#the barbie movie hits closer to home because seeing the movie with friends was just the pick-me-up that i needed back in july

[bunnyinatree]

Something that's been bothering me lately is the amount of vitriolic posts that I see directed at fans of something that the OP and the people who reblog the post dislike. It's perfectly fine to say, "I didn't enjoy the Barbie movie," or "I don't think that OFMD lives up to the hype." But many folks seem to be misplacing their aversion to the show and pushing it onto the fans.

I'll see posts deriding people for enjoying Margot Robbie's performance in an hour-long commercial for a doll and mocking them for thinking that she deserves an Oscar nomination for it. But they could have easily said something like, "Personally, I didn't think that Robbie's performance was all that great, and the premise of the Barbie movie rubs me the wrong way." Why did they have to make it an attack against people they don't even know? They're making generalizations about why a person would enjoy the movie and offending people en masse by turning an opinion into an insult.

I don't go searching for these mean-spirited posts, but they find their way onto my dash regardless. (The amount of OFMD posts that get mixed into the Death Note tag makes me alternately laugh and cry.) And I wish that there were some way to block posts based on a specific tone, but there's no shared tagging system amongst them, and I don't want to avoid an entire show just because a few people are being rude about it. I want to be in a little Internet bubble full of people who are kind and respectful about the shows they don't like. There's so much to be anxious and indignant about already in the world. Why do some people want to waste their energy going after fans of TV shows and popular movies?

[alainapaloosa2]

Glorbie Actress AU headcanons:

Hey guys, before you read this, the story is actually out and in progress now

(And by headcanons i mean more of a story outline)

Gloria is a behind the scenes worker, usually either working on sounds or sets. She’s been doing this a long time and enjoys her job but she’s always dreamed of doing something more.

She secretly has always wanted to be an actual actress but with her daughter, her struggles to make ends meet, and like 25 other problems, she just never got around to it.

Then one day, a new actress comes. Her name is Barbara Handler but she goes by the stage name of Barbie.

She’s unlike anybody that anyone’s ever seen before. Gorgeous, bright, bubbly, always happy and with a smile that literally lights up a room. Everyone’s in love with her

So, Barbie’s at Gloria’s studio working on a new movie. It’s already planned to be a hit and production is going to be long and tiring.

At first, Gloria isn’t sure what to think of Barbie. She sees how everyone else around them practically fall onto their knees the second she enters a room, and the blonde does seem really kind, but Gloria feels like it’s just an act so she doesn’t try to engage in anything with the actress.

But she is secretly crushing on her. So secretly that she doesn’t even know.

And for some odd reason, Barbies taken a liking to Gloria.

Everyone is of course, jealous of this and Gloria has no idea what’s going on but she pretends to not like Barbie, but Barbie talks to her anyway. Eventually, Barbie worms herself into Gloria’s life and the two become friends. They hang out and Barbie takes Gloria out for lunch a lot.

When the movie is finished, Gloria doesn’t hear much from Barbie again and she thinks maybe they’re not friends anymore until Barbie invites her to the premiere about a year later. Barbies pretty famous now.

When they’re there, Gloria mentions she’s been having trouble finding work.

The next day Gloria gets is offered a job at the next movie Barbie’s staring in and very happily takes it.

Barbie also has a boyfriend now. They’re not really in love (Gloria doesn’t know this) and it’s more of a publicity stunt her manager gave her. She’s not a fan of it but she goes along with it because she has no other choice.

Barbie and Gloria get closer and hang out a ton. They have a lot of sleepovers at Barbies fancy place together and just talk and spill their problems to each other. They’re practically best friends and they both secretly want to be more than that.

One night, Barbie takes Gloria out for drinks. She gets pretty drunk and spills a lot of stuff that she shouldn’t and Gloria comforts her. Somewhere along the way they end up kissing and Gloria freaks out, thinking Barbie’s relationship with her boyfriend is actually serious so she leaves.

Then the next day it’s announced Barbies boyfriend left her and it’s everywhere on the news. It’s not pretty.

Barbie is more upset about the fact she lost Gloria but she is also a wreck about that. She’s performing badly and her manager is pissed at her (he sucks in general).

Things just go badly until Gloria stands up for Barbie against her manager and tells him off. Barbie asks Gloria to talk to her and Gloria is a little wary but agrees. So Barbie asks her to come with her to a fancy event.

They go together and talk things out and become friends again. A few people ask if they’re a couple and after the third time of being mistaken for a couple, they just say yes.

Maybe there’s some dance scene because those are incredibly necessary, and maybe they kiss during it. Maybe they go home together and everything is perfect again.

Soon enough, the news is completely focused on Barbie, the star, and her girlfriend Gloria, the upcoming actress

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

Neurodivergency stuff:

Having a character hyperfixation is so bizarre

[a rant about how character hyperfixations are different than special interests, how seeing Hobies makes me feel, and also daydreams that I don't necessarily control]

I talk about stuff like this here because I feel it should be normalized 🥺😁

I love Hobie. He's my hyperfixation.

But it's not like a special interest or normal hyperfixation. Like I love trains and subways and metros and I'll eat up ANYTHING about them but like - the interest is completely from an intellectual standpoint.

My Hobie hyperfixation is completely different.

Bruh I get about as much comfort looking at his photo as I do like hugging my own mother or some shit and that's not an understatement

Especially actual screenshots of the movie. Like I love fanart but for it to hit right it has to be 'actually him'.

Looking at photos of him genuinely calms me down and thinking about his voice makes me feel safe. I trust him.

I can accurately 'daydream' about him doing almost anything in vivid detail, but I'm not necessarily in control of him in those daydreams. There are just certain things he won't do. If I ask him a question I won't know the answer unless I 'ask' him. And if I don't like is answer I can't just change it cause he said what he said!!!

Um but yeah at least for me it's way more than 'Oh I love this character and reading fics about him' and way closer to 'this is somehow a person to me I talk to through my head. And I can feel the same warm feelings towards him as I do an actual existing human.

I know I can't touch him or hug him - and that gives the exact same emotion as if you were missing a friend that went away to college.

I know it's not the same, but my brain produces the same feeling from different scenarios than other people.

Like just by looking at this photo I can imagine the way his vest feels and what is like to hold his hand, and the fabric of his shirt, the way he smells, his guitar by my leg - and it's like ... I'm not trying to do that that's just what happens when I look at the photo

AND I CAN'T EXPLAIN IT ANY OTHER WAY OR ANY CLEARER AND I-

At least twice I week I have a daydream of Hobie rubbing my back and telling me to calm down and how he understands why I'm upset all in his accent in a very specific detailed rendition of his home thats never been shown on screen before-

And the emotional response is just as real and holds weight in my brain the same. It's way beyond just an intellectual interest, at least in my case.

Character hyperfixations are more emotional connections.

And IDK if that's how it is for everyone else??!!!! But uhhhh!!!!! Yeah- ummmm- haha yah mhm

I hope somebody can relate but like waking up and looking at a Hobie photo feels like waking up beside him and THAT'S THE TRUTH and if you think that's weird or cringe then

Homie idk what you want me to tell you it is what it is

And some people may find that weird or cringe or whatever I don't give the slightest fuck because isn't that amazing that the human brain can do that - see a human creation and take some much meaning and emotion from it, making a full circle of human creation and art powered souly by human emotion and the ridiculously sophisticated imagination humans are only capable of through centuries of evolution right

But can somebody tell me if it's like this for them or if not what does your Hobie hyperfixation look like

Also if you have daydreams too please tell me about them like can you control him in them like a Barbie doll, or is he completely independent?

Mines is probably 90% independent - there's somethings either outside of his character or things he just won't do

[like for those who follow me, in my head I can ask Hobie to take me to the locked basement, and he'll absolutely say no. And if I try to imagine him doing it, the daydream I imagine is a lot more paperthin, plus Hobie will say "That's not it and that's not me, quit imagining me like that-" and I can't continue the daydream

I-]

Since I just exposed myself lemme just-

[notyouraveragejournalist]

The Barbie movie is so isolating.

I haven’t actually watched it yet but watching the experience has put me in this constant mourning of my girlhood.

I don’t really care about spoilers with movies so I know a decent amount about the plot and and have seen a lot of takes on it and the parts of womanhood it speaks to. I relate to all of it, it’s very representative of my lived experience as a woman and I’m happy to know that’s what is portrayed on screen. But a specific point the movie makes has hit home for me in a way that is making this really difficult to swallow. Kate McKinnons Weird Barbie.

I’ve heard a lot of discussion about how Weird Barbie is representative of the queer experience of femininity. She’s undoubtedly a Barbie and she can have independent relationships with other Barbies but she doesn’t get to engage in Barbieland in the way that other Barbies do. She’s off to the side on her own, alone in her weirdness in the same way queer women are pushed to the outside of femininity.

The thing is the Barbie movie is no exception to that rule. Women like me that have been barred from engaging in womanhood as a culture are still seeing the Barbie phenomenon. The only difference is how we experience it.

When I go to see Barbie, I won’t be in a hot pink gaggle of other girls lined up side by side in the theater after we cram our bodies into a Barbie box to try and get fun photos of the experience.

I’ll buy my ticket alone in my apartment. I’ll drive myself to the theater with my Spotify playlist as the only company. I’ll sit by myself and I’ll cry through the whole movie because I will relate to every point the film makes.

But when I do it I won’t get to look over at a bunch of other girls and see the tears brim their eyes and know we are all in this together. I can’t hold my best friends hand for comfort during a part that hits too close to home because we know each others traumas.

I’ll hold my feelings inside of me and try not to make a noise and disturb the other people in the theater. When I leave, I’ll mull over the emotions the film brought up to myself. The only discussion I may engage in about them will be in the comments section of a post on my social media feed.

I’ve been crying about it a lot. It hurts enough that I’m unsure about seeing the movie at all. It’s not just because I have to do it alone, it’s because the movie is creating a sort of mass healing that is bringing women closer together.

But I don’t have anyone to be brought closer to. I have no group of women to look at differently. I’ve lost all the girls I grew up playing Barbies with. I have no sister or long time friend to reminisce with.

So I’ll sit on the sidelines again. Watching everyone else in the world celebrate their girlhood while I mourn never getting the one I’ve always wanted.

[ultra-maha-us]

Cool Things to Do in Austin During Spring

The sun is out, and everyone is venturing outdoors. There are many fun and unique things to do in Austin during the spring. Take a hike, try your skills at Geocaching, head out to amusement parks, scale Enchanted Rock, or just enjoy on of the array of trails and parks. Here are a few cool things you can do this Spring in Austin.

Drive-In Movies

Yep. Drive-in Movies still exist, and they can be great family friendly events during the spring since the weather isn't too cold nor too hot - yet. You can show the kids how you used to watch movies when you were a kid.

Walking Tours

A free guided walking tour of downtown Austin educates you on what you've been passing by without knowing much about it. Allows you to take a closer look and appreciate Austin tour guides the history of the city and state.

Stargazing Party

This is a perfect time to get outdoors and observe the celestial skies. The Austin Astronomical Society offers events each month to look at the stars and the moon. You can have fun and learn something, too.

Tracking Dinosaurs

What's cooler than seeing actual dinosaur tracks along the riverbed? There is one set of fossil dinosaur footprints on the downstream side of he bridge, and another on the opposite side of the creek. Only four sets of the dinosaur's skeletal remains have ever been found and they were in Texas and Oklahoma.

A Playground of Junk

The front yard of this Austin home is filled with an assortment of gardens looming over the back of the house. Everywhere you look are pieces of memorabilia, all piled into a three-store structure. You can find old Barbies, a prosthetic legs, roller blades, typewriters, telephones, computer hardware, bikes, CDs, a drum set, surfboards and toilets.

Amusement Parks

What's great about amusement parks is that they are compact. You have everything to enjoy in just one place. Don't like bumper boats? Head over to mini golf. Not all that crazy about hitting those little balls in the batting cages? Jump into a go-kart and race your friends. There's a little bit of everything at these parts, including rock climbing, laser tag and, of course, tons of outdoor rides for all ages.

Pool Picnics

Spring in Austin is warm enough to hit the water on most days. You can pack a picnic lunch - or dinner - and head to natural swimming pools. These pools are magical places because they are indeed naturally formed on earth when the dome of an underground river collapsed. If left a ring of waterfalls and a great natural swimming pool. Can't beat it.

[artzychic27]

Artist Family Values?

Everything is calm. Marinette, Alix, and Rose are playing funeral in the backyard; Felix is helping Juleka write a love note to Rose, confessing her feelings; Nathaniel is arm wrestling That and losing

Marc: Nathaniel, wonderful news. My mother is going to have a baby and she wants us to have it... Right now.

*Several hours of excruciatingly painful labor later*

Little girl: And then mommy kissed daddy, and the angel told the stork. The stork flew down from heaven and left a diamond under a leaf in the cabbage patch, and the diamond turned into a baby.

Marinette: They had sex.

*Later*

Rose: Nathaniel!

Juleka: What news?

Marinette: Nathaniel, what is it?

Nathaniel: It’s an Artist!

The baby’s name is Kiran. He has black eyes and was born with fangs

Marinette and Alix immediately hate the baby and do everything they can to get rid of him. Guillotine, shooting him, dropping him from the roof

Marc: Mari. Alix. Why do you hate the baby?

Alix: We don’t hate him. We just wanna play with him.

Marinette: Especially his head.

To keep Kira out of trouble, Marc and Nathaniel hire a nanny. Lila.

Juleka immediately hates her because of how she’s taken a liking to Rose. Little does she know that she isn’t in love with the blonde. She’s a black widow out for their fortune.

Noticing that Marinette and Alix are onto her, Lila makes it seem like they wanna go to summer camp so they’re not in her way.

Nathaniel: *Disgusted* Fresh air. The scent of pine.

Chloé: Hi. I'm Chloé Bourgeois. Why are you dressed like that?

Marinette: Like what?

Chloé: Like you're going to a funeral. Why are you dressed like somebody died?

Marinette: Wait.

While at camp, Marinette and Alix make enemies of the popular bratty rich kids and allies out of the outcasts (The Akuma class)

Marinette finds herself glaring at a certain boy from America who glares right back at her... It’s Damian.

Back at the Artists’ home, Rose finds herself falling in love with Lila, much to Juleka’s anger but no one seems to notice

Marc and Nathaniel invite them to a gothic bistro

Lila: I just can't tell. Does she like me at all?

Marc: Of course she does. She pulled out her hair at the sight of you.

Marc and Nathaniel perform the badass tango from the movie

Meanwhile at the cemetery, Lila and Rose get engaged surprisingly quickly

Rose: Good news! I’m engaged!

Juleka: What?! *Felix pats her back for comfort*

Lila: *Shows the ring*

Marc: That ring.

Nathaniel: It was my grandmother’s. She was burried with it.

Lila: *Holds up a shovel*

Later that night at the camp, Alix and Marinette attempt to escape with some help from Damian, but are caught by the brat campers and are forced to sing Kumbaya

Damian and Marinette find themselves becoming closer

Damian: You know... I’m pretty good with a knife myself.

Marinette: ... *Holds Damian’s hand*

Escape attempt #2 is a success. When they hear about the wedding, Marinette and Alix have to go and see if it’ll be a train wreck. Of course, Marinette invites Damian as her plus one.

It’s surprisingly pleasant. Everyone’s dressed in black, the flower girl is tossing dead petals on the ground.

“I do.” “Ditto.” Marinette catches the bouquet.

Damian: Now you have to get married.

Marinette: It’s not binding.

On their honemoon, Lila attempts to kill Rose by dropping a toaster in her bath. Unfortunately for her, Rose is immune to death by electrocution

Needing a new plan and for the Artists to stay out of her way, Lila forbids Rose from seeing or speaking to em ever again.

Meanwhile at camp, Alix shoots an endangered bird!

Camp director 1: It’s a white tailed eagle!

Camp director 2: Aren’t they endangered?

Marinette: They are now

Juleka is sulking after receiving a letter from Rose, saying she can’t see them ever again.

Juleka: Have I done something, said something? Why does she despise me?

Nathaniel: Rose adores you.

Juleka: I'd do anything for her. At her request, I would rip out my eyes. At her command, I would crawl on my stomach through hot coals and broken glass.

Marc: ... You’re in love with Rose?

Back at camp, the directors announce that the campers will be performing the poorly written and quite racist play about the first Thanksgiving

Chloé will be playing Sarah Miller, the outcasts will play the Native Americans, and Marinette will be playing Pocahontas.

Marinette passes out at the announcement

Meanwhile, the Artists visit Rose and Lila at their pristine white mansion.

Juleka: So these are the gates of hell.

Lila forced them to leave, and Rose, out of fear, backs her up.

Marc: I see Lila that you have placed Rose under some strange sexual spell. I respect that. But please, may we see her?

Lila: No!

Marc: You have gone too far. You have married Rose. You have destroyed her spirit. You have taken her from us. All that I could forgive. But, Lila...

Lila: What?!

Marc: ... Pastels?

They leave, but not before Juleka curses Lila.

They try to go to the police, but they won’t take them seriously, and Nathaniel makes the following announcement

Nathaniel: I shall not submit! I shall conquer! I shall rise! My name is Nathaniel Artist, and I have seen evil! *Juleka holds up Kiran* I have seen horror! *Felix waves* I have seen the unholy maggots which feast in the dark recesses of the human soul.

Marc: They’re at camp.

Speaking of camp. The main 3 attempt to escape again, but are caught by the other campers and are soon forced into the Harmony Hut where they’re forced to watch Disney Movies.

Hours without food or drinks later, and they come out looking pale and traumatized

Marinette snaps out of it and traumatizes them back by smiling

With the Artists, something horrible has happened to Kiran. He blonde and has blue eyes!

Marc: My brother!

Nathaniel: *Faints*

Juleka: *Reading from spell book* “Infant possessions. These terrifying changes are most often the result of a troubled family life.”

Marc: Rose!

Juleka: If we don’t get Rose back, we’re talking dimples.

Nathaniel: Not in this house!

Juleka: He could stay this way for years. Forever. He could become... A lawyer.

Nathaniel: No!

Juleka: An orthodontist.

Marc: Juleka, please!

Juleka: ... Mayor.

Nathaniel: NOOO! TAKE ME INSTEAD!

It’s the day of the highly offensive show that portrays Native Americans as uncivilized people.

It goes off well until Marinette flips the script.

Marinette: You have taken the land which is rightfully ours. Years from now, my people will be forced to live in mobile homes on reservations. Your people will wear cardigans and drink highballs. We will sell our bracelets by the road sides. You will play golf and enjoy hot hors d’oeurves. My people will have pain and degradation. Your people will drive stick shifts. The gods of my tribe have spoken. They have said, “Do not trust the pilgrims, especially Sarah Miller. And for all these reasons, I have decided to scalp you, and burn your village. To. The. Ground.

The outcasts burn the camp to the ground and attack the brats while the main 3 escape in a canoe.

Meanwhile, Lila tries one last attempt at killing Rose, knowing this won’t fault. A bomb.

When it goes off while she’s out, she’s expecting a blonde corpse. Not Rose holding a tray of cupcakes and a warm smile

Enough is enough.

Lila: *Aims gun* I tried to make it look like an accident! I tried to give you some dignity, but, oh, no, not you!

That shows up to save the day by hitting Lila with his car and helping Rose escape back to the Artists’ Home,

*Now for the best scene*

Marinette: I may never see you again.

Damian: I know.

Marinette: There are forces tearing us apart-- Gary, Lila, tenth grade.

Damian: I'll never forget you.

Marinette: *Touched* You won't?

Damian: You're too weird.

Marinette: We'll always have today and camp

Damian: And this. *He holds up a retainer*

Marinette: What is it?

Damian: Chloé’s retainer. *Drops it to the ground* Meyn ziskeyt.

Marinette: Mi querido.

*The two kiss through the fence before pulling away and wiping their mouths*

Meanwhile, Nathaniel’s lost his mind.

Nathaniel: *Lying in bed* Swing low... Sweet chariot... Coming for to carry me home.

Marc: Oh, my sister is ill and my husband is dying. Juleka, what am I gonna do?

Juleka: Well, you already have a black dress.

Rose returns, apologizes for abandoning them, reconciles with her friends

And at that moment, Marinette and Alix return from camp. They all group hug, and Juleka is about to tell Rose about her feelings for her, until...

Lila: In-laws!

Down in the dungeon, the Artists, Felix, and That are strapped into electric chairs while Lila tells them the story of her life... Through slideshow!

She burned her house down with her parents still in it because they gave her Malibu Barbie instead of Ballerina Barbie

Marc: *Disgusted* Malibu Barbie. The nightmare.

Nathaniel: The nerve.

Her first husband the heart surgeon could never make it on dates, so she committed axe murder.

Juleka: Aw, an axe. That takes me back.

Husband #2 was a Senator who wouldn’t buy Lila that new, expensive car because they had to set an example. She ran him over.

Lila: So I destroyed one innocent life after another. Aren't I a human being? Don't I yearn and... ache and shop? Don't I deserve love... and jewelry?

Marc: *nods* Adios, mi querido.

Nathaniel: Zay gezunt, meyn tayer.

