#however miss jenn continues to be everything to me

[judasisgayriot]

finally watching hsmtmts s4 lol, and these kids are so alien to me it’s so funny how I do not relate to the world these teenagers live in any more with their… tik toks and whatnot… like they’re sweet kids but honestly we’re miss jenn stans first and everything else second

[yurimother]

LGBTQ Light Novel Review — I'm in Love with the Villainess

A stunningly profound, entertaining, and queer title that eclipses other isekai and Yuri series

There are few titles the general public seems to be as excited about as Inori and Hanagata's I'm in Love with the Villainess, as it has been sitting at or near the top of Amazon's LGBT Manga list for months and Twitter is consistently abuzz with the latest news on this isekai Yuri series. I was somewhat more skeptical, as I have had relatively poor experiences with isekai and fantasy Yuri. Still, my excitement went through the room, and I eagerly boarded the "hype train" upon the cover reveal for the third volume. Yuri families, where two women raise children together, are one of my greatest desires and something I rarely see portrayed in the genre. However, I still had mostly low expectations for the series going into the first volume. I looked forward to some light meandering comedy and typical boring trope-filled isekai shenanigans. However, I'm in Love with the Villainess more than exceeded my expectations. No, even this statement is far too moderate to describe how utterly stunned and blown away I was by Inori's creation. I'm in Love with the Villainess is completely shattering and easily one of the greatest light novels I have ever read. Thus, I have no choice to award a perfect 10/10 score, my first ever for a light novel.

After waking up in the world of her favorite otome game, Revolution, protagonist Rae is ecstatic to be faced to face with Claire Francois, the game's villainous rival. However, Rae never played Revolution for the thrill of romancing any of the three attractive young princes. She was always in love with Claire. She attends the academy and studies magic in the fantasy world alongside Claire, the princes, and various other supporting characters. Using her skills from the modern world and her encyclopedic knowledge of Revolution, Rae manipulates the situation to be close to Claire, becoming her maid, and garnering status and money along the way. As an inevitable conflict looms closer, Rea begins to enact plans to protect herself and Claire, many of which are not fully understood or explained until the finale fantastically reveals the reasons for her actions. There is a natural and steady pace to the narrative that awards readers’  predictions and attention to detail.

I'm in Love with the Villainess has some excellent supporting characters, all of whom have unique personalities, histories, and abilities, some of which are revealed by Rae's exposition and others naturally throughout the novel. However, the stars of the show are the central couple, Rae and Claire. Claire is an elite aristocrat and extremely bratty. She often sneers at commoners and makes her disdain of Rae very clear from early on. On paper, she sounds like the perfect villain and someone all readers would despise. However, Rae's utter devotion and infatuation with Claire is so sincere that we cannot help but be pulled in and adore Claire and all her tantrums. Rae is a delight herself, continually flirting and poking fun at Claire, which gets her verbally berated, much to her masochistic pleasure. However, she is also exceptionally cunning and intelligent, and some of the light novel's greatest joys are listening to her analyze a situation or watching one of her plans fall into place.

“Ah, I’m… Well, it doesn’t matter. I mean, it’s irrelevant to cuteness—because, Miss Claire, you are cute.” “Huh?!” She pulled away. It was perfect—such a pure reaction. “Miss Claire, you hate me, right?” “Of course!” “That’s fine. Please keep teasing me. I love it.”

The beginning of the book does not immediately clue one into its brilliance. Sure, Claire and Rea get some great one-liners as they bully each other, and the scenarios are authentic and fun, but it is nothing shattering. I was feeling pretty relaxed and having a lot of fun with the characters, their relationship, and the various slice-of-life style scenarios they encountered until one section, I remember the exact page, 81, as it stopped me dead in my tracks. I was flabbergasted and briefly frozen before shooting up out of bed, shouting expletives as I ran to my office to immediately record what I had just experienced. It all begins with the line, "Hey, Rae. Are you what they call gay?" What followed was one of the most thoughtful, condensed, informative, and nuanced discussions of gay and queer identity (both terms used in this scene) I have ever seen in Yuri. Everything from representation in media, the perceptions of and prejudices against gay people, and the role gender plays in romance for bisexual and gay people are analyzed. Its commentary is succinct yet so respectful and forthright that it could have only come from genuine experience, thus selling the book and its characters so much more.

"Queer people were still overwhelmingly closeted in this world, which was rife with prejudice and nurtured little understanding. As I noted, the queer people depicted in the story were either the sex fiends Claire imagined or the free-loving sort Lene had in mind. Diversity and acceptance were a long way off.”

Thus, Inori's writing's beauty exposed itself, and the book opened itself up to a delightful cycle. The narrative masterfully integrates isekai slice-of-life hijinks, like running a cross-dressing café or battling a giant slime with nuanced and challenging moments that dissect complicated topics. The latter mainly consists of a growing rift between the aristocracy and common people, mirroring real-world wealth gap issues, but the novel also touch on matters such as unequal prison sentencing and segregation. Every scene helped further the complexity of the characters and their relationships or else built onto the world of Revolution. Speaking of which, I'm in Love with the Villainess has some of the best worldbuilding ever seen in a light novel.

Initially, brief exposition establishes much of the world, which is adequate if not exciting. I will mark up to a casualty of the light novel's serialized nature, as it must present readers its setting immediately. However, Inori does not stop here. Through the narrative, new elements are established, such as a magic system and the kingdom's politics. Rea notes and describes how the world, while clearly based on medieval Europe, has many modern Japanese attributes, as Japanese game developers created it. Her pointing out the intersection of the two is fascinating. Furthermore, A great deal of time is spent establishing characters and organizations all have their own wants, agendas, and methods, many of which are not even directly involved with the story. Instead, they act as a background and help further contextualize others. For example, the Church publicly appears to lean towards supporting the commoners in their efforts for equality but has its own agenda of superseding the nobility. While they play little role in Rea and Claire’s adventure, they are one of numerous factors contributing to the unrest of the lower class. All these additions are interesting, and it never feels like the story or characters suffer for their inclusion, quite the opposite.

“The Bauer Kingdom had started a step behind other countries when it came to magical research. They dominated the surrounding countries in military strength, and this had made them complacent, leading them to underestimate the value of new magic technology until the best researchers had all been enticed to other countries. Even after the king came up with his magic-focused meritocratic policy, Bauer lagged behind.”

I can only make complaints by scraping the very bottom of the barrel. Hanagata's beautiful art is too infrequent to add much to the light novel, and many scenes crying for illustrations are left to the readers' imagination. However, Inori so wonderful writes the story that one hardly cares and can easily picture every moment with delight. Besides, the manga adaption will nullify this issue. Where I cannot complain at all is the spectacular translation by Jenn Yamazaki and Nibedita Sen, one of Seven Seas best (which is high praise considering the competition). Sure, I was slightly disappointed at first to see the adaptation left off honorifics, but the more I thought about the setting, the more sense it made. I am sure people much smarter than I gave the issue much more consideration, and I am happy with their decisions.

I'm in Love with the Villainess left me reeling with how pleasurable and powerful it was. The story and characters are such a joy, and I cannot wait to see Rea and Claire bully each other again in the next volume. Astounding worldbuilding and powerful, thought-provoking politics surround their antics and the high stakes plot. Every moment of their journey will enthrall readers as they squeal with glee at its hilarious set pieces or are shocked by its commentary of society's most significant challenges. Inori has created one of the most delightful, heartfelt, complex, profound, and genuinely queer light novel series ever. If you only read one thing I recommend this year, let it be I'm in Love with the Villainess.

Ratings: Story — 9 Characters — 10 Art — 5 LGBTQ — 10 Sexual Content — 2 Final — 10

Review copy provided by Seven Seas Entertainment

Purchase I’m in Love with the Villainess in digitally (9/23) and in print (11/10) today: https://amzn.to/32NEyG1

Supports creators by purchasing official releases.

[retvenkos]

“would it be terribly cheesy if i said ‘it was always you’?”

requested by @biqherosix STRAP IN, FOLKS, BECAUSE TODAY WE ARE TAKING A LOOK AT WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE FOR EJ CASWELL TO HAVE A CRUSH ON A NORTH HIGH STUDENT...

so first of all, you and ej knew each other long before you ran into each other in high school. because, you see, you went to junior high together, and in those days, both you and ej were on dance company 

(you can pry dance company! ej from my cold, dead fingers)

you were arguably the better dancer, and seventh grade ej really wanted to prove himself. a baby competition sprouted between the two of you, but it was nothing big.

you both liked to show off in order to taunt the other, and you both got a kick out of trying to one up each other.

but at the same time, you were teammates. you did everything together.

so the bond between you and ej was strong. it was a competition, yes, but it was friendly competition and you both actually hyped each other a lot. 

plus, dance company does a lot of things as a group, so it was unavoidable. you were going to end up liking each other at some point. luckily, it happened sooner rather than later, and the two of you built up a nice rapport with one another - a closeness forged in friendly competition and last minute studying parties.

but all that changed when you went to north high and ej went to east high

now, since north high is completely fictional, i get to create the dynamic between the schools, so listen up everyone!

north high clearly has the better arts department, and they also have the better tennis and softball team.

east high has the better stem department as well as a better swim team and any other swim related sports.

west high has the better sport teams overall - basketball, football, volleyball, etc.

(that's why we never see any uber jocks at east high—)

now, clearly you have your boundary school, but people get on special permit all the time, and when you say you’re going to north high ej is like ???? but why ???

“they have a better arts department, ej, you know that!”

“well, yeah, but east high is the best. we always said we were going to be wildcats!”

“ej.... they’re actually leopards.”

it wasn’t a super emotional goodbye. you promised to stay in touch, and it wasn’t like it was hard. you still saw each other around the mall, you still followed each other on instagram and what not but.... time just got between you.

you slowly stop texting, you see each other less, when you see each other in public you do that thing where you give a smile but then don’t go over to say hi, because you’re wrapped up in other people. it’s not pointed things, you just... stop talking.

and you still like each others photos on instagram but you’re just... there. 

all of that changes, however, when carlos asks you to help him choreograph hsm.

at the time, the rivalry between schools wasn’t big, it was just a low simmer, and the reason carlos approached you was because once upon a time, you, ej, and him had all been in dance company together for one (1) year (it all comes full cIRCLE) and for one of your performances, you had done something hsm related.

carlos wanted to know if you remembered the routine and could help him come up with something slightly more advanced.

and while you and carlos hadn’t really kept up with one another, he jokingly brought up a time where he did something for you, and how you always said you’d pay him back one day and maybe now it was time to cash it in??

you decided why not? you’ve done a lot of stuff for north high’s dance company, but you’ve never helped out in a musical before (and as you can imagine, north high is very competitive in their arts)

so you joined the hsm cast as co-choreographer.

now, because you had your own north high dance company stuff to deal with, you end up missing a lot of rehearsals. you mostly brainstorm with carlos and add tweaks to the choreo. carlos is the one to really ~teach~ things.

which means that while you are present for ~the drama~ that was ej-nini-ricky, you actually miss a lot of it. you feel the tension, but exactly why it’s Like That is beyond you.

you tried to ask carlos once but he said he wasn’t going to get into that, thank you.

and honestly, you have competitions to keep up with, so you’re not fixated on it. you’re just hoping that they’re not still pissed at each other on opening night, when ej has to strap ricky in for “getcha head in the game”

and while you’ve chatted with ej a couple of times, you haven’t had much time to catch up.

you actually bond a lot with gina, who is on the same level as you in terms of dance. you end up talking and mention how ej was once on dance company, and that rocks her world because ej???

and that’s when you show her all of the old videos you archived on your instagram from your junior high days. carlos, ej, and you all in dance company. they’re precious.

and when ej’s friendships are strained and he doesn’t have anyone to turn to, he sees you and gina laughing and crowding over your phone, and he comes to say hi.

and thus, the friendship begins again.

it is, of course, slow going because so much time has come between you, and gina and carlos (the two you hang with the most) are not on great terms with ej, but you guys grow really close all over again. ej is glad to have another senior to talk to about college, and you’re glad you have an old friend to talk to because it’s easy to feel out of place in this school that isn’t yours.

and on opening night, you know ej gifts you something - maybe it’s a jacket or beanie with the wildcats emblem on it.

“it’s kinda stupid, but we always said we were going to be wildcats together, and we did it.”

“huh, i guess we did.”

and for some reason, you chest is really warm, and you can feel the heat sneak up to your cheeks.

“this is really sweet, ej.”

“well, you know me.”

“yeah, i guess i do.”

and then it’s his cue to get ready to go on stage.

“oh! and there should be another surprise coming, don’t hate me for not telling you!”

and you’re ??? but it turns out to be gina.

you all clearly go to denny's afterward to celebrate, and if ej feels his heart seize in his chest everytime you laugh or steal one of gina’s fries, it’s not an unfamiliar feeling. because really, it had always been like that, with you. you never cease to amaze him.

and once you’re on the east high theatre group chat, you never get taken off of it, so you know everything that’s going on with your theatre buddies, after hsm has finished.

and this is where a conflict of interest really comes in...

because, you see, once hsm is a hit, some of the theatre kids at north high think you’re a traitor. you gave east high their secrets, and now east high is an actual contender. uncool, (y/n).

so you kind of get iced out by a lot of north high kids. like i said. competition there is  s t e e p  and you’ve been accused of fraternizing with the enemy..

but when zach roy shows up and he hears about the drama surrounding one (y/n) (l/n), he gets an idea... so he approaches you one day after dance company practice...

“he asked you to do wHAT?”

you’re texting ej, carlos, and gina in a group chat

“he asked me to co-choreograph their show.”

“are you going to do it?” - carlos

“of course they are! do you think opportunities like this just fall out of the sky?” - gina

“i don’t know, though, i feel like he’s working some angle with me. there’s something about him that doesn’t feel genuine.”

“it’s those piercing blue eyes.” - carlos

“i have piercing blue eyes!”

“and you’ve never done anything underhanded?” - gina

“we did that together!”

“what should i do?”

“accept, clearly!” - gina

“i’d be careful, if i were you. miss jenn doesn’t trust him for a reason.” - carlos

“it’s up to you, (y/n). you’ll do great, and it’s a great opportunity.”

“but?”

and everyone can feel the pause - the conflict where ej doesn’t know what to say.

“but nothing! this is a HUGE opportunity! he’s dancer extraordinaire derek hough zach roy! i’d be the villain of your eventual documentary if i were to try to hold you back.”

“okay... i think i’ll do it. you know how competitive things are, here. this could really give me a boost.”

“hell yeah, (y/n)!” - gina

“spy on their production for us?” - carlos

“anything for you <3″

i imagine you clash a lot with lily, but you actually become really good friends with howie and antoine. but that’s beside the point.

and while things are on good terms at first, your bond with your wildcats stays strong, and you’re carving out a place in north high rehearsals, lily is quick to find out that you’re on the east high group chat.

and because this is hsmtmts, i get to have some fun with this premise.

lily gets some kind of tech nerd on her side, and she gets him to make it so that somehow, the text that you get from the theatre group also send to her phone, for maximum stalking of the competition. that’s how she always gets one step ahead of east high.

and as north high seemingly continues to have insider info on east high, someone suspects there’s a leak.... which leads to you. who else has access to north high? so they send a fake text and wait to see if north high takes the bait.

they do. so now east high thinks it’s you.

but at this same time, you keep noticing that suspiciously, whenever you get a text from east high theatre department, lily’s phone goes off to. literally at the same moment, you’re doing your own test to see if somehow she hacked your phone.

(you had your suspicions because lily is actually terribly bad at hiding her hand and constantly makes remarks that make you Think™.)

you confirm lily to have hacked your phone, and so you go old school and show up to east high, hoping to tell them what happened and find some fix (since east high is the mother of all tech schools in this universe.)

but when you walk into the auditorium, the cast is being really passive aggressive toward you? and you’re so confused? what happened?

of course, ricky is the only to confront you because these days, it seems like he’s always one (1) moment away from blowing up.

and you explain that you were played just as much as they were - it was never your intention to betray them. east high is your family.

“oh, yeah? i’ve never known an east high leopard to go to north high.”

and so now we’re in shambles! we’re divided! 

you leave, upset, and ej catches you in the hall. he tries to explain that ricky’s been on one, recently, that none of his anger was really meant for you, and that he believes you - truly. he knows you’re the last person to ever betray them. you’re not like that. that’s more him than it is you.

and you just give him the world’s biggest  h u g .

now you’re probably wondering why i insisted on this particular plot line, but let me tell you - ej never really understood completely what a complete breach of trust it was for him to steak nini’s phone and violate her privacy like that. now he can see how deeply it affects you - how it can really ruin people in ways you never intend. it’s about the learning curve.

anyway, it takes you a while to build up trust with east high again, but you say “hey, why don’t you guys continue to send false leads to this group chat? make another for yourselves, and continue to spread misinformation to me.

ej is like... do you really want to sabotage your own show? but you tell him something along the lines of “our show is still going to have superior choreography, lily is just going to waste her time doing pointless side missions. it has nothing to do with the quality of my work.”

and ej loves this competitive and devious side of you so much. but he’s also deathly terrified of telling you how much he cares about you, because he always manages to screw things up.

and gina finds hilariously endearing because of all people to be self conscious... ej caswell? the ej caswell? she would be his hype woman if she wasn’t so busy finding this all too Good to be true.

eventually, lily will find out, but when she confronts you and threatens to tell the cast that you’re the reason they’re so behind in their production, you tell her that to do that, she’d have to confess to stealing your phone, hacking into it, and using it to spy on you which breaks like 23 different school rules. but sure! tell everyone! you’d love to see how the principal reacts when you film it and show it to them on monday.

(this is getting really long, let me see if i can wrap it up, quick)

clearly, ej is an Idiot when he’s in love, and even though he’s deathly afraid of telling you his feelings, that doesn’t stop him from expressing them.

both of you are in your respective musicals, and your rehearsal schedules align really nicely, so a lot of the time, ej will drive up to north high afterward so he can give you a ride home. (you don’t have a car, okay?) you guys always stop to get fast food or a drink at starbucks or something, and you have little “dates” where ej parks the car and the two of you eat in his car, just chatting about your day.

or on weekends, you and ej go and drive up to the state college that ej was admitted to, and you walk around campus, trying to envision him there. and if you’re also going to a school nearby, you do the same for you. (bonus points if you’re going to the same college, so you walk around and pick out the places where you’ll chill together.)

and if these little excursions of yours are the highlight of your week, and all you want to do is hold ej’s hand forever, singing in the car with the windows down and driving into the sunset... well, you just hope that ej wants the same.

and since ej is in av club, and he’s really trying to dig in and figure out what his story is, he’s always got a camera of some kind out, and some of his best work, he swears, are pictures and videos of you.

anyway, at some point, you confess to ej that you have a crush on him (howie probably pushed you to do it because he was tired of seeing you pine).

it’s a weekend and the two of you are procrastinating on your respective school assignments (study sessions being interrupted with senioritis? sounds about right) so instead you’re just sitting on the floor, staring at the ceiling, talking about whatever. and i think it just slips out, and when you realize what you’ve said, you’re vvv embarrassed, and you don’t even want to look at see how ej reacts, but he calls your name and you turn to him, a deadly mixture of dread and hope rooted in your stomach and shaking you to your core, but ej is smiling and in his eyes is something brighter than the sun, and when he tells you he’s feels the same, it’s like that dread in your stomach blooms into pure joy and when he tells you he’s had a crush on you since you were eighth graders and you were a better dancer than him, you can’t help but laugh until all of that warmth in your stomach has escaped into the air and hangs around the two of you like low hanging stars - so close, you can reach out and touch them.

anyway, cue lots of sneaking around north high - not because it’s a secret but because it’s fun hiding in the back of the auditorium and sneaking into the empty dance room.

cue cheering for each other at the menkies and congratulating each other when east high gets best musical, and north high gets best choreography (amongst others).

cue going to denny’s to celebrate and laughing until your sides hurt, stealing each other’s fries, and holding hands under the table.

