the back room.

“I hate to tell you both this but the roads have been officially shut down,” the barista says. “It’s been recommended that everyone stays off the road until the storm passes and they can be plowed. That means you’re both stuck here until further notice. Fortunately our boss told us that if you guys want or need anything to eat or drink, it’s on us.”

Suddenly, she’s grateful she doesn’t have to brave the storm back to her apartment. She’s also getting really warm between the air and the drink.

(Y/N) sheds some layers until she’s in her t-shirt and leggings. She ties her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head and sips her lukewarm latte.

“Since we’re going to be here for a while,” the cute stranger begins to say. “I’m Trevor.”

“(Y/N),” she replies. “You play hockey?” Trevor raises his eyebrows in question. She nods at his hoodie. “ The ‘Ducks hockey’ gave it away. What’s Ducks hockey?”

Trevor has a small smile on his face. "It's for the Anaheim Ducks," he replies. "I play in the NHL."

Her eyes widen. She isn't that much of a hockey fan but she knows what the NHL is. That is probably most professional level of hockey there is. She's pretty sure about that.

"Well I'm honored to be in the presence of a professional hockey player," she says. "I've watched a few games but I'm not really a NHL watcher. I'm more of a college hockey watcher. I just graduated from Boston University and I went to a lot of the home games because my friend at the time was dating one of the players."

He almost spits out his coffee. "I played hockey at Boston University for a season," he tells her. "I played one season then went to the NHL. That's crazy that you just graduated from where. Small world."

A realization hits her. She heard all about a Trevor that used to play for BU then he went to NHL. "Zegras," she blurts out. "You're Trevor Zegras. You're like a legend at Boston University. The hockey guys still sometimes talk about you."

"I put up good number but not good enough to be a legend there," he laughs. "Glad to know they still talk about me there."

She smiles. All she heard while in school was how talented Trevor was on the ice and what a player he was off the ice. She figures it's been long enough where he's changed and doesn't sleep around anymore.

Hours pass by and the storm hasn't lightened up. It's gotten worse. A lot worse. It doesn't seem like it's going to get any better.

The baristas, whose names are Lily and Dani, stick to the back unless (Y/N) or Trevor need something. (Y/N) and Trevor sit at the tables and build towers with cups in the main dining area. They talk and get to know each other since they don't have anything better to do.

They find themselves sitting on the floor against the bar and they watch the storm brew outside. It has started to build up against the glass door and the windows. They can't see more than like two feet outside the glass because of how heavy the snow is falling.

"I hate the snow," (Y/N) blurts out. "I always have but Bedford is the only place I've ever lived and I didn't want to leave."

Trevor looks over at her. "Why didn't you want to leave?"

"I've lived here my whole life," she tells him as she looks over at him. "I live in the same apartment that my parents lived in before they died. They left it to me and I can't bear to part with it. This town is my home and I don't think I could ever leave."

He remains silent for a second before asking, "So if your boyfriend said he wanted to move to Florida or something, you wouldn't go?"

An amused smile forms on her face and she looks at the snow. “I’d need a boyfriend for that to happen,” she tells him. She decides to play alone to what he is doing “Does your girlfriend like living in California?”

“Wouldn’t know,” he replies. “Don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Does hockey take up a lot of your time?”

“For most of the year, yeah,” he sighs. “I’ve had casual flings that don’t get past that phase because I’m never around. I’ve been stuck in the talking phase for weeks because I’m constantly on the road or in the rink. I’d like to settle down one day with someone but I need to meet someone that understands that hockey is what I love to do. She’ll just have to know that sometimes I’ll need to be away for a while to do what I love.”

A frown forms on (Y/N)’s face. “I’m sorry that you haven’t been able to find anyone that understands you love playing hockey,” she says to him. “I’ve only known you for a few hours but you seem like a genuinely nice guy. You’re also not too hard on the eyes.”

Trevor laughs and she bumps his knee with hers. He does the same to her. “I’ll find someone some day,” he breaks out when he stops laughing. He pauses for a beat. “Maybe I have. I don’t know.”

She looks over at him and the temperature in the room changes. It gets stuffy with unfamiliar tension that is so thick, it could be cut with a knife.

“What about you?”

“What about me?” a confused (Y/N) questions.

“Why haven’t you settled down with anyone?”

A long sigh passes her lips.

Her last boyfriend was incredibly immature. He would rather go get drunk at a party than spend time with her, and eventually he got kicked out of school since his grades were so low and he was drunk all the time. Then he got arrested for a DUI after he turned 21 and that was the end of that.

“I wanted to focus on my education,” she tells Trevor. “Not to mention my last boyfriend would rather get drunk then spend time with me so I decided to stay single for the moment. Nothing as intense as to why you haven’t settled down.”

Trevor smiles. “Seems like your ex missed out,” he tells her. “You’re really nice and you listen. Not to mention that you’re insanely beautiful and any guy would be lucky to have you.”

She feels her face get hot at the compliment.

Before either of them say say something, Dani comes out of the back room. “Good news!” she exclaims. “The roads are opening back up. The storm has gotten light enough to the point where it’s safe to travel again so you’re both welcome to leave whenever you’d like.”

Trevor stands up then helps (Y/N) up. Her eyes are on the window and she sees that the snow has lightened up and the wind has calmed down after nearly five hours.

“Thank you for letting us ride out the storm here,” Trevor says to Dani, and to Lily who has also emerged from the back. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out two fifty dollar bills. “For both of you.”

They thank Trevor and begin to clean up. (Y/N) pulls her layers back on and Trevor puts his coat on.

She stares outside before she sees a car pass by, then a second car.

“Can I walk you home?” Trevor asks behind her. She turns around with raised eyebrows. “I just want to make sure you get home safely. It’s slippery out there.”

A laugh passes her lips at Trevor’s failed attempt to lie to her about why he wants to walk her home. “Yeah,” she replies. “It’s only a half a mile from here in three feet of snow. Sure you can handle that, Mr. I-Live-In-California-Now?”

“I grew up in Bedford,” Trevor replies. “I’m sure I can handle that.”

The two of them push their way outside. The cold air slaps (Y/N) in the face when she follows Trevor out the door. She gives a final wave to Dani and Lily before she leads Trevor down the street.

She doesn’t know how many feet of snow has fallen, but she’s nearly up to her knees in it at different points as she walks home. Trevor is right behind her, and he stops her from tripping over into the snow multiple times during their walk.

A very long half hour later and she’s finally in front of her apartment door. After she unlocks it, she looks up at Trevor.

“Well, thank you for walking me home,” she says. There is a smile on his face. His face is red from how cold it is outside and he looks like Rudolph with his red nose.

She reaches up and brushes some snowflakes from his hair. A smile grows on his lips and suddenly, she wants to get up on her tiptoes and kiss him. “It was nice to meet you and spend time with you, (Y/N),” he says.

“Will I see you again, Trevor?”

“I know where you like to go for coffee,” he replies. “I also know where you live now so I can stop by every time I’m in town while I’m in season or when I’m home for the summer.” She laughs. “You’re never getting rid of me now.”

(Y/N) shakes the snowflakes off Trevor’s jacket and says, “If anyone is going to be a pain in my ass, I think I’d want it to be a very cute professional hockey player from California that I only talked to because we got stuck at a coffee shop.”

Trevor grins and pushes a wet piece of hair behind her ear. His hand is freezing but she leans into his touch.

A moment of silence is followed by Trevor taking a deep breath and a small step toward her. She only is able to glance up at him before he leans down and captures her lips in a cold, deep kiss.

She sharply inhales from the surprise kiss, but she does kiss him back. Trevor grabs her chin between his pointer finger and thumb so she doesn’t go anywhere.

Not that she would.

Her hands slide to Trevor’s waist and she takes a step toward him to get as close to him as she can with all the layers they have between them. Trevor’s hand eventually slides to the back of her neck, and she shivers.

(Y/N) pulls back and asks, “Would you like to come in and get warmed up?”

“Absolutely.”

She thinks she might’ve found her new favorite coffee shop after today.

༺═──────────────═༻

MAIN MASTERLIST

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tag list : @fanboysfangirl @dancerbailey3 @dasiysthings

[fir3ylolol]

hi fir3y :3333 can we have more johnny cage x camera stuff (anything related, nothing specific; cameras in house, recording w phone etc) w him having a long time crush for y/n 😁 kind of like how you did w smile! you're on camera (i cant remember if i sent this if i already did im sorry 😥😥)

dazed and confused

pairing: Johnny Cage x Reader

summary: it's been a while since you've seen your good friend johnny. but what happens when long-time crush mixes with weed?

tw: vaginal sex, vaginal penetration, oral sex, blowjob, eating out, cunnilingus, long-time crush, weed usage, intoxicated sex, loss of inhibitions, praise, filmed, sex tape, cumming inside, cum eating, putting on a show, whimpering men heheheh, afab!reader, gn reader

a/n: YAYYY finally another post!! its been forever. this was requested by @keiiikomegumi. gotta love men who fall hard and fuck desperately O.O also i think this is the longest fic other than we want you! ive ever written lol

word count: 2.65 k

Ao3

It’s been about 3 weeks since you last saw Johnny, which kinda sucks. He’s always a lot of fun, and you’ve been really stressed lately. So when you get his text reading, “come over 4 dinner, we can chill 0.o”, you quickly respond, “see u thennn”. You leave shortly afterward, excited to finally relax. You roll into his driveway after about 30 minutes of driving, seeing Johnny’s shadowed figure standing in the doorway. You hop out excitedly, walking over and capturing him in a tight hug. He laughs, hugging you back just as tight. “Hey! I’ve missed you, it’s been wayyyy too long. Come in, I’ve already got some food ready.” You walk in, drinking in the familiar sight of his home. You see the table set, two spots right next to each other, with a suspicious look on his face.

“So what do you have in store for me?” You sit down, watching as he disappears into the kitchen. “Well, I know you’ve been under a lot of pressure lately, and so have I. So…” He walks out, a large silver plate covered with a cloche. “I figured we deserved a treat,” he says with a smirk, lifting it and revealing two brownies. Realization hits you hard. You see, this is California, and if there’s any pastime Californians love, it’s getting high. Johnny is no different; in fact, he likes edibles more, since he says smoking will “damage his star-quality voice and flawless skin.” But he lives a stressful life, and he needs a break just as much as you. So seeing two, delicious-looking brownies on separate plates, you know exactly why you were invited. And you nearly cry.

“Johnny…” you smile up at him, “thank you. So much.” His eyes light up, placing the plates down for you two as he sits down next to you. “Yay, I knew you would be happy! Ok, I’ve got plenty of snacks in the fridge and cold ass water, so we’re set.” He picks his brownie up, and you follow, clinking them together like glasses before taking a bite. It’s rich, fudgy, and absolutely one of the best brownies you’ve ever had. With a mouthful of food, you try to speak, “Schit manm, ‘his is schoo good.” He laughs at you, finishing his bite before speaking, “It’s been barely a month and you’ve forgotten your manners?” You smack him lightly, before standing up and getting a glass of water, downing the whole thing. He follows you, giving you a big hug from behind. He’s rocking back and forth, face buried in your neck. He’s always been more touchy with you than his other friends, but you don’t mind. He’s warm and gentle and always smells fancy. But you laugh, rocking with him. “The room’s already spinning, oooooh.” He lifts you slightly, walking through the kitchen. “You’re so high, oh noooo!” He set you down, laughing still. “You’re so much fun, I missed you.”

You feel a slight twinge in your heart, the words must mean more to you than it does to him. You’ve been a little glad not to see him honestly, but only because your feelings for him have gotten that intense. A break was just what you needed, but now? When you’re going to be wasted and he’s just so nice and so close? You might break. But for now, you appear cool laughing as well before managing to say, “I missed you too” without seeming suspicious. And you start to fall into the same routine as usual, he leads you to the couch to chill together and watch something fun. He used to go to the cinema room, but once he got too high, watched Rambo on the big screen, and had a panic attack. Plus, you can’t cuddle in there, and he can’t stand for that, loudly declaring that he’ll rip the chairs out every time you two go in there. But he never does. You two end up talking about the weeks you didn’t see him. He’s been working on a new film, but won’t reveal any details other than it’s “based on a super true story”. And he laments how hard you’ve been working, trying to convince you again, “You should just quit and hang with me all the time. It would be awesome.” But alas, you turn him down again, as tempting as it is.

Before you know it, it’s been almost two hours, and you’re definitely feeling it more, the buzzing in your brain is a little louder, and Johnny’s touch gives you more goosebumps. But he leans back suddenly, looking you up and down. “Wait, I just realized, I can’t remember the last time you told me one of your famous bad date stories. What’s going on?” You fluster at his words, so direct and to the point that you can’t think for a second. You finally manage to speak again, your tongue feeling a little too heavy, “I’ve just been busy, man.” He scrunches up his face, thinking deeply. “When was the last time you got some? You know…” He nudges you, eyebrows raised suggestively. You take an embarrassingly long pause before speaking again. “...a year.” 

He leans forward, directly in front of your face. “A year?! How are you even alive??” You push him as playfully as you can, completely flustered by the whole thing. “Quit it, it’s not funny!” He sighs dramatically, splayed out across the couch. “So what’s up? Someone catch your eye or something?” You pause again, trying not to look at him, but your mouth betrays you. “Yeah, maybe. But it’s fine, he doesn’t like me like that.” He scoffs, head still tipped back, “What an idiot. You’re awesome. He’s really lucky I don’t just snatch you away for myself.” His whole body freezes as if he said something he didn’t mean to. You look at him, eyes wide and muscles tense. “W…what?” You ask tentatively. But he stands up, walking away while waving his arms around, “Nothing, nothing. Don’t worry about it.” But you can see the tips of his ears are bright red, and he’s tapping his foot on the ground, something he only does when nervous. You stand up and walk over, staying behind him. “Johnny, it’s something. Just tell me, it’ll be ok.” He takes a deep breath before speaking, still turned away from you. “I said he was lucky I didn’t take you for myself. I didn’t mean to say it, but honestly, it’s true. I mean, what kind of idiot doesn’t like the most stunning person alive? I just…I said too much, and I didn’t want to weird you out because you’re such a great friend and…” He’s babbling on, saying way too much and not making a ton of sense.

But you grab his hand lightly, which causes him to turn around. His eyes are watery, his cheeks and the tip of his nose are red, and his mouth is scrunched up in a frown. You can’t help but smile at him, squeezing his hand tighter. “Do you like me, Johnny?” He nods like a child, free hand coming up to wipe his eyes. “I like you too,” you say with a smile, no longer nervous or guilty of your feelings. He sniffles, looking at you with his wide brown eyes, “Really? You do?” As you nod, he sort of snaps back to usual, but not in a performative way, in a happy way. “Well of course you do! Who could resist all this?” He smiles before pulling you into a tight hug. “Thank you,” he whispers in your ear before he pulls away. But not fully, as you two lock eyes, and the air grows thick again. You swallow hard, eyes darting across his face nervously. He cups your face with his left hand, and slowly leans in, pressing his lips to yours. It’s exactly like him, warm and gentle, and it makes you dizzy. In fact, you feel your knees buckle slightly, which he laughs at into the kiss. As he pulls away to breathe again, you can’t help but feel hungry for more. You’ve only gotten a taste of what you’ve wanted for so long, and it’s very appetizing.

Johnny quickly pulls you back to the couch, barely able to think before you find yourself on his lap, hands wandering around your back, eyes locked onto yours. His touch is even more intoxicating than normal, with heavy breathing and racing hearts shared between you two. One hand reaches your neck, pulling you back in. But he’s not as gentle this time, like he’s trying to devour you whole. His other hand is on your hip, guiding you to grind against him slowly. Your hands wrap around his neck loosely. He groans into your mouth, squeezing tighter. You feel his tongue in your mouth, desperate for more of you, more than there is. You can feel yourself growing wetter, so high that your previous inhibitions are gone. Everything is happening so fast, and you’re starting to feel desperate.

He finally breaks away, panting heavily, before looking at you needily. And with how pretty his flushed face is and how badly he wants you, you can’t help but slide down to the floor between his legs. His pupils are blown out, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. He tries desperately to pull his pants down quickly, struggling slightly.  But he finally frees himself, cock bouncing out as the angry red tip leaks out. He’s embarrassed, turning his head away slightly, but keeping his eyes locked on you. You have no time to tease, absolutely hungry for him, for this. You take him in your mouth, getting most of the way down before you stop, looking up at him sweetly. He gasps, eyes wide and hands clutching at the couch cushions. You start to move, swirling your tongue around him as you keep a steady pace. His eyelids are fluttering, and very quickly he darts his hands out to grab your face lightly, bringing you up to face him. “C-can I film you? I just…I’ve wanted this for so long and you just look so pretty and I just…I don’t want to forget this, any detail of this.” 

