#im tryin to see if i can find my old flip phone since it was Also red but im also debating gettin a prop gun

[todayisafridaynight]

FIT ACQUIRED!!! GOD THAT'S SPOT ON YOU'RE GONNA KILL IT

THANK YOU !!!!!! I'M SO STOKED TO WEAR IT

[lunanight2012]

A Tale as Old as Time? Part 9!!

Enjoy!!!

2 weeks. 2 weeks since Harry rescued me. And now school was starting again. And I still can't talk. But on the plus side, Harry is now in all my classes. I can't be separated from him, cuz I'll start stressing out. I mean if he's going to shower or use the bathroom I can sit outside the door. Oh Harry's sisters are now going to the school.

Harriet being his older sister, and CJ being the youngest. Even though Harriet is technically too old to be going here, Fairy Godmother is letting her. They are very kind to me. 

Oh yea, Fairy Godmother suggested we learn Sign Language, and told us we could find our teacher at the docks. So yeah, turns out it was a mermaid who is very close with Ariel. And she's deaf. But after a week of visiting her everyday and learning Sign Language, Harry and I have another way of communicating.

So here we are, at lunch. We sat with Uma, Gil, Harriet, and CJ. It was nice. That was until Audrey walked over.

"Well well well. If it isn't the pirate losers and their broken princess. How many times has she been kidnapped now? 3? Geez. Wh-" suddenly Audrey stopped talking.

I took a peek in her direction and I saw Chad had slapped her. 

"Don't ever talk about my sister like that again! She's been through a lot, she can't even talk! You know this Audrey! Why would you try to make her feel like shit?!" Chad snarled, glaring at Audrey.

I looked over at Harry and signed to him. 'Can you get Chad to calm down? I don't want him getting in trouble.'

Harry nodded and carefully stood up and whispered into Chad's ear and Chad calmed down and sat down next to us. Audrey humphed and stomped away. Harry sat back down, pulling me close to him.

I smiled and laid my head on his shoulder as I ate my tater tots. 

"How is she?" Uma asked, I didn't pay too much mind, I was enjoying my tots.

"She's doin ok. She still can't talk but that doesn't seem to bother 'er. We learned sign language. And she still likes to "borrow" me hook." Harry explained, kissing the top of my head as I smirked.

Yes, I enjoyed "borrowing" my boyfriend's hook. I can't help it. It's fun!

I squeaked, though Harry knew that squeak meant I was giggling.

"Ye find that funny don't ye?" Harry teased, causing me to nod as I held up the hook.

I mimicked his threatening glare while holding up the hook.

"Scare ye? But that's my speciality!" Harry exclaimed, I moved my mouth to match the words. 

Gil, Uma, and Chad all laughed and I smiled. Sitting back down, I ate another tot.

The bell rang. I frowned and pulled out a baggie and placed the rest of my tots, and all of Harry's tots into it and placed it in my bag. I pulled out my camera and smiled at Harry.

"Yep. Let's head to your photography class." Harry exclaimed, and we headed to my class.

Once there we headed inside, I pulled out my scrapbook. Flipping through the pages, my first day at Auradon, Me and Chad, a few birthdays, the day the original VKs, Ben's coronation, Cotillion, with a single picture of octo-Uma, Jane's birthday, though there wasn't much, Harry had asked me about that and I told him that I got hit by Audrey's spell, then pictures from Harry's first day at Auradon, and just pictures of us.

I pulled out my most recent photos, from Christmas, and some group pics of all of us. Harry watched as I put my photos into the next page of my scrapbook. I added some stickers, that were Christmas themed, pirate themed, and a bit of glass slipper themed.

"Luna, how is your scrapbook coming along?" My teacher asked me.

I look over at Harry and began to sign to him. 'It is coming along great! I am almost done with these few pages!'

"The lass says it's comin along great and that she's almost done with these few pages." Harry explained.

"That's wonderful! I cannot wait to see them!" She exclaimed smiling at us before walking to the other students.

I smiled happily as I went back to my scrapbook. After a few minutes I stopped and grabbed Harry's hand and just sat there. He understood what was wrong, I was having an anxiety attack. A bad one. Harry understood though.

He kept rubbing his thumbs along the back of my hands. Which helped me slowly get out of my attack. I blinked up at him and smiled as I carefully took my hands out of his and signed to him. 'Thank you Hooky!' I smiled happily as I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. 

He smirked and hugged me to his side, kissing my head. "I love ye mah Cindy." He exclaimed with a smirk.

I squeaked, trying to giggle, and kissed Harry's cheek and signed, 'I love you too my pirate Harry!'

The bell rang, so I packed up and Harry walked me to our dorm. He smiled at me.

"Okay love, I have to go to history of pirates and wood now lassie. Chad should be in the room. If ya need me text me, sound good?" Harry explained, raising an eyebrow.

I smiled and nodded, kissing his cheek before I opened the door and walked into the dorm room. As Harry had said, Chad was sitting on my couch trying to do his science homework.

I dropped my stuff, closed the door and threw my small throwing pillow at him. He shrieked and looked over at me.

"Oh Hey sis! I'm trying to get this chem homework done. It's incredibly difficult! Did you finish it?" Chad asked, causing me to roll my eyes as I held up my completed chem homework.

His eyes lit up as he stumbled over to me. "So could I maybe get some help? Pleaseeeee!" Chad begged me.

I squeaked, trying to giggle. I walk over to the couch, open up my brother's laptop, and go onto FaeTube, and yep found a video that could help him.

He chuckled nervously. "Right, I forgot I could just watch a video on FaeTube. Thanks sis!" Chad hugged me.

I smiled and walked back to my bed, grabbing my Nintendo™ Switch, plopping down on my bed, and playing Pokemon™ Sword. I smiled, loving my team. 

I got so into my game I didn't notice Gil, Uma, and Harry coming in to the room. Until I heard my name. Looking up I smiled and sat my switch down before running over to Harry and hugging him.

He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me close. "Miss me that much? Were ye playin that Pokemon™ game? Haven't ye almost beaten it?" Harry asked me.