(also... ej 100% would kiss your fingers when your hands are intertwined and that’s truly a blessing)

cue going to pool parties together for no other reason than i want all of the east high kids to do an impromptu rendition of “all for one” and ej gets to hit ricky with one of those blow up beach balls “for revenge” on the basketball moment in season 1.

plus, a pool party would do wonders for destressing, don’t lie.

AND FLUFF ENSUES.

taglist: @maybanksslut, @theletterhart, @brokenandheadoverheels, @neelia-thedaughtherof-athena @kitsdeadwife, @amortensie // add yourself to the taglist here!

[hsmtmts-justsomewriting]

Not to be your stereotypical second semester senior but EJ Caswell is a bit too busy to be thinking about sports metaphors...

(Alternative title- overcommitted..sounds like a Caswell)

Senior year was insanely busy. Being so overwhelmed EJ had been slowing down over the last couple weeks, but he was brushing it off just fine.

EJ has arrived late that day, which was unusual in itself, as he prides himself on being on time. Holding a half eaten packet of Oreos he shuffled into the rehearsal room slumping on the bleachers away from his chattering cast mates.

“EJ honey great you could join us, you’d think a senior couldn’t get lost in the halls!” Miss Jenn giggled at her own joke as the cast were suddenly alerted to the older boys presence. EJ absentmindedly nodded and grabbed out his script.

“Yeah...sorry..um...where are we at?”

“Page 63” “Cool... thanks”

Flipping to that part in the script, he looks up to take in the scene. Kourtney, Gina, Seb and Carlos are clearly half way through blocking a castle scene- Carlos complaining his arms are tired from ‘staying in character’, Kourtney and Seb working out where they are going to come in from and how to negotiate Sebs big box costume (although it’s proving very difficult considering the rehearsal room is about a quarter of the size of the stage) and Gina is animatedly discussing the scene choices with Miss Jenn.

Within an instant, EJ is startled from the scene as Natalie is beside him rambling something about ‘needing a fill in for cogworth’ ‘went home sick’. Sauntering up with his script, EJ’s vision goes spotted as he gets up from the bleachers. But as soon as it comes it’s gone.

He just needs to get through this rehearsal, then he can; go home, finish his debate speech, go over the plays for Friday’s waterpolo match, study for tomorrow’s maths assessment, start his exam notes, memorise his lines, work on his college applications, and maybe even get some sleep.

Joining the cast he tries to hide in the back corner. Following the basic blocking directions seemed harder than usual, his head had began to pound and fatigue hit him like a wave.

However he continued on, sluggish but present helping them to finish blocking the scene.

Walking back to his place on the bleachers EJ trips over his own feet. Catching himself before a big splat on the floor he is able to avoid the attention of his cast mates. Well mostly.

“EJ are you ok?”

EJ didn’t need to look up to know that his cousin had definitely seen his little trip.

“Yep fine”

“Ok try again but this time make it the truth”

Ashlyn was caring but firm, she definitely wasn’t going to brush it off. EJ could feel his facade fading under her concerned gaze. His voice drops low.

“I-i just don’t know... Ash, I’m trying-“

“ON TO THE NEXT SCENE Gaston and Le Fou, I need you boys to start down stage right”

EJ got up slowly, subtly steadying himself against a chair not to lose balance.

“Nevermind it’ll be fine”

EJ walks off, with that any vulnerablity on face vanishing, leaving Ashlyn’s stomach to churn in a pool of worry.

Being an after school rehearsal, most of the cast heads off after they start rehearsing the next scene as it only has Gaston and Le Fou. Leaving the rehearsal room with just Miss Jenn, Big Red, EJ, Ashlyn and Gina (the latter two who were waiting on the senior for a ride home).

EJ and Big Red slowly work through the dialogue, the scene is about as smooth as a clunky old railway track. After running it twice EJ feels like his words are melding into one. But pushing through, based off his poor entrenched habits, EJ made it through another run through of the scene.

“Um can we take a five?”

Miss Jenn looks at the senior perplexed, he’s never asked for a five. Ever.

“EJ honey is everything ok?”

“Hm, yeah just need a sec”

EJ’s exhausation catches up with him, the light seems to highlight the bags under his eyes. He drops onto the bleachers, resting his head in his hands he closes his eyes for a second.

“Miss Jenn, EJ doesn’t look so good maybe you guys should wrap this up for today-”

“Ash I’m-“

“No. You look exhausted! You barely have the energy to stand up for 10 minutes”

Ashlyn moves to grab him his drink bottle but runs into his iced coffee and Oreo packet first. She flinches. Her cousin never drinks coffee unless he purely needs the caffeine.

EJ freezes she moment he realises she’s seen it.

“When was the last time you slept?!”

All eyes are on him.

“James” His head snapped up. But he couldn’t look his cousin in the eye. Because then she’d see his eyes are glassy with unshed tears. His overwhelmed thoughts race through his mind.

“Ok I think we’ll pick this up next rehearsal, please be safe getting home and get some rest”

The four students start to pack up their bags, Ashlyn asking her boyfriend to give them all a lift. Turning to her cousin, helps him finish packing his stuff.

“You can stay in the guest room, we’re having lasagna tonight”

EJ too tired to protest, walks past his Jeep in the parking lot to get in a smaller orange bug car. He’ll have to come back for it tomorrow because there’s no way he could drive safely in his tired state.

The car ride home was eerily quiet, Ashlyn day in the passenger seat next to Big Red. He drove to Ashlyn’s house like a routine he knew by heart. Gina keep flicking worried glances at EJ but the senior didn’t even notice, having closed his eyes and resting against the window the moment he entered the car.

“Thanks for the ride Biggie”

Gina gentley nudged EJ and his eyes were open in an instant.

“Thanks Red” He mumbled as he got out of the car.

“No worries, take care guys”

As the orange car was disappearing into the distance, Ashlyn unlocked the front door. Gina and EJ follow her into the house.

“James lets go the living room”

EJ follows Ashlyn to the couch, and Gina continues past to grab a drink of water from the kitchen.

“What’s going on?”

Ashlyn puts a hand on his shoulder and gently squeezes it, grounding him and reminding him that she’s here to listen. He looks at the faded colourful rug and his words begin to vomit out softly.

“I’m just trying to get it all done ...and um.. for weeks I just never seem to have enough time, and I still have to do my study notes and finish my assessment and college apps tonight... but I’m just so tired...”

His voice cracks and the wall behind his eyes begin to break.

“I have to stay up so late, to get everything I have to all done...and then polo practice at the crack of dawn... i don’t know.. I just can’t... let anyone down..”

Ashlyn pulls EJ in tightly. His body wracked with sobs, her heart breaks as she hasn’t seen him like this in a long time. Gina initially freezes entering the room just as the senior had begun to cry but soon shifts over beside them engulfing them both in a hug.

Grabbing some tissues and a sip of water he’s able to stop his crying but his tense shoulders give away his overwhelmed mind.

“it will be ok, we’ll work this out. Everyone else will understand if everything is not done right now. You’ve got to take better care of yourself, what matters is if you are ok”

Gina nods in agreeance with Ashlyn as she comforts EJ.

“But for now you need to take a break, just have a quick nap before dinner in the guest room-“

“But I have to-“

“No James you need a rest, all this stuff can come later”

He sluggishly gets up heading for the guest room mumbling a “thanks Ash” as he retreats to his long awaited rest.

After he closes the door, Ashlyn lets out the breath she had been holding. She was convinced they would have to put up more of a fight to get him to go to sleep, but the fact that they didn’t was almost more concerning.

“He did seem a little bit off earlier in the week but yeah I had no idea that this was under the surface”

Gina says to break the silence created by her and Ashlyn’s shocked worry.

“Yeah he’s always been pretty good at bottling this stuff up, definitely a Caswell skill”

Ashlyn starts to pick up the tissues heading to the bin in the kitchen. Both the girls enter the kitchen to finish heating up the leftover lasagna they made yesterday.

While cooking the veggies the girls trade stories of earlier in the day and discuss the spotting of Miss Jenn and Mr Mazzarra at Sliced on Valentine’s. Just as they’re plating up, EJ reappears. He looks somewhat disheveled, wearing sweats and his usually spiked hair is messy like a 2012 Bieber hairstyle. His contacts are long gone being traded for his wide framed glasses.

“Feeling any better?”

Bringing the plates to the table they all sit in their usual seats.

“Yeah a little...thanks guys this looks amazing”

As if on cue his stomach grumbles with excitement and they dig into the food. The three teens continue to tell stories of their day. Although exhausted, a goofy smile makes its way onto EJ’s face while telling the girls about his classmate in English that tried justify his argument quoting spark notes, instead of the actual book.

Once they’re finished, EJ stacks and clears away the plates. Grabbing her laptop, Ashlyn creates a new copy of one of her old timetables modified with all EJ’s stuff. After cleaning the dishes, EJ plops down beside her and together they start to work out.

Half an hour and a warm hot chocolate later, they manage to finish a schedule that looks like it fit a bit of time for everything while keeping a heathy amount of rest time.

“Thank you so much Ash... I really appreciate it”

Ashlyn smiles back at her cousin.

“Just promise me you’ll take care of yourself, or at least you’ll let me know if you need help”

EJ engulfs her in a hug.

“Yeah I will, thanks”

As they both move to join Gina in the lounge room, EJ grabs his laptop to start completing his speech. Flopping down onto the couch, the tv is turned onto a Brooklyn Nine Nine halloween heist episode.

Taking EJs laptop at 9:30, the older boy fell asleep within an instant. Keeping to his promise, he followed the schedule he made with Ashlyn (most of the time at least) and finally learnt how to ask for help when he realised he couldn’t do it alone. And when he asked for help, Ashlyn and Gina were always there with an extra mug of hot chocolate.

Thanks for reading! I’m open to write prompts or suggestions

(...Also if anyone can think of any better names for this please comment because all my thoughts were low key trash😂)

[multimetaverse]

HSMTMTS 2x07 Review

The Field Trip was a campy ep that recaptured some of the charm of S1. Let’s dig in!

S2 has often struggled with taking itself too seriously but finally we got some good campy fun that reminded me of why S1 was so great. North High finally come into their own as villains. The Howie reveal was very well done, poor Kourtney inadvertently being the source of the leaks. I can’t tell if Antoine’s accent is bad on purpose or not but he was funny tonight when he dragged Big Red and I loved how forward he was with Ashlyn. It’s good that the trio of new characters finally feel like they’re part of a larger plot rather than being somewhat random additions to the cast.

Lily continues to act like she’s on Glee which is exactly the right energy for the role. The stick to the stuff you know line was great as was Seb’s bop to the top retort. North High clearly won the dance off though Gina being in a skirt limited her. Lily was doing it with bad intentions but she was absolutely right that the rose song was a dig at Ricky and didn’t fit the musical and that they’d be disqualified for performing it. Miss Jenn should have already known they’d be disqualified for adding it and Ricky should have already been able to tell that the song was about him. I think it’s more and more likely that Lily is the party crasher who Ricky re-evaluates in 2x12 and she could well be the unexpected face time call he gets in 2x10.  

It took 7 eps but we finally got an ep where Gina wasn’t upset over Ricky and thank god for that; the constant angst was sucking the life out of her plot. Of course, the reason she wasn’t going through it is because she was spending her time with EJ. I think this ep should put to rest any notion of Portwell just being platonic. Some people are still clinging to Matt’s interview where he refers to EJ and Gina as friends but he was clearly being misleading, even if nothing else happens it’s clear that Gina is not just a friend to EJ. I’ve seen people try and claim that Gina and EJ are like siblings with each other or that they’re practically related because Gina is roommates with EJ’s cousin as if there’s some sort of Westermarck effect by proxy but family members don’t pretend to be dating. 

The morning show was a lot of fun and the fake dating was cute. In contrast to the last time they fake dated back in 1x05 we can see how much happier and more comfortable they are with each other now. Notably they had EJ circle back to it well after it happened which led to Gina’s line about everything going back to normal which is a tell that everything has not gone back to normal for them. We can see EJ’s inherent goofiness shining through with the Risotto inside joke they now have. Much like Joshaya on GMW there are valid reasons to not go ahead with the ship, although Portwell doesn’t have the creepiness or borderline illegality of Joshaya, but the chemistry between the characters is real and can’t be ignored. 

Rini hurtles towards a breakup which could come as soon as next ep. Hard to tell if Ricky was in denial or just too stupid to understand the songs meaning. I'd prefer the former since a 17 year old would have to lack basic comprehension skills to not understand that the lyrics were a thinly veiled attack on him.

Nini trying to claim it was just a song at the end was disingenuous, she didn’t want Ricky to hear it for a reason. Her deciding to use her given name Nina for her music account is obviously meant to symbolize her independence from Ricky since he first gave her that nickname back in the first grade. However, it makes Ricky seem like some malign influence on her basically her entire life when it’s not like he forced her to go by Nini or prevented her from going back to Nina during the 10 odd years of their friendship/relationship together.

Miss Jenn and Zachie were fun but such a risk on his part to steal the mask, that’s trespassing and theft and a sure disqualification not to mention the very real risk of being criminally charged. The door is now closed on Jike and Jachie and the path for Jazarra is open.

Rouge Grand was funny but I hope this Redlyn angst isn’t dragged out too long. 

Mob song wasn’t good, the skrillex beat drop was not needed. Around You was good though. I just noticed that Tim abandoned, or was forced to by covid, his plan to have 3 songs per ep instead of 2 which is for the best I think. 

Looking Ahead:

Looks like next week will be a big one for Portwell and EJ in general. We get Gaston, career day with EJ’s dad, and then EJ hanging with Gina and helping her knit which is very domestic. I’d bet if you showed that clip of them knitting to someone who had never seen the show  they’d assume the character were dating. So it looks like Mr. Caswell has bought EJ’s way into Duke which is no longer EJ’s dream, if it ever was.

As I said last week, there’s a clear path forward for Portwell to get together in the season finale and next ep will probably take a big step towards making it happen. We have the chemistry, we’ve gotten moments between them, and we know EJ’s feelings, we just need Gina to recognize her budding feelings for EJ. I think Gina running into Jack at the airport in 2x09 will help her clear her head on what she wants and a part of that will be whether she still wants to try and be with Ricky or does she want to take a chance with EJ.

Obviously S3 will almost certainly leave Portwell in the dust in order to do Rina for a bit which will piss off a lot of fans but Tim’s screwed himself over here; there’s really no way that this series ends without a large chunk of the audience being bitterly disappointed over who’s endgame. Love triangles are a done to death trope but they typically involve some minor characters who can written off once the triangle is over, not main characters who have to be in every ep no matter what. 

More Redlyn angst next week as well as the wildcats being benched for a week due to trespassing at North High. 

A lot of people think that the show is having Nini get into songwriting because of Olivia’s success but the scripts would have been written before she released Driver’s License and shot to stardom. She’s also still contracted for two more seasons though she’d clearly leave before that if Disney would let her. 

The Rini treehouse scene could well be the breakup, gotta go my own way would fit well if that’s the case. This is another area where Tim needs to tread carefully. He can’t have Rini hate each other or avoid each other for the remaining 20 odd eps of the series but also can’t fully close the door on them since he’ll almost certainly have Rini be endgame as they graduate from East High at the end of S4. 

At this point it seems pretty unrealistic that East High would win the Menkies but this is a tv show so who knows. There’s one big song left that would work for some of the couples they, Something There, which could work for Portwell, Howell, or Rina so we’ll see if we get it.

2x07 marks the last of the clips we saw in the original S2 trailer so we’re largely flying blind now.

Until next week wildcats. 

[chemist-ana]

Day 7 of #101Smiles is this risqué photo Ana decides to post of Sam... all in the name of the TNA theme right? I know I missed yesterday, but that was really because I have a life and I needed to take a day, HOWEVER, I have a super fun and delicious treat for you. I wrote a ficlet to go with this photo- how does the conversation go between Sam and Ana when she gets home AFTER posting this photo? Enjoy naughties.

A/N. Also- this is one of the first times that I intended this story to go in a different direction but Ana just had a different idea. It was really astonishing actually... she totally took over. Anyways... I will post it below, and also link it separately to put it in my Masterlist.

NSFW Content, WARNING. Language and Sexual Situations.

Word count: 1,050 (yes its 50 words too long to be a ficlet, but still worth the read)

I bite my lip and tap my finger on the side of my phone... it’s such a delicious picture... fuck it. The paparazzi already published photos of his smoking hot dad bod.

I press post and grin as the photo of a shirtless, bearded, Sam from our honeymoon pops onto my feed. My eyes slide down his sculpted chest to the towel that hangs low on his hips showing off his drool worthy sex lines.

“Earth to Ana?” My eyes snap up to Jenny who is giving me a wide eyed look as her eyes flick between her phone screen and my face. “I mean... I’m all about flaunting what you got... but something tells me Mr. Anti-Social Media is not going to like this...” she flips her phone around and shows me the photo I just posted on her feed.

I shrug my shoulders and set my phone down on the table in front of me. Jenny purses her lips, trying to hide her smile, as she shakes her head and sets her phone down.

“I’m sure I will find out soon enough.” My eyes shift to the remnants of my salad as I pick up my fork and take the last few bites.

The ping of my phone alerts me of a text... it’s from Sam. I can feel Jenny’s eyes on me as Sam and I text back and forth... about the photo.

“I should probably get going...” my eyes lift to find Jenny smiling.

“Go, I’ll take care of the check.”

“Thanks Jenn.”

“Mmmhm, good luck.”

I grab my LV Neverfull, stuffing my phone inside, and I hail a taxi to take me home.

***

I walk into the quiet penthouse and find Sam in the kitchen. He turns his gaze on me and the heat in his eyes makes me stop in my tracks. Oh he’s angry.

“After everything we went through with the tabloids, I thought you would understand the importance of our privacy and discretion.” His hands squeeze the counter top, his knuckles turning white.

“Sam, it’s a photo on my private account. And it’s nothing that everyone hasn’t already seen.” Maybe not so much of that V… but oh well…

He takes long strides until he is right in front of me. I reach up to press my palms to his chest and he grabs my wrists, preventing me from touching him, his breath heavy and the tension rolling off of his body.

“Sam… what’s so bad about flaunting what you have? You have the most beautiful body I have ever seen…” My eyes slowly slide down his chest and he loosens his hold on my wrists. “I just like to show everyone else what I get to have everyday for the rest of my life…”

“While I appreciate the compliment, you know that’s not what it’s about.”

“Then tell me… what is it about?” I look up into his dark brown eyes beneath my eye lashes but his tension doesn’t subside. Damn that usually works…

“The fact that you even need to ask that is the problem, Ana. You know how people treat the Dalton name, this photo is too much, you need to take it down.”

“Sam…”

“Please, take it down.” His fingers tighten around my wrists which elicits a different response than he was probably hoping for. I lick my lips and I hear his breath hitch.

“I know what you are trying to do, and it’s not going to work. You really want your family seeing that?” His voice husky.

“I have nothing to hide… and neither do you.” My voice drops as I try to move my hands back to his chest, and this time he lets me. He drops his hold on my wrists and narrows his eyes at me. I see his determination start to waver. I run my palms across the planes of his abs and feel the muscles ripple underneath. I see his Adams apple rise and fall. My hands continue down until I feel the bulge that is growing in his jeans and I give it a squeeze.

“Are you sure it’s not working, Mr. Dalton?” My eyes meet his and his eyes are hooded and dark with desire.

“This conversation isn’t over.” He grabs the back of my neck and kisses me hard as he takes a step forward and sandwiches me between him and the counter, our kisses urgent and raw. His hands travel down my curves, squeezing my breast, until he grabs my thighs and effortlessly lifts my body up until my ass is on the cold marble counter.

“God, Ana, I am addicted to you.” His lips leave mine as his hands travel back up, pulling my dress down to expose my tender, aching, breasts. He takes my left breast into his hand, pinching my nipple into a stiff peak. My head lulls back as a soft moan escapes my lips. “I’m addicted to the way you smell.” His nose travels along my jaw until he rests a soft kiss below my ear. He squeezes my breast again. “I’m addicted to the way you taste.” His mouth travels to my right breast, taking my nipple between his lips and sucking hard. Another small moan escapes my lips.