You nod lazily, a smile spreading across your lips as you watch him scramble for his phone. He holds it up, hands shaking as he starts filming. You decide to put on a show for him, looking up through your lashes as you go down again, able to get almost all the way down, gagging slightly. He white knuckles the phone, staring at you intensely. His other hand comes up, grabbing your hair in one hand. His voice rasps out, “Wanna see that face, all of it. God, you’re so good at this. Fuck…” He sighs as you reach your hand out, starting to stroke him as you lean your head down, licking at his balls. He jumps slightly, but the most lovely whine escapes his lips, so you continue, trying to overwhelm him with pleasure. And overwhelm him you do, as he starts squirming back and forth at the intensity of it all, more heady whines. He finally remembers to hold the camera steady, trying to still himself. But as you go down again, rapid and sloppy moves, eyes watering as you look up again, his grasp on your hair tightens. He cries out as he cums, shuddering as you keep going, swallowing it all. You pull off with a pant, looking into the camera and sticking out your tongue to show what you did. He’s breathing hard, letting go of your hair and going slightly slack on the couch. But he tugs at your shirt, pulling it over your head. Even fucked out, he wants more.

You stand up, half-naked, and he tries his hardest to get your pants off too. But his hands are too shaky, and he’s trying to keep his grip on the camera. So you step back and slowly peel them off for him, and you can see his cock twitch slightly at the sight of you. You climb back on top of him, kissing him gently. But he leans to the side, propping the phone against the arm of the couch, and flips to the front camera. He shuffles down a little, leaning slightly to pull his pants down further as you pull his shirt off, wanting to feel his warm skin against yours. He kisses your cheek, and down your neck, reveling in the way you arch your back at the feeling. He whispers out shakily, “You ready? Gonna put a show on for me?” You nod, head dizzy again, as he rubs himself against you, audibly groaning at the feeling. He has no time to waste, sinking into you with a heady whimper. You gasp, taking a second to adjust to him, feeling his hands cling to your hips.

But it’s not long before he’s bucking up into you, using his grip on you for leverage. He’s bit down on your shoulder, whimpers slipping out. Your arms are behind his neck, clinging to him like your life depended on it. You feel him let go, raspy whispers in your ear, “You’re so hot, shit, so tight around me. You like putting on a show for me? Yeah?” You nod, moans pushed out at the force he’s moving now. His voice is shaking more now, but he can’t stop talking, “Shit, I don’t know if it’s the weed talking or what, but you’re so fucking good. Can’t believe I didn’t tell you sooner-” He’s cut off, a whimper as he manages to push deeper, completely enveloped in you. He’s losing his mind, hands wrap around your back for more leverage. But it’s not long before he’s cumming again, a whine as he pushes you down as far as he can. He’s trembling more, heavy pants in your ear. But finally, he’s lifting you and setting you down on the couch. Both of you are breathing heavily, trying to calm down after everything. 

That is until he grabs the phone and puts it in your hands. Confused, you look at him, but suddenly, he’s between your thighs, kneeling on the ground. “Can’t leave you wanting, especially after all that.” He dives in, with no sense of patience, as he sucks at your throbbing clit. His fingers pump inside you, your wetness mixing with his cum. You keep the camera on his face, legs pushed apart as you flinch at your sensitivity. He’s looking up at you, sweet eyes locked on you. He lets go slightly, mumbling into you, “Good job, baby, you’re doing such a good job.” You’re moaning, high-pitched, and slipping from your lips. He’s whining into your sopping cunt, vibrations against your clit causing more jumps. But you cling to him, eyes screwed shut as you cum hard, feeling his tongue lapping everything up with fervor. He finally separates from you, sitting down on the couch with an exhale.

He takes the phone, stopping the recording as he puts his arm around you. “I’ll save those for later,” he says, making you giggle slightly, but you’re quite tired. “We should get high more often, huh?” You snuggle into him, enjoying the feeling of his heartbeat under your ear. “Maybe. But hey, those videos better not get leaked or anything.” Your words cause him to whine out, slightly annoyed. “Come on, you know me! I would never. Besides…it would make too many people jealous, you know? Such a pretty thing like you, all for myself.” You laugh again before looking up at him, sleepy but happy eyes. “You’re stuck with me now, by the way.” He hugs you tight, squeezing you with a wide smile on his face. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

[redroses07]

Heartfirst // Johnnie Guilbert Pt. 2

Johnnie Guilbert x Fem!Reader

Summary: Johnnie and reader finally get a chance to finish what they started at Tara's party.

WC: 1.3k

Warnings: Smut 18+ minors dni, P in V, unprotected sex (use a condom guys), swearing.

A/N: Hey guys!!! A ton of people requested this so here it is! I'm not the best at writing smut so I hope this doesn't suck. Anyways, hope you enjoy, love you all and thank you for the positive comments on pt. 1!!!!

Heartfirst pt. 1 here

You lay sprawled on your bed, checking your phone every few minutes. It was mid day, and you should probably bring it upon yourself to do something productive, but you were waiting on something. Or more formally, someone.

It had been a week since Tara's party and you and Johnnie had not had a single moment alone since, and you two were desperate to finish what was started before Jake so rudely interrupted you.

Nevertheless, your schedules unfortunately did not overlap this week. Either you were busy, he was editing, you were filming, and so on and so forth.

Until today, well maybe. Johnnie had told you he would come over as soon as he finished streaming, and Tara was out of the house all day so it was perfect. His stream seemed to be taking much longer than anticipated, and you were getting more frustrated by the minute. Which is why you couldn't help yourself to look at your phone over and over, waiting for that "on the way, see you soon princess!" message.

"Princess", that's what Johnnie had taken to calling you the past week, and it made your heart flutter every time.

God you missed him. Not that you didn't always when you hadn't seen him in a while, but your newly established relationship makes things different.

You heard a knock at the door, causing you to let out an annoyed groan.

You begrudgingly rolled off your bed and got to your feet, heading to the front door.

Who it could possibly be, you didn't know. Maybe the mailman or a neighbor?

You opened the door only to be met with a very welcome surprise.

Johnnie stood in the doorway, a wide smile on his face, waiting to take you in his arms. He was wearing casual clothes with minimal makeup, and you could tell he had left his house in a hurry because his usually messy hair looked even messier.

"Johnnie? I didn't know you were coming, i thought you were streaming."

Johnnie gave you an apologetic look.

"Fuck, I forgot to tell you I was done. I'm sorry! I hope it's still okay that I'm here." Johnnie rambled, brushing his bangs out of his eyes.

"No, Johnnie it's more than okay, I've been waiting to see you all day." You pulled him through the door, quickly shutting it behind him.

You had been waiting all week for this, and couldn't wait a moment longer. You need him now.

Johnnie's eyes raked over your body as you pulled him back, and only then did you become aware of how much skin you were showing. It was California, it was hot, and a habit to reach for tiny shorts and short tops.

Johnnie stopped you, pulling you close to him. The tension between the two of you was so close to boiling over. He took your face in his hands, and you could feel his hot breath crashing against your skin.

"Johnnie..." You spoke breathlessly, brushing your lips against his.

That was when the wall of tension between the two of you broke. Johnnie's lips forcefully crashed against yours, causing you to stagger backwards against the wall.

He kissed you as if he was starving, and you were his first meal in weeks. He ran his hands all along your body, stopping to tightly grip your ass.

You rocked back against the wall as Johnnie's hands reached under your legs. He hoisted you up around his waist, and you wrapped your arms around his neck to help him hold you up.

He moved from kissing your lips to biting and sucking at your neck. Johnnie walked you back into your bedroom, not removing his lips from your skin for even a second.

Once he entered the room he slammed the door shut and threw you down on your bed.

You grabbed Johnnie by his shirt and pulled him down on top of you.

Johnnie began clawing at your clothes, reaching his hands under your tight shirt. He effortlessly pulled it over your head along with your bra, and began trailing his lips down your exposed stomach.

You moaned softly, getting impatient. You bucked your hips upward, rolling them against him and giving your clit some of the friction it so desperately needed.

"What is it, pretty girl?" Johnnie muttered, looking up to caress your face.

"I want you."

"Mhm, do you now?" Johnnie took this as an opportunity to palm his hand over your soaked core.

"Fuck." You moaned into him, pressing your forehead to his shoulder.

Johnnie began to take his clothes off, starting with his shirt, then his pants, and boxers. As he took off his clothes you noticed some tattoos of his that were normally covered. You removed your shorts and underwear along with him.

There you were for the first time, fully exposed to this man that you loved. You had anticipated this moment to be awkward, but something about it felt so perfect. You guessed that's what it meant to be in love, no fear of judgment, just love.

"You're so beautiful." Johnnie said, running his hands slowly across every part of your body.

The sensation of his cold fingertips on your warm skin made you shiver. Johnnie looked up at you once more and initiated a soft, yet passionate kiss. You felt the cold metal of his lip piercings press against your tongue.

You tangled your hands in his hair, pulling at his jet black locks.

You broke apart, leaving the room silent except for the sound of your heavy breathing.

"You ready?" Johnnie asked softly.

You nodded, giving him reassurance that you were in fact okay with this.

Johnnie pushed into you with no hesitation, causing you to cry out in pleasure.

He began thrusting slowly, a tightness building in your core as he did. Johnnie dropped his head into the crook of your neck as he kept a steady pace.

You used this as an opportunity to leave marks on his neck, biting down a little harder every time he hit that sweet spot inside of you.

You thrusted your hips up as you felt the invisible band inside of you about to snap.

"Baby, fuck, I'm close." Johnnie said as he leaned up to press a sloppy kiss to your lips.

"Me too." You managed to say through breaths.

Johnnie's hands made their way to your breasts, kneading the soft flesh.

He let out soft moans in your ear every so often. The pretty sounds he made turned you on even more, if that was even possible.

And just like that Johnnie released himself inside of you, triggering your release as well.

You dug your freshly manicured nails into his bare back as you did, leaving crescent shaped indents on his back.

"God, I love you." Johnnie breathed as he collapsed next to you.

"Not as much as I love you." You rolled over facing him.

He wore a lazy smile on his face, and his eyelids were noticeably droopy.

You placed a kiss on the tip of his nose, causing a blush to appear on his pale cheeks.

You took a moment to relax and enjoy the comfort of each other's touch. Johnnie traced soft circles along your back, and you brushed your fingers through his hair.

"Alright princess I'm gonna go get a bath started." Johnnie sat up, kissed you on both cheeks, and headed into the bathroom.

You two were gonna have to plan your schedules much further in advance from now on.

✧˖°.⁺‧˚ ♡ ˚‧⁺ ✧˖°. ✧˖°.⁺‧˚ ♡ ˚‧⁺ ✧˖°. ✧˖°.⁺‧˚ ♡ ˚‧⁺ ✧˖°.

Taglist: @beansnsoup @banquetwriter @johnnieguilbertsgirlfriend @jenna0rtegaswife

[fluent-in-lesbianism]

I just found out there’s a religious cult called Church International forming in my hometown, and the cult leader (Robin Bullock) is some greasy guy my mom went to high school with and he’s like some rock musician turned prophet and he’s buying up all the properties in town to make it part of his “church” and he’s telling folks he’s been to heaven like 11 times and that God’s encased in gelatin in heaven and basically spreading QAnon conspiracy theories directly from the pulpit, and the people in the cult are literally giving this man their entire life savings with the biggest donation being over 200K (from a man I’ve known my entire life and who I didn’t expect to listen to bullshit like this)

It’s become such a problem that the town council’s holding special meetings to figure out how to legally stop him but they can’t because he’s buying the property under religious exemptions to make part of his church but he also bought the old mayor’s house that was supposed to be a historical donation to the town but he somehow managed to buy it for his private residence instead

And recently an 82-year-old woman from California traveled all the way to Warrior, Alabama just to join the “church” but they turned her away bc she didn’t have any money to give them so she had to sleep in the parking lot

The story seems to be getting out there more but it’s still considered too small for most folks to worry about since it’s occurring in a super small town in rural Alabama, but the folks here are fearful that it’s gonna turn into another Waco or Jonestown situation:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Birmingham/comments/1284voj/a_cult_has_effectively_taken_over_my_home_town_of/

[auspicioustidings]

Lost Boys

Summary: Shameless COD Lost Boys AU as an excuse to try writing some smut because @ohbo-ohno has been killing me.

Words: 3.7k

CW: Dubcon bordering on noncon, rough sex

One thing about Santa Carla she could not stomach? All the damn locals.

She was used to working in Coney Island and she had thought this boardwalk out in California wouldn't be much different. She had been immediately proven wrong when she had arrived a week ago, moving in to a falling apart cabin out on the edge of town that Keegan had sworn up and down would be her dream home if she was willing to fix it up. He hadn't really explained how he came to own the place, but then he was the definition of a carny if she ever knew there to be one. She was pretty sure there wasn't one amusement park that man had not worked at, although conversations always seemed to draw back to Santa Carla.

It wasn't like his charming convincing had been the only reason she'd found herself here. She loved Coney Island, had practically grown up on the Thunderbolt, was damn near inconsolable when they shut it 5 years ago. But Coney Island now was not the same as the one she grew up with, everyone who worked there felt it. The rides were falling apart, closing or being torn down. Two people she knew had been shot this year alone. The place turned into an open air brothel at night it felt like, and not in the fun way back when it had all been music and moonlight and sex and rock and roll. It was sad.

Plus she was dirt poor, the decline of the amusements meaning she wasn't picking up as much work. If Keegan had wormed his way into her head with all his talk about how dangerous a neighbourhood she lived in, how much safer an actual house would be, how if someone would renovate it he wouldn't even charge rent because it would really help him out since he was currently travelling, well then she had been stupid enough not to pick up on the obvious trap.

Falling apart and very eerily decorated cabin aside, her first day on the Boardwalk felt like a series of increasing red flags. She loved the scent of the place, the bright cars grinding against their chains as they were dragged bodily up to the summit of the coaster under the hot sun, the sticky sweetness of candy apples being cut through with the salt the surfers dragged with them from the sea, the slight undertone of something mischievous, something even sinister. Any boardwalk she had been to had that same undercurrent, the same lurking sense of danger that sent her heartbeat running in excitement. This one it was dialled all the way to 11.

"Oi chiquita! I've not seen you around here before."

She turned. Surfer, well 2 of them actually. The one who had spoken was older than her in a way that really made his handsomeness cause her to scold herself. No sleeping with older men on your first day in a new city, even if the accent was like molasses. The one next to him was younger. Both incredible looking if she was honest, Keegan had not been kidding when he had said the people in Santa Carla were deathly attractive.

"Maybe I'm a tourist" she replied.

"Ah a pretty thing like you visiting all alone? You'll get eaten right up" said the other, both of them looking at her with an amusement over a joke she was not in on.

"Good thing I'm so bitter then, reckon I'll get spat right back out."

They laughed and she kept a light look of friendly amusement on her face, internally thinking that these guys were rude as fuck. She near jumped out of her skin when she felt a breath at her neck, whipping her head around to find a female surfer had sniffed at her throat.

"Ella huele dulce, ella sabrá más dulce" the newcomer purred.

"Atrás Valeria" the older man snapped.

"You're so up tight Alejandro" Valeria laughed meanly before turning to look at her, eyes dragging up and down in heated appraisal. "If you get bored of them, you'll come find me won't you dalzura?"

With that the woman sauntered off towards the beach, all arrogance and sex appeal. It wasn't like she hadn't heard her fair share of pick-up lines and come ons, it was practically a given when you worked at places like these, but it was rarer for a woman to come on to her and rarer still for the woman to have such an aggression about her. She'd be lying if it didn't cause a little spark of excitement to zip up her spine.

Alejandro and the other man watched Valeria go with something like suspicion.

"Be careful after dark, the boardwalk gets crowded with all sorts" the younger man said with a knowing wink.

"If you're still around tomorrow in the sunshine, me and Rudy will be on the waves" Alejandro added before they both took off after Valeria, seemingly intent on getting into some sort of fight.

Odd trio she thought, but most people who lived near places like this were. The locals only got odder as the day went on.

An absolute giant of a man in a hood whose eyes had narrowed in on her when she passed him, an exhibit in a freak show. The chains on him must have been for show, but the way they strained when he had lunged at her actually did make her jump.

The Southern man who seemed to have some sort of control over all of the game stalls, told her when she had tried out the ring toss that his shadows had been telling him she had won most of the games she had tried but not taken any prizes. It ran a chill up her spine the way he eyed her when he introduced himself, the name Graves spilling off his tongue like whisky.

The one who actually gave her a job, Alex, seemed normal enough, the only thing out of the ordinary being a false leg. Well normal enough until it became apparent he was very knowledgeable about Santa Carla being the murder capital of the world. She didn't like that he spoke about it like it was something exciting, but as long as she had money in hand to operate a carousel she could overlook his quirks. He told her she could work the evening shift after watching her carefully run through things, proving that this was all familiar to her. This one had brass rings, she knew she'd probably spend her evening ducking out of the way of them when rowdy ride goers decided they would rather hit someone than redeem the ring for a free ride.