With some encouragement from Felix, Juleka uses her last few moments to confess to Rose

Juleka: Rose, night after night, I have desired you. I would worship every pale, lifeless limb on your body, die and kill for you, love you even after my dying breath. Rose... I love you.

Her confession leaves Rose in tears.

Rose: I love you, too.

Lila: Oh, barf! *Grabs the lever* Goodbye, everyone! Wish me luck!

Artists: Good luck.

Right as she’s about to pull the lever, Kiran, back go normal and by some miracle drops down from the ceiling and switches the wires, making Lila electrocute herself to death

*One year later*

Juleka and Rose got married! Also, it’s Kiran’s birthday! And Damian’s invited!

Rose: And to think I might have missed all this. What was I thinking?

Marinette: Physical pleasure.

While the others are celebrating, Marinette and Damian hang out in the cemetery and talk about marriage. Which Marinette doesn’t want

Damian: But what if you found a man so devoted to you, who worshipped you, that he’d be your eternal love slave?

Marinette: I’d pity him

Damian: *Looks at Lila’s gravestone. ‘Friend, Family, Killer* Damn. Lila was sick.

Marinette: She wasn't sick. She was sloppy.

Damian: What?

Marinette: If I wanted to kill my husband, I'd do it, and I wouldn't get caught.

Damian: How?

Marinette: I'd scare him to death.

Damian: *Scoffs* Sure. *As he goes to lay a flower on Lila’s grave, her hand pops out of the ground and grabs him, making him scream.*

[honestlyhappyharry]

Chapter 12

Settling in

Chapter 11

Watching everything in your house get moved was an odd feeling. It had been the only constant in your life since Lily was born, it was so much more than a house to you.

But with all the stuff slowly dripping out, packed up in boxes, being put on a truck and taken across the city, you couldn't help but think about when you first moved in.

Back then the house seemed like such a weird place to be living; you knew hardly any of your neighbours, you still had to google maps the address on your way home and when you looked out the window you saw the beach.

Now you knew almost everyone on your street, you could find any house from anywhere and the view out the window was just the same.

"Are you ready to go?" Harry asked as he walked up behind you in the kitchen, making you jump in fear.

You nodded. "Yeah, can I just walk around and say goodbye first?" You asked, moving to the lounge.

"Sure, baby. I'll go get Lils." He said before walking out to find Lily, who had gone three houses down to say goodbye to her friend. Although she would be seeing her at pre-k when Harry drove her over for the next week and a half and you slept in.

Tears welled in your eyes as you walked around. The only time you use to ever think you'd be moving out is when you were going to a retirement home or moving back to your hometown.

You stood in Lily's room for the longest amount of times. All the memories of her growing up hit you at once. Like a movie flashing before your eyes. All of those nights you'd spent desperately trying to get her to sleep and all of the days she slowly grew into the most beautiful, caring and amazing child you'd ever met.

"Come here," Harry said as he walked in saw the amble evidence of tears rolling down your cheeks. He wrapped his arms around you and it's a correlation to how secure the house made you feel.

"I'm sorry... I just... there's just.... this house just means so much to me." You told him honestly, it took a while to find the right words and you really didn't want to be crying on such a happy day.

He shushed you. "It's okay, love." He breathed out as he held you before he pulled you away from his chest and wiping the tears from your eyes. "Now let's go and start a new chapter of our lives." He told you and you nodded before walking out the front door with him.

As soon as you got to the new house everything felt right. You did think there would be some small doubts but there were absolutely none. It already felt like home.

The house itself was big. With a bottom floor containing 3 bedrooms, 2 lounges, a kitchen, a study, 4 bathrooms as well as a big outdoor space with a pool.

The pool was one of the best features. It had 3 separate slides, each of which connected to 3 of the bedrooms on the second floor. On the ground level, there was a separate pool bathroom but the pool itself had a built-in grill and bar area where you could swim up to get drinks. That was along with the huge movie screen.

There were 4 bedrooms on the 2nd floor each with its own ensuite as well as a lounge. The 3rd floor was significantly smaller, with only a movie room and library which had a secret staircase to a mezzanine floor with a glass ceiling. It gave you the best view of the stars and city.

"Can I look at my room?!" Lily asked quickly and Harry nodded before walking up the stairs after the jogging little girl. You followed the pair. "Oh my god!" She exclaimed before you walked in to see a whole new bedroom. It had a massive princess carriage with a bed inside as well as a castle that had stairs going up. At the top of the castle, there was a small bookshelf and a slide that went down to the desk at the bottom.

Lily ran around the room like someone had given her 3 cups of coffee. And some cocaine. You noticed the majority of her clothes in the wardrobe, her teddy bears and barbie dolls already there.

"Hope you don't mind," Harry said as he came up behind you.

"Tell me next time, Haz. She loves it but I wish I knew." You told him and he nodded before pulling you into his side. "What's going to happen when she grows out of this?"

"There's another room on this floor with a walk-in wardrobe." He told you and your eyes widened a little surprised by his thoughtful nature. "Ready to see our room?" He asked as he pulled you out to Lily's room.

"Lils, we're going to see our room. Don't go on the slide." You told her and she nodded before running up to the two of you and hugging your legs before rushing out a quick 'thank you' and going back to playing with her toys.

Harry just smiled. "Don't worry about the slide, they are all safely locked with a PIN number." You were swooning about how thoughtful he was for someone who had only had a kid for 7 months but it was a good look on him

"I love you, Har." You said as you continued to follow him to your room.

"I love you even more. Now close your eyes." He instructed and you complied, putting your hands over them before he opened the door and led you inside. "Open." He told you.

As soon as you remove your hands from your face you saw how sophisticated it looked. There was a massive be and ottoman with a couch and table in the corner. "Look at this," Harry said as he pushed a button and a tv came up from the foot of the bed.

You'd barely glanced down that end but now you saw the massive window with a view of the whole city and a door that had a few steps down onto a balcony that was big enough to have a table and chairs.

"I'm in shock. It's beautiful." You told him and he smiled, looking pleased with himself.

"You're beautiful. Now wanna see the closet?" He asked and you nodded, wondering what else he had in store for you. The closet was like a whole house. First, there was a seemingly normal shoe, bag and accessory closet with a massive mirror and all your makeup neatly organised. Then some stairs led up to a whole top floor filled with your and Harry's clothes.

"Harry, this must-have taken forever..." You trained off.

"That's why I didn't get home until late. It was mainly the boys that did the final touches." You thought Harry not being to be home until 8 was a normal thing, it did worry you.

But now it was making sense, him insisting on going to lunch before you got here was just time to get it ready.

"I love you so much." You told him as you brought your lips together. "Not even for the materialistic aspect of everything you've done. Just that you care enough about us to do this."

"I just want you two to be happy. Now come and look at the bathroom, you sap." He joked as he walked through a door which led into a big room with a bath, fireplace, shower, two vanities and a toilet. There was also a door to the bedroom.

"Harry!" You screamed. "It's all so amazing." You told him before you leant into his side. His arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you closer.

"I'm glad you think so." He said before he kissed you again.

"Mummy! Hazzy! Can we go on the waterslide?" Lily's voice came as she ran through the room, making you pull away from your kiss.

Lately 'Hazzy' was her nickname for Harry and while he was delighted she was calling him that, he was gunning for the title of dad.

"Yeah!" Harry agreed and you smiled at the two of them. "Go get changed and I'll come with you for the first slide, then we can play in the pool." Lily ran off with the biggest smile on her face and you turned to Harry with an equally big smile on yours.

"We better go get changed then." You winked at him before going to the closet.

"Can you pretty please wear the green one, please?" He begged as you searched through your swimsuits and briefly picked up a dark green one.

It made you inwardly roll your eyes at him. "I am not wearing this." You continued as you held it out. "It's way too complicated and a little slutty." He just looked annoyed as you showed him another option. "This one?" You held up one of your favourite yellow bikinis.

"I like it, but can you wear the other one when we go to the hot tub tonight?" He asked, almost like he was telling you.

You laughed at him. "Who says I'm going in the hot tub with you tonight?" You finished changing and walked across to see Harry who wasn't ready because of how distracted he was checking you out.

He picked up his iconic yellow shorts, which ironically matched your bikini, and began undressing. "Oh, I'm definitely getting you in the hot tub tonight." He said as if it were a challenge. His low voice made him so much more attractive.

After he finished changing you stood there kissing for a few minutes.

Lily raced in a few seconds later. "Let's go! Let's go!"

"Alright," Harry said as he got dragged to her room.

"Hold on, I'm going down to the pool, then I'll film when you come down." You said as you grabbed your phone and raced downstairs, quickly trying to find the perfect angle to watch them pop out of the waterslide.

"Ahhh!" You heard Lily's voice a second before she and Harry came splashing out into the pool. "That was so much fun, can we go again?" She asked, looking up at Harry who held her because of how deep the water was.

And that was how the rest of the day went, Lily going down the waterslide before running up the stairs to go again.

Finally, you got out of the pool and left Harry to supervise Lily while you made dinner. That night as you, Lily and Harry ate dinner, while looking out over the LA skyline, everything was perfect.

And, later in the night, the hot tub with Harry was just as perfect.

[aboysbestfriendishismum]

Chapter 56 - Secrets, mix tapes and jealousy

In the previous chapter: the special date set up by Angie turned out to be a disaster for her and it's coming to a even worse end, since Eddie doesn't seem interested into having sex with her. In the end though, they both manage to open up and talk about their feelings and insecurities and they make love for the first time. Despite all that, Angie's still firm on her decision not to tell anything to their friends. We find it out when the couple joins Jeff, Stone, Grace, McCready and Cornell at their usual go-to pub. Jeff sees them getting there together by car but entering the place in different moments to avoid suspects. From his thoughts about the matter, we find out that Jeff actually caught the two exchanging affectionate effusions a few days earlier, when Angie had brought a cake for him and Eddie before a show. At that time, Jeff preferred to silently and secretely leave before they could see him, so that they wouldn't be embarrassed. Thanks to his friends's advice, Jeff can finally put together a bunch of titles for the fake demo tape by Cliff Poncier, the main character of Cameron Crowe's movie, and then challenges Chris to actually write those songs.

**

“Did she knock him out?”

“Yeah, he went down like a sack of potatoes. And it was a pretty big sack” Angie lets go of my hand for a moment, just the time to mimic the body size of the guy, then takes it again, as we walk to her car.

“With a punch?”

“Actually, two”

“Given what he said to you, I'd have given him more” drunk or not, if you touch a woman you're crap, and if I run into you you're dead.

“You'd have beaten a dead horse, well, a dead sack of potatoes”

“Nuh, you're right: too little satisfaction. Anyway, hats off to Meg, cool girl”

“Yep... and to think that at the beginning I thought she was a vapid Barbie”

“What? You? Having prejudices about someone? It can't be!” I have fun picking on her. When I expressed very similar opinions about Violet she made me feel like shit.

“Hehe yeah, I confess, I made a mistake too, I'm human after all. Anyway, that's how we became friends and everything started”

“That's the perfect example of how something good can come out of a bad story too”

“See, so that guy deserves some credit too after all” as soon as we get to her Mini, Angie takes my other hand too and leans back against the back of the car, pulling me closer.

“Fucking credit. It happend ages ago and I wasn't even there and my hands are hitching to hit him good” it looks like taking me out to dinner to a Thai restaurant in the university district makes her feel safe enough from being possibly seen by our friends.

“Don't be upset” she tries and calm me with a kiss and I'd say it works great. But she doesn't need to know.

“Uhm... I'm still a little upset” I tell her after making a stupid scene, licking my lips and clicking my tongue as if I was trying to taste the kiss, just like a weird sommelier does after a sip of wine.

“Hahaha come on, let's go” she gives me another peck and opens the door, as I walk around the car to get to the passenger seat.

“Angie, I'm the last person who can give lectures about Seattle's street map, but weren't we supposed to turn left?” I ask her after our turn at the second crossroad.

“Oh... 'cause... you wanna go back home, right?” she's reaching for something in the glove box with her hand but freezes, as if I had caught her doing something wrong and I can notice her suddenly saddened eyesin the dark too.

“No, I mean, not necessarily”

“'Cause I thought it's still early and...” she puts both her hands back on the wheel and shrugs her shoulders at the same time.

“It's early indeed” it's always too early for me when it's time to say good night.

“I thought... well... we could hang out a little, go for a drive”

“Ok”

“But I can take you home if you want”

“No, I don't wanna go home”

“I didn't even ask you if you're busy tomorrow morning”

“I don't have shit to do tomorrow morning, Angie”

“Maybe you're tired”

“I'm not tired”

“I'll take a U turn as soon as I can”

“Angie?” I take her right hand from the wheel and kiss it.

“Yeah?”

“Take me for a ride”

“Ok”

“Where are you taking me?” I ask her as I let go of her hand and this time she opens the glove compartment and takes out a caseless cassette, putting it into the car player right away.

“To some place... you'll see” she smiles as Jim Morrison starts to sing.

Yeah, I'm a back door man

I'm a back door man

The men don't know

But the little girls understand

“Do we have a long way to go?” I ask a while later, as Brian Ferry's just admitted Love is the drug he prefers and we take Greenwood Avenue.

“No, we're almost there”

“Almost... can you be more specific?” I like to tease her and see her faces.

“Less than ten minutes and we're there. Are you getting bored?”

“Never, with you”

“So why are you so impatient?”

“I'm not impatient, I only wanna know if this place you want to take me to is within the borders of the United States or not. 'Cause if you, by any chance, are taking me to Canada, so our friends don't catch us, I warn you I didn't bring my passport”

“Ha ha” Angie gives me a nasty look, then her hand happens to land on my knee, which she gently squeeze.

“We're not crossing boundaries then”

“No, we're not”

“Where are we going then?”

“You'll see, soon”

She turns left at the next crossroad, then left again and the trees become thicker.

“I already know anyway: you're taking me to a park”

“Maybe” she lets go of the wheel and put her hands up wide open as to say who knows.

“No! You're taking me to the beach” I correct myself when, after a short while, the road goes downhill, plants thin out and I can see the horizon better.

“One thing does not exclude the other”

“I love watching you drive manual, you know?” I tell her, completely dropping the subject, lost in her driving movements.

“Haha my father taught me when I was twelve. And you?”

“Actually, I can't drive manual”

“No?? Really? You can't drive with a clutch?” she lookes at me shocked for a moment as she drives gently through the curves of the basically desert road.

“Hehe for real, I swear, I never tried”

“I'll teach you!”

“Thank you. I bet you're a good teacher”

“Good but strict”

“That's just perfect”

A yellow sign indicates a dead end street and that's when I figure out we've got to our destination. Angie turns into a rather narrow road on the left, then stops at some kind of natural open space, a clearing among the trees, with the front end of the car facing the wide free view of the ocean.

“Wow”

“From the upper parking lot the view is better but here it's quieter” she remarks as she turns off the car.

“I see” I look around and we're actually well hidden from the houses along the coastline.

“Do you like it?” she questions as she unwraps her scarf and throws it on the back seat. And from the speakers the Stones fade out and Nico's both smooth and scratchy voice comes in.

Here she comes, you better watch your step

She's going to break your heart in two

I have very little to watch out for by now. I'm in too deep and my heart is hers. It's not broken but she can do whatever she wants with it, even though she doesn't have false colored eyes and she's not an evil femme fatale like the one in the song.

“Yes, I like it here...” she can be a little tease though, with that smile of hers that... wait a minute “Angie?”

“Yes” she replies as she unbuttons her coat.

“I have this small sudden nagging question”

“Hehe that is?”

“Did you take me here to fuck?”

“EDDIE!”

“Fuck in a Mini Cooper?”

“HAHAHA”

“Why are you laughing? I only asked a question” actually I'm having such fun too but in subtler way.

“You just really don't know how to beat around the bush, right?”

“No, you should know by now... so?”

“So, I took you here so we could stay here, together, alone, and chill”

“That is, fucking”

“Not just that!”

“But also that”

“Well... if you want to, yes” she admits and I can see her blushing in the dark. This thing about initiatives is getting out of our hands. I'm not complaining though.

“I want to. But to do that, we could have gone to my apartment. I mean, it'd have been even better”

“Uhm not sure about that” she shakes her head not convinced.

“Both for the temperature and for the comfort”

“You're forgetting a small detail”

“What?”

“A not so small detail, who lives with you and his name is Jeff”

“Jeff knows when it's time to mind his own business, he's a smart guy”

“Too smart, that's the problem”

“Umph...”

“And you don't have such a view at your place” she retorts pointing through the windscreen.

“Whatever the place, the view is always spectacular when you're there”

“So basically you're telling me you wanna go back home” she looks down and plays dumb because she'd rather die than take a compliment.

“No, I wanna stay here and enjoy the view from up close” I hug her and my hands slip under her coat, pulling her closer for a kiss. The first one of a long series.

“So, did you like this... initiative?” she asks pulling back from my lips and still playing with my hair.

“Hehe yes, I liked it a lot. I'd just like to know how everything's gonna happen... from a, you know... technically”

“Just use some imagination”

“Next time you wanna have car sex, tell me first and I'll take my truck”

“Hahaha it's not that larger than this inside, you know?”

“But it has a bed, you know, in the back”

“Hahaha very comfortable and most of all very private”

“It depends on where you go...”

“Oh my god, you had sex in the truck bed??” Angie pulls away from me and looks at me as if she saw a ghost.

“A couple of times, yes”

“Fo the pleasure of the pervs and the voyeurs”

“I first made sure nobody was around”

“You're such a showoff!”

“There was nobody around, you asshole”

“Hehe there's nobody around here either”

“Right”

We looked at each other for a second, stop laughing and basically throw at each other at the same time. Angie shrugs off her coat and somehow flings it to the back, then climbs over me and straddles my legs. All this keeping her lips stuck to mine.

“Recline the back rest a little” she whispers into my ear.

“Like this?” I barely touch a side lever and find myself in a completely lying position in a second.

“Haha a little less than that, here, like this. Maybe try and go back a little too” Angie helps pulling me up a bit, then reaches for another toggle, under my seat I guess, and pushes it back, so that she wins some more vital space.

“Are you comfortable?”

“Yes, don't worry”

“Are you sure? You've got one knee against the door and another on the seatbelt attachment”

“I've never been more comfortable” if I don't like beating around the bush when I speak, Angie is the one who doesn't waste any time with actions., 'cause she's already trying to unzip my pants. She makes it and it only takes her a few seconds to make me go completely nuts. Then she pulls away all of a sudden and sits back on the driver seat.

“What are you doing? Where are you going?”

“Wait, I just have to remove... some obstacles” I see her unlacing her shoes, fidgeting with her jeans , and I guess with her panties too, before straddling me again. I pull everything down too in the meantime to make the whole dynamic easier. I don't pay attention to the fact I haven't seen her launch anything else towards the back seat and only when I touch her I realize she's still wearing one leg of her pants.

“You do things halfway” I smile against her lips.

“What if we have to get dressed quickly?”

“You thought about everything, didn't you?”

“You know I'm a neat person”

“Uhm I can see that. The tape too...”

“Which tape?”

“The sex mix tape we've been listening to since we left the restaurant”

“What?!” Angie springs up, I don't know if it's for my remark or for the way I'm touching her.

“Don't even try to pretend it's not a car sex compilation”

“It's not!”

“Tim Buckley has just said he wants to be your victim of love” and I relate to him a lot.

“It's a mix... kind of romantic maybe... that's just how it turned out”

“It's such a romantic mix that he asked you to whip him and spank him straight away”

“Have you ever heard about metaphors? And you even write songs”

“Metaphors. Sure. So when Eric Clapton talks about making love against the wall, is it some metaphor too? And I won't say what comes later in the song, that's even worse, 'cause I'm sure you already know” I unbutton her sweater and her shirt together, while she shrugs and tries to play dumb.

“It's just a great song”

“They're all great” I hold her and manage to pull her back over me.

“I don't wanna listen to shitty music when I drive” she states before taking my breath away with a kiss.

“Or whenever you sneak off with your boyfriend” I immediately give her a taste of the same medicine

“I'm neat” she stares at me before her witty reply. By the way... this tape... did she do it for the occasion? I mean, especially for tonight or for me anyway? Or is it a ready to use mix tape she keeps in her car in case she needs it? And if that's the case, who did she use it with? Did she make that tape with someone else in her mind? But most of all, why do I have to think about this bullshit right now?

“You forgot one thing though...” I'd better focus.

“What?”

“I'm not ready to be a dad”

“Uh! No... I got them, don't worry” all her confidence disappears in one second, Angie sits up and turns around, not only to try and open the glovebox but also to hide a little hint of embarrassment.

“You're my favorite neat freak”

“Actually... ehm... you wouldn't run that risk anyway... since... you know, I'm on the pill but, I mean...” she starts stuttering and opens the box without looking at me.

“Ok”

“I'd rather keep it that way, for now, I mean, I think it's better if we use them all the same... if it's not a problem for you...”

“Angie”

“At least for now, since... well... we just... and considering what happened before...”

“ANGIE?”

“Yes?”

“I sad it's alright, stop being paranoid, ok?”