I smiled happily and ran over to my game showing him my Eternatus. A legendary dragon that I had to fight then catch.

"I see ye named it…..  Super Dragon!" Harry chuckled. 

I shook my head and pointed at the name. That's when Harry realized it. "Oh, Super Dargon. But lass, why Dargon?" Harry asked, a confused expression on his face.

I squeaked and smiled at him, pulling out my phone I typed my message and showed him.

'Because it's cool!'

Harry chuckled and kissed the top of my head. "Well ye are lucky. Ye get the rest of the day off. While the three of us have been set in charge of setting up the talent show." He groaned.

I squeaked, covering my mouth to hide the giggle squeak. Harry glared at me before kissing my head.

(The talent show is gunna be something! *evil laugh* did i say this part was gunna be innocent? I lied)

The next few days flew by. And it's now the talent show!

Ok so I'm one of four judges for the talent show. It's me, Jane, Carlos, and Gil. Im sat next to Gil. Harry sat in the audience seat closest to me. I look at the list of contestants, though one name kept blurring up for me. Weird.

"Ok, First up is… Dude?" Carlos read out, and yep, Dude walked to the middle of the stage.

Carlos facepalmed so hard just now. Trying to hold in my squeak of a laughter. 

"Ahem. Hello everyone. I'm Dude, and I like Belly scratches and hanging out with Carlos." Dude stated, causing the entire auditorium to burst out into claps, cheering, and laughter.

Carlos whistled for Dude to come to him, which Dude happily jumped down and trotted over to Carlos.

Next was Celia, doing a couple card tricks, and then Dizzy created some jewelry pieces. Next up was…. Ughhh

I held my head a bit, my hair flaming up a bit. Harry squeezed my hand, becoming concerned. I smiled and waved him off, letting him know I was fine. 

"Next up is inaudible." Carlos stated, I lifted an eyebrow. Who?

I looked up at the stage, and squinted, pushing up my glasses. Their face is blurry, why is that?

Music? Why is it so hypnotic?? Hmmmm.

3rd person POV~~~~

The room froze, all but three people knew what was going on, but only two were able to move.

Rayla, Rasputin's daughter smirked as she hopped off the stage, walking straight over to a completely entranced Cindy. Harry tried to stop her but couldn't move at all. Rayla just smiled, walking over to him and placing a kiss to his cheek.

"Don't worry my love, this will all be over soon. Barla! Let's go! Come now sweet Cindy!" Rayla called out. A female white bat saluted and flew over to Rayla's shoulder as Cindy got up and followed her, a smile on her face, her ember necklace left on the table.

Harry watched in fear as they disappeared from the room. A few minutes later the room unfroze and everyone looked around concerned. Harry grabbed Cindy's ember and glared at the door.

"Harry? Where's Cindy? What happened?" Jane asked. 

Before he could answer, Chad, Uma, Gil, and All the Vks were around him too all asking him the same questions. He clutched the necklace.

"EVERYONE SHUD UP!!!" Harry shouted, causing everyone to stop.

"Rayla, the girl tha was singin. She took my lass. Now I remember! Tha's Rasputin's daughter! Remember Uma, she kept tryin ta join our crew. Just so she could get closer ta me." Harry explained, his accent thick.

"What is she gunna do to her???" Chad questioned, worried.

"I have a bad feeling I know what. Remember the story of Rasputin and Anastasia? He kept making her have dreams and a couple of times almost made her suicide jump." Gil stated, getting smacked in the head by both Uma's hand and Harry's hand.

"Ow! What was that for?" Gil asked, rubbing his head.

"Now you've gone and scared them. Come on let's head to my room and come up with a search plan. Mal get Ben and Fairy Godmother and tell them what's going on. We need to lock down the campus." Uma began to order.

Mal nodded and headed off towards Ben's office. The rest headed towards Uma's room.

Uma and Harry walked side by side. She nudged his shoulder. "Hey, ya know. There's only 5 more months left of school. When are ya thinking about popping the question?"

Harry frowned, pulling out a little black velvet box. Opening it up to reveal a custom ring, with gemstone in the shape of a hook and slipper. An engagement ring.

"I'm not sure." 

[lickstynine]

Oily Jace and the Smol Greasy Bitch (part 1)

A/N: Since @sickandvomiting and I are in love with our 50′s AU of Jace and Elizabeth, and equally in love with brutal whump, we decided to write the story of how Greaser Jace got his scars. I had to change the origin, since a car wreck that severe would’ve just straight-up killed him back then. Anyway, this was really fun to write, so I hope y’all enjoy reading it. Coordinating illustration(s) to come.

Jace felt like he’d been walking for about ten hours, though it had really only been about thirty minutes. Normally his long legs could’ve taken him from the bar to Elizabeth’s place in ten or fifteen, but it was hard to walk quickly when he was actively losing blood. When he’d first stood up, it had been a struggle to ignore the searing pain of several deep cuts. Now he was so lightheaded, the pain was negligible, but his ability to stand was quickly fading. It felt like he’d been trudging through miles of concrete jungle. He was about to give up and lay down in an alley to accept his fate when a familiar sight wobbled before his eyes. Just down the road, Elizabeth’s dilapidated brownstone was visible under a flickering streetlight, its telltale patches of moss and missing brick mercifully familiar.

Jace sighed in relief, sending a fresh jolt of pain through several cuts and some probably-cracked ribs. It stung fiercely, but it woke him up a bit, and he forced himself to keep walking, cursing and fumbling as he scaled the rusty fire escape. His right wrist screamed when he grabbed onto the railing, but he didn’t let go. Just two flights of creaky old stairs, and he’d be safe. By the time he reached Elizabeth’s window, he was one stiff wind away from toppling right back down the fire escape. He leaned heavily on the rail, using his good hand to rap on the glass.

“Ey! Doll face! You up?” Even in this state, Jace knew well enough to whisper. If he woke up Elizabeth’s neighbors, or god forbid, her parents, they’d both be dead.