--

With the last wash of sunlight she wandered the shops around the area, sliding into a video store just as night fell to see if she couldn't find something to watch when she would get home after her first shift. Maybe Hellraiser was out on VHS now, she had missed it in the theatre and Keegan had told her it was fun.

"Hello there. John Price, how can I help?"

Back in New York it wasn't uncommon to hear a British accent, but this was the first one she had heard here. The man it came from was tall and had a hell of a beard. Bit eccentric looking with a fishing hat on his head, but with the people she was coming across today that seemed par for the course.

"Hi sir! Is Hellraiser out yet?" she asked as politely as she could muster. She knew that she was as much a carny as Keegan and that it tended to make respectable older people intensely dislike her from the get go if she didn't do everything to assure them she was an upstanding young lady.

"Horror fan?"

"A friend recommended it, to be honest I'm not sure what it's about."

She heard the bell going off, more people coming into the store. Her eyes caught on them, not least because one of them was in a skull mask. Tall as well, God so many people on this Boardwalk dwarfed her. Mr Price reacted very much like he knew them and was keeping an eye on them. The one with the mohawk was staring openly at her, leaning over to whisper something to the one with the moustache. Probably trouble makers, young men who lived in the area and were generally a nuisance on the Boardwalk. It got her back up a little, she had always hated people like them bullying everyone else, menacing businesses in the area because they were bored.

Mr Price had his arms crossed as him and the masked one stared at one another. To try de-escalate whatever this was she put a hand gently to one of his forearms.

"I'm happy to take any recommendations from you though."

Her attempt both worked and failed. Mr Price did turn his attention back to her, giving her a soft smile that all but made her melt. He seemed like a genuinely lovely man, the first one of the day. It was somewhat ruined by the boisterous laughter of the one with the mohawk.

"Look at this wee lassie, speaking all bonnie" he laughed, his rumbling accent and mocking putting her firmly in a place between annoyed and aroused.

He took a few steps forward, getting into her space. God he didn't half loom over her and he was not even the tallest man here. With him on one side of her and Mr Price on the other she felt like a prey animal. She could not tear her eyes away from the Scottish man as he grinned down at her. He was magnetic in the way watching an acrobat was, it felt like someone could die at any moment but she couldn't help but look. His rough hand carded through her hair and settled at her neck and she was sure he was about to kiss her. There was something terrifying about his presence the more she was in it, if he kissed her she thought her fight or flight might fail her and go instead to freeze.

"That's enough" Mr Price said, snapping her out of the odd trance she felt she was in. "You have a shift to get to love, on you go" he continued, putting a firm hand to the small of her back and steering her a little to get her moving towards the door.

The other man only moved when the one in the mask wrapped a gloved hand around the back of his neck, squeezing like she imagined someone would do to an errant mutt. It wasn't until she was out in the open air and gulping in breaths that she realised she had never told Mr Price she had a shift that evening. Word must travel fast here she supposed.

--

Her first night on the Boardwalk had put her out of her mind. God it was like being punched in the face with the ghost of what Coney Island should have been; swarmed with bodies that choked out all the oxygen, making it difficult to breathe anything that wasn't thick with the taste of the writhing masses. It made her sick in a way that bordered on delirium.

The carousel was always full, the music throbbing all the way into her molars. The bright colours flooding with artificial light meant she couldn't see much beyond the machine, feeling like she existed on a tiny island of horses and bodies. Touch was the only sense she felt she could trust now, a sensation that was what made her fall in love with this line of work in the first place. She would drag her hands past the horses, grip the brass rings so tight it made her knuckles white before returning them to the dispenser for the next person to try their hand, walk against the direction of the floor just to feel the breeze prickle goosebumps on her skin.

The hand on her arm felt searing hot.

"There you are, didn't even introduce yourself before you were running off like a scared little doe."

The man in the skull mask had a voice like gravel, speaking right into her ear to be heard over the music. It made it feel intimate knowing that the sound of him would not travel to anyone else, that it was only for her. She could not let him know that she was scared of him, of any of them. If she was going to work here, she needed the locals to know she could hold her own, that she wasn't someone for them to mess around with.

"I'm not scared, certainly not of you" she lied, puffing out her chest.

"Prove it."

He left her standing there dumbstruck, shaking and feeling slick between her legs from the way he had growled it into her ear. The moment he was off of the carousel it was like he had melted into the crowd beyond. Alex showed up at some point, she didn't know how long it had been, and told her that he would take over. His eyes were bright and excited and it made her want to throw up.

--

He was waiting for her, the skull mask man. Her stomach was doing flips at the sight of him on a bike. She thought it might fully turn itself inside out when the Scottish man materialised behind her, pressing his nose to her pulse point before tugging at her earlobe with his teeth. Sharp, they felt sharp.

"Ghost says yer naw a fraidey cat, reckons you'd be willing to prove it" he cooed into her ear, big hands wrapping around her waist and lifting her onto the back of the bike behind Ghost. "Better hold on, he's naw going tae go slow."

Before she could get herself right back off of the bike one of Ghost's hands grabbed her arm, wrenching it around his waist and holding it there in a vice grip. When the bike took off she had little choice but to wrap the other arm around to avoid being thrown off, screaming into his ear to let her go. He did, putting his second hand back to the handles. At the speed they were going it didn't help, she had to keep clinging. She heard the howling of the Scottish man, on his own bike speeding along next to them.

She was scared out of her mind but the solidness of the body she was wrapped around and the hard vibrating of the seat between her legs was torturous in a way that was so sickeningly incompatible with her fear.

When they stopped she was dazed, trying to resist the whine that wanted to escape when the engine cut out and the bike stilled beneath her. The body in front of her shifted, moving until he was sat facing her. She put her hands to his shoulders, meaning to use them as leverage to push herself up and off the bike but instead The Scottish man pushed her back down from behind, his hand quickly moving from her shoulders down her front.

"Fuck baby, ye enjoy that huh? Could see ye grinding down whenever Si revved up" he groaned, groping roughly at her tits.

This was wrong, she should not be here. She should not be doing this. The adrenaline was so she could get out of this situation, not so she could moan loudly when his fingers found her nipple and fucking twisted.

"I already know you're soaked, can smell it pet" Ghost said, almost cruel, before biting off a glove and shoving a hand into her pants. He stroked two fingers up the length of her cunt, making sure his nail caught her clit the second time and laughing at her when she cried out at the sensation. Watching him withdraw his hand and show his glistening fingers to the man behind her made humiliation burn through her.

"Open up Johnny."

She was caught in the middle of them as Johnny took Ghost's fingers in his mouth, moaning as he messily suckled her off of them. There was no music here, no crowds to cover the noises of Johnny sloppily choking himself on Ghost's fingers, his saliva dripping onto her shoulder.

"Please Si, please let me eat her" he begged around Ghost's fingers and fuck if that didn't make her clench.

"Patience Johnny" Ghost scolded in response, withdrawing his fingers and grabbing at her jeans, pulling them off of her. It was a little awkward with how they were positioned, but once he got one leg off of her foot he just left her jeans dangling from the other, not bothering to get them all the way off now that he had the access he wanted.

The cool night air smacked onto her bare skin like an open palm. He rucked up her shirt next, pushing her down until her lower back hit the bike in the process so that her head was hanging off the end, lined right up with Johnny's dick which was visibly straining against his pants.

She tried to bring herself back up only to scream when a hand slapped hard onto her pussy, the thin fabric of her soaked panties doing little to soften the blow.

"Stay fucking still doll unless I tell you otherwise" Ghost growled at her.

He didn't take her panties off, just shoved them out of the way so he could spear two fingers into her. She yelped, trying to move back but only managed to grind her face against Johnny who growled long and low.

"So fucking tight" Ghost hissed, pumping his fingers in and out, "Johnny get her to relax would you?"

She could hardly breathe when Johnny leaned over her, clothed dick pushing relentlessly against her face, so that he could grip onto her hips and start lapping at her clit over her panties. She weakly pounded her fists against his thighs but if he could feel it then he wasn't reacting, seemingly lost in the task at hand.

"That's it, such a little slut for it, making a fucking mess of my bike."

It was overwhelming, the lack of oxygen, the feeling of Johnny sucking and licking at her clit like he was made for it, the fingers pistoning in and out, Ghost's degrading. Her hips tried desperately to buck up but Johnny only growled like an animal and held them roughly down as she came, not letting up for even a second.

The tears were streaming from her eyes by the time they made her cum again, a delicious stretch coming from Ghost adding a third finger. Johnny was rock hard against her face, rutting into her and starting to whine.

"Si, please. Please I'll be good. I'll be so good. Need her bonnie mouth around my cock or I'm gonna die. Please" he begged incoherently.

She was boneless when Johnny stood, giving her some breathing room. The pathetic whine she gave when Simon's fingers left her cunt should have been embarrassing, but she was barely able to formulate a full thought. The sound of clothing being adjusted should have been the first clue that they were nowhere near done. The sight of a throbbing cock at her lips was a pretty big second one.

"Come on, there ye go lass, fuuuuuck that's it" Johnny hissed as he pushed himself into her mouth. Nobody had ever been in her mouth at this angle, her head dangling upside down. He kept pushing in even when her panic response set in at the intrusion, hands battering against his legs and she gagged around him and tried to shift away, further towards where Ghost was sitting.

She screamed around the cock in her throat when Ghost rammed himself into her.

"I said stay fucking still!" he growled, leaving no time for adjustment before setting a hard and fast pace, every thrust sending her jolting back onto Johnny's dick.

Fuck it was so much, she was so full, she couldn't fucking breathe. Johnny had a hand around her throat, feeling his own bulge there as he fucked in and out of her.

"Steamin' Jesus, you take cock like a fucking dream bonnie."

The reverence he said it with sent her hurtling towards another orgasm, the pain still just on the side of pleasure.

"Fucking slut, trying to milk me aren't you? Want me to cum in this pretty little cunt and knock you up doll? Is that it?"

"Fuck Si, need tae cum, please let me cum."

Ghost was growling, not giving her a break as he fucked her through her orgasm to the point that the overstimulation was painful. Johnny's thrusts were erratic now, making it even harder to figure out when to breathe.

"Earn it, make her cum again."

She was pretty sure she would die if she came again, but Johnny leaned over her body and went right back to work, slobbering all over her clit as Ghost continued to mercilessly piston in and out of her. She tried to squirm, tried to do anything to get Johnny's mouth the fuck off of her. The hand around her throat squeezed.

"Fucking take it" he growled against her clit, a sharp sting from an incisor grazing against it jolting her before he sucked hard. She howled around his cock and felt herself squeeze hard against Ghost's as she saw stars.

"That's it, good fucking girl" Ghost hissed, burying himself to the hilt and letting that delicious squeeze milk him dry inside her.

She was so thoroughly fucked out that when Johnny came down her throat she couldn't swallow, just choking and sputtering as she hung limply off of the bike. When hands gently pushed her back up so she was sat upright the blood all rushing back down from her head made her pass out.

It could have been seconds or hours later when she screamed herself back into consciousness, feeling the sharp sting of teeth sinking into the flesh of her throat.

[eddies-house]

eddies-house Masterlist (18+ Only)

*Current WIP*

Smoke Signals - Eddie x Fem reader - Grumpy!Bartender!Eddie x Shy!Reader

1989 (Eddie's Version) *Coming Soon*

Series (Unfinished)

California Dreamin' (Modern!Eddie AU) - Eddie travels to California searching for something more out of life. And then he meets you.

Friends to Lovers, Eddie x fem reader

Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 |

The Under-Ground (Modern!Barista!Eddie AU) - In which you work at the local Hawkins coffee shop where you thought you'd be able to escape the horrors that were high school a few years after graduating. Until one of those horrors lands a job in the closing shift with you...and you have to train him.

Enemies to Lovers, Eddie x fem reader

Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 |

Blurbs - * = Smut, ~ = Fluff, ^ = Angst

^~ Eddie x reader with social anxiety - The sudden pressure of being out in public starts to suffocate you, luckily Eddie is really good at reading you.

^~Eddie x reader with bad eating habits

^~ Lost Like a Kid In a Supermarket - Eddie comforts you and does what he can when he sees that you’re doing bad again.

*^~So Here I Am, I’m Trying - Eddie throws a few punches to defend your honor and gets caught up with the law in the process, causing you to be upset with him. He swears he would never end up like his dad however he now sees the parallels and is scared to lose you.

*Control - Eddie finds you needy and pent up and sees how far he can push it.

^~Whatever She Wants; I Will Do Anything - Or where you’re very good at keeping your guard up and not letting others in only to crumble under the pressure. And Eddie is there to help you put the pieces back together.

~Rhiannon - Eddie being a girl dad and he names his daughter Rhiannon. She's five years old and is his entire world, she's got him wrapped around her little finger.

^~Rock Bottom - A Rhiannon Story - Eddie is feeling run down and invalidates himself as a dad but you’re there to mend him back together.

~Cheese Dust - Bus Driver!Eddie x Teacher!Reader

^Til Death Do Us Apart - The Upside Down crumbles around you and Eddie.

*~Tender - Eddie comforts you in the middle of the night when your period wreaks havoc.

^~Rockstar!Eddie

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Can you imagine having a Palm Springs, California address, like the wealthy, for less than $750K? Well, here's the chance. Two rock homes are for sale - 1 for $749K and 1 for $699K - both have already been reduced by $50K. 2bds, 1ba.

They were built in 1930 inspired by Hopi and Navajo homes. The owner passed away and the family has had them on the market since 2022. They are historic and eligible for tax abatement under California's Mill Act Program.

The listing is focused on the smaller one, listed for $699K.

So, you have a large living room with a fireplace. There's a nice big alcove, too.

You could do something with this. The alcove has a little stage-like elevation.

I'm not sure what this is, but there doesn't seem to be a kitchen. Maybe that's why this fireplace is higher, like an oven?

This looks like it would make a good kitchen, especially if you want a huge one.

A patio is outside the potential kitchen.

Here's a table by an old heat stove and there's also a cabinet.

The larger home, built in 1929, features a casita.

The real estate photos are terrible. They don't show bedrooms, baths, or which house is which.

A private road with limited access leads to the homes.

The property looks neglected and overgrown, with lots of dead weeds.

You can see here how the private road veers away from a Palm Springs neighborhood with pools and stuff.

Looks like you can't access it from that main road. It's like the black sheep of the family that has to use the back door.

The lot is 3.33 acres. I know that they reduced the prices but it still seems a lot for just a couple of stone shells. What do you think?

[littlemisslipbalm]

Friday, I’m in Love

Josh Kiszka x f!reader

(mostly gn/afab I think but there might be something in there that leans fem so I don’t want to say gn! And be inaccurate)

Summary: As summer wanes, things become clear between you two. Your friendship is forever and Josh wants to show you that.

Or

A weekend with your best friend Josh filled with a concert, a dinner party, lots of wine and loving tender moments.

Word Count: 8.3k | Warnings: profanity, sweet tender tension, friends to lovers, drinking

Enjoy!

-

“Hello, Joshua darling,” You cooed, wrapping your arms around Josh’s shoulders.

He wrapped his arms snuggly around your waist and squeezed as he pushed his head into the crook of your neck, breathing in his best friend’s familiar perfume. You rarely changed it or you always made sure to wear the same one when you knew you’d be seeing Josh. He didn’t know which one.

“Friday,” His voice is soft and your nickname reverberates through your skin. “Thanks for coming, I didn’t want to go alone and my brothers all bailed.”

You smile at him, before flicking a piece of his hair out of place.

“I couldn’t leave you to go to Fleet Foxes without me. That’s like sending the kid into the candy shop with no one around to witness his joy.”

Josh rolled his eyes and petted the hair back into place. “You flew out from California just for a concert…” He took a hold of your suitcase handle standing at attention beside you.

“As if you wouldn’t do the exact same thing!”

Josh smiles down at his feet, feeling bashful around his friend for some reason. “You’re right. Can you be ready to head out in 30? We gotta walk, but it’s not far.”

You agreed and beelined for the guest bedroom in Josh’s house. Josh followed behind you with your bags as if he was the guest in his own home.

–

“How do I look?” You twirled into Josh’s open bathroom door where he was fussing with his hair like always.

Josh paused, his hands near the crown of his head as he looked at you through the mirror, a smile spreading across his pink lips. His toothy smile said it all, but he spun around and took you by the hips anyway. “Fuckin’ divine, Friday. Fuckin’ divine.” He winked once you had laughed and then turned back to focus on his task.

You settled onto the lip of the bathtub behind Josh, watching him work. Your old blue jean skirt was short, showing off your summer legs and blundstones while the tank-style top you wore fell to the top of your hips. The crisp white fabric hung loose in a slight babydoll effect with a low cross cut over cleavage. It was the perfect summer in Tennesse outfit for an outdoor ampitheater Fleet Foxes concert.

Josh was, as expected, in his white t-shirt and khaki shorts with white vans uniform. He had his mustard yellow jacket beside him and a necklace laying on the counter, waiting for him to put it on.