“Are you sure?”

“Sure, we'll think about it later, right now it's great this way”

“Ok”

“Now come here”

“Here where? I'm already here”

“I mean, closer”

“We're in a Mini, I can't go that far”

“I'm cold and lonely down here on the passenger seat. And I want you. So come back here” I pull her close, tugging at the hems of her shirt and she gives in, either 'cause she's afraid I'll tear it up or because I convinced her with my words.

“The needy puppy look is almost more powerful than dimples” she rolls her eyes and smiles as she comes back to me.

“Really?”

“I said almost”

**

I still don't understand how can Angie have all this power over me, how can she disarm me and surprise me every time. Even a crazy stupid thing, like driving up to an unknown hidden place for some night acrobatic contortion in a small car, something I haven't done for almost ten years, becomes special with her, and not just for the act itself. Right now I'm totally enraptured by the girl whose body is over mine but not just because she's literally over me. The truth is she's over, under, inside, outside, on my shoulders, between my legs, in my head, in my blood, on my skin and all around. I make love to her in the most uncomfortable way and place but my only thought is that I want her closer, and closer, as if it was even possible. My only thought is not a thought because I can't think now, it's only an instinct, a sensation, a need, like hunger and thirst. I kiss her and through my closed eyelids I can see colors and bright dots, waves of light like electric shocks given from sudden lighting bolts. And the jolts of electricity become closer and closer together and more intense and I think I'm going crazy, 'cause I've never felt something like this. Until Angie disengages her mouth and uses it to speak.

“What the- OH FUCK”

So, I don't know if it's because of Angie, but we got each other so twisted up that we didn't notice the police car appeared who knows how long ago, from out of nowhere and parked a few yards from here with the lights on.

“Oh oh”

“OH OH? The fucking police is here and all you can say is Oh oh?” Angie comes back to reality much more quickly than me. I'm still kind of dizzy.

“What should I say? Would shit be more appropriate?”

“Yes, definitely”

“Are you getting dressed?”

“Oh of course not! I'll just stay here, waiting for the cops butt naked” Angie frantically gets dressed, whereas I do everything at a slower pace. I can say it's also easier for me.

“Don't panic too much, they may think you wanna hide something”

“Hiding something is exactly what I'm trying to do” she hurriedly pulls up her pants and starts buttoning down her sweater, ignoring the shirt underneath, and that might be on purpose or not.

The moment we hear someone knocking on the window we're both startled. Angie looks at her left, then right in front of her, then towards me and shakes her head with an imperceptible movement before wearing the most innocent expression I've ever seen on her face since I first met her.

“Good evening, officer” she addresses one of the guys who killed our fun tonight after rolling down the window on her side. From the shadow I see through my window, I can say his colleague is on my side.

“Good evening... although good night would be more appropriate, what do you think?” we got the cop who tries to be funny. Fuck.

“Well, yeah, hehe!” Angie decides to go along and I agree with her plan “How... ehm... how can I help you?”

“Uhm let me think, why don't you start by turning on the light and give me your document, miss?”

“Sure!” Angie stretches out towards the back seat and the policeman knocks lightly on the windscreen of the car with his billy club pointing at the space where the rearview mirror is, to catch her attention and let her understand she has to switch on the interior lights first. She gasps then obliges, before starting to look for her papers again.

“Keep calm” I whisper as she takes her beg and gives everything to the officer. I'd rather be the driver, I'm afraid Angie will get nervous and do something wrong. I think it's the first time the police stops her.

“Thank you, I'd like to see the ones of your... friend too... please” the guy gives me an extremely bad look and at the same time someone knocks at my window. As I turn around I see a female silhouette gesturing for me to wind it down.

“Good evening, here it is” I take out my wallet very slowly, find my driving licence and give it to the policewoman.

“Angelina W. Pacifico... Idaho, huh?”

“Yeah, I moved here a few months ago” Angie deliberately adds something as an answer to a question no one asked, trying to look willing to cooperate.

“1972. Wow, it almost seems true hahaha!” the officer waves the document in the air and laughs through gritted teeth looking at his partner.

“It seems? Of course it's true!” Angie gets upset and I go pale in a second because if she starts responding to his provocations, we'll be dead.

“If you say so... I'll check it out”

“Feel free to check, so you can see for yourself!” fucking dead.

“Why don't you also give me your registration doc, so I can check that too, miss”

“Alright! I'll give it to you immediately, then you can also frisk me, him and search my whole car, my conscience is clear!”

“Do you know you've just given me a great idea, Miss Pacifico?” the jerk laughs again and I hope Angie will soon take that angry look off her face as I see her getting out the car documents.

“26 years old. Aren't you a little too old for that girl?” the police woman asks me after she's checked my licence and I decide to keep my mouth shut. Unfortunately someone else has a different opinion.

“I AM OF AGE! How many times do I have to tell you?”

“Shut up!” the officer's yell catches me off guard since it comes from my side. Apparently he has come to get my document from his colleague. After that he goes back to their car for the checking.

“Angie, don't talk, please” I hiss and hope she'll follow my advice.

“Wether you're of age or not, he's still a little older than you” the woman leans down on the car door and talks gently to Angie through the window.

“That's not a crime” she says in a lower voice and I don't even know if the officer heard her. Maybe she finally understood what the correct behaviour is.

“You're going to the University of Washington, right?” the policewoman asks. She clearly wants to chit chat to kill time and ease the tension.

“Yes, how do you know?”

“The bump sticker”

“Oh right! Yeah, I moved here for that, to go to college”

“With your family?” ok, the Good cop/Bad cop operation has officially started.

“No, by myself”

“So, you're living on your own, you've got an apartment...”

“Well, yeah”

“And you?” this time she talks to me and to do that she points her flashlight right at my face.

“I don't go to college”

“I mean, don't you have a place?”

“Sure”

“So what the hell are you doing here? In a car? Well, something that looks like a car” she goes on switching off the flashlight and using it to vaguely point at Angie's car and I abruptly turn towards her, 'cause I know this could be enough to get her mad and we'd be fucked. But she keeps on with her quiet act.

“We were going for a ride”

“A ride?”

“Yeah” I repeat.

“But you were parked”

“We stopped for a minute” my girlfriend promptly replies.

“Stopped to do what?”

“Chat” a mechanism has tacitly established by which we take turns giving answers, so this time it's me speaking.

“Talk” Angie adds.

“Listen to music” the answer was suggested by the tape, which goes on and now it's time for... The rain song?? Holy fuck, Angie, couldn't you be more obvious? And she got the nerve to say it's not a car fuck mix tape. The cassette alone would be an evidence of public indecency in court.

“Enjoy the view”

“Yeah, actually as soon as we got here we noticed how focused you were on the view” the woman rolls her eyes and barely holds a laugh. We'd laugh too if we weren't under interrogation.

“She didn't make it clear what kind of view she was talking about... you, you gotta try and be more open minded, please!” the comedian colleague is back and gives Angie her documents back through the open window.

“Right!” the woman exchanges an amused look with her partner, who's back with the questions.

“Right, so, if I search this bumper car, will I find drugs or not?”

“Of course not, officer” she replies with no hesitation and I hope it's true 'cause if he actually finds something, we'll be in double deep shit.

“Guns?”

“What? Please, I hate them”

“And what if I give you a breathalyzer? What will I find?”

“Nothing, 'cause I didn't drink. He did, he had something to drink, but he's not driving, I'm driving, so...”

“Yeah, I see, I got it from the start that you're the one who leads, that was quite obvious hahaha” the cop can't hold himself and bursts out laughing in the end, followed suit by his partner, who scolds him though, also revealing his name to us.

“Barlow!”

“Ok ok, do you know why we stopped you?”

“You didn't, we weren't moving” Angie whispers in a very low voice as she gives me the car registration to put away into the glove box. But it's not low enough.

“Don't try to be funny, Miss! Do you know it or not?” don't tell him that if he does, then you can do it too. I know you're dying to tell him but don't do it, please!

“No” we both reply at the same time. Thank god. At least she knew about this: with the police, always say you don't know.

“'Cause you think that fucking in a car in a public place is a normal thing, right?”

“It's not public if nobody's there, is it?” my girlfriend tries but she'll be very disappointed.

“On what rulebook did you read this?” he answers sarcastically.

“I hope you're not studying law, darling”

“No. I study cinema”

“Uh! So you were rehearsing a scene! That's what it was!” these two are having the time of their life with us.

“Barlow, shut up! Ehm ehm we're patrolling the area because there have been some robberies lately. There's a gang who targets couples who come here at night to park, like you guys”

“So if I were you, I'd change my habits a little” the guy adds as he starts breathing again after his fucking laughter fits.

“You have an apartment each, just go there”

“O'Hara, can't you understand? There must be some cheating going on here! He leaves his girlfriend at home with an excuse and meets his younger mistress, am I right or am I wrong?”

“NO!” Angie reacts outraged and I feel this night will last much much longer.

“You can tell us, I mean, this surely is not a crime” Barlow leans down and folds his arms against the window opening in the car door, almost diving inside.

“There's no girlfriend at home”

“So she's the cheater”

“No one's cheating on anyone, I'm her boyfriend, we're together”

“Ok so, help me understand: you're together, I mean, in a regular relationship, she's legal, you both have a place... annoying roommates?” agent O'Hara counts the elements that don't add up to her on her fingertips.

“No, I mean, not too much” Angie looks at me as she replies, as if she was looking for a suggestion or, most likely, 'cause she finds it all unreal, just like me.

“So why arent' you at home?”

“You gotta ask her” I don't know why I answer like that, I can't even say if I did it for real, I don't even notice. It just comes out like that, spontaneously.

“Eddie?!”

“Tell us, Angie, why aren't you at home?” the comedian gets curious and calls her by her first name.

“Because... because it's a new thing”

“And we got that, also considering the... the enthusiasm” he goes on, earning the umpteenth fake nasty look from his partner.

“She doesn't want to tell our friends” and I guess this is me again, freewheeling talking.

“Why? Is there some ex?” O'Hara questions and now we went from interrogation to gossiping.

“No. I mean, yes,” Angie corrects herself when she sees me making a face “but that's not the reason”

“What is it then? Don't tell me you're ashamed of him? I'm not particularly attracted to long-haired men but he seems a good looking guy to me, after all”

“I'm not ashamed at all, he's... he's very good looking, he's perfect, in everything” are we going from gossip to confessions? Wait a minute, what did she just say?

“It's just... well, we know the same people, it's a whole group of friends. And some of them play in a band, with him”

“Musicians, huh? We'd better do a search after all” Barlow tells another shitty joke but his colleague ignores him and focuses on the current topic.

“And are they closer to you or him? Are they more your friends or his?”

“Well, I got to know them a few months before but... I'd say they're friends of both of us in the same way”

“Ok, so you're both afraid to lose them and to make him lose them, if things went wrong, right?”

Angie nods in silence to O'Hara's words and I'm completely stunned. Lose them? Suddenly a new light is shed on the situation, a new point of view I hadn't considered before. Angie told me she doesn't trust herself but she trusts me and I didn't fully believe this version. She's always been worried about our friends, 'cause they're kind of nosy and always intruding in other people's private life, but I never figured out they were the actual object of her insecurities. The guys.

“I'm afraid they'll judge me or him. I'm afraid I can create problems in the group and that we'll end up parting ways” Angie's still confessing and I wonder if she needed to be pressured by the police to finally tell the truth. But is it Angie, who never talked, or is it me, who never understood?

“But it's just a normal thing, dear! Take each other, leave each other, take each other again, break up again, get together with another guy of the gang. It happens all the time among groups of friends but that doesn't necessarily ruin the friendship” O'Hara lights up a cigarette and from good cop she officially turned into big sister or aunt, the one you can tell everything to.

“Well, I don't know, I've never had a group of friends, I mean, not so big. I've never had so many friends” now everything's clear, shit. She's never had them and she doesn't want to lose them.

“Angie, even if something went wrong between us, don't worry, our friends would kick my ass, not yours. And if one of us has got to take the brush off, well, it's gonna be me” I try and reassure her but looking at her face I guess I'm failing.

“And do you think that would hurt me less?”

“It's like watching Oprah live” Barlow says, totally hooked on our show.

“Angie, friends will be friends. The truth is friends do care, yeah, but not that much. Don't get me wrong, friends love you, give you advice wether you asked for it or not, they can get in the way and root for you or him, but in the end they just want you both to be ok, together or not. At some point they stop and say it's up to you, guys, in the best sense possible. And if they disappear in the end, well, it means they weren't true friends”

“Maybe, maybe you're right”

“Sure I'm right!”

“Right or not, you can't come here and have sex anymore, do you understand?” the cop, who was basically collapsing on the car door, stands up straight and gives a couple of punches against the roof of the car, maybe to wake himself up.

“Sure”

“It won't happen again”

“Fine. It's getting late, let's go O'Hara”

“Go home, guys. And drive safe, Angie, ok?”

“Ok, thanks officer”

“Good night”

“Good night”

We roll up the windows at the same time, Angie starts the car and waits.

“Why aren't they moving?”

“They're waiting for us to go first, to make sure we are actually leaving” I explain and smile for the fact that she didn't understand that. And this quick scene is like a little representation of her innocence. Sometimes I forget that she's so young and has little experience of everything, and no, I'm not only talking about how to handle the police when they pull you over.

“Oh right, I didn't think about that” Angie snorts and we leave.

“That was so weird” we're back in town when Angie finally breaks the silence.

“Yeah”

“Such an embarrassing moment”

“Very embarrassing” it opened my eyes a little though, so it actually turned out to be useful. Since we left we haven't mentioned what had happened, we haven't mentioned anything because we just kept our mouth shut and only exchanged quick looks and smiles and sang a few songs. Now that everything's started sinking in, it's time to return to the core of the matter and do the talk, this time only between us.

“It never happened to me”

“To me neither” I had dealt with the police before but not for this kind of infringment.

“I've been there many times and I never saw the cops there, these robberies must be something recent”

It takes me a while to register what she said, maybe 'cause I'm still thinking about the infraction we were committing on these front seats like an hour ago. But when I figure it out it's like I've been awaken with someone throwing a bucket full of ice at my face.

“Never? Do you mean... you'd been there already?”

“Sure. If not, how could I know the place?” she calmly answers, so either she's crazy or she doesn't know where I'm getting at or she doesn't care.

“With who?” Angie's mouth opens up forming a small O and so I guess now she does know where I'm getting at.

“What do you mean, with who? With... with Meg”

“With Meg”

“Yeah, she's been living here for so long, she knows the area. She took me there”

“She took you to the beach at night to do what?”

“To go for a ride! To just stay there, drinking, smoking, gossiping, normal stuff”

“And that's it?”

“Hahaha why? What else do you think we were doing there?”

“I mean, you went there with Meg and that's it? But you said you've been there many times”

“And with you?”

“Ok, so, with Meg and I... and no one else?”

“Well...”

“Angie?”

“Not just you two...”

“Have you been there with Jerry?”

“...”

“Angie, I'm talking to you”

“I know, it's only me here” we're at the traffic lights and Angie looks around inside the car, even giving a glance at the back seat, before turning back to look at me.

“So?”

“I didn't go there with Jerry”

“So would you swear to me that you didn't take me to the same place where you used to park with your ex boyfriend?

“No, I didn't!”

“Ok”

“With Jerry.. ehm... we used to go to the upper parking place on the hill”

“WHAT?!”

“What? Why are you mad?”

“Why? What do you mean why? You took me to the same place where you fucked your ex and I'm not supposed to get mad?!”

“I never fucked Jerry there”

“The fact it was a different paking lot 50 yards away doesn't change anything, Angie”

“I mean I never did it with Jerry in the car!” she exclaims as she gestures an apology to the guy in the car behind us, who's just honked at us because we didn't go immediately when the lights turned green. What the hell does this fucker want? Is he in a fuckin' hurry or something? Fuck you man.

“Didn't you?”

“No, I never... I never had full sexual intercourse with Jerry in a car”

“This use of very, very specific and technical terminology looks kind of suspicious to me”

“We kissed and stuff”

“I don't wanna know” she says it and I'm already imagining it, I mean, I can imagine even if she doesn't say anything. My imagination doesn't need further help.

“But you practically asked me”

“I'm not stupid, I get that you didn't fuck him there, but still you did something. That's the same to me”

“Who cares who I took there first, now I got you, I'm with you”

“I care because... because it's weird, it gives me a... bad feeling... I don't like it”

“I told you as soon as we got there that I had already been there, but you didn't say anything then. Why are you suddenly upset now?”

She's right actually, she told me, I don't remember the exact words, but she let me know. The truth is I was so enraptured by the situation, by her, her scent, her gestures as she was taking off her coat, her big eyes, her naughty heart-shaped smile... I was like drunk and didn't understand shit.

“Maybe I hadn't noticed then, and now I did”

“I come from another state, I don't know many places. If I want to go to some quiet place with you, of course I have to follow... ehm... the beaten road”

“Well let's just stay home then and avoid going anywere else, problem solved”

“If you say so... Jerry's been in my bed too, shall we stop going there too?” Angie gives me a perplexed look and I know, I know I'm crazy, that I'm the sick one, that retroactive jealousy makes no sense. But I'm so fucking mad right now!

“Could you... could you just not remind me, please?”

“But... are you jealous of Jerry?”

“No” nooooo, I'm not! Why do you think that?

“Ok. Also because it'd be really stupid if you were” there you go.

“Exactly”

“Because I'm not interested in him, there's no chance at all I could be into him ever again and go back to him anytime soon” are you sure about that? I mean, on your part I know there's no chance. But Jerry, he still has hope. He told me! And this is a piece of information I'm gonna keep to myself.

“I know”

“Fine”

“Did you use the tape with him too or is it exclusively for me?”

“I did the mix tape yesterday, for you, for the occasion” she retorts tiredly as she rolls her eyes.

“Ok”

“Are you happy about that?”

“Very happy. I like it”

“Thank god”

“And how was Jerry's tape?”

“Jesus... Jerry never had a tape”

“I don't believe you”

“Believe what you want, I could as well not answer, because in the end that's none of your business. Yet I answered and told you the truth” she's right, what she had with Jerry is none of my business. And I'm acting like a jerk.

“Sorry”

“It's ok”

“I'm stupid sometimes”

“I noticed that”

“Then it goes away and I'm back to normal”

“I hope so”

“Can I borrow the tape? I wanna make a copy”

“I hope it goes away soon, very soon”

**

“Here we are” Angie stops one block away from my condo, as she's been doing lately every time she takes me home.

“Look, Jeff's not the bored meddler housewife who waits at the window to check who I'm going out with. He doesn't give a fuck, I'm not Stone” I joke to ease the tension, which is still on despite my apologies and the shit I say.

“Friday”

“Friday what? What happens?”

“You're playing at the Ok Hotel on Friday”

“Yes”

“And we're also celebrating Jeff's birthday, that's gonna be two days later”

“Right”

“And on Monday you'll start recording Eleven”

“Hahaha the name's Ten”

“But it's eleven songs! It doesn' t make sense, I told you!” she finally turns around to face me and her hands move to the lower part of the wheel.

“What's the point? It's also our first record, should we call it One? Or First? Hehehe”

“You can laugh as much as you want, when you won't know how to call your tenth album, then we'll see who'll have the last laugh”

“The tenth? Do you believe we'll last that long?”

“Sure! But you'll split up right because of that record, 'cause you won't agree on how to call it, and you'll be torn between... I don't know... a surfing brand and a Seattle Supersonics bench player”

“Hahaha that's if the Seattle Supersonics will still exist by then”

“Why wouldn't they?” she asks suddenly serious, in her typical adorable way of focusing on totally secondary aspects.

“Do you ever think about the future? I mean, future future, like in twenty or thirty years” I do. Now, for example, I'm picturing myself twenty years from now, taking to you in a car, maybe as we get back home from a Sonics' game.

“Uhmmm no, I mean, not in detail. But I'm eager to know if Kubrik was right about 2001 or if in 2019 we'll have android replicants slaves like in Blade Runner. Yeah, that's something I often think about”

“Hehe I mean your future, what's gonna happen to you personally, where you'll be at. I mean, where you picture yourself and what do you see yourself like... stuff like that” I ask her again and I'd want to confess that sometimes I do think about my future. And she would make fun of me, 'cause someone used at living the moment who thinks about the future doesn't make sense. But I'd pretend I didn't hear her and I'd say that I don't know if I'll get there but sometimes I like to think of myself in twenty or thirty years, maybe with shorter grey hair or no hair at all, living off my music, married, with two or three kids. And that's how I'd scare her to death and she'd definitely run away from me.

“Well, no, honestly I don't. I only hope I'll get my degree before then”

“What? A control freak like you doesn't plan her future? You surprise me”

“You can't controll the distant future, like the past. The only thing you can have control on is the present. Or the near future” she shrugs as her eyes wander through the windshield.

“You're living the moment too, then? Should I expect you to climb some building in your free time?”

“Hehe no but my planning time is short term. For example, this time I planned until Friday, as I was telling you, before we got lost in one of our typical nonsense conversations” I love our typical nonsense conversations.

“What happens on Friday?”