Momentarily the curtains were drawn back to reveal Elizabeth’s face behind the glass. The grin she wore at the surprise of seeing him quickly faded, however, as she got full sight of him. Blood streamed down his face, neck, and chest, staining his white t-shirt a dark brownish red.

“Jace, what the fuck!!” she hissed, opening the creaky window as quietly as she could. “What happened? Who did this to you?” She tugged on his arm, trying to pull him into the room, but pulled away when he winced sharply.

“I… I can clue you. Kinda.” Jace climbed in the window himself, hissing, wincing, and groaning and eventually just landing face first on the ground. “Shit…”

Elizabeth jumped at the sound, and her hands momentarily flitted to his back before she stood back up and peeked out her door. Good, the hallway was clear. They hadn’t heard.

“Better get to explaining there, honey,” she whispered, closing the door as quietly as possible. She fluttered back to him and helped him to sit upright. “Thank god the floor is wood,” she muttered when she saw the bloodstain left on the scuffed floorboards.

“Sorry.” Jace tried to grin sheepishly, but it was more of a grimace. “I wasn't even tryin’ to start shit this time.”

She gave him a skeptical look.

“I wasn't!” Jace cried, “I was at the bar with the guys, and there were a couple punks hangin’ out nearby... hollerin' at the bartender and just bein' assholes. Leo and Donny had to bail early, so it was just me and Aaron there the rest of the night. It's gettin' late, we're about to head out, and we hear a ruckus over on the far side of the bar. It's those punks from before. They're all over this kitten, they clearly wanna neck 'er and she is not havin’ it.” He paused, waiting for a reaction from Elizabeth. She scrunched her nose distastefully, and he continued.

“So I go over there. I tell 'em to back off unless they wanna knuckle sandwich. Aaron cut out soon as I started talkin'. You know him, he's such a wet rag with that shit. Too scared of gettin' in trouble. But anyway, so I'm tellin' these punks to leave the girl alone, they tell me to get bent and go back to grabbin' at 'er.” Again, Jace paused, and Elizabeth scoffed obligingly.

“So I yanked the closer guy offa her and decked him, and his friend lets go'a the girl to help 'im. At first I was creamin' 'em, like those two were half dead, and then outta the woodwork, like five more guys pop up to help the bastards. But I don't wanna just bail, cause what are they gonna do to that girl if I turn tail like Aaron. So I'm just tryin' to keep my head above water, and one of these nosebleeds breaks a goddamn bottle an' comes at me with it. Nearly cut my fuckin' head off before I kicked it outta his hand. Dunno what I woulda done if the bartender hadn't threatened to call the cops. Jackasses ran off, but it was already past close, so I had to cut out, too. I didn't even see where that girl got off to… I just hope those creeps didn't find her."

Elizabeth just hummed in response, at a loss for words. As he’d been speaking, she had started wiping the blood off his face and neck with a washcloth and the water from her hot water bottle. She paused and met his eyes, and cupped the uninjured side of his face with her hand.

“I’m so sorry that happened, sugar,” she said, wiping a streak of blood and sweat from his cheek with her thumb. “But hey, we match now!” She flashed him a concerned smile, and was pleased when he momentarily grinned back, though the expression quickly morphed into a grimace.

Jace shrugged, his face immediately screwing up in painful regret. “I mean… it was the right thing to do… I think. Maybe I shoulda just butted out...” He sighed, and his good hand flew to his ribs, which were aching much worse than earlier. Any last dregs of adrenaline were long gone by now, and he could feel the edges of the cuts on his chest tugging with every breath. “I'm gonna hafta borrow a shirt from Donny or somethin’... If I come home in this, Mom's gonna flip her lid.”

“Hey, no, it wasn’t your fault. People are just… like that,” she said, resuming her work on his wounds. “I would offer you one of my dad’s shirts, but it would be like me trying to wear a baby onesie,” she added with a chuckle. After a moment, she stopped again. She could see deep down into the whitish yellow viscera in some of the cuts, and while the bleeding was slowing, it wasn’t slowing as quickly as she’d like.

“You should really get to a hospital, Jace,” she murmured. “All I’ve got here is iodine, alcohol, and Rawleigh’s.”

“That should be fine.” Jace shrugged, as if he had a bad paper cut and not a couple pints of blood soaking his shirt.

“It won-” she started loudly, but caught herself and lowered her voice to a whisper again. “It won’t be fine! I can’t take care of this by myself, you need a doctor!”

Jace sighed. “How do you want me to get there, Liz? Aaron picked me up today.”

“I dunno, we could flag down a taxi or something? I don’t have any money though, and I don’t think I can very well ask my parents,” she trailed off. “Besides, I doubt any cab would take us with you lookin’ like this.”

“Yeah, I got money, but…” Jace sighed. He was wracking his brain, trying to figure out who he might be able to call. At first, his vacant gaze seemed thoughtful, but then his eyelids fluttered and he slumped forward against Elizabeth.

“Shit, shit, shit,” she hissed, tapping his face. “Jace, c’mon baby, wake up.” When he didn’t respond, she held his head against the crook of her neck and stroked his hair, swallowing down the newfound panic that was crawling into her throat. “Shit!”

She pushed Jace back against the wall as gently as she could, though his head lolled back and hit the drywall with a hollow thump. She muttered an apology despite the fact that he couldn’t hear it, and stood as quietly as she could, afraid the thud had woken her parents. She listened for a moment, head cocked toward the door—nothing except her mom’s muffled snoring from down the hall.

She made her way to their living room, dancing around the creaky floorboards in a routine that was now muscle memory from repetition. She dialed the number as quietly as she could, wincing every time to rotary dial reset with a click and a metallic ring. When the operator picked up, she gave the number to Jace’s home, and silently hoped upon hope that it would be his dad answering, and not his mom.

The phone rang a few times, and Elizabeth practically collapsed with relief when Vody’s deep voice and clipped accent came through the receiver.

“Hyello? Who this?” He didn't sound angry, luckily, but he was definitely confused. Phone calls at three in the morning rarely meant good news.