“So…” You start.

Josh hums in response, raising a brow in the mirror as he dabbed some concealer under his eyes.

“What’s new?”

“We text almost every day,” Josh laughs, “What could I possibly tell you, you don’t already know?”

You yawn dramatically. “God, you’re so boring, where's the rock n’ roll diva with all the hot goss I know?!”

Josh rolls his eyes and grabs his jacket, walking out of the bathroom, hitting the light as an act of defiance. “My only hot goss is that my brothers are idiots who do not know how to use a calendar for the life of them.” He suppresses his smile with an unsuccessful frown as you scoff, catching up with him as he walks towards the front door.

“Don’t you guys have assistants who do that shit for you now?” You kicked a pebble as you walked side by side down the road. Josh made sure you were on the inside of the sidewalk like the midwestern gentleman he had been brought up to be.

Josh sunk his hands into his pockets and stared down the street. “Nah. Not for personal stuff. There’s calendars with all our band stuff, but right now it’s just like free time blocks.”

“Well, Danny, Jake and Sam are stupid for missing out, but their loss is my gain, I guess. I’ve been needing a reason to come here and bug you.”

Josh brightens at that and he throws an arm around your shoulders, hugging you close as he ‘aw’s’. You laugh and nuzzle your head into his shoulder, happy he’s happy.

–

At the concert, you and Josh find a spot at the top of the ampitheater seating opposite the center of the stage setup. You both used their jackets as seats and caught your breath from hiking up the steps. You smiled at him as he looked out at the open sky above the stage and you followed his eye. It was a little cloudy, making it all the more interesting. The clouds came together and dispersed at their own will as people filed into the venue. Josh said he’d go get the drinks while you leaned back on your hands and tilted your head to the sky.

You told him to surprise you and you looked at each other blankly with your sunglasses obstructing your eyes until Josh broke, a grin cracking onto his face once more.

“Back in a jiffy!” He snapped finger guns at her before diappearing up the steps.

“Freak!” You called. It was half-hearted at best with how overjoyed you were to be able to spend alone time with him when you saw him so rarely these days. Since you moved to California a couple years ago for a job, you couldn’t go out on the town with Josh every weekend he was home and you couldn’t meet him on the road with your old flexible hours. This job was far more intensive, but also actually what you wanted to be doing with your life so you couldn’t really complain. You were lucky you had some PTO saved that you hadn’t used to make your weekend getaway into a four-day trip.

But work was at the back of your mind now. You got to be with Josh, your best friend. He was the kindest and softest person you’d ever encountered, while also being the funniest and loudest one as well. He had these dualing personality traits that he somehow managed to meld into one fantastic and fascinating human that you always felt so lucky to get to be around. His energy melted into you and brightened you. Josh made you feel happy to be alive. He was special to you and you treasured this time with him more than most things in your life.

You felt something cool on your cheek and opened your eyes with minor surprise before quickly seeing Josh holding a cold cup of rosé against you. You grabbed the cup from him and then pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, just to the left of his lips, so close that you felt a tickle of his mustache. “Thanks, Joshua darling.”

He had folded his sunglasses onto the collar of his shirt, not feeling the implicit need to wear sunglasses when it wasn’t necessary like his twin or you, who both wore sunglasses inside or in the dark when it was completely inappropriate. Like now with the clouds covering the sun almost entirely.

He winked at you and you clinked plastic cups, settling into your seats and beginning to chat aimlessly until the opener came on. You had never heard them before but you were quickly won over. You were nodding and swaying and hollering when the songs would finish. They could absolutely jam and you and Josh would share impressed looks every so often.

“Gonna give you guys a run for your money,” You said into his ear as the guitar solo extended for the better part of 10 minutes.

Josh shrugged with an ambivalent smile. “His vocals don’t compare to mine and you know it.”

“Your modesty becomes you.”

Josh smirked and looked at you out of the corner of his eye as the song wrapped up and he clapped and then stuck his fingers in his mouth to whistle loudly. He looked cocky and you couldn’t help but admire this side of him, he was your best friend but even you couldn’t deny how sexy it was. His chest was puffed out a bit, his biceps bulging as he moved his arms and he kept smiling knowingly.

You smacked his chest lightly after a minute of that same look on his face. “Quit it.”

He offered a pout in return.

In between the openers and Fleet Foxes, you went to the bathroom and grabbed your second round of drinks and a bag of potato chips to share. You bumped the back of Josh’s head with the new cup of the white wine he had been drinking and he turned around quickly, looking up at you and immediately recognizing you even in the dark of the now night sky.

He took the drink as well as yours when you held it out to him so that you could climb over the barrier and get back to your spot. He shuffled himself closer to you because there were more people around and also because he wanted to be close to his friend and your warmth, now that the first 10 ounces of wine were doing their job.

They tapped glasses again and laughed about the story you retold of the server at the wine stand. He had filled your glasses extra high and told you “Have a real good time now.” Easily putting at least an extra two ounces in each of their glasses.

Josh shook his head, resting it on your shoulder for a moment. He spoke with a theatric sigh. “Pretty privilege, Jesus.”

“You’re just mad no one at this local music venue has recognized you, huh?”

“No! I’m overjoyed to be an anonymous concert-goer. An ordinary, run-of-the-mill anyguy audience member.”

You pursed your lip and nodded, unconvinced. “Yeah, right.”

A tap on Josh’s shoulder brought his attention away from his Friday and you grinned at the interruption, feeling an inexplicable glee that comes from a situation immediately proving a friend wrong.

Josh greets the person with all the charm and grace that you knew he possessed in spades. He threw a glance back at you though and you smiled triumphantly at him. He whispered noiselessly a ‘shut up’ to her before returning to the fan talking to him. They asked for a photo and you offered to take it, promising to get the best angles of them as you smiled and got drunk on her rosé. It was a lovely moment, you were happy for the person who got to meet Josh and you were happy for Josh, joking aside, that he had people who loved his art so much.

The fan leaves and you have a little more time alone before Fleet Foxes go on stage. The music swells of an orchestra run by a genius clad in Arizona birkenstocks. His voice sounds incredible and the songs travel through your bodies.

It’s dark out as they play the songs and you and Josh sing along, swaying and holding onto each other. You find yourself staring at the sky or staring at Josh most of the time, forgetting about the musicians on stage. He keeps getting distracted by the cloudy night sky as well.

There’s one moment where both your heads are raised to the night sky, taking it in when Josh feels a shift beside him and he turns his eyes to you. You’re looking at him watching the sky and your eyes meet. His smile comes from the depths of his soul. First small and hesitant and then large and toothy. You match it, enthralled, and Josh reaches his right hand out in between your legs.

You meet him and your hands intertwine softly and Josh begins to sing softly along to Sunblind. His brown eyes are barely alight from the stage lights but you can see him staring at you, singing just for you.

His hand is particularly warm in yours and you rub your thumb along the curve between his and his pointer as he pulls your held hands onto his lap. The song ends and you flutter your eyes closed and rest your head on Josh’s shoulder, firm and warm too. He was constant, he was steady, he was reliable.

Silver Dagger starts up and you try not to listen to the lyrics of the song even though it’s usually one of your favorites. You don't think you want Josh as more than a friend, but you also don't truly want to sleep alone all your life with a silver dagger in your palm. He knew you better than anyone else and as time goes on, you keep getting stuck on the thought that no one will ever know you as well as he does. It will never feel like this. Easy.

Josh hears you whispering the words to yourself, moving your head minutely along his shirt, but he can’t see the way your eyes won’t stop watching the changing lights across the skin of your hands resting on Josh’s thigh.

“Let’s get outta here,” Josh murmurs in your ear when he senses the concert winding down. He wanted them to beat the crowds and he also wanted to spend some time alone with his best friend. “Friday, c’mon.”

“You wanna go before it’s over?” You ask, lifting your head from its happy place against Josh’s form.

“Yeah, let's enjoy the night. I’m tipsy and I want to walk.”

You grin, looking from the stage to Josh and then quickly following him over the concrete slab behind you onto the walkway.

“You know, I’ve heard you tell people leaving your show early to go fuck themselves,” You mention as the music fades to a far away din.

“That’s completely different,” Josh shakes his head with a grin as he pulls you into his side, arm wrapping around your shoulders as he nestles his lips into the side of your head, a sweet kiss to the temple. “Plus, how many times have we seen their show before?”

You nod and rub your hands along the length of Josh’s back. “Upwards of ten.”

“Yeah, we can miss a few songs.”

You hum in agreement. The conversation dies as the night swells around them. The air is cool as the hours tick by in darkness. It was getting closer to fall so after the first few hours of darkness, it had started to drop in temperature in Nashville thankfully. Josh leads the walk back to the house and he hums the tune to one of the songs, content to just be close to Friday.

–

Back in the house, Josh turns on his speaker and connects his phone before handing it to you to play whatever you want. You smiled and watched him pull out a three quarters full bottle of white wine from his fridge and two glasses from a cupboard to your left. Soft instrumental jazz flows through the speaker and Josh grins, handing you a glass.

On the couch, you curl close to one another, heads almost touching and legs tangled up in one another. You and Josh sip at the wine as the bottle and the speaker sit on the coffee table before you. The lights have been set on low and it leaves Josh’s living room in an almost candlelit glow. You remembered when he had first bought this place and how empty it had seemed and then, one week later, it was filled to the brim with Josh. You never wanted to see it any other way, every painting Josh had ever bought, every unique souvenir he had thrifted and every picture he’d framed of his family and friends.

“So dinner party tomorrow night, still okay with you?” Josh asks.

You nod, the soft smile on your woozy lips taking up a permanent residence on your face for as long as you’re with him. “Course. It’ll be nice to see your brothers even if we all know that I really only came here to see you.”

“They better know it,” Josh laughs with a tip of his head. His neck lengthening and the light catches his beautiful high cheekbones that seem to sparkle even without the stage rhinestones he’d grown so fond of.

You laugh along with him and place your empty glasses beside the empty bottle before settling back into Josh. His arms encircle your shoulders as you get comfortable, staring at him as he scans your face. A way to memorize you or a search for anything he might have missed, you’re not sure.

Your free hands go up to touch the cheekbones that had caught your attention. Your fingertips delicately touch down on his angel soft skin and he hums, a flutter to his pretty lashes at your touch. “Pretty boy,” you murmur, tracing the natural contours of his face. He was art in itself.

“Thank you,” he replies sincerely. The theatrics had fallen away for the night. This was Josh and Friday. This was just you and him.

“I miss you,” you say, leaning closer and feeling Josh’s hold grow firmer at your words.

He leans his forehead against yours. “I’m right here, Friday,” he whispers.

His warmth, his breath, his touch, it’s all consuming and you wish you could stay in this moment. Stay forever in his embrace and you breathe out a half-laugh, half-sob.

“You know what I meant, Josh.” You whisper back.

He wets his lips and you shift your hips to rearrange your legs around his, slotting even closer. “Yeah, I do. I miss you.”

It’s silent for a moment between you two. No words pass, just a piano off in the distance barely registering anymore. Josh’s eyes flicker down to your lips making yours venture down to his. His that are lush and pink, wet and parted, inviting you to lean forward and close the smallest distance you’ve ever had to cross for a kiss. He sees the way your breathing hitches and his perfect brown eyes reconnect with yours and they crinkle at the edges. You’re both smiling even if you both might want to cry.

You shift your face and bury your head into the crook of Josh’s shoulder. Your hands wrap around his frame, one curling into his hair and one caressing the skin of the back of his neck, where his shirt connects.

“Oh, Josh,” you murmur against his warm skin, lips brushing like a feather against it.

Goosebumps raise along his neck, just below his jaw, everywhere he wishes was being kissed and his laugh is wet with emotion. “I got you, Friday. I have you.”

You squeeze him harder to you and he holds you to him, something about the compression feeling sublime.

Eventually, you and Josh migrate from the couch and get into sleep clothes. You join him in his bed, the guest room essentially a glorified dressing room for you. Neither of you pretend to plan on sleep on opposite sides of the bed. You gravitate towards one another, magnets pulled together with a greater force than the moon with the tide. Perhaps you spun on your axis with Josh as your sun. Clouds came and went, but Josh was constant. You two were circling one another over and over again. Forever.

You curled into his side as he pulled you towards him. His bare chest the perfect place to rest your weary head. He was smooth and warm and you were grateful for the way his strong arms wrapped around you again making you feel safer than you ever did anywhere else. He hummed as your free hand traveled from the place over the plain of his chest up to his cheek. His head turned into the sensation and you smiled up at him. Even in the darkness of the room, you could make each other out. Sleepy outlines and fluttering eyelashes. Your fingers scrunch softly and scrub over his stubble making him hum in satisfaction again. His hands tap at the skin on your waist. Your thumb sweeps over his cupid’s bow and full bottom lip, catching ever so slightly that you feel a bit of his saliva touch your skin.

You let your hand fall away as he murmurs a goodnight and you reply, settling it back onto his chest. The two of you reaquainting yourselves with each other’s bodies in the riskiest platonic ways you could, just excited to feel one another again.

–

In the morning, Josh is still with you when you blink your eyes open. The pair of you had shifted in your sleep. Now his head rested on your chest, his legs wrapped around yours. Your hands wrapped up in his hair again, keeping him close to your bosom. He nuzzled absently into your skin. Your tank style dress allows for him to be skin to skin with the top of your cleavage.

He hummed in satisfaction at the warmth against him and you smiled up at the ceiling, hands drifting to skim over his shoulders and the golden skin stretching across them. The fuzzy warmth of being wrapped up in Josh and his decadent bed has you drifting into another state of sleep. Darkness overtakes you but you still feel the firm press of Josh’s body against yours. You hear his breathing soft and consistent, feeling the air against your skin like a soothing massage.

The word ‘forever’ passed through your mind again. This is how it was supposed to be forever.

Eventually, Josh stirs and the kiss he presses just below your collarbone is probably meant just for him to know about but you feel it. His sweet lips linger against your skin and you feel a quirk of a smile and suppress every bit of your mind telling you to pull him up to place that same kiss against your lips. You two were better off as friends, especially when you lived so far away now. A romantic relationship with Josh would be torture. At least this didn’t cause you as much pain.

“I felt that,” you murmur.

Josh’s morning raspy voice is heavenly as he laughs against you, vibrating your bodies slightly, and rests his chin on your chest to look up at your face. You cast your eyes down at him, barely open at this angle. You smile at one another.

“Just love waking up so close to you,” he states and clears his throat when the rasp doesn’t leave naturally. “Thankful for the beautiful body that your soul inhabits.”

You shut one eye, embarrassed by the tender statement. He reaches his hands up to delicately trace your facial features, smoothing where you had scrunched up your face. He shushes you even if your resistance had already been silent and you let him. His fingertips are welcome as he touches you so gently, smoothing along the lines of your face and over the arch of your nose.

He pauses and you two shift automatically, back to the way you had fallen asleep. You rest in his arms a little while longer until he begins to stretch his arms over his head.

“Let’s make some coffee, how about that?” He tilts his head to you. “Or else I think we’ll stay here all day.”

“I like the second option,” you say, hooking your leg over his lean hips to keep him from sitting up.

“We have to go grocery shopping eventually so I don’t think it’s viable, Friday love.” He pauses to move your leg off of him with his strong grip and you swallow thickly. He sits at the edge of the bed and looks over his shoulder as he steels himself for fully rising from this bed he truly didn’t want to leave. “I can make you coffee alone, though. How’s that for a compromise?”

You shuffle into a seated position behind him, a mess of white sheets and a discarded quilted blanket surrounding your legs. “Ooh, did you learn that in your ‘managing a band with your twin’ therapy sessions? Good for you, Joshua darling.” You coo as you wrap your arms around his tanned shoulders from behind, one last attempt to get him to stay even though you know he should go.

This has been indulgent even for the pair of you. The sun was clearly high in the sky, alerting the two of you to the fact that it was likely close to noon already. He hums at your touch, your chin coming to rest between his shoulder and neck. His hand comes up to meet your crossed arms over his chest. He runs it softly across you, petting your arm in reassurance.

“Ha ha. They were court mandated actually after the last album,” he speaks dryly. “You can koala onto me for a ride into the kitchen if you can’t stand a moment without me, but if not, you gotta let go, my darling.”

You groan and release him from your hold. You flop back onto the center of the bed with a loud sigh. “Fine.”

Josh stands and looks at you with a grin. An angel in his bed, your thighs sinfully inviting, barely covered by the thin cream fabric of your sleeping dress.

“I’ll be in there soon, this bed is just so fucking comfy.”

“Yeah I know,” he says softly at the edge of the door already. He winks knowingly and then he’s out of sight.