“And that. That sexy little sound you make when you want me inside of you.” He reaches down under my dress and grabs my thong, ripping it from my body. He presses his hips forward and I can feel his erection through his pants. I reach up under his shirt, my fingers finding purchase on the strong muscles of his back. I hear him lower the zipper of his jeans. “I’m addicted to every single inch of your body, baby.”

Without warning he thrusts his hips forward, filling me. “Every. Single. Fucking. Inch.” He accentuates each word with a deeper thrust of his hips.

“Oh, god. Sam!” I cry out as my fingers claw at his back. My senses, overwhelmed, all that exists is Sam. His lips meet mine again with heated kisses as his hands travel down my back, gripping my ass and pulling me deeper onto his throbbing erection. I let myself get completely lost in the moment. I let myself get lost in him, because that is where I always feel at home. The photo be dammed.

Tag list: @genevievemd @txemrn @thefrenchiemama @mainstreetreader @somersetmummy @lady-calypso @lucy-268 @shewillreadyou @itsjustwinter @jennieausten @melalicious8383

Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list!

[rickybowensfever]

Sicktember - Ricky’s Doctor Visit

 Part two of What If Ricky Missed Auditions?

Read on AO3

#Sicktember prompts 

Doctor’s Visit/Check Up

Contagious

CW: Lack of appetite

By Friday, Ricky felt awful. He had a pounding headache, his throat was raw, excruciatingly sore and his fever lingered from the day before. While his Dad was calling him out of school for another day, he texted him. 

R:  can you take me to the dr? 

D: Sure!!

Ricky sat in the cold office. Fluorescent lights flickering. He wore a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt. He was shivering even though he just took another dose of medicine before he left the house. Talking was becoming unbearable as the pain in his throat got worse with every word he made out. 

“Ricky Bowen?” the nurse called out. 

Ricky nodded as he heard his name and walked back with the nurse to an empty room. 

“So, Ricky, what’s going on?” she asked, with a laptop resting on her lap. 

“My throat. Is. Sore” he said, hoarsely. Almost rolling his eyes at her questions. His throat hurt so much, he’d rather not talk. But, he knew that was impossible. 

“Right. Okay. And, when did that start?” she asked. 

“Wednesday” he muttered, wincing as he talked. 

 After what felt like a million questions, the nurse exited the room until the doctor came in. 

The door opened and a tall, brown man in a white coat came into the room. 

“Hi, Ricky! I’m Dr. Martinez” the man said, taking a seat where the nurse sat. 

Ricky answered the same questions he just told the nurse. He felt annoyed having to repeat himself especially when his throat was on fire. 

The man examined his eyes, nose, and finally, his throat. 

“Ah, I see. Well, I’m going to run a strep test. Is that alright?” he asked. 

Ricky nodded. Sure, whatever would make him get out of here faster and make his throat hurt less. 

The doctor came back with a white stick incased in plastic. He opened the plastic and revealed the thin stick. 

“This will be a little uncomfortable, but it’ll be quick” he explained, holding the instrument up in the air. 

“Open” the doctor instructed. Ricky opened his mouth and the doctor swabbed his throat. Ricky coughed, groaning from the pain. 

“Be right back!” the doctor said. 

Ricky yawned. God, he was so tired. He just wanted to go home and go right back to bed. 

Minutes later, the doctor came back. 

“Hi, Ricky. The strep test came back positive,” the doctor said, “I’m going to write you a prescription for some antibiotics, and I can write you a doctor’s note as well. You’ll probably be back at school in about 5-7 days. I’ll consult with your Dad on when the note should be good until” the doctor explained to him. 

He quickly wrote on a white sheet of paper and handed it to him. 

“Here is the prescription. You can give this to your dad and I’ll walk you out” the man said.  

Ricky nodded. “Thanks,” he said, raspy. 

“Sure thing! Feel better” he said as they walked into the waiting room. 

“Mr. Bowen, a word?” the doctor said. Mike got up from his seat to greet the doctor. 

“Dr. Martinez, nice to meet you,” the man said, and continued to fill his Dad in on everything. 

 Ricky sat in the waiting room until his Dad finished talking. “Alright, let’s get this prescription in and I’ll take you home to get some rest. Then, I’ll go pick it up later. You might want to give Nini and Miss Jenn a heads up. Sorry, bud” his dad said, feeling bad for his son. 

 Ricky was relieved when the car drove into their driveway. He quickly unbuckled his seat belt and slowly walked up to his room. 

“I’ll bring up some more of that pain reliever and maybe some soup?” His Dad asked his son as he was halfway up the stairs. 

Ricky turned his head, nodding at his Dad. 

“Sorry, I know you’re in pain,” he said, “Get some rest, and I’ll keep the soup on the stove for later” 

Ricky nodded again and finally made it to his bed where he curled up under the covers and fell asleep. 

 His phone was blowing up when he woke up. His room was dark. Ugh, he must’ve been asleep for hours. 

N: hey babe, any news? 

N: hope you’re resting, love you <3 

Wildcats GC 50 Unread Messages

 His throat was raw, the pain medicine from earlier clearly wore off. Ricky dreaded having to tell his friends and Nini that he was too sick for auditions. It was Friday. Usually, he was going to Slices with Nini and meeting their friends there for their Friday night plans - playing board games and watching movies on Netflix at Ashlynn’s. 

Ricky took a deep breath. He took his phone, tapped Nini’s messages opening them on his screen, and started typing away. 

R: gonna miss auditions 

R: i have strep 

Nini was probably already at Ashlynn’s, rehearsing for tomorrow. So, while he waited for his phone to buzz, he attempted to get out of bed and get his antibiotics. 

He slowly walked down the stairs, hearing the TV playing. His Dad was watching college baseball. Trying to be as quiet as possible, his Dad inevitably heard him. 

“Hey, Rick! I got your medicine and there’s some soup on the stove. Medicine is on the counter” 

“Thanks,” he said, his voice hoarse.  Ricky took the white bag from the pharmacy and pulled out an orange bottle with his name on it, reading the directions, he took one large pill chasing down with water. 

His appetite was non-existent. But, he knew he had to eat something. He clicked on the stovetop where the pot of soup was sitting and stirred it with a spoon, waiting for the heat to kick on. 

Bzz. 

 N: Aw, that’s not good :( I’m sorry! I’m at Ash’s and everyone says to get better!

N: Let me know if you need anything! Love you <3

R: thx but strep is contagious, i don’t want you catching it 

N: That doesn’t mean I can’t drop something off at your house :)

Ricky smiled softly.  He was so excited for auditions when Miss Jenn announced it. Though, he would’ve preferred HSM 2. He was more prepared for that, anyway. However, since he auditioned and was the lead for High School Musical, he really enjoyed singing and dancing - and now it was being taken from him. 

Well, I guess that’s what he got for trying to miss his Math test. 

[27emailsicantsend]

New Year’s Eve: A Rina Fic

Author’s Note: I thought it would be fun to make this a continuation off of my Christmas Eve Rina fic. So, if you haven’t read it, you can find it here. However, this can be read on it’s own too and still mostly make sense. Enjoy! ❤

“So... you gonna kiss him tonight or what?” Ashlyn elbowed Gina.

Gina rolled her eyes with a half-cackle. “You guyssss. For the millionth time, when it’s supposed to happen it’ll happen”.

“But it’s New Years Eve, Gina,” Nini encouraged. “You missed your opportunity under the mistletoe by a long shot”.

Gina gave Nini a side eye. “Nini, you were literally there and had just broken up with him. Besides, you know we didn’t have a mistletoe... money...”

“We could of made one,” Nini huffed under her breath.

Gina couldn’t help but giggle. Gina thought it would have been weirder than it was to go after Ricky after he and Nini broke up, but she and Nini had some really good talks after Christmas Eve. Ones where Nini elaborated that she only ever really liked Ricky as a way to hold onto her past. Seeing him still pine after Gina made her realize he was moving on and so should she. There was going to be someone that kept up with her dreams eventually, but she was focused on this potential new school in Denver and she liked seeing Gina happy. Nini encouraging them to date felt fun, girly, and natural- a comforting feeling Gina hadn’t had until now. She actually had friends; real friends that didn’t make her feel like she was invisible or forgotten once she moved. She was home.

“When it’s the right time, we’ll know. Besides, a New Year’s Eve kiss? Do you really want me to be that cliché?” Gina scrunched her face at Nini, Ashlyn, Kourtney, and Carlos who were overly invested in her love life as they made their way to the bus. The drama department did a fundraiser during High School Musical so the students could pay to go somewhere fun New Years Eve as a celebration for the play. The fundraiser made a lot of money due to the generous contributions of parents and a lot of begging.

The bus still had a crisp, chilly feeling from sitting over night in the Utah winter air. The smell of leather hit the students noses when they boarded and took their seats. Gina sat in a seat behind Nini and Kourtney, next to Seb and Carlos, with the other seats surrounding filled by other students from the show. She looked out the fogged window to the nearly empty parking lot as the bus quietly hummed. Gina took out her finger and traced her initials and a small snowflake on the glass.

Just as she was finishing her last stem on the snow flake, a tired voice jump-scared her. “Can I sit here?”

“Oh.. uh..uhm.. yeah.. that’s totally fine. Let me.. let me just see where I can put this...” Gina stammered as she clumsily grabbed her bag.

Ricky gave a tired smile as he fell into the seat by her. Nini and Kourtney exchanged glances and Big Red took a seat next to another stage hand. He turned around and gave a knowing smile and Gina pretended not to notice Ricky’s “cut-it-out” gestures to him.

“How’s your morning going?”

“Good. Just super tired. My mom came home late and I forgot to pack, so we were up doing that,” Gina replied. “How about you?”

“Same. I was trying to make this big breakfast this morning so I got up early to make it. But then I got a piece of toast stuck in the toaster. I got worried it would set our fire alarm off, so I had to run and find a towel to whip the smoke out, but I couldn’t find any that weren’t wet in the washer. So then I called Red...” Gina pretended to nod along to Ricky’s “Breakfast Adventures”, but she couldn’t help but notice, Ricky was wearing the hat she made him. She hadn’t really seen him wear it a ton, but he looked cozy in it. She refrained from smiling too much as she pretended to listen. Good thing she brought the scarf he made her- it was her bag, however.

The bus ride wasn’t super long, about an hour and a half. The front of the bus was mostly adults and students trying to sleep, with one or two in the back sleeping as well. Gina’s area of students was anything but quiet, however. The adrenaline of being with all of their friends, preparing for a super fun over night trip was beyond exciting to them. They cracked jokes, watched internet videos, sang “Bet On It” as badly as they could, and showed weird talents they had with their bodies (Ricky could wiggle his ears and Nini was double jointed in all of her fingers).

The bus finally arrived to a beautiful ski lodge nestled on a slope in the mountains. Fairy lights and snow draped the scenery. Pine trees scattered the winter wonderland with a beautiful blue ski canvasing the background. The snow was fresh with minimal footprints; icicles hanging from every part of the wooden rooftop.

The students walked in awe as they made their way up the slippery walk way, holding tightly to the railing on the iced over steps. Seb was the only one to really slip on the steps, but Carlos caught him before he completely landed. Gina and Ricky walked in slowly, taking in the sight inside.

The giant main doors opened up to a large foyer, with a grand double stair case sweeping in from either side. To the left, a large rock and marble kitchen plus dining room and to the right, a common area with a ping pong table, fireplace, large cozy couches and lazy-man chairs, and pull down projector screen.

A man about in his sixties wearing a plaid tucked in shirt, high-waisted pants, and clunky brown boots approached the foyer and faced the visitors. “Hi everyone! Welcome to my ski resort. I’m the owner, Mr. Tomas. I am so happy to have you here. There’s not much to know... let’s see...We left fresh towels in the bathrooms and any of the food in the fridge is yours to eat. Please don’t break anything and clean up after yourselves... I think those are all the basis, right?”

Miss Jenn gave an acknowledging giggle to Mr. Thomas.

“Oh, wait! One more thing. If you use any of the gaming stuff downstairs, please be sure to wind the cords back. It protects them from getting tangled, torn, etcetera.”

Down stairs? Gina hadn’t even noticed a downstairs. Mr. Thomas released everyone to start their vacation. While all of the students ran upstairs to claim beds, Gina walked through the common room and peered around the corned. In the back of the house, behind and under the stair case rested two wooden doors leading downstairs.

Gina opened the door and looked around to see if anyone else was around. She secretly hoped not, because she liked the idea of getting to see everything first hand. It was the only part she looked forward to with each move- getting to snoop around the house and find it’s hidden gems before anyone else did.

When the coast was clear, she flicked on the stair light and quietly closed the door. She held onto the railing as she made her way down the newly carpeted stairs. The bottom of the stairs opened up to a giant finished basement. It felt warm and cozy, like the rest of the house, but playful because of the many interesting things it held.

The room opened up to a large karaoke machine on a small platform. It had mini lyric screens on podiums and two microphone connected neatly to the podium. On one wall were about twenty shadow boxes, all with different game boards in them. The pieces most likely hidden in the back of the frames. On the other wall, a nook cut out in the middle of it, cushioned floor to ceiling with fairy lights, pillows, and blankets (which Gina claimed in her head before anyone else could). Gina noticed other things like a mini kitchenette, a large leather couch, a couple of bean bag chairs, and an air hockey machine. The entire room felt like an opulent version of Red’s bedroom or her house, but Gina wasn’t complaining. 

She quickly made her way back up the stairs, assuming all of the beds had been claimed. About half of the students were in the commons, a quarter playing outside in the snow, and the other quarter most likely upstairs in the bedrooms. Gina grabbed her suitcase from the staircase and went up the landing. There were two doors in front of her, another to her left and another to her right. The ones on the left were labeled “Boys” and the ones on the right “Girls”. She opened up the “Girls” door in front of her and was welcomed to a large marble bathroom. It had a long narrow walkway with stalls and sinks, and at the end 3 showers only closed off with curtains. Just like Mr. Thomas said there was a tall shelving system filled to the brim with fresh, white towels.

She left the bathroom and went to the other room labeled “Girls”. It opened up to several rows of bunk-beds and large dressers opposite them. Every bed had items on it except one bottom bunk in the back corner. Gina rolled her heavy suitcase to it’s rightful place and took a seat on her bed.

Whilst admiring her surroundings, she decided to pull out the scarf from her case and maybe go hang out with the other students outside. She grabbed the bright orange and yellow speckled piece of fabric and wrapped it around her neck.

“I don’t understand how you can make such an ugly thing look so beautiful”. Gina jumped to the sound of Ricky’s voice. Thankfully, the bunk was high enough she didn’t hit her head.

Blushing, she stood up quickly, eyes wide. “You scared me! Don’t do that!” Gina playfully shoved Ricky, as he giggled it off.

“I was just coming up to tell you dinner will be ready soon. Mr. Thomas ordered catering for tonight so we wouldn’t have to cook”. Ricky focused in on Gina’s eye contact more as he continued to grin profusely. “I really love this place”.

“What’s for dinner?” Gina asked as Ricky took a small step closer. “I really hope it’s like chicken...,” another step so their faces were about three inches apart, “or rice...or...” Ricky leaned in as Gina closed her eyes, letting her words drift. Their lips were breathing on each other when Red flung the door open.

“DINNER IS READY GUYS!” Both Gina and Ricky jumped back. Gina began to nervously straighten out her clothes, as Ricky grinned-obviously annoyed- and said through his teeth, “we’re coming”.

Big Red was either really good at acting or completely oblivious because he perkily said, “great! See you down there. I’ll save you a seat buddy!” And left with a spirited wink to Ricky.

Ricky flapped his arms out uncomfortably as he said, “well, guess we better go down”.

And Gina awkwardly agreed with an awkward thumb point to the doorway. “Guess so!”

They both ran down the stairs to the dining room. The table looked completely different from when Gina first saw it. The caterers worked fast. There were candles lit, satin napkins wrapping new silverware and tied with twine, and 3 large white plates with gold engravings stacked biggest to smallest. A white crocheted runner went down the table and large plates of food and wine glasses filled with water lined it. Everyone else seemed comfortable in their places, including Red who- as promised- had an empty seat next to him waiting for Ricky. But Gina couldn’t feel as at home with everything. She had never been to anything this fancy in her life. Ricky sat down quickly by Red as Gina walked shyly to the spot between Ashlyn and Carlos near the other end of the table- definitely out of speaking distance of Ricky.

The gang warmly greeted her as she sat down. Miss Jenn stood up and gave a nice toast, thanking everyone for their hard work in the play and encouraged everyone to “dig in”. The table became restless with people filling their plates as quickly as possible, dishes clattering and Seb taking way too many rolls. Once everyone settled down and got their food, the crowd chatted and ate to their heart’s content. Gina hadn’t noticed, but Ricky had looked at her about five times throughout the entire dinner. Red had, though.

“Ricky, dude, just enjoy the meal. You can kiss her later,” Red interrupted his fifth stare.

“Uh.. um.. what? No. I’m not gonna kiss her,” Ricky said defensively.

“We all know you want to know,” Red said as he dropped his voice.

“So what if I do?”

“Just eat your food. It’s New Years Eve. You’ll have the perfect opportunity tonight,” Red said as he scooped some more green beans on a plate.

Ricky stared at Gina again. He couldn’t help but feel like that was wrong... almost out of place for their relationship. If anything, they’ve been all but predictable. Even when he first began to like her, it came after a night of her bickering with EJ and Ricky saying something he honestly regrets now. Their first kiss shouldn’t be pressured.

Once the meal was finished, Ricky and the other boys washed the dishes while the girls gathered them from the table and brought them to the sink. The dishes were Mr. Thomas’, so the caterer’s were long gone by now. Seb and Carlos began play dancing in the kitchen, and soon Ashlyn and Red joined. Nini changed the song on the speaker to “Born to Be Brave” and soon the whole cast was dancing with each other. Gina was grabbing random people and being spun or doing funny dance moves with them. By the end of the second song most of the cast had left and by the time it got to the third it was just Seb, Carlos, Ricky, and Gina talking. Seb and Carlos decided to go join everyone else downstairs, but Ricky and Gina remained in the middle of the kitchen.

Nini’s phone changed to “Can I Have This Dance?” from High School Musical 3. Without hesitation, Ricky walked up close to Gina. She was still wearing his scarf, which he grabbed with a singled hand and quietly unwrapped it off her neck. He took a side step as he tossed it to the counter. Then he held out his hand as Gabriella sang, “take my hand”, singing along with her. Ricky pulled Gina in close, her hand in a fist on his chest, head nestled into his neck, as they swayed while he sang softly in her ear.

When the music ended, Gina pulled back and made eye contact with Ricky. Their faces close, slowly leaning in. Their moment got cut off, yet again, by yelling in the common room- which connected through the back to the kitchen- so there was no privacy. They both giggled while still holding onto each other. Gina pounded Ricky’s chest lightly with her fist and said, “let’s go downstairs”. Ricky agreed (with some resistance in his voice) as she grabbed his hand to lead him downstairs where the rest of the cast was. All of them were spread out on chairs talking, playing games, and EJ trying to set up the karaoke machine.

Gina walked over to assist EJ while Ricky played air hockey with Kourtney. The cast spent the night playing games and singing horribly to their favorite High School Musical songs. They drank a ton of soda, took cute candid photos, and laughed until they hurt.

Red took his phone out for the New York countdown and all of them watched the small screen giddily. They all held their small champagne glasses filled with cider as they watched with anticipation. 

“Five... Four... Three... Two... One... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!” The gang cheered and hollered. Glasses clinked and shouts filled the room. Seb and Carlos gave each other a big kiss, Red cut between Gina and Ricky hugging to give him a giant hug, and everyone else gave hugs and high fives. Ricky and Gina looked quietly at each other while everyone continued to chatter in the background. Gina gave Ricky a small smile because he knew. He knew that it wasn’t the right time. He gave her a small peck on the cheek, which was returned with their beaming faces. 

At the end of the night, once everyone had settled down and finally went to bed, Gina was cleaning up the wires to the karaoke machine when EJ walked over to her. “Hey, thanks for helping me set up that machine”.