“Mr. Romanovich! It’s Elizabeth. Please come to my house, it’s important. Jace is here. Please help.” The words came tumbling out in a rush, accompanied by sudden tears and a choked sob, and she found herself hanging up the phone before he could even open his mouth to respond.

Vody stood over the phone for a moment, dumbfounded as it buzzed in his ear. He could only imagine what Jace had gotten into, but he supposed now wasn't the time to worry about it. Not bothering to throw on real clothes, he simply grabbed his car keys and stepped into the boots he'd left by the front door. It wasn't cold out this time of year, and even if it had been, New York winter was about as cool as a Siberian summer. Despite being clad in only his boxers and a tank top, he strolled shamelessly out to his car, climbing in and gunning it down the road.

The streets weren't as busy this time of night, and it didn't take long for Vody to pull up in front of Elizabeth's brownstone. He parked out front and hurried up to the door, hesitant to actually knock at this hour.

Luckily, the door swung open as soon as he reached the landing; Elizabeth had been listening for him. She held a finger up to her lips and pointed to his feet, and for a moment Vody caught a glint of tears on her cheeks in the dimly lit doorway. He took off his clunky boots and she guided him deftly through the hallway, showing him how to avoid the noisy floorboards. They miraculously made it to her room with minimal sound. There, Jace had slid down the wall and was slumped sideways onto the ground, seemingly lifeless. Elizabeth clamped a hand over her mouth when she reflexively gasped, and after dashing over to him and taking a moment to compose herself, she turned to Vody.

“Please help. He’s hurt bad.”

Vody sighed quietly. He wasn't exactly fazed - he'd seen people in much sorrier states during the war - but that didn't mean he wanted to see his son torn up and bleeding to death. He didn't bother asking questions yet, crouching down to scoop Jace off the ground as carefully as possible. Jace groaned slightly, his eyelids flickering, but he slumped over against Vody's chest as soon as he was picked up. Vody stood up easily, not at all bothered by the weight. Elizabeth hurried to open the door for him, and they crept out to the car in fearful silence.

Once Jace was placed carefully into the passenger seat, Vody climbed back into the driver's, starting the car while Elizabeth hopped into the back. He finally broke the silence, as there was a rather important question to be asked.

“You know where nearest hospital is?”

“Yeah.” She supplied him with the location and the quickest way she knew to get there, and once again fell silent. Her eye was fixed on Jace, and she reached up to squeeze his shoulder. After a few moments she spoke again, this time more quietly.

“I should have called you sooner. I’m sorry. I waited too long.” A sob caught in her throat and she bit it back, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to stem the flow of tears. Nonetheless, they rolled down her face and she ducked out of sight, ashamed of both her inaction which led to this situation, and the way she was currently handling it.

“Hey. You okay. You not nurse. Not trained to take care of hurt people. Freak out is normal. You try to help. That what matter. We go to hospital now. Will be okay.” Vody reached one of his long arms back to gently pat her shoulder.  

“You cold?” He asked tactfully, having been trying not to stare at her very thin nightie for a while now. “Should be blanket somewhere in back.”

“Yeah, thanks,” she said with a sniffle, pulling the worn fleece around her shoulders. “The hospital is right up here,” she added as they turned onto the correct street.

Vody went quiet again as they pulled up in front of the emergency room. He parked right there, rushing around to pick up Jace and carry him inside. The poor nurse at the desk looked horrified, hastily paging the doctor on call. It wasn't long before a stretcher appeared, nurses pushing it and a doctor hurrying alongside. Vody set Jace on the stretcher as carefully as possible, following along without waiting for an invitation as they wheeled off down the hall. He gestured for Elizabeth to come with, fully ready to fight anyone that tried to stop them.

She tagged along behind him, jogging to keep up with their quick pace. She pulled the blanket tighter around her, feeling exposed in the public hallway. She didn’t even bother to gather the ends of it off the floor, instead letting it trail behind her like a sad cape. When they arrived at the room, the nurses stopped both of them, one laying a gentle but firm hand on Vody’s chest.

“You can both stay here and watch, but you have to give us room to work,” she explained. “There’s a waiting area down the hall, too,” she added, though it was more of a suggestion than an additional detail.

“We’re staying. We’ll stay out of your way,” Elizabeth stated.

Vody nodded firmly. He wasn't going anywhere until he knew Jace would be okay. He leaned on the wall, sighing quietly as he watched nurses frantically slice away Jace's clothes and work to staunch the wounds that were still trickling blood. When the doctor got to work, Vody finally looked down at Elizabeth.

“What happened?” His voice was softer and more subdued than Elizabeth had ever heard, the mischievous twinkle long gone from his eye.

“Some punks gave him a beating when he tried to help out a girl they were harassing,” she said, her gaze never leaving Jace. There was so much blood. She reached blindly for Vody’s hand, and ended up latching onto his arm with trembling fingers. He put an arm around her, strong and sturdy. There was a long sigh followed by silence as he pondered his response. He didn't want to say Jace should've left the girl to be harassed, but he couldn't think of a better solution either. It was just a shit situation. He sighed again, low and heavy.

“Am trying to decide if I should call his mother. Obviously, will tell her either way, but... Don't know if better to go home and talk later, or call now.”

“Jace wouldn’t want her to worry,” Elizabeth replied. “He didn’t want you to worry either,” she added after a second.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Vody snorted. “He seriously think he just going to come home and pretend he fine?” He shook his head. “Too much like me.”

Elizabeth found herself chuckling along with him. “I think he really believed he could just waltz in and no one would notice a thing. He’s a real dipstick sometimes…”

Vody nodded, a smile flickering on his face. It faded quickly, and he ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. “Have cigarettes in car. I go get. You stay, watch him.”

As he turned to leave, Elizabeth caught his hand and he paused.

“He’s gonna be okay, Mr. Romanovich.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “He always is. He has to be.”

Vody forced a smile for her. “He have you. That help.” He trudged off down the hall, ignoring the strange look he got from a passing nurse.