You roll around on the bed and then muster the strength to get up and go to the guest room, to do your morning skin care routine and find a change of clothes. In the kitchen, Josh makes coffee as sighs to himself about how he had woken up. Your skin pressing against him, your breast heaving evenly below him. He had to fight the urge to peak his tongue and lave adoring licks against you until you were begging breathlessly for him. It took him every ounce of restraint to not flip around when you had wrapped your arms around him to not go to the kitchen. His heartbeat barely quickened in these moments because he had grown so accustomed to them, to every feeling you gave him. He didn’t realize it picked up slightly whenever you were around and stayed at a slightly higher beat rate until you were gone.

When you appeared in comfortable clothing that were different from your pajamas, Josh nodded in registration and then handed you your favorite mug of his filled with piping hot coffee.

“What are we thinking for this dinner?” You ask after a few sips of coffee with your hip leaned against the counter Josh had perched himself on.

“Whatever you want,” Josh shrugs both his shoulders with his hands resting on the countertop beside him, coffee discarded for the moment. His biceps bulged like this and you wished he’d stop.

You roll your eyes. “Thanks. Putting the menu on me…connivingly cruel.”

Josh tries to protest but you just shake your head, a whisper of a smile on your lips saying you’re actually fine with it. He knew you loved to make food for loved ones so this was actually a treat for you. You eventually wave him off and walk around his kitchen that was still familiar to you. It was strange in these moments. You hadn’t been there in a while, but with muscle memory and no direction from Josh, you located his catch-all drawer and took out his notepad and a black felt-tip pen. It was like how it felt to visit your parents when you came home in college, the house felt different but usually things were just as you left them. Nothing changes as fast as you sometimes think.

“Okay…” you say, opening the pen and thinking about what you should make for the evening. “Peaches, of course.”

“Of course,” Josh echoes you with a smile in his voice.

“Maybe like an arugula salad with burrata and tomatoes? Sam is just vegetarian, right? Not vegan?”

“Right.” He confirms. “Sounds yum, maybe some peaches in the salad.”

You hum in confirmation, scribbling down ingredients. “I can make, like, a potato salad or something like that if one of you will grill? I can do it, I just don’t want to.”

“Don’t do anything you don’t want to do. I can do it or I can ask the grillmasters Dan and Jake. I’m sure they’re rearing to get one last summer grill in.”

You laugh at Josh’s attempts to sell that Jake and Danny loved grilling so much. You were pretty sure they were ambivalent about the subject, maybe positive, but you’d never seen either of them be so enthusiastic about the skill in the way Josh was saying. More likely he didn’t want to do it either. Neither of you were raw meat fans.

You write down ribs, corn, peppers and portobello mushrooms, as well as ingredients for a sauce you liked with ribs. You asked Josh about his drink selection and he scoffed saying he was stocked like always, until you inquired about whether he had specific la croix flavors or iced tea or the brand of rosé you preferred.

“Okay, well, not those, but everything else you could ever want is under this roof.” He shakes his head indignantly and you watch the muscles in his neck flex and strain causing you to bite the inside of your lip.

You always knew the night before was too much if you were still yearning for your best friend’s touch in the sober light of day. You cap the pen and smile, resolute to get yourself in hand.

“Let’s hop to it,” you say. “We don’t have all day.”

Josh nods and exaggeratedly hops down from the counter, sticking the landing with jazz hands. Your unamused look in response makes him snicker before he plucks his car keys from the hanger they live on at the edge of the room.

—

“Thanks guys for doing the grilling. We wouldn’t be eating until midnight otherwise,” you say as you pat Danny on his shoulder, looking over the smokey grill. “My dad taught me a million times but it still takes me forever.”

Jake tilts the neck of his beer bottle up towards his lips and hums in acknowledgement. He was helping Danny in the lightest sense of the word, but you knew if you didn’t thank both of them you’d get a special kind of silent treatment mixed with haggling from Josh’s twin that you didn’t enjoy.

“Happy to help,” Danny assures with a winning smile. “It’s the end of grilling season afterall…Gotta get one last grill in.”

You narrow your eyes at him and then turn to look over your shoulder, catching the end of Josh’s wink and thumbs up to Daniel as if he had been coaching him to say that. Josh had insisted he help prep all the vegetables and sides leaving the grilling to Danny and Jake who had seemed reluctant when they had first arrived. Thus began Josh insisting that they were happy about it. This reassurance from Danny seemed to be like the final piece of Josh’s show. You nodded your head at Danny with silent acknowledgment of seeing through the facade and thanked him again.

Sam lounged on a chaise by Josh’s pool that would soon be covered up when fall rolled in. Rose was wandering around the spacious backyard, sniffing and enjoying the familiar but still different enclosure to her own backyard. Josh had asked them all to keep the gathering small so none of them brough dates or significant others, you weren’t one hundred percent sure who had what these days. It didn’t bother you that you hadn’t stayed caught up on the rest of the band’s lives when you left town. Josh had been your best friend and while you loved the other three, they were just a part of the package. Like free add-ons that were great, but they were never your main focus. Josh loved them and you and that was enough for you.

After a few rounds of drinks for everyone and some final prepping, dinner is ready and Sam finally offers to help with carrying things from the kitchen to Josh’s beautiful outdoor dining table in the corner of the backyard.

The natural wood table existed on a stone grotto and had a pergola to offer it shade when the sun was shining high above. Sunset was well on its way so it simply was a place for Josh’s beloved wisteria to bloom and hang above the table and wrap around the sides. Beautiful white wisteria with tinges of lilac seeping through the petals were thriving and hanging around the table mixed with some hanging lights Josh had installed since the last time you were here. They weren’t lit yet but you were sure they would turn on once it got darker.

One last touch that you had contributed when he had first gotten the table were two miniature vintage chandeliers that held four candles each. All of them had been burned to short nubs now, but Josh insisted he liked them like that, showing someone had been there. The crystal balls glinted in the fading light, wrapped in the copper piping that kept them together. It was a beautiful little area, surrounded by the beautiful greenery of Josh’s garden that he made sure to nurture as best he could with some help from gardeners when he wasn’t home. It was a space that was so Josh, a mix of the natural and the decadent, you wondered what he would do if he ever moved again.

Sam carefully moved the abalone shells adorning the actual table to the far end since there were only five of you and began to arrange the food on the table. You brought out the salad and thanked him for his help and he winked with a sly smile. You two understood each other as fellow youngest siblings, always trying your best to avoid more work than was necessary.

Josh sat at the head of the table with you and Danny to his left and Jake and Sam to his right. Josh pulled you into his side and placed a quick kiss to your hair before either of you could sit down and you laughed.

“Glad you’re here, Friday.” He murmurs in your ear before letting you go and you smile as you flutter your eyelashes to meet his eye.

“Alright, alright,” Jake murmurs gruffly, watching you and his twin with his usual suspicion.

“I’m hungry!” Sam interjects, cutting Jake off from saying anything else.

“Yeah, let’s eat before it gets too dark and the food gets cold!” Danny adds reason before anyone can lose their head.

Josh makes a tutting sound with his mouth, “First, a toast…” He raises his glass of wine and waits with a raised brow for everyone to put their drinks into the center of the table. “To my family. You all mean so much to me. And especially to my Friday, anyone would be lucky for you to come into their lives and I sure am glad I’m not one of those sorry sons of bitches waiting for you to walk through the door ‘cause they’re gonna be waiting a long fucking time. You’re in it for life with me, I hope you know that.”

He chuckles and you laugh, confirming you knew. Your eyes shining up at him from your seat, love and admiration twisting around in your irises. Jake and Sam and Danny all share a look with each other.

“Thanks for coming, darling.” He reiterates a little more sincerity seeping into his throat.

Everyone echoed their salutations and took a sip with chatter falling over all of you as plates and bowls started getting passed around the table. The evening air was settling over the backyard, the smell of the wisteria mixing with the food in a wonderful way.

Laughter and the rustling of leaves and melting ice cubes clinking around in glasses is all that can be heard for a while. No one had wanted to put on any music for once and you couldn’t believe it, but it was quite nice. Out where Josh lived there wasn’t much to cause any distracting sounds, just nature. Birds calling to one another, water running and all that was good and beautiful. It was calming, disrupted only by the loud voices of you and your companions growing roudier as food diminished and you all got further into your portion of drinks for the night.

“I’ll go get another bottle,” You said when Danny held up the empty wine bottle that had been sitting in the ice bucket for barely a minute before anyone took notice. A sheepish look from Sam said it all.

“I’ll come assist,” Josh jumps up from his seat before you’ve taken two steps away from the table. “Uncorking,” he adds when he sees the look on Jake’s face.

He slings an arm across your shoulders as you two hurriedly walk a little drunkenly to the back door of the kitchen. You were buzzing with energy. The dinner had been a success, the guys were good eaters so it was always pleasing to make food for them. It all disappeared by the end and they always made sure to effuse how good it all was. The alcohol in your system also contributed to the energy. You were sure your cheeks were flushed hot against the cooling night air. Josh leaned against you and you basked in the cool touch of his skin against you.

In the kitchen, he tugged on the hem of the white summer skirt you were wearing and you made a small yelping sound, pulling the fabric back from his touch with a smile.

“Paws off!” You teasingly chastised and swiveled to the fridge, searching for another bottle of white. “Should we bring dessert out now too, do you think?”

Josh had leaned himself up against the counter since you’d shrugged him off. His head leaned back, elongating his neck again. His adam’s apple bobbing along his strong throat as he contemplated your question and clenched his jaw. That skirt had been teasing him all night long and as you twirled around in it, more and more of your thighs would show themselves to him.

“I already cut the peaches,” you say, tilting your head to the side, wanting his response on the issue. You pursed your lips as you waited, holding the bottle out to him so that he would open it like he promised.

The movement brought Josh out of his reverie and he took the bottle deftly. His eyes were still sweeping across your figure, where the skirt skimmed your thighs and where your collarbone poked from beneath your black halter top. He loved how effortless you always looked yet still put together. You were barefoot in his kitchen looking like a god to him, your hair in his favorite style. He wanted to sweep you off your feet and kiss you blind, dessert and his brothers be damned.

“Peaches,” he repeated absently, beginning to open the bottle without looking.

You rolled your eyes at his dreamy stare. The way he was looking at you was a little unnerving, but you knew it was just drunk Josh. You were more thrown off by him being so quiet. By now, there should have been an impromptu performance of some song that had been on his mind since you’d gotten in here or a little dance about the wine. He always came up with something and yet tonight so far it was just ‘peaches’ said like he was a hundred miles away.

“Okay…” You pull out the word and grab the desserts from the fridge and place them on the island before crossing to him, wanting to get more of his attention.

The cork pops and it brings Josh’s eyes back to your face, closer now. His lips quirk up into a smile and he flicks his eyes to his hands around the neck of the wine. He drops the opener to the counter and lifts his hand up from the wine between you two. His thumb had a few drops of wine on it, spilled from the uncorking process.

His open-mouthed smile is intoxicating more than the alcohol as he raises the thumb to your lips, pressing the liquid to them without any hesitation. Your tongue peaks out to get a better taste and you exhale a small laugh through your nose. His hand lingers by your face as the two of you stare deeply into each other's eyes. Last night you two had been alone, but tonight with other people around, these stolen moments of privacy held greater intensity. You were toeing the line of what was acceptable for friends to do in private just in case someone came in. The thrill of getting caught seemed irresistible.

As Josh is retracting his touch after what felt like an eternity, Jake was popping his head around the corner with a raised brow and a bored look. “Dessert time yet? Or is that bottle too difficult for you children?”

You take a step back from Josh, eyes returning to the desserts on the table and Josh laughs his big boisterous laugh, gaining Jake’s full attention and holding up the successfully opened bottle.

“When you’re right, you’re right, Jake. Wine and desserts coming your way,” He walks over to Jake and guides him by the shoulders back towards the door. He overwhelms Jake’s focus by talking in his theatric muttering way, “You know, patience is a virtue or so they say…”

As he walks with Jake in front of him he turns back to you with a cheeky wink you’d never seen directed at you and you wondered if the little game you two had just played really had been just for you two. And perhaps not a game at all.

You carry the plate filled with peach slices and the blackberry tart you and Josh had thought looked the best from the bakery out to the table. The evening has grown and as you’d expected the little lights keep the area visible. Aglow in a warm light, the space takes on a calmer atmosphere. Sam and Danny clear the dinner plates as you, Jake and Josh settle back down. You murmur about the smell of the wisteria and Josh agrees, planting his left hand over your right.

Your hand flips instinctively and your fingers lace, threading like a needle through silk. Josh’s eye flick to your hands and then he cranes his neck in wonderment of the night, taking it all in. Jake drinks in silence. It is peaceful and you’re happy to let it flow for a while, basking in this evening.

“When do you go back to California?” Jake asks carefully, uncharacteristically choosing to break the silence.

Josh doesn’t make his attention known to the question, still staring through the slats of the pergola up at the star-filled sky. You clear your throat and smile down at your lap, slightly saddened by the reminder you were leaving.

“Monday morning.” You say and Jake nods. “When does the next leg of tour start up?”

“Friday,” He shrugs, unbothered.

This word, Josh’s nickname for you, finally catches his attention, bringing his gaze straight to you. You meet it and he smiles, eyes lighting up with that boyish wonder that made everyone’s hearts swoon, yours included.

Smiling at each other, hands intertwined beneath the stars. A cool breeze sweeping across your skin. It felt like time froze, everything else fading to the background.

“I need to talk to you,” Josh murmurs after a moment when the sound of the back door and Sam and Danny returning clicks him from his thoughts.

You quirk your brows at this statement but you nod and turn to smile up at the men rejoining the conversation. Talk of tour and work falls back into place and you laugh over their complaints about playing arenas and they laugh at your issues with your own job. All of you seeing what’s not so green on the other side. Hazy plans for the future of the band get brought up over the desserts you all indulge in and the greater amounts of water everyone’s consuming rather than more alcohol. The rush was slowing down, the night winding itself to a natural ending place. Somehow Rosie ended up in Sam’s lap, her face resting on his arm that curls protectively around her.

Jake is the first to call it a night, the way he looks between you and Josh makes you think it has something to do with him overhearing Josh’s request. He gives you a quick hug, not unaffectionate but it’s extremely balanced which was unusual for Jake at this time. Sam and Danny are quick to agree, Sam offering to take them all home given his sobriety. Their hugs are more comforting and you feel grateful for them even if you didn’t realize how much they truly meant to you.

Josh insists you sit outside while he walks them out and gets the kitchen in order. Your protests are half-hearted before you let him follow them into the house. He kisses the crown of your head once more and his hand drifts back towards you as he walks away. A physical promise that he doesn’t wish to part from you.

You walk around the backyard, your barefoot feet happy against the still warm stones. Your hands skim across the table, replacing the shells back to the center. Every so often you look back to the door into the kitchen thinking you heard Josh coming back out, but no head of curls appears just yet. You begin to walk the perimeter of the pool, with one foot directly in front of the other with your arms out wide, as if it were a balance beam. The stakes were low on one side while the other was a bit more treacherous now that the sun had been gone for more than an hour.

Josh manages to sneak up on you when you’re staring up at the stars, arms wrapped around your frame. He places his chin on the crook of your shoulder and you can hear him smiling before he even speaks. His arms encirlcing yours, his smooth delicate fingers skimming over your wrists and forearms until they lace infront of your waist.

You try to peek at him with your eyes but it’s mostly a blur of his prominent nose, handsome facial hair and fluttery lashes. He hums at the warmth of you and you sway a little in his hold.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” You whisper, moving your gaze back to the sky and your hands down to his arms.

You lean into his hold and he tightens his grip. A deep breath floats past your ear and you wonder why he won’t let you turn around.

“Friday,” he sighs and he sounds almost dejected, something you rarely hear from him unless in jest. “I’m in love with you. Not just as a best friend, but more.”

Tears prick your eyes immediately as the words wash over you. This time you yank out of his hold and whip around to face him, a slightly bewildered and nervous expression on his angelic features. Your palms are quick to grip his jaw, tilting his face to really look at you.

“And I know we’ve got our separate lives in different states,” He decides to continue before you can speak. “And I know I’m always touring so I’m not asking you to move back here or anything, and I know we haven’t technically dated but–”

“Josh,” You stop him and his lips are parted in the sweetest way. Your thumb brushes against his bottom lip like before and you smile as he lets you, his eyes growing in intensity under the string lights.

“But,” He tilts his head seriously, ignoring your distracting touch. “I think you’re the only one for me and I want to make it official.”

You stare at him silently, your own mouth agape slightly because you knew what Josh was saying. In his Josh way, he wasn’t just asking for you to be his partner for now, he meant for life.

But still you wanted to confirm, “Are you asking me to marry you?”

Josh smiles with a bit of a laugh to himself, his eyes looking to the small space between your bodies for a beat before back at you. “It can be a long engagement. Five years or however much you need, but I don’t want to spend another second where I’m not able to tell people I’m yours.”

“You’re fascinating,” you breathe and then bring his lips to yours for the first time with purely romantic intentions behind it. It’s short, but the way his mustache tickles you makes you immediately think that you could get used to this being a regular thing. “I’ve always been yours, but if you want to make it official with a ring, I’m there too. I love you.”