“It was no problem,” Gina said as she put a microphone in it’s stand.

“Honestly, thanks for helping me with a lot of things”.

Gina stopped and crinkled her nose suspiciously. She turned around and stood up so she was facing him now. “What do you mean?”

“I just mean, when you gave me Nini’s phone. Like we shouldn’t have taken it, but you really came in clutch for me. And trying to help me at homecoming get Troy and Gabriella’s parts, by making Nini jealous so she’d drop out. It was clever and I didn’t realize it at the time. I know we never got the parts, but I also never thanked you for trying to help me. I’m just sorry things didn’t work out for either of us”.

“EJ... we weren’t being good people doing that. Don’t you understand? It was wrong and we can’t tell anyone. Not Nini, not Ricky. Nobody. I’m trying to get a clean slate and I thought you were too”.

“Yeah, the confessionals thing didn’t really work...” EJ said, rubbing his neck.

“Look, it was all wrong. Nini and I made up and she is finally starting to trust you again. I say we just leave it in the past where it belongs”.

“I know. I just wanted to thank you for having my back- that’s all”. EJ said, definitely irritated.

“I can’t believe you two.” Gina and EJ flipped around. They hadn’t noticed the light on in the downstairs bathroom. Ricky stood puzzled.

“Ricky, it’s not what you think!” Gina said trying to grab his arm. He shook her off.

“Dude, you’re overreacting. It happened forever ago,” EJ defended.

“Not. Helping.” Gina glared at him.

“No, what happened is, you led me on. You created a bunch of drama and then tried to get with me so Nini would drop out! Not ok, Gina!” Ricky’s voice was raising and Gina hated hearing him so upset, especially with her.

“I wasn’t thinking, but I meant what I said that night!” Ricky began to go to the stairs. “Ricky, you’ve got to believe me!” Gina begged.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” Ricky scolded as he ran up the stairs.

“Gina, I’m so sorry,” EJ pleaded.

“Leave me alone, EJ,” Gina snapped. She followed in Ricky’s footsteps, going up the stairs to her room.

The rest of the night seemed to drag on. The girls stayed up talking and giggling, so Gina decided to take a shower to make some time pass until they fell asleep. Then she crawled into bed and listened to some music. The good news was that she was able to just fake a headache and since her bed was in a corner, she could actively avoid everyone for the rest of the night.

All of the other girls eventually went to sleep, but Gina tossed and turned. How could EJ say that? Wasn’t it all in the past? And why didn’t she see the bathroom light on or not hear noise from there? Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. She didn’t actually have a plan. EJ didn’t know that, but he should have figured it out. And when the plan failed, she was happy to have someone empathize with her. Make her feel better. Ricky did that. He made her not care what role she had, because he seemed to not care about his. She blinked some leftover tears away and sat up.

Gina knew that it was pointless to try and sleep by now since it was about 4AM, so she got up and snuck back downstairs to the basement. When she reached the door, she noticed the light was still on. It must have been left on after the party. She tip toed down the stairs and noticed Ricky sitting in the nook, glumly fiddling with her scarf.

“Is that spot taken?” Gina asked as she approached him cautiously.

He patted the area next to him. “All yours”.

Gina sat down, but because of where Ricky was sitting in the nook, she ended up slightly sitting on top of him. They awkwardly adjusted until they were sitting opposite each other, scarf in Ricky’s hands, a pillow in Gina’s.

“I’m really sorry, Ricky. To be honest, I was mad about Nini getting the part,” Gina closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She refused to make eye contact with Ricky as she continued to talk, for fear she would cry. “It’s not normal for someone my age to get worked up over a part. It’s not normal to treat people like that for a lead in a high school play that might look good on a resume, but not to a dance school. I didn’t just want to be Gabriella... I had to be. Moving isn’t the only hard part of my home life. My mom puts a ton of pressure on me to be the best in any production. She thinks that if I make it big, the money will get us out of debt and we won’t have to keep moving. I’ve actually been looked at by professional scouts... like real professionals, but they always say ‘not yet’ or ‘you’re almost there’... ‘if you just do one more play you’ll make it big,” Gina said with mocking jazz hands.

“But I can’t tell you how sick I am of hearing the phrase ‘one more play’, ‘one more dance’... ‘keep practicing, you’ll get there’...” Gina began to choke up.

Ricky lightly put his hand on hers as he continued to listen. Gina finally made eye contact, her water-filled eyes glistening. “I don’t want to get there. It’s not my job to get there. I’m the kid! This should be fun!”

Ricky finally spoke. “Is there any part of it you do enjoy?”

Gina wiped a tear that finally broke with her free hand. “Yes. All of it. I love acting, and singing, and dancing- oh, especially dancing. I want to get into Julliard. But with the amount of pressure I get from my mom... I’m scared it’s going to get worse... or Julliard will put that pressure there for her. I just can’t win”.

Ricky thought carefully before he spoke again. “Gina, you are a great performer, but you’re an even better person. I can see you face a lot of pressure at home, but you can take down that wall with us. You didn’t have to do anything to impress me... or anyone else for that matter. You’re already remarkable, with or without your dance shoes”.

Gina smiled. “Really?”

Ricky gave her a sweet smile back. “Really.”

Gina sighed again, “I already said this, but I honestly am sorry. The way my mom treats me is no excuse for how I acted it. I shouldn’t have done it, regardless. But I meant what I said at the skate park. I meant what I said in the car. You’re one of a kind, Ricky Bowen”.

“Thanks. I appreciate it”.

Gina still felt a little tense. “Are we good?”

“We’re good”.

For some reason that was all Ricky needed to say to make the situation better. Everything felt normal again... well, aside from EJ, but she was going to deal with him later. For now, she just wanted to enjoy this time with Ricky.

The room filled with silence for a minute, until Gina broke it. “Umm... Ricky?”

“Yeah?”

“Why do you have my scarf?” Gina giggled.

He smiled to himself and fiddled it again. “Someone left it on the kitchen counter”. He reached over and swirled it back around her neck. “Looks better on you, anyway”.

Gina gave him a soft grin. He laid back and she curled up next to him, her head on his chest. She listened to the gentle rhythm of his heart and his slow-paced breathing as they drifted off to sleep.

Gina woke up to someone closing the bathroom door downstairs. She sat up from the nook- Ricky had already left. She wondered if it was him who was in the bathroom and how long they had been sleeping. But then a figure emerged in the doorway which caused her to sit straight up: EJ.

He dodged his eyes from her blatant staring as he headed to the stairs. Gina closed her eyes, taking another breath, ready to fix the rest of the damage caused from last night.

“EJ, wait”.

Ej stopped abruptly on the stairs, still holding onto the railing. He slowly turned around and looked at her cooly. “What?” he asked, his tone laced with irritation.

“Look, I’m not going to apologize for what I said last night. What we did was wrong and we need to work for what we want the right way. You need to talk to Nini or find someone new and I need to just practice more for my audition next semester. But I am sorry I dumped that drink on you, yelled at you, and bailed on you when you asked for my help. I overreacted and I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me”. Yes I did, Gina thought, but she continued her apology anyway. “But it wasn’t ok. I should have helped you talk to her or practiced lines with you. There were better ways we could have handled that”.

“For sure,” EJ agreed. Gina sat back, taken back by what he said.

“And I’m sorry too,” EJ continued. “I really am trying to turn a new leaf, but maybe I wouldn’t have to if I would just make the right choices the first time. It’s just that I’ve always gotten everything I wanted. The girl, the grades, the positions on teams- when Nini left... it just seemed like, I don’t know, I wasn’t cool anymore? I wasn’t this great person, because I got dumped. And then I didn’t get to play Troy. It was like I was a fraud and my world I had known came crumbling down. I probably sound like the biggest, self-centered dirtbag for saying that, but I just feel so much pressure to be the person other’s want me to be, you know?”

“EJ, I get exactly what you mean,” Gina reassured. “And I appreciate your apology. But you and I both need to learn that it’s who we are that makes us happy. And none of our friends are judging us. As long as we’re good with who we are, then those who are good with us too will surround us. In turn, it will push out the fakes”.

EJ blinked a few times in shock. “Dang, Gina. That’s pretty deep. Who taught you that?”

Gina grinned, “someone really wise last night”.

Just then the smell of eggs, bacon, sausage, and hot chocolate filled the basement. It smelled heavenly. Gina sighed gleefully as it filled her nose. “That smells wonderful. Want to go get some breakfast?”

“Sure!” Ej replied.

“By the way, what were you doing down here?”

“My hair needs space and caution to get it just right. It couldn’t breathe being suffocated in that small bathroom with all of those dudes. And what about you?! What were you doing down here?”

Gina rolled her eyes playfully. “Don’t ask”.

Gina ran upstairs and quickly got dressed, making sure to brush her teeth and touch up her makeup. When she got back to the kitchen all of the cast was either sitting at the table, on the counters, or standing around and talking- plates in their hands and music playing again. A hand wrapped around Gina’s waist and she felt a quick peck on her cheek from Ricky, taking her completely by surprise.

“Good morning, Miss Gina. There’s breakfast and a seat next to me waiting at the table for you. Not the one on the left though, that’s Red’s”. Gina giggled to herself as she went to the kitchen counters and filled up her plate with breakfast foods assorted in giant metal containers, like the ones at hotels.

The rest of the morning was spent with more kitchen dancing, pictures, games, and sledding. Gina and Ricky shared a sled and crashed a few times. They ended up breaking out in a snowball fight and building a really unsteady snowman that caved in right after they took one slightly blurry photo with it.

When it was time to leave, the cast got on the bus and sat in their same spots on the way home (Red almost stole Gina’s seat though, but Ashlyn convinced him to sit next to her, so Gina still got to sit next to Ricky). The ride back felt similar to the ride there with snoring coming from the front of the bus, the gang playing games on their phones, and Gina tying the strings on Ricky’s hat to take funny photo’s of him.

When they finally got back to East High (where their parents could pick them up or their cars were parked), everyone gave each other big hugs and wished them a good next few days of break. There was loud laughter and singing as everyone parted ways. Gina’s mom came to get her, so she was waiting at the end of the parking lot for her to come. 

Ricky walked up to Gina and gently bumped his body into her side, “are you sure you don’t want a ride? It’s not too much of a hassle for me”.

Gina gave Ricky a silly look at his obvious sarcasm. “No, I don’t need a ride. My mom is coming”.

Ricky giggled and gave her a hug. “Good bye, Gina. See you, Monday”.

Gina smiled politely at him. “Goodbye, Ricky”. She wiggled her fingers good bye as he walked quickly to his car.

“Gina! Look at this!” Ashlyn called out. Ashlyn, Carlos, and Seb had made an igloo on the school yards that was supposed to resemble East High. Gina wouldn’t have known that from the structure, but one of them carved “EHHS” on the front, so she got the idea. Almost as soon as she had turned around she felt a hand on her arm. It flipped her around.

“Ricky! What are-”

Ricky cut her off. “I forgot something”.

He crashed his lips into hers. It hurt a little, but as she eased into it, the kiss became soft and warm. He picked her up in his arms and spun her around as they continued to kiss. He put her back down when their face broke apart and then he walked away with a goofy, clumsy grin as he said, “uhmm.. good bye, Gina. See you next week!... I guess!”

Gina laughed quietly as she said, “Yeah, see you next week,” and watched Ricky continue to walk off as she bit her lip and smiled. She looked down at her scarf, beaming. This was her Best New Year’s ever. She began to wonder what the other holiday’s would bring...

[beca-mitchell]

show me where my armor ends, chapter 2/7

Chapter 2: heart attack

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

Summary + a/n: okay, honestly before yall come at me for writing more jealous!Beca, this is a Beca-centric fic. Do not worry, jealous!Chloe will come in time, even if it’s not in this fic, though there's definitely still room. I only wrote an outline of this fic and each chapter is going come out day by day, soooo.

Beca and Chloe are both famous in their own right: Beca is an up and coming musician. Chloe is an adored movie and television actress. They meet one day, by chance, and find themselves very attracted to each other.

Also on AO3

Bechloe Week Day 2: Jealousy

Word count: 3,318

“Beca! Beca, look over here!”

Beca swivels, eyes trying to find some safe spot above the incessant flashing and jeers and nagging demands.

She turns her head when there’s a slight uptake in noise down the red carpet.

Chloe.

With a date on her arm.

Tall, Dark, and Handsome #10, Beca thinks scathingly.

Outwardly, she smiles, and lingers in her position as best as she can despite her publicist’s attempts to keep her moving.

“Beca,” she hisses. “Get a move on.”

“Give me a second, Jenn,” Beca says back, through clenched teeth.

She turns and Chloe is just a few feet in front of her, eyes already locked on Beca.

There’s a semi-playful smile on her lips even as she tugs her date into her side. She gives Beca a quick once-over - a glance that heats Beca up as quickly as it passes over her. Then, she’s turning back to the cameras like nothing ever happened.

Beca waits for it, then-

“Beca! Chloe! Will you take a photo together?”

“Us?” Chloe asks, a light laugh escaping her when the photographers nearly clamber over each other to get into a good shooting position. “I guess we’re friends,” she says lightly, though there’s challenge in her eyes that makes Beca’s competitive side rise.

“Sure,” Beca chirps. She can hear Jennifer growling already. She reaches for Chloe at the same time Chloe’s hand reaches out and their fingertips brush. Beca tries not to think about how Chloe has a date, ignoring him in favour of sliding a hand around Chloe’s waist. She ensures that she brushes over whatever available skin she can reach.

The moment Chloe’s hand and arm lock into place behind Beca’s back, she thinks the cameras nearly blind her at how fast flashes and shutters are clicking and going off.

“A date?” she mutters, keeping her eyes forward. “Who is he?”

There's a part of Beca that almost wishes she had taken up her publicist and manager's suggestion that she date people here and there, even if they'd primarily function as beards, if anything. Still, she can't imagine forcing herself to even act like she enjoys a stranger's company, which is where her and Chloe differ, she supposes.

They had also agreed that both of them dating would be excessive. It'd just have to be one of them - enough to throw off any suspicion.

(Beca's publicist's words, not hers.)

“Somebody didn’t want to come with me. Even as friends.” Chloe’s tone is still somehow light and cheerful, through her own clenched teeth.

“Somebody thought that somebody else wasn’t going to come after all,” Beca murmurs, shifting ever so slightly closer to Chloe.

There’s a gentle brush of fingertips against the nape of her neck before Chloe’s hand comes to her shoulder, holding tight while she leans in further into Beca’s side. “Somebody thought wrong,” she murmurs, tilting her head ever so slightly.

Beca shivers.

At that moment, Chloe makes as if she’s about to pull away. Beca does the same, dropping her arm.

However, Chloe’s hand comes up to catch her hand. “You look beautiful,” she says quietly.

The sound of shutters clicking nearly drowns it out, but Beca hears it loud and clear.

She can’t bring herself to say it back. Not aloud at least.

Not in public.

“We can’t do this,” Beca says softly. “I can’t do this to you.”

“Do what to me?” Chloe asks, removing her hands from Beca’s grasp. Her eyes flick to Beca’s lips, tenderness passing through them. She gently thumbs at Beca’s lipstick, wiping away a smudge. “I’m a big girl,” she murmurs.

“I can’t date you, you know that.” Beca squeezes her eyes shut. “But I also can’t just...kiss you in bathrooms and hide you away from the rest of the world.”

Chloe’s eyes roam over her, assessing her, piercing through her. Beca feels bare and vulnerable.

“I wish I could be strong enough,” Beca says helplessly.

“It’s not about strength,” Chloe says, finally stepping forward to cup Beca’s cheek. “It’s about what you feel is right for you. I think you’re one of the strongest people I know.”

Interestingly, what feels most right - especially at this moment - is this little quiet, secluded moment. Away from prying ears or eyes.

“This feels right,” Beca whispers, chest tightening at the admission. Chloe’s eyes light up.

“Let’s give it a shot?”

Chloe is hopeful and happy and she looks nervous, which is a first.

Beca can’t help but kiss her again.

That had been about one and a half months ago.

So, they’re not dating necessarily - not in public. Which is surprisingly fine to Chloe. It surprises Beca - and disappoints her a little - that Chloe is so easily on board. She supposes that they’re “exclusive” or “going steady” since “dating” would mean that they publicly go out on dates or something. Beca’s not too sure.

There’s a part of her that itches to be public with her relationship with Chloe because it’s the most refreshed she has felt in a long while.

Beca chews her nail nervously, flipping through tabloid after tabloid of Chloe with her latest co-star - some actor she’s starring alongside in an upcoming movie.

Beca isn’t quite sure she likes actors (though Chloe might be the only exception to that). She hates how she can never tell when they’re really acting - at least, the decent ones, of course.

It makes Beca kind of nauseous, actually, seeing the way Chloe’s hand curls into her co-star’s arm. Beca’s not even sure she remembers his name - Daniel something or another - because she honestly doesn’t see him.

All she sees is Chloe and she’s still coming to terms with that - whatever that means. All she can think about is how Chloe had felt in her arms - how it felt to kiss her.

Like the feeling of sunshine on her face after emerging from a dark, cold, and lonely cave.

She doesn’t want to go back.

She supposes, as Chloe’s arms wrap around from behind, gentle lips skirting lazily across her cheek, that she doesn’t really have to go back. She gets her own little slice of sunlight everyday, even if they’ve been meticulously keeping their relationship under wraps for the past little while. The way their projects have been ramping out however, it makes Beca nervous for whatever is in store for them for the future because she selfishly doesn’t want to give this up quite yet.

“Hi,” she greets, reaching for Chloe’s hand to tangle their fingers together. She tugs Chloe’s arm further over her shoulder. Chloe’s free hand roams mischievously under the collar of her shirt, gently scraping her nails against Beca’s suddenly hot and flushed skin. “What are you doing?” she mumbles, tilting her head to give Chloe better access to her cheek and neck.

Chloe pauses, eyes catching on Beca’s reading material. “What are you doing, babe?” Chloe says, voice still a little thick from sleep. “Gossip rags?”

“When were you going to tell me you were dating somebody else?” Beca asks lightly.

Chloe laughs it off, momentarily distracting Beca. She turns to meet Chloe’s lips in a kiss.

This can wait, she supposes.

InStyle Magazine

Chloe Beale and Daniel Harrison step out in matching outfits!

The two were seen enjoying a coffee break in downtown Los Angeles after filming a scene for their film “A Gift” set to be released in the summer of next year.

The days away from Chloe are some of hardest.

Chloe is filming in Los Angeles while Beca works on her album in New York with a new, popular producer.

Her rental apartment feels less homely than she’d like. There’s a part of her that kind of misses touring. She had loved her first tour - the rush and thrill, before retiring to her tour bus or hotel room, alone, but still thrumming on adrenaline.

It’s just - Beca kind of misses Chloe and wishes her obligations didn’t drive her so far from Los Angeles.

She wonders vaguely if her manager had planned it this way - to push her across the country from Chloe. To separate them and force some pressure on their young and fragile relationship.

It’s mocking, almost, the distance. Like Beca could fix this if she so desired. Everything.

In her mind, Chloe reminds her that nothing’s broken.

Her answering machine beeps.

"Oh. Hi there, Bec! It's me."

Beca feels familiar warmth at the sound of Chloe's voice. She lets it wash over her, opting to just recline on the couch and gaze up at the ceiling.

She resists picking up because she’s still a little hurt that Chloe wouldn’t tell her about this fake-dating publicity stunt.

She picks up her bottle of beer again, waiting for the message to continue.

“Hello? Are you there? Well…I’m just leaving a message for you because I wanted to see how you were doing. I know it’s a bit late there now, but I just missed you and I wanted to hear your voice.” Chloe pauses, then, shyly says, “Among other things.” Beca blushes. “I guess you’re busy with work,” Chloe says lightly. “I read something the other day about how you were working on a collaboration! Congrats!” There’s static and interference.

Beca waits.

“Oh, hey, sorry I have to go. Talk to you soon, maybe?”

Beca downs the rest of her beer.

TMZ.com

Chloe Beale and Daniel Harrison heat up their romance! See photos from the date night at Casa Vega!

