#sorry kayla i needed an odd number

[heresronnie21]

Apollo’s boys are stylish (usually)

[afictionaladventure16]

Upon The Sweetest Flower (Chris Evans x Daughter!Reader)

Chapter 5

Upon The Sweetest Flower Masterlist

Previously on Upon The Sweetest Flower...

Warnings: Mentions of missing person and panic attacks. 

Word Count: 1,384

A/N: Thank you to @snarky--starky​ for editing this gem for me! Love you, hon! 

Chris walked into his home, the echo of the door closing seemed odd to him. It was too quiet for a home that was supposed to be occupied by a teenager and a six-year-old. He let out a sigh before pulling off his jacket and hanging it on the coat rack. “Y/N?” He called out. When he didn’t get a response, he automatically assumed that Y/N must still be on her way home from school, given the fact that it was still early in the afternoon. 

He walked over to the house phone, noticing the red flash that signified that there was a voicemail. As the robotic voice read the number of messages that were received, all Chris could think about was the fact that he was behind on errands. Being called in to film a scene on his day off just threw him off track. 

“All students are being released early.” The message caught Chris off guard, he quickly turned to the machine to replay it again. “This is an announcement from the Sudbury school district that all students that are attending the high school are being released early due to a power outage that has been caused by the weather conditions, Students will be released at exactly 10 AM.” Chris swiped his phone out, quickly dialing Y/N’s number.

“Pick up,” he muttered to himself. The phone rang until it went to voicemail. Chris quickly dialed Elizabeth’s, Y/N’s mom's, number. 

 “Chris, I have a very important meetin-” 

“Is Y/N with you?” Chris tried his best to not sound panicked as he fidgeted with the ends of his sleeve. 

“No, why would she be with me? She’s supposed to be with you, this is your week with the kids.” 

“She’s probably at Scott’s then,” he mumbled to himself. 

“What do you mean probably? What’s going on?” 

“I’ll call you later.” Chris quickly ended the phone call, trying to avoid another argument from the woman that he once loved and still does. 

Chris let out a frustrated sigh before calling Scott. Scott was usually the person to pick Y/N up in case of emergencies. The thought eased Chris’s mind as he listened to the phone ring. Y/N had to be with Scott. She had to be. Chris knew that he was overthinking it and he was letting his anxiety get the best of him.

“Hello?” Chris was thankful that Scott had always been one to quickly answer his phone.

“Hey, Scott! I was just wondering, have you heard from Y/N at all today?” 

“No, I’ve been stuck in meetings all day.” 

Chris grew anxious, he tried his best to not let it eat him up until he knew for sure it was something to be anxious about, but being anxious was second nature for Chris. “Alright, thanks.” Chris didn’t wait for his brother to bid him goodbye, he quickly ended the call and went to the next person on his list.

“Chris!” Lisa exclaimed. “Good thing you called,” she began to say. Chris let out a relieved sigh, his mind directly thought that y/n was with her. 

“Thank God,” he mumbled. 

“What?” Lisa asked in a confused manner. 

“I just got home and I got a voicemail from the school saying they let class out early and she isn’t answering her phone and neither Scott or Elizabeth have heard from her-” 

“Dear lord, Chris,” Lisa exclaimed. “I haven’t heard from her but if I hear anything I’ll be sure to let you know.” Chris’s heart sank. He let his mind get ahead of himself, the tone of his mother’s voice when she picked up the phone, he didn’t know why he mistook it as if y/n was with her. 

“You mean she’s not with you?” Chris asked softly, his voice nearly at its breaking point. 

“No.” 

Chris cursed to himself. “Can you do me a favor?” 

“Of course!” 

“I’m going to need you to pick up Hudson from school.” 

“A-alright.” Lisa could tell by the tone in Chris’s voice, that something wasn’t right. 

“Call me when he’s with you, I have to go.” Chris quickly hung up the phone, dialing the number for the school. “Y/N, you better be at school,” he mumbled to himself. “You can’t be giving your dad a heart attack like this.” He listened to the phone ring a couple of times. 

“Sudbury High School,” the secretary said on the other line. 

“Hi, my name is Chris Evans, I had received a voicemail about school being let out early but I just wanted to see if my daughter was still on the school grounds.” 

“Okay, and what is your daughter’s name?” 

“Y/N Evans.” 

“Okay, just give me a few minutes, Mr. Evans.” 

~

“Hey, Bob? It’s Janet here from the office, I have a parent calling about their daughter Y/N Evans, did you happen to see any students roaming around campus?” Janet said into the radio. She waited patiently for a response. 

“Y/N?” She looked up to see one of the students that had been waiting for their parent, that was a teacher in the school. “I saw her leave when everyone was dismissed.” 

“Are you sure?” Janet asked. 

He gave her a nod, “She got into a car, couldn’t see who it was, but it was raining at the time so she was lucky enough to get a ride.” 

“No students roaming around, Janet,” Bob’s voice came through the radio. 

Janet let out a soft sigh, “Alright, thanks, Bob.” She then grabbed the phone, taking it off hold. “Mr. Evans?” 

~ 

“Yes! I’m here,” Chris said eagerly. 

“I have a student here that saw your daughter get into a friend’s car and I checked with our security and they didn’t see any students roaming around campus.” 

Chris let out a sigh, “Thank you.” Chris then hung up the phone. He felt himself become more relieved to know that a student had seen Y/N get into Genny’s car. For a second, Chris pondered to himself about it, he hadn’t known that Genny drove or that she had even gotten her license. 

“Hello?” 

“Hey, Jack! It’s me, Chris! I was wondering if Genny is home?” 

“No, she’s actually still at the doctor’s office.” 

“I-I’m sorry?” Chris’s heart thudded in his chest as he pieced together the timeline in his head. Jack’s words repeated themselves in Chris’s head, they sounded disoriented.

“She’s been in the doctor’s office all day,” Jack chuckled. “I feel sorry for her, but she wanted to wrestle with her older brothers and now she has to wait almost six hours just for an x-ray.” 

“So, she didn’t go to school at all?” 

“No, why?” 

“I’m sorry, I have to go.” Chris quickly ended the call. He knew that Y/N didn’t have any other friends than Genny, it sounded sad but Y/N always told her parents that she didn’t need more friends and frankly, Chris thought the same way. 

His fingers were shaking as he dialed Elizabeth’s number. “What now?” Elizabeth answered with an irritated tone. 

“She’s missing,” Chris quickly stated. Elizabeth stayed quiet, she felt worried after Chris’s last call but she told herself that she was either probably with Scott or Genny. “I called my mom, I called the school, I even called Genny’s! She got into someone’s car and she should’ve been home hours ago and she’s not. M-maybe she has another friend we don’t know about? But she would’ve told us right?” Chris stammered. He withheld everything in his body from falling down onto the floor and let out a good sob, but he had hope, hope that Y/N was out there still, maybe at a different friend’s house that he didn’t know about. 

“She doesn’t have other friends,” Elizabeth whispered. Her heart raced as she sat down on the couch. She could hear her ex-husbands breathing becoming uneven, knowing very well that his anxiety was taking over. “Chris, I need you to sit down. I’m going to call the cops and then I’m going to head straight over okay?” Chris didn’t respond. “I need to hear you say okay!” 

“O-okay,” He stammered. 

“We’ll find her,” Elizabeth said before hanging up the phone. “We’ll find her,” she repeated once more to herself.

Permanent Taglist (CLOSED): @unapologeticallymimi   @glitterquadricorn @lady-of-lies  @cassmoreiraxo @just4muggles @mellorine-paprika  @agirlruinedbybands @yougottalovefandoms @avngrsinitiative @lizlil @otomefan @dejaazaro @culturebay @kpopishilarious @fireproof-heaven @iloveyouthreethousand-o6  @weappreciatepower @whereyoustand  @white-wolf-buckaroo @spider-woman22 @coffee-habit @supernaturallover2002 @barnes-parker @therealmrshale @myinternetissoslow @myhippiehopes @celyndavies @xzowiex @ximaginx @wooshytooshy @ellaorelizabeth @rororo06  @chloe-geoghegan1 @hdthdthdt @sophie-barnes26 @thamuddagirl @scarletmeii @ssebstann @fangirl31415 @thepeggyann @lauren-novak @reerrrrskillz @snarky--starky 

Upon The Sweetest Flower (CLOSED):  @willowbowie @dropdeadlex @cautiouscalum  @mercurybarnes @springholland @1v-kayla @musicalburrage @bellero @blancastans @straightfowardly @cocomel0613 @sunnyshoes @rathersuspiciousbumblebee @jupiterspoet @feminist-fan-girl @endgameendsme @fabinaforever11  @lilya-petrichor @beep_beep_marie @becauseilovebooks @alwaysbandslut @griff1ndor @snowangle1994 @fandomdestroyer

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[arcticmaggie]

The Art of Deception (pt 5)

Y/N and Harry set off on a mission to thank Kayla for bringing them together. Personal conversations, realizations of feelings, and the art of deception ensue.

(Masterlink in bio! Sorry! links mess up my appearance on tags)

Word Count: 3.9k

Warnings: rlly short smut in the beginning! that’s it

A/N: Guess who’s back! With yet another super late post! But, I have an excuse this time!! I didn’t have access to my computer for a good 2 weeks sooo. But I’m back and would appreciate feedback! Just one more part and I’m done I promise. Enjoy (or don’t enjoy, it’s up to you)!

-

Harry really doesn’t understand what took him so long to find a succubus in his life. Sure, him and Y/N got off to a bad start—his first instinct being to track her down and kill her simply because she kind of humiliated him in front of nobody. But you know what? Once he reprogrammed his brain from destroying her to, you know, destroying her, he’s realized she’s not that bad after all. Especially now that he’s waking up with a half-hard cock stuffed into the mouth of the loveliest creature he’s ever met. 

“Oh—fo’ fucks sake, love—“ he all but moans out as his eyes squint down at her tired figure lapping on the underside of his prick. His hand instinctively reaches down to her head and he’s encouraged by a sweet hum from Y/N to start combing his fingers through her hair, coaxing her through it. “Was m’cock not enough for yah last night, eh?” Harry mumbles out, now with a fully hardened dick that pulses every time Y/N flicks her tongue against the slit of his head. His tone is a bit teasing, but with slight endearment, because really—how can he be upset with waking up to this? Y/N pops off of him to reply with a pout formed on her lips, “just need to make you feel good. It pleases me to please you,” and goes back down on him, evoking another grumbly moan from the curly haired man. And Satan, he can’t really say no to this girl. He doesn’t even want to say no, of course, for the obvious reason. But she keeps eye contact with him while wrapping her lips around him and—call him crazy, but he thinks there’s this sort of silent spell being cast upon him to coat his entire body with pleasure and ease, making him relax against his pillow, close his eyes and give in. There’s a small thought floating around in the back of his mind about the questionable number of men Y/N has probably already done this to in the past, before literally taking their soul once they’re fucked out and too relaxed to oppose their own death. But this concerning thought is quickly dismissed once Y/N reaches a hand down and squeezes Harry’s balls softly. He leaves it at poor bastards, and thanks Satan himself for taking away his soul the minute he turned immortal. Sure, he might not have a beating heart or a heaven to return to once he’s gone, but he gets to be in bed with a creature who was born to fuck, and honestly, he really can’t complain. -

“Is the only cereal you have really Fruit Loops? Are you a 5 year old?”

“Heeey, Fruit Loops give me enough sugar to energize myself for the day. Don’t be rude.”

Harry snorts and grabs ahold of the box of cereal, pouring himself a bowl now that watching her eat made him hungry for some as well.

After Y/N finished him off, they went back to sleep for another hour or so before she woke up with the urge to pee, tiptoeing over to the kitchen afterwards to start her morning. Harry woke up about half an hour later with the widest smile of euphoria in the world and a growling stomach.

He usually serves himself some eggs and toast—you know, something high in protein and fiber to substitute his lack of blood supply (his feeder is off on vacation to the Netherlands, which is inconvenient for him but she promised to bring back some bitterballen so it’s compensated for). But seeing now that the only breakfast option in Y/N’s kitchen is a kids cereal, he’s gonna have to resort to his 20th century years when sugared cereal was all the rage.

“So,” Harry starts, once he’s poured himself his own cereal (much to Y/N’s disgruntled face as he helped himself to her kitchen without even asking), “what’s on the agenda today? Another helpless man you plan to rob?”

Y/N whines out, “heyyy,” once more and sticks a tongue out to him, which he laughs at and attempts to catch the end of it with his fingers before she retreats it back into her mouth.

“As a matter of fact,” replies Y/N, “I was planning on going downtown to buy Kayla some of her favorite desserts as a thank you for yesterday.”

Harry hums and takes a bite of his cereal before mumbling out, “shouldn’t you be thanking me and my dick as well?”

This time around, Y/N extends a hand out to smack the back of his head from across the small kitchen island, evoking a hiss from the curly bloke.

“Oi—was only joking.” Harry rubs the back of his head with a pouty face while Y/N snickers underneath her breath.

They eat in silence for the rest of the time they’re filling up their stomachs, both in their own world of thought.

Y/N, on one hand, is innocently thinking about what bakery downtown would have freshly baked lemon coconut cake without her having to manually call in and tell them to bake some for her.

But Harry, on the other hand, is mischievously thinking about how he’s going to approach asking Y/N out on a date.

Usually, all it takes for him is his sly signature smirk and girls are more than willing to offer up their ovaries to him. And he’s sure that although most of it is thanks to the fact that he’s a vampire, it also has to do with the fact that he’s undeniably attractive for this day in age and Y/N can’t possibly argue against that. Yet, from what he gathered from the liquor store, a few charming words and award-winning smile will not make Y/N fall to her knees like the rest of the bunch (although, technically, she has already been on her knees for him this morning).

So after he’s finished making a mental list of all the possible approaches of bringing up the romantic subject without sounding like a womanizer (which he totally is) but also without sounding like a complete sap (he will never catch himself being lovey-dovey and pathetic, no matter how lovely Y/N is), he gulps down the remaining milk in is bowl and slams it down on the counter, startling Y/N as he hops up from his seat and marches down the hallway in search of the bathroom to make himself presentable for the public.

Y/N is left confused and with two empty bowls to wash, which she is not happy about, but grumpily starts her way to the sink to wash her dishes. And she takes her time, because well, she doesn’t have class today so she has no reason to be out and about so early in the morning. She figured Fernando’s would have the lemon coconut cake ready and if not, they’ll whip up something fast. Since the last time she ordered, the awkward boy at the cashier put everything on the house (she wanted to refuse, she really did, but she also wanted to get her nails done so, beggars can’t be choosers).

She’s just finished drying her dishes when a scoff is heard from behind her, making her whip around and face a less than amused Harry standing at the kitchen entrance.

“Ahem? We don’t have time for you to go at a sloth’s pace!” Y/N furrows her eyebrows and opens her mouth to question him but he continues, “Go get changed already. It might rain again in the afternoon and since neither of us has an umbrella, we need to hurry downtown and seek shelter before the sky ruins the trip.”

Oh? Harry wants to go with her? She figured he’d finish his business in the bathroom and be on his way to the next girl he wanted to bag. Which, in a way, kind of hurt her to think about, but also, she can’t be one to talk considering that she doesn’t sleep with men because she wants to be with them, she sleeps with them to literally eat their soul. It’s odd for her to admit that she’s glad Harry doesn’t have one.

She shakes herself out of her deep thoughts and looks back at Harry who is now donning an expectant look at her. She flushes a bit and mutters a quick apology before scattering past him and into her room.

He always manages to make her go on a tangent without even realizing and it pesters Y/N. She blames it on him being a vampire. They are always up to no good. She can see it as she returns to him a few minutes later; he looks down at her with a strange gleam in his eyes and a small twitch of his mouth as he fights a smile. He’s up to something, she tells herself as he opens the front door and leads the way outside.

-

Y/N has seen enough vampire movies to know that they’re supposed to be moody and mysterious and only reply to questions with short ambiguous phrases that leave you lusting to know more.

Harry just happens to be an anomaly.