He grins at you before pulling you back in for another kiss. This one is longer as his hands slip around the back of your neck and to cradle your jaw, begging you to get even closer. He sighs into your mouth and it’s like a wall has been lifted that you didn’t know existed. Tongues clashing in a perfect rhythm as he kisses you senseless beneath the stars. Your hands wandering across his back and feeling at total peace knowing this was about to be the rest of your life. Completely safe in the arms of your home, never having to know a life with a dagger in your palm just your sweet sweet Josh and his heart cradled perfectly within your hold. Everything else would fall into place, as long as you had him you weren’t worried.

-

Taglist: @ofthecaravel @malany-gvf @whiterosekiszka @jaketlove @sinarainbows @gretavanfreaky @myownparadise96 @josh-iamyour-mama @thecoldwind @thewritingbeforesunrise

[newwillinium]

The Great Khans and the Tribes of Zion/Honest Hearts

So I noticed this a few nights ago when I was trying to decide what route to go for my newest Fallout New Vegas character, and I noted something that I don't think many people have really ever clicked on.

-][-

The Great Khans, in Fallout New Vegas, are written as stand-ins for Native Americans.

Hear me out.

They are a people who have been pushed east out of their ancestral homelands time and time again, later finding a home for themselves in the Mojave. They warred with other native tribes, Mr House and what would become the Families, and then later were subject to a brutal attack on their civilians which led them to be stuck on land that was their own but was sparse in resources and are unable to meaningfully fight back against the rising Imperialistic powers of Mr House and the NCR (President Aaron Kimball later referencing and using the same "Sea to Shining Sea" rhetoric as the United States did during the Great Western Expansion, at Hoover Dam).

But what really clicked this for me was that, in the NCR ending where the Great Khans ally with the New California Republic, they are once more kicked off of their land and are sent off to a far off distant Reservation.

After the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, the Great Khans returned for a time to Red Rock Canyon. The NCR's pressing need to expand proved greater than its promise of amnesty, and before long the government decided the Khans had to go. The surviving Great Khans were relocated to an isolated, barren reservation, well north of NCR trade routes

Sounds really familiar right?

And looking at the Great Khans within this context, really reframes the context of their raiding and deep bitter anger that the Elder Khans like Papa Khan and Oscar have against the NCR.

Colonization is an ugly brutal thing, and it is also a complex one.

Like the Great Khans in New Vegas, many Native American tribes ending up raiding American citizens as a way to fight back, to strike against a rising imperialistic threat that was eager and willing to grind them against their heel, to kill their culture and bring all under the American Empire.

They fought, raided, begged, pleaded, sent letters to congress, lobbied Congress and the President and the Director of Indian Affairs, even as the infinitely more wealthy and powerful United States (even just off of the weary years of Civil War) did little to nothing to step the Westward push and actively allowed it's military to perform as it may on and off orders to get the natives off of land that had once been promised to them but was now deemed too valuable for a mere treaty to hold any sway.

And to bring this back to the actual conversation I want to have, is that I wanted to state this realization of mind in order to contrast it with another example from the exact same game.

The Dead Horses, Sorrows, and White-Legs of Honest Hearts.

Where as the Great Khans are treated with a kind of weary respect, of a people crushed beneath the wheels of a infinitely more powerful empire, struggling to find hope in a FUTURE for their people and culture, the Dead Horses and Sorrows and White-Legs are. . .honestly written with far less respect in my eyes.

The Sorrows are being actively converted by a White Savior in Daniel, who sees it as his burden to show these "innocent savages" the true faith and demands that they give up their home so that they are not "tainted" by the harshness of reality. Where they have no other visible leaders then this Foreign Priest calling their faith and interpretation of his teachings through their own cultural lens as wrong-headed.

Where Joshua Graham, the butcher who helped Caesar commit cultural genocide on dozens of tribes alone, is elected War Leader by the Dead Horses and in some endings becomes worshiped by them. Even he warns Follows-Chalk to stay in Zion lest he be corrupted by the dangers of the wider wasteland.

Now you sound like Joshua. He always tells me the tribal life is better, that I should stay here and forget the outside world.

And the White-Legs are treated as nothing but a people wholly existing of hate that deserve to be destroyed because they have been fooled by Ulysses and Caesar. Never humanized, never given a chance to learn the truth for themselves, they are written and treated almost like generic Orcs in many fantasy settings. No matter what this tribe and people are consigned to doom and slaughter.

-][-

And I say all this because I find it deeply weird how disparate these ideas and depictions are between the main game of New Vegas and it's Honest Hearts DLC.

Why are the Great Khans given so much dignity and pathos, when the Honest Hearts tribes feel almost like caricatures?

Why is Honest Hearts the way it is? And why is the writing so disparate between the two sections of the game?

[bedupolker]

What was your journey towards working as a ranger?

I was dumped by a girl in animation college, so I did what any self-respecting nineteen year old would do: listen to a shit load of weezer and risk my life by rock climbing and hiking with inadequate gear and little to no experience. One day during an expedition I met a wise old ex-convict who told me there was a place I could hike and climb and listen to weezer every day without anyone telling me otherwise: the wilderness. He used to work at one of the restaurants at yosemite. Since I hate having money and affording things, instead of working I decided to volunteer, with Grand Canyon. I did audio video at first but quickly realized that it was stupid to do audio video at the Grand Canyon and I just hiked every weekend. I quickly learned that I could walk very fast in high temperatures, that this was probably my greatest talent yet. But alas I had to return to the city to finish animation college. I no longer cared about Steven Universe or Tangled, all I could think about was the sunbaked red rock that had forged me into the man I am today. Nothing made me feel more alive than being on the brink of heatstroke. I worked odd jobs, I even worked at a Patagonia and still own all the clothes I got from there to this day. I worked on an island with a prison on it. I worked in a climbing gym. But then, covid happened. I lost all my jobs. But I had something better than a job: two thousand dollars, plus unemployment, courtesy of daddy Uncle Sam. So I signed up for EMT school. It wasn't glamorous. My first day working as an EMT was also the day I learned that the California Minimum Wage was, in fact, less than fifteen dollars. I toiled as a covid tester, spelunking in nostrils of all shapes and sizes. But then, a beacon of hope: a nearby mountain was hiring for ski patrol. I didn't know how to ski at the time, but being a straight white man, if there's one thing I'm naturally good at it's being hired for jobs I'm massively under qualified for. It was one of the best jobs I'd ever had, I would've gone back if the housing situations wasn't one of the worst I'd ever had. I saw all kinds of blood, and bones, and learned all the ways a shoulder could pop out of a human's body. Very cool stuff. I also learned how to ski pretty well. But alas, spring came, and I had to come face to face with USAjobs dot gov. That's when my current supervisor contacted me. He had one question for my references: was I an alcoholic? My references both said no, I only drink at social events after work. And thus, I was hired. The rest is history.

[reality-detective]

TOP 100 US RIOTED CITIES!

I'm sure if anything goes down from all the people who have crossed over our borders, the Military will have everything under control swiftly. You may want to avoid these cities if anything goes down, and for your safety, please stay away from the military if you see them. This list was pulled and organized from a NY Times recent article listing the top 100 prior-rioted cities, for quick reference. They are 👇

(THOSE WITH * ARE TOP 25 CITIES JUST ISSUED BY THE WHITE HOUSE ON 2/9/24):

Alabama

Huntsville

Mobile

Alaska

Arizona

* Phoenix

Arkansas

Bentonville

Conway

Little Rock

California

Beverly Hills

Fontana

La Mesa

* Los Angeles

* Oakland

Sacramento

* San Diego

* San Francisco

San Jose

San Luis Obispo

Santa Ana

Santa Rosa

Vallejo

Walnut Creek

Colorado

Colorado Springs

* Denver

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Fort Lauderdale

Jacksonville

Lakeland

* Miami

Orlando

West Palm Beach

Georgia

* Atlanta

Athens

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Aurora

Bloomington

Rockford

Indiana

Fort Wayne

Hammond

Indianapolis

Lafayette

Iowa

Des Moines

Iowa City

Waterloo

Kansas

Wichita

Kentucky

Louisville

Louisiana

* New Orleans

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

* Boston

Michigan

* Detroit

Grand Rapids

Kalamazoo

Lansing

Minnesota

Duluth

Minneapolis

* St. Paul

Mississippi

Missouri

Ferguson

Kansas City

St. Louis

Montana

Nebraska

Lincoln

Omaha

Nevada

Las Vegas

Reno

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

Albuquerque

New York

Albany

* Buffalo

* New York City

North Carolina

Ashville

Charlotte

Raleigh

Wilmington

North Dakota

Fargo

Ohio

Cincinnati

Cleveland

Columbus

Dayton

Springfield

Toledo

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City

Tulsa

Oregon

Eugene

Portland

Salem

Pennsylvania

Erie

* Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

Rhode Island

Providence

South Carolina

Charleston

Columbia

South Dakota

Sioux Falls

Tennessee

Chattanooga

Murfreesboro

Nashville

Texas

* Arlington

Austin

* Dallas

* El Paso

Fort Worth

* Houston

Lewisville

* San Antonio

Utah

* Salt Lake City

Vermont

Virginia

Fredericksburg

Richmond

Virginia Beach

Washington

Bellevue

* Seattle

Spokane

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Green Bay

Madison

Milwaukee

Wyoming

[corrodedseraphine]

timezone | #2 so fuck what I'm dreaming, this fame has no meaning

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader (mentions of her having long hair and bigger thighs), chrissy cunningham x robin buckley

chapter summary: Keeping his promise, Eddie heads to sunny California immediately after his second tour to find his friends and, more importantly, the girl who hasn't left his heart despite being out of touch for about three years. Full of hope, he ends up at a bar with a strangely familiar name. The evening turns out to be full of surprises, not just for him.

the story is also avaliable on ao3

previous chapter | masterlist | eddie munson masterlist | general masterlist

songs that I used here: BABY SAID and TIMEZONE by Måneskin

as always, thank you @i-me-mine for help and support, if not for you most of my works wouldn't be published 🥺

I can't count how many times I've changed something here, when I wrote the chapter, everything seemed to look good, but now I have extremely mixed feelings about it. I will be happy if you like it, but I will also understand if you don't, thank you for reading anyway ♥

"How can I help?" a middle-aged woman asked, smiling warmly. If someone had told Eddie a few years ago that he would find himself in this place as he is now he would have laughed at them. Looking around, he felt definitely out of place. The fact that he could now afford to be here still seemed like a bizarre dream.

"We, uh- We are looking for an engagement ring." he said, smiling shyly.

"The most beautiful one you have!" Gareth added patting Eddie on the back. All day long he couldn't stop being happy that he was the one Eddie had asked for help.

They had just finished their second tour which meant a few months off and then hard work on the new album. When the others heard that Eddie's next destination was now California, they joined their friend in renting a big house by the beach together, as was appropriate for rock stars, taking Chrissy with them, who got the exclusive use of the entire basement where she set up a small apartment. The Corroded Coffin boys were also clued into Chrissy's plan right after Eddie agreed to it, and they didn't mind for her to tag along.

"What size?" she asked.

"What?" asked Eddie still lost in thought.

"What size of a ring?"

"Oh! I-I don't know…" he scratched the back of his neck nervously, when he felt a metal necklace under his fingers, he got an idea - quickly unfastened it and handed it to the woman. "Like this one."

"Of course." she nodded.

Although the jewelry store wasn't very big the selection they had was overwhelming. Wanting to choose the most perfect one for you they spent more than two hours there. Fortunately, the shop assistant proved to have the patience of an angel.

Typical for a Saturday night, the beach bar was packed to the brim, and fortunately most people were at tables outside sipping colorful drinks. A few people accosted them for an autograph as they walked toward the bar, and when they finally got there, despite the fact that he was standing with his back to them, they immediately recognized the best-styled hair in the room.

"Am I dreaming or is King Steve standing right in front of me?" shouted Gareth teasingly.

"Yeah, it's me don't cream your pants" Steve turned around with a wide smile on his lips and smoothly jumped over the bar. "Good to see you, assholes." he said and greeted everyone with a hug and a pat on the back.

"Well, well, well…" said Eddie smirking. "I knew it was some weirdo who had to call the bar Upside Down," said Eddie.

"I didn't miss you actually." Harrington laughed while hugging his friend.

"I know you did. Missed ya too, big boy."

"Dude this is really yours? All yours?" asked Jeff in disbelief.

"Yup. You should see it from the beach side, I think you'll find a lot of female fans there." He winked at him insisting on the counter. Without waiting any longer Gareth, Jeff and Simon rushed to the outside of the bar.

"So, what brings you here?" asked Steve returning behind the bar.

"The tour just finished…" sighed Eddie. "I think you know what brings me here."

Steve pressed his lips together with a thin line and just nodded.

"Can I get you a drink first? You might need it." he offered. "On the house."

"What's your suggestion?" Eddie leaned against the counter with his elbows.

"I'd say the demobat will appeal to you, but I'm afraid it will be so good it might kill you."

"Charming as always, Harrington." laughed Eddie. "Interesting name by the way."

"I think you'll like the rest of it, too." he replied, slipping him a drink card.

He was right. In addition to demobat, there was demodog, and demogorgon. Although his favorites were in the "specials" category at the bottom of the card. Dusty-bun, Mad Max, amERICA, Will the Wise, Eleven, Sinclair Ranger and Mike the Paladin brought a wide smile to Eddie's face. "Damn, I miss these shitheads." he said.

"Me too. But I'll never admit it to them. Never in my life." Steve shook his head.

"Same here. One Dusty-bun, please." he said in a super-sweet voice.

"Great choice."

Steve silently prepared two same drinks and sat down opposite Eddie when a short brunette ran up to them.

"Babe! Quickly! I need my good luck kiss before we go on stage!" she said and leaned across the bar. Steve eagerly approached her and brought their lips together.

"You will be amazing, honey, as always." he said as they pulled away from each other. Eddie watched them with a goofy grin, and grunted significantly, drawing the two's attention back to himself.

"Aren't you going to introduce your old buddy?" he asked accusingly.

"Oh, I know you. You are this infamous Eddie Munson." the girl replied crossing her arms over her chest and measuring him from top to bottom. Steve snorted seeing her reaction. "I am Layla." She extended her hand toward him.

"Eddie." He replied grabbing it uncertainly. The note of hostility in her voice surprised him more than a little, but he decided not to worry too much about it for now.

"Are you ready?" asked Steve as the girl walked away toward the small stage.

"For what?" he asked puzzled. In response, his friend only nodded in the direction Eddie was about to look.

He wasn't ready. He definitely wasn't ready to see the love of his life walking onto the stage. You stood by the still-off microphone saying something to the boy who was tuning his guitar. Steve's girlfriend took her place behind the drums, and the other, tall blonde girl grabbed the bass. A second boy stood by the keyboard.

Feeling his heart speed up second by second, he didn't take his eyes off you. You were wearing slightly ripped denim shorts and a T-shirt with the logo of your favorite band with a cut-out neckline. Your hair was much longer than he remembered, tied up in two braids. You looked stunning. As soon as you started the show, his mind blew up. You sang in duet with the guitarist, having the time of your life out there. And Eddie couldn't get out of his awe and surprise that this was the same person who just a few years ago avoided being in the spotlight like a fire.

What's your thoughts about religion? Are you close to your mother? Tell me 'bout your dream vacation And all of your ex lovers Tell me now What's that look on your face? She puts her hand on my lips, begging "Please, end this conversation"

Baby said "When you're talking, I go dead" "Shut your mouth, give me your head" I know you really want to Baby said "Let me taste your silhouette" "You can talk between my legs" I know you really want to

He enjoyed it until he started listening to the conversation of two men sitting at the bar next to him.

"I would love to talk between her legs." laughed one of them. Eddie violently turned his head toward him to see the blond man devouring you with his eyes.

"Dude she could crush you with those thighs. She'd have to lose a few pounds first." the other parsed.

"You don't know what's good."

Eddie involuntarily clenched his fist, not knowing which one he should punch first, the one who drooled at the sight of his girlfriend or the one who criticized your look. Steve watched with amusement as he sent them murderous glances, but made no comment. Despite the fact that it was his friend, and he would probably follow him to hell a second time if he had to, he partly thought Eddie deserved a little suffering.

At the same time…

The music in the club was playing loud enough that Chrissy could clearly hear every word of the song. She stood in front of the building nervously rubbing her hands trying to motivate herself to finally go inside. She had been standing there for the past twenty minutes, every now and then changing her mind about whether she should be there at all. In New York she was categorically forbidden to appear in such places, her old manager would have had a heart attack if anyone had seen her around. Now, after breaking her contract and moving to a slightly smaller agency, her manager has made it clear that Chrissy's comfort is most important, showing her support in every way. As long as she acted sensibly and took care of herself, no prohibitions threatened her.

Taking a deep breath, she took two steps forward only to give up moments later and start backing away, bumping into someone along the way.