As promised, he returned a few minutes later with a lighter and a pack of cigarettes in hand, one already lit in his mouth. He held them out to Elizabeth without a word. She took one and allowed him to light it for her as she puffed, blowing a small cloud of smoke against the glass of the ICU room wall. The scene seemed to drag on for far too long, with an alarming amount of blood and sharp tools. Easily the most gruesome was an incision the doctor made between two ribs, inserting a tube to drain blood from the chest cavity. Even Vody grimaced at the sight. Between him and Elizabeth, the pack of cigarettes was quickly depleting.

Eventually, the doctor came out to talk to them. He explained that they had patched up all the cuts, but they wanted to keep an eye on Jace for a while, since some of the wounds were deep, with one having nicked his small intestine, and another puncturing his left lung. They were going to take him for x-rays now that he wasn't going to bleed out on the radiologist, and do further repairs once they knew for sure what was broken. Vody nodded along, listening closely but at a loss for words.

“Thank you, Doctor,” Elizabeth replied in his stead. As he left, she turned to Vody and grabbed his large palm. “Hear that? He’s gonna be okay.”

Vody sighed, nodding half-heartedly. “Da.” He leaned against the wall, slowly sinking down until he was sitting on the floor. It honestly looked a bit ridiculous - a giant man, smudged with blood, wearing work boots and heart-print boxers, sitting on the pristine hospital tile. He had told himself he was going to be calm. He was the father here, he had to be responsible and take care of things. At the same time, it took all his self-control to stay quiet and composed. He felt like an idiot. A failure. A fuck-up. Had he raised Jace to be too much like himself? Should he have been keeping a closer eye on his son? How the fuck did this even happen? He sighed deeply, and it wobbled as he choked down a sob.

“Mr. Romanovich?” Elizabeth questioned, hearing the slight tremble in his breath. She laid her hand on his shoulder hesitantly, unsure of what to do.

“Hm?” Vody didn't dare to look up; he felt pathetic. He was sitting on the floor crying, being comforted by a little girl. The hallway was far too silent to miss his sniffles, and his face burned red with embarrassment.

Without a word, Elizabeth stepped into the now empty ICU room and rooted around for a bit before discovering a cache of blankets. She brought one out and draped it around Vody’s shoulders before sliding down to the floor next to him and resting the side of her head against his arm. Sniffling quietly, he patted her hair in silent gratitude.

“He’s okay,” she whispered. It felt as though any sound in the quiet hall would break the thin barrier keeping their emotions at bay, and she closed her eyes as the words dissipated against the white walls.

Vody kept a sturdy arm around Elizabeth, awake and alert as much as he didn't want to be. He was too on edge to even consider spacing out - it felt like if he blinked, he might open his eye to a doctor leading them down to the morgue. Of course, that wasn't the case, and after a while, a nurse came to talk to them. She explained that they'd found several breaks, but luckily, none were compounded. They'd had to put screws into Jace's wrist, since he'd fucked up the alignment of the bones pretty badly (likely trying to climb the fire escape), and they wanted to keep a close eye on his ribs, to make sure they didn't interfere with the healing of his lung. Despite this seemingly endless list of awful news, she assured them that Jace was expected to recover completely; he would just need care and rest for a while.

“He’s stable now, I can take you to his room if you like?”

Vody nodded, scrambling to his feet and helping Elizabeth up as well. He hurried after the nurse as she guided them to a simple patient room. Jace was sprawled out on the bed, his lanky legs mere inches from drooping off the edge. His wrist was wrapped heavily in plaster and bandages, and his arms and torso were covered in fresh stitches, including particularly nasty gashes across his left pectoral and below his navel. The tube was still in his chest, and he was attached to a delightful assortment of monitors to track his vitals. The entire right side of his face was covered in bandages, with a long line of stitches and a patchwork of bruises on the other cheek.

Vody couldn't help cringing at the sight. Somehow this was almost worse than the gorey mess earlier. Maybe because he could no longer tell himself it was just the blood everywhere that made it seem so bad, or maybe because he'd never seen Jace look so weak and vulnerable. It felt wrong, and Vody couldn't help feeling responsible. He moved to sit on the edge of the bed, but hesitated, not wanting to jostle Jace or mess up any of the equipment.

Elizabeth had no such anxieties, and rushed to his side. She brushed a strand of hair off the exposed side of his face, fingers tracing along his brow, then down his jawline. They lingered momentarily on his lips, and she smiled sadly when she felt his warm breath on them. It reminded her that he would be okay. Jace stirred slightly at her touch, letting out a soft groan. Vody perked up at once, watching them closely.

“Jace?” she whispered. “You awake?”

Jace's eyelids fluttered, and he squinted against the bright hospital lights. His vision was hazy, but the massive mane of dark curls hovering over him was unmistakable. “Hey, doll face… how goes it?”

“Oh, just peachy,” she replied with a chuckle that ended in a stifled sob. Tears began rolling soundlessly down her cheeks as she took his face in both hands and planted a kiss on his forehead. “Welcome back to the land of the living,” she added, voice thick with emotion.

“Didn't miss it as much as I thought I would. Shit hurts.” Jace was trying to be light-hearted, but even faking a smile made him grimace. He patted the mattress beside him with his good hand. “C'mere, there's space for your skinny little ass.” That brought a more genuine smirk out of him, followed by a grunt of pain. Every movement seemed to hurt, even just talking. “Christ alive, they got any drugs in this quack shack or do I just get to sit here suffering?”

“You’re already on enough to send any of us normal folk to cloud nine,” she said, hesitating and shooting a glance in Vody’s direction. “But you’re a pretty big cat too, so you can probably handle some more. I’ll go get the nurse, leave you two alone for a moment.” With a quick pivot, she scampered away, leaving the room in a breathless silence as Jace’s good eye focused slowly on his father.

“Shit.” Even as he'd realized he was in the hospital, Jace had still naively hoped his parents hadn't found out. He was clearly panicked, stumbling over his words as he tried to explain himself. “Okay so, ya see, the thing is-”

Vody cut him off. “Hush. Miss Lizbeth told me everything. You think I'm mad at you, Jason?” He was almost laughing as he said it.