“And I mean, how can I not accept the preacher’s hot daughter as a sacrifice, yanno? Sure, it was kind of fucked up for me to play along to the whole I’m a vampire and I’m going to suck everybody in town’s blood if I’m not offered a virgin on a full moon, but in my defense, when I was handed the girl, all I did was bid them a nice day, took her to my home, fed her some of my to-die-for linguine and gave her about three orgas—oh, we arrived already?”

Harry, to Y/N’s relief, halts the story of his trip to Italy in the 19th century as she slows herself down to a stop in front of Fernando’s, extending her arm to stop him in his tracks as well.

“Yeah, well it’s only a 10 minute walk from my apartment,” Y/N replies, thanking her past self for picking such a close complex without knowing it would one day save her from getting her ear talked off.

“Well, anyways,” Harry begins once again, reaching out to open the entrance door, but Y/N extends her arm once again to pull him back a bit. He looks back at her with confusion.

“Um, Harry, how about,” Y/N softy starts, seeing how much Harry wanted to recount his life to her, “how about you put this story on hold for a bit? We’re going to be inside with other people and I don’t think they’d find it amusing if they overheard you talking about a virgin being offered in return for not murdering an entire village.”

It takes Harry a second to process her words and then processes his own as he realizes how bizarre he must of sounded to all those strangers walking past them these past few minutes as he recounted his golden era of being a vampire dick. He shuts his mouth and nods at her once in agreement and finally opens the door to lead her in, already trying to rack up another subject to discuss as they wait in line.

Y/N tries not to roll her eyes as he begins to talk about how a bloke named Niall is head over heels for Kayla and pretends to pay attention with random nodding of her head and hmm’s sprinkled in as a response to his short pauses.

She’s maneuvering her eyesight over the menu above the front desk to actually see if the cake she wanted was offered but also slips herself into a small train of thought in the process.

Harry is acting a bit different from that one minute encounter between the two at the liquor store (which seems like ages ago, to her). She figures it’s because of the fact that he was pathetically trying to hypnotize her into giving him the umbrella (she admits inwardly that it wasn’t pathetic, it was just cute). But also, with the night before, he was being a bit annoying with all the dominance he was trying to assert on her. And again, she figures that that’s simply because he’s a vampire and he’s used to having everything go his way.

But listening to him now, go on for so many minutes about his life and the attractive girl he had in his arms without seeming to be bragging about it, just simply relaying what has happened to him in the past, she can’t help but seeing that it’s all a front. This womanizer appeal that he sports seems to be fabricated. Or at least, it’s not who he truly is. Maybe he’s picked up this asshole personality along the way of his years of wandering the Earth, but it’s certainly not his true self. This is his true self, right now, blabbering on about his best friend like a 5 year old at show and tell. He’s sweet, whether he enjoys showing it or not, and Y/N likes it. She likes him.

He’s still talking about how he has started planning a date for Niall to ask Kayla out on since Niall can’t be romantic by himself for the life of him, when it’s finally Y/N’s turn to order her sweets. And he wants to go on talking while she orders but he sees her quirk her smile up delightfully and he feels his throat close up on him, forcing him to breathe in a harsh intake of air. She is so undeniably pretty, Harry thinks, and his face softens at her beauty as her lips move along to the words that are delicately coming out from them. It takes him a second to compose himself once he snaps out of this sudden and unexpected cooing over her, and he has to look down at the floor, clear his throat and run a hand through his hair before looking back over to her. But as his eyes shift up, he catches a glimpse of the teenage boy handling the cashier behind the desk and he has to take a double take.

He can practically see this boy start to drool over Y/N, his clammy hands struggling to input the order into the machine, with the most prominent blush engulfing his cheeks. He wants to laugh at the adolescent, wants to roll his eyes at this young man’s pathetic havoc of hormones. But when he finally turns to Y/N and sees her hand reach up to brush some hair behind her ear while giggling softly at the boy stuttering the amount due, he stops himself and widens his eyes.

Oh, he thinks to himself, she’s doing the thing.

Harry really didn’t consider beforehand that she would use hypnosis to get what she wants. Sure, he uses it almost every time he is confronted with a person who is in his way of getting what he wants. But Y/N just seemed too...pure for that. Which, really, who was he kidding? She’s just as demonic as he is.

But as she turns to him to hand Harry the receipt, she catches at how dumbfounded he is staring down at her, and she blushes with guilt like as if she has been caught stealing candy from a baby, and it’s confirmed to Harry that she’s too pure for this life.

“What was that?” Harry asks, resting a hand on her lower back as he pushes her towards a small table near the corner of the store. The question only evokes a warmer blush and a shrug from Y/N as she sits down.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replies, keeping her eyes focused down on her fingers twiddling with each other on the table.

Harry’s lips stretch into a wide grin and lightly nudges her shoulder.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about!” he starts again, “You’re a conniving little shit, aren’t you?”

This seemed to spark a flame inside of Y/N because she quickly whips her head up to look at Harry with an appalled look. “Excuse you, you’re the one who tried to manipulate me into giving you the damn umbrella,” she bites back, but Harry is still grinning ear to ear.

He raises his hands in defeat and nods along, “Alright alright—So we’re both working for the devil.”

His act of backing down from the potential argument causes Y/N to calm down across from him, and she nods curtly to him before casting her eyes back down. Neither of them speak for the next minute, leaving Harry to panic and try to stir up another playful conversation. His eyes flick up to the counter and he sees the cashier boy argue with a confused and exasperated baker, a slip in his hand that Harry can barely make out to read lemon coconut cake. He’s about to comment on the scenario playing but Y/N seems to beat him to it.

“It’s not like--It’s not like I enjoy using my ability to get whatever I want,” she spills out timidly next to him, and he turns his head to see that she’s also looking at that direction with a slight frown on her face. “Like right now,” she continues, “I hate seeing the aftermath of me charming the boy to call out for another lemon cake after he explained to me that they took it off the menu a month ago. But I always give Kayla the lemon coconut flavored one when she helps me out like she did last night.”

Y/N pauses for a bit as she recounts the fact that Kayla’s form of helping her this time around was bringing Harry to her and her cheeks heat up. She continues.

“And I mean, sure, I can just try and find another place that might sell it around this vicinity. But I figure it won’t hurt anyone if I just twist my words a little and smile a bit prettier than I usually do. So I do it. I use the hypnosis strategy. But then--” she takes another pause, this time in order to compose herself because she can already feel her throat closing up and her eyes threatening to start forming more liquid than usual. Harry wants to reach over and take her hand into his as he watches her, his heart clenching (as much as he wants to ignore that).

“But then I end up actually hurting the person I use it on. There have been so many occasions where guys get in fights with others and unintentionally harm themselves just so I can have a milkshake, or a pencil, or a fucking cake. And I instantly regret what I do but I can’t reverse it, and it sucks, and I wish I could learn to stop harming these humans. But even restricting myself from having sex has almost killed me and I just can’t stop and I hate it.”

Harry is at a loss for words.

He never actually thought about the fact that Y/N was beaten up over her own natural essence. Especially considering since he absolutely basks in his own powers. Being immortal? He loves it! Getting people to do what he wants? He indulges in it! He never thinks about the repercussions of his actions in the eyes of the victims, only thinks about how everything goes in his favor. Yet here Y/N is, despising herself for slipping up every now and then.

He’s never really seen himself as a villain, as much as the media depicts his kind as such. But now that he sees Y/N with tears prickling at her eyes—staring at the boy who’s now back at the cashier register with a torn up pink slip and a sour but confused look on his face, probably wondering what got into him to yell at his co-worker—he realizes that he’s a dick. A straight up dick for preying on innocent people who have no choice but to obey what he says as they stare into his eyes. And he wants to stop, for Y/N.

So as Y/N shakes herself out of her own thoughts and sniffs softly, Harry realizes that the only way to get even close to wooing her over, is to be gentle. Be kind and generous and a gentleman, someone to keep her from remembering the fact that they were dark creatures and there was nothing they could do about it.

“They’re not going to bake the cake. We should go home,” Y/N finally says, lifting her head up to catch Harry’s gaze with defeated eyes. Harry wants to erase this emotion from her existence entirely.

But all he can do is offer a soft smile and ask, “How about we go to that bakery next to the movie theatre? The ladies there are the sweetest things to me and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind whipping up a new batch for a pretty girl like you.”

Y/N only responds with heated cheeks.

It makes Harry smile wider, standing up from his chair and offering a hand for her to get up as well.

“Let’s go then, don’t want to keep them waiting.”

Harry walks with her at her side across the room and hurries ahead a bit at the end to open the door for her, and Y/N mumbles out a thank you as she walks out into the open. But she thinks it goes unheard since as she turns around to look at him, he isn’t right behind her. In fact, he’s let go of the door and gone further inside.

Y/N’s eyebrows pull together in confusion and she shuffled close to the window to peer inside and see what he’s doing.

Neither she nor her heart is prepared to see Harry leaning against the front counter, taking the young employee’s right hand and clasping a 10 dollar bill into it with a firm shake of his own hand. Y/N’s eyes quickly flicker up to Harry’s face and she watches his lips form around the inaudible words for your trouble.

She stands there, in front of the window, speechless, and watches Harry finally pivot on his heels and walk over to the door, opening it carefree and stepping out into the chilly morning, eyes sweeping over the sidewalk until he catches her by his side. He grins up at her and offers the space between his arm and his waist for her to grab ahold of him as they begin their journey further downtown. But before she accepts his offer, she suddenly reaches up and plants her hands on his shoulders, raising her heels to lean up and press a firm and sweet kiss on his cheek.

Y/N leans back and her heart skips a beat as she notices the soft red tint creeping up Harry’s neck from the form of affection. She merely smiles brightly at him when he looks at her curiously and loops her arm around his, beginning the steps down the sidewalk with the words, “So, tell me more about your plan to set up my Kayla and your Niall.”

Y/N doubts the bakery they’re heading to will provide her the cake she needs and the next best thing does seem to be this elaborate plan Harry is scheming.

Nevertheless, she lets Harry lead the way to the shop, tucking herself closer to him as small gusts of wind blow against them, blaming the cold weather for her close proximity.

She’s given up on the dessert. But Harry doesn’t need to know that.

[thesaltoforion]

Not a Monster

[Diana x Brynn]

[AU where Diana works at an archery arena and hunts monsters in her spare time. Brynn is still half valkyrie but nobody actually knows about her ancestry. She lives on earth so she can learn more about humans.]

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The employee at the archery arena leans against the wall behind the register. She holds an open book in one hand and an apple in the other. She takes another bite out of the half-eaten fruit and turns the page. In gold letters, the hard cover reads The Odds and Ends of Monster Anatomy: A Pocket Encyclopedia for the Expert Hunter or Huntress. It was a gift to herself, along with a new model of night vision goggles. The copper name plate on her work-issued black shirt says Diana. Several scratches lie across the plate and the corners have worn down to a dull silver.  

Diana listens to the children shrieking in the party room. She smirks as she hears strands of her co-worker’s voice. It seems the parents won’t discipline the rowdy kids so poor James has to do it himself. She feels bad but not enough to trade spots with him. She’s not on break but nobody’s lining up to register or pay for gear so she’s taking advantage of the situation.

The glass doors swing open and a group of people drone in. Diana judges that, based on the attire, they’re here for a company function. Many of them carry duffel bags or backpacks – probably filled with athletic clothing. She looks bemused. Most of those clothes probably haven’t been used in a while. She opens the ledger sheet on the computer.  She sees the entry for the birthday party and under that, she reads: Bee9 Solutions – 13:00, company package, 17 persons.

She tosses the rest of her apple into the bin under the counter and closer her book. Seventeen employees, all of them probably fed up with each other and annoyed at their boss, she smiles professionally, they’re going to eviscerate themselves.

A man approaches the counter. He has a chiselled beard and thinning hair. The suit he wears looks expensive. She registers his party and he shoves a business card under her nose. Politely, Diana pretends to tuck it into her pocket. She drops it in the waste bin when he looks away.

She leads them to the locker rooms and rounds them up to the armory once they’ve changed. She spells out the safety rules and shows them how to put the safety gear on. She watches as they fit arm guards and chest plates around their bodies. A cute, blond, lady catches Diana’s eye. Dozens of braids weave up her head and into a tight side bun. Diana muses over the intricacy of it. Must’ve taken her hours. Does she have to be so extra?

After issuing the bows and quivers of arrows, Diana address the large group.

“If you need anything come back to the armory. Look for someone in a shirt like mine – you can’t miss it, there are white targets printed on the back and the front of each shirt. I’ll be up in the arena rafters, reffing and watching for foul play. Have fun, kiddos.” She leaves just as Kayla arrives to open the arena doors. After a quick elevator ride, Diana steps out above the arena. The “rafters” is just one large platform that circles the arena. Two bridges intersect in the center, connecting the halfway points of the platform. They do a quick training with Kayla before she sets off the countdown on the large score board.

Diana watches with mild interest. The office drones handle the equipment better than she expected but their skills are dismal at best. Still, the insults they scream at each other are enough to entertain. She catches sight of the blond from earlier. Her braids catch the arena lights as she weaves between the obstacles. Diana leans against the metal railing and watches. This lady moves like she has wings on her back – her feet barely touch the ground. She nails most of her shots with compelling accuracy. Diana figures she must have prior training. She watches for the rest of the hour.

They regroup in the armory and Diana wanders among the employees, offering help with the armor. Casually, she makes her way over to the blond. If she wasn’t going to get a number, Diana at least wanted a name.

“Need any help?” She starts, lamely.

“That is kind of you.” The lady smiles, “I have enough practice to do it on my own.” She rips the Velcro apart on her arm guard. Her tone pitches high but not in a grating way. It pitches in a regal way – the sort of way that makes one shut up, sit and listen.

“It seemed like that. You’re pretty good, for an office drone. Almost as good as me.”

“My performance was lacking. I was trying to keep things fair for the other team.”

“Careful, they might hear you. What’s your name?”

“Brynn.”

“Brynn.” She hums. The name rolls off the tongue like butter. “Where do you usually do archery?”

“Sometimes the forest behind my apartment. In all honestly, I’m more prone to axe throwing.”

Diana gives her a once over. It’s questionable but Brynn certainly has the biceps of an axe-thrower. “You should try practicing in our complex. We have the newest equipment from this season and you won’t find prices like ours at other arenas.” Diana pulls a business card out of her pocket and holds it out between two fingers. “Besides, you’ll get to see this pretty face every time you walk in.”

Brynn takes the card from Diana. On the front is the name, phone number, email and fax number for the arena. On the back is Diana’s cell number. She has more of these cards, for specific situations such as this one. She raises a thin, blond brow, “It’s a little forward of you.”

“I’d hardly consider this forward. If it’s forward that you want, I can show you forward.”

Brynn’s eyes dart back to the small card, “I think I’ll pass. Perhaps I’ll send you a text tonight. It wouldn’t be too much trouble to get an employee discount?”

“None at all.” Diana smiles easily.

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Brynn glides in through the automatic doors the next Tuesday. She wears a peach button down that tucks neatly into a navy pencil skirt. Her black pumps click against the linoleum. She’s already put her hair up in a tight bun. She’s made fewer braids this time but it’s still very intricate.

Diana stands behind the register and pretends to read. There’s a small, flat mirror concealed in the pages of her book. She checks the state of her double winged liner before she closes the book and puts it on the shelf under the counter. She watches Brynn click across the floor and envies the employees in her department.

Diana makes her way around the counter and takes Brynn to the locker room. They make small talk and ask about each other’s day.  

“How do you do your hair like that?” Diana asks as they put on the armor.

“Magic.” Brynn answers, distracted with the straps on the chest plate. Diana decides that Brynn must be joking. The get their weapons and settle into the arena. Everyone’s gone home for the day. The score board remains dark, but Diana keeps track in her head.

Diana lets Brynn play man hunt for a while. She keeps hidden behind barriers and obstacles. She uses the tactic in competitions and, more frequently, on monsters. Eventually, the impatience wears on their higher-level thinking and they start to take riskier attacks. Brynn’s arrows nearly nick Diana a few times.

After ten minutes, she steals herself and loads her first arrow. She runs from the barrier and catches Brynn by surprise. The arrow leaves her fingers and the string reverberates through the bow. It heads straight for Brynn’s shoulder.