"Shit, sorry!" the girl shouted and they both turned in one another's direction.

"N-no it's me who's sorry!" she replied raising her eyes to look at her face. "Oh my god, Robin? Robin Buckley?" she asked smiling.

"Chrissy! What a meeting!" she laughed nervously.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to the party." Not expecting such a reunion, Robin definitely didn't know how to behave in Chrissy's company. She felt uncomfortable.

"Right, silly me." The blonde rolled her eyes while knocking lightly on her forehead.

"How about you? Are you waiting for someone?"

"No, I came here alone. My new manager said I should come over here, meet more people like me, but all in all I've never been alone at a party in my life, in high school you know, then at every party Eddie or Gareth or Jeff or Simon was with me, so now I'm standing like an idiot and have been trying to get in for twenty minutes. Actually I don't know why I'm telling you all this, oh my God, you probably think I'm stupid." A waterfall of words came out of her mouth uncontrollably, Robin's presence made her feel nervous, but on the other hand, a part of her wanted their paths to just go like that.

"Chrissy…" began Robin scratching the back of your neck. Despite the fact that the girl standing in front of her was considered the most beautiful woman in the states, and more than once Robin had caught herself looking at covers with her for too long, she also believed that right now an embarrassed and flushed Chrissy looked incredibly cute, which took her even more out of her mind. She knew she shouldn't think like that. Hell, she shouldn't even be talking to her. "You know, uhm, you know this is a gay club, right?"

"Yeah, I know." sending her a meaningful look.

"Oh." Buckley replied looking even more confused. Chrissy Cunningham who was sitting in the first row in church every Sunday, dating the handsomest boys in Hawkins, Eddie Munson's girlfriend, was standing here now saying that in this place she would find people like herself? Not daring to ask for an explanation, she merely nodded and an awkward silence fell between them.

"Maybe…can we go inside and have a drink together? Talk about old times and catch up on current ones?" the blonde finally asked with hope in her voice, to which the other agreed after a moment's thought.

When they went inside Chrissy looked in disbelief at all the people inside. People who were brave enough to be themselves. Disbelief quickly turned into delight when she realized that she wasn't alone and that it wasn't that there was anything wrong with her. The words she had heard in church about people like this, people like her, went through her mind. All those years she had spent in fear of herself, of how much she had sinned with her mere thoughts about Lucy, the assistant captain of the cheerleaders. All those years in which she forced herself into relationships with boys she didn't like one bit, who made her sick when their hand tried to wander under her short cheer uniform skirt.

The hell the pastor was scaring her with no longer impressed her. She had survived hell in 1986 and now she was sure she was a million times stronger than she used to be.

She grew more and more excited as she saw those people enjoying themselves on the dance floor, as two girls not far from her whispered sweet nothings in each other's ears and carelessly showed tenderness. Would she someday be able to experience this too?

Sitting down at the bar, they each ordered a drink initially sitting in silence glancing in each other's direction from time to time. With one more glance and a sip of alcohol through a colorful straw, they both burst out laughing, nodding to each other at the strangeness of the whole situation. Taking the initiative, Chrissy began to ask her about her college, then Robin listened curiously about a recent fashion show where Chrissy was the lead model. As time went on, the conversation got smoother and smoother, the girls became more and more comfortable in each other's company, joking more often and not holding back their tongues. It turned out that Robin makes great parodies of high school teachers, making Chrissy laugh to tears in the process.

A few drinks later, they were both starting to feel a gentle buzz in their heads. Not knowing why, for most of the evening, instead of focusing on what she should be doing, Chrissy couldn't take her eyes off Robin's wildly gesticulating hands and the sparkle in her eye that she noticed when she laughed at her jokes every time. Unfortunately, she also noticed the moment when the sparkle was extinguished and the smile disappeared immediately when a tall black-haired girl, looking a bit older, approached them.

"Hi!" she came up smiling. Robin left her without replying by taking a straw to her mouth and pretending to be busy drinking. The tension between them was palpable. "Can we talk outside?" Still no answer. "Robin, can you stop acting like a child?" That was it, the crack of the dam inside Buckley was nearly audible as she set her drink down on the countertop.

"Oh, sorry, since when is not wanting to talk to the girl who cheated on me childish behavior?" she replied crossing her arms over her chest.

"Come on, I just want to talk!"

"But I don't want to talk to you," she said.

"Do you want to sit here miserably alone the rest of the evening getting drunk?"

"Excuse me." grunted Chrissy. "Robin is not alone here, and it just so happens that we were having a great time before you showed up here." She stood beside her intertwining their fingers. When Robin felt Chrissy's small hand in hers she almost had a heart attack looking at everything with shock. Only when the girl squeezed her hand giving the sign to play along she shook herself and smiled.

"Oh, yes, sorry." she said quickly. "Chrissy, this is Diana, Diana, this is Chrissy." she introduced them to each other.

Diana measured her ex-girlfriend's new companion from top to bottom, feeling out of rhythm. "I didn't know you had a taste for blondes." she said raising an eyebrow. Looking at the petite, gorgeous and adorable blonde who was her complete opposite feeling jelaous.

"Oh she does! We've known each other since high school, we were already crazy about each other! Unfortunately, in a small backward town we couldn't enjoy it like we do here." Taking a step forward Chrissy's hand moved to Robin's waist, gently hugging her.

"W-what? you never said anything..." Diana turned to Robin, but when she didn't manage to say anything, Chrissy continued on, seeing how her lie brought that one out of her groove.

"Our break-up was very hard, and I'm not surprised that Robbie didn't mention anything." Robbie? Oh god why is it so hot in here and why is my heart beating so fast? Calm down Buckley, you don't like at all how she held your hand just now. For God's sake, you don't like at all how she is hugging you! Being too busy talking to herself in her mind she simply let Chrissy continue. "Fortunately, we have found each other again, and this time I have no intention of letting her go. Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to go dancing with my girlfriend." Without waiting for an answer she dragged Robin to the dance floor.

"Holy shit, Cunningham, what was that?" she breathed out.

"I just wanted to help, she didn't look like she was going to leave you alone." Chrissy shrugged her shoulders. "Now don't just stand there, dance," she said.

"I'm so stressed right now, I think my body has forgotten how to move."

"Silly." She giggled and took Robin's hands placing them on her waist as she began to move her hips in rhythm and after a moment threw her arms around her neck. In Robin's head, the internal conversation with herself turned into a non-stop scream of panic. "Try to follow me. She's still looking at us."

The truth was that Robin had long forgotten about Diana. Her entire thoughts were occupied by the little blonde swaying her hips in front of her and how she shouldn't feel such overwhelming pleasure. She wanted to kill all the butterflies she felt in her stomach.

When she finally joined the dance she tried not to notice that they were getting closer and closer with every step. Somewhere near the end of the song there was no visible break between them, together with the fading melody they stopped moving however they did not let go of each other's embrace. Breathing heavily, their faces also began to move closer together. Robin's brain, which just a moment ago was trying to control the situation, shut down and let her lips taste the sweet gloss on Chrissy's mouth, who quickly responded by dipping one of her hands into Buckley's short, slightly sweaty hair. The kiss was interrupted by an uncontrollable smile that crept onto Cunningham's lips. Robin snapped out of her magic trance and with difficulty swallowed when she realized what had happened. Seeing Chrissy leaning into her side again she stepped back slightly.

"Chrissy-we shouldn't." She said stopping her by the shoulders.

"Didn't you like it?" she asked disappointedly.

"It's not like that! Liked it very much, but- something I don't understand. What about Eddie?"

"Oh." Only now she remembered everything. She was so fascinated by the evening and Robin's meeting that she completely forgot about some other important things in her life. "It's not what you think! Eddie And I- Damn." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Will you let me explain? Please. Let's go to my place and I'll tell you everything you want to know. Please." She wasn't sure where such sudden desperation had come from, but the kiss had awakened a whole new feeling in her toward Robin. She definitely didn't want it to end with just one. She wanted to be close to her, much closer than she would have expected.

"Okay, let's go."

"You were a wonderful audience, as always!" shouted the guitarist into the microphone. "Today, however, before finishing, we wanted to present you with one more song. The latest work of our wonderful and lovely y/n" he nodded in your direction, at which you sent a small kiss in his direction. Eddie did his best to ignore the sting of jealousy he felt upon seeing this little interaction and began clapping with the others.

You're wearing my old clothes, but you, you wear it better And every time I see your face, the moon should be jealous And I keep talking to the wall 'til he's a friend of mine I call you every hour just to tell you that I'm losing my mind

Now I know you're sleeping Where I'm supposed to be in Wish I could've stayed

Eddie has had many moments in his life when he felt he was running out of oxygen and suddenly the whole weight of the world was falling on his head. Now it was additionally joined by a burning sensation. He had the feeling that the small box he kept in the inside pocket of his leather jacket was burning a hole in the material, and then in his skin and heart. He knew the words perfectly well, remembered the circumstances under which he said them because he replayed the scene in his head night after night.

Only thing that keeps us apart Is seven thousand miles, running like a mad dog Only thing that keeps us apart Is a different timezone So fuck what I'm dreaming, this fame has no meaning I'm coming home Only thing that keeps us apart Is a different timezone

Tomorrow I got another plane, I'm not gonna take it Instead, I'm gonna fly straight to you, I paid double for the tickets And I don't give a shit about the contracts that I signed And they can say whatever, we'll be making love, I'm fucking you tonight

Now I know you're sleeping Where I'm supposed to be in Wish I could've stayed

Despite the fact that you sang again in duet with the guitarist for Eddie there was only your voice with which you sent strong emotions that crept into his body tightening around his heart. It was as if these emotions turned into vines and trapped him in a strong grip from which he could not escape.

Only thing that keeps us apart Is seven thousand miles, running like a mad dog Only thing that keeps us apart Is a different timezone So fuck what I'm dreaming, this fame has no meaning I'm coming home Only thing that keeps us apart Is a different timezone

So fuck what I'm dreaming, this fame has no meaning I'm coming home Only thing that keeps us apart Is a different timezone

Without thinking much as soon as you finished the song and received thunderous applause he moved straight towards you. You stood with your back to him talking to Layla, who immediately noticed him and squinted her eyes watching his every forward step. Seeing your friend's strange look, you turned around to see what was causing it.

The world stopped. When your eyes met he smiled showing dimples in his cheeks, at the sight of which you were reminded of your beginnings.

"I swear I could live in them." You said laughing and kissing his entire face. "I love your dimples, I love your smile, I love you, Eddie Munson." That was the first time you confessed your love for him. When it occurred to you what you had done you opened your eyes wide and saw his smile become even wider. "That's good, because I love you too." he replied and kissed you passionately. "I have no intention of stopping, ever."

You didn't believe you would ever meet again. You didn't believe that you would ever again be close to the person for whom you were dying of longing. Now he was standing in front of you. Your Eddie. As an unconditional first reaction, a smile also appeared on your lips.

Unfortunately, you quickly came back to earth. This was not your Eddie. He hadn't been yours for a long time. He was hers. Suddenly all the people surrounding you in the bar were gone, you felt alone again, scared and hurt, surrounded by silence and emptiness. The heart that you had been trying to patch together for years had again turned into a dandelion whose parts were blown away by the wind to all parts of the world, so that nothing would be able to put them back together again. Again you felt liters of tears gathering in your eyes exactly as you did on the day when it was revealed that the new favorite couple in show business is the rebellious Eddie Munson and his complete opposite the charming and beautiful Chrissy Cunningham. The same Chrissy he assured you was just a friend and you had nothing to worry about. The same Chrissy he once had a crush on, but apparently that was in the past. The same Chrissy who, to Eddie, was supposed to be like Steve to you, the sibling you didn't have.

Without thinking twice, you turned on your heel and with a quick step walked out of the bar towards the beach. Of course, he moved right behind you when he felt a firm grip on his wrist and nails digging into it.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Layla exclaimed looking him straight in the eyes. "I won't let you close to her, not after what you did."

"You don't understand, let me go!" he said trying to break free.

"And what would your girlfriend say about it, hm? What would your little supermodel girlfriend say about it?"

"Fuck- just let me go! Let me explain it to her, you don't fucking understand!" Eddie was becoming more and more desperate. He understood why Layla was so protective of you, apparently you had to tell her everything, but neither you nor she knew the truth because you never gave him a chance to justify himself.

"Baby let them talk." Steve suddenly squeezed through the crowd. "It's been years, just let them talk."

"Really Steve? Are you fucking serious? Do you want to go through all this again? Do you want to let him destroy her like he did right after he left? Do you want her to lock herself in her room again for months and push us all away? She's barely learned to enjoy life and you want to let him destroy it again!"

"Listen-" said Eddie finally releasing his wrist. "I know what you're all thinking, and I can assure you that you're damn wrong, all of you! And I can explain it all to you but for heaven's sake let me talk to her first!"

Layla looked at Steve, who sent her a pleading look. She rolled her eyes and without a word squeezed between them walking away towards the bar clearly annoyed. Eddie turned to leave however felt Steve's hand tighten on his shoulder.

"Now you listen." he said with a serious face. "You're my friend and I believe you want to fix things and there's some strange explanation for all this. But I swear that if you break her heart again I won't even defend you when Layla wants to scratch your eyes out."

"I don't want to hurt her, I want to explain everything and make things right, you have to believe me, I love her, damn it Steve, I never stopped loving her."

Harrington just nodded his head and let him go. Quickly running outside, he looked around hoping that he would still be able to find you somewhere. After a while he spotted your silhouette sitting by the shore. He pulled off his shoes and socks and grabbed them in his hand to walk barefoot towards you and sit down next to you. Your knees were pulled up to your chin and your feet dipped into the soft sand. The murmur of the waves perfectly punctuated the sounds of the music and people in the distance. Their sound was soothing, it was easy for him to imagine that the beach, especially during sunsets was your favorite place. You fit perfectly there, and he had the fondest hope that someday he, too, would have a chance to fit back into the picture right by your side.

"What do you want Eddie?" you asked without taking your eyes off the water.

"I- I want to talk, to explain." he said quietly watching a small smile full of pain appear on your face.

"Explain what? That you were just waiting to get away from me and finally fall into the arms of your dream girl?"

"She is not- y/n I beg you, let me explain it all," he said.

"No. I don't want to hear it." you said rising, he did so as well. "I'm not going to listen to lies about how you loved me, and that's not at all what I think."

"What? you think I didn't love you?"

"You could only seem to have loved me since in your head it was Chrissy all the time anyway." The bitterness in your voice made him sick.

"Stop it. Fucking stop it." he said clenching his jaw. You could blame him for all the evils of the world, but to suggest that he never loved you was an overstatement. "Just listen to me, for the first time in three years listen to me and just start talking after that." he said.

"And what would you like to hear from me?! You heard the last song, didn't you? Would you like to hear that I wrote it thinking about you? You don't even know how many nights I wasted crying into my pillow and dreaming of those words coming out of your mouth! I agreed to this fucking break so that we could enjoy something new, but I didn't expect that I couldn't enjoy anything without you, I loved you so damn much Eddie. That's why I let you go completely and let you enjoy the life you always dreamed of. I'd a million times rather think about you fucking some random groupies on a tour bus every night than less than three months after our breakup to find out that the rising rock star is madly in love with super model Chrissy fucking Cunningham! You always said that my insecurities had no basis, that I shouldn't worry about the fact that you once had a crush on her, you kept telling me that she was just a fucking friend I definitely didn't need to worry about, and it turned out that as soon as you got rid of me from your life you immediately flew to her! Three years, it's been three fucking years and I still can't get over it! I hate that you have moved on and are living the best possible scenario. I hate that this scenario doesn't include me." You were fuming. Your glazed eyes looked at him with hatred. His sadness-filled eyes that you used to adore looking into so much. The full, pink lips that you loved so much to kiss and feel all over your body. The neck into which you cuddled your face after a hard day and kissed the wet paths on it. The pain you felt was increased the moment your attention was caught by the necklace hanging on it. Without thinking, you moved closer and pulled it out from under the collar of his shirt. He still had it. You looked at the pick and the ring in shock.

"y/n…" when his hand touched your cheek you flinched.

"You don't deserve to wear this." Anger darkened you completely, you tightened your fist around the necklace with all your strength and ripped it off.

"What the hell?" he asked shocked. He watched in disbelief as you threw the most precious thing in his entire life straight into the sand. He immediately crouched down to pick it up and put it safely in his pocket. His heart was breaking in half, feeling how he could not control his tears he quickly stood up walking straight towards you. At the last moment he managed to grab your hand.

"Don't touch me! Don't come near me because I can't stand it Eddie. If I let in one more time I will never be able to let you out again and that will kill me. You have your dream life, your dream girl, you don't need me, sometimes I think you never needed me." You said trying to break free.

"Don't say that! Don't you dare say that I never needed you! That I didn't love you! I loved you, I love you and I will love you for the rest of my fucking life!"