“I though we could do it on Friday”

“Do what? Climb some building? I'd start with something iconic, like that Hat'n'Boots shit at the gas stations, what's its name...”

“I thought we could say it on Friday”

“Say what?”

“About us... to our friends”

“Uh” I can't believe that. Am I dreaming? Yes, come on, the cops story was too weird, of course it's all a dream, I should have known.

“Since everybody's gonna be there for different reasons, I think that could be the right time. So, you know, we'll say it just once” she keeps talking and strangely I didn't wake up yet.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes”

“You don't have to do it just because two fucking cops told you to”

“It's not for that”

“Neither because I got mad for no reason a minute ago”

“Not even for that”

“Why then?”

“Hahah you've been pestering me to tell everybody from the start and now you're making a fuss?” Angie lets go of the wheel and turns around towards me completely.

“I'm not making a fuss, I just want you to be sure and it seems strange to me that you got convinced in a couple of hours”

“I didn't get conviced now, I've always thought we'd say it sooner or later obviously. Now I realized the moment has come”

“Has it?

“Yes”

“Ok”

“Great”

“We're doing it on Friday”

“Alright”

“And how do we do it? I mean, practically, how will we do? Should I get on stage, point at you and say into the mic Just so you know, that girl down there is my girfriend?”

“If you dare doing something like that, you won't even be alive for Pearl Jam's first album, much less for the tenth” she threatens me so good that I'm scared for real.

“Should I get some posters printed?”

“We won't have to do anything special, we'll just act normal”

“And how will we communicate with our friends? Telepathically?”

“We'll act normal, do as we always do when we're alone and they're not around”

“Do you mean tear our pants off and jump on each other?” I know, I know I'm ajerk. She's finally opening up and I just talk bullhsit. But I can't help it, that's how I am, especially when I'm happy.

“Eddie!”

“You're fixating on public places, huh? I didn't know this... exhibitionist side of you, ouch!” I insist as I try and dodge her slaps.

“You're such an ass!”

“Hehe come on, I was kidding”

“I'm talking serious stuff and you make fun of me”

“I joke because I'm happy for your decision”

“Anyway... I meant normal stuff, walking hand in hand, hugging, kissing, but without showing off too much, discreetly but so that everyone understands. And they'll come to ask us Do you have to tell us something? or  Are you a couple? and at that point we'll only have to say yes, short answer, no further explanation needed”

“You're a genius”

“Do you think it'll do?”

“Sure it will do, I think it's a very good idea”

“Ok, it's a deal then”

“And since we're telling everybody next Friday, could you please drive me home?”

“Hahaha no”

“And maybe come in with me”

“Is it Friday already?”

“Uhm no”

“Forget it then”

“How long is it until Friday?”

“Not that long. Good night” Angie gets close to give me what in her intentions was supposed to be a quick kiss but I can't resist and hold her for much longer.

“You're freezing, put your coat back on” I tell her as I unwillingly pull away from that cold hug. Cold in terms of temperature only.

“You're right, I left so fast that I forgot to put it on” she follows my advice and grabs it from the back seat.

“So... good night” I kiss her once again, open the door and get out of her car.

“Good night, I'll call you tomorrow, ok?” I nod at her and smile internally. I love when she calls. Then suddenly, right when she's about to start the car again, I remember a not so small detail.

“Angie, wait!” I knock against the car door on her side a couple of times, she brakes and rolls the window down.

“What's wrong? Did you forget anything?” she asks as she looks around inside the car.

“What does W stand for?”

“What?”

“The cop, when he was reading through your driving licence, he said Angelina W. Pacifico. What does W stand for?

”Oh. That W” she stiffens and the engine goes off, I don't think she turned it off on purpose.

“Yep, that one” I lean down and look at her through the open window, waiting for an answer.

“It's a first letter”

“I got that. The first letter of...”

“Of a name”

“Ok, and what's this name?”

“My second name”

“That is...?”

“That is... a name starting with W” she gives me a pained look and I feel she's not done with her blabbering.

“Hahaha what's that, another of your secrets?”

“Exactly! Good night, Eddie” she's about to wind up the window but I put my hand in the way and stop her.

“Hahaha good night my ass, tell me your name!”

“Do I have to?”

“You're my girlfriend, I gotta know your full name!”

“I don't know your full name”

“I was born Edward Louis Severson III, I was Edward Jerome Mueller for a while and now I'm Edward Jerome Vedder, 'cause I took my mother's last name”

“Jerome and Louis are lovely names” she remarks, focusing on the names and completely ignoring the anagraphic mess that is my identity.

“I bet your second name's lovely too”

“No, it's not”

“W as in... Wendy?”

“Nope”

“Wanda?”

“No”

“Wilhelmina? Winifred?”

“No and no”

“Winona”

“I wish. It's not even a name”

“It's not a name, what does it mean?”

“It's a name that is not a name, it's... it's a thing”

“A thing? Wait... hippie parents, right?”

“Ehm... yeah, something like that”

“Willow!”

“No”

“Water”

“No, good night Eddie” she restarts the car and at least my desperate expression has the power to bring back a smile on her face.

“Shit, you can't leave me like this!”

“Yet I'm doing it, nighty night!” Angie goes away just like that and leaves me here, alone, to rack my brain on the umpteenth mystery, a new thing I don't know about her and I'm looking forward to know.

“No no no, Grace, I'm sorry but I have to tell you: you got it all wrong. What about this guy here? Where did he come from? Do you wanna go? Just go! How much space do you need to pass a Granada diesel?” without taking anything away from my dear father's car, it's not exactly the fastest model produced by Ford.

“Why?”

“Do you want me to pull over? Is it enough or do I have to get out and help you push your car? Oh there you go! Good boy! What do you mean, why? Do you see any logic in it?” the asshole passes me and I can go back to torture Grace.

“Well, apart from the night guard who was about to catch us, it was nice and it seemed like you were having fun”

“I was! The night pic nic at the abandoned factory was cool. And also running from the guard. Well, if you can call it running. You were as slow as a snail. If the guy was at least a little in shape, he'd have got us”

“He'd have got me, since you fled without even waiting for me” she sulks.

“I was waiting for you in the car”

“Sure”

“With the engine on, I had a detailed plan in my head”

“I can imagine”

“Anyway, the date was an 8, I didn't mean that”

“What else then?”

“The cassette. It's all wrong” I'm not saying she has to be on Angie's level, she's sort of a black belt in the art of making mix tapes. But this is a complete mistake. If I had known, I'd not have asked her to bring something to listen to in the car.

“Hahaha they're songs I like, how can they be wrong?”

“It's not the songs, it's how you put them together. You broke every rule for the creation of a mix tape” the songs, taken individually, go from ok to amazing. Some even surprised me. I had no idea Grace knew bands like Cock Sparrer or Japan, which have got nothing to do with each other. And of course one comes after the other in Grace's mix.

“Do rules exist for that?”

“Sure they do!”

“Tell me one of those so-called rules”

“Well, first of all, you've got no theme”

“A theme?”

“Yeah, a theme, a common thread, something they have in common”

“The theme is: Songs I like”

“Nuh-uh that's not how it works. You gotta tell a story and not just throw in random tracks. You mixed songs of different genres, decades, mood, even different languages!”

“I love that song by Ofra Haza!”

“Slow ones, then fast ones, then all the slow ones. No! And you can't just pick a lo-fi tune and then follow with a super produced song”

“I'm not a musician, I don't care about technicalities, I just go with my feelings”

“What kind of insane feelings bring you to the point of putting Bootsy Collins right after Bauhaus?”

“They both set... an atmosphere” Gracie shrugs but I go on with my rant.

“And you selected live tracks too... live tracks... in a compilation... uhm... that's a no-no”

“Ok, so how do you grade the cassette?”

“Unclassifiable. Try again”

“And how do you grade these instead?” she crosses her legs to show me her new pair of boots. As if I hadn't noticed them already.

“A 10, of course. Pete, your ex, advised you good” they're brown, with thin tight laces and some sort of side floral embroidery.

“Pete is not my ex and you know it. And don't pretend to be jealous, nobody falls for that”

“I'm not jealous, I was simply acknowledging his refined taste” and they look great with those corduroy shorts.

“And by the way, I didn't buy them there, I found them in a thrift shop downtown” I bask in the belief she bought them especially for me, because she knows the effect they have on me.

“They're not bad. Although you didn't buy them from Pete” on the other hand though I don't want her to think I'm some kind of perv who can't get an erection without seeing a nice pair of boots. And generally I don't want her to believe I'm that kind of person you have to necessarily surprise every fucking time with something weird and over the top. That's the impression I got but maybe it's just me. I mean, the date thing is funny but mostly because it's our thing and not because of the peculiarity of the date choices.

“You're an asshole, Stone. Did somebody ever tell you?”

“Yeah. But it sounds better when you say it” I reply, quickly taking her hand and kissing it and I really wanna see her comeback to my masterstroke.

“Sounds better than my mix tape too?” she's good too, I have to admit it.

“Definitely. Also because it doesn't take that much...” but she doesn't know yet how much I like having the last word.

“Right. As much as it took me to realize you're an asshole” she retorts with a wink. The last word, she loves stealing it from me so much.

**

“Are you sure you don't want anything?” Grace asks me from the bathroom, while I focus on one of the fishtanks.

“Sure, I'm full” she must have prepared like twenty sandwiches for the pic nic, plus the wine. Yeah, I'm full.

“Can't you make a tiny little room in your stomach for dessert?”

“I think I don't have any room left in any internal organs, even if I wanted to. Maybe into my ears, I could try but...”

“Not even for this dessert?” Grace comes out and the way she shows up is not new to me but not less extraordinary.

“Well... maybe... just a little bite...” I think my internal organs are exploding the moment Grace walks up to me, wearing nothing but her boots.

I instinctively back up but I don't know why, this fucking instinct must be broken because I have no intention to escape her attentions. Maybe I'm just overwhelmed by her beauty. Maybe I'm still a little tipsy.

“Perfect.” Grace walks my way but instead of hugging me, she passes me by and walks up to the kitchen. I see her move away one of the chairs, maybe the new one, then place her hands on the table to jump on it “So, what are you waiting for? The meal is ready”

“From which porn b-movie did you get this quote?”

“Hurry up or I'll put my clothes back on”

“Ok”

**

“What are you doing tonight? Are you sleeping here?” I'm still trying to remember who I am and where I am and what kind of truck has just hit me, when Grace shows up again in the kitchen wearing pyjamas, brushing her teeth.

“It depends”

“On what?”

“If I can sleep in your bed I'll stay, otherwise I'll go back home” I don't know what gave me the strength to come up with the topic that could bring to a big heavy discussion. Maybe I reached such a balance in our relationship that I can openly talk about everything. Or maybe it's just that my lower back hurts, my leg hurt, all my bones hurt and I'm sleepy, so I'd rather sleep on the closest most comfortable surface.

“Ok, see you tomorrow then” Grace points at me with the toothbrush, then sticks it back into her mouth and goes back into the bathroom.  

“Come on, Pebbles, why do you always act like that?” I get up from the couch, pulling up my boxers and pants, trying not to lose balance, then set up to go to the bathroom to speak face to face like normal people do. But the face to face thing becomes literal when she rushes out of the door like a fury and we almost crack heads.

“What the hell did you just call me?” she asks barely holding a laugh.

“You said your last name means stone, right? I can't call you... She-Stone, that would be weird”

“Stonia?”

“No”

“Stonette?”

“Why can't we sleep together?” I drag her back on the crux of the matter because knowin her, and me, we could go on like this for hours.

“I told you why, it's complicated” Grace walks away from me and stops in front of the couch, as if she wanted to sit there, but then changes her mind and goes on to take a sit at the kitchen table, on the chair right beside the entrance.

“I know but time has passed. And you gotta start somewhere to... get used to another person's presence, right? Let's go step by step, together” I take back the chair Grace had thrown on the side half an hour ago and I sit down, right in front of her.

“I'm not the only one who has to get used to something new, Stone” her words tell me there's clearly something else and I'm not stupid, I've known for a while that it's not just a matter of being used at being single. There's something that's making her insecure. At first I thought it was something in her room, like the tons of stuffed animals or some real animal, some weird pet she didn't want to tell me about. Then I figured out it's more than that. I thought he could have OCD or something like that, something that makes here panic as soon as someone enters in the picture and threatens her balance. I mean, just think about what happened with the chair thing. Maybe she arranges her things on her nighstand following a determined use order or she makes her bed using set squares and a ruler and the thought that someone could mess it up makes her go nuts. I guess she only manages to sleep in her empty bed. Then I thought it could've got something to do with her past, maybe with the long illness she never wants to talk about. Maybe she's taking meds that fuck her up a little or that she simply doesn't want me to see. I even went as far as to thinking she could take some drugs. But no, not Gracie. And what would be the connection with her bedroom?

“Ok, if you tell me what I have to get used to, maybe I can start right now and you can follow suit, what do you think?”

“I wish it was that easy”

“I know it's not easy or I wouldn't have waited so long before putting the squeeze on you”

“Are you putting the squeeze on me?”

“Yes, just talk”

“Do I have to?”

“I won't leave until you tell me what's wrong. For real”

“Oh.” maybe Grace has just realized that I'm being serious and that I won't put up with her elusive explanations anymore “Ok”

“Don't be scared, it's... it's just me.” I stretch my arms out on the table to take both her hands in mine and finally she looks up to me “And you know how smart I am, I can comprehend anything, don't worry”

“Hehehe I know, I can trust you”

“That's it”

“I gotta trust you, I mean, I knew this moment would have come, I have to tell you sooner or later. I can't hide it from you forever. Despite your particular preferences.

“What do you mean?”

“Ugh I can't believe I'm about to have the talk, again” she covers her face with her hands and then runs them through her hair.

“Again?”

“That must be why I became allergic to steady relationships: just to avoid having the same talk each time. But then you came and blew up my plans” Grace takes my hands once again, squeezes them gently and smiles, before letting them go and focusing back on the table cloth's print.

“Which talk?”

“It's not easy for me to feel comfortable with a man... in intimacy”

“Really? 'Cause my joints and I didn't notice” I try and joke to ease the tension but I'm not sure I should. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut and let her speak.

“I'm not only talking about that intimacy but rather in general”

“'Cause you need your space and-”

“No, it's not about that. It's... it's a physical thing, Stone”

“Physical?”

“I know, knowing me, one would thing the problem is in my head. And won't deny that, it's a fact that I'm not completely in my right mind”

“Well... you said that, huh?” I shrug and reply to her half smile with a full one.

“But the main problem, well, it's about my body”

“Your body can't possibly have any problem, Pebbles”

“Because you haven't seen all of it, Bam Bam” considering the gravity of the moment, I decide to ignore the nickname. Also because I called for it.

“I haven't, really? What else is there to see, more than I already saw?”

“I'd say that your strange fixation gave me a sort of advantage this time. Or disadvantage. Because thanks to that, I could postpone the talk forever pretending the problem doesn't exist, so it really depends on how you look at it”

“My strange... Gracie, I'm not getting what you're trying to say, could you be clearer?”

“There's something odd in my body, something you haven't seen yet”

“Has it got something to do with your past health problems?”

“Yes”

“Oh Grace, a couple of scars won't make me uncomfortable!” I stand up, ready to take her in my arms and squeeze her to death as a punishment but she keeps sitting, glued to her chair.

“Hehehe scars... I wish it was that!”

“Is it worse?”

“The problem is not something I have but rather something... I don't have”

“I must be dumb, I didn't notice anything”

“Do you know what an osteosarcoma is?”

“Given the name, I'd say a bone disease” the technical medical term breaks into a so far lighthearted conversation and hijacks it towards a darker destination.

“A tumor, for the record”

“Is that what happened to you, years ago?”

“Yes”

“But you won against that fucking tumor, I mean, you're alright now”

“But that fucking tumor left its mark anyway, Stone”

“Grace, seriously, there's nothing that could push me away from you. I know I may look like an uptight fucker but I'm not easily impressed” I'd better avoid telling her that I don't really like needles though.

“Do you know how they cure osteosarcoma?”

“Chemotherapy?”

“Chemotherapy and surgery”

“Ok”

“It started from the big toe, an extremely rare circumstance the doctors said”

“You always have to stand out, right?” I try and keep things light and Grace smiles keeps going along with me but I'm not sure this is the best attitude although I'm not showing it.

“Then it spread to all the toes, then the rest. It was all so fast, one week before I felt good, I lived my life as usual, then my foot hurt while I was jogging and one week later I was risking to lose my leg or worse, to die if it reached vital organs”

“But the super docs did their magic thing and cured you and got you back in shape” I sound like the annoying child who doesn't wanna hear the drama parts of the good night story and wants to get straight to the happy ending so he can fall asleep in peace.

“Yeah, they saved me. At a small cost”

“Grace, I don't give a fuck if your foot is not nice to see, the important thing is that you're here, now, with me, and you can tell this story”

“It's not nice to see because you can't see it, Stone. Didn't you understand? It's not there anymore, I don't have it, I had to have it amputated” I can hear words coming out of Grace's lips but they sound emptied of every trace of sense and meaning. I feel the need to sit down and say something, anything, but whereas I manage to do the first thing, my second goal seems strangely impossible. Maybe for the first time in my life I don't know what to say.  I mean, there are so many things I'd want to say that roll in my head and they all seem stupid, shallow, flat and completely useless.

“Stone?”

And I don't even know how to move now. What do I do? If I back up, I'd look detached. If I get closer, she'll think I'm flaunting a quietness I realistically can't have right now. Same thing if I look at her feet. But if I purposedly avoid looking at them, she'll convince herself she scared me.

“Say something, Stone. Or if you don't wanna say anything, at least close your mouth, you've got it wide open for fifteen minutes” Graces reaches for me over the table and closes my jaw with a light pressure of her hand. Her hand so delicate, sweet, gentle, like her. I can't believe something so terrible could happen right to Grace. Ok, nobody deserves such pain and the world is full of horrors. But I wanna be free to get mad at such an injustice.

“Is it the left one or right one?” I finally speak. And I say something stupid, of course.

“What difference does it make?” Grace looks at me as if I was dumb.

“I just asked”

“The right one”

“And do you have a prosthesis?”

“How would I stand up and walk otherwise?”

“But you wouldn't say it, I mean, when you walk, you walk normally. You're just-”

“As slow as a snail” she finishes my sentence and it's like when in crime movies they give you the ultimate hint and it lights a spark for the detective, who starts going backwards through all the key points of the investigation. In my specific case, all the times I made fun of Grace for being slow.

“God, I'm a jerk” and here's the sudden realization.

“Jerk or not, you couldn't have known this”

“Yes but I feel like shit all the same”

“Stop thinking about it and you'll be better. So, what do you wanna do now?”

“What do I wanna do?”

“From my personal experience, I can say men fall into two categories at this point. I wanna know which one you belong to”

“It depends on the categories” I answer, more and more uncomfortable on this chair. Maybe it's because it's the new one. Yeah, that's it. Grace is right, she's always been right, not all chairs are the same.

“Those who don't wanna see and those who want to look”

“Oh”

“And inside the before mentioned categories, we can find two subgroups: those who don't wanna see that but ask me to show them, because they want to pretend they don't care, and those who are actually curious and would like to watch, but they say no because they don't want me to think they're gross”

“I, well, I guess I belong to a brand new category”

“That is?”

“The ones who don't know what to do”

“Hehe well, that's surely a more honest category” Grace stands up and I immediately do the same.

“Did you tell somebody else? I mean, to our friends?”

“No”

“Why didn't you tell me before?”

“That's not exactly something you say during small talk, what do you think? Hi, I'm Grace, I'm an aquarious and my favorite color is red. Oh and by the way, I only got one foot”

“I... I need... yeah, I mean, I gotta get out” how can I tell her I need to leave without looking like a jerk? I have no idea, and that's why it comes out like shit.

“Are you leaving?” she asks as I take my jacket and start putting it on.

“I need some fresh air”

“Oh, ok”

“And I have to clear my mind.” as I try to put my arm into the second sleeve for the third time unsuccessfully, Grace has pity and helps me “Thank you”

“Are you ok, Stone?” I honestly don't know the answer to this question and I don't even know why.

“Sure, everything's alright.” I take her face into my hands and kiss her “It's just... I didn't see that coming, I have to... process it, figure all this out, that's it” I tell her and myself.

“After all these years, I still haven't found a better way to say it”

“Well, you won't need to find another way now anyway”

“No?”

“No, 'cause you're with me now, you won't have to say it to any other guy” I offer a more sincere smile to Grace, also because she deserve nothing less, and kiss her again.

“Thank god. See, you're not totally useless then”

“Good night, Pebbles”

“Night, Stone” I get out of Grace's apartment, then leave the building, then get into my car and that's when I realize I have been holding my breath the whole fucking time.

[sparklingskz]

the other side | kim woojin

▸ genre: fluff, neighbors au

▸ description: you heard a voice from the other side of your wall singing along to the music you were playing, which was... odd?

▸ word count: 2.2k

▸ a/n: sorry for taking a bit long to post.... i’ve just been stressed with school and life :(

The moment you stepped foot into your apartment you sighed in relief, peeling off your jacket and putting your things down on the table.