The arrow never hits its mark.

“Huh?” She’s not sure what went wrong. Brynn loads another arrow and the rubber head catches Diana’s side. The chase continues. Diana gets a chance to tie up the score. She misses again and this time she can see the way the arrow drifts slightly to the left, like something unseen diverts its course. By the end of the hour, she manages to score two hits. Brynn, despite the obvious advantage, only manages to land three arrows.

“Say… how did you get into archery?” Diana asks as they strip their armor. She doesn’t really listen as Brynn describes a sunny village and her fierce aunt. She watches the way Brynn removes the chest plate. The Velcro parts but her fingers barely clutch and pull at the straps. Her muscles flex in odd patterns and Diana notices fangs in her smile.

“Magic.” She remembers Brynn’s voice, powerful and uninterested. Fuck. Now you’ve done it. You’ve seduced a monster, Diana concludes. What even is she? Vamp? Fae?

“Diana, are you alright? You look a little pale.” They’ve moved into the locker room and Brynn is back in her skirt. “Did you drink enough water?” Her concern makes Diana’s heart skip.

The monster seduced you, more like.

“What? Oh, no, I’m fine, thanks.” She puts on a smile, “I realized that I … didn’t pay my cable bills this month.”

“Be thankful it wasn’t your credit balance.” Brynn closes the locker and Diana follows her out, shutting the lights on her way. “Do you have anything else going on tonight?” Brynn asks as Diana locks up.

Stakeout at a graveyard, she doesn’t say. “Thinking of you, probably.” Diana winks instead. Her mouth feels dry.

“Why don’t I take you axe throwing next week? My treat.”

“Sounds like an axe-cellent idea. I’m super axe-cited.” Diana imagines the way Brynn might lodge an axe into the thick bark of an ancient tree. She shivers pleasantly.

Brynn’s giggle delights Diana’s ears. “Great.”

Maybe she isn’t even a monster. She could be a different mystical being. Or a hybrid – hybrids aren’t technically monsters.

“Yeah… I’ll text you tomorrow.”

“Of course. Good night, Diana.” She gazes under her lashes at Diana. 

“Good night.” Diana nods. She walks briskly to her red Toyota Yaris.

She can’t stop thinking of Brynn’s smile and the way the moon glittered against those pretty fangs. 

- Fin.

Requested by @onetrickdiana for that writing prompt post. Hope you like it :)

Sorry in advance for any spelling and grammar errors.

[munofsilver]

Hidden Secret Chapter 10

Summary: Nathaniel is worried about what Lila would do while at lunch with his little sister. That's not what he should be worried about. You can also read it here. 

Natalie’s friend enters Nathaniel’s business. “Hi, Kayla,” both siblings say as she walks in.

“Haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?” Nathaniel ask.

“Fine. Thanks for asking. How are you?” Kayla says.

Nathaniel is one of the few people she’s not shy around and able to talk to clearly. Its because she and Natalie have been friends since they were six and Nathaniel is Natalie’s older brother. “I’m fine,” Nathaniel smiles.

“Anyways we shouldn’t be late,” Natalie says pushing Kayla out the door.

Nathaniel just laughs. He starts to go over his debit and credit card purchase for last month. While looking over things the business owner noticed something odd. Just to make sure he goes over them again. “That can’t be right. Something must be wrong with the card reader,” he says to himself.

He calls someone to come over and check it. They won’t be able to come here until tomorrow morning. That’s fine, Nathaniel just won’t be able to accept card payments until then. Maybe he should close early if that’s the case. Since most people like to pay that way.

Natalie and Kayla are there before Lila, so they get a table while they wait. Natalie being herself forgot to tell Lila that Kayla was coming, that would be the reason why Lila was both surprised and angry when she walked in and saw the two. Now not the time for that. Lila puts on her usual happy fake smile as she makes her way over to them.

“Hello, Natalie. How’s your friend?” She as she hugs Natalie. “Sorry for not saying earlier. I hope you don’t mind. This is Kayla. We’re going somewhere after lunch here with you. That’s why she’s here,” Natalie rubs the back on her head. “This is Lila.”

“Nice to meet you, Kayla.” Lila takes her seat and opens the menu next to her.

The other two girls also open the menus next to them. Once the waiter took their order, the three girls talk while waiting for their meal to be done. This is when Lila puts her plan into action. It doesn’t matter that the other one is there as long as she doesn’t interfere. “The waiter was kind of cute isn’t he,” the dark side of Lila has come out to play.

“He is, but I think he’s too old for me,” Natalie takes another look at him.

Right now he’s at another table handing the people their drinks. Natalie’s remark made Lila laugh, “That may be true. By my guess, I say he’s in his late twenties. Then again I could be wrong. I’m sure there are guys at your school that I’m sure you think are cute.”

Natalie stops drinking from her soda and thinks a bit, “Of course, but I’m not ready for that stuff.”

“Good for you, Natalie. You have a good head on your shoulders. You’re smart just like your brother and mother,” Lila smiles.

Natalie feels a bit embarrassed for some reason. She never thought of herself as a smart girl. Hearing someone saying that, was something Natalie never thought she would hear. Maybe from Kayla, but she’s a friend, that have to say nice things, right. “Speaking of which, I visit your brother shortly after I returned. He told me about a date he has this Saturday. I hope this person will treat him well,” Lila takes a sip of her drink, her eyes right on Natalie as she does.

Natalie has a huge smile on her face. Like she’s pleased about something. The teen is ready to talk, just like Lila wanted. Now the trickster will get all the information she needs to start the second phase of her plan.

Tonight is the last night of Chloe and Sabrina’s cooking class. Chloe was kind of sad it’s ending. She never knew cooking could be fun. There is a baking class starting next month maybe she’ll take that. Then a thought pop in her head. She better check and sees who the teacher is. Chloe doesn’t want any more old college classmates teaching her.

Chloe is on good terms with Marinette now. Doesn’t mean she wants Marinette to teach her. On another thought, she’s not sure if she wants Marinette’s parents to teach her either. Not that they would when they have their own bakery to run.

After class, Mrs. Schwanke thanked everyone for joining her class. Chloe even bought her teacher thanks for teaching me gift. An idea she had all on her own. Making Sabrina proud of her. Chloe looks into the baking class. The teacher is Mrs. Schwanke, so she signs up for it. “Would you like to join also?” Chloe asked Sabrina.

“Could be fun,” Sabrina signs up for class.

Sabrina drops Chloe off at her new place. “Want to come inside and check it out?” Chloe asked.

“About time you offered.”

They both laugh as Sabrina puts her keys in her purse. Before they enter, Chloe shows Sabrina what to press to call her so she can buzz Sabrina in. On the sixth floor, they go to Chloe’s new home. Number 601, Sabrina writes that down in the small notebook she always carries with her. Chloe opens the door and lets Sabrina in first. “What do you think? It came with some furniture. Not much, but better than nothing,” Chloe closes the door.

“What all came with the place?” Sabrina is taking off her jacket.

Chloe hangs up Sabrina’s jacket in the closet. “What you see is all I got,” Chloe puts her own coat away.

Sabrina walks around taking a look at everything in her line of sight. “Where do you sleep?” Sabrina notices both bedrooms are empty.

“On the couch in the living room. Someone was going to toss it out so I asked if I could have it instead, same with the table in the kitchen and the chairs with it.”

“That’s all you have some stools, a couch, and a table with three chairs. You need to get some furniture.”

“Would if I could. Can’t afford any right now. My next paycheck is this Thursday. I was thinking of buying some cheap used furniture.”

“If you want you can have the all the things that were in your old room at my place,” Sabrina suggested. “I can ask Max and Kim to help move those. I should have offered in the first place.”

“It’s okay. That would be nice, don’t you need them?” Chloe not sure how much handouts she wants.

Then again it does hurt sleeping on the couch all the time. What day would be best? She works every weekday this week, and there’s the mistake, date with Nathaniel on Saturday. It looks like either Friday or Sunday.

“I don’t really need them. I was going to donate the stuff anyways when Max and I got married anyway.” “In that case. Either Friday or Sunday works for me.”

Sabrina will make the call when she gets home.

The next day Malissa worked until two. She was able to dodge Nathaniel this time. He can in this morning when it was busy and even though he wanted too and try to get to Malissa first. Sadly someone else was free to take his order. Nathaniel did wave at Malissa before he left.

Now done with work and more than enough time to have something to eat and looks for a place that has cheap used furniture. Little did she know that someone was waiting for her.

“Sabrina, what are you doing here?”

“Sorry I didn’t know when you got off work, so I came here. Max and Kim will be able to help move Sunday. They will meet at my place at two. Just wanted you to know. Also to make sure that you still need a ride to your class and home this evening.”

“You know I do. I don’t have a car. Just remember the time you need to pick me up. Both to and from class,” Malissa laughs.

Sabrina leaves as Malissa enters the building. She was able to find a place that has cheap furniture. Malissa will be able to go there after work on Thursday. As soon as she gets her paycheck. After dinner and made a little snack for the class, tonight Chloe reads her special book. Now that she lives alone she doesn’t have to hide it.

An hour before class and Chloe needs to become Malissa. With her wig and contacts in place, she grabs a Malissa jacket and leaves the apartment. She left the building to see not Sabrina but Lila there waiting. Chloe never got along with Lila in college. Even though Chloe is trying to make up for everything she did. Lila is one person that Chloe didn’t do anything to.

They just avoided each other all through college. In lycee Chloe never even seen Lila. Why is she here? Is Lila waiting for Malissa or Chloe? Malissa looks around she doesn't see Sabrina anywhere. Why isn't Sabrina here? Checking her phone, she does have a text from Sabrina. “Hello, Malissa. My name is Lila, and I need to talk to you. Don't worry I'll take you to your class so you won't be late. I work everything out with Sabrina.”

Malissa puts her phone in her bag. “Hello, Lila nice to meet you. How do you know me?”

Lila just smiles and leads Malissa to her car, “I’ll tell you everything on the way. You don’t want to be late now.”

Malissa follows but stays at least a foot behind Lila. They get inside Lila’s car, and she drives off. “I told Sabrina that I’ll take you to class. She will take you home. A little dragonfly told me all about you and your date with Nathaniel on Saturday.”

Malissa quickly looks out the window to make sure Lila not up to something. She’s happy to know they are indeed going the right way.  Lila smile turns into an evil grin. They soon arrived at Nathaniel’s studio. Before Malissa could leave Lila locks the door and grabs Melissa's shoulders.

“Here’s the thing. Listen to me closely. Don’t ask questions. I’ll be nice and give you until Friday. If you don’t break off the date with Nathaniel, I’ll tell everyone your little secret. Wondering how I know. Let’s just say I have my ways.”

She unlocks the door and Malissa now scared out of her mind gets out. With her heart pounding like it’s trying to escape from her chest, Malissa runs. She won’t be going to class tonight.

Nathaniel tried to find where the girls were having lunch. He’s using taking Alice for a walk as an excuse for when he sees them. Right now the lost artist is kicking himself for not asking. Then again if he did and just show up might make Natalie upset or thinking he doesn’t trust her. In reality, he doesn’t trust Lila. About an hour later with no luck, the dog walker gave up and returned Alice home. After checking the little doggy’s water bowl, he leaves. Natalie will feed her when she gets home.

He also needs his own lunch. After lunch, he calls Natalie. “Hello.” “His little sis. How's your day going?” “You want to know how my lunch with Lila went.” “No. I want to tell you I took Alice for a walk today.” “And to see how my lunch with Lila went. We only talked that's all.” “What did you talk about?” “You.” “Only me?” “And Malissa.” “Did you give Lila, Malissa's number?” “No. Only told Lila were Malissa lives.” Nathaniel knew that can’t be good. He ends the call in full panic. “This can’t be good. Lila won’t act right away thankfully. She likes to plan first. I know Malissa is working tomorrow. I can get some coffee and warn. That will give Malissa and I plenty of time to think of a counter to Lila.”

Nathaniel knows of how Lila can get people to believe her even if she’s lying. Worse fall into her traps. In the morning before he does anything else, Nathaniel goes to the charming coffee place Malissa works at. He seems to have come in at a busy time.

Sadly he wasn’t able to talk to her or find a table. Poor Nathaniel had to take his drink to go. For the rest of the morning, he keeps thinking if he should call her and leave a message. It takes some time for Lila to come up with a plan. Tonight at class he will talk to her for sure.

Nathaniel stands outside his studio waiting for a particular student to show up. When a black car with tinted windows pulled up, he wonders who that could be. Something must be wrong when Malissa comes out. That’s not Sabrina’s car. Nathaniel can tell something is wrong when he sees a panic scared looking Malissa run off.

Nathaniel wants to chase after her, but his class starts soon, and he has other students. He could tell them that class will be late or cancel and then go after her. Then the other students would think something is up between them and they don’t want that. What should be doing? He wants to help all his students. Nathaniel knows he needs to talk to Malissa.

The one that drove Malissa is wasn’t Sabrina. Who was it? What if it was Lila? If so than Nathaniel wasn’t able to warn Malissa and Lila works faster than he thought. Standing there with time running out Nathaniel has to decide what to do and fast.

Lila was beaming evilly all the way to her place. She even laughs to herself a bit. Lila Rossi loves it when her plans come together. Now home she pours herself a glass of red wine. Taking a sip, Lila grabs her little planner and makes a checkmark by Melissa's name.

“Now with that little miss student out of the way, next will be to help poor little artist boy mend his broken heart. Then he will want me as his girlfriend,” Lila laughs. At first, Lila didn’t think her plan would work. She didn’t give herself the amount of time she usually does.

Unfortunately, she doesn't have much time to act if she wants her plan to work. Lila doesn’t even know if Malissa is hiding anything, she just took a lucky guess. To be safe Lila did come up with a backup plan if Malissa didn’t end things with Nathaniel. At least Lila had time for that.

Malissa can’t seem to stop running. She doesn’t even know where she’s going. All she knows is that she needs to get away. Away from people, Nathaniel, Lila, everything. Tripping is the only thing that caused her to stop running. Lucky she not hurt. Unlucky for Malissa, Chloe is losing control and starts to cry.

“How did Lila find out that Malissa is Chloe? The only one that knows is Sabrina and Daddy, neither of them would tell Lila,” Malissa was able to say through her tears.

Hugging her knees, she cries like her tears have no end to them. Her makeup is ruined, but neither Malissa or Chloe cares at this point. Chloe didn’t want Nathaniel to go on a date with Malissa at first. Now she was hoping to use Malissa as a way to get to know Nathaniel better so when he sees Chloe next, she will be able to make up for all she did better.

Right now things are falling apart so fast sadly Chloe doesn’t know what to do or what Malissa should do. Today is Wednesday Lila gave Chloe until Friday to tell Nathaniel there will be no date. “You’re going to be late for class.”

A soft calming voice made Malissa lift her head. She can’t see things clearly until she wipes the tears away. “Your makeup is all messed up.”

“Sabrina, what are you doing here?” Malissa takes the tissue Sabrina was handing her.

“I had a feeling you would need a friend,” Sabrina sits down next to her friend, no matter who is she at the moment.

[mangled-dreams]

Unique Ways.

This one is for @villain-friend, who has been waiting so patiently along with a few others...I’m so sorry I don’t have more to post right this moment. Prompts are from the Winter prompt list numbers 129. “We’re not going to spend the holidays alone and sad. i won’t allow that!” and 135.  “I know that people usually kiss under mistletoe but.. I had other things planned.” Anti was requested for this story and so I present to you all, and especially to Villain-Friend; Unique Ways.

(Cats have nothing to do with the story. I just liked this gif.)