“Well… kinda?” Jace admitted. He didn't even have a good reason for why. He'd just assumed that going out, being rowdy, and getting into trouble meant his parents would be pissed.

“Did you start fight?” Vody asked plainly.

“Not really… I mean… I threw the first punch, but I was just tryna get those creeps offa that poor girl!” Jace tried to sit up, naturally getting animated as he defended himself. He promptly fell back on the pillows with a grimace.

“Then why would I be mad?”

Jace paused, looking up at his father for a moment as he thought. “...I dunno.”

Now Vody couldn't help laughing. “Too much my son, you are…” He plunked down on the foot of the bed, patting Jace's knee gently. “I not mad at you. Was worried, of course. But I not mad. Your mother…” Vody sighed, knowing Serafina likely wouldn't be happy about Jace getting in a fight, even one most people would consider justified. “I will talk to your mother.”

Jace cringed. “Do you have to tell Mom?”

Vody snorted. “Well, yes. How am I explain broken hand and stitches face?”

“...right. Good point.” Jace sighed. He really didn't want to have to talk to Serafina, even if Vody talked to her first. He got distracted from his worries when Elizabeth walked back in with a nurse, who approached Jace with another syringe and inserted it into his IV tube.

“Just a little more morphine. We don’t want to go overboard,” the nurse said with a small smile, which Elizabeth returned as the nurse left the room.

Jace visibly relaxed as the meds hit his system, and Elizabeth found herself laughing. “Naturally, you beat up some goons, get totaled, and end up high as a kite on the good stuff.” She took his hand in hers, careful to avoid the bandages and stitching. “Fucking beatnik.” She raised an eyebrow when he smirked at her, no longer wincing at the movement.

“Look,” he grinned, “this wasn't how I planned to spend my Friday night. The beat life chose me.”

“It's Saturday morning. Has been for while now.” Vody chimed in.

“Shit, is it?” Jace looked at his wrist as if he ever wore a watch.

“Da. Sun came up hour ago.” Vody confirmed.

“Ah, shit…” Jace smiled apologetically at Elizabeth. “Sorry baby. Normally, I try to make our all-nighters a little more fun.”

“Jace!” Elizabeth hissed through clenched teeth and leaned in conspiratorially. “Your father is in here with us, shut up!” She flashed Vody a sheepish smile and clamped a hand as gently as she could over Jace’s mouth when he started to speak again.

Vody just chuckled. “Your secret safe with me. He not get habits from his mother.” He sighed. “Who I probably need go talk to. Wish luck.”

“Slay the dragon!” Jace encouraged, muffled by Elizabeth's hand, who flashed Vody another apologetic grin.  

As soon as Vody left the room, Elizabeth whirled on him in mock outrage.

“You knucklehead! Sayin’ shit like that in front of the old man,” she muttered, climbing up onto the bed with him. “You really are the most, aren’t ya?”

“Baby, I'm more than the most.” Jace grinned, slinging his less-damaged arm around her. “Like your nightgown, by the way. Meant to tell ya earlier, but I was busy… y'know… bleedin’ out.” He laughed, drowning in far too much morphine to be worried about his mortality.

She curled into his chest with a snort, tactfully avoiding his more grievous wounds, and gently kissed his collarbone before laying her head down and falling silent, listening to the steady beat of his heart and feeling the gentle rise and fall of his breath.

“You really scared us, you know,” she said finally. “Us meaning him too. He was terrified.”

Jace snorted derisively. “You're pullin' my leg. I've never seen Dad scared.”

“Really, babe. Like, really really.”

Jace furrowed his brows, seeming to be in serious thought for possibly the first time ever. He didn't say anything for a while, then quietly ventured, “How bad do I look?”

“Like how I imagine someone might look after a tiger attack. Which is to say, pretty damn bad.” She fell silent for a moment, then quietly added “Scary bad, honestly.” Her hand trailed slowly along the edge of his bandages, mapping out the new tracks it would have to follow.

Jace cringed. She hadn't even tried to sugarcoat it - it was too bad to bother. He'd been considering asking for a mirror, but now he was honestly afraid. “Oh… shit.” As stupid as it was, he couldn't help being more worried about his appearance than his health. Cuts would recover. Good looks… not so much.

Elizabeth lifted her head to face him, and found his eyes darting down to assess the damage for himself, slight panic beginning to show in his face when he saw exactly how many injuries there were, their centers stained a deep browning red.

“Hey, don’t do that. Not yet,” she said, lifting his chin with two fingers and tilting it toward her face. “Not yet…” She smiled sadly when his good eye finally focused on hers, and she kissed his brow. Jace tried to force a smile, but it didn't stick. He wasn't sure if it was the stress or the drugs, but he was struggling to focus. Thoughts were spinning around like a whirlwind in his head, and the bed no longer felt steady beneath him. He squeezed his eyes shut with a tense sigh.

“You’re okay, baby,” Elizabeth said, rearranging herself so that his head could rest on her chest instead. “I’ve got you.” She carded a hand slowly through his hair. The nurses had washed the blood and product out of it to get him cleaned up before the surgery, and it was soft under her hand.

“Just sleep. We’ll deal with whatever comes up tomorrow. For now, just sleep.” She continued her gentle ministrations, and when his good eye remained wide open, head spinning with endless possibilities, each less desirable than the last, she started humming. Gently, sweetly. A stupid little song that they’d heard in a jukebox when they first met. After a while, his eyes fluttered shut as the morphine made the thoughts indecipherable and he stopped trying to think, and stopped trying not to think. Instead, he just let himself be, and feel Elizabeth’s hands in his hair, the warmth of her body, and sound of her voice. And eventually, he was lulled into a deep but peaceless sleep.