Before you had time to react in any way he pulled you to him and kissed you. The kiss had the taste of salty tears, but you weren't sure if they were yours or his. Despite the hatred you felt, you couldn't help how you surrendered to the moment by kissing him back. Your heart completely took over.

The moment didn't last long, though, as it was interrupted by a flash from the camera. Frightened, not knowing what was happening, you jumped away from him and looked in the direction from which the light appeared for the second time.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" shouted Eddie furiously walking towards the paparazzi. "You fuking piece of shit!" he sped up his stride. He felt like rushing at the paparazzi with his fists and then throwing the camera straight into the ocean. Unfortunately, the man turned out to be much faster and ran away. When he turned around, you were gone.

"Holy shit, you live here?" Robin looked with open mouth at the beautiful house with the ocean behind it.

"Yeah, with the boys, they gave me the whole basement so I could set up my own little apartment there, sharing a bathroom with four guys could be tough," laughed Chrissy. "Do you want to go inside?"

"Can we…Can we stay outside? I can't believe you have an ocean behind the house."

"Sure, let's go." she said and grabbed Robin's hand, leading her to the back of the house, where they sat on a wooden garden swing.

"This place is just like from a movie." commented Robin trying not to think about the fact that even though they had already sat down they were still holding hands.

"So, you wanna know the truth?" asked Chrissy uncertainly changing the subject. Robin nodded in response. "When I got the contract in New York, I thought I was winning my life, that I would finally be happy, finally all my dreams were coming true…" she sighed. "But I was quickly brought back down to earth. It turned out that my manager was homophobic, so I never dared to tell her the truth about myself."

"I'm so sorry…" Buckley squeezed her hand, to which she responded with a warm smile.

"The real nightmare began when they came up with an brilliant plan to promote me through a relationship with a sleazy fashion designer who was twenty years older. I didn't know what to do, so in a panic I lied that I had a boyfriend, and that's how I found myself in Eddie's apartment begging him for help. This was the first person I came out to and at that moment I thought I was going to die of nerves, I was wrecked and scared, and Eddie wasn't even shocked. He immediately understood and tried to calm me down. Then I proposed the whole plan with a pretend relationship. I needed someone reliable, and Eddie seemed perfect for that. We both ran away from Hawkins to start a new life in New York, the world immediately believed it, I didn't even know when we became the most recognizable couple in America and our careers just exploded."

Robin connected the dots in her head, everything the blonde said sounded crazy, but without knowing why she believed her. "I'm really glad you were able to get away from it all." she said quietly.

"If it weren't for Eddie my life would still look like a horror, I'll never be able to make it up to him…"

"He is a great friend." commented Robin, knowing that if she were in such a situation Steve would have done exactly the same thing. However, this did not stop the unpleasant feeling.

"I know what you're thinking and I feel terrible about it." Chrissy said, turning her head away. "I hate that by doing this to save myself I destroyed what Eddie had with y/n. She stopped talking to him, didn't respond to his letters, when Eddie agreed to the plan he said that the condition was that I would tell her everything, and I really wanted to do it as soon as possible! I was ready at any time to tell her the whole truth, but she didn't even give a chance to explain."

"Oh my God…" Robin bent her head back looking at the stars. She remembered what the first few months were like when Eddie and Chrissy's relationship became "offcial." You locked yourself in your room, went out only for classes and completely shut yourself off from people. Robin could hear the sounds of quiet sobs echoing around your apartment almost every night, but when she offered to be by your side at those times you just shooed her out of the room. You could have saved so much suffering if only you had given him a chance to explain. One little conversation a few years ago and things would look different now.

"You know, y/n is my best friend and in a way I understand her attitude. When we found out, we were all shocked, after all, everyone remembered that these two were madly in love with each other. Do you know about their arrangement? About the break?"

"I know, and I think you also know why we ended up in California after their tour ended," he said.

"I wish she'd let him explain it, everything would have looked completely different, and we wouldn't look so bad here now," she said.

"Maybe it could all be fixed? Maybe we could try to look good? When we moved here I broke my contract with that agency, I am now in a new one, which is not as well-known, but here they take care of me. My new manager knows everything and said that Eddie and I can end this whole pretending thing, but the label that handles Corroded Coffin isn't thrilled with the idea, so we're still in this, but Eddie is working on how to finally convince them to let us end it." she looked at her with hope in her eyes. They were so light and shiny under the gentle light of the moon and the stars. Robin's heart was melting.

She really wanted to believe that this had a chance of working, but she also knew that unless you let them tell you the truth nothing would be fully right.

The two sat in silence lost in thought as Chrissy moved closer to Robin.

"I'm sorry." she said quietly, resting her head on her shoulder.

"For how I was in high school. That I let Jason and his half-brains laugh at you. You didn't deserve it. I'd like to meet you under better conditions than the end of the world and struggling to survive."

"That's in the past, we can forget about it." she replied sincerely. Sitting now with Chrissy cuddled in her arms, she was able to forgive everything.

"I know it's crazy, but I feel like I'd like to try." Chrissy said quietly.

"Try what?" Robin pulled away sending her a surprised look.

"Us." As their eyes met, the world began to spin anew. Getting into a relationship with Chrissy was risky, they still didn't really know each other very well, but there was something, some invisible force that drew them to each other.

"How about a date when it will all be cleared out?" Buckley couldn't help herself, did that make her a bad friend? Now that she knew the truth she didn't feel as bad about it as she did at first.

"I would love to!" the excited blonde threw her arms around her neck pulling her close. When she pulled away, they were still close together. Sending nervous smiles in each other's direction once again, they began to move closer together. The gentle brushing of their lips was a hopeful sign. Before they could continue, though, they heard curses and the clink of keys. Intrigued, they went with the sound to see a furious Eddie who, with shaking hands, could not hit the door with his keys.

"Fucking bullshit!" he shouted banging his fist against it.

"Eddie? What happened?" asked Chrissy seeing the state her friend was in. Instead of at her, his eyes focused on Robin standing two steps away.

"Buckley? What are you doing here?" he asked puzzled.

"We, uh…" the girl didn't know what to say.

"I met Robin at the club and invited her here, I hope it's not a problem?" interjected Chrissy. "Give me the Keys." she said and opened the door. The three of them went inside. Eddie aggressively pulled off his shoes and threw his jacket into the closet with all his strength, but the jacket flew out of it a second later, and from the inside pocket of the jacket a small box that had been weighing him down all the way home.

"I was ready to fall to my fucking knees the moment I saw her." he said seeing the girls look at it in shock. After a moment, Robin picked it up and opened, showing the ring. "She thinks I never loved her. She thinks she has meant nothing to me all this time." his voice began to crack. "She hates me and didn't even give me a chance to explain it all. On top of that, that fucking paparazzi, I swear I'll kill the shithead as soon as I see him!" he walked toward the couch and sat down heavily on it, pulling a broken necklace from his pocket and placing it on the glass coffee table.

Chrissy looked at him with horrified eyes, she knew like no one else that Eddie cared about it like it was the most precious thing in whole world.

She approached slowly and knelt by the table taking it in her hands. Looking at her friend whose cheeks were streaming with tears, she couldn't help the guilt that had awakened in her. It was her fault, it was because of her that Eddie was losing the love of his life. "She said I didn't deserve to wear it." he said quietly. "She ripped it right off my neck." His voice was small, weak and helpless. "I love her so much, I never stopped Robin, you have to believe me." it was painful for him to have to keep assuring others of his love for you at every step, because no one wanted to believe him.

"I believe you." she said, sitting down next to him. "I know everything, Chrissy told me everything."

"She did?"

"Yeah, and now that I know everything, I want to help you. I'll try to convince y/n to give you a chance to explain everything."

"Thank you." he said hugging her tightly to himself.

"But now I should go, I don't want y/n to be alone today, I think you understand?"

"Of course, thank you Rob." he replied while wiping away tears.

"I'll call you a cab." offered Chrissy.

While they waited for the cab the girls exchanged phone numbers, Robin leaving promised to call as soon as she returns to the apartment. She also received a kiss on the cheek from Chrissy as a goodbye, which revived the butterflies in her stomach.

When she entered the apartment she noticed that the door to your room was ajar, peeking in there she noticed that you were asleep. Not wanting to wake you up, she just called the number she got earlier, toold them that she didn't talk to you because you had fallen asleep and went to bed herself as well, wondering how to clean up the mess you all found yourselves in.

taglist: @i-me-mine @phantypurple @tlclick73 @greatpizzascissorstaco @alanamarie @hiscrimsonangel

[fourcornerstar]

Random assorted Moral Orel Headcanons:

Moral Orel HCs

Orel:

- Likes to draw comics of Barthalomew- similar to the DC superpets

- Wants to grow up to be either a pastor or an artist. Doesn’t know what an animator or film maker is but is interested in movie production

- Doesn’t like to spend much time outside after the camping trip. Finds comfort in movies, comics and video games.

- He saves up all the money he earned by working for Stephanie to buy a Nintendo system (the show takes place around 2005, so probably a ds)

- His favorite game is Nintendogs, he owns all different versions and loves going on walks with his ‘pet’

- But he thinks Pokemon is satanic.

- Fav movie as a kid is Prince of Egypt

- Veggietales kid.

- Catches himself singing “where is my hairbrush” when he’s looking for something.

- Wears “virginity rocks” merch when he’s a teen. No one can tell if it’s ironic or in sincerity. It’s a bit of both.

- LOVES Paramore when he’s first in his emo phase. Slowly grows to like My Chemical Romance once he fully dips into Emo music.

- As he gets into his teens he has an indie phase- Florence and the Machines is his favorite along with The Mountain Goats and Cage the Elephant. Likes some Hozier, Noah Kahan, They Might Be Giants and Jack Stauber. (this is if we assume their in universe would have access to our discography)

- His favorite extra curricular class is art, which Clay disapproves of, but Orel is really good at it- near prodigy level. Loves painting and chalk pastels in particular

- Hardcore Disney fan. For his graduation he and Christina go to Florida Disney World for the first time

- A Goofy Movie and Goof Troop are his favorite comfort media

- Wants to go to California or Florida for College, secretly is applying to Loyola University or other Christian campuses. Wants to take religious studies with a minor in art.

- Has never been to the beach/seen the ocean in person but has always dreamed of it.

- Quit his scout troop after the hunting trip bc camping would make him spiral into panic attacks. It took him years of exposure therapy to ever go into the woods ever again

- After the camping trip, the go-to family vacation for the Puppingtons would usually be road trips cross country. But it was always awkward and tense, so Orel would spend the majority of the trip reading, listening to music, or playing a card game with Shapey and Block.

- He always lets Shapey or Block win

- Uno was banned in the puppington house because “it wasn’t in English.” But he had no problem playing it at school behind his parents backs

- Is interested in learning other languages, but a bit scared of it. He eventually took ASL courses when he was in college

Shapey and Block:

- Both have an extensive stuffed animal collection, at least where they can hide them under all the storage and mess of his room.

- Tends to steal or borrow Orel’s stuff when no one is home to see. Is particularly fascinated by the viewfinder and Orel’s record player.

- Shapey suffers from night terrors. Orel would comfort him sometimes, other times Block would help.

- Both are Introverted. They helped each other transition to school when they, eventually, went. But they were loners in the class and had trouble assimilating.

- Other than cake, Shapey’s favorite foods are pb and j

- Block really likes cookies and pastries

- Shapey and Block snuck out a lot as kids and teens, sometimes they would go to the corner store, other times they would just wander around town or even up to the nature reserve.

- Christmas is their all time favorite holiday, more so than any other.

- Orel sometimes helps them clear up their shared room so Shapey and Block can actually have a clear space to walk around and play in.

- They steal Clay’s credit card to buy some actual furniture when they’re teens. Clay never brings it up, he probably never noticed.

- Both struggle at keeping a space clean. Struggles with routine, chores and scheduling all through their life, sometimes Orel or even a therapist helps

- Shapey’s favorite Disney movie of all time is Alice in Wonderland

- Block adores Peter Pan, he even went as Peter for halloween 2 years in a row

- Both love adventure movies

- Shapey loves showtunes, favorite musical as a kid was Matilda

- Block finds showtunes kind of annoying, but won’t say anything. Block prefers softer music, indie, folk, country but even LoFi when he discovers it later.

- Both love cooking and baking. They weren’t allowed to learn when they were kids, but when they moved out they read Bloberta’s old recipe books to teach himself. Block preferred online recipes

- Shapey was Diagnosed with ODD and ADHD as a toddler, Orel tries to find some resources at the library to figure out how to help Shapey, at least where he can. Unfortunately, the library is a bit of a dead end. But the constants in Shapey’s life help him a lot.

- They never talk with Clay. They are complete strangers to one another. Shapey and Block consider Orel to be the closest thing they have to a father figure

- When everyone is grown up; Shapey gives a speech as best man at Orel and Christina’s wedding that makes everyone cry

Bloberta:

- Has an extensive record collection of her favorite bands from when she was a teenager.

- Clay has pestered her to get rid of it but she can’t bear to part with it. She keeps it hidden in the dresser and closet alongside her other unmentionables.

- Loves doo-wop, 60s pop, rock and roll and even some modern punk and metal. Doesn’t actually like listening to Christian rock but will put it on to be a “good influence”

- Was interested in student council and politics herself before she married Clay, but was pressured out of it bc “godly women let men take the lead” (ew)

- Her mom forced her to babysit as a first job when she was a teenager and she despised it.

- When she’s home alone she likes to put on romcoms such as Pretty Woman or Dirty Dancing. But she’ll mute the volume and block out the windows so no one can hear or see her.

- But more often then not they leave her crying wishing for something better. One day after watching one of her movies she locked Clay out of the house for a week because she couldn’t bear to even look at him.

- She’s a lot more supportive of Orel going to an out of state college than his father. She doesn’t want him to feel trapped like she does.

Clay

- Took ballroom dance in high school- is an amazing dancer but doesn’t like showing off.

- Has Irish ancestry, his great grandparents emigrated during the great famine.

- Likes to read when he gets the chance- favorite book is Catcher in the Rye or In Cold Blood (yes, they are supposed to be red flag books, remember who we’re talking about)

- Loves true crime- extremely fascinated by serial killers and mysteries.

- He likes movies, but rarely is ever able to put them on. But he likes Wolf of Wall Street and Fight Club (all the red flag films) (Call me By Your Name and Beauty and the Beast when he’s in private, would never watch them unless he’s completely alone) (once again, RED FLAGS)

- Believes all colleges are satanic propaganda. At least that’s what he told himself as he got older. When he was a teen thought about art school but could never afford it on his own.

- Never graduated with a full 4 year degree, but out of high school he was in and out of trade or secondary schools. He tried nursing, mechanic/auto shop, accounting, and technician work and hated everything. Bloberta suggested politics and somehow he had enough charisma and writing prowess to sell competency.

- Loves Queen. Could listen to any album any day- but has a particular soft spot for “I want to Break Free” and “Somebody To Love” has made him sob uncontrollably . He puts on Queen when he’s driving alone.

- Loves to drive. Before he started drinking it was his one escape. Sometimes he would just take his keys and a handful of his father’s cash and drive off for a few days without telling anyone. He’s been all over the country, but particularly loves to see the Grand Canyon or even up north near Niagara and the lakes.

- Even after he got married he would drive off on a bender for a week or two not to be seen. Bloberta never brings it up. He only HAD to stop when Orel was born.

Reverend/Rod Putty

- Never imagined himself as a pastor, when he was younger he was more interested in the hippie subculture. But he’s good at talking. He originally tried his hand at standup comedy, and that was a total flop. So when it came time for him to settle on a major/career he went religious… Partially to dodge the draft.

- Agnostic leaning. He believes in a God, but struggles with connection.

- Grew up in the south, but moved to the midwest in his teens. Sometimes his accent slips through when he’s tired.

- Scarily good at poker. Feels very torn about this skill.

- Banned from at least 4 casinos in a 100 mile radius.

-

Stephanie

- Was a straight A student all through school, but decided against University for financial reasons and pressure, she goes to the community college closest to Moralton. She dreams when she saves up enough she could go to a music or art college

- Had a band once but all her band mates moved away. She does try to pursue music herself. Has an album lined up but she doesn’t feel ready to put it into the world yet.

- A friend from out of state gave her her first tattoo in his garage. Since then she’s been interested in learning but doesn’t know how to practice back in Moralton. Is saving up for a machine.

- Hates the cold and cold weather, she’s always bundled up when it hits below 60 and it always complaining about how cold it is until the weather warms up

- But she loves rainy days.

- Her mom tried to sign her up for an after school Christian youth program but Stephanie always ditched to go hang out around town with Kim and others.

- She uploads song covers to Youtube when she has time, and has amassed a huge following

- She likes snapchat as well, she can keep in touch with out of state or online friends easier, it makes her feel more connected to people in similar situations

- Her first guitar wasn’t the best quality, but it’s one of her favorites for the sound, she covered the entire face with stickers and intricate drawings