"We're not going to spend the holidays alone and sad. I won't allow that!" Jacob had promised you not more than two weeks ago, but now you sit in your half empty apartment, with festive lights twinkling, and tears running down your cheeks. You curse Jacob's name, shouting to the heavens and whatever God or Goddess that'll listen to your sorrows. You hate how much time and effort and dreams you'd put into your relationship with Jacob; only to find out he's been unfaithful and two faced nearly your whole relationship. "Two fucking years down the goddamn drain!" you scream grabbing the pillow next to you and shove it against your face. You scream into the pillow, praying it'll muffle your cries of agony. Flopping forward on your bed you feel like kicking your feet up and down, smashing your fists into the mattress, but you refrain from doing so. You're bigger than that. You think..."I hate you so much! I hate you! I hate you!" You cry over and over and over again. You don't hate a lot of things, but you hate Jacob and his cheating ways. Your friends, and even your family had asked if you'd seen any kind of sign that Jacob had been seeing another woman--sorry, two other women, but you hadn't. You'd been to busy focusing on your job and paying for the Christmas gift of a lifetime; a three week all expenses paid for. You'd been planning on letting him know on Christmas day. Not anymore, you think bitterly. Rolling onto your back you notice a photo that you hadn't smashed just yet and sit up, the room spinning a little before settling. You stand up and grab the photo off the shelf and take it to the living room, removing the actual photograph and set the undisturbed frame on the coffee table. You pass into the kitchen and pull out a large kitchen knife and cutting board. You're pissed off and ready to slice up the photo, but you don't want to ruin your new counter tops. Laying the photograph on the cutting board face up, you aim your knife and jab it into the photo narrowly missing Jacob's face. You stab at the photo a few more times oblivious to your front door opening with the spare key you'd given Anti a few months back. Jacob had always accused you of cheating with Anti, going as far as to demand you cut all ties to your green clothed neighbor. You hadn't fallen for that dilemma. You'd straight out refused to play into that kind of thinking, shooting back that if you had to give up Anti then Jacob had to give up his friend Kayla. Jacob had refused and the subject had been dropped, then low and behold, two weeks later it comes out he's been seeing Kayla in a romantic nature. Screaming angrily you stab the knife directly into Jacob's chest. Despite your current actions you do not want Jacob to die. Part of you still loves and cares for his stupid cheating ass. "Feel better?" Anti asks as you swing around, the knife still in your hand. Upon seeing Anti the knife in your hands seems to just drop. It feels like you're being caught doing something heinous and unforgivable. Anti chuckles and kneels down, picking up the knife, then sets it on the counter. You feel your face heat up and look away from Anti in shame. "Wow... you have bad aim." Anti tells you, chuckling a little as he looks at the chopped up photo. You chew the inside of your lip, keeping your gaze away from Anti."Now's not the best of time, Anti." you tell him unintentionally wrapping your arms around your waist. "When is it after a nasty break up?" Anti asks sitting on your counter top. "I heard you screamin' and cryin', thought I'd come over and see if you need a shoulder to cry on." Anti adds smiling at you. You've always enjoyed Anti's odd sense of humor and his ability to cheer you up in the worst of times. You glance up at Anti. He's the last person you'd expect to judge you and yet you're worried he'd think less of you."I got throwing knives I can teach ya to use. We can find one of his profile photos and blow it up and use it for target practice." he adds with a chuckle you find endearing. You shake your head, trying not to laugh at him. As ridiculous as his suggestions are, you know he's being serious. Anti loves his knives and loves to try and get you to join in on his shenanigans. "Anti, please. I'm trying to...""Look, I get it. The slimy bastard broke yer heart and ya want revenge. How about teaming up and we'll go make his day a living hell?" Anti asks pouring his Irish accent on thick. You both know you'll agree to just about anything he says with that thick accent. You don't know what it is about his Irish accent but it makes you want to agree to just about anything; but... on the other hand, making Jacob's life a living hell, even for a day sounds amazing at this point. You do need something to lift your spirits. "What have you got in mind?" you ask sniffling as you wipe your eyes. Anti gives you that mischievous smile that makes you weak in the knees and hops down from the counter top. He doesn't say anything, simply grabs your hand and drags you out of your apartment, snatching up your shoes on the way out. Wrapped up in Anti jacket you find yourself standing outside Kayla's duplex as Anti pulls out a few bags from his trunk. Something about this whole situation tells you that Anti had this all planned out. You raise a brow, huddling into the oversized jacket, watching Anti set three bags filled with cylinder canisters. You hold your hand out when he lifts one out to you. You take the canister and look at the label and burst into laughter. "Are you serious?" you ask in the dying sun light. Anti stands up, both hands fisting a can of silly string, his arms shaking up the mixture inside the cans. He gives you the same mischievous smile and walks over to the duplex and begins to spray the cans with a pop of the lids. You laugh, but follow his lead. Anti is such a bad influence on you, but right now it doesn't matter. Anti wrote poorly executed crude words while you drew poorly shaped penises on the windows. You both laughed and traded off cans and when the lights flicked on quickly threw everything you could grab into the bags and bolted to Anti's car parked a few cars down the road. You could hear Jacob shouting, Kayla screaming after you as you both jumped into the vehicle and drove away in record time. It's at the stop light that you both glance at each other and burst into laughter, you're unable to believe you just vandalized Kayla's house with crudely drawn dicks and profanity. You'd always thought you'd be above needing revenge, but damn it feels good to get back at the cheating bastard. You turn up the heat in the car and hold your frozen finger to the vents to thaw them out again. Okay, so you didn't make his life, or even his day a living hell, but you got to blow of steam and create a mess that Jacob will have to clean up. In the freezing cold, and that's just as good. Plus, it's less punishable in the court of law. "You hungry?" Anti asks glancing at you as your rub your hands together then hold them in front of the vents again. Your cheeks are dusted a rose red color, your nose matching that of Rudolph's. "Starved. If we go back to the apartments I can whip up something hot and delicious." You say smiling at Anti. You've always admired his ability to be so free and uncaring of what others thing. He makes you feel like you can be like that too, to be happy. "Home cookin? I'm game." Anti tells you giving you a lopsided smile. You feel butterflies in your stomach. Anti's always had that effect on you, but you'd never given it much thought. You'd always remained faithful to Jacob...mostly. It doesn't count if you're asleep and dreaming, but damn if those dreams hadn't felt so real.Entering your apartment you slip your shoes off and head into your kitchen knowing Anti would remove his shoes too. Slipping out of the jacket Anti had let you borrow while out being deviants you turn slightly and toss it too him, letting him hand it up on the coat rack without having to ask. "Spaghetti and meatballs sound good?" you ask opening your ice box to pull out the pre-made meatballs you'd done a few days ago. Anti nods as he unravels the scarf you'd crocheted him at the beginning of the winter season. "Are you going to make those garlic mashed potatoes?" Anti asks taking a seat on the bar stool rather than your counter tops.You nod your head. "You wanna peel the potatoes for me?" you ask opening your pantry door and retrieve the 10 lbs bag of potatoes. Anti give you a look that says he's not amused but takes the bag none the less. You hand him a small paring knife and he sets to work. A comfortable silence falls over the pair of you as you work to get dinner done. Leaning back in his chair Anti pats his now full stomach and sighs happily. "Delicious. Can I hire you to be my personal chief?" Anti asks smirking at you. You roll your eyes at his question and stand up taking the plates with you. "You couldn't afford my services, Anti." You tease scrapping the leftovers into the trash and set the plates in the soapy water you'd mixed earlier. Anti laughs, his chair sliding across the linoleum as he stands up, stretching his back out. "Not to be that guy, but how are ya feelin?" Anti asks resting his upper half on your breakfast bar. You glance at him from the corner of your eye and shrug."Better, but it's still hurting. I just... what did I do wrong?" you ask softly. You set down the plate into the water and place the sponge in your hand on the counter top. "That's what I can't understand. I'm a faithful person, I never told him that he wasn't good enough, or nitpicked at things that irritated me. I encouraged him to talk to me when something upset him. I tried to compromise where it was needed, but I told him I wouldn't drop friends just because he didn't like them. I never asked him to stop being friends with people I didn't like." You continue as you look down at your hands. You never raised your voice, you rarely fought, opting out to find a resolution rather than leaving things unsaid..."It wan't anything you did. It was all him." Anti says not looking at you. "He wanted everything to be the way he wanted it, but you're just too good at sticking to your guns. He'd told me a few times that he didn't want me around you, once even said you'd told him you wouldn't see me again, but I didn't trust him. If I said anythin' he'd probably spin it to say I'm jealous of 'im and you." Anti tells you earning a confused and slightly appalled look that Jacob would go so far as to tell your friend you didn't' want to see him anymore. You frown. What had you seen in Jacob? A pretty face? Sweet words? A mixture of a multitude of things? "I told him I would never stop being friends with you because he felt insecure. I even told him if he wanted me to stop being friends with you, that he'd have to stop being friends with Kayla. It told him it was unfair to expect me to conform to his wants and needs without some kind of equal sacrifice in return. Declined and then... 'I've been seeing Kayla since we got together.' Fucking bastard." You tell Anti, clenching your fists at the memory. "I wasn't being serious! I'd never seriously ask anyone, much less the man I'm dating to drop anyone he finds important in his life. All I wanted to do was show him how rude and stupid his request was." you say feeling tears well up in your eyes again. "Hey, you're a strong woman, if he couldn't see that, then he's an idiot, a wanker that don't know a good thing when it's standing in front of him." Anti tells you, earning a small, sad smile from you. "Thanks, Anti." you whisper. "Go sit down on the couch, I'll be over in a few. Some of my pots still have to soak for a bit before I can clean them." You say turning back to your dishes and clean the dishes you can before rising your hands and dry them before heading over to the couch. Anti smirks as he meets you at the small arch way leading into the living room. Despite having an open concept there are a few arch ways in your apartment. You rise a brow at his smirk and follow the finger he's pointed to the ceiling. Tilting your head slightly you see what he's looking at. "Mistletoe?" you question not remembering putting up, or even noticing mistletoe hanging from the arch way. "When did...Anti, did you put that up?" you ask accusingly as you look at Anti's smug face."I know that people usually kiss under mistletoe but.. I had other things planned." Anti tells you. Like a deer in the headlights you stand still, staring up at Anti with slight confusion. There's always been a mutual attraction, but..."Anti, I...are you sure..." you can't get the words out."Don't think I'm gonna let some other idiot try to sweep you of yer feet. It's my turn. I ain't gonna make you forget about him, but I'm sure as hell gonna try." Anti tells you wrapping his arm around your waist and pulls you flush against his profile. "Let me make you feel better." Anti's always had a unique way to cheer you up. One you'll always be thankful for.

[growningupgeek]

Lonely Roads-November 2, 2008

Word Count-802

Characters-Dean Winchester, Bobby Singer, Castiel, mentions of John, Mary, Jo and Ellen.

Summary-Dean is still trying to cope with Sam’s death.

A/N-Thank you so much for the love this series has gotten!  I was so nervous about posting it because it’s so different from anything I’ve ever done.  Betaed by @skybinx-blog and @thegameison97 who’ve been cheerleading this from the begining.  Thanks for letting me bounce ideas off you and for the virtually holding my hand when I was freaking out about this.  Tags after the cut and if you’d like on or off my list drop me a message or an ask since tags aren’t always coming through.

-JediCat

Lonely Roads Masterlist

Masterlist

Edits are mine.  Please do not repost my work to other websites without my written permission.

Dean sat at the bar nursing a beer, waiting for Bobby to show up.  Normally, he’d be locked in his motel room tonight but Bobby had called earlier with another hunter that needed help on a case.  He wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t something important.  The last couple of months had been weird, even by his standards.  First, he, Bobby and Jo had dealt with the ghost of their pasts and figured out that someone was trying to raise Lucifer to jump start the apocalypse.  That had been a fun evening

        A few days after that he’d fallen asleep in a hotel room and woken up back in Lawrence in 1973.  He was still trying to wrap his head around that one, even Bobby couldn’t figure out how he’d time traveled without a DeLorean in sight.  Meeting the younger versions of his parents and discovering that the Campbell’s were a hunter family had freaked him out.  Then finding out Mary had made a deal that resulted in the way his life had turned out, well he’d really needed a drink or six after that one.

And then there was catching that “ghost fever” He thanked God he’d been working that case with Ellen, because if he’d been alone or with Jo it could have ended badly.   He still didn’t think that his being dead was necessarily a bad thing; he just didn’t want to die from some supernatural disease.    Ellen had ignored his ramblings and kept a cool head until Bobby showed up with the spelled chains that allowed them to take out the spirit that was causing the problem.  He owed Bobby and Ellen both and today Bobby had called in the favor.  

The message on his cell had just said for him to meet Bobby here to discuss Dean helping out a newer hunter.   He glanced down at his watch again, Bobby was almost half an hour late and he was getting worried.  He finished his beer and was about to try to call when a hand fell on his shoulder.

“How ya doin’, boy,” Bobby’s familiar gruff voice said.

Dean turned and gave his friend a rough hug. “About the same.”

Over Bobby’s shoulder he could see a dark haired man watching him with intense blue eyes.  He abruptly let Bobby go; guessing that this was the hunter Bobby wanted him to help out.  He looked the other man up and down, he appeared to be a few years older than Dean but in good shape.  He was dressed in boots, dark jeans, a brown leather jacket, black tee-shirt and a blue and gold flannel that was just a little too big on him.  It looked like one Sam used to wear a lot and made Dean’s eyes burn with tears he refused to shed.  He cleared his throat and Bobby took the hint.

“Dean, Castiel Novak,” he made the introduction. “Cas, Dean Winchester. He’s got an odd case that you might be able to help him with.”

Castiel stuck out his hand. “I was sorry too hear about your brother.  He was a good man.”

Dean took the offered hand. “How did you know about my brother?”

Cass shrugged, but the movement looked stiff and off. “Hunter’s gossip.”

Dean felt his anger rising at the thought of Sam being gossip fodder and took a step towards the other man.  Bobby’s smack to the back of his head stopped him in his tracks.

“He was a friend of Sam’s, ya idjit,” he snapped when Dean turned to look at him.  When Dean gave him a skeptical look he turned to Cass. “Show him the letter.”

Castiel reached slowly into the pocket of his coat and pulled out an envelope that he handed to Dean.  Tears burned his eyes again when he saw Bobby’s name written in Sam’s familiar handwriting.  His hands trembled a little as he opened it and pulled out the single sheet of paper inside.

“Sam would never encourage anyone…” Dean started hotly.

“I was already in the life when I met Sam,” Castiel interrupted him. “He gave me his cell number in case I needed backup.”

Dean stared at the other man for a minute, something felt off but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.  “Well then, let’s go back to my room and talk about your case.”

As he headed for the door, Dean thought he felt eyes on him.  He stopped and looked around the room but didn’t notice anyone watching him.  A flicker back in a dark corner behind the bar caught his attention, he tried to look closer but Castiel bumped into him.

“I’m sorry,” the other man apologized. “That was very clumsy of me.”

“S’all right,” Dean replied opening the door and heading out into the night.

The Usual Suspects-  @darkcastersruletheworld​​ @black-shad0w-w0lf​​ @imagine-that-supernatural​​ @ladysaraharper​​ @thedepthsoffandomminds​​ @kbrand0​​ @soaringeag1e​​ @supernaturalismalife​​ @iwantthedean​​ @jojomonsterbunni​​ @little-red-83​​ @growleytria​​ @ashleymalfoy​​ @jerkbitchidjitassbutt​​ @halespecterwinchester​​ @driverpicksthemuusic​​ @isometimeswritesomethings​​ @whyisleepacesoamazing​​ @mist-and-echoes​​ @sassysupernaturalsweetheart​​ @kaylas-obsessions​​ @aerisawriting​​ @letsgetoutalive​​ @leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid​ @jodyri​​ @soab1967​​ @busybee612​​ @appleschloss​​ @kazchester-fanfiction​​ @oriona75​​ @screeching-pterodactyl-fangirl​​ @deandoesthingstome​​ @littlegreenplasticsoldier​​ @sammy-moo​​ @for-the-love-of-dean​​ @mrswhozeewhatsis​​ @kittenofdoomage​​ @sandlee44​​ @apeshit7x​​ @purgatoan​​ @fast-times-in-the-impala​​ @wereallbrokenangels​​ @wonderless-screwup​​ @dontsassmecastiel​​ @cherrie-liquor​​ @deascheck​​ @mrssamfuckingwinchester​​ @winchesterprincessbride​​ @tjforston​​ @babi-correia​​ @helixiaray​​ @writingthingsisdifficult​​ @mysaintsasinner​​ @mogaruke​​ @wheresthekillswitch​​ @skybinx-blog​​ @bohowitch​ @hexparker​ @jensen-jarpad​ @ellen-reincarnated1967​ @masksandtruths  @getyourrocksalt

 Dean only @torn-and-frayed

[bb-bigbang-org]

EPISODE 2 -  “I feel like there was no drama caused this week” - CODY

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MANDI

well pretty sure i just ruined my relationship with drew. i think he is pissed at me for not evicting cody. but my true alliance is with joe and frosby. they wanted to keep cody and i was doing what they wanted and joe kept saying we had the votes. and thankfully we did! but the house is definitely going to be split now. drew really wanted cody out because someone told him joe, brooke, frosby, and cody were in an alliance and he wanted to break that alliance up. but sorry drew! had to do what i had to do!