[sherryandbelle-blog]

Sherry and Belle: Chapter 12

"Did they find Belle, yet?" Sherry asked in a weakened tone as she attempted to sit up from her hospital bed, David paced around uncomfortably before speaking, "Trevor said 'e was taken home... Alex s'posedly left ta try to negotiate somethin', but from Trevor's tone, it doesn't sound likely.". The two sat in silence, as if mourning the lose of a close friend; the woman slowly laid back down, signaling for the part timer to leave. A few minutes passed as Sherry began to doze off, before someone else walked into the room, locking the door behind them, then slowly approaching the bedside. The woman rolled over to face the person, but a towering, shadowy figure with massive, black claws and glowing yellow eyes loomed over her instead. "You should have kept running..." The distorted voiced being suddenly broke into a fit of excited laughter as it raised one of its dense, clawed hands over the bed. Sherry jolted up right before it could crash down on her, effectively making the nurse next to her jump as she woke up. "S-sorry, hon. Didn't mean ta wake ya." The small nurse apologized as she finished tidying up the bedside desk, quickly leaving the room afterwards. The boss sighed, sneaking a peek at her heavily bandaged up leg, {Heh, they insisted that I just cut myself up on some scrap metal while lookin' f'r Belle, but that monster's crooked face won't escape my mind THAT easily. Guess it's best to play along though, don't really need folks callin' me crazy...} Sherry reassured herself as she stared out the window from her bed. {...I hope he's okay...} The woman thought as the boy's wellbeing crossed her mind, causing her to reminisce on what felt like a month of knowing him, when in reality, it was barely even a week. "Hello, Sherry Autumn." The doctor's voice snapped her out of her momentary trance, "You're good to leave at anytime, just finish taking your antibiotics, and you'll be good as new in no time." he laid a short stack of papers down, along with a partially filled pill bottle on the bedside desk, before exiting the room.                                                 ●●● Sherry opened her unlocked door to see Jerald tidying up the kitchen, "Hey David, you want ta start on the livin' room, Sherry should be gettin' released from the hospital soon." the volunteer worker called out as he continued to scrub the various stains off of her counter. The boss looked around the messy living room, the neatly stacked pillow and blankets on the couch catching her eye, as well as Belle's duffle bag of clothes sitting near the entryway. "The livin' room's fine, thanks f'r cleanin' the kitchen-" "Sh-Sherry!? Hey! Hi..." Jerald gave a sympathetic stare as she walked into her freshy cleaned kitchen. "I... I'll just leave you ta, eh... I'll go an' check on the shelter now." The volunteer worker nervously left the house, leaving Sherry in her tidied kitchen; she eventually decided to finish cleaning the rest of her house. The boss tossed her bedding in the wash, cleaned the upstairs mirror and windows, then vacuumed the whole house, effectively relaxing her mind as she cleaned. At some point she reached the dilemma of cleaning the living room, unable to move anything of Belle's, she ultimately decided that she was done cleaning, and started making a few necessary calls for her new shelter. "Yes, y'ill have ta be VERY hands on with the animals, so if ya don't like 'em, this probably isn't f'r ya..." "Yeah... yeah... oh, part time's fine! What days can ya come in?... No, no, that's great. Our other part timer can't make it in f'r several week days at a time, so that's perfect." "Our  new shelter COULD really use a vet, but we're not housin' any horses at the-... hello?... hello!?" "Full time?... Sorry, our facility isn't really ready f'r that yet." "Yeah! Come in a couple days from now, and we'll getcha set up as our receptionist.". After a few hours of phone conferences, Sherry grabbed her bag in preparation to go out, when she suddenly heard Belle's phone vibrate, but she decided to leave it be.                                                 ●●● After getting some fast food, the boss steadily drove back to her home, listening to some slow music on the radio as she drove in the dark. A figure abruptly darted in front of her, barely giving her enough time to brake without hitting it; {Mirage!?} she quickly grabbing her gun, jumping out of her vehicle to face it. "WHOA WHOA WHOA!!!" A young teen shouted in terror as Sherry pointed her firearm at the cyclist, "I-I'm sorry if I cut ya off!! I swear!" the teen quickly hopped back on her bike, speeding away as fast as she could, leaving Sherry to her own embarrassment. "Idiot!" She snapped at herself in a hushed voice as she got back into her truck, slowly driving away, {I need ta calm down...} the woman solemnly thought as she continued her drive home. {I'm actin' a fool, I only knew the kid a week!} She thought as she grew increasing annoyed at herself, "First thing I'm doin' when I get home... I'm gonna clean up Belle's mess!" she proclaimed.                                               ●●● Sherry woke up early afternoon, slowly walking down her stairs and through the untouched living room to her kitchen, jumping slightly as Belle's phone buzzed when she passed. The woman stared for awhile, before picking it up, and tossing it on the living room couch, making herself some coffee afterwards.                                                  ●●● "Ye're hired; Welcome 'board." Sherry congratulated her new employee with a handshake, then ordered Jerald to give the young woman a tour of the facility. "Excuse me, Ms. Autumn?" Another new employee nervously waved the boss over to the main phone, "A senator of Wyoming is on the phone!" she reported in a startled tone. "Tch. It's just a scam caller, don't give it any information." "Okay... but 'e saids he knows ya..." "Just a scammer-" "His name is Trevor?" Sherry's eyes widened, "That's not a scammer, thank ya f'r yer help, Chelsea.". "Hey Sherry..." He started uncomfortably, "I was just calling about some of Belle's belongings, well... one of them, at least." "Which one? He left everything o' his when he left." Sherry commented solemnly as she paced around the front desk. "His phone. I was just wondering if you had it, and if it's been ringing at all." "It has actually, but I can't really think o'-" "Okay, thank you." Trevor seemed pleased, and before Sherry could ask anything, he abruptly hung up.                                               ●●● Sherry closed her front door, locking it before setting her handbag down on the kitchen table, shortly before hearing the small flip phone vibrating on the couch. She sighed hesitantly, then finally answered it, "This is Sherry Autumn, right?" she heard Alex's voice ask, "Yeah..." "Good. So you-" "Why are ya callin' Belle's phone tryin' ta contact me!?" "Because Trygve tasked me with answering any questions you may have pertaining to the night you were attacked by Eirik, but he DID NOT give me your phone number to do so.". The woman stood silent for a few moments, "Trygve?" "Ugh... 