The two held hands and exited the establishment together! Seems like romance is brewing on and off screen and we’re here to provide all the photos.

Insiders tell us that the two are very happy together.

RELATED LINK: See photos of BFFs Beca Mitchell and Chloe Beale on the Vanity Fair Benefit Red Carpet.

Beca When were you going to tell me you have a new boyfriend? Or was an insider supposed to get that information to me as well.

Beca I’m sorry...I don’t know where that came from.

Chloe If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re jealous. ;)

Beca …

Chloe Meet me for coffee? Now that you’re back?

Beca can’t, i have work.

Beca does have work, but she can’t bring herself to concentrate. She feels like she needs to convey everything building up inside her or she might very literally burst.

Chloe comes around to Beca’s house.

“Are we in a fight?” she asks the moment Beca opens the door.

Beca can only shake her head no because she’s so happy to see Chloe in person again.

(It’s something she does - she punishes herself and denies herself any happiness because she thinks it’s what she deserves.)

She pulls Chloe in and meets her for a bruising kiss.

“But why didn’t you tell me?” Beca asks, finger stroking up Chloe’s arm.

“Well, I wasn’t sure at first, if it was what the producers wanted to do. Then when it finally happened, like officially, it was too late and every news outlet picked up on it. I wanted to tell you in person, I really did. But you know that I’m only coming home to you,” Chloe says, pushing at Beca’s arm so she’s hovering over her again. She leans down to nip at Beca’s lip.

“I don’t like the way he touches you,” Beca murmurs, trying to get it out between kisses.

Chloe sighs, sitting up straight, astride Beca’s thighs. “I don’t like the way some of your fans hang all over you, but you don’t hear me complaining, do you?” Beca stifles a smile. She has heard Chloe complain many times.

“It’s part of the job,” Beca says without thinking. She groans when Chloe’s eyes light up.

Chloe grins triumphantly, doing a little fist pump. “Ditto,” she says, dodging Beca’s hands as she tries to grab at her arms. She leaps out of bed, laughing a little when Beca makes a grab for her again, missing dramatically.

It warms Beca knowing that this is a side of Chloe only she gets to see.

Later, Chloe is fiddling nervously with her phone as she wanders into Beca’s study where she’s working on a new song.

“What’s wrong?” Beca asks instantly when she catches sight of Chloe’s hesitance. “Is it what’s-his-face?”

Chloe doesn’t bother correcting her, which is both concerning and amusing. Instead, she shakes her head. “I have an idea, which I just brought up to Aubrey and she said it was a great idea.”

Beca holds back a comment and waits for Chloe to continue.

“Well, what if you...hung out with me and Daniel on a few of our...outings.” Beca hates it when Chloe uses the word ‘dates’ especially since their own dates are consistently fraught with sneaky handholds and hidden kisses.

“Hang out,” Beca repeats. “Like a third wheel.”

“Yeah,” Chloe says. “But...please don’t say it like that. I miss you and I feel like we don’t get to go out as often while I’m working on this movie. It’s just for a a month or so more, just up until we do post-production.”

"Yeah, and then there'll be a press tour," Beca says grumpily.

Chloe bites her lip, nodding.

It’s completely insane but Beca has learned that there are no limits for studios and producers when there’s money involved.

“Can’t get out of that part of the contract?” she guesses, and judging by the look on Chloe’s face, she’s right.

“We could run it by Jennifer. Aubrey thinks it should be fine. Besides, it has to look like you semi-approve of him, I guess, since we’re best friends and all,” she says, nudging Beca.

“Oh, well if Aubrey thinks it’s a great idea, it must be,” Beca says before she can help herself. She’s still bristling from the first time she met Chloe’s ruthless manager.

“Beca,” Chloe says. She grins, settling herself on Beca’s lap comfortably. “It’s a lot to ask, I know. But I’m just a girl, standing in front of my girlfriend, asking her if she’ll go on a date with me and my fake boyfriend.”

“Okay, you hear how ridiculous that sounds, right?” Beca asks, without any real bite. She reminds herself that secrecy is part of her own brand; her own insecurities. She had suggested secrecy above all, so long as it gave her a chance at Chloe Beale.

And Chloe has accommodated her all this while, even finding ways to include her in her ridiculous schemes and fake whirlwind romances.

“Try it once,” Chloe says, tangling her hands in Beca’s hair.

Beca hates how weak she is.

Beca We’re doing the date thing, i guess

Jennifer Yes, i got the heads up from Aubrey Posen. That woman is insane.

Jennifer Remember - your image is-

Beca sighs, clicking her phone off.

She tries – she really does.

Their first outing together is a near disaster. Beca can’t bring herself to do anything with her face except grimace. She tries to smile, but all she sees is the way Daniel’s disproportionately long arm is slung around Chloe’s shoulders, like he has a right to do that. Beca wants to put her normally-sized arm around Chloe’s shoulders in public.

The worst part is, this first outing is going to the fucking movies.

Beca hates movies and she especially hates theaters.

Still, the paparazzi get their shots as they enter the theater, which is enough. Beca watches with satisfaction as Chloe shrugs his arm off and stands closer to Beca, smiling at her comfortingly.

“What are we watching?” Beca asks begrudgingly.

In the end, she supposes it doesn’t matter because Chloe’s fingers tangle with hers in the comfort of the dark theater.

All Beca can think is that sunlight should never be smothered, holding hands with her favourite person.

Beca thinks she should be used to it by now - watching Chloe fake-date this ever-cheerful man. It takes a turn for the worst when she realizes that Chloe considers him a friend and that they might actually be obliged to hang out with him once Chloe is done with this movie.

The thought sends a shudder through Beca because they hang out with him enough already. She doesn’t know what would happen if they had to go to his house for dinner.

Well, she does know, kind of, because they’re invited to his home for a dinner party. She hates his matching cutlery and fancy dishware.

What she hates most is his music taste. She scoffs at everything on his shelf, taking pride in the fact that Chloe has once complained about his ridiculous fixation on country music. Beca would never do that to her girlfriend.

“So, you and Chloe are pretty serious, huh?” he asks, pouring Beca more wine. “What has it been? Three months already?”

Beca glances around. She’s still not used to talking about her relationship publicly, but she supposes Daniel should know just one reason amidst many as to why Chloe won’t date him for real.

“Yes,” is all she offers him. “Thanks for the wine.” She pauses. “And it’s been four months, thank you very much.”

She bites back the childish, it’s more than your zero, because you have no shot.

She hates him.

Beca feels both vindicated and disgusted when her hate is validated.

They’re on a ‘date’ at a coffee shop when Daniel tries to kiss Chloe mid sentence. He misses because Chloe turns her cheek in time, but the intent is there. Beca nearly drops her cup and Chloe looks like she’s torn between slapping him right on the spot or punching him in the face.

Consciously, Beca knows both would be bad for Chloe’s image, so she puts a hand on Chloe’s arm, soothing her, even though she knows she would love to be privy to that particular scene. Especially now.

Chloe, through clenched teeth, says “let’s call a car. I would like to go home now.”

They wait outside the restaurant, eyes facing forward. Beca feels rage build up inside her and she quickly stuffs her hands into her jacket pockets so paparazzi can’t catch the way her hands are balled into tight fists. She doesn’t want to see the news items splashed across the front page.

“What the hell was that?” Chloe demands, tugging her hand out of his grasp once they’re safely nestled in the car. Daniel wisely sits in the front, letting Chloe and Beca sit together in the back. “If you ever try to kiss me again, let alone in front of my girlfriend, I’m going to punch you straight in the mouth,” she says, taking the words right out from under Beca.

“Sorry, I got a little -” he gestures between them. “You two were just off in your own little world. I was…”

“Okay, but we’re not dating, so you don’t have any right to be jealous,” Chloe says and it’s so acidic and sharp that Beca has to do a double take and ensure that she’s still talking to Chloe Beale.

It fades as quickly as it comes however, because Chloe is sagging a little, her posture and stance loosening. She shakes her head as if to clear it.

“Of course I’m jealous,” Daniel says incredulously. “You’re - you,” he states, a little weakly, as if that’s enough to explain everything.

Beca completely understands.

Chloe is beautiful and charming and she never fails to shine no matter what room she’s in. Beca finds herself a little jealous of Chloe herself sometimes, with the ease with which she carries herself. Chloe has never cowered from the spotlight in any way, taking on indie roles and pay cuts when necessary in order to push forward a project she truly believed in.

Still, “that’s really inappropriate, considering I was right there,” Beca says, a little - okay, a lot - angrily.

He looks appropriately chastened, which surprises Beca because she had been expecting more of a fight. She appreciates him backing down, but she still hates him with every fiber in her being. It’s not like he and Chloe have ever kissed publicly before. Beca knows this.

She shifts closer to Chloe as best as she can on the leather seat, eyes narrowed on him. Before she can say anything, Chloe beats her to the punch - though unfortunately, not literally.

“Don’t even think about telling anybody as some weird form of revenge,” Chloe says softly, though her voice is dangerous. Beca shivers at the fire in her eyes. “Or I’ll tell everybody what you’re really like. I don’t think your career could deal with a devastating blow to it at this point.”

It’s the closest to condescending that Beca has ever heard from Chloe Beale.

She loves it.

(She loves her.)

TMZ.com

BFFs Beca Mitchell and Chloe Beale on the rocks?

The two starlets were seen out with Beale’s boyfriend, Daniel Harrison. This is not an uncommon occurrence, but we here at TMZ have noticed a trend. Mitchell never looks particularly happy and insiders tell us it’s because she wants Harrison for herself!

Insiders tell us that Mitchell is jealous of Beale and how easily she found love.

Well. If looks could kill.

Can their friendship survive or is there something more brewing under the surface?

tbc // ch. 1 | ch. 2 | ch. 3 | ch. 4 | ch. 5 | ch. 6 | ch. 7

happy bechloe week.

[what-ever-happened-to-chip]

Part 5: Revenge

"Back so soon?" "Uhm yeah Christian, I don't think I should keep looking at memories. I think it might be bad for my you know like brain." "Ahh the worries of the fragile human mind, the inconsistancies of the identity, ahh how they eat at all our flesh" "riight...well I gotta go, this is just getting kinda weird for me" "Would like me to take the memories out and just leave you with yours?" "I didn't know yo could do that, I thought 'what was seen was unseen' or whatever you said" "All memories can be forgetten however that doesn't mean they don't exist. Take my dear comrade Aiden for example, did you know without my assistance he only has one memory? just one single moment, can you believe that? However his whole life is a menagerie of many fascinating sensation I have explored. "One memory....like it's just Jenn?" "It would be hard to explain, but however I could show you" The thought of any piece of Aiden's mind unsettled me. I think he was right and unless I stop now, it will only make it harder to forget, memory erased or not. I'd never thought about all this before now. I thought I was just going to get Joni to maybe hold my hand and maybe idk....something, but fuck this is...I gotta stop now. This is fucked up. "I'm good man, I gotta go.." He ignored my goodbye and just kept rambling on. I felt bad, he must be lonely. "Yes one memory. Did you know that his singular memory is longer than everyone's memories here in camp combined? Yes indeed he has certainly had one long life span." "What like he's one of the first people in a camp who's age was paused?" "Not quite. He remained out of camps for quite a long time as well, I digrss though, when the worlds collided the time spirits paused all time on all sentiant life to try and organize it in tandem with one another. Since the world collided we have only aged about 4 years from the ages we left off at." He glanced at me like a teacher waiting for questions. I tried to listen to him the best I could, but he got boring surprisingly fast for a guy that knows everything. He continued. " However, our friend Aiden was alive all alone hiding at the remote northern tip of his planet for another 3427 years past his 19th birthday. He was living but only just so. More so warding off dying. Not that he was aware of this." I shuddered at the thought of it. I really gotta stop messing with this memory stuff.   "Alright cool, well see ya at the camp activity or whatever..." "Wait. Gray. Didn't you want me to restore your memory" I felt conflicted. It was like giving up many old friends all at once. But I knew once it was done I would feel better. I wouldn't miss being them if I never was. "Yeah let's just do it, I only want one person in my head" "Indeed you will only have one person in your mind" he said with a coy grin. He reached for hand and all at once everyth- ... ... ... ... ... .... .... .... .... ..... ..... .... .. . . . ... cold cold red her. her . cold no no no no no no no no no .. . .. .. . ... ... . ..here. here water here her. no cold.

*essentially this video on repeat 2 million times*

That one place. that one thing. That one thing. That one thing. I knew Gray was a sliver of me but in comparison it was nothing compared to the other things that resided in my head. Christian stared at me as though he had won. I couldn't see anything but that place.   "Do you know how long you were there?" He inquired, not bothering to hold back glee. I had no reaction. I had no thoughts. I was completely numb. He continued to talk. "3427 years. Which is 1,250, 855 days. Or 30,020, 520 hours. 1,801,231,200 minutes. But you felt none of that. You felt everything in seconds. Long tiring seconds that lasted lifetimes. 108, 073,872,000 horrifying, soul shattering seconds. All each as painful as the last.  Just one single, lone memory over and over." Gray ran out of the room as fast as possible and seemed to abandon anything left of his mind. Weeks passed in a sickenly lonely daze. The sight of that blue eyed girl sent me running into the woods for hours that I cannot recall what I did. Food sickens me. Drugs are nothing. Nothing is more terrifying than sleep. Everyone keeps asking me questions I cannot answer nor know if I even put the words together to feign realization. I need to get out. I can't be here. I need. I need. Colors nauseated me. All sensation was washed to mute colors, sounds pierced my ears even in the quiet. I wanted to rip out my skin, out everyone's hearts, anything to make this go away. But there was nowhere left to go. I was trapped forever. Trapped. trapped. i need to leave. i can't leave. this is everything. no i don't think this...i'm not that, i'm not.....

Before Gray realized it he was standing in the center of the kitchen breathing erratically and darting his eyes all around looking for, looking for SOMETHING. No, no, no, no,no ,no... "Having fun douche bag?" He looked upon me as he knew. How could he? I guess how could he not. I was caught and I didn't care, I just wanted it to stop. "So you'll leave my girlfriend alone now?" I looked on his glassy eyes. They were that terrifying bright blue I hated and feared so very much these days. He was happy to see me this way? "Wh-what?"

"I said unless you wanna live in crazy dipshit land anymore you'll stay the fuck away from my girlfriend right?"

"You.....you did this?"

"I saw you going to get hard on Christian's dick and I figured I could get something out of it. I was pissed at you for thinking you could ever be with my girlfriend, so i had to do something that I knew for sure would keep you away from her. So next time you make eyes at my girl think how I could put you back in this place whenever I want." Gray lunged at Aiden intent with murder. HE WOULD NOT TAKE HER AWAY. HE WOULD NOT MAKE THIS STOP. I NEED TO SEE. I BELONG HERE. I WANT OUT. I DON'T WANT THIS. I CAN'T LEAVE. HE WON'T TAKE MAKE HER GO AWAY. "Yeaaaah nice try fucker, you think you could kill me with my thoughts? Go fuck yoruself." Gray lay restrained on the floor sobbing and screaming. The commotion made a crowd of people begin entering the kitchen and circle around him. "Whoa what happened to Gray? Naruto and I were just finishing each other -I MEAN, we were finishing a video game, but it was hard to concentrate with all the screaming. Is he okay?" "Looks as if he has lost his mind...literally." Cloud stated dully. Tifa kneeled down beside Gray and raised her voice to tell everyone to back off and give him space. "Get off of him Aiden!! Go! Gray? Gray.....are you okay? It's Tifa. I want to help." "No, no, no Tifa let me do it! I'm better  at this, that's why Cloud and Zack fell in my church, i know how to help these situations." Tifa looked annoyed with her friend's condescending reply. Aerith was like a sister to her, and like a sister, knew how to get under her skin more than anyone. "helllllooooooooo!? hellloooooooo?" The pink girl leaned in with her hands poised behind her back. Nothing happened. Tifa ignored Aerith's assertion, however did not know how to handle this situation. She gingerly placed her hand on his shoulder as he flinched back. She may not have answers for him, but she could at least comfort him through the worst. Despite Gray not being her committed lover, she still to this day had feelings for him. It seems everytime she loved someone they didn't want her or she ruined it with her own bullshit feelings. Maybe now that she was doing better he needed her and she was good at being needed. Gray continued to sob on the floor. A miniscule part of his mind enjoyed Tifa's comfort, but it didn't fix anything. He was eternally lost. The realization like that sent him deep into another emotionally spiral. "I NEEED HER. JEEENNNNNNNNNNN. JENNNNNN. OH GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE. HELP ME. HELP ME." "Oh my god why is he saying my name? That is sooo weird." Lana couldn't help but to laugh to Marcus despite all the chaos in front of them. The way Jenn said weird had become one of their favorite inside jokes lately. "Isn't he acting  just like Aiden....who you love?" Lana pointed out to the horrified teenager looking upon Gray with disgust. "oh my god, no. Aiden is NOT like that. When he gets...." she paused to think of a more tolerable synonym for 'crazy' and went on "....emotional it's cause he loves me so much. Gray is just being weird.” Lana's laughs became audible on the second weird that seemed to punctuate most of Jenn's sentences. She glanced at Marcus who genuinely looked concerned for Gray. He squeezed Lana’s harder than she had ever felt in the past. Marcus rarely acted what people would call “vulnerable” but when it came to violence or people being totally nutso he seemed to get edgy. "Dont' worry he's just nuts babe, who knows what's going on in that crazy fucker's mind." Aiden sneered. The irony of that sentence was completely lost on Jenn and disregarded by Aiden. He winked at Gray and pulled the scared girl close to his chest to protect her from this 'insanity.' "Take care of him Christian, I've had my fun." Christian nodded and began removing his glove, as he approached Gray, he got pushed to the floor and the deranged shirtless man ran far, far out of sight of all the onlookers.

[khiphop-stories]

Umbrella - Chapter IX

Lesson Nine: Solace

[Christian Yu, DPR Live]

You can find all previous chapters here.

“I could help you take your mind off things,” he whispered into your ear, leaving a wet kiss on your neck.

“Christian. Yu.” You warned him. Your voice was firm and sharp like a knife cutting through the night. 

“I’m letting this slide, because I can reek the alcohol coming from your mouth. But if you ever—“


“Shit, I’m sorry,” he instantly stepped back, creating a distance between your bodies. He pulled back his hands so quickly, almost as if he had been burned. With his eyes resting on you, he swallowed down hard, realizing the gravity of his actions, his intoxication, his momentary urge. His face was covered in shame and a trace of surprise. Surprise that was directed towards his own behavior.

“I-I don’t know what I was thinking…”



“I figured,” you gave him one last glare, before walking past him, towards the door of your apartment.

“Jenn, I’m really sor—” he tried to apologize again, as though his drunken words of apology could make the situation any better.



"Just go to bed and sleep it off, Christian.”

~*~

Christian’s eyes flickered open to the streaks of sunlight that trickled in through the blinds. He blinked, shut his eyes close and blinked again, tossing around in his bed. Suddenly, the memories of last night’s event flashed in front of his eyes.

“Fuck. Fuck! FUCK! “ He repeatedly cussed, his voice growing louder after every curse word.

 

“What the fuck was I thinking?” He asked himself, shaking his head vigorously to get the images out of his head. He immediately sprung out of his bed, pacing back and forth in his room as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

He was out of control. He had to stop.

~*~

You had been lying around in bed all morning, trying to get more sleep. Despite the alarm clock ringing continuously, you didn’t have the strength to get out of your warm and cozy bed. You should have been at university at this very second, sitting in the lecture hall and listening to the monotone and dull speech of one of your professors, which always sounded like a lullaby in your ears. However, you couldn’t pull yourself together and get ready for class, your body was strengthless, your mind was a mess.

You recalled the occurrences of last night and it made your body shudder in repulse. As if it wasn’t already bad enough that you only got to bed by 3 o’clock in the morning, you also couldn’t fall asleep, as the images of Christian’s face kept reappearing in your head. The way he looked at you. The way he touched you. The way his soft lips felt on your skin.