CODY

Oh my lord

I had a good feeling that if I survived it was gonna be close. Holy shit I was one vote away from first boot!!! 

But I survived, and I’m humbled a lot by it. I’m not going to carry on. I’m basically only talking strategy at this point with the couple of people who have reached out to me via DM’s in Joe and Mandi

The big piece of info that I found out late after my trust rankings were done is that Kayla is after me. Which came as a tad surprise initially but in retrospect it’s not at all because she hardly spoke to me after I gave up the character. My impression of her is that she was incredibly put off by me in character mode and therefore she did not wanna be guilty by association. Which is certainly a fair point. However it might cost her the game if she’s too vocal about this

FROSBY

So Episode 1 is in the books and now is time for the good ol Frosby recap. Wow I learned bits and pieces about everyone and learned what I want to do for this season. First off I need to establish the most important factor for this season hinges on 1 thing, Katrina. We have a final 2 pact and our goal is to work our way into the finale by working different ends of the game without drawing to much attention to ourselves. To do this I had to find myself some quiet players to get myself sitting nice and pretty with and I found that in both Andrew and Desiree who both are going for the same strategy as me. Along with that I have a really tight alliance with Both Joe and Mandi. I am totally cool with using this alliance because I know joe is a good player that is excellent at working a social game but I also know that due to him taking third last season I know that he will have a big target on his back and that means less of a target on mine which is good. Finally the last element to my game is completely tanking every challenge to hopefully get people to forget about the fact that I am a challenge beast. The main reason I was voted out last time was due to the fact that I won every other challenge I was in, this caused everyone to see me as one of the biggest players in the game when in reality I was just a good cover piece for Bob and Ferg. This time I'm choosing my fate and im choosing to play on the outside but to be a good outside player I need to avoid the limelight and to do that I need to tank challenges (While still doing a partial good job that it looks like im not tanking them) As for Katrina she is running the same strategy as me with trying to stick on the outside but she is working with players like Kayla and Brooke which is a great because like myself with Joe, sticking around Kayla and Brooke will keep the heat off of Katrina and she can use them to hopefully do a good push in the later half of the game. 

Now to talk about the first vote. I for one had zero care about either player, but I figured keeping Cody in the game would create more chaos that I can hide on along with the outsider players im teamed up with. All 3 of us voted for cody so not only did we keep him in the game we also don't have to worry about cody getting mad at us for not voting for him plus we are in the majority of the aftermath vote. Now we are at the next HoH challenge and im going to tank this one and just see who wins this bad boy. Watch Cody win it, that would be hilarious and Kayla would be in big trouble. 

PS:  Im still fully new to Big Brother in general  so I'm crafting these ideas and strats on the go so don't judge me for pulling any stupid plays in the future. Here is your warning I will in fact do stupid plays. 

JOE

I’m going hard for this HoH and I’m pretty sure the only reason I want it is so Joe can’t have it.. who would I nominate? Probably the people who don’t reach out to me. Kayla, Joe, Mandi, Ash, Sammy and Cody are 100% safe with me but everyone else is fair game. 

CODY

Ok so my number 1 objective of this week is to avoid going on the block at all costs. I will consider that an absolute win because after receiving 6 votes against me I’m in a super odd spot. And the person who is HOH this week in Austin was one of the 6 who voted to evict me last week. However he told me that his vote was kind of up in the air and he could have gone either way. So I feel better about him being in power over someone who was vocal in wanting me out such as Kayla or Sammy

I have decided to throw out Kayla as a target to Austin with the main reason being that she is after me, and I feel like she genuinely is playing a smart game and playing both sides. I think she has great adaptability in the game and could easily slide under the radar despite voting incorrectly at the first eviction

Hopefully this works and Kayla and another person go up

CODY

So I have spoken with Desiree and it turns out Austin was leading the charge to take me out from her perspective so that is a bad idea lol. I’ve asked her to suggest the other person and she chose Frosby which is great because he is someone who definitely had my back

Unfortunately the objective of that alliance idea hasn’t quite been fulfilled as i was hoping we could include Austin to try and throw ideas into his head and show some loyalty. But it sounds as though I am his number 1 target so there’s no point forcing such a big thing onto him

So I have spoken with Desiree and it turns out Austin was leading the charge to take me out from her perspective so that is a bad idea lol. I’ve asked her to suggest the other person and she chose Frosby which is great because he is someone who definitely had my back

Unfortunately the objective of that alliance idea hasn’t quite been fulfilled as i was hoping we could include Austin to try and throw ideas into his head and show some loyalty. But it sounds as though I am his number 1 target so there’s no point forcing such a big thing onto him

DESIREE

Daily Thoughts for Day 5:

Collecting Votes:

The house seems pretty split on the vote. It's interesting to see two groups forming for votes and I'm wondering if that's indicative of any alliances that are lurking. Austin & Sammy are leading the campaign to vote out Cody. They have both messaged me with a very similar list of people that they say are voting Cody out, so I'm guessing they are a duo. Despite their efforts, I do believe Pennino is going this week, and that's where my vote is going. But, it is going to be a close call and nothing is certain. To be honest, I'm not super gungho on either one going. On one hand, Cody doesn't seem trustworthy. But, he is a big target that we can worry about later, and it's always good to have a target bigger than you in the house. Pennino has been putting in very little effort in this game, which I don't want to see rewarded. Ultimately, I'm going with Pennino because that's what Frosby is doing, and he's my biggest ally. That being said, I want to keep an eye on Cody because I am worried he may be making deals to stay here. He's definitely still on my radar.

Pennino's Eviction: The votes went exactly as I'd predicted (7-6 with Pennino being evicted). Of course, I can't know for sure who voted where, but the numbers lined up with what I thought would happen. I do feel bad about Pennino going because he seemed like a sweet kid, but I am just glad to be on the right side of the vote today and I feel good knowing that, even though I don't have a single alliance chat, I still kind of know what's going on in the house. But, now that the first eviction is up, it is time to start solidifying alliances. Let's go!!!

DESIREE

Daily Thoughts for Day 6:

HOH: So, I abstained from the HOH competition this week. I feel bad about having to do that, but I just have a lot going on on my end with these protests and I didn't have the social energy to ask for selfies. I'm not sure I would've wanted the responsibility yet, anyway. One Step At A Time, just like my pre-season song pick.😉 Austin won HOH and I feel okay with that. Not super excited or scared. I've chatted with Austin and he campaigned against Cody last week for votes but I ultimately did not end up voting that way. He probably knows that, but still I don't think I'm at the top of his radar.

Alliance Formed: I might have done something bad for my game... I voice chatted with a few people, including Cody, and he seemed fairly cool. Then, he privately messaged me asking about forming an alliance. He picked one person and I picked one person. He picked Andy (which is great because I love Andy) and I picked Frosby. It might be a dumb idea to join an alliance with the person at the very bottom of my trust rankings, but for some reason I believe he has good intentions? It was definitely a show of good faith for us each to pick a person to join. So Cody is definitely growing in my favor this week. I plan to stay true to that alliance.

Strategy: Originally, Cody suggested Austin for the alliance along with Andy. I told him that Austin was the one spearheading the campaign against him and that adding him to an alliance probably wasn't the best idea. I think offering this information to Cody allowed him to trust me a bit more, while also potentially making two more people in the house who are bigger threats than me. Cody said that Austin is playing both sides and he also is worried about Kayla as a threat to his game. I definitely agree that Kayla is a threat, she seems well-connected and well-versed in BB ORGs. But at the moment, I don't have any personal targets.

CODY

Ok so I’m on the block again. No surprise there. I’ve been told by Austin that he has some sort of backdoor plan in place for if he wins the veto where he saves me and someone else goes up. However I genuinely know nothing else. He could be flat out lying 

I’m really sad that it’s me and Joe. He is my number 1. But I’m confident that we can work together with our alliances to keep us both safe and eliminate whoever gets backdoored...

I have come up with a move tho. So basically, one of the things I did when Austin was HOH was I sold out Kayla. Told him she’s not to be trusted, can’t keep her around. Turns out they’re working together so I couldn’t win there

Instead I’ve gone down the reverse psychology route with a move I’ve never personally tried before but hopefully it works

I reached out to Austin and said to him that I’m really close with Brooke, and if the backdoor plans work I do not want her gone. But I’m actually saying that because he might see what I’m saying, take advantage of it and put her up to “weaken” me. When in reality if Brooke goes up, the person it weakens the most is Kayla.

While myself, Brooke, Joe have been aligned throughout the whole game. I have realised that Brooke plays too loyal of a game to her people. And her number one person no questions asked is Kayla. I think it’s not good if both of them are kept in the game together. So that’s why I’ve made this move because I’ll happily take out Brooke if it means her Kayla doesn’t have a lot of power and can take out me. Because if it’s me and Kayla on the block next to each other I have lost Brooke’s vote. So I wanna prepare for the possibility of me and Kayla on the block later down the line by taking out someone who would not vote to save me in that hypothetical in Brook

DESIREE

Daily Thoughts for Day 7:

Key Order: Austin nominated Cody & Joe. That doesn't surprise me. He told me that Cody was his target and Joe is a pawn because he is well-liked in the house. He also assured me that I would be safe this week. What was most revealing, though, is the key order. I referenced the key order back to my predictions for votes on the first eviction. All of the people that I suspect voted for Cody to go were given their keys first, except for one. I was given my key in the middle, and then all of the people that voted for Pennino to go. However, Katrina was in the the latter group, despite her voting to evict Cody. This leads me to believe that Austin still thinks I voted to evict Cody and that Katrina is the one who flipped her vote. Katrina was the last person he convinced to swap, so it would make sense that he would assume she was the one to flip her vote. ......Am I playing both sides of the house? Am I the villain? Oh man... I'm just glad Austin put me in the middle instead of towards the beginning, which would make this way more obvious.

Alliance Chat: Based on the key order, Andy has surmised that Katrina and Ashley are floating atm. I don't know why he didn't include Brooke or Mandi, because they were also in the bottom half of the list and they are not in our alliance. He is suggesting we form an alliance with those two as well to catch the floaters, but I think it's a bit too soon to make that call based entirely on key order. I suggested we wait a bit and see what happens this week.

BROOKE

Austin nominating Joe and Cody irritates me so much. I guess he wants an enemy in me.. Austin better watch his f*cking back because if Joe leaves, I’m out for blood

ANDREW

Austin made it quite clear, the alliance he is in, with they key placement. It looks like the house is divided in the ones that wanted Cody out(Austin, Kayla, Drew, Lukas and Sammi) and the ones that wanted to keep Cody (Frosby, Mandi, Brooke, Andrew, Desiree) Katrina, Ashley and Chloe seem Wild cards. Idk this game is long, I’m later on showing you guys, my alliances chart. 

That’s how the house is divided. FROSBY

Well this is the worst, like the actual worst thing that could have happened at this point in the game. Cody and Joe are both key allies for the 2 alliances i'm in and basically one of these alliances is going to lose a player. The player I would like to go home would be Cody. The alliance I have with Cody is with Andrew and Desiree and honestly I was already working with both of them before cody came into the picture so if cody got voted out not much would change between our trio alliance. As for Joe, I really need joe to stay in. He is a future vote shield plus him and his sister give me great intel and safety in the game that can push me into the game. The only thing is they will both be extremely strong in the late game so we will have to be careful about that. As for working with Katrina, she is good allies with Austin in the background of the game so that helps knowing which way he may be going in the future now knowing that he can be a challenge threat. As for the Power of Veto competition this is really hard for me. Like I want to save Joe so he won't go home but its WAY to early to show who my true allies are. Also if I choose 1 over the other I am hurting my connections with either alliance so the best course of action is throw the game and pray Cody gets a massive amount of votes.  

CODY

Holy fuck

I’m so sad I lost the veto. However I’m glad Austin won because he has told me that he has a crazy plan. Which I’m being super tight lipped about and I’m pretending that I’m gone. In which I think legit everyone thinks is gonna happen

I actually have no idea what Austin’s plan really entails. It might end up being really bad for an ally of mine however it will save myself and could save Joe which I’m all for! Joe is my boy in this game. Being put on the block next to him is horrible. Hopefully we both survive and one of us wins the next HOH

AUSTIN

i kinda forgot about these so lets just go back and start at day 1 . i was happy to see a few familiar faces like sammy lukas and chloe . didnt know any of the rest but happy to meet new ppl. kayla and drew seems great so bounded with them pretty good at the start. after the first hoh and veto i could kinda tell they was a lil goup in the house like brook, joe,frosby,and ash all seemed close but they also talked about being in othe games together. to my fucking surprise i WON the second hoh comp . i put up cody ( becuase no one trusted him) and joe ( bc i secretly wanted him gone ) . it was simple cody would probs go but if they was the chance i won veto i had a backdoor plan. THEN  i fucking won veto as well. so i talked with my alliance ( lukas,drew,sammy,chloe,and me) they wanted ash to go up so i thought it was perfect timing for me to take cody down and put up ashley so that foursome loses a number. fist time ever im good at challenges so wish me luck bc i feel i have a target now and will need it 

DREW

YOU SEE THAT?! YOU SEE THAT EXCELLENCE? THAT'S HOW YOU PLAY BIG BROTHER! 

Cody's bitch ass thinks that I'm playing a piss poor game, but I don't care about that little catfish. I care about taking out the bigger guns, and right now- miss conniving, scheming, manipulative, fake ass lips, nails and extensions Ashley... is going HOME! 

I know that Chloe is a little mad that Cody is being taken down and what not, yeah I understand that. But that fake attitude that Ashley has over some of these houseguests, myself included, that isn't apart of this "premade" of her, Joe, Frosby and Brooke... UGH WE WON... and I HAD A BIG PART IN THAT ROLE... GOURMET MEAL HERE I COMMMMMEEEE

DESIREE

Daily Thoughts for Day 9:

House Drama: In the morning, Cody got upset with Drew for not responding to his DM's and decided to air his dirty laundry in the house chat. I think this was a stupid idea because Cody already has a big target on his back for the whole "house meeting" on Day 2. Once I woke up and saw what he did, I told him he really needs to lay low if he doesn't want the whole house against him. Hopefully he will listen to that advice... I understand it's frustrating that Drew doesn't like him and doesn't respond to his DM's, but Cody made an enemy out of him by accusing him of leaking the Unde9able alliance. He can't expect Drew to all of the sudden be fine with him just because he dropped his "character".

Contingency Plans: Before the POV winner was even announced, Ashley was in my DM's asking me if I'd vote Cody out. (For the record, I'm pretty sure she voted to keep Cody last week...) Austin won POV which seemed like the final nail in the coffin for Cody. In DM's, Frosby & I were already agreeing that if we needed to vote Cody out to save ourselves, we would. If Cody was going to be eliminated anyway, it would be better if the house didn't know we were with him. 

POV Ceremony Fallout: In a shocking turn of events, Austin took Cody off the block and replaced him with Ashley. Nobody was expecting this and we were all very confused. As far as we were concerned, Cody was Austin's number 1 target. Before the POV ceremony, Austin DMed me, intending to tell me the plan. I didn't log on until immediately after the POV ceremony, so I didn't see it. After the ceremony, I messaged him and he told me that Ashley, Frosby, Brooke, & Joe all had pre-game relationships, so he wanted to take one of them out. I immediately messaged Frosby about this, and he said that they have played together before but he barely talks to Ashley and Brooke hates him. Him and Joe seem to be close, though, which is fine by me because I like Joe too.