It had been a shitty day.

Between your teachers giving you way too many assignments, your co-workers screaming at each other and someone spilling their coffee on your shirt, you could definitely say you weren't in the best of moods. That's why you were just craving to get into bed, watch a movie and officially declare the day as over.

The faint smell of coffee on your clothes called for a shower, though.

You made your way to the bathroom, preparing some towels and pressing play on your showering playlist. Yes, you knew the walls were thin and you would probably get complains from some of your annoying neighbors. Did you care? Not at all, because what you needed in that precise moment was to destress, and what better way to do it than singing as if no one could hear you?

Well, turns out that last part was probably not true. 

You were shampooing your hair, enthusiastically busting out the lyrics of "Shape of You" alongside Ed Sheeran, when you heard a voice joining you, coming from the other side of your wall. You immediately froze, your voice dying in your throat and your hands coming to a halt in your hair. A tiny bit of embarrassment came over you, when you realized that a complete stranger was actively listening to your party of one. You focused on the voice, which showed no signs of stopping whatsoever and just kept singing even though you had become silent.

Mystery Voice Person was really good at singing, you noted. After listening for a few seconds, you decided to just throw all of your embarrassment out the window and started singing along again, both of your voices mixing together to finish the song.

When the next song started playing, you were half expecting the stranger to abandon the improvised duet-thing you had going on, but the moment Ariana Grande's voice filled the room you heard a small gasp followed by the same voice singing along. You, of course, immediately joined, and admittedly became a bit jealous due to the fact that Mystery Voice Person could hit such high notes so effortlessly.

A few minutes later and to your dismay, you didn't really have a reason to stay in the shower anymore, as you had finished washing up. That meant that it was time to turn off the music, but a part of you wanted to continue singing with the stranger, however odd it was. You let the song that was already playing come to an end, hearing how the person sang the final notes, and then got out of the shower. You stopped the music, and didn't hear any other sound coming from the other side of your wall.

-

Turns out that Mystery Voice Person joining your impromptu shower singing session wasn't a one-time occurrence, as in the course of the next few weeks it became common to hear the sound of their voice coming from the apartment next to you.

It was like this game that you had created, where one of you would start playing music and, if the other knew the song (which was most of the time), the both of you would sing along to it. Your music taste was really similar, ranging from slow ballads to hype songs that made you want to start dancing in the spot.

With the course of time you figured out that you guys shared both your bathroom and your living room wall, so you started to play music every time you took a shower or when you had free time and were just lounging in the sofa, looking forward to seeing if the stranger would join or not. That was, if he wasn't the one playing the music first.

Sometimes, you would come home from work and hear the faint sound of a song getting louder as you neared your apartment, and a smile would take over your face when you thought of your neighbor listening to it, waiting for you to join.

It was a pretty fun dynamic, to say the least.

Even though you hadn't met this neighbor face to face, the fact that you shared something as simple as music felt special. Sometimes one of the two of you would laugh at some ridiculous song choices the other would make (Barbie Girl was part of your playlist once), and other times you would notice the other had a bad day when their music consisted of pretty sad tunes. When that happened, you always tried to cheer the other up by singing in the most awful tones you could muster, earning some heartfelt laughter in return.

You didn't feel the need to see each other in person (you never happened to meet when entering your apartments anyways), as you considered that singing together was enough. You did exchange names around a week after the first time you sang together, that being the longest conversation you had held with each other.

"So," you said while getting closer to the wall so you could be heard more clearly, pausing the song that had started playing after the last one. "We've been singing together for like a week now and I don't know your name, Mystery Voice Person."

You could hear the sound of a breathy laugh coming from the other side of the wall. "My name is Woojin, and yours?"

"I'm y/n," you said after smiling, pressing play on the song.

Woojin.

-

It was an ordinary day, same old routine. Getting home, putting away your belongings, preparing something to eat, and then heading to the shower while pressing play on your music.

However, you felt that something was missing that day.

During these past weeks, when you showered at that hour Woojin had joined your singing, which meant that he was usually home around that time.

However, that day you were met with complete silence from the other side of the wall.

You didn't think much of it as first, as it wasn't an obligation of some sort to always be there when the other one played music. People had lives, so Woojin was probably just busy and wasn't home. Or, he just wasn't in the mood to sing that day. Whatever it was, you just hoped he was okay.

You started to become a bit worried when four whole days had passed with no interaction with Woojin. The weird thing is you had actually heard sounds coming from his apartment, like him walking or moving stuff around. You weren't about to go knock on his door and ask him what was going on, because it wasn't like you had an official agreement to what you were doing and you guys definitely weren't friends. Right? You were just neighbors who happened to really like singing together. 

On the fifth day of you not hearing any singing from Woojin, you happened to be released from work early and decided to use that time to relax a bit; maybe take a bath, go for a walk or watch something on Netflix while munching on some food. You ultimately decided on the latter, grabbing some snacks from the kitchen and heading towards the living room, ready to just plop down on the sofa and not move from that position for at least a few hours.

It was when you heard the muffled sound of someone crying that you stopped in your tracks, focusing your attention solely on finding out where it was from.

It sounded like it was coming from the direction of Woojin's apartment.

Food abandoned on the coffee table, you didn't lose one more second and got closer to the wall, moving over to the spot where the crying could be heard more clearly. You softly placed your hands on the surface, wondering if it would be appropriate to say something or not.

"... Woojin?" you asked, loud enough to be heard from the other side of the wall but still trying to sound gentle.

The crying seemed to stop for a moment, before Woojin answered. 

"Um." It sounded like he was trying to compose himself, followed by a sniffle. "Yes?"

"Are you ok?" You obviously knew he wasn't, but what else could you ask? You weren't about to demand him to tell you what was wrong.

Another sniffle. "Yeah, don't worry about me."

Hell, how could you not be worried when he practically disappeared from your sort-of-friendship without notice, and now he was there, sounding like he was having a hard time?

"Hey, I know we don't really know each other but... If you need someone to talk to, I'm here." After a few moments, you added "Even if it's through the wall."

A few seconds passed in complete silence, and then you heard some movement on the other side.

When Woojin spoke again, his voice sounded much closer, as if he had moved right next to where you were standing. "Um..." He seemed to hesitate for a moment. "It's just that I talked with my parents and they aren't very pleased with the idea of me studying music. They think that it's an unstable career, that I'm not good enough for it, that I'm not going to earn enough money... You know the drill." He sighed.

Well shit.

"Oh... That sucks, not gonna lie." You were able to hear a small chuckle.

"Yeah, so that's why I distanced myself from music for a bit, I'm really confused and thinking if I should just change majors completely." He sounded defeated.

"Woojin, your parent's opinions aren't yours. Do you love it? Do you love music?"

"Yes." He didn't hesitate.

"There you go. That's what matters in the end, the only path you should take is the one that makes you happy. If they see how hard you work for it and how much passion you put into music, maybe they'll see how important it is to you and they'll change their minds. Or maybe they won't, but you'll still have other people supporting you for who you truly are." You stopped your motivational speech for a second, waiting to see if he would say something. He didn't, so you continued. "And you definitely have the talent to study music, trust me. You shouldn't abandon it, as it sounds like you were meant for it."

A few more seconds of silence passed, when you heard him start crying again, and you panicked.

"Wait, did I say something wrong? I'm sorry! Woojin? What's wrong?"

"No, it's just... I really needed to hear that."

You visibly relaxed, and smiled. "Tell me if I'm overstepping, but you sound like you need a tight hug right now, and I'm happy to provide."

You heard the sound of steps getting softer by the second, followed by a door opening and closing. You held your breath in anticipation, just as the sound of your door bell ringing filled your apartment.

Rapidly heading towards your front door, you opened it to reveal a red-eyed, messy haired Woojin. You instantly opened your arms in invitation, and he was quick to wrap his own around you.

It was the first time you were seeing him in person, which meant that you would be able to stop imagining how he looked like every time his beautiful voice reached your ears. You weren't able to catch many details about him as he was currently hugging you, but you noted that he was pretty tall, your face barely reaching his shoulder, and that the smell of his cologne was very pleasant.

You stayed in that position for a few more seconds, and you tried to convey as much support in that hug as you could. He then pulled away, and quickly reached to rub at his eyes with the end of his hoodie's sleeve (he had actual sweater paws).

"Wow, I can't believe this is our first time officially meeting and I'm crying my eyes out." He laughed, and you followed.

"Hey, we've listened to each other's sad playlists, I'd say there's nothing to be embarrassed of after that."

"True, true."

"Are you feeling any better?" You softly asked.

"Definitely... You're right, I need to do what makes me happy, and that's definitely music. I just need a way to deal with my parents." He grimaced.

"You can think about that later, how about we stop standing in my doorway and you come inside to watch something on the TV to distract yourself? At least for a while," you offered.

He didn't hesitate to nod. "But only if we're watching a comedy or something, I can't handle any more crying right now."

You let out a chuckle. "You're picking, then." You moved to the side to let him inside your apartment.

And that's how you found yourself sitting in the sofa with Woojin, movie forgotten in the background as you both got to know each other over a huge bowl of popcorn. 

Who knew you would be able to get to know someone over the fact that you sang songs together from two different apartments, only separated by a thin wall?

[hcneymilkks]

NCT Jeno ‘Next Door’

requested by the lovely @jaeminsoftgf ! thanks for requesting Summer and I hope it lives to your expectations! 

Request your own oneshot here!

prompt numbers:

2. SWEATER PAWS AND CUDDLES. “if you don’t grab me a blanket I’m breaking up with you.” “I’m watching Barbie Nutcracker.”

16. Neighbour au in which one gets drunk on mulled wine and ends up knocking at the other’s door, drunkenly trying to seduce the other and - instead - passing out in their living room

Pairing: Jeno x Reader

Genre: Fluff/slight crack 

Word count: 1.5k 

MASTERLIST

So,,,,,, you come home earlier than expected for the holidays and notice that the neighbours beside you have moved out

They lived beside you ever since you were a kid and you were sad because they were an elderly couple who were so sweet

So ofc you get sad and all

BUT

The new neighbour comes rolling in and WTF

He's handsome.....like hella handsome

Meet Jeno. Second-year University student studying medicine

He comes popping to your door to introduce himself and that's when you knew

Uh oh

Fuck no,,,, heart pls skip the love at first sight ahhhhhh

So naturally, you would do what any ordinary person would do, you introduce yourself back and ask if he wants to come in to hang or something

But yet, you're not ordinary and instead slam the door in his face and run up the stairs

"Y/F/N I swear he's hella hot....and I just did a dumb thing."

Mr. Jeno on the other hand,,,, just couldn't get you off of his mind

Like he thought when you get into University, crushes are non-existent

NOPE

Moving into this new neighbourhood made him realize something, he wanted to be friends with you.

 ....maybe even more.

 A few days into break and you're helping your parents decorate.

All I want for Christmas is blasting in your room and you couldn't help but belt out to the song and bust out your "best" dance moves

When I put it in quotation marks I mean like just fist-pumping many times into the air and doing the dab or something

You don't even notice but Jeno is just staring at you like "wtf are you doing woman?" but at the same time, he's enjoying it because he's never seen you like this before

Like come on you barely leave the house anyways

And like once the song finishes you look at your window and SEE THAT THE CURTAINS WERE DRAWN AND YOU REALIZE THAT JENO SAW THE WHOLE THING AND HE STARTED TO CLAP AND LAUGH (even though you couldn't hear it)

You scream and try to close the curtains but Jeno puts up a piece of paper

"you were AMAZING."

You tilt your head and then reach to grab some papers and markers and craft a response of your own

"BRO I AM SO SORRY YOU HAD TO SEE THAT JSJSJSS"

More scribbling, more showing paper.

"LMAO IT'S FINE I GENUINELY ENJOYED IT."

Then you realize that you both are like recreating that one Taylor Swift music video by writing messages and showing each other INSTEAD OF JUST OPENING THE DAMN WINDOW AND TALKING

But its okay because you both get closer for some reason

Even though your hand hurts

And as you scribble down another response, Jeno beats you to it.

"WANNA COME TO THE NIGHT MARKET WITH ME?"

That my friends is how you went on a "date" to the night market

^^ I say date like that because you both don't know it's a date....but it kinda is

Food everywhere, some snow falling, a huge Christmas tree in the center

You both manage to do some Christmas shopping and regret not bringing a bigger bag.

"Jeno help I'm dying."

"okay um....wait,,,, what's your name?"

Smooth Jeno smooth.

But like how else was he supposed to get your name?

"it's Y/N. Now help me."

By the end of the night, your stomachs were filled, and your minds were filled with more ideas of what to do together.

NOT TO MENTION SOME PICTURES THAT YOU SECRETLY TOOK OF HIM

AND LIKE DAMNNNNN HIS SIDE PROFILE SEXY

You both finally got each other's numbers

Contact names:

 Jennifer/Jen NOOOOO LMAO IMAGINE JENNIFER IM CRYING

Y/N/The LOML/DabDab Y/N

Getting closer to Christmas and you both have late night convos and send each other memes

It's like WOOJIN God had sent you a sign like "bitch hello this is the boy for you now take him."

Conversations would be like:

Jen NOOOOOO: Y/N, Y/N, FOR FRICK SAKES Y/N

You: OI YOU ASPARAGUS WHAT DO YOU WANT I'M TRYNA SLEEP

Jen NOOOOOO: WHO U CALLING AN ASPARAGUS?! THAT VEGETABLE IS A STICK AND DO I LOOK LIKE A MF STICK!?!

You: UM......

Jen NOOOOOO: ANYWAYS wanna make snow angles?

Jen NOOOOOO: Angles*

Jen NOOOOOO: Angles*

Jen NOOOOOO: A N G L E S*

Jen NOOOOOO: OHMYGOD ANGLES*

Jen NOOOOOO: SJSJSJSJ NVM

Now we getting to the good tea oof

So it's December 23rd, two days before Christmas

You decide to stay at home cuddled up in a blanket having a movie marathon

And then the doorbell rings and there's knocking

You pause the movie, keep the blanket on like a cape and then open the door

The cold air hits your face before you could see who was there

·It's none other than Jeno

"Um hi?"

"Y/N! MY LOVE! THE LOVE OF MY LIFE! HOW I MISSED YOU!" he funnily walks in and spins around in your living room.

At first,,,, you don't understand...like why is Jeno at your house at 11 pm at night?

Then your phone dings like 10 times

Jen NOOOOOO: IS THIS A Y/N?

You: UM WHO ARE YOU AND WHY DO YOU HAVE JENO'S PHONE?!

Jen NOOOOOO: I'M ONE OF HIS FRIENDS YOU DUMB DUMB AND IM HERE TO WARN YOU THAT JENO JUST LEFT HIS HOUSE TO COME TO YOURS....I THINK HE WANTS TO TRY AND KISS YOU OR CONFESS TO YOU IDK

You: WHO TF U CALLIN DUMB DUMB AND WHY DID YOU LET HIM OUT OF THE HOUSE?

Jen NOOOOO: let's just say he got too drunk and elbowed Haechan in the face while he was restraining him

You couldn't even finish answering when Jeno back hugged you, his breath tingling the back of your neck

You stiffened at the sudden contact and you felt butterflies in your stomach

Oh no

OH NO

"Y/N....let's cuddleeeeee"

Jeno drags you to the couch and awkwardly tries to cuddle you which resulted in him giving up and just standing back up.

"Y/N look at meeeee."

Dammit he's a pouty baby.

He squishes his cheeks and tries to wink and does so many things at once like damn boy calm down.

"Y/N,,, are you a Christmas light? Because you light up my world.

"Y/N,,,, you're the gingerbread to my house."

Jeno stumbles walking closer to you "Hey Y/N,,,, you're sexy, come-" and instead passes out on the couch awkwardly.

You didn't know what to do. But Jeno's snoring made you snap out of your daze and took a photo.

You: WHOEVER HAS JENO'S PHONE PICK HIM UP LMAO HE DIED

Jen NOOOOO: HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA......nah

You: WTF

So that's how for the rest of the night you got stuck with a passed out Jeno and cringing at what he kept saying.

There's no way he was into you? Right?

HELL NAH YOU ARE SO WRONG

December 24th, the next day.

Jeno groans and somehow has the hugest hangover.....and realizes he's not in his house.

He turns his head way too fast to see you coming to him with water, some pills and breakfast.

It's like five seconds and the food is already gone...like sir slow down

Jeno feels much better and it's an awkward silence

"um...I'm gonna head out-" "Um...why did you come here yesterday so out of the blue?"

Cue Jeno blushing and stuttering and trying to figure out what to say.

"I uh.....well my friends and I were playing truth or dare and if we didn't want to answer the question we had to drink some wine. Let's just say I didn't answer any questions and I guess my um...heart led me here?"

Awkward silence.

"Oh...wow um I'm flattered? I mean I just didn't expect it....but I also didn't mind it you know?"

So that's how you both just indirectly confessed to each other.

You two didn't waste time putting the labels of boyfriend and girlfriend. Him grabbing a few clothes from next door because he said he didn't wanna be alone on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

"And what better way than to spend it with my lovely girlfriend?"

"Lee Jeno if you don't get me a blanket from upstairs I'm breaking up with you."

So what did he do? HE BROUGHT A BLANKET FROM HIS HOUSE LMAOOOO

Also some of his hoodies because of your late-night call confessions.

You: "I want a boyfriend."

Jeno: "excuse me am I not enough for you?"

You: "Jeno." *laughing* "you know what I mean...like I want a real boyfriend. One that I can cuddle all day with and fully call mine...NOT TO MENTION THE FREE CLOTHES LIKE HELL YEAH I WANT THEM FREE HOODIES FROM THE BOY."

When Jeno throws the hoodie and blanket at you, you're confused because you never owned this type of blanket...UNTIL YOU REALIZED THAT THIS IS HIS BLANKET THAT HE SLEEPS WITH.

Yeah you both literally, just call, text and facetime even though you are just one door away from each other.

But who has time to walk LMAo

Okay we getting off track so like back to the present day

So you put on Jeno's hoodie and damn does it smell good.

He notices that you have sweater paws and he just goes all soft and wants cuddles.

"Oh yeah, what are you watching?" he asks as you press the play button.

"I'm watching Barbie Nutcracker."

 For the rest of Christmas Eve you both cuddle under the blanket while watching Christmas themed movies.

And damn you think this might be the best Christmas ever.

[hqolympia]

chicago’s very own 𝐎𝐋𝐘𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐕𝐄 has been spotted on madison avenue driving a chevrolet corvette z06 , welcome ! your resemblance to 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒗𝒊𝒏 is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your 𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒅 birthday bash . your chance of surviving new york is uncertain because you’re 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 , but being 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒆 might help you . i think being a 𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊 explains that .  3 things that would paint a better picture of you would be 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 ,  𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧 & 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 . 

hi ,  peachy !  my  name’s  char  &  that  smile  of  yours  is  making  my  heart  melt !  🥺 allow  me  to  introduce  u  to  my  fren  over  here !

full name :  olympia  giselle  hargrove

nickname :  oly ,  pia  (tho, the latter one is reserved for her grandmother)

date of birth :  may  22nd , 1997  (23) 

birth place :  chicago , il

sexual orientation : pansexual

occupation :  competitive diver

labels :  the  crimson  /  the  icarian

𝐢.  𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

one :  picture a little girl with bright blue eyes, pigtails bouncing with every step she takes as a grin makes its way upon her face . she seems happy ---- and in the moment she truly is, despite the fact that the people she needs the most, her parents, are a few thousand miles away and aren’t here to see olympia say her first words or take her first step. she is too young to understand --- honestly, too young to even think about the reasons why they left her.

two :  she is a little bit older now, a full-on eleven years old --- taller, thinner and, most importantly, rowdier. she has quite a few friends, although they all seem to be having picnics with their barbie dolls and sleepovers dedicated to watching princess movies whereas olympia wants to run around and jump all over the place. the girls just don’t seem to match her energy, the boys aren’t exactly welcoming towards her, having this stupid, “ew, but you’re a girl!” mindset. she just wants to find something for herself, something that will keep her interested for longer than three hours ---- that something turned out to be diving.

three :  it’s a few years later, and now she’s standing at the 10m platform. it’s her last dive, and she needs to get it exactly right to win the gold medal. olympia would honestly be lying if she said her legs weren’t shaking because of how nervous she was --- but there’s a camera right in front of her face, therefore she has to keep it together. she turns around, takes one last breath, and then she’s up in the air. fifteen seconds later she’s fully submerged into water ----- and fifteen minutes later she has tears coming out of her eyes. she did it. she’s the world champion now.

four : it’s exactly a year later, and a lot has changed. olympia finds herself in the sunny city of rio de janeiro where she’s come to compete in her first olympic games --- which is exactly what she’s always been meant to do, judging by the name her parents gave her. except this time she’s nervous for an entirely different reason --- she’s now a successful athlete, this season’s leader and the one to watch out for. she’s the reigning world champion, for god’s sake, so she has to prove every single person out there she didn’t win on an accident. a lot of things seem to be going wrong; from oly flubbing her first dive to her coach coming up to her before her final one to say that her parents have showed up at the arena. eventually she finds herself in the same exact position as she did back in Russia ---- her palms are sweating, her legs are shaking, but there’s no turning back. the only way is down, so she has to dive one way or another. a jump, two somersaults, a twist ----- she’s back in the pool, and as she immediately drowns in the roar coming from the audience, tears start coming out of her eyes. she did it again. she’s lived up to her name.

five :  ever since she got back home, her life has completely changed. interview after interview, a campaign after a photoshoot, an event after the other ---- all of that mixed in with her training routine has it ups and downs. her schedule keeps her busy yet there’s something missing. she’s looking everywhere in the hopes of finding that missing piece, and at some point she feels like she’s found it in the face of a stranger who ends up in her bed that night. it brings her a sense of serenity, that lasts a few weeks ---- but olympia knows it’s all too good to be true, and it’s proven to be that way as she stumbles upon a certain page on a random night. it doesn’t seem real at first, but when she spots a tattoo on the girl’s ribcage, a realization hits her ---- she’s plastered all over porn sites, and that particular video featuring her has generated a few million views in a span of two months. she doesn’t remember the night at first due to her drunken state, but she recognizes her bedroom, particularly a personalized louis vuitton gym bag sitting in the corner. details like that help her piece the night together, and from that point on there’s nothing but fear of it all coming out and ruining her career.