You wanted to kick his ass right then and there for making a sexual advance on you at the most inappropriate moment there was. However, you held your violent self back, knowing how intoxicated and heartbroken he was. You couldn’t blame him for craving physical intimacy and proximity, especially with all the liquor in his system.

“Ok, now you really need to get your lazy ass up,” you told yourself and rolled over to the side, until you had reached the edge of your bed. Pushing yourself up, you slipped into your slippers and wandered to the bathroom with your eyes still half closed.

~*~

As you took a short glance at the watch, your eyes widened at how quickly time had passed. Now, if you didn’t want to miss the bus, you really had to leave. You stuffed the last piece of bread into your mouth and rushed out of your apartment, pulling the door behind you close. You almost ran over Christian, who was standing right in front of you. It appeared he was about to knock on the door.



“Jenn—“



“Let’s talk on the way to the elevator,” you suggested as you were in a hurry. He followed you and you pressed the button.

“About last night, I—” He started, but you cut him off again.



“Oh don’t worry, I won’t take it personally. I mean I do look pretty. So it’s not very surprising that you want to bang me,” you nonchalantly shrugged your shoulders at him, entering the elevator as the door opened. You wanted to keep this conversation short. For one because you were running late and also because talking about it made you feel more than just awkward.

“I didn’t mean to—“ 

When the door of the elevator automatically slid close, Christian instantly reached out his hands, blocking the sensors of the door.

“You really wanna talk about it?” Your eyes travelled to his face and you gave him a look full of disbelief. 



“I don’t want things to be awkward between us,” he bit on his lips nervously.

“You’re making it awkward by talking about it,” you chuckled. It was a short, one-syllable chuckle filled with no emotion. 

“There’s nothing to explain, Rome. You were sad, drunk and horny. It’s as simple as that. Let’s just forget about it.”

He stared at you hesitantly, before slowly nodding his head in agreement. 


No, it wasn’t as simple as that. It wasn’t simple at all. He had clearly crossed a line last night and no matter how drunk he was, his behavior was unacceptable. You gave him consolation and you gave him your trust. You revealed the dark thoughts that were haunting you, admitting for the first time that everything was getting too much for you. And instead of comforting you, he tried to stick his tongue down your throat, treating you like a mere sexual object.


No, he didn’t want to just forget about it. He couldn’t just pretend like it didn’t happen. Because more than anything he owed you an apology, an explanation. The guilt and shame was slowly eating him up from inside.

Nonetheless, he kept quiet. Because he noticed how uncomfortable you were and he didn’t want to impose himself on you. He had already created enough damage with his actions yesterday night, so the least he could do was to respect your wish. 


“Hands,” you reminded him and nodded to his big hand that was still stopping the door from closing.

“Sorry,” he hurriedly pulled his hand away, his eyes resting on you with reluctancy. He swallowed hard and watched as you disappeared behind the block of metal.

~*~

The door of the bus moved aside and you hopped off. Just a couple of feet away a tall figure was standing in the darkness with his hands in his trouser pockets. A white plastic bag was hanging around his arm. Your body froze momentarily, however, when the figure lifted his head, you breathed out in relief. The bright light of the street lamp shined on him and you recognized his face immediately.

A little smile curled onto your lips and you skipped over to him. “What brings you here?” You asked him curiously, tilting your head at him.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he had replied, before he pressed his lips together, resting his tired eyes on you.

“No company tonight?” You quirked up one of your brows teasingly. Christian let out a short hollow chuckle and rolled his eyes at your remark.

 “No, I’m solo tonight,” he smiled at you.

He still hadn’t really explained what made him come all the way to the bus station in the middle of the night and you would have stayed and listen to him, but the coldness of the night was getting unbearable. The icy air felt like sharp needless pressing against your skin.

“Can we walk? It’s freaking cold,” you pointed to the direction of the apartment building, before you quickly hid your hand in the sleeves of your jacket again.



“Sure,” he immediately swirled around and started walking with you.



“So? Why are you here?” You eyed him up and down, wondering how long he had been standing in the coldness.

Usually, you would assume he went out for a run again, but he wasn’t in sportswear and anyone who went jogging in this weather would have to be insane.

“I want to continue where we left of yesterday.”



You stopped in your tracks as your head shot into his direction, giving him a weird look.



“Not the part where I tried to get into your pants,” he let out an awkward chuckle.

“But the part where you told me things were getting too hard,” he hurriedly corrected himself when he saw the appalled expression on your face.



“I was a jerk to you yesterday. You were in need of a friend and I threw myself at you. I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I owe you an apology.”



“Apology accepted,” you smiled at him, hoping this would be the last time he brought up the topic. You really didn’t want to talk about it, let alone think about it. You couldn’t point out why, by it made you feel uneasy. You didn’t want to ask yourself the question ‘why’. Why he did what he did. Was there even a reason for his actions? Or could it entirely be blamed on alcohol?

“By the way what’s that?” you pointed to the plastic bag, smoothly changing the topic.

“Pizza. I can’t come empty handed, can I?”

Your face lit up in delight and you clapped your hands together joyfully. “Can I eat it now? I’m so hungry!” You folded your hands together pleadingly.


“Here? In the middle of the street?” His eyes widened at you. "Let’s go home first.”

~*~ 
You carefully closed the glass door behind you while Christian automatically walked to the elevator and pressed the button. You didn’t follow him, instead you looked at him with hesitation, making him raise his brows questioningly.

“Can we stay downstairs?” You asked him carefully. “Hana’s sleeping and I don’t wanna disturb Dabin.”

Having a midnight snack with Christian at your apartment was out of question. Not as long as Hana was your roommate. You didn’t want to risk waking up Dabin either, since this was probably the first night that he didn’t have to endure the noises of Christian’s sexual adventures.

“Sure,” he agreed with a light chuckle. 

He pulled the zipper of his jacket down and slipped out of it, before spreading it onto the floor next to the wall. He made himself comfortable on the ground and patted the spot next to him where his jacket lay. You carefully sat down next to him and took off your own jacket, covering your legs with it.

Christian took out the white box and threw the plastic bag aside, laying the box on top of his lap. He opened it and the smell of cheese and tomatoes filled your nose.

 

~*~

“How are you holding up?” He asked you gently. It was the question he should have asked you yesterday.

“Honestly…I just wanna run away and hide,” you let out a hollow chuckle. Closing your eyes, you leaned your head back against the wall.

“But that’s not an option. It’s hard, but I’ll get over it,” you sighed out loud.

“You know…you can always quit.”



“It’s not that easy,” you shook your head slowly. “I can’t just quit when things are getting though. I survived all these years, I can’t give up now.”

“Jenn,” he called you gently and you opened your eyes again, turning your head to him questioningly. He shifted his body and opened his arms. Knowing what his intention was, you leaned in and let him pull you into a hug.
 A soft comforting hug.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” He laughed.



“Yeah,” you chuckled and rolled your eyes in response. You rested your head on his shoulders.

“You’re the strongest girl I know,” he said out of the blue.



“Thank you,” you giggled. “That’s such an honor, considering you’ve met plenty of girls in the last few days alone.”



He laughed at your playful joke, but then his face turned serious again. “I mean it, Jenn. Your endurance is incredible. You really inspire me to work harder. Whenever I feel exhausted or fed up, I look at you and my complaints just seem so trivial and meaningless. You have it at least twice as hard as me and you never whine. You never complain. You don’t curse at the world. You just do. You’re always giving your best, no matter what the situation. I really admire that.”

For a little while you just sat in silence, not knowing what to respond. You were surprised by his kind words. You were surprised by the effect his words had on you. You were never the person who seeked for someone else’s confirmation or praise. But his words made you feel at ease. You felt lighter, as though he had taken a load off your shoulders. It was amazing, how powerful words could be. They could empower the recipient or completely crush their soul.

“But Jenn…,” he broke he silence. “You don’t always have to rush towards your goals. You know…sometimes it’s ok to take a break. It’s ok to take it slow.”

You looked up at him from the corner of your eyes, your head still resting on his shoulders. Your eyes met his and he released a gentle smile. He lowered his gaze, now, staring at your lips. Neither of you moved or said a word, as if time had come to a stop.

Slowly, Christian moved in closer. You felt his warm breath against your own lips. 

Immediately, you turned your head away, faking a long exaggerated yawn.

“God, I’m so tired!” You exclaimed and stretched your arms.



“Let’s head back,” you slowly pushed yourself up and he followed suit. You picked up his jacket from the floor and handed it to him.

~*~

Christian closed the door of his apartment, letting out a long breath. His hand was still resting on the door knob and he repeatedly bumped his forehead against the door. 

Shit, he did it again. He tried to kiss you again. And this time he wasn’t even drunk. He was completely sober. What the hell was wrong with him?

Surprise surprise, another update this week and another cliffhanger-ish end LOL What do you think is going to happen next? What is Jenn thinking? And what the hell is wrong with Christian? haha Hmu with your theories ~<3

[starwrite-er]

Poster Boy [Chapter 19] - Poe Dameron x Reader

A/N: bringing back some characters from earlier chapters btw. honestly didnt know where i was going with them when i started writing this chapter but hey here we are.

Tag List: @firefeatherx @plethora-of-things @britishteahater @umbrellabrass @purple-skeleton @winchesterandpie @the-creative-lie @i-alrightokaycool @definitely-nota-fangirl @purelittleblueberry @gemmielii

 “Seeing as you’re all here, I’ll begin,” General Organa begins. “As you are all aware, Commander Y/L/N recently met with Captain Stit of the First Order. During the conversation, we picked up on intel potentially regarding a subject of our interest.”

 “He mentioned a ‘Jedi-sympathiser’ located in Inner Rim’s Western Reaches,” I speak up, arms crossed as my gaze settles on the holographic map in front of us. “That being said, their search could be expanded into the general vicinity. It wouldn’t be as narrow a search, with planets like Rakata Prime, Jakku, and Takodana all being potential targets.”

 “During the recent recon mission I was sent on, we discovered that the First Order raided the Empire’s old archives,” Poe continues. “Amongst other things, they took an incomplete map.”

 “When he vanished, Luke Skywalker was searching for the unknown location of the first Jedi temple,” The General takes over, hiding the melancholy on her face. “It’s only a slim chance, but it is possible they are attempting to locate and hunt him down.”

 Personnel around the Command Centre murmur to one another. Luke Skywalker. It was a name not often mentioned, and the concept of finding him after all this time was a strange one.

 “He was a valuable member of the Rebel Alliance, and if this theory is correct, it is our duty to protect him,” General Organa announces. “We’ll begin sending teams out on reconnaissance missions soon.”

 “When’s ‘soon’?” Someone asks a fair question.

 “The first team will be sent out tomorrow, led by Commander Dameron. We’ll send as many teams out as necessary.” The General answers.

 “What will happen when we find the map?” Someone else asks.

 “Someone will be sent to retrieve it, and from there we’ll put it to good use,” General Organa says. “However, we have no way of predicting the situation, so we must remain adaptable. If there are no other questions, you are dismissed.”

 Individuals begin to filter out of the room. I’m unaware of how intently I’m staring at the map in front of me until I feel a hand on my shoulder.

 “So, the Western Reaches, huh?” Poe says.

 “I take it you’re going to be the one to retrieve the map?” I crack a smile.

 “What makes you say that?” Poe asks, his tone playful.

 “Because you’re you, Dameron.” I reply, and he chuckles.

 “Could be you.” He points out, but I shake my head.

 “Nah, I highly doubt that,” Poe raises a questioning brow at me as I turn my gaze towards General Organa. “After the whole thing on Coruscant and my current state, I think the General’s a bit, uh, hesitant about sending me out.”

 “Hey, don’t be too hard on yourself, or her, okay?” Poe tells me, hand brushing against mine.

 “She’s treating me normally for the most part, it’s just... I don’t know, it’s something,” I sigh, turning my attention away from the older woman. I stand a little straighter and smile at Poe, opting for a change in attitude. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I can rest easy knowing the job’ll be done by the best pilot in the Resistance.” I grin, giving Poe a playful punch.

 Poe laughs. “I don’t know, there’s another pilot that comes to mind.”

 “Oh, really? Who?” I play along, quirking a brow, my smile not once faltering.

 “You might know her: smart, high ranked, tough, saved my life a couple of times,” He smirks at me, fondness in his eyes. “Attractive, too. Yeah, she’s definitely a sight for sore eyes.”

 “I bet you say that to all the girls.” I joke, and he shrugs.

 “Eh, only the ones I like.” He replies. For a second, we don’t say anything, lost in the moment.

 “C’mon, Poster Boy, we’ve got a job to do.” I smile at him, pushing from my mind any thoughts of this unspoken thing between us.

 “You sure you’re okay taking the recruits today?” Poe asks me as we leave the Command Centre.

 “Poe, I’ve told you, it’s fine,” I reassure him. “You’re going on a mission tomorrow, so go look after your X-Wing.”

 He grins at me, taking my hand as he insists on walking me to one of the training rooms.

 We stop just outside the room in which the recruits are waiting. “You’re a lifesaver, Y/N.” Poe tells me, kissing me on the cheek. “I’ll see you later?”

 “Naturally.” I smile as he gives me another kiss on the cheek before jogging towards the hangar. I watch him go for a moment, but remind myself I have work to do.

 I step into the room to find a dozen or so recruits already watching me, all giving me similar looks. One grins at me and speaks up. “You two are so cute together.”

 “Wait, what?” I respond, realising they witnessed Poe’s little display of affection through the open door. “Oh, no- Poe and I- we’re not- we’re not together.” I deny, stumbling over my words.

 “You sure? I mean, when you were pointed out to us the first time, we were told ‘Commander Y/L/N is off the market, she’s Poe’s girl’.” Another says with raised brows.

 “You’re also wearing his jacket, and doesn’t your kid call him dad?” The first recruit adds.

 “Oh my stars- okay!” I cut in with a clap of my hands. “You can speculate about our relationship after we’re done training, but we’re still not together.”

 “Mhm, whatever you say.” The second recruit hums.

 Training new recruits, surprisingly, isn’t as bad as I had always assumed it would be. To be fair, these recruits were well into their training under the supervision of one Commander Dameron, so really, what was I expecting?

 The newbies are good people, and soon enough I find the session is over. I dismiss them, leaving them to their own devices while I head to the dining hall in search of something to eat.

 I’ve barely stepped inside the room when friends in orange overalls practically materialise by my side.

 “Stars, Y/N! It’s been ages since we’ve last seen you!” Hyadum exclaims, linking arms with me.

 “We know that ever since the Pamarthe mission, things have been a little rough,” Jenn says, imitating her girlfriend’s actions and linking with my other arm as they begin to walk, pulling me with them. “But hey, the Ivory Squadron’s missed our fearless leader.”

 “Yeah, a lot’s happened,” I agree, thinking of things both good and bad. “I’ve got time to kill, though.”

 Grabbing something to eat, we head over to a table. It’s empty, and though it’s likely due to most people being busy at this moment, it still serves as a solemn reminder of not only the broken friendship I have with Chertan, but the deaths of Biham and Graves. I’m struck by guilt. They died months ago, but they were members of my squadron. They were my friends.

 I clear my throat, occupying myself with another topic. “So, how are things going between you two?”

 “Actually, that’s what we wanted to talk to you about.” Hyadum takes Jenn’s hand, swallowing nervously.

 “After everything that’s happened these past months, we realised that, y’know, everything can be torn apart in a single second, and we don’t want to waste time, so...” Jenn trails off.

 “We want to get married. Nothing too big, of course,” Hyadum flashes a smile. “We were hoping to get your blessing.”

 “My- my blessing?” I question, slightly confused. “Wait, don’t get me wrong, I’m absolutely ecstatic for you two! I’m just wondering why you want my blessing?”

 “You’re the commanding officer of the Ivory squadron. We know how relationships between comrades can cause problems, and we respect your opinion.” Jenn explains, the nervous bouncing of her leg causing the table to wobble.

 “Thank you, really,” I smile appreciatively at Jenn’s words. “You absolutely have my blessing.” The reality of the situation catches up to me, and I find myself giddy. “Oh, stars, you’re getting married!”

 I lean across the table, giving them a kind of distant hug, and the three of us erupt into excited chatter about the upcoming event. Something like this was a welcome distraction, and would be a great boost to morale.

 “What did I miss?” A very familiar voice asks, sliding into the seat beside me.

 “Just some wedding plans.” I answer Poe’s question with a grin, to which he raises a brow.

 “We’re getting married!” Hyadum announces, grasping her fiancée’s hand. The two of them beam at us, and I can’t help but be proud.

 “Seriously? Congratulations!” Poe leans forward while smiling widely at the two, slipping his arm around my shoulders.

 “It’s just gonna be a small thing, and we don’t want it to be to much of a distraction from important work, so we’re hoping to have it in a couple days.” Jenn tells Poe, recounting details I’d just spoken with the couple about.

 “I’ll do what I can to make it back from my mission in time for it,” Poe promises. A beeping from his datapad takes his attention. Skimming over the message, he stands to leave. “Well, duty calls. I’ll see you lot around later.”

 He presses a kiss to the top of my head before jogging in the direction of the Command Centre. It’s a small habit he’s developed, one that’s become routine to me, so I’m slightly taken aback by Hyadum and Jenn’s smiling gazes.

 “What?” I question, my cheeks warm as I look between them.

 “It’s just funny, that’s all. I mean, do you remember the day you two first started interacting? The mission with the old Star Destroyer?” Jenn brings up the incident.

 “You made it clear you though he was just some arrogant flyboy - you even took over his job on that mission,” Hyadum continues. “Yet here you are.”

 “It’s not like we’re together.” I say.

 “And how many other people would say the same about you two?” I’m quiet at Hyadum’s words, because she has a point.

[retvenkos]

amends pt. 3 // ricky bowen

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series - Slow Burn Ricky Bowen x Stage Manager!Reader Fic. Summary: That’s asking a lot of the theatre gods. Then again, it does include a lot of drama, so maybe it might just work out. pt. 1 // pt. 2 // pt. 3 // pt. 4 // pt. 5 // pt. 6 // pt. 7 // pt. 8 // pt. 8.5-ish // pt. 9 //  unfinished

Things to note for later productions: Carlos can do every dance imaginable, he just can’t dribble a basketball. Don’t be present when he is choreographing basketball scenes - you will become his demonstrator, no matter your skill level. EJ, on the other hand, can dribble and sing, he just can’t seem to combine that with convincing acting. Meanwhile, Ricky can, indeed, play basketball (information that you didn’t know you needed), but he doesn’t seem capable of acting the part of a true leader while doing so.

“Okay, that was a good effort, guys. Continue practicing, because tomorrow's rehearsal is the blindfold test! If you double dribble during your pirouette you’ll will be offbeat for the rest of the dance.” Carlos looked meaningfully into each actor's eyes. Intimidation wafted off of them in waves. Ah, how you loved early rehearsals. They were always so good before everyone developed a superiority complex.

“Hey, (Y/n)?” Natalie’s voice came on in your headset. “Miss Jen wants everyone to meet her in the bomb shelter. She says we’re ‘uncovering a relic for success.’ Any thoughts on what that means?”

You tipped your head to the side, thinking... “Nope. But, uh, I’ll get everyone. Thanks, Nat.” You headed over to Carlos, who was trying to make sure everyone put the basketballs away. “Hey, guys? Miss Jenn wants everyone to go to the bomb shelter. It’s important.”

“I’ll go get the people in the choir room,” Carlos said. You raised an eyebrow at him as he practically skipped out of the room.

to: dance boi (2:46 p.m.) are you trying to be helpful? or just see seb?

(2:46 p.m.) who says i can’t do both?

You laughed as Carlos texted you a winky emoji. Oh, if only you could have half the confidence he exudes. Imagine the possibilities!

from: dance boi (2:49 p.m.) nini and ashlyn are missing. miss jen needs me tho,,, can you find them?

(2:49 p.m.) kill me now.

You sighed. Of course, two leads are missing in action, and you have the whole school to look through - the wider Salt Lake Region if one of them has a car. You looked up and found Ricky texting by the props. Can you initiate a conversation with him? Sure, you have officially breached the gap and were a ‘friendly acquaintance’ with Ricky - scientifically, at least. But you had never actually engaged him in conversation outside of ‘do you know how to do question 27?’ (and he always did, of course). Deep breaths, (Y/n), you can do this...