Voting: I spoke with all of the alliance members separately about which way we should vote. I guess we're all still a little nervous because it seemed we didn't say anything about the vote in the group chat until we had all decided in DM's. Andy was the only one considering voting out Joe, because he believes that we could get Ashley on our side. He didn't seem that pressed, though, and ultimately the group decided to vote to evict Ashley.

CODY

This round was a lot more telling as I was able to get some legs within the game and I tried super hard to diffuse my target. With the exception of when I called out Drew for his lack of social play I feel like there was no drama caused this week. And even that I think more people were on my side with that than other people have been and understood that it was a game move. Because legitimately I do feel like Drew is setting himself up for failure. He’s made it too obvious that he’s not willing to work with anyone who I seem to be close with and hasn’t talked to majority of them. And even though we are only up to week 3, it’s the day 1 bonds that are maintained throughout the game that matter most. If someone only starts talking to me properly later in the game and unapologetically does not care about the lack of bond they will not get my vote

WEEK 2 CAST ASSESSMENT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36ScH-fNJ-k

[bffhreprise]

Entry 321

 I barely said anything last night to my family about my new job, just mentioning that I’d be leaving far too early for training.  With the long drive, I certainly wouldn’t be doing this every day, but James wanted me to be here for morning training as often as possible.  If I got too far over my head, I’d get dad to help me find a way to quit.  I knew he’d support me no matter my decision here.  Walking through the front door and seeing James standing there, smiling at me, I wondered if even Dad could handle him.

 “Good morning, Iris.  I’m glad you were able to join us today.  If you don’t mind, Mila will drive your car around to the employee lot for you today.  We do try to keep the front clear most days.” he told me, still smiling that ridiculously charming smile of his.  “You will be staying for a while today, won’t you?”

 My mouth started moving before my mind could process.  “Of course, sir.” I told him, registering his disapproving expression even before what I had said.  “James.  Sorry.”

 He smiled again.  “Excellent!  Please hand Mila the keys, and follow me.”

 “Shouldn’t I ride with her to see where I’m to be parking?” I inquired, trying to get my heart to slow down.

 He shook his head, saying, “No need for that on your first day.  You’re getting paid, you know.  Show some enthusiasm!”  With that, he thrust his hand in the air as if to show excitement.

 I was fairly certain he was teasing me, but I followed suit, saying, “Woo.”  My cheeks flushed when he smirked back at me, still leading the way.

 Not too terribly far away, we crossed into a gymnasium with an open hallway looking into it.  An expensive-looking painting sat on the wall as if daring someone to strike it.  Nearly a dozen people in various types of gym clothes were scattered throughout the room, with most appearing to be practicing martial arts.

 Leading me over to a couple guys I hadn’t met and the young girl who shocked me yesterday, James said, “Iris, this is Dejon and Jemal.  Then he grabbed the young girl by the shoulders, saying, “This one who bumped into you yesterday is Kayla.”  She grinned up at him like someone trying to pass a smile off as innocence of wrongdoings.  “I realize that you won’t always be able to attend these classes every morning, since you’re not staying here, but I hope you can at least make your way here four times a week.”

 The memory of the over-an-hour drive was too fresh to ignore.  “Sorry, but… I mean… Is martial arts really necessary for the job?” I questioned.

 Nodding and releasing Kayla, James said, “We actually have had several clients request sparring partners a few times now, and we’ve also had clients request guest instructors at dojos in the city.  Cosette and Dejon were able to demonstrate some of their abilities at a LARP recently.”

 The blue-eyed blond fidgeted as James talked, looking distinctly uncomfortable about the attention, but James continued, saying, “However, the primary purpose is for you to be able to defend yourself while out on jobs.  There may be a time when you feel comfortable defending a client as well, but you are never under any obligation to do so.”

 “Which one’s Cosette?” I questioned, wanting to get everyone’s names down today.

 “The one playing with the short blonde with the poofy hair.” he replied.

 “P-Poofy?” questioned the short girl, suddenly standing by James and staring up at him with a smile.

 I stumbled backward a couple steps in shock.

 “You like to tease your hair.” stated James, smiling at her as if nothing had happened.  “Sorry if poofy is not the proper adjective.  Your hair is marvelous.”

 “Poofy.” whispered the girl before suddenly disappearing.

 “Wh-What?” I asked, spotting her back over by Cosette.

 “Raine’s quite quick.” replied James nonchalantly.

 “Kayla’s quick, incredibly quick.” I argued, pointing at the young girl.  Then I pointed over to Raine and said, “She teleported!”

 “No, actually.  Raine’s heritage is a bit unique, and she’s the last person in this room with whom any sane person would want to pick a fight.  She comes here to spar more as an exercise in controlling her gifts than a need to learn how to protect herself.  We don’t actually have the faintest idea what Raine’s limits are.” replied James, smiling proudly at her.

 “This place is really different.  I think of it as a different reality than the rest of the world.” offered Dejon, looking at me sympathetically..

 The slightly taller boy, Jemal, laughed as he said, “He’s kinda right.  Kayla and I have been here a month, and this still seems like some sort of dream.”

 “Jemal’s all dreamy.” sang Kayla, grinning at him.

 “You know you agree with me.” he told her defensively while she kept on grinning.

 I could only guess that they were siblings, since there was no way he was old enough to be her father.  My mouth dropped open and my head jerked to the side to better see Cosette’s mouth open impossibly wide.  Her fangs grew out to enormous lengths as she prepared to bite into Raine’s neck.  Impossibly fast as she was, Raine looked hopelessly pinned.

 “Yes, there is a vampire living and working here.  You’re not racist, are you?” questioned James conversationally.

 “Racist?” I asked, trying to understand what he meant, but Raine was somehow free, flipping Cosette to the ground with apparent ease.

 “You’ll find that most of us here have at least one nonhuman ancestor, including you.  Quite likely, your magic stems from a fey some time ago.  You’re about to see what I mean.  Our little friend will be joining us.” he explained as casually as if he were talking about the weather.  “Sorry in advance.  This will feel a bit odd.”

 “Wh…” I started asking when I suddenly felt as if I was flying.  I could see the leaves of a tree in my way and enjoyed the way moving around them felt.  There were powerful wings on my back, and using them was as natural as breathing.  I easily caught up to a bird, warning it that I’d be riding it as I mounted its back while in flight.  Riding the bird was exhilarating in a different way.  I trusted its flight, but I only knew where we’d be heading seconds before we moved through some sort of mental link.

 “That is so cool!” I exclaimed as the feeling cut off, and I was then seeing James through someone else’s eyes.  My own apparently still functioned, even as images from the others flooded my head.  A fairy was hovering up in the air at eye-height with James.  She was luminescent and completely bare, tiny as his nose.

 “Though you might not always understand their motives, you’ll never doubt how the fey feel.” asserted James as the fairy hugged him with her whole body.  Then she fluttered over to me, looking at me curiously.  “They can also feel surface thoughts of those around them, so something you were thinking about caught our little friend’s attention.”

 “How could I possibly be descended from her?  She’s so tiny.” I replied, poorly explaining my thoughts.

 “Don’t be silly.  She controls lights.” he told me jokingly.  “You’re probably descended from a more human-sized fey that manipulates electricity.”

 “How many types are there?” questioned Dejon as if he was reading my mind.

 The little fairy had already grown distracted, projecting thoughts of a forest into our heads again.  The images were beautiful, but often disjointed, as if her mind was leaping through the best moments of her day.

 Shrugging, James said, “No clue.  Alma would be far more capable of discussing the variety of fey, since she continually updates her catalogue on them for her family’s interests and has read her family’s tales about them.”

 “You should take them into the forest sometime.  Kayla and I can’t be the only new people who experienced that.” insisted Jemal with a small smile.  

 “Does that mean I can start working here!?” questioned Kayla excitedly.

 “What?” he asked, staring down at her.  “No.  You’re too young.”

 “But Jemal…” she complained with an adorable pout.

 “No buts.  There are laws and stuff dealing with kids working.  Maybe when you’re sixteen if you learn to behave.” he stated.

 “James, Jemal’s being mean.” complained Kayla, still pouting.

 “His word’s the law where you’re concerned.” replied James with a gentle smile for her.

 She sighed, but hugged her brother, despite still pouting.

 “Think you can focus while our little friend’s chattering away?” questioned James.

 I shook my head, struggling just to keep up with the current conversation.

Smiling sympathetically at us, James said,   “Let’s try before Alma catches wind of someone slacking.  She doesn’t approve of slacking.”

 “Alma’s your fiancée, right?  Does she run this place with you?” I asked as much out of curiosity as out of needing the delay.

 “Yes, she’s my fiancée, but she doesn’t work for Best Friend For Hire, though she did attend a convention with us.” he explained.

 “So why…” I started, feeling I was missing something here.

 Interrupting me, James said, “Alma is still teaching me martial arts.  She’s studied her entire life and has mastered an impressive number of styles.  She also assists me in teaching at times, so you might well get her as your instructor one of these mornings.  Sorry in advance.  She’s a bit strict.”

 Laughing, Kayla asked “A bit?”

 “She just wants us to do things correctly.” insisted Jemal as he covered his sister’s mouth.

 “Properly.” asserted Dejon, smiling slightly.

 “Did Dejon just make a joke!?” asked Emma as she ran over to us.

 “Was it painful?” asked a tall, pretty redhead who had followed Emma over.  She seemed almost as enthusiastic as Emma did, obviously getting the joke I had missed.

 “Are you feeling okay?  We can get you a cot if you want to take a nap.” suggested a redheaded boy as tall as Jemal.

 “I knew he could do it!” exclaimed Cosette from back by Raine.

 “We’re training, so should you be.” flatly stated James, easily dispersing the group with just those words.

 “How did they even hear that!?” I questioned aloud.  Yes, there was an echo to the gym, but the room was large.

 James politely explained “They’re each wearing suits that enhance their bodies in numerous ways.  Kayla was wearing one yesterday, which is why she seemed so fast to you.  We’ll make you one if you ever become full time here or even remain part time for an extended period.”

 “Are you making one for me?” asked Dejon hopefully.

 “Yes, sorry.  The suit’s made, but I need to enchant it, which will require Alma’s help.  I need some time when we’re both free for an extended period.” replied James apologetically.

 “Oh.  Thank you.” he told me, looking surprised rather than disheartened.

 The fairy was now showing us some sort of game she was playing with a number of odd-looking beings that had to be other fey.  There was a ball of mud that was being tossed around, but I couldn’t figure out what was the point.

 “They’re soooo fun, and you can get soooo much more done when wearing them.” insisted Kayla as she hugged herself—or perhaps the suit.

 Jemal gently rubbed her head as he told her “Now if you’d commit yourself to your studies more while wearing one, you’d be flying through classes.”

 “In her defense, she is actually ahead for her year already.” suggested James.

 Jemal nodded and admitted “I know, but she’s got so much potential.  She could finish college and have a degree by the time her friends finish high school.”

 “I’m sure she will.  Not everyone can be as dedicated to studying as you though.” insisted James with a laugh.

 “I guess.  I just want the best for her.” replied Jemal, looking at his sister as if she was the most precious person in the world.

 James quickly assured him “As I keep telling you, everything will be fine.  No matter what profession Kayla decides to pursue, we have the resources to help her get there.”

 “I can be a wizard!?” exclaimed Kayla excitedly

 “Not if you don’t study spells with more enthusiasm.” replied James with a semi-stern expression.

 “But it’s haaard.” she whined.

 “You really aren’t messing with me about magic?” I questioned, more willing to believe in fairy magic than my own.

 “Well, here’s a fairy.  How much more magical do you want?” he questioned as he pointed to the tiny lady.  “Perhaps this.”  The room suddenly darkened, a strong breeze whipped my hair around, and fiery words appeared in the air, saying, “Everyone who wishes to improve themselves should focus on their training.”

 For a while after the room had brightened again, I stared at the spot in the air where the fiery letters had been.  Whether that fire had been real or illusory, James had created it as easily as I could snap my fingers.  Kayla had been right, people really could be wizards!

[kaylainbloom]

An open letter, to the man I love, that I hope I never have to send:

March 30 2020

I need some time and space because you don’t deserve a girl who is insecure and nitpicks apart every action in our relationship.

There are small and large things that have contributed to me feeling this way. I’m not saying that they’re all valid or your fault but they have contributed to me not being happy because I now over think every action. I’m not saying that I think you’re cheating on me again, even though it bothers me that I can have that suspicion. I’m not saying that you’re definitely less invested in this than I am, I’m just saying it bothers me that sometimes I feel that way.

I don’t know how to make these feelings go away. I’m just not happy with the fact that I do have these feelings and I need time and space to work on myself to make sure that they go away.

I know that they may not seem like a big deal to you but they’re things that have chipped away and made me feel more and more insecure and unsure over time. The fact that after a few weeks in Korea your location stopped working and you never fixed it, the fact that you don’t have my number saved like I’m some random girl on your phone, changing the back ground on your computer and your phone so it’s not us (it makes me feel like you’re hiding or not proud of something it felt abrupt and odd ), especially after having condoms in both your car and your wallet even though we don’t use them, telling me you didn’t feel the same way and haven’t had butterflies for awhile, then having a full blown conversation with your ex and not seeing anything wrong with it, not noticing when I get dressed up or put makeup on to FaceTime so i stopped trying because I don’t feel beautiful to you, not using any of those stupid coupon things I gave you to bring us closer, me telling you I don’t feel special or celebrated and that being the end of the conversation. A lot of these I’ve buried or chosen to ignore but everything something new happens I remember it all.

These things may not be on your radar, or they might, whenever I bring them up it causes an argument and we move past it without coming up with concrete tangible ways to tackle it. I’m not trying to keep track of all the things I’ve felt were done it’s just the way I internalize things. You said something the other day like why do the logistics matter? We fundamentally dont care about the same things because to me a lot of the shit you do is a slap in the face to me as a girlfriend and it’s something that’s so insignificant to you. I’m not saying you don’t have your own stuff, and I’m sorry that you don’t always feel comfortable opening up and saying them. I’m saying that I know my stuff and lately it’s just been piling on.

I do love u, so much. But I’ve been hurting for awhile and because I’m not whole I can’t be in this relationship the way I want to be without also hurting you. I love you but I grapple with needing time/space. I know that’s not really what we do or how we operate. I love you and I want this cycle to stop.

Kayla

[storylocke]

Connections 14

[As the Skull Grunt explained about finding Devin, the urgency to tell their boss about hitting the wrong kid dwindled. Guzma‘s usual scowl made it had to tell if he was about to erupt in anger or simply contemplating the news. A smirk finally crossed the man’s lips.]

Guzma:

[Rises from his chair, cutting him off completely as the spy flinches. Hollers at the top of his lungs as he knows someone will deliver the message.] GLADION! GET IN HERE!

Grunt B:

[Somewhat hopeful] So… you're not mad at me?

Guzma:

[While his volume returned to normal, his tone turned to a sour mix between playful and sarcastic.] Mad? Nah. I’m absolutely FURIOUS! But not at you. [He steps down from his pedestal and shoves passed the grunt to head over to his closet. The wall of junk piled high within the frames of the door from years of being compacted into place quickly comes pouring out as he starts digging.] I told that half-baked researcher that even kids ain't dumb enough to fall for a trap so obvious. Damn device only gets one shot anyway- [Turns to toss a couple of worn out wooden boards to him] -which means now we get to do things my way.

Gladion:

[Arms crossed as he stands in the doorway.] What do you want? [He wonders if he should really ask after seeing the time-worn Trial Gate that looked like it hadn’t seen the light of day since the Kahuna died. Heavy sarcasm.] Am I on trial?

Guzma:

[Leaves the mess for the moment as he turns with a huff to the young mercenary.] You're going after Plumeria. She's stuck dealing with the Chosen now.

Gladion:

[If it's who he’s thinking of, Plumeria needs no help at all. Still rather annoyed.] And how do I go after her? She already took the boat.

Guzma:

She’s got a ride down at the dock. [Tosses him the keys] Boat’s all yours, so get going.