𝐢𝐢.  𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀

basically ! this intro is all over the place so here are some bullet points to get u up to speed !

oly was born in chicago but grew up and spent most of her time in toronto with her grandmother, since her parents were setting up their business overseas. they were coming by to visit her maybe once or twice a year, so she isn’t as close with them.

she is a competitive diver (a quite decorated one bc .... why wouldn’t she be 🥺🥺🥺)  representing canada bc of her upbringing despite the fact that she now lives in new york (she moved here in 2017, after the rio olympics)

astrology wise, she is a gemini sun cancer rising .... so sorry to all of u for this

her placements mean that she is quite creative, capricious and may appear manic sometimes --- but really she is just downright STUPID bc she is always trying to get her ass into trouble. like, you can’t even imagine how many times her coach had to drag her out of the mess she got herself into ... 

she is very much about having sympathy for others and helping them and whatnot, but unbeknownst to her, these tendencies can be explained by the “keep your friends close and your enemies closer” mindset. she has to keep her act straight, so getting onto someone’s bad side isn’t in the cards for her --- god knows what kind of shit she may end up in now that she’s a part of ... this world of glamour and fame, u kno?

olympia also really loves to talk, preach, argue --- just do whatever to be heard

in her free time (the time when she doesn’t feel like wreaking havoc tbh) she usually cooks deserts (vegan banana pudding? blackberry sorbet? key lime cheesecake? u want it, u got it!), reads books (painted veil by somerset is her ultimate FAV) and ... drives around town whilst listening to some cheesy music 🥺 

other than that her usual routine consists of training, clubbing and messing shit up due to the chaotic stupid personality !

𝐢𝐢𝐢.  𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

i promise this intro won’t be that long ... after this ! 🤠🤠🤠these are just the few ideas i can get off the top of my head so ... there’s always room for brainstorming ! :-)

𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐃 / close friends --- everybody needs some sort of a support system in their life, and oly is no exception to this rule. she’s never really had a big family, therefore she’s always surrounded herself with people in the hopes of filling the empty space in her heart. and honestly, if it wasn’t for these people, she would’ve quit diving right after winning the olympics, moved to the suburbs of toronto and just lived a quiet life --- but the pride for her friends just gives her enough motivation to move further and become better.

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄 / best friend --- we all have that someone who’s impossibly close to us; who we cannot imagine our lives without. the bond is so crucial to them both parties that it feels as if there’s never been a moment without each other. the general public and tabloids, though, feel as if there’s more going on and will not stop nagging them about the details.

𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐃𝐄𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐃 / friends drifted apart / exes --- as weird as it is, oly is very much a yolo person. in addition to that, she has a ton of love and devotion for every single person she’s ever had in her life no matter what happened between them or what caused them to drift apart. though, her ever-changing nature is known to drive people away which, tbh, happens to be a blessing and a curse -- it helps oly sort of “filter” through her circle of friends, but then again, if someone enters her life, they leave and undeniable impact on it. therefore, she misses whoever left her life more than they could ever imagine.

𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔 / rival (?) --- olympia isn’t perfect in any way, shape or form. she knows that, but most importantly, the public knows that and will not stop critiquing every little thing that she does. this person, though, is the exact opposite - the public LOVES them to the point where even olympia’s parents would probably say things like “ugh, i wish you could be more like that!”. this makes the relationship between the two quite ... strained. because as much as olympia may love them as a person, there’s always this lingering sense of jealousy that just enables her petty side.

𝐢𝐯. 𝐎𝐎𝐂

ok so ! if you’ve reached this part of my intro ... i cannot thank u enough bc this ?? this is long as HECK but i wanted to actually try and describe the kind of muse i envision in my head. i love u all a latte & if u feel like plotting w/ my dumb kid, leave a like on this post or feel free to mssg me on discord under futurenostalgias#1692 🤠sidenote tho: i’ll probably get to the mssgs in a few hours seeing as i have a few assignments to complete and i’m sorta braindead ... love u , cannot wait to write w/ u ! xoxo ur friendly neighborhood trash char  

[inkedmyths]

It's too perfect an opportunity to pass up

Weekly prompt for the LU Discord which is a disaster

Modern AU featuring @draconiswinters Darks!

-

---

-

Target spotted.

Warriors slowly walked up closer to his doppleganger, who was too busy on his phone to notice his approach. Hylia only knew what Conqueror was doing on there, and right now he didn't care. No. He had more important things on his mind right now. Like what an excellent reaction he wad about to get.

He pulled out his own phone, made sure the volume on his speaker was all the way up, and pressed 'play' on the song he had queued up on repeat.

"Hiya Barbie!"

"Hi Ken!"

Conqueror froze. He slowly turned around, already angry face turning livid at the sight of Warriors. Who was grinning and on the verge of bursting into laughter.

"You want a ride?"

He turned, fists clenched, and charged with out a second thought.

"Sure, Ken!"

Oh shit.

"Jump in!"

-

Legend leaned against a wall. He sighed, checking his phone again for texts. Warriors was usually here by now. While it was entirely uncommon for him to be late, it was incredibly boring to wait for the tall blond.

Hang on. What was that?

It sounded like Warriors laughing, and a song was blasting-

Oh no.

"I'm a Barbie girl in a Barbie World!"

Warriors ran by, cackling like a madman as he blasted Aqua's Barbie girl at the absolute loudest his portable speaker would go.

"Life in plastic, it's fantastic!"

He vaulted over a table and nearly tripped over a chair in an effort to go as fast as he possibly could to get away from his pursuer.

"You can brush my hair, undress me anywhere"

Legend wasn't surprised to see none other than Conqueror hot on his heels, face contorted into rage as he charged forward, leaping over the same table so as not to lose ground on his target.

"Imagination, life is your creation"

They vanished around a corner, the goddess-awful song fading as they ran off. Legend shook his head, snickering slightly. It was pretty funny, even if there was a good chance Warriors was going to have be his ass beat. In fact, that made it funnier.

-

Wind was bouncing a basketball in the park. He wasn't really a basketball player, but it was fun sometimes to try and shoot hoops. He bounced it again and prepared to shoot-

When his older brother charged in front of him, nearly knocking him over.

"Come on Barbie let's go party!" He sang along with his speaker, which was an impressive feat at a full sprint.

Conqueror, who was right behind him, screeched in response. He looked like he was going to explode from rage.

Wind started laughing. Barbie Girl, that was perfect. "Nice one!" He yelled after his brother, who flashed a grin at him before running out of the park with his angry double following.

-

Time was flipping through his shopping list outside the store. Malon had said they needed shampoo, and Twilight wanted root beer floats tonight... was there anything else he'd forgotten? Hopefully not, but he had to make sure. He pulled out his phone to make a call.

"Everything alright, hun?" His wife asked when she picked up.

"Yeah, I was just double checking to make sure there isn't anything I forgot to write down on the shopping list. I have-"

His train of thought was interrupted by cradhing in the distance. He saw several chairs get knocked over, a familiar blue scarf running through them. And what was that he was hearing?

Oh Hylia help him.

"I'm a blonde bimbo girl in a fantasy world"

He hated that song.

"Dress me up, make it tight, I'm your dolly"

It was awful on so many levels.

"You're my doll, rock'n'roll, feel the glamour in pink"

He wasn't the only one who thought this, apparently. Conqueror picked up one of the fallen chairs, looking as though he intended to smash it over Warriors's head.

"Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky panky"

He couldn't blame him.

"You can touch"

Conqueror chucked the chair.

"You can play"

It missed.

"If you say 'I'm always yours'"

Warriors waved at Time as he ran by, laughing madly. Conqueror screamed something unintelligible and resumed his chase of the blond, his orange scarf trailing behind him. They vanished around another corner, taking the horrid song with them.

"What on earth was all that noise?" Malon's voice drifted out of the receiver, bringing Time back to the present.

"Don't worry about it," he said tiredly. "Just some of the boys being stupid."

"Fair enough."

-

Hyrule whistled a tune from his perch on a tree branch. He wasn't sure what had driven him to climb up here, but it was kind of nice to watch people pass by below him. Scanning the area, he smiled when he saw Warriors round a corner towards him. Then frowned. He was running. Why was he running? And was that... music? Wait a second...

"I'm a Barbie Girl in a Barbie World"

What.

"Life in plastic, it's fantastic"

Oh my Hylia why was he blasting that- oh. Conqueror was chasing him. That explained it.

"You can brush my hair, undress me anywhere"

They ran underneath his tree, Warrior laughing and Conqueror swearing.

"Imagination, life is your creation"

They turned the corner, disappearing.

Hyrule shrugged. He'd seen weirder, although he was fairly sure this would be the weirdest thing he'd see all day. Would make for an interesting story.

-

Four spun a stick in his hand, pretending it was a sword. He may be a bit too old to be doing so, but he didn't care. It was fun. Besides, he could get away with it because he looked so young.

Shadow was sitting nearby, snickering at him. "You look ridiculous."

Four was about to quip back, but was interrupted by a song blaring behind him.

"C'mon Barbie let's go party"

He turned in time to see Warriors sprint by, along with his doppleganger looking murderous.

"I'm going to strangle you for this you petty bitch!" He could hear Conqueror yell as he ran by.

As they disappeared, Four shook his head. Same ridiculousness as always. He hoped Warrior would be in one piece by the time this was over.

"Wow," said Shadow. "Excellent song choice."

-

Sky was peacefully reading a book. Howl's Moving Castle was a great book in his opinion, and he loved the movie. After his lunch at the café, he decided he'd go home and watch it.

His peace however, was quickly shattered.

"Make me walk, make me talk, do whatever you please"

Sky looked up in horrified surprise as the song came blasting along with a tall blond in a blue scarf.

"I can act like a star, I can beg on my knees"

Warriors was laughing, which was followed by a yelp as he got hit with a rolled up napkin of silverware from one of the tables.

"Come jump in, bimbo friend, let us do it again"

The source of the projectile was Conqueror, who furiously threw a vase at him next.

"Hit the town, fool around, let's go party"

That projectile missed, smashing against the pavement. He cursed, then flung himself forward to charge again at Warriors.

Sky rubbed his forehead after the two had gone. Why oh why, he wondered, could he not have a moment's peace and normalcy anymore without something happening? Something that almost always involved another Link? He sighed, then tried to get back into his book and forget what he just saw.

-

Twilight groaned as Wild clambered up onto a wall. "Can you not try and do parkour right now?"

"Why not?"

"Maybe because we're not somewhere you should be doing parkour?"

"Parkour is for everywhere."

Twiliggt groaned at this, before stopping suddenly. "Do you hear that?" Wild went quiet, listening.

"You can touch"

"Wha-"

"You can play"

Twilight turned around just in time to be barreled over by Warriors, who was for some reason blasting that one song by Aqua.

"If you say 'I'm always yours'"

Twilight fell over to the side. Warriors quickly got up with a breathless "Sorry Twi" before resuming his mad dash.

"You can touch"

Conqueror pounded after Warriors, leaping over Twi's sprawled form so as not to lose ground in pursuing the object of his hatred.

"You can play"

Wild was laughing, nearly toppling off the wall as he stopped focusing on keeping his balance in favor of watching the scene below.

"If you say 'I'm always yours'"

The duo vanished behind the other end of the wall, leaving Twilight on the ground and Wild still chuckling on the wall.

"Maybe you should have parkoured up here to get out of the way."

"Shut up."

-

Savage grumbled at his phone. "He's stopped answering."

Acidic shrugged. "Moron probably got distracted by something stupid."

"He'd better hurry up. Eternal's going to be pissed if we're late."

Tempest groaned. "Do we have to do this?" he whined.

"Yes, now shut up!"

"COME ON BARBIE LET'S GO PARTY"

Startled, the three of them looked up at the shouted song lyric. Across the parking lot they were standing in, a familiar blue scarf flashed into view. Close behind him was Conqueror, screaming in absolute fury. And all along the way, that damnable song was blasting.

As the two went out of sight behind another building, Savage muttered "So that's why he wasn't answering his phone." His words went unregistered, however, because Tempest and Acidic were roaring with laughter.

"Barbie girl, holy shit," Acidic wheezed, tears streaming down his face.

"His face!" Tempest howled, falling onto his back.

Savage groaned. Eternal was going to kill them all when they arrived late. He only hoped that Conqueror being far more late would divert most of the anger onto him.

-

"I can't believe you're still alive, you moron."

"C'mon Legend, have a little more faith in me. Like I would let that idiot catch up to me."

"That was a great prank though! It's a shame I don't have a good nickname for Tempest..."

"Look what you're teaching your brother."

"Teaching him how to be awesome!"

"That's not the term I was looking for. Try 'stupid'."

"You wound me."

-

"I'm going to murder him."

"We know, you've said it a million times."

"I'm going to strangle him with his own scarf, then tear off his limbs."

"Aw, are you feeling a little upset, Barbie?"

"YOU WANNA FUCKING DIE YOU GODDAMN ORNAMENT?"

"Ow! Bring it you bitch!"

"Would somebody pull those two imbeciles off of each other?"

[creativestalkerrs]

Sunflower University 🌻 Part Two 🌻

A Conspiracy on Campus

Summary; When visiting the police station, Zendaya and Maya discover some information that could lead closer on who might have killed Cit Clemintine. As they try to understand what the hell is happening, Tom also gives them information that could lead to something completely different than expected

Warning; mention of death, detail of the death, mention of pills, swearing

Word Count; 3.6k

A/N; I’m sorry it took a while to get it out, this week was the worst and really busy. I’m trying my hardest to keep on top of everything with request and stuff. I’ll try to get out a few this week and work extra hard on Part Three. I’m actually surprised I got Part Two out this weekend. I love y’all and the support has been amazing xx

--

This is where the story progresses, right? The two ladies waiting for information as everyone they knew was suffering. Zendaya paced around the police station waiting for someone to answer them, hoping that something will be answered in this messy case. Perhaps it wasn’t messy all this time, maybe they just didn’t get the puzzle pieces. Maya waited in a chair, waiting for the police officer to give her a copy of the police report and Cit’s autopsy. Zendaya was a nervous wreck, she was happy Tom wasn’t here for the ride. God knows he’d break down. Zendaya stopped for a brief moment and looked at Maya who was stumbling with her fingers. She looked at Zendaya and made eye connect. “This feels wrong,” Zendaya stated.

“How so?” Maya asked, her hands feel on her lap as she looked into Zendays eyes, reading it like a book. 

“It’s been barely a week and… and we’re Nacy Drew-ing this shit? Maya, that feels a bit wrong,” Zendaya softly spoke as she sat next to Maya.

“If we can figure out this case too, we can see who is behind her death. What if their still out there planning to kill more of your sorority sisters? Do you want to know the truth?” Maya asked. Zendaya sighed and rolled her eyes at Maya, thinking of the pros and cons of the situation. All she could think of it how much life Cit had to live and her poor friend, Tom Holland.

“Fine… I’m only doing this once,” Zendaya said, Maya, cracking a smile.

“Maya Hawke and Zendaya Coleman. You’re here to look at the Cit Clementine case?” A woman asked as Maya jolted up, Zendaya following. “Considering Cit Clementine was cremated yesterday, we had to finish up her report relatively fast before the body started to decompose. I would have asked for you two to see it, but there is no body to show,” The women explained. “And since the body was brutely disfigured, I don’t think you two would want to see your friend like that,” The women looked at her clipboard. “Here is the copy of the case and the autopsy. I ask you to read it here. We’re still looking into the case. We also added we found fingerprints at the crime scene, however, no match was found. They were… unusual prints to say the least,” The women added. Zendaya’s eyebrows scrunched up, confused about what that meet. Maya read the words carefully, making sure not to miss a word or punctuation. Z looked at it as well, memorizing as if it was a script.

Cit Clementine was found by Tom Holland at Sunflower Park on Sunflower University’s campus. She was stabbed in the back 18 times and 18 times in the chest cavity. The victim was beaten around the face and neck, the skull fractured. The face wasn’t recognizable at first few glances. The heart was removed from the victim's body and replaces with a pigs heart. Traces of Diphenhydramine was found in her bloodstream (a form of a sleeping pill) and caused the victim to act erratically. Signs of struggle was found; broken knuckles and brushed wrists. The words ‘the man’ was carved on the victims lower back. 

Zendaya was horrified at the report. She couldn’t imagine the pain and how scared and alone Cit felt in her last moments alive. Who did this? “Miss… is there any leads on who could have done this? Any evidence at all?” Zendaya asked looking at the women as Maya gave the report back to her.

“Very little. The victim's phone was found and we’re trying to track down if anything is on that. A marijuana blunt was found near her, but it was ruled out to not be apart of the case, considering Sunflower Park is a smoke hole. Any fingerprints that were found were destroyed. We never saw anything like it. We collected some hair and DNA samples and our forensics team is still looking into it. Really, our best lead is the pig heart that was found inside the victim. The pig heart was purchased at Sunnyland Grocery Store and we’re seeing who could have bought it. When we have any more information, we’ll let you know,” The last smiled as she went the other way.

Z and Maya walked out of the station, Maya kicking pinecones. Z’s hands were shoved in her pockets. “A goddamn pig heart!” Z yelled. “Who would replace her heart with a pigs heart? And that begs the question where is Cit’s actually heart. She said nothing of the matter nor it was in the report,” Zendaya said in disbelief. Maya pushed her hair back, trying to think of something logically before she nodded her head, unable to give one. “And the Diphenhydramine… That explains why she was dizzy the day of the party and her death… Wait…” Zendaya was putting something together. “What are you doing in an hour?” Z asked.

“This… my roommate doesn’t care when I come and when I go… as long as I don’t walk in on her while she has her boyfriend over… Why?” Maya asked.

“I think I know who has Diphenhydramine. Come with me back to the Sunflower House and I’ll explain what I mean… Hopefully, Sadie is out,” Zendaya noted.

“I never been to the Sunflower House before,” Maya smiled.

“Trust me it’s not that great… especially when Sadie and Peaches are home and wanting to fuck Tom or Dean… Or Harrison,” Zendaya scoffed.

“Peaches Carhart?” Maya asked as Zendaya nodded. “Fucking bitch… Peaches lied about me to Harrison Osterfeild months ago,” Maya crossed her arms as Zendaya tilted her head in confusion. She knew Peaches was a bitch, but why would she like about someone to Harrison? Harrison was the one who chased Peaches then he finally realized she was fucking insane and the chase and the fights and the sex was history every scene between the two. “It might sound stupid, but I was really good friends with Haz. I liked him and I knew he liked me back, but we never been together because I was dealing with my shit. When Peaches came in the picture she ruined everything. She would make subtle lies so she could get closer with Harrison and he would distance himself from me. It wasn’t until the second week of this year and Peaches told Harrison that I hated his guts and that he’s the stupidest person I have ever meet. That’s a bunch of bullshit!” Maya exclaimed. “But honestly if Haz believes her and that lie, he might just be a bit stupid,” Maya laughed. “He won’t even speak to me. Peaches probably said something more if it’s that bad,” Maya explained.

“Harrison can be a bit dull,” Z laughed as they approached the Sunflower House. Zendaya wiggled her keys in and opened the door, letting Maya in. Z noticed no one was in the living room and the house seems way more quiet than usual. “Hello?” Z yelled. No response. She took a breath as she smiled. “No one is home. I’ll double-check just in case. Venus could be home doing her witchery,” Z smiled as Maya looked around the house. It was everything she imagines what the Sunflower House would be. Big, beautiful and luxuries. 

Maya followed Z up to the stairs as Z looked in all the doors, no one, not even Venus was home. It was kind of unusual because someone is always home. Z passed by Cit’s room and stopped, taking the energy from her room and imaging Cit on her bed writing a love poem. It hasn’t fully hit Z that Cit was gone like it hit Iren. Maya peaked her head, looking at the neat room. Z’s heart broke as a tear streamed down her cheek, trying her best to keep it together. She needed to help Cit by fitting the pieces to the puzzle. “Sorry,” Z said as she moved way pass Maya and to the end of the hall were her dim room was. “This is my room, make yourself comfortable,” Z smiled as Maya sat on the bed, swinging her feet and waiting for Z to explain.