“Hey, uh, Ricky?” He looked up from his phone, a little startled. You inwardly cringed at that. Way to go, (Y/n), scaring the boy will definitely win his favor. “I hate to bother you, but Ashlyn and Nini are out in the school somewhere. Can you help me find them?”

“Oh,” he cleared his throat and nodded, “Yeah. I can look down here if you want to go upstairs.” You flashed a grateful and started to head to the exit. OMG, you did it. Sure, you didn’t say more than a few sentences, but it happened and-- “Hey, (Y/n)?”

You spun around quickly. “Yeah?”

“Can I get your phone number?” You felt your eyes grow twice their size. “Just so that I can text you if I find them,” Ricky quickly corrected. “So you don’t have to keep looking?”

“Right!” You let out a breathy laugh as you went over to him. You exchanged phones and put your number in his. “Text me if you find them.”

“‘Course.”

...

new text from ricky

You stared at the lock screen of your phone, your feet rooted to the spot where you stood. The notification that had popped up no more than fifteen seconds ago taunted you silently. You could feel yourself start to sweat. 

Why was Ricky texting you? This was certainly a new development - one that you were not against one bit. Sure, you had exchanged numbers last Friday, but never in your wildest dreams did you think that he would text you after that first text (of which you had analyzed in every way).

from: ricky (12:04 p.m.) hey, (y/n). can you help me go over my lines in the library? (12:04 p.m.) only if you have this lunch. don’t worry about it if you don’t.

Your heart leapt in your chest. Meet him at lunch? That doesn’t meet anything... right?

to: ricky (12:05 p.m.) i’ll meet you there in ten.

You rushed out of your English class and made it to the library in record timing. Then you browsed through the fiction section for a few minutes so that you wouldn’t look like you got there too early when he showed up. You ran your fingers along the spines of different books as you thought of the last few rehearsals.

The tension between Ricky and Nini was lessening every day, which was good for the overall show, but this obviously made EJ paranoid, as he seemed to be constantly sizing up Ricky. It almost made you laugh, thinking about it. EJ, a senior that is generally thought of the be the school’s heartthrob is jealous of boy-next-door Ricky Bowen. They were on opposite ends of the same spectrum. And Nini? She was on a completely different plane. You almost wondered how she ever met Ricky and EJ in the first place.

You snapped back to the present as you saw Ricky pass you, headphones in, his head bobbing up and down to the music. He was mouthing the words to it, and if you were correct in your guess, he was listening to ‘Start of Something New.’ Miss Jen would be proud. You sure were.

After a moment you walked over to where he was sitting down, his script out in front of him, writing all over the margins. He was rooting for something in his backpack, but when you sat down he looked up at you. “Hey. Thanks for meeting with me.”

“Of course. Anytime.” You pulled your script out of your bag as he found a pencil. “What scene do you want to go over?”

“You mean besides all of it?” You both laughed and you cherished every moment of it. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to memorize every single word of this.” He flicked through every page, shaking his head.

“It won’t be too bad - trust me. It’s just a lot of practice.” You smiled at him reassuringly. “And,” you continued, “If you have good castmates, you can kind of know where the conversation is going based off of their emotions.”

“If that’s the case, then I must have missed the part where Gabriella is trying to break up with Troy in every scene.” Ricky’s voice was low as he spoke, His eyes clouded over with emotion as he stared past you. You turned and saw Nini and EJ kissing each other in historical fiction. 

Oh, no. How do you approach this one? “Are you okay, Ricky?”

He blinks a few times and swallows. His voice was hoarse when he spoke. “That was our spot.”

A beat. Silence. “...I’m sorry.”

“No,” Ricky cleared his throat and looked at you, his eyes glassy, “I am. Can we go over where Troy is confronted by Chad?”

...

Theatre 4 with Miss Jen was always a curveball. No matter what you expected, you were always given something very, very different. You loved it that way, to be honest. It kept everyone on their toes. Last week you had been reciting Shakespeare while stage fighting. Miss Jen said it was easier to understand the ‘linguistic beauty’ that Shakespeare possessed when you were fake punching your partner. She was right, to be honest, but how she knew that was beyond you. So when she told you to get the fake ferns from the prop closet in the auditorium, it didn’t phase you.

What made you stop in your tracks when you got there, however, was Mr. Mazzara, hunched over an old High School Musical Poster, his phone in hand. When he noticed your presence he snapped to attention, quickly slipping his phone into his pocket. “What class do you have right now, miss?”

“Theatre. I’m getting a prop for Miss Jen.”

“Oh. Well, then, hurry.” You grabbed the fern and placed it between the two of you, a buffer from his evil, math powers. “And tell Miss Jen that she has a prep period right after lunch where she should be getting her own props, not having her students do it.”

You nodded and he walked past you. You looked around the prop closet to see if anything was missing, but everything seemed to be in order. How weird. Mr. Mazzara had never taken an interest in theatre before - in fact, you were certain he hated it. But he had been around more recently, hadn’t he? And then his words rang in your ears, ‘she has a prep period right after lunch.’ How would he know that? You were very sure that a teacher’s schedules were somewhat private. And Miss Jen hasn’t been teaching for long, it’s not like they could have bumped into each other enough for him to have noticed... unless...

You cringed. 

Were Mr. Mazzara and Miss Jen seeing each other?

----- taglist:

@snowman-spidey​, @dinsey-chanel​

[trentonifnr462-blog]

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@scottypass

Advised by Erica from A Girl Who Wanders

If you’re looking for a destination that has it all, lookup no further and have on your own for the Gold Coast! With arguably many of the most effective shorelines in Australia, the Gold Coastline is my “go-to” location throughout the sizzling summer months months. But when lazing about on tender, white sandy seashores or swimming during the crystal very clear ocean doesn’t consider your extravagant, the Gold Coast Hinterland is just a short drive from your Seaside and has many of the most amazing going for walks tracks and viewpoints in Queensland.

My favourite detail concerning the Gold Coast is how the vibe is extremely laid again but also electric powered, with locals and holidaymakers alike making the most of the “Sunday sesh” atmosphere of your day and also the get together scene that relates to existence once the sun goes down. When you’re preparing on browsing the Gold Coast whenever quickly, my particular tips for the ideal places to go to are Burleigh Heads Beach front and also the Lamington Nationwide Park.

Gold Coast hostels from $21 an evening

11. Airlie Seaside/Whitsundays

Finest Areas To go to In Australia - Whitsundays

@jessea_h

Proposed by Jack and Jenn from Who Needs Maps

Airlie Seashore is a great place to get a taste of anything. It is possible to embark on an journey to The nice Barrier Reef, sail towards the Whitsundays, try to eat a few of the freshest foodstuff straight out with the ocean, and wander many of the most wonderful coastal walks in Australia. Did I mention there are some brilliant beer gardens?

Airlie Seashore is a perfect hub to fulfill other backpackers which have a hankering for journey. We had a great deal of fun occurring a myriad of nautical adventures. We even husked our very own coconuts and played with turkeys and wallaby’s over the island. Airlie Beach is also recognized for its person-produced lagoon, a fantastic spot for beachside/poolside cocktails.

Airlie Beach hostels from $28 an evening

twelve. Noosa

Ideal Spots To Visit In Australia - Noosa

@emelianjellachas

Advisable by Fanny from Minka Guides

Escalating up, I often listened to about Noosa from other Australians as this desire coastal destination. Remaining in the region, I didn’t actually realize why until eventually I eventually visited a few yr ago and fell in adore. Contrary to a number of other iconic coastal metropolitan areas, Noosa isn’t stuffed with towering skyscrapers And large procuring malls. The truth is, the community council don’t let any individual Develop larger compared to the trees, making certain that this sub-tropical town retains its astonishingly attractive seaside town vibe – even though also getting an extremely common area to go to!

The principle beach might get quite chaotic with sunbathers, so I’d propose carrying out a trek by means of close by Noosa National Park to at least one of its beautiful and deserted stretches of sand. A 45-moment wander along the Tanglewood Monitor can take you to definitely Alexandria Bay, exactly where very small, translucent fish swimming from the shallows (as well as the occasional nudist) are your only firm. Complete paradise.

Noosa hostels from $24 a night

thirteen. Atherton Tablelands

Most effective Areas To Visit In Australia - Atherton Tablelands

Recommended by Sophie from Adventures of Soph

Assume unlimited waterfalls, rolling environmentally friendly hills dotted with dairy cows and rustic, spouse and children operate cafes. All in just an hour’s drive clear of Cairns, the Atherton Tablelands is the proper gateway to the countryside, regardless of whether it be for each day journey or for an extended weekend. The ultimate way to see the Tablelands is usually to hop in a car, get an area map and just generate. The waterfall circuit of Elinjja Falls, Millaa Millaa Falls and Zillie Falls are usually not being skipped and if you transpire to end up there on the last Saturday on the month be sure you check out the Yungaburra marketplaces.

Atherton Tablelands hostels from $25 an evening

fourteen. Townsville

Most effective Areas To go to In Australia - Townsville

Advisable by Sam from Sam World wide

Boasting palm laden Seashore fronts, a ninety% possibility of sunshine and warm temperatures all yr round, Townsville can be an complete have to on any North Queensland itinerary. Wander the strand and understand rich WWII heritage or have a journey to The nice Barrier Reef and dive the S.S Yongala shipwreck – it’s one of the best dives on the globe. And it doesn’t prevent there, the town is property to the vibrant nightlife, a formidable food items scene and easy accessibility to the beautiful Magnetic Island. For those who time your vacation ideal you’ll have the possibility to encounter among the islands notorious complete moon functions!

Townsville hostels from $18 an evening

15. Cairns

Finest Locations To go to In Australia - Cairns

Suggested by Nicola from Polka Dot Passport

There are actually not numerous areas on this planet where you can expend your early morning snorkelling via a vibrant underwater playground that is a component of the entire world’s biggest one construction of dwelling organisms, along with your afternoon dipping into turquoise drinking water holes, canopied by one of the most varied and oldest rainforests on the planet. Cairns is often a gateway to not one particular but TWO purely natural earth heritage web sites, The nice Barrier Reef as well as Daintree Rainforest, which makes it a fairly special location to go to. Don’t depart with out executing a horse trip alongside Cape Tribulation beach, having a trip out towards the GBR or going croc-recognizing together the Daintree River.

Cairns hostels from $twelve a night

16. Whitehaven Beach

Best Sites To go to In Australia - Whitehaven Seashore

Encouraged by Dane from Getaway From The place

Whitehaven Seashore can be a 7km extend of Coastline located in the Whitsundays. It truly is most easily available from Airlie Seaside, unless you're lucky sufficient to own a yacht. The beach is popular with locals and holidaymakers alike but when you decide on to camp there you'll have the beach all to yourself and just a handful of other lucky campers for sunset and sunrise. The white colour in the sand plus the outstanding blues while in the water make this A really unique location that is consistently sighted in almost every ‘most effective Seashore on earth listing’.

Cairns hostels from $twelve a night

Finest places to go to in Northern Territory

17. Uluru

Very best Places To Visit In Australia - Uluru

Proposed by Crystal from Castaway With Crystal

Uluru is most likely Australia’s most recognisable landmark. But this big chunk of rock is also extremely sacred to your regional Anangu Aboriginal men and women listed here, an area of wonderful ability. It's the centre on the universe and the house from the ‘Earth Mom’. Within the outskirts of Uluru, in just modest caves, Aboriginal rock artwork may be observed that is certainly tens of thousands of decades previous. They are thought of nationwide treasures and Uluru can be a UNESCO Earth Heritage web site.

However you may however climb to the highest in the rock and experience the unquestionably magical views, doing this is some extent of controversy concerning the community Aboriginal persons as well as nationwide park assistance that manages the region. Because of this, vacationers are seriously inspired not to climb. Uluru rises 348 meters earlier mentioned the ground, but the bulk of this rock lies underground. It has a circumference of 16 kilometres and may be walked all over in full using a cleared route.

Alice Springs hostels from $27 an evening

18. Darwin

Finest Locations To go to In Australia - Darwin

Recommended by Edit From Edit Around The World

Despite the fact that Darwin may be the money town on the Northern Territory, it is very tiny – but it really’s basically a terrific spot for shopping. Additionally, for historical past fans, it’s a true treasure town With all the Museum and Art Gallery in the Northern Territory and several other aboriginal art galleries. On the flip side, experience seekers can check out the Crocosaurus Cove, where by the Cage of Dying experience presents the thrill of staying in precisely the same atmosphere, more precisely in the special cage during the h2o, along with a 5m extended croc. Crocodile can even be discovered on a lot of cafe menus all over Darwin. From crocodile sandwich to croc pizza, The variability is massive and very delectable. It preferences somewhat like hen, but it surely arrives in a much increased price tag.

Using a tour within the Adelaide river gave me the chance to see the methods of the crocs when they’re preparing to assault. Litchfield

[emilianoqjcb299-blog]

The Most Pervasive Problems in singapore australia holiday packages

What do you think of whenever you listen to the term Australia? Kangaroos, beach locations, and ‘g’working day mate’? Effectively Of course, Australia does have its fair share of ‘roos, even so the land Down Beneath offers Much in excess of that! We’re speaking awe-inspiring mountains, epic highway outings, massive national parks, stunning waterfalls…the listing really is endless. We’ve rounded up some top Aussie travel bloggers who've specified us their guidelines about the best locations to visit in Australia – and you will be specific that whatsoever you’re seeking within your excursion, Australia can provide it plus much more. Continue reading for twenty-four of the greatest sites to go to in Australia!

New South Wales

Victoria

Queensland

Northern Territory

Western Australia

Tasmania

South Australia

Best destinations to go to in New South Wales

1. Blue Mountains

Very best Locations To go to In Australia - Blue Mountains

Encouraged by Rachel and Jeremy with the Kiwi Couple

If you’re looking for a dose of mother nature, the Blue Mountains are to suit your needs. Only one.five several hours with the hustle and bustle of Sydney, it can be visited as each day journey or perhaps a weekend getaway, depending on your vacation timeframe. Make sure you have time to go to Wentworth Falls. This place presents walks of varying problems with gorgeous views on the waterfall, and it’s just a brief push from the leading party – The 3 Sisters. These renowned rock formations are the highlight of this picturesque postcard spot.

In case you head to Echo Point you can obtain an epic view of them, or hop on Scenic Globe’s gondola. As you’re there, don’t miss out on the Scenic Railway – the steepest passenger railway on earth! Very last but not the very least, Lincoln’s Rock is a must. With sights from the wide landscape and a magic formula tiny cave great for seeing the sunset, it’s the most effective stop into the working day.

Blue Mountains hostels from $17.eighty a night

two. Bathurst

Most effective Locations To Visit In Australia - Bathurst

Encouraged by Tara from Where Is Tara

Bathurst is among my favorite spots in Australia for numerous causes. One of them is my cousins have farms around. They allow me to remain whenever I pass through and bring me to cattle marketplaces, and that is a true novelty to me getting developed up in town. The opposite motive I love Bathurst is mainly because it is commonly ignored by travellers, In spite of acquiring a great deal of to supply. It’s the oldest inland metropolis in Australia and is also the site of the original Australian gold hurry.

Go to the T-Rex on the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum, have a spin within the famous Mount Panorama Circuit. Or just grab a cup of coffee from Campos, have a stroll by Machattie Park and take a look at the commemorative plaque from Charles Darwin’s visit in 1836. For a unique day trip while in the Bathurst area check out the gold rush town of Sofala (it looks like a ghost town and it has a GREAT ebook shop), or head on the Jenolan caves for many organic natural beauty, limestone-model!

Sydney hostels from $fifteen a night

three. Sydney

Greatest Areas To go to In Australia - Sydney

Proposed by Rachel and Jeremy with the Kiwi Couple

Sydney is the biggest town in Australia – crammed with beautiful shorelines, pleasurable actions and great food items. Probably the greatest ways to view the beauty of Sydney is by having a calming stroll. An amazing Beach front stroll, and among the best, is from Bondi Beach front to Coogee Beach front. It offers magnificent views of the area’s popular rocky beaches, thin beaches and sandy shorelines. A further common stroll is along the Sydney Harbour Bridge walkway. Equally walks are no cost and therefore are a great way to take pleasure in Sydney.

We like finding up higher and seeing metropolitan areas from higher than. An ideal way To achieve this in Sydney is by performing the Skywalk at Sydney Tower. At 268 metres substantial, it’s guaranteed to Get the coronary heart pumping. You’re harnessed in however so it’s not (far too) scary! And at last, a necessity do of Sydney will be to eat your heart out. Test a deep fried Golden Gaytime ice cream from What The Fudge Cafe, you won’t regret it!

Sydney hostels from $fifteen a night

four. Byron Bay

Best Locations To Visit In Australia - Byron Bay

?@eloisejulier

Encouraged by Dane from Getaway From Exactly where

Byron is one of Australia’s leading vacationer destinations but should you’re willing to place in slightly do the job it is possible to however find some extra well concealed gems just out the again within the hinterland mountains. From innumerable waterfalls and swimming holes to unbelievable mountains and bush walks this tiny region hide much beauty. I'd personally propose commencing which has a hike to The underside of Minyon Falls for just a swim, a hike to the top of Mt Warning for an unbelievable sunrise, A different swim at Killin Falls and after that a hike on the Normal Arch. These are just a number of the most available but there's so a lot more when you’re ready to check out.

Byron Bay hostels from $25 a night

Greatest places to visit in Victoria

five. Melbourne

Ideal Places To go to In Australia - Melbourne

Proposed by Aditi from Diary of a Cusp

Melbourne has secured its place of one of the most liveable city in the world the seventh time in a very row. Most times see a diversified temperature – hail, sunshine, rain, wind – but that doesn’t impede the livelihood of Melbourne. Any provided day yow will discover an event, an show, a music gig, or perhaps a display to relish. You have entry to no cost trams throughout the metropolis circle to wander across without having outlaying a buck on transportation. Melbourne is usually a multicultural metropolitan with copious dining establishments serving slavering foods and cafes for your caffeine deal with – Melbourne’s espresso is some of the ideal on this planet.

Melbourne hostels from $18 an evening

6. Terrific Ocean Road

Most effective Areas To go to In Australia - Terrific Ocean Street

Proposed by Jack and Jenn from Who Requirements Maps

Lorne is a well-liked quit together The good Ocean Road (also to the Twelve Apostles). It’s the proper destination to take it easy along the seaside, it's possible Opt for a surf, try to eat some of the very best fish and chips, and benefit from the landscapes. Jack is usually a surfer and likes to head out to The nice Ocean Street for the surf. However the vacation isn’t complete with no quit in Lorne to get a parma plus a pot write-up-surf. Lorne also has some stunning walks and waterfalls to investigate, like Erskine Falls and Phantom Falls. My most loved, is for those who go over the appropriate year, you may capture a number of whales at sunset. Seize a wine in a seaside restaurant and enjoy the serenity.

7. Mornington Peninsula

Greatest Sites To go to In Australia - Mornington Peninsula

Encouraged by Aditi from Diary of the Cusp

Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula Positioned southeast of Melbourne, just an hour generate from town. It's been an immensely common working day trip or staycation internet site to the people of Victoria, especially Melbourne for decades now. Mornington Peninsula has a great deal of to supply to its website visitors – seashores, nationwide parks, scenic sights, relaxing spas, vineyards, golf classes, mazes, camping sites and so way more. This plethora of actions along with the quick distance causes it to be so appealing to go to all through prolonged weekends like Queen’s Birthday, Christmas, Boxing Day, New Calendar year and so on. Sampling some Pinot Noir though from the peninsula is a necessity.