Gladion:

[While he’d normally have some snarky comeback with the leader, he looks at the keys in his hand with a sickening feeling. He knew they planned to catch Lillie, but he’d been waiting for the chance to strike once she’d been brought in. Something told him now that she wasn't coming… But who…? He looks back up at Guzma to ask, his usual cold stare showing the starting signs of suspicion and distress.]

Guzma:

I don't ask twice! [Turns back to his pile and steps over it to grab a particular box that had caught his eye.] Now get out before I make ya get out!

[Gladion takes his leave without another word. There wasn't any time to waste on these scum now anyway if he was right. The grunt had stood silently staring at them as he held up the gates in front of him like a shield.]

Grunt B:

Yo, Boss… you don't think Sis is really in trouble now, do ya?

Guzma:

[No, he didn't, but their last conversation still stung at the back of his mind. Their last conversation...? He needed to crush any such ideas. It wasn't anything any grunt needed to know anyway. They were talking about Gladion.] We’re just tying up the loose ends, B. I don't know what Gladion’s deal with Aether is, but he won't work when they're around. And if he won't with us, he's no use to us. Y'all have been wantin’ to drop the little punk anyway, right?

Grunt B:

… … … [Glances away in slight shame.]

Guzma:

As for Bird Boy… [In the slightly crushed shoebox, there's several little, very old, odds and ends, but he pulls out the thing he’d been looking for. After being hidden away all these years, the Z-ring from his trial days still bears the simple white stone Hala had given him. Nothing special, nothing like the one he’d seen on Devin anyway. The white leather band certainly didn't fit anymore, but he wonders for a moment if the stone might still work.] We’re gonna have ourselves some fun.

=+=

[As the rain passed over the Aether House in it’s usual waves from the north, the darkness revealed the sun had already slipped away. It was after nine, and still no Devin. Acerola was trying her best to get the two restless pre-schoolers to bed despite Kayla’s whining how she couldn’t sleep until her Yungoos came home. Lillie would share the bed with Acerola when they finally settled down for the night. Hau planned to stay on guard in the lobby. Except…When Acerola moved to the lobby to wish him good luck for the night, Hau seemed to be missing. She could feel her jaw drop at the thought since, no matter how worried he was, they PROMISED not to leave the building until they heard from Devin or Nanu. Hau didn’t seem like the type to pull something like this on them. Especially without telling anyone? No, no, she had to consider he just might be in the other room. Or hanging out with Mrs. Nanners. Or… as guilty as she felt for doubting him, she couldn’t help but carefully push the door open to peek outside.]

Acerola:

[At least he didn’t go far. She heaves a sigh of relief to spot the boy hung up at the edge of the stairs, fidgeting as he fought himself on whether to stay or go, somewhat pacing as he couldn’t get the nerve to actually step down yet. She glances around the area before sliding out the door to talk to him.] Hau? [He doesn’t respond at first, so she went to go tap him on the shoulder. Instead, he startles her by abruptly turning to look at her as if he’d been expecting her.] Oh! I’m sorry, I just wanted to check on you. Are you okay?

Hau:

No, no, no… I’m not okay. [He tries to shake the thought as he’s aware of her staring at him] I need to… something. I don’t know, I’ve got too many things going through my head, I don’t even know where to start!

Acerola:

[Yeah, she’s noticing that too. And given Devin’s odd behavior all day, she’s a little annoyed to think why. Crosses her arms with a bit of a huff.] Dad?

[They both come to a stop as a large black shadow slides out from under the door to stand beside her. The Gengar rises up with ease and looks at her with a wide, smug, grin to prove her wrong.]

Hau:

Uh… No. [He gives the captain a weak smile as well, trying to be reassuring.] I’m fine as far as that goes. I think? [He scratches at the back of his head as he’s not really sure how to begin on that] I’m kind of used to it, it’s just never been this bad.

Acerola:

[Still eyeing the Pokemon, but she’ll not question it for now.] Then what’s up? Are you sure you and Lillie want to stay here for the night?  

Hau:

She can, but I have to go. [As his head is reeling, his hand is still shaking from the energy, but he slowly lifts it to cover his face.] I sh-should have just gone in the first place.

Aceroloa:

[Leave Lillie? That didn’t sound right…] Alright? We might be able to make the last ferry-

Hau:

[Looks up at her in surprise, he’d gotten lost in the rain of comments, he almost didn’t know what she was talking about. But then, he’s the one who wasn’t being very clear. How could he?] What? No! Not leave the island. I need to go after D76, he’s in trouble! [He finally managed to spit it out and all his fears spilled forth] I, I got like… a warning, a siren, just… [how to describe it?] like this screaming over and over again that D76 is in trouble! He’s lost, he’s- he’s hurt…he’s… [he pauses to make a small grasping motion as if he’s physically trying to pull words from the air. Nothing clear seems to come clear though and he just looks to her in exasperation] He’s in trouble, that’s all I really know. I can’t understand anything, it’s just a lot of panic and debating about WHAT exactly happened, but I know I should- [Spins away as he walks off towards the edge of the porch again, only to turn around again, still fighting with himself on the matter] But I shouldn’t leave you guys, I promised Devin I’d stay out of Skull’s way. But the Voices are really insistent that-

Acerola:

[Now she’s VERY concerned and places a hand on his shoulder to make him stop long enough to listen.] This “screaming,” you mean literal screaming right now? Like… Little voices telling you to go after him?

Hau:

[Just stares at her a moment in bewilderment. Acerola didn’t seem like normally a very serious natured person, but the look she gave him now came off as stern. The expression on her face seemed to demand he tell her the whole truth, and be quick about it. He gives her a very nervous smile] Um …yeah? Most of them are, but some want me to go check on Lillie, and a few keep reminding me that I haven’t completed your trial, but both of those can wait. [It’s pretty bad when someone used to listening to disembodied voices is looking at him like he’s crazy, but he’s not quite sure he’s convinced her yet that he’s not possessed either. On second thought, he possibly was. Shakes his head.] But it’s always been like that for me. More like really stray thoughts, vague urges, random numbers, but it was always really soft. Like I’d have to concentrate to realize I was being told things and not just acting on my own impulse. It’s just really super subtle. Unless D76 is around, but I thought all of you could hear it too, so I never thought…

Acerola:

….. I think you need to go back inside.

Hau:

[Frustrated sigh as she takes him by the hand and starts to march him through the door.] But what about Devin?! We can’t just ignore this!

Acerola:

I’m not~! You just sound like you’re super overwhelmed right now. [She seats him on the couch and tries to make herself look cheerful.] I’ll go after him myself. I am still Captain, after all. And it’s my job to keep you two safe when you’re under my jurisdiction. Besides, it’s after dark, and you wouldn’t have any way to get there even if you could find the place.

Hau:

But you don't understand-

Acerola:

[Nooope, she already made the mistake of letting one of you go she’s not losing both of them.] I believe you, I do. But if Devin really did get into trouble, what makes you think you won’t fall for the same thing? I’m entrusting you with the house until we get back, okay?

Hau:

[If he can fight it that long.] Yeah… I guess. How far away is it?

Acerola:

[That’s a good question, really. Normally she could Fly straight to Po Town, but since Devin may have fallen anywhere along the roads between, it might be better to take the long way] Hmm… Give me about an hour, alright? If you haven’t heard from me, I need you to take everyone to Malie City. You can hide in the library until we get everything settled.

Hau:

[That he could do. At least it wouldn’t be sitting around, and to just do SOMETHING might help relieve the tension with the Voices.] Thanks. I hope it doesn't come to that.

[As the girl rushes out the door, another one very quietly tries to slip out of her room. Hau had already gotten up to wander the length of the lobby when he suddenly noticed the figure in white, so good at blending into the colorless Aether facilities.]

Hau:

Whoa! Lillie, I almost didn’t see you come in here. Can’t sleep?

Lillie:

I heard Acerola was leaving. [She had a bad feeling as to why. Her frown only deepens as she glances down at Nebby already at her heels.] What happened?.

Hau:

[Should he tell her? Of course he should, because there was no amount of “we got this” in his bag of lies that would likely comfort her. He starts to fidget with his Z-ring as if it were some kind of watch, a feat he’d never actually done before now, but he shyly glances away as he explains what he told Acerola.]

[Outside the house, a pair of shadows watch carefully as the door finally opens and Acerola can be seen bounding out of the house. They make their way out of the tall grass, pausing a moment at one of the trial-guides’ posts and wait to see if anyone else followed.]

Grunt:

I don’t know about this, Sis. Seems too easy. And we just saw that Chosen kid, or whatever, go back inside. I don’t know who they got at the base then.

Plumeria:

[That’s a very good question, but she’s got a feeling. Damn little bird keeper trying to play hero. But that did mean that the house was unguarded otherwise. No last minute heroics to stop them this time.] What, you’re not scared of him, are you? I don’t care if he’s special, he’s not invincible. That’s just old kids’ tales anyway. Come on, we better move quickly while they’re gone.

[bestfriendforhire]

Entry 322

 “Iris, this is Dejon and Jemal.  This one who bumped into you yesterday is Kayla.  They’re going to be learning some basics with you while the others are practicing some more advanced techniques.” I announced once everyone was gathered for the morning exercises.  “I realize that you won’t always be able to attend these classes every morning, since you’re not staying here, but I hope you can at least make your way here four times a week.”

 “Sorry, but… I mean… Is martial arts really necessary for the job?” she asked.

 Nodding, I said, “We actually have had several clients request sparring partners a few times now, and we’ve also had clients request guest instructors at dojos in the city.  Cosette and Dejon were able to demonstrate some of their abilities at a LARP recently.”

 Dejon fidgeted, but I pressed onward.

 “However, the primary purpose is for you to be able to defend yourself while out on jobs.  There may be a time when you feel comfortable defending a client as well, but you are never under any obligation to do so.” I explained.

 “Which one’s Cosette?” inquired Iris.

 “The one playing with the short blonde with the poofy hair.” I explained.

 “P-poofy?” asked Raine, suddenly in front of me.

 “You like to tease your hair.” I replied.  “Sorry if poofy is not the proper adjective.  Your hair is marvelous.”

 “Poofy.” she murmured, smiling to herself before running back to Emma.

 “Wh-what?” asked Iris.

 “Raine’s quite quick.” I informed her.

 “Kayla’s quick, incredibly quick.” argued Iris as she pointed at Kayla.  Then, pointing to Raine, she exclaimed “She teleported!”

 “No, actually.  Raine’s heritage is a bit unique, and she’s the last person in this room with whom any sane person would want to pick a fight.  She comes here to spar more as an exercise in controlling her gifts than a need to learn how to protect herself.  We don’t actually have the faintest idea what Raine’s limits are.” I explained.

 “This place is really different.  I think of it as a different reality than the rest of the world.” offered Dejon.

 Laughing, Jemal said, “He’s kinda right.  Kayla and I have been here a month, and this still seems like some sort of dream.”

 “Jemal’s all dreamy.” sang Kayla with a grin.

 “You know you agree with me.” he stated defensively.

 She just kept grinning.

 Dejon had seemed annoyed the first couple times Kayla was at practice with him, but he’s loosened up a bit already.  Kayla reflexively throwing him with her magic had really caught him off guard a few days ago.

 I was about to start the lesson when Iris’ mouth dropped open and was quickly covered by her hand, so I glanced back to see what was happening.  I laughed, seeing Cosette act like she was about to bite Raine’s neck with enormous fangs.  The technique behind her hold was quite well executed, even though Raine could escape practically effortlessly.

 Turning back to Iris, I said, “Yes, there is a vampire living and working here.  You’re not racist, are you?”

 “Racist?” she questioned, looking like she was too dumbfounded to fully work out how I came to that word.

 “You’ll find that most of us here have at least one nonhuman ancestor, including you.  Quite likely, your magic stems from a fey some time ago.  You’re about to see what I mean.  Our little friend will be joining us.” I informed her.  “Sorry in advance.  This will feel a bit odd.”

 “Wh…” she started, not even finishing the word as we suddenly felt what dodging through the leaves of a tree after a bird was like.

 My little friend had caught up and rode the bird similar to how she had rode Pufflewink before.  The relationship between the fey and the animals was still odd to me.  The fey tended to the animals in a fashion, helping the injured and ill, but they would just as quickly kill and eat one with animalistic ferocity.  Feeling what she did, no one could question whether or not my little friend enjoyed food of many types.

 “That is so cool!” exclaimed Iris before she suddenly went stiff at my little friend’s approach.

 “Though you might not always understand their motives, you’ll never doubt how the fey feel.  They can also feel surface thoughts of those around them, so something you were thinking about caught our little friend’s attention.” I informed her.

 “How could I possibly be descended from her?  She’s so tiny.” inquired Iris.

 “Don’t be silly.  She controls lights.” I teased before telling her “You’re probably descended from a more human-sized fey that manipulates electricity.”

 “How many types are there?” asked Dejon.  He hadn’t been in the forest yet.

 “No clue.  Alma would be far more capable of discussing the variety of fey, since she continually updates her catalogue on them for her family’s interests and has read her family’s tales about them.” I replied.

 “You should take them into the forest sometime.  Kayla and I can’t be the only new people who experienced that.” insisted Jemal.

 “Does that mean I can start working here!?” asked Kayla excitedly.

 “What?  No.” he told her.  “You’re too young.”

 “But Jemal…” she complained.

 “No buts.  There are laws and stuff dealing with kids working.  Maybe when you’re sixteen if you learn to behave.” he told her.

 “James, Jemal’s being mean.” she insisted.

 “His word’s the law where you’re concerned.” I informed her.

 She sighed and hugged her brother while still pouting.

 “Think you can focus while our little friend’s chattering away?” I asked.

 Iris shook her head negatively, Dejon gave me a little shrug, and Jemal nodded.

 “Let’s try before Alma catches wind of someone slacking.  She doesn’t approve of slacking.” I stated.

 “Alma’s your fiancée, right?  Does she run this place with you?” inquired Iris.

 “Yes, she’s my fiancée, but she doesn’t work for Best Friend For Hire, though she did attend a convention with us.

 “So why…” she started.

 Interrupting her, I said, “Alma is still teaching me martial arts.  She’s studied her entire life and has mastered an impressive number of styles.  She also assists me in teaching at times, so you might well get her as your instructor one of these mornings.  Sorry in advance.  She’s a bit strict.”

 Kayla laughed and asked “A bit?”

 Jemal quickly covered her mouth and said, “She just wants us to do things correctly.”

 “Properly.” stated Dejon with a small smile.

 “Did Dejon just make a joke!?” exclaimed Emma as she ran over to us.

 “Was it painful?” asked Brenna on Emma’s heels.

 “Are you feeling okay?  We can get you a cot if you want to take a nap.” offered Brandon.

 “I knew he could do it!” called Cosette.

 “We’re training, so should you be.” I stated, which was enough that they let us be, jogging swiftly back across the room.

 “How did they even hear that!?” wondered Iris.

 “They’re each wearing suits that enhance their bodies in numerous ways.  Kayla was wearing one yesterday, which is why she seemed so fast to you.  We’ll make you one if you ever become full time here or even remain part time for an extended period.” I told her.

 “Are you making one for me?” asked Dejon.

 “Yes, sorry.  The suit’s made, but I need to enchant it, which will require Alma’s help.  I need some time when we’re both free for an extended period.” I explained.

 “Oh.  Thank you.” he told me, looking surprised.

 “They’re soooo fun, and you can get soooo much more done when wearing them.” insisted Kayla.

 Rubbing her head, Jemal told her “Now if you’d commit yourself to your studies more while wearing one, you’d be flying through classes.”

 “In her defense, she is actually ahead for her year already.” I replied.

 Nodding, he said, “I know, but she’s got so much potential.  She could finish college and have a degree by the time her friends finish high school.”

 I laughed and said, “I’m sure she will.  Not everyone can be as dedicated to studying as you though.”

 “I guess.  I just want the best for her.” he told me.

 “As I keep telling you, everything will be fine.  No matter what profession Kayla decides to pursue, we have the resources to help her get there.” I insisted.

 “I can be a wizard!?” she exclaimed.

 “Not if you don’t study spells with more enthusiasm.” I replied.