“You said you might know where the Diphenhydramine came from?” Maya asked, thinking Zendaya might have forgotten. Z sat down, looking at Maya. She was hesitant.

“I think Sadie might have had the drug with her when she was sick a few weeks ago. If you have a bunch of the stuff, you can get poisoned from the stuff if you have too much and it can kill you within 8 to 18 hours,” Z explained. Maya’s eyes widen. “If I go into Sadie’s bathroom or room in general without her knowing, it’s my death on campus we’re talking about. I just need you to look out if that firey dragon woman comes home,” Zendaya explained the plan as Maya nodded in agreement of the plan. Maya was always a good liar, so she felt like maybe she could like to Sadie if she came asking questions.

Z got up. Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she waved for Maya to follow her. The two girls almost tiptoed their way back downstairs. Sadie was always the one who wanted the best. The best clothes, the best jewelry, the best boyfriend, the best car, the bed food, and the bed bedroom. There were two bedrooms downstairs that were way bigger than the one upstairs. When you walked in, it felt like another house in itself. To be fair, Sadie did get her daddy to dec out her room and make it exactly as she wanted it, no matter how much damage or how much money it caused. Zendaya only went in her room a few times when Sadie was actually really nice that one time, but to be fear she was high out of her mind after her boob job, and so she let everyone come in her room and have a movie night. How to even describe Sadie’s room. It was pink from head to toe, like a Barbie dream house. There were a minibar, a mini-theater, and a fish tank. The bed was huge, with silk sheets and fur. Don’t even get me started on the walk-in closet that little miss princess asked her daddy to make, and ger daddy did. Everything felt like it was straight out of Mean Girls and Scream Queens. To be fair, Sadie was a mean girl. Z didn’t have time to be impressed at the princesses place, only Maya got distracted, looking at every Sadie Nyland memorabilia that was in her room. 

Zendaya marched to the bathroom, big like always. She was in a hurry, just in case those high heeled boots and fur jacket whore came waltzing in that room and say that Z was snooping. Zendaya looked in every cabinet, trying to see if there was any bottle of Diphenhydramine. Sadie would be too stupid to throw it out, especially when she’s always hyped up on xannies or Adderall anyways. Ah, her and her pill addiction and her many plastic surgeries. Z almost lost hope, looking at every label just to find that long word on one. All the pills and diet pills, she’d hope that Diphenhydramine would show up. But finally, behind the trashcan in the bottle cabinet, there was a bottle and that one word was on the table. Z took it and shoved it her pocket. When she turned around to leave the most delicate bathroom she’s even been in, there stood a fuming Sadie, her hands on her hips and her face almost red. “What the fuck are you doing in here? No one is in her! Not even you, Zendaya Coleman. I don’t care that you’re a super hero's bitch!” She screamed. “And tell your friend, she’s awful at lookout. How many times do I have to tell you sluts to not bring losers in the hose!” She screamed, stepping closer to Z, hoping that she didn’t see her take the bottle of Diphenhydramine and putting it in her pocket.

“Listen, Sadie, I needed some aspirin and I thought you had some. I would have gone out to get some myself, but my head is just throbbing and with your yelling, it’s not helping…. So, Sadie, where do you keep your aspirin? I’m sorry for not waiting for you to come home and just started with going in your bathroom,” Zendaya lied as Sadie kissed her teeth.

“Fine,” She snapped. “I don’t keep aspirin in those cabinets anyways. I have them by my bed. I’ll give you some,” Sadie was pissed, but if it was pills someone needed, she could help. Z looked for Maya and saw her not there, perhaps she was in her room or booked it when Sadie came in, she didn’t blame her. Z was anxious to get out of the room, hoping Sadie wouldn’t question her anymore. Sadie has her the bottle of aspirin. “Now leave. I need to take a bath and get ready to go to the Phantom House, maybe I can try to get your friend to finally take me out somewhere,” Sadie snickered as Z nodded and rolled her eyes.

“Okay. Thanks,” She said as with that booked it out of the princess palace. She didn’t see Maya in the living room, so she went back up to her room. Maya was gone. Z put the pill bottles on her dresser as she saw a note from Maya I’m sorry I booked it. Text me if you found anything and she left her number. Zendaya was unsure of what to do next know that she got the Diphenhydramine, so she texted Maya that yes, in fact, Sadie had it. Maya said she would come back, that she was only the park and that they should turn it into the police to do tests on it. Zendaya was unsure if that would be right. Sadie could have given her the drug or she could have gotten into it, yet again, the drug wasn’t the main thing that could have killed her. But this could help move the case along. Zendaya was about to leave to meet Maya as her phone rang, it was Tom. She picked up as she made her way out of the door. 

“I’m with Maya, we’re at the park near my house. She told me what was in the report. I think I found something too… are you on your way?” Tom asked in a rush, clearly panicked.

“Yes, I’m leaving now. What do you mean you found something?” She asked.

“I’ll tell you everything when you’re here. Maya is asking the same thing,” With the panicked little boy behind the phone, Tom hung up the call as Zendaya almost ran to the park near the Phantom House. Her mind was rushing, what did she get herself into? Why couldn’t Tom and her just continue as Peter and MJ and not some silly act of college students? She didn’t expect herself being apart of a murder case, or was it even murder? As she saw her two friends waiting, Tom bolted up from his seat. 

“What is it?” Z asked.

“I saw Maya and she told me the heart was replaced with a pigs heart… I remember a meat package in the trash and luckily, since Dylan never does anything around the house, the package is still there and I found this,” Tom pulled out a still bloody and a bit moldy meat package. Zendaya read it. It was for a pigs heart.

“Where was this purchased?” Zendaya asked.

“I don’t know. Let’s try the grocery store and see if they could help,” Tom said.

“Should we go to the police station first for the pills?” Maya asked.

“Yes, we’ll do that know. What if Sadie is apart of this mess?” Z asked as all three of them began to walk to the police station. 

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Maya said with her hands shoved in her pockets. “But it doesn’t make sense if it was her, she’s too dumb to even solve a simple math equation, let alone plan a perfect murder and leave behind nothing at the scene,” Maya backed up. Tom let out a sigh.

“What if Cit was never murdered in the first place?” Tom asked as both of the girls looked at him with pure confusion in their eyes.

“What do you mean? It all fits under murder!” Maya exclaimed.

“I mean what if something paranormal was apart of her death? Have any of you noticed that before Cit’s death, there has been strange sightings and strange things going on on campus? Well, I have. I didn’t really take mind of any of it because it could have been just my mind playing tricks on me, or I was just drunk as hell,” Tom was hesitant on saying what he meet, but by the look on his face, the girls could understand something else was eating at him.

“What do you mean?” Zendaya asked gently.

“For all that week, I kept seeing this man in a coat, I couldn’t make out what his face looked like, but he had these giant horns on his head. He was freakishly tall too. I only saw him at Sunflower Park or the park near the Phantom House… I tried to look for him after everything happened but he seemed to not be anywhere…” Tom explained. Maya stopped in her tracks. Her eyebrows arched. All blush fell from her face, she looked like a ghost. “Maya?” Tom asked, holding her shoulder.

“I always saw him too. He was around my work a lot, walking to the park. I couldn’t see his face either, only those huge horns…” Maya took a deep breath and looked at the two. “My friend Darce might know something about that kind of stuff. Wait… does Venus work at Blood Patch?” Maya asked.

“Yes. Why?” Z asked

“She could give us this book… Oh… I forgot what it’s called. If we ask Darce maybe he’ll know what that thing is maybe he’ll know what book we could get. I’m sure they sell it at Blood Patch, maybe Venus knows too,” Maya spoke

“This is all too much,” Z said “First the Diphenhydramine, now the pig heart and now something paranormal? What the fuck could happen now?” Z was generally confused, trying her best to put the pieces together. But the pieces she thought she got together, just feel flat and didn’t fit at all together. 

“Go to the police station, then to the grocery store and then we go ask Darce. I can go with him myself if you two don’t want to go. I might be nothing,” Maya offered.

“I’m not saying I don’t want to go. I’m just confused,” Z stated as they began to approach the police station. They shoveled inside the waiting room, Z asking to speak to the lady who gave them the report for the Cit Clemintine case. Tom and Maya sitting down and of course, Zendaya was pacing around the waiting room, gripping the bottle of Diphenhydramine in her hand.

“Zendaya Coleman?” The lady asked as Z turned around. 

“Yes hi… I’m here about the Cit Clemintine case again. This afternoon me and my friend read the reported case and it said something about finding Diphenhydramine in her bloodstream… well, if it’s any help, there is Diphenhydramine in our household,” Z gave the bottle to the women. “We just wanted to see if this is the stuff that was in her bloodstream because a Diphenhydramine could be anything,” Z said, almost panicked. The lady looked at it closely.

“Very interesting… we’ll run some tests on it and if I find anything more, we’ll call you. Where did you find this?” She asked. Z was nervous. Although she didn’t like Sadie. She didn’t want to throw her under the bus like that because the pills could’ve been anything that wasn’t hers. Z swallowed the lump in her throat and looked back at Tom and Maya.

“Sadie Nyland’s bathroom,” Maya blurted out.

“Thank you. If you find anything out, let me know. I’m Detective Katie Bench, by the way, not sure if I introduced myself,” Katie officially introduced. Z smiled.

“Anytime. I think we might have some other pieces to look into,” Z smiled

“Like what?” Katie asked.

“The pig heart. We found a meat package that says it belonged to a pig. We don’t know where it was bought from,” Z said as Tom gave her the package as Katie took it from her and looked at it.

“Interesting… we’ll look into this too. Thank you for your help. With the lack of evidence we found, these two things are the best leads. You’ll be the first three to know if we found anything more about the case,” Katie smiled as she turned on her heel and went the other way.

“Well, we can’t go to the grocery store now. Let’s try your friend Darce and go to the Blood Patch,” Z said as Maya nodded and began to text her friend. Things were not adding up.

[feistyvictim]

halloween  night  .    chpt  1

it had never been on her calendar, not much   --   that particular night,  spooky costumes and cherry punch.  she wasn’t scary,  and not exactly a fan of sugar coated alcoholic disasters.  still, nancy could try her best and show up at tina’s halloween party in her very own rendition of brigitte bardot,  take a few shots and be gone about a couple minutes after the socially acceptable.  she was pretty convinced most of the others would get wasted enough so they’d fall over and not need a ride home,  but the girl had made sure she and barb would be gone before the situation got too critical.  at home, at least, they could enjoy what a real good night felt like, seizing movies and a good sleepover far from most college idiots.

❝    no  way,  barb.  we’re  not  watching  live  tv.   first,  that’s  depressing.  there  are  many  reasons  why  i  like  spending  the  night  here,  and  one  of  them  is  staying  away  from  my  dad’s  live  programs.  and  second,    ❞   and she made sure to promptly grab a movie box from her backpack and display it proudly,  the monumentally spooky letters of carrie print upon its cover.   ❝   it’s  halloween.  we  might  not  be  partying...  but  we’ll  be  celebrating  it  the  old  fashioned  way.    ❞  nancy herself wasn’t a fan of scary movies, but the idea of freaking out her best friend and then laughing for ours with her about their worst scares seemed like the perfect night. 

three on the clock and they were fighting to keep their eyes open.  well,  mostly nancy.  carrie white’s journey wasn’t new for her at all,  and despite having barb holding dearly to her arm as she tries not to whine in fear,  nancy could barely keep her eyes open for more than a couple of moments.  ❝    nance.  nance,  wake   up.   ❞  barbara’s voice comes in a rispid whisper and tears nancy from that light sleep she’s been fighting off.  she could have sworn not even five minutes had gone by,  but the vhs tape was already frozen on the final frame of the credits as she could have sworn they were just watching carrie enter the ballroom.    ❝   there’s  something  wrong.  i  think  i  saw  someone  outside.  ❞  

 ❝    what?   what  time  is  it,  barb?    ❞     ------------     ❝    it  doesn’t  matter.  i  saw  someone  outside,  nance.  a  weird  guy.    ❞   wasn’t she so terrified,  nancy wouldn’t have given it much attention.  she gets up slowly,  squeezing her friend’s hand before standing closer to the window.  down there,  nothing but the dog’s house and barb’s bike.

❝    there’s  no  one  here,  barbie.   you--   you’re  shitting  me,  right?  because  i  made  you  watch  scary  movies?   ❞   nancy takes another look outside,  and finding nothing,  turns to face her friend again.  barbara remains silent   --  white as a ghost,  hands shaking.   ❝   i  got  up  to  close  the  drapes,  and  he  was  there.  with  this--  weird  mask  on,  looking  back  at  me.  please,  nancy.  i’m  not  kidding.   ❞  

❝    barb,   even  if  you  did  see  someone--  it  was  probably  some  kid  trying  to  scare  us.  look,  they’re  gone   now.  there’s  no  one  out  there.    ❞     a last look is the confirmation: not a single soul.  figure crouches down in front of her friend only to hold her hands once again,  looking up at her with eyes so caring they could close a wound.   ❝   hey,   it’s  okay.  i’ll  grab  us  some  soda  and  when  i’m  back  we  can  watch  grease  until  we  fall  asleep,  okay?   ❞  

barb gives her but a nod.  nancy follows the path towards the kitchen quickly  --  light steps,  turning on the stairs lights as a measure of tranquilizing barb.  four cans of cherry coke and a pack of skittles are grabbed,  and nancy’s still trying to figure out how she’ll take it all upstairs when a startle breaks the silent night.  barb’s  undeniable  scream  --  terrified and helpless,  a chill to nancy’s spine.  she lets it all go: cans and packages fall to the ground as she runs upstairs,  trusting her own instincts as the lights are now all off.  she’s prepared to find barb staring out the window,  seeing that so called figure once again,  but it’s simply and terrifyingly worse.  she’s on her knees on the ground,  blood  dripping  from  her  chin,  glassless eyes looking up at a figure nancy can’t quite discern at first.  this huge,  large man bearing a knife that’s already bloody.  a scream comes from nancy when she realizes that thick layer of blood belongs to her best friend,  with a wound ripping her stomach in two.

her  scream  attracts  the  man’s  attention  --  and he turns to stare into her eyes behind that ugly mask,  white and expressionless,  more like a thing than a being.  the girl’s still screaming when he motions his weapon against her,  and even more avidly when her very own hands grab whatever stands near and shove it against his shape.  it’s only when he’s stumbling back, a bit disoriented, that nancy realizes it was actually barb’s aquarium,  heavy enough to save her a few moments and allow her to try and move the entire bookshelf over him as he processes being hit.  it  takes  a  hush  of  adrenaline  and  a  grotesque  grunt  to take it down and towards the shape,  shoving him against the bedroom mattress and pining him to the ground.

❝   barb!   i  need  you  to  get  up!   we  need  to  get  you  downstairs!   ❞   she’s so quickly onto barbara that she can barely take note of it;  hands grab the other by the arms and try to pick her up,  but either too shocked or wounded,  the redhead can’t seem to cooperate.  she’s speaking in whispers and bloody spits,  whimpering at the sight of her own demise,  and as nancy tries to pick her up,  she’s only able to take a couple of steps before taking them both down.   ❝   baaaarb!   please!   ❞   nancy is desperate;  she’s a mess of the other’s blood and her own sweat,  mixed limbs as they try to find their posture once again.  he’s moving,  though,  and before they can even give it another try,  he swings his knife at the pair and grants wheeler a cut on the arm.  if not before,  now is impossible for her to carry barbara downstairs before being hit by that psycho.  her best odds are by herself;  not to save her own skin,  but for barbie.  they need help,  and nancy is not saving her nor defeating that man by herself.     ❝   stay  down.   did  you  hear  me?   just--  stay  here.   ❞   she’s standing up as that stranger does the same,  shoving the bookshelf aside and silently standing on his feet again.     ❝   i’ll  get  help!   i’ll  find  help  for  you!   ❞   

[lovemesomesurveys]

When you were young, what did you dream of being when you grew up? When I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher. In middle school I knew I liked helping people, and when I got to high school freshmen were required to take a health and intro to psychology course. It was then I decided I wanted to get into psychology.

Are you young at heart, or an old soul? I think I’m a kid at heart.

What makes someone a best friend? It’s just a different kind of bond and connection. You feel closer to that person, and feel like you can trust them and tell them anything. They’re usually someone who knows you very well and vice versa.

Name one physical feature that you like about yourself, and one you dislike. I like my hair when it’s freshly dyed and looks nice. That’s not the case currently, I’m months overdo. :/ As for what I dislike... everything else. Because I’m months overdo I don’t even like my hair right now either. 

Would you like to reconnect with any friends you’ve lost contact with? I’ve drifted apart from everyone over the past couple years. This past year, especially. I’ve been so distant and withdrawn, which in turn has made me a bad friend. I haven’t been there for them like they deserve. I know I’m not the only one with problems, but I’ve just been so wrapped up in my own shit. I’ve been selfish. I don’t know what’s going on with anyone anymore, and that’s horrible. I’d like to be able to reconnect with them and be there for them, but I’m just so messed up.

What’s more important in a relationship: physical attraction or emotional connection? Emotional connection to me. That’s what really is the root of the relationship and what keeps it going in my opinion. It’s deeper than looks. Not to say physical attraction doesn’t play a role at all, but it’s not the most important because it goes beyond that.

Name a movie that you knew would be terrible just from reading the title. I know I’ve been guilty of judging a movie by its title, but of course I can’t think of a specific example right now.

What holiday do you most look forward to? Christmas.

How is the relationship between you and your parents? Very good. My mom and I are especially close, she’s my rock. I am very fortunate to have two supportive, loving parents in my life.

Name a song that never fails to make you happy. I can name songs that make me sad, but I can’t really think of one that makes me feel happy. Like, songs that are upbeat and catchy are fun and nice and all, but they don’t really make me happy.

You know at least one person named Michael. Tell me about him. Actually, I don’t.

Have you ever read the “missed connections” on Craigslist? Have you ever posted one, or wanted to? No. I’ve never even been on Craigslist.

If you could pick anywhere to live the rest of your life, where would it be? I’m not sure. I like my state, but my hate my city. So, maybe just another city in my state, or another state entirely. I’d have to travel and experience a few places to get more of an idea.

Can money buy happiness? It could certainly help with some things that are stressful. It’d also allow me to travel and get things that would benefit my family and I. All of that would be nice. However, it wouldn’t get rid of my chronic health issues, both physically and mentally. It wouldn’t fill certain voids. It would be nice, don’t get me wrong, and it would certainly help out a lot, but some things it just can’t buy.

Do you drink? Smoke? Do drugs? Why, or why not? I don’t drink anymore and haven’t for about four years. I don’t have a desire to as of now. It just wasn’t enjoyable for me, and I was over it. It also wouldn’t mix well with my medications. I haven’t smoked weed in about three years, but I wouldn’t be opposed to it. The opportunity just hasn’t presented itself. I don’t do any drugs, and I have no desire to.

Where was your favorite place to go when you were a little kid? Hmm. I really just liked playing Barbies for hours on end lol.

Have you ever spent a night in the hospital? I’ve spent months in the hospital.

Do you enjoy being with only one or two friends, or with a large group of people? It depends. Being with a group can be fun.

Do you like the type of music your parents listen to? Do your parents like the type of music you listen to? Yeah, some. My mom and I listen to a lot of the same. She likes current stuff and music from throughout the 2000s, some 90s stuff, 80s stuff, oldies, and classic rock. I like all that as well.  My dad likes some current stuff, but mostly country and classic rock, which again I like all that as well.

Have you ever been bullied? Have you ever bullied anyone else? No and no.

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? Hmm. I don’t know. I tire of even my most favorite foods if I have it too often close together. If I had to eat only one thing for the rest of my life...

If your partner wanted to wait until marriage before having sex, would you stay in that relationship? I’d be fine with that.

Do you believe in a god? Yes.

Would you call yourself/your family “middle class?” Yes.

Name a TV series you didn’t enjoy until after it ended: Well, it’s more that I didn’t see them until after they already ended. Especially like, I Love Lucy and The Dick Van Dyke Show that ended waaay before my time. I also like The Golden Girls and Roseanne, which ended before I got into them.

Have you ever bought a product from an infomercial? Nope.

If you could give up your car and never have to drive again, would you? I already don’t drive or own a car. <<<< Same.

If you go back to one point in time to give advice to yourself, when would you go and what would you say? Oh man. That’s tough. Maybe middle school or around then.

What’s your “quirkiest” habit? I don’t know.

What is “normal?” Are you normal? Exactly, what is normal?

Someone close to you is dying. You have the choice to let this person live for 10 more years, but if you do, you cause the death of 10 strangers. You don’t have to see them die. Do you take the offer? That’s horrible.

Would you rather be in a relationship after the honeymoon period ends, or be single? I mean, I’ve heard of the honeymoon stage ending as they say, but I didn’t think it was necessarily a bad thing. Like, that doesn’t mean they’re not in love or not happy. I just thought it meant that it might not be so lovey dovey all the time. Ha, I don’t know. It’s probably best that I’m single.

Is it possible for guys and girls to be just friends? Yes...

Where do you and your friends go to hang out? It’d usually be like Starbucks or somewhere with food. Or the mall.

What is the best TV theme song ever? Hmm. I don’t know.

When you’re alone in your own home, do you walk around naked? Nope. I don’t feel comfortable being naked. I don’t know, it feels weird to me. I also don’t like my body so even if no one else would see me, I’d see me. I just prefer wearing clothes.

What gets you out of bed in the morning? Coffee.

Do you want to have more friends than you have right now? No. I suck at maintaining friendships with the two I do have.

What part of the past year sticks out in your mind? Probably towards the end of the year.

You win a scratch-off lottery game that gives you $2000 a week for the rest of your life. Do you keep your job? I don’t have a job, sooo.

What is your favorite sport? I don’t like sports.

What has been troubling you lately? Health related stuff.

Did you enjoy your high school prom? If you haven’t gotten there yet, do you look forward to it? If you didn’t go, why not? I didn’t want to go initially, but my best friend convinced me to go. I ended up having fun. The best part was that the guy I was crushing on had came up and danced with me. I died. lol.

What do you use more often: your intuition or logical reasoning? Logical reasoning.

Tell me about the last book you read. The main character was running away from her troubled life and started anew somewhere else with a different look and identity. She worked on a ranch where she also lived, and they rented cabins to the public. This author guy books one of the cabins, and she and the author get to know each other. He’s a game changer for her. She always pushed people away before it got too serious, but he was different. Anyway, her past starts to catch up with her. He reveals some stuff to her and she learns the truth about some things. She also ends up having to go back to where she ran away from six years prior. Crazy stuff happens. Ha, I suck at summarizing. The books is called, He Found Me by Whitney Barbetti.

What is the nicest compliment you’ve ever been given? Hmm. I don’t know what the nicest would be. All of them are nice. To receive any at all is nice.

Who was your first crush? This kid who was like two grades higher than me when I was in 3rd grade.

Predict what your life will look like a year from now. I don’t know, I can’t think that far ahead. I have to take it day by day.

Often, people will ask how your last relationship ended, I want to know how it began: We were introduced through a mutual friend and just hit it off. He expressed interest in me from the start. He was like really flirty and all that. I’m shy and awkward, so it took me a bit. I was like wth someone is actually really interested in me? Things just kind of took off and thus began three years of ups and downs and something, whatever it was between us. I fell for him hard.

Where is your favorite place to go out and eat? Just really depends on what I’m in the mood for.

Early bird or night owl? I’m really not either one. I used to be such a night owl, but literally I’m just so tired all day.

Are there any childhood possessions you still hold on to? I still have my Barbies and a lot of stuffed animals packed away in the garage.

Give me an unpopular opinion you have. Pineapples do NOT belong on pizza! End of discussion.

Where do you live? Be as general or specific as you want. In California.

Do you believe in giving kids medals and trophies for participation? That’s tough. I think it’s good to encourage the members and congratulate them. It is a team effort, after all. They worked hard. However, it is nice to be recognized for your achievements. Some work harder, or go beyond, and they deserve something for that. That could also encourage the others to try harder, too. Gah, I don’t know. I’m not making sense. I feel like that sounds bad. Basically, the whole team should be congratulated and encouraged. They can get something to showcase that and/or throw a party for the team or something like a lot of teams do at the end of the season. I just don’t know if everyone should be awarded a trophy for participating. That seems like something that is earned for doing something above and beyond or a special skill, ya know?

What was the longest car ride you’ve ever taken? From California to Idaho.

Would you ever use an online dating service? It’s not something I’m interested in.

If you earn minimum wage doing what you love, would you? Sometimes that just doesn’t work financially, unfortunately. That’s how some people end up doing something they hate because it pays better.

Would you rather be alone doing something you enjoy, or doing something you don’t like with your best friends? Alone doing something I enjoy. I’ve found myself in the second situation many times, and truthfully I just wanted to be back at home. :| Those situations are just uncomfortable and unpleasant. I’d feel very out of place. In those cases, I’d rather be comfortable at home doing something I actually want to do.

Do you practice what you preach? Not always. I could certainly follow my own advice sometimes.

Are you hard-headed? I can definitely be stubborn at times.

Have you ever laughed uncontrollably when it was socially inappropriate? Not that I can recall.

Do you often skip breakfast? All I have in the morning is a cup of coffee and a couple muffins or a donut. It’s pretty rare that I eat anything big before noon.

How do you express your creativity? I enjoy coloring.

Describe your neighborhood. Not much to say? It’s pretty quiet and chill.

Name something you only liked because it was popular. Hmm.  I am sure there are examples of this from when I was younger, but I can’t think of any right now.

Give me the story of your life in six words. It’s a series of unfortunate events. Haaa.

[jackfollmanwriter-blog]

I’m The Ghost

Drip. Drip. Drip. The godforsaken drip. The kitchen sink was far from the safety, warmth and comfort of my bed, down a flight of rickety stairs and across a sea of darkness. The journey would be difficult, but necessary. There was no way I would be able to get back to sleep with the sound of the sink dripping echoing through the house and I had my first job interview in five years at 8 in morning. I had to get some sleep.

The hard tile of the kitchen was freezing on my bare feet. It took me back to my childhood days when I would run into the kitchen from the yard, no shoes on, still wet from the sprinkler on a summer day, feet dusted with blades of grass. My mom would scold me, but still present me with a popsicle (hopefully not grape) and then escort me back outside.

That warm thought was a welcome distraction from the reality of the situation I was in at the moment. It was three a.m. The snow was still beating down outside and I didn’t have the money to turn the heat on the way my mom would have back in the days of our nuclear family - before the cancer and the deaths of both my parents. Before I felt haunted. Before I felt dead.

I cranked the nobs of the sink off as hard as I could. It seems like the dripping stopped. I shot a look out the window as I readied myself to rush back upstairs to my bedroom and lock the door. I wish I hadn’t.

I usually love staring at the snow falling in the night - the thick fluffy flakes light up the world and create a comforting softness and kind of claustrophobia that I enjoy. It usually reminds me of watching the snow fall in the night as a child and knowing that it likely meant that the much-celebrated Snow Day was on its way the next morning.

That nostalgic drug started to drip into my brain for a few moments before I noticed something off about the snow just outside the window. About five yards from the window and from the door that led into the kitchen, was a break in the snow. The snow just appeared to not be falling in a little patch, it stopped and collected about 5 feet above the ground.

At first I thought my mind was just playing tricks on me, but then I saw that patch move closer to the door, the snow seemed to just hang on the air as it moved towards me. I walked over to the door which led out the kitchen and into the backyard and opened it up.

I stood in the open door for a few seconds, mesmerized by the moving absence of snow until it was right in front of me, a swirling patch of nothing holding my attention even more than the dripping faucet had minutes before.

I felt a deeper chill come over me. Beyond frigid. Colder than the thick snow which was piling up on the ground. It made every bone in my body feel numb. It knocked me backwards off my feet.

On the ground, I watched the door slowly begin to close, until it sealed and I ran quickly back up to my bedroom.

*

I wouldn’t go back to sleep, but I would shake off the eire of the night with a solid day. A great job interview, a date for a follow-up interview and prospects of being able to afford turning the heat on someday soon cheered me up. I embraced the third day of the snowstorm and watched old home movies in the comfort of my bed once I finished up some more applications and polishings of my resume.

The old VHS home movies told the story of my family unraveling, but I still loved them for reasons I couldn’t quite grasp. They started with my mom pregnant, the sequel of me as a baby and the third part of the original trilogy was me hitting my toddler years, all of us stupid and happy.

My family’s own personal second Star Wars trilogy, it was those next three tapes when everything went to hell.

The first of the second three tapes jumps out because you see my mom has gained at least 50 pounds from the previous tape. I later figured out it was from the meds. You could see the life drained out of my dad’s face. Too many layoffs, too many night shifts and too many whiskey waters took a toll.

I could never make it through that tape. I watched myself flounder and flop around at the ages of three and four and watched my parents go through the motions - birthdays, Christmas, preschool - they were doing the right things, just not the right way. It was like watching a sports team that has no hope left for the season finish out their schedule just wanting it to end.

And that’s just what happened. My dad isn’t in the next tape. My mom puts on 20 more pounds. The dead look which was painted on my dad’s face transfers to hers and speckles mine with spots of dread.

I usually stopped the fourth tape with about five minutes left when my dad suddenly wasn’t at my fifth birthday. I reached that point and crawled out of bed to manually hit stop on the VCR. I pushed STOP, but nothing happened. The video just kept playing. I saw my five-year-old self staring at a lit-up cake with a group of kids singing.

I was sucked into the footage - wasn’t sure if I had ever actually watched it before. It felt good to see the childhood faces of all my little friends singing with such excitement, but I only needed a few seconds of that. I hit STOP again. Nothing. The video just kept playing. I hit it over and over and over again, but nothing. The video just kept playing.

I gave up. I watched the scene of my birthday crackle away into static, melt into blank radiating blue and then to pure black.

I figured the tape was eating itself (thankfully) and coming to an end. I was wrong. I heard the faint sound of crying coming from the blown speakers of the box TV. I cranked the volume as high as it would go.

The cries sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place an identity to them. Who was it? The thought tickled my brain until the screen slowly started to come to light and I saw the five-year-old version of myself on the screen, crouched in what looked to be a cramped closet - nose running, eyes pouring tears, pink Barbie pajamas wet in the crotch.

I didn’t remember the moment at all. Was I just too young? No. It was my fifth birthday. I was already in Kindergarten at that point. I remembered everything that traumatizing by that age. Why was it recorded?

The tape cut out and ejected itself. It had not been eaten by the VCR, it was fine. I pushed it back in and rewound it a bit - hit PLAY.

The video no longer showed my five-year-old self in the closet crying. It was what I remember being there all along - me on the swingset at school, swinging myself back and forth for a few minutes in a boring clip.

The sound of a door slamming behind me made me jump. I screamed out and twisted around in the direction of the noise. I saw the sliding doors of my bedroom closet shaking back and forth just barely enough to notice.

I froze. The room was entirely still...silent...until...the sound of soft crying started to leak out of the closet.

“Who’s there?” I called out from in front of the TV, the goosebumps pulling themselves off of the surface of my skin with all their might.

No answer from the closet. The movement stopped. The crying ceased. I tiptoed in the direction of the closet.

I was just a few steps in when the bedroom door slammed shut, sealing me in the room. The TV went out. The only light in the room was gone. I was in a complete blackout. I screamed and started to pat my own skin, ready for something to grab me. I heard the closet door slide open.

Whatever it was made it through my fence of swats. I felt a quick little poke on my elbow then I felt a presence run away from me. Little feet scampering across the carpet. My entire body became a puddle of loose bones, blood and organs cased in sloppy skin. I collapsed to the ground and closed my eyes.

*

I woke up on the floor groggy and pained. It felt like I had spent all night partying and drinking straight vodka and then slept on a park bench. My brain was numb. I couldn’t think about what day it was. Forgot where I was for a moment. I thought I was in my city apartment in Brooklyn for a minute before I remembered I had retreated to my parents’ old place upstate.

I went to the bathroom to collect myself, splash some hot water on my face, warm up and sober from the fear. I flicked on the light once inside the tile-lined little room and screamed again. Standing just behind me in the doorway was a human figure, just enough out of the light that it took a second for me to recognize….myself.

I blinked hard at the mirror and I was gone. Was it a double vision, my brain just fried from the fright and the frigid cold of my night on the floor?

The lights started to flicker in the room. I kept my eyes on the doorway, but saw no sign of the second version of myself. I splashed some warm water on my face and walked out.

*

Days off between interviews were dedicated to renovating my mom’s old house so I could live in it and not feel like I was walking through a second dimension where my parents were still alive. The problem with the renovations was that it required me to dig through lost memories 99 percent of the time as I cleaned out closets (literally, and figuratively), pulled pictures off the wall and got rid of the kitchen and bath items and furniture that I didn;t need.

I had dreaded cleaning out my mom’s closet for weeks, knowing it would be the most-painful and possibly contain a rusty vibrator or Depends or something and shatter my soul, but I eventually caved. I started digging through the heavy cardboard boxes and separated the junk I didn’t want to keep from the junk I did want to keep.

It was pretty simple until an unmarked VHS tape caught my eye. I wasted no time in popping the tape into the VCR.

The video started outside of a hospital - grainy and clouded, it had the look of the 80s all over it. This footage was clearly around from when the other set of tapes were made. Why had I never seen it?

The shot was one long, continuous journey through the entry of the hospital I recognized as being the primary one in my hometown, through the stale halls and eventually into a darkened room. The sound of heavy sobbing rang out of an open hospital room door. Freezing the shot in its tracks for a few moments...but then it pressed on.

The camera panned into a hospital room for a few seconds. I only got a flash of a poorly-lit vision of a dark-haired woman, lying in a hospital bed, clutching what looked to a baby in her arms and crying. There was no doubt that the woman was my mom. The baby? Me, I assumed. Was my mom crying tears of joy? Her sobs didn’t sound happy, they sounded painful. I caught the slightest glimpse of my mother looking at the camera with puffy eyes and a slobbering mouth before the camera cut out.

A quick burst of crying erupted from right behind me. I looked in the dark of the TV screen and saw a pale figure standing just behind me, a thin arm outstretched in my direction.

I screamed and whipped around. There was nothing behind me. Just the cold, empty air of the room. I stood frozen in the middle of the room for a good five minutes, it felt like frost was growing on my bare arms and legs my blood had run cold.

I may have stood there forever had I not heard a crash come from downstairs. I almost couldn’t bear to walk down those stairs and confront whatever was lurking down there. I almost wished whatever had stalked me from behind in the room had just killed me.

My body ached as I slowly crept down the stairs, even though I hadn’t hurt myself in any way in the recent past. It felt as if my blood was bruised with terror and dread.

A loud shuffle made me jump just just as I conquered the final stair. I grabbed my chest and looked in the direction of the sound. It was an old-fashioned table drawer which sat in the airy foyer of the house. I rarely thought of the ancient thing. It only existed as a stale decoration I think was once told came from my great-grandmother.

That table suddenly occupied every fiber in my brain when I watched it rock back and forth violently - slamming against the wall it leaned against over and over again in rapid succession. The movement stopped shortly after I saw it. The room went quiet.

I gave the table a few seconds and then walked up to it. The thing only had one thin drawer at the top. I tried to open it. It wouldn’t budge. I couldn’t tell if it was locked, or just stuck. I tried with all my might, but couldn’t get the thing to move a millimeter. The thing must have been locked. I gave it one last tug and decided to give up.

I looked up to check my face for the perspiration I felt dripping off my forehead because of the effort and lost my breath. Standing just behind me was an exact version of myself except it looked like I had been run through a rotting sepia Instagram filter. It wasn’t quite a “zombie” version of myself, but it was close.

The image was gone in a flash. I was alone in the room again. I felt a chilling freeze whistle through the crack at the bottom of the front door and tickle my ankles.

*

I gave myself an ultimatum. One more weird incident and I was gone. I didn’t care that the third day of a historically-punishing blizzard was going on outside or that I had nowhere to go and interviews coming up I needed to be fully-prepared for, not “I slept in my car with the heat on all night” prepared. Actually prepared.

I figured I would distract myself by researching the companies I would be interviewing with online. All was going fine until about 30 minutes in when I received a Skype notification. I didn’t even realize I had Skype on my computer anymore.

A little notification popped up at the bottom of my screen. I clicked on it, saw that “UNKNOWN,” a profile with no picture was trying to video chat me on Skype. I bit hard on my tongue. I knew I shouldn’t have accepted it, but I wanted to address everything that was going on at some point and not just let the slow horror burn my soul.

A Skype screen popped up and displayed the head silhouette of a woman’s head completely obscured by shadows. It looked like one of those anonymous sources interviews you might see on Dateline. I recoiled from the screen.

“Who are you?” I asked.

Unknown moved her head back and forth, her hair drifted a bit in her own wind. A few more looks showed that Unknown looked exactly me.

“Secrets take up space,” Unknown whispered with a raspy voice.

“What?”

“Secrets come to life sometimes,” Unknown whispered.

“What the fuck is this?” I yelled back.

Unknown leaned closer to the camera, my own face became much more clear. I didn’t know what to say. Was I dead? Was this some kind of spirit messing with me? I had never believed that kind of stuff, but come face to face with it and you are forced.

“Are you me?” I asked.

I felt just as stupid asking that as it sounds, but I didn’t know what else to say.

Unknown left the space of the webcam and revealed her location, her head no longer blocking it. She was in the living room downstairs. The call cut out.

I heard footsteps run up the stairs outside my closed bedroom door. I sprinted for my door and locked the push lock in the door handle. I dropped my back against the door and tried to catch my breath.

I heard the footsteps top the stairs and then stop right outside the door. Then, a knock on the door.

“What is this?” I barked back.

No answer. I gave it a few very long, silent seconds.

“What…

I was interrupted by something sliding underneath the crack of the door. It poked me in my backside and caused me to scream. I scrambled to grab it.

I couldn’t have been more disappointed to find what had bumped into my was one of my mom’s necklaces - a locket that she used to wear every once in awhile, usually on her and my dad’s anniversary if I remembered correctly. So great, whoever or whatever was messing with me was going through my mom’s personal stuff and torturing me with it.

That was the final straw. I no longer cared about what was outside the door and job interviews. I just wanted to get away from whatever was doing this.

I shuffled across the room towards my bedroom window. The drop from my window was at least 15 feet, but there was heavy snow on the ground which would break my fall. I could land in the powder and run to my car. I thankfully had left the keys in the ignition.

I threw on a jacket and headed towards the window. I threw my mom’s necklace around my neck and grabbed the side of the window with both hands.

A jolt ran through me. I almost fell to the ground. It took all my strength to stay standing as my brain felt as if it left my body.

My eyes were presented with a vision. I was a child again, probably about five, standing in the foyer of the house. I had my eyes on the table with the drawer which had been rocking earlier. I watched myself stumble up to the thing and pull the drawer open with my grubby little hands. I watched myself pull the drawer open and reveal a thick stack of paper, documentation.

My mother rushed into the room and slammed the drawer shut, catching a couple of my fingertips in the crease. I screamed out crying. I saw my mother take out a familiar object, the locket necklace around her collar, twist it open, and lock the drawer.

I had never thought of there being a key inside the locket my mother always wore.

I replicated what my mom did as much as I could. I felt stubborn, rusted gears turn inside the locket until they broke free and I laid eyes on a small, old-fashioned key which lived inside the thing like a pearl in an oyster.

Something told me I needed to know what was in that drawer. It was more important than any interview or resume update or follow up call.

I  went straight for the drawer which had alluded me all these years.

The drawer unlocked with the key. I was disappointed to find nothing but boring, white paperwork in the thing. I had done all this for some tax documents? I yanked them out. I could go through them. Maybe there was something in there?

I felt a heavy cold rush into me from my left.  A quick glance in that direction dismissed that notion. My dismissal wouldn’t just be from a visual either. I slowly felt a slithering cold start to wrap itself around me. It felt like someone who had just jumped in a frozen lake was hugging me. I tried to wiggle and shake it off, but no luck. It clung to me like a wet towel.

That cold started to pull me down to the floor. I felt it reach around my neck like a noose. I struggled to pull away, got a few paces towards the door before it officially tackled me.

The papers fell to the floor, right next to my face as I gasped for air. I felt whatever had me trying to keep me in the house. I sucked in a deep breath and tried to fight it as much as I could. Got to my feet and fought for the door until I was at the handle, twisting it around and pushing the door open.

I made it out into the snow and started stumbling around blind in the neverending blizzard. I couldn’t see my car. I couldn’t see three feet in front of me it seemed. I may have run away from a spooky scare, but the supernatural threat may have been far less lethal than the non-supernatural threat of the falling snow.

I  became so cold I could no longer move. I fell to a knee and stopped in the front yard. I’ll spare you the sad details of the pathetic life which started to flash before my eyes.

Then I felt a shot of warmth shoot into my body. It was like the opposite of what I felt back in the house. I thought about the information I thought I had heard at one point about how you get really warm right before you freeze to death. I figured it was that.

I was wrong.

*

I woke up in my car. The engine running. Heat cranked. Warm and toasty. My clothes bone dry. Safe. Alive.

I had someone looking out for me. Someone who I learned about from the papers I took from the drawer in the foyer and the dots it connected in my head from what I had been experiencing ever since I moved back home.

The long locked-up paperwork included my birth certificate, and a birth certificate for Katelyn Rausch. Pronounced dead just minutes after she was born. The paperwork told the story of Katelyn, my twin sister who I was never told about who.

It was Katelyn who had taken up haunting me in the past few weeks. I’m not sure why my parents had kept her a secret from me, but she clearly meant no harm. I actually believe that she is the one who carried me to my car. Saved my life. Kept a secret, her ghost had grown into a woman. A woman who looked just like me. It was only after my mother’s power in