'Trevor', as you people call him-" "What do ya mean 'you people'?" "Humans!" Sherry shuttered as he shouted that, "Hello?" "Y-yeah. Sorry, I f'rgot ya guys weren't really human, heh." "Excellent. So I do not have to attempt to explain that to you-" "I don't even know WHAT ya are! Mind explainin' that!?". Sherry heard nothing but ambiance, until Alex finally sighed, "I can not tell you that just yet, nor can I say where our kind is from, but I am allowed to say that we are not human, and that Belle was taken back to our palace home by Eirik, our queen's deadliest henchman." the woman sat down on the couch, stunned. "Well!? Is there anyway ta get 'im back!?" She shouted in a sudden stir of frustration, "That is highly unlikely, but... there MIGHT be a way to go see him... Ehh..." "How!?" Sherry quickly lightened up. "Three days from now, call Trygve- Ugh, 'Trevor'. He will tell you where to go from there, but be prepared for a large amount of traveling." Sherry thanked the man, then ended the call, shortly before dialing up an old number on her own phone. "Hello?" A gruff, stern voice answered in an already impatient tone, "Hey, Charles-" "Sherry!? Wow! We haven't talked since... well. But how have ya been!?" "Listen, I need ta go somewhere soon, and I would like it if ya stayed at our old house f'r awhile-" "Is this 'bout that 'Belle' character Sam was talkin' 'bout?" "Y-yeah, he went somewhere, and I wanted ta talk to 'im one last time.". "Mmmm... well, who am I ta stop ya, but... I really have missed ya." "Heh, I've missed ya too, ya lug.".                                                ●●● Sherry leaned against her red truck, sipping on a frosted lemonade and looking around at Fort Worth, her first and final rest stop before Galveston, the designated meet up location. After a straight five hour drive, the woman needed to rest before a drive nearly equal in length, and after that drive, the three would travel by boat until they reached Belle's homeland. The boss heard her straw start to gurgle as she finished her drink, signaling that it was almost time to hit the road again, she sighed as she tossed the empty cup into a nearby trashcan, switching the navigation on her phone back on as she started her truck up.                                                 ●●● Sherry noticed a sleek, blue car sitting at the entrance to Galveston, with Trevor and Alex standing next to it; she quickly pulled over near the two. "Hey!" Sherry greeted as she walked over, "Glad to see you made it!" Trevor called back, gesturing Alex into the passenger seat of his car. "This island has some pretty limited parking, so I went ahead and reserved us a couple of spots near the bay. I'll lead you there!" The woman nodded, quickly heading back, and getting into her truck. The blue vehicle gently cruised back onto the road, with the red truck beginning to trail behind; Sherry stared out her window at the flat, breezy surroundings, the palm trees lining the roads, and the sharp, rolling waves barely visible in the distance. {This's it... time to see where Belle's REALLY from.} The woman pumped herself up, preparing for whatever strange, inhuman place that the two men in the slick car were leading her to. To her surprise, Trevor pulled into an inn's parking lot near an older looking boat dock, parking at the far end, then reaching out of his window and pointing at the spot next to his. "Why 're we-" "A storm's scheduled to blow over the gulf tomorrow, which means a lot less activity in the water. I got in contact with an old buddy who will take us to the end of the gulf in his crabbing boat, so you have the rest of the evening to prepare." Trevor explained while Alex carried the senator's luggage in. "I'll send Alex to fetch you tomorrow morning, just make sure you have a large meal before we leave, and just leave your belongings in your room, you won't need any of it where we're going." Sherry nodded, feeling mildly disappointed at the unexpected wait.                                                 ●●● "Thar ya go, lass!" An elderly fisherman hoisted Sherry onto his boat with a surprising amount of strength, then turned and stared at the two standing behind him. "Been awhile, Trygve. Last time I saw ya in person, ya had climbed outta the waters and onta muh boat! Now ya say yer a senator!? HEH!" The fisherman gave Trevor a hardy handshake, then returned to the boat's steering wheel. "So... ya know Trevor?" The woman asked as the other two untied the boat from the dock, "Ever since 'e got muh boat outta ragin' waters!" the older man chuckled to himself as he seemed to reminisce. "I was inna smaller boat at the time, an' as I thought she was gonna bite it, a HUGE shadow swam under the vessel, an' kept 'er afloat 'til the shore came back inta view! Once I tied 'er up ta the closest dock, I 'eard somethin' splash up onta muh deck, back then, Trygve wore dark, ridged garbs, so I didn't recognize 'im as a human at first, but after I took 'im down into my sleepin' quarters an' gave 'im some spare clothes, 'e explained what 'e REALLY was.". "And what is that?" Sherry asked, glancing back at Trevor and Alex, who were peacefully relaxing near the back of the boat, "They 'aven't told ya? Aren't ya goin' ta see thar palace!?" "Yeah, but they seem hesitant ta say anythin'." The fisherman shook his head with a grin. "So, what're ya goin' ta the palace f'r?" "We're visitin' the prince-" "Belethor!?" The old man exclaimed, "How do ya know 'im?" "Hmm... when Trygve left the palace, 'e left quite 'n impression, that's why 'e can never return ta 'is home. When that happened, 'e made a rough guess on who would follow 'is example an' travel to the surface world, so f'r 'e's been right with every guess, including the prince.". Sherry nodded, then glanced back to Trevor, who was staring at the bottomless waters swirling behind the boat with a longing gaze, "Hmm, their kind sure do love the waters, but 'e vowed never ta leave 'is human form unless absolutely necessary, a real shame too, 'is kind 're terrible at swimmin' with our form. It's quite a spectacle ta see, though!" The man chuckled to himself. "And why doesn't 'e want ta take his true form?" "'is kind 'as a keen sense o' smell, as well as perfected ocean navigation; 'e made a lot o' enemies, including their queen, if he went inta ocean water without a disguise, they'd find 'im." "...What's yer name?" The woman asked, seemingly catching the old fisherman off guard. He suddenly started to chuckle, "Ya 'ave two mighty bein's behind ya, an' ya want ta know 'bout me!" he chuckled some more, before turning and smiling at the woman with his crooked teeth, "The name's Matthews!".