 “But it’s haaard.” she whined.

 “You really aren’t messing with me about magic?” asked Iris.

 “Well, here’s a fairy.  How much more magical do you want?” I asked, pointing to my little friend.  “Perhaps this.” I suggested, using a spell to darken the room, another to create a somewhat strong breeze, and others to write a decree in the air using flaming characters, stating that we should all focus on our training.

 As I ended the spell, Iris just nodded, still staring at the air where the decree had been.  I was certain that she’d catch on soon enough.

[type2diabetestreatments-blog]

Ask D'Mine: Alternate Testing Sites, Bolus Timing for Exercise

New Post has been published on http://type2diabetestreatment.net/diabetes-mellitus/ask-dmine-alternate-testing-sites-bolus-timing-for-exercise/

Ask D'Mine: Alternate Testing Sites, Bolus Timing for Exercise

Diabetes is complicated... Just look at today's post header! If you weren't a PWD, would you have any idea what that meant? No wonder we never run out of questions!

And thank goodness for that, we say here at Ask D'Mine, our weekly quirky diabetes advice column, hosted by veteran type 1, diabetes author and community educator Wil Dubois.

Need help navigating life with diabetes? Email us at AskDMine@diabetesmine.com

Kayla from Alabama, type 2 writes: I have a Freestyle Lite meter, but my fingers are getting really sore. I do alternate fingers, but I have no clue of where a good spot would be to test as an alternative. Any suggestions of where to get an accurate reading without too much pain?

Wil@Ask D'Mine answers: Diabetes isn't supposed to hurt. Actually, it's too bad it doesn't, because if it hurt when we didn't keep our blood sugar in control, we'd all be doing a lot better job!

But if your fingers are sore, there's a 90% chance that you're not pricking them right. So let me run though my sore finger checklist with you:

First, is the clear cap on the lancing device? The reason I ask is that the Freestyle lancing devices have two caps, one clear, and one either solid grey or solid blue. The solid cap is your fingerstick cap and the clear cap is your "alternate site" cap. Alternate sites, such as forearms, require deeper stabs by the lancing needle, so the clear cap is designed for deep stabs. If you use the clear cap on your fingertip it will always hurt like hell.

Next, there's a little wheel with numbers on it. In your case, they're 1 through 4. Some lancing devices run 1 to 8. Anyway, the higher the number the deeper the stab. The lower the number, the shallower the stab. The idea is to get a Goldilocks "just right" stab that's not too deep nor too shallow. Too shallow is detected by much finger milking and praying under your breath (please God, give me some blood, I don't want to have to stab myself again). Too deep is detected by significant use of language typical of sailors. So you should be able to easily get a small blood drop with a gentle squeeze, with little to no pain, and no swearing. Unless you just like to frickin' swear, damn it.

Be sure to hold the device against your finger with a steady pressure. If you sometimes mash it to the bone and other times hold it so it barley touches the skin, you'll never get the right number.

Play around with the bull's-eye. Some folks lance the center pad of their finger. Others the tippy-top, others still, the side. Any of those are fine, and most people find some areas more sensitive than others. Do not get a favorite finger (it'll be overused!), and be warned that for most people, the pinkie seems to be more pain-prone than the other fingers. I always find myself swearing when I prick my little finger.

Oh. Wait. I swear all the time anyway, don't I?

Now, the lancing needles that come in the device vary in size. The larger the number, or gauge, the smaller the needle. In theory, smaller needles hurt less, but they also get dull faster and need to be changed more often. The good folks at LifeScan recently introduced a new frontier in small needles with the ultra-thin Delica.

Speaking of which...When was the last time you changed your lancing needle? Oh really? Last year when you changed your smoke detector batteries? OK, here's the deal, the folks that make the needles tell you to change them every time you test, but that's not really necessary. On the other side of the coin, some of us are overly lazy about replacing them. After all, it takes so long to do (not). My advice is to change the needle when you notice it's starting to hurt you, bearing in mind that done right, this whole finger-stabbing thing shouldn't be hurting very much at all in the first place!

If all of those things check out, and you still have sore fingers, then you're in the 10% of people who just have super-sensitive fingers, and, yeah, you might need to use an alternate site. You should first try your upper palm, upstream from your thumb. Next, most folks prefer the forearm.

But be warned, it isn't that alternate sites aren't accurate, it's just that they're old news. The blood sugar there doesn't really reflect the level of glucose in the blood that's keeping the lights on in your head. This can be dangerous if your blood sugar is dropping rapidly.

Imagine the scene. You get that the-elevator-cables-just-snapped feeling. Your hands are a little shaky. You check your blood sugar. It seems fine, so you duck outside in your undies really quickly to grab the morning newspaper and wake up lying on the ground (still in your undies) surrounded by fireman and paramedics.

This kind of thing happens more often than you'd think. Just ask the next fireman you bump into.

Even the folks who make the meters have small print in their user guides that warns "be sure to not use alternate sites if you suspect hypoglycemia and don't sue us if you wake up in your undies surrounded by firemen," or words to that effect.

My feeling? We're creatures of habit in the best of circumstances, and when our blood sugar is dropping we're most definitely not in the best of circumstances. When the shit hits the fan, we tend to fall back on our established habits. If using an alternate site is your habit, then you'll do it the one time you really shouldn't.

And that can be dangerous.

Luke from Ireland, type 1, writes: I was diagnosed with type one just over 6 weeks ago. I am 18 and have just started college. I love to exercise and due to my schedule I tend to to exercise at around 7:00 p.m., usually halving my fast-acting insulin with my dinner two hours previous. I have noticed as I've increased the intensity of my workout that my BG is normal straight after exercise, so I will then have an apple. But later my BG is very high. I have been afraid to bolus for these highs so close to bed in case of going low during the night. How long after I exercise should I wait to take a correction bolus?

Wil@Ask D'Mine answers: So you're asking me how long after the barn burns down that you should wait to let the horse out? Is that it?

Sorry, I shouldn't be so snarky, I know you're new to the family. Here's the deal: You're off to a great start, and you understand that your workout could lower your blood sugar. The problem is that you're compensating for it twice. First you're under-bolusing your dinner, and then you aren't bolusing at all for your snack. That's putting way too many carbs in your system with no insulin to get rid of them. Which is why you're needing corrections by bedtime.

The question shouldn't be when to take your correction, but how to avoid needing a correction in the first place. That's the name of the game. (Oh, and before everyone flames me in comments, of course, corrections are part and parcel of juggling insulin, carbs, and life. BUT, if you need a correction at the same time everyday, you've got a therapy problem that needs to be fixed.)

What we're all trying to do is keep one step ahead of the blood sugar. We take insulin before we eat to try to keep the blood sugar from going up. We reduce insulin before exercise to try and keep the blood sugar from going down.

Looking at what you're telling me about the pattern of your blood sugar, it seems that cutting the dinner bolus in half is a great call on your part. Combined with your exercise, your blood sugar is nice and rock steady. But then you eat an apple with no insulin and your blood sugar goes through the roof. I think you should bolus for the apple. Even if your sugar is a hair low when you eat your snack, this is perfectly safe to do. The sugar in the apple will likely out-pace your insulin anyway. The insulin starts working in 15 to 20 minutes and won't peak for two hours.

I think if you do this, you won't be "very high" close to bedtime, and hopefully you won't need a correction shot at all — or if you do, it would be a lot smaller, and then you won't have to fret over the whole go-low-in-the-night thing, which is officially scary.

I wasn't sure exactly when you eat the apple, or when your bedtime is, but the first couple of times you try this, go ahead and set an alarm for the middle of the night to check your blood sugar. I'd choose about three-and-a-half hours after taking your snack shot. In most folks that's prime time for hypos. Modern fast-acting insulins pretty much run their course in four hours. If you're safely within target at that point, your odds of going low from the shot are pretty remote.

Yeah, setting an alarm will disturb your sleep, but you'll sleep a lot better knowing that you'll wake up the next day.

This is not a medical advice column. We are PWDs freely and openly sharing the wisdom of our collected experiences — our been-there-done-that knowledge from the trenches. But we are not MDs, RNs, NPs, PAs, CDEs, or partridges in pear trees. Bottom line: we are only a small part of your total prescription. You still need the professional advice, treatment, and care of a licensed medical professional.

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Type 2 Diabetes Diet Diabetes Destroyer Reviews Original Article

[bffhreprise]

Entry 300

 This was my third trip to Best Friend For Hire, and these people were still playing Ancient Tribes of Earth religiously.  I had created a character, Q.T. Pie, and played for an hour last time I was here, managing restraint mostly because I didn’t want to get sucked so far into the game that I got behind on my studies.  For now, I was watching James, Cosette, Brenna, and Brandon playing, not wanting to scratch that itch and lose the rest of my day here.  Watching was addictive enough.

 The world here was diverse, with numerous races, cultures, and environments to explore.  If you took the time to chat with an NPC baker, you were just as likely to get caught up in him complaining about his wife as you were to get a quest to fetch something he needs, though the complaints about the wife could well lead to a different quest if you followed the rumor mill.  How so many unique personalities were captured by the NPCs was baffling, but the creator was said to be a genius on her own level according to one of my professors.

 I nearly missed James slipping away.  Despite his great height and broad shoulders, he moved like a ghost, gracefully gliding across the floor.  His smile was what really caught me this time.  Was someone here?  If so, how did he notice.

 “Brandon, why’d James leave?  He didn’t log out.” I whispered.

 Brandon shrugged, too busy fighting in the game to care.

 “Maybe Jarod’s home.” suggested Cosette.

 “Jarod… Oh!” I replied, glancing behind me though I knew I wouldn’t be able to see them.  I did hear faint voices.  “He’s the tech guy, right?”

 She graced me with a small smile and nodded before turning back to her game.  She played a cute, little vampire who focused on healing others.  The ways she evaded combat were even more interesting than how the others engaged in it.  Sometimes she’d use stealth, carefully slipping around.  Other times, she’d talk to the would-be enemies, confusing them while she slipped away.  I enjoyed seeing the acrobatic stunts she could pull off, such as jumping four times her height onto a beam while deftly dodging the line-of-sight of the NPCs.

 “Thank you.” I told her, deciding to go investigate.  I still wasn’t certain, but I suspected that she was someone of political importance, like Lady Alma.  Those two both carried themselves in a way that suggested they were accustomed to others stepping aside and jumping at their whim.  James had a little bit of that to him as well, but I could already see why people wanted to do things for him whenever he was around.  He was always nice, even when he disagreed with you.

 Walking out of the ballroom/gaming room, I knew I still wasn’t used to how strange this place was.  Everyone here was extremely well-educated in a number of areas.  Last visit, I discovered that Emma had a doctorate.  I had looked up plant facts to quiz her about, and even Mila seemed to defer to Emma’s knowledge of botany over the internet.  Emma was only eighteen, and she seemed more like a punk rock fanatic than a doctor, at least until you got her talking about plants.  Getting her to stop after she was on a roll proved to be tricky.

 I had barely left the ballroom when someone took notice of me, leaving James to approach me with a smile.

 “I’m Jarod, one of Brandon’s friends.” he told me with a wave as he drew close with James just behind him.

 “Oh.  He told me about you.  You’re the one who built his car, right?” I asked, wanting to verify.  Jarod looked as young as the rest of them.

 “Well, Mila helped with design and building, so I can’t take all the credit.” he humbly replied.

 “And you were on a honeymoon?” I questioned, though I could see the ring on his finger.

 “Yep!  My wife and her sister are currently unpacking, but I’m sure they’ll be out soon enough to yell at me for something.” he told me with an enormous grin.

 “They both live with you!?” I asked, not entirely feigning the surprise.  Brandon had mentioned that the three shared a wing here, but I found the idea… odd.  Yes, the place was huge, but…

 “Yep.  Identical twins.  They can’t stand being apart.” he confirmed before leaning closer and whispering, “Just don’t get them mixed up, or they might get mad.”

 James laughed.

 “James!  I totally had her!” exclaimed Jarod disappointedly.

 “My apologies.” replied James, still looking amused.

 If they were wanting to confuse me, they were succeeding.  “So… wait.  They’re not twins, or they don’t get mad?”

 “Oh, they are twins who get mad, just not about mixing them up.  I am quite confident that you’ll never know to whom you’re speaking.” claimed James.  If he ever wasn’t confident, the foundation here would crack.

 “Umm… okay.” I replied, not certain how I should take what he said.  Facing Jarod, I said, “Congratulations on your marriage.  I was hoping Brandon might introduce us” I started, turning my head toward the ballroom and calling “But he’s too busy on his game!

 “What?  Not my fault he showed up while I’m fighting some things.” shouted Brandon.  “Jarod, your timing sucks!”

 “Sorry!” exclaimed Jarod, still grinning.

 Not wanting to get distracted, I quickly explained “I was wondering if you might be willing to work on my laptop.  It died, and Brandon told me that asking you for help would be better than taking it to a store.”

 “Oh.  You could’ve just hired Mila for that.  She’s got a few advantages over average tech experts.” suggested Jarod, looking like he was understating things.

 “Mila, you can do that?” I questioned, surprised that Brandon hadn’t told me to ask her.

 “Of course.  I can probably fabricate damaged components as well if you want the laptop repaired.” explained Mila, appearing on the nearest mirror.

 “That would be incredible.  Can I drop it off tomorrow?” I asked hopefully.

 “I’ll be happy to go collect it for you if you wish.  Then I can get started immediately, possibly even finishing by tomorrow.” she humbly replied.

 “Yes, please!” I exclaimed, excitement getting the better of me.  “If you don’t mind.” I quickly added as I pulled out my keys.  “This one’s to my dorm.  The laptop’s still on my desk.  You’ll see my name on the bottom.  If my roommate’s there, just tell her I sent you and to call if she has any doubt.”

 “No need for the key.  A copy is already printing.” stated Mila.

 “A copy!?  We’re not supposed to make copies.” I warned, paranoid someone might find out.  Without seeing both keys, the odds were in our favor, but...

 “No, and you still haven’t.  Nor did you request one.  If it will help put your mind at ease, think of this as an artistic demonstration of sculpting, where I saw something and wished to recreate my own version.” suggested Mila, perfectly calm.

 “I guess… just make sure you destroy it afterward.” I told her, still paranoid.

 “If you wish, I’ll destroy the key now.  Having seen it, picking the lock would take me less than a second.” she asserted, though she still seemed as humble as ever.

 Jarod laughed and said, “Pretty easy, aren’t they.”

 “You’re a bit scary.  You know that, right?” I asked, staring at Mila’s depiction in the mirror.

 “No, but I know some who are.” she replied, smiling slightly

 “Riiight…” I stated, not certain I wanted to imagine who might be scary to this incredible machine-person.

 “Don’t worry.  She’s too good to be bad.” insisted James.

 “Oh, Master… you know I’d be bad for you.” she teased suggestively.

 “Please don’t say such things in front of our guest.  She might believe you.” he told her, the smile slipping from his face.

 Nodding, Mila said, “Sorry, Master.  I will only tease you behind Deyanira’s back, since that’ll be so much less confusing for her.”

 James sighed, faced me, and said, “I assure you that I do not do anything indecent with my friend.”

 “Despite her best attempts.” teased Jarod with a chuckle.

 “Did you design her?” I asked him, wanting to change the subject.

 “No-no.” replied Jarod.  “Someone far more clever did.  Ever hear of Aaliyah T. Sypher?”

 “Yeah.  She designed that game they’re all playing.  Youngest self-made millionaire and youngest practicing attorney in the world, according to one of my professors.  He’s brought her up in lectures a few times.  I think he’s a fan of her games.” I explained, so he’d know I had verified facts.

 “Mother’s also the secretary here at Best Friend for Hire.” stated Mila proudly.

 “Whoa… What!?” I asked.  “She’s joking again, right?”

 James shook his head, seeming to find my reaction amusing, and said, “No.  Aaliyah does work for me.  She designed most of the tech throughout the house and acts as my secretary.  Never got around to looking at the company site?”

 “No… my laptop’s dead.” I stated dumbly as my brain struggled to accept that a genius kid-millionaire was working as a secretary here.  I was still struggling when Kayla came running around the corner.