Greatest sites to go to in Queensland

eight. Sunshine Coast

Very best Sites To go to In Australia - Sunshine Coastline

Recommended by Sophie from Adventures of Soph

The Sunshine Coastline has obtained to generally be Among the most attractive strips of coastland in all of Australia, boasting gorgeous, long white beaches lined with wellness aware cafes and boutique clothing shops. Any time you aren’t soaking up the sunshine on one of many many beaches, you can head out towards the hinterland for each day of mountain climbing or hop from the crushed monitor to find secluded swimming holes and waterfalls with not a soul in sight. Noosa Nationwide Park and fairy pools is surely an absolute will have to do, just stay away from the midday hurry with the crowds.

Sunshine Coastline hostels from $twelve.50 a night

nine. Brisbane

Greatest Sites To go to In Australia - Brisbane

@anitababic3

Proposed by Erica from A lady Who Wanders

Brisbane is my hometown and an area I intend on staying for a really long time. Why? As it has everything! Compared with its capital town counterparts of Sydney and Melbourne, Brisbane delivers all of the perks in a fraction of the fee. High on my list of areas to go to is Southbank, the house of executing arts and Queensland lifestyle together with back again alley bars and river front eating. Southbank also attributes Australia’s only inner-metropolis Seashore, a man-created marvel which normally takes you far from the hustle and bustle of town and into a tropical oasis with sparkling waters and white, sandy beaches.

West Stop is another suburb I hugely propose traveling to, with its hipster vibe, insanely good espresso and street marketplaces to help keep you buying several hours. For those who’re following a see of the town from the major, head approximately Mt Coot-tha for its breathtaking 360 views of the city plus the bordering hinterland. I also remarkably recommend climbing the Brisbane Story Bridge For an additional Distinctive addition in your excursion, because the watch is beautiful as well as adrenalin rush one never to be skipped!

Brisbane hostels from $fifteen an evening

ten. Gold Coastline

Ideal Areas To go to In Australia - Gold Coastline

@scottypass

Encouraged by Erica from A Girl Who Wanders

If you’re searching for a desired destination which includes all of it, search no more and acquire on your own to the Gold Coastline! With arguably a lot of the ideal beaches in Australia, the Gold Coastline is my “go-to” spot through the warm summertime months. But when lazing about on tender, white sandy seashores or swimming inside the crystal clear ocean doesn’t choose your fancy, the Gold Coast Hinterland is just a short generate from the Seaside and it has many of the most awesome walking tracks and viewpoints in Queensland.

My favorite issue concerning the Gold Coast is how the vibe is incredibly laid back but also electric powered, with locals and tourists alike savoring the “Sunday sesh” atmosphere with the day along with the party scene that concerns life as soon as the Sunlight goes down. For those who’re scheduling on viewing the Gold Coastline whenever soon, my personal recommendations for the very best sites to visit are Burleigh Heads beach plus the Lamington Nationwide Park.

Gold Coast hostels from $21 a night

eleven. Airlie Seashore/Whitsundays

Ideal Sites To go to In Australia - Whitsundays

@jessea_h

Proposed by Jack and Jenn from Who Desires Maps

Airlie Beach front is an ideal location to get a taste of almost everything. You'll be able to embark on an journey to the Great Barrier Reef, sail for the Whitsundays, try to eat a lot of the freshest meals straight out with the ocean, and wander many of the most beautiful coastal walks in Australia. Did I point out usually there are some awesome beer gardens?

Airlie Beach front is a great hub to satisfy other backpackers that have a hankering for journey. We experienced so much fun going on all types of nautical adventures. We even husked our own coconuts and played with turkeys and wallaby’s on the island. Airlie Beach is also recognized for its male-built lagoon, an outstanding place for beachside/poolside cocktails.

Airlie Beach front hostels from $28 an evening

12. Noosa

Finest Locations To Visit In Australia - Noosa

@emelianjellachas

Suggested by Fanny from Minka Guides

Rising up, I always read about Noosa from other Australians as this aspiration coastal vacation spot. Remaining with the state, I didn’t really realize why till I eventually frequented several yr in the past and fell in appreciate. In contrast to many other legendary coastal towns, Noosa isn’t stuffed with towering skyscrapers And large shopping malls. Actually, the community council don’t let anybody Develop better in comparison to the trees, ensuring that this sub-tropical town retains its incredibly beautiful seaside town vibe – even though also staying an exceptionally well-liked location to go to!

The leading Seaside can get fairly active with sunbathers, so I’d advocate doing a trek via nearby Noosa National Park to 1 of its stunning and deserted stretches of sand. A forty five-moment wander along the Tanglewood Observe can take you to definitely Alexandria Bay, wherever small, translucent fish swimming in the shallows (and the occasional nudist) are your only corporation. Absolute paradise.

Noosa hostels from $24 an evening

13. Atherton Tablelands

Very best Sites To go to In Australia - Atherton Tablelands

Advisable by Sophie from Adventures of Soph

Consider unlimited waterfalls, rolling inexperienced hills dotted with dairy cows and rustic, relatives operate cafes. All within an hour or so’s travel from Cairns, the Atherton Tablelands is the perfect gateway for the countryside, whether or not it be for per day trip or for an extended weekend. The easiest method to see the Tablelands will be to hop in a car, seize a location map and just push. The waterfall circuit of Elinjja Falls, Millaa Millaa Falls and Zillie Falls will not be to get missed and if you happen to find yourself there on the final Saturday of your month you should definitely look into the Yungaburra marketplaces.

Atherton Tablelands hostels from $twenty five a night

fourteen. Townsville

Most effective Places To Visit In Australia - Townsville

Encouraged by Sam from Sam Around The World

Boasting palm laden Seashore fronts, a ninety% prospect of sunshine and warm temperatures all yr round, Townsville is surely an complete ought to on any North Queensland itinerary. Wander the strand and learn about wealthy WWII heritage or take a trip to the Great Barrier Reef and dive the S.S Yongala shipwreck – it’s one of the best dives on this planet. And it doesn’t halt there, the town is household to the vibrant nightlife, an impressive meals scene and quick access to The gorgeous Magnetic Island. Should you time your trip appropriate you’ll have the possibility to knowledge one of the islands infamous total moon get-togethers!

Townsville hostels from $eighteen an evening

15. Cairns

Best Sites To go to In Australia - Cairns

Proposed by Nicola from Polka Dot Passport

You will find not numerous spots on the globe in which you can devote your morning snorkelling via a vibrant underwater playground that is part of the globe’s major single construction of dwelling organisms, and also your afternoon dipping into turquoise drinking water holes, canopied by The most assorted and oldest rainforests on the planet. Cairns is a gateway to not one particular but TWO all-natural entire world heritage internet sites, the Great Barrier Reef as well as the Daintree Rainforest, making it a pretty Exclusive spot to visit. Don’t leave without the need of executing a horse journey alongside Cape Tribulation Beach front, taking a trip out on the GBR or going croc-spotting alongside the Daintree River.

Cairns hostels from $12 a night

16. Whitehaven Beach front

Best Spots To Visit In Australia - Whitehaven Seaside

Advised by Dane from Holiday getaway From Where

Whitehaven Seashore is really a 7km stretch of coast located in the Whitsundays. It truly is most simply accessible from Airlie Seashore, unless that you are Blessed ample to own a yacht. The Beach front is popular with locals and holidaymakers alike but when you choose to camp there you'll have the Beach front all to oneself and just A few other Fortunate campers for sunset and sunrise. The white colour of your sand plus the extraordinary blues from the drinking water make this a truly exclusive vacation spot that is consistently sighted in almost every ‘greatest beach on this planet record’.

Cairns hostels from $twelve a night

Very best spots to visit in Northern Territory

17. Uluru

Greatest Destinations To go to In Australia - Uluru

Recommended by Crystal from Castaway With Crystal

Uluru might be Australia’s most recognisable landmark. But this enormous chunk of rock is likewise very sacred to the nearby Anangu Aboriginal individuals listed here, an area of great energy. It's the centre from the universe and the home from the ‘Earth Mother’. Inside the outskirts of Uluru, in compact caves, Aboriginal rock artwork might be found which is tens of 1000s of several years previous. These are generally viewed as nationwide treasures and Uluru can be a UNESCO Earth Heritage site.

Nevertheless you can nonetheless climb to the best from the rock and encounter the unquestionably magical sights, doing this is a degree of controversy amongst the neighborhood Aboriginal persons along with the countrywide park company that manages the realm. For this reason, visitors are closely inspired never to climb. Uluru rises 348 meters previously mentioned the bottom, but the bulk of this rock lies underground. It's a circumference of sixteen kilometres and might be walked close to in comprehensive using a cleared path.

Alice Springs hostels from $27 a night

eighteen. Darwin

Very best Places To Visit In Australia - Darwin

Encouraged by Edit From Edit All over the world

Even though Darwin may be the capital town in the Northern Territory, it is very compact – but it’s essentially an incredible place for purchasing. Moreover, for record lovers, it’s a true treasure metropolis Along with the Museum and Artwork Gallery of the Northern Territory and a number of other aboriginal artwork galleries. Conversely, journey seekers can look into the Crocosaurus Cove, in which the Cage of Death knowledge delivers the thrill of currently being in a similar environment, a lot more exactly in a very Specific cage from the h2o, together with a 5m lengthy croc. Crocodile may also be located on lots of cafe menus around Darwin. From crocodile sandwich to croc pizza, The range is big and really delectable. It preferences somewhat like rooster, nevertheless it will come in a Considerably increased value.

Getting a tour to the Adelaide river gave me the opportunity to begin to see the methods in the crocs when they’re making ready to attack. Litchfield National Park is a good place to see crocodiles australia tour inside their organic habitat – moreover it's got great swimming places located in a high sufficient altitude the crocodiles

[superstarfiction]

Superstar ~ Part 1 ~ Chapter 9

Jenn’s Notes:  Dear Readers - Sorry again for the long absence.  Divorce is no fun - as a friend says, he doesn’t wish it on his worst enemy.  That about sums things up.  But, I’m moving along - in the right direction.  I can’t promise when I’ll post again, and I’ll try to read mail - I really do appreciate you guys still hanging on and asking for updates.  It’s nice to be wanted at this time!  Again,   Love to you, my readers!  You have no idea what being on here - writing, posting, corresponding - has meant to me!  XOXO

September 3, 1974

Journal Entry:   Friday, August 30, 1974 - 

Jimmy will be town on Tuesday and I’ve driven myself crazy waiting…no wanting.  It’s want…need…something dark this time.  I can barely eat and sleep, knowing, thinking, about how he’ll be in my bed in a few days.  What have I let happen here?  And then I come home to this box.  Delilah, bless her, sent her oldest over with it.  That boy is so shy, if he only knew what he held in his hands.  Thank God it was unmarked, in plain brown mailing paper.  Inside was a box from Fredericks of Hollywood, and a note…with some very specific instructions I am expected to follow.  I think he must be driving himself crazy too.

Lynn was on the subway, feeling flushed and uncomfortable in her seat.  She had filled in for another nurse, at another clinic in midtown, on the holiday.  This got her square for her needed days off.  Jimmy was due in an hour, coming in from Houston, she thought his telegram said.  He had sent two.  She was so dizzy with anticipation, and the state she had worked herself  into, wasn’t helping her memory.  He was traveling with Bad Company.  Apparently, he’d concoct some story of why he couldn’t stay with them and participate in whatever debauchery they were cooking up on tour.

It was cool and overcast when Lynn got off the train.  As she turned towards her apartment, she caught sight of a black Lincoln across the street from her building.  Probably nothing.  Could be anyone.  A priest.  A cop.  A mobster.

As she approached the walkway, she heard the car door.  She looked and saw him.  He was early.  He was wearing a black patterned shirt, black jeans and sunglasses.  He looked every bit the rock star he was.  However, he wasn’t looking her way.  She nearly called out to him, then realized there were other people on the street. Children playing.  Of course there are, it’s a holiday.

She turned away, her instincts telling her to let him manage the situation. Whether or not he wanted attention or recognition.  She thought not.  She certainly didn’t want to be the one who brought it to him.  

Lost in her thoughts, she nearly fell over Delilah’s younger boy.

“Miss Lynn!  Watch out!” Darrian called to her.

“You better watch yourself, Darrian Michael…is that how you talk to your elders?” Delilah scolded.

“No, Delilah, Darrian’s fine.  I wasn’t watching where I was going.  He saved us both!” Lynn yelped, hugging the boy.  “You off to have fun?” she asked, trying to compose herself.

“Granny Lucy’s, Miss Lynn!  We’re spending the night!  She’s going to watch us on the last day before school starts!” Darrian excitingly told her.

“Well, you have fun, all right?  You too, Desmond.  Dez, you looking forward to junior high?” Lynn asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” the shy boy responded.  Delilah sighed, pulling them both along, headed for the station Lynn had just disembarked.

“Lynn, good lord, did you work today?” Delilah asked.

“Yep, but I’m done.  Have a few days off,” Lynn smiled, wondering what the hell had become of Jimmy. He had disappeared from her sight.

“Well, you take it easy.  It’ll be quiet til Wednesday night, with us out of the way,” she smiled.  “I got a few days off, not due back in court until Thursday,” she said. Delilah was a bailiff, who put up with nothing.  Including lip from her two boys, and abuse from her now ex-husband.

Lynn shifted, for the umpteenth time that day, looking at Delilah.  It was like the woman knew.

“Well, thanks, you enjoy your visit,” Lynn smiled.

A chorus of goodbyes echoed on the sidewalk, as they parted company.  Lynn hurried inside, thinking she just needed to get upstairs.  As the elevator doors opened, she was pushed into it from behind, sending a chill up her spine and nearly a scream from her throat.  She turned to see it was him.  

“Fifth floor, right love?” he asked, smiling, pressing “5” and the button to close the doors.

“Jesus Christ, you scared me to death!” Lynn wailed, throwing her arms around him.

“Umm…my girl, happy to see me, yeah?” he asked, grinning, as he held her.

“Of course I am!” she whispered, searching for his mouth.  She connected one sweet kiss, before the bell sounded, and he pulled away.  The doors opened, and no one was in the corridor.  He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hall, hurrying to her door.

He turned to her once.  “Have the key?”

“Yep, in my coat pocket,” she smiled, patting it.  They reached her door, and he impatiently waited for the lock to turn.  He allowed her in first, and as he locked the door behind him, she removed her coat.

“Let me open the windows, it’s stuf-”

But the rest of the sentence never left her.  He was all over her.  His lips, his hands, his erection easily seen and felt through his jeans.

He left her breathless, kissing her, then trailing his lips and tongue along her throat until he reached her ear.  She wasn’t sure if it was a result of being overcome by his presence, or if it really did take him an exceedingly long time to reach the very sensitive spot behind her earlobe.  As she moaned, he whispered to her, wanting to know…

“Are you wearing them?” he asked.

“Umm…” she sighed.

“Johanna is that a ‘yes’?” he asked.

“Yes,” she breathed.

“That’s my girl.  To work all day, right?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said, as her hand traveled to his ass and pressed him, harder, against her uniform.

“Oh love, you were such a tease today, but no one knew.  Except me,” he paused, reaching his fingers under her skirt, feeling the lace band of her stockings and her dampness as he approached her core.  “Proper on the outside, a bit naughty underneath.  Did it feel good?” he asked.

“Yes,” she whimpered.  “Jimmy, please…let’s…please…I need to sit down,” she said.

He walked her to the sofa, had her step out of her shoes.  He pulled off her sweater, unzipped her dress, while her back was to him, her eyes closed.  He stepped back as she turned around so he could admire his purchases, and gaze into those chocolate eyes.  He was quite pleased, and he let her sit.

The sun was going down, and the apartment was awash in last faint pink light of the day.  It didn’t matter; Lynn could see nothing but him.  Their eyes locked as he moved, both their mouths open, breathing what little air there was between them.  Still in her lingerie, with her legs around him, Jimmy was buried deep inside her.  Her hands roamed his torso, as they had somehow managed to get him out of his pants.  

He had a tight grip on her hips, her shapely ass, as he lost himself in the feel of her.  So soft, so hot, but so comforting.  He liked that she never second-guessed anything they did.  She just went with wherever he took her…and she always enjoyed the ride.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They sat, side by side.  Perspired, out of breath, with damp hair, and a rather comical state of undress.

“God, look at us,” she smiled.

He had reached his cigarettes and lit one, and it dangled from his lips as his smiled formed.

“You are quite the fine lay, my love,” Jimmy said, taking her hand, entwining their fingers.

“Really?  A fine lay?  Nice.”

“What?  That was meant as a compliment.  Would you prefer me telling you that you’re a good fuck?” he smirked.

She playfully smacked his arm as he quietly chuckled.

“We look like a goddamn hooker and her john,” Lynn quipped.

“A prossie and a what?” he asked.

“Her john.  You know, the guy who’s paying her.  You don’t know that word?” she asked.

He slowly shook his head, smiling at her.  “Why do you think we look like a prossie and John?” he asked.

“A john, her john…you need an article in front of it…oh, nevermind,” she said, as he looked at her more perplexed than before.

“You’ve not answered, love,” he said.

She sighed, waving her hand in rather dramatic fashion over both of them.  “Because of this.  My God, I’m in this ridiculous lingerie, and-”

“You don’t like the lingerie I picked out for you?” he asked, with a pout forming that she wasn’t sure was real or contrived.

“It’s gorgeous, but all white lace?  I feel like a goddamn bride!”

“Yes, like a virgin…” he sighed, closing his eyes, taking a drag from his cigarette.  A slow smile emerged across his features.

“Jesus!  Is that your sick fantasy?” she asked, somewhat taken aback and amused all at once.

He laughed.   “What’s so sick about a beautiful woman in white lace? And why does that make you think you’re a…hooker?”

“Because I know this is your fantasy.  You sent this, had me wear it for you, and I’ve gotten all dressed up for the job!”

“Well, Jo, it was hardly work now was it?” he asked, innocently looking at her.

She wanted to be mad at that, but she couldn’t.  Not with the look he gave her.

“No, hardly,” she said quietly.  “And look at you,” she giggled.

“What?”

“You’re quite the sight,” she smiled.  He looked at her questioning her, wanting her to continue.  She waved her hand over him again.

“Jim, dear, you’re in a shirt-”

“A new shirt and you nearly broke the bloody poppers!” he exclaimed.

“Well, serves you right,” she said, kissing his cheek.  “You look so damn sexy and you’ve made me half out of my head today, wearing this get-up.  On top of just feeling sexy wearing it, I knew you had to be fantasizing about it,” she said.

He smiled, inhaling, nodding.  

Damn him!  He wanted this…and course, he engineered it.  Had me in crotchless panties, thigh-highs and a see-through lace bra all day that just…well, rubbed everything.  

The lace had rubbed her nipples and her folds, as she grew wetter and wetter from the friction and the thought of him…and what he might do to her when he saw her.

“Jo, love? What were you saying about my appearance?” he asked.

She smiled, snapped out of her thoughts by his soft voice.  “Oh, you look like a damn john - you’re wearing your shirt, wide open, and socks.  And nothing else.  Socks and an open shirt, Jimmy.  It’s pretty damn funny,” she chuckled.

He leaned over, cupping her breast through the lace, rubbing her nipple with his thumb.  

“Well, Joey, I couldn’t help it that I didn’t have time to properly undress for you, love.  You were rather greedy for my attention,” he smirked.  “And I hardly think I’m like this john you keep calling me.”

She laughed out loud.  “Really?  And why not?”

He took her hand back, kissing it, before placing his forehead against hers.  

“Because a man who hires a prostitute is generally interested in fucking her or getting head.  I don’t think your john bloke would have gone down on you the way I did…or produced such a satisfying climax for you, darling.  Multiple times, I might add.”

He said all of this with a straight face.  He was dead serious.

“Dear God, that ego,” she said, closing her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief.

“What?  Joey, there are a couple of things in this world, whereby I’m very sure of my abilities.  One, of course, is playing guitar, the other is going down on a wo-”

She punched his arm for that one.  And he let out a bit of a howl.  

“Hey watch that!  These arms are quite important, you know!”

“Do you realize I might not want to hear you gloat?  Or worse yet, think about how many goddamn times you’ve-”

He stopped her with a kiss.  “Jo,” he whispered, finding her eyes, “when I’m with you, I never think about anyone else,” he said.  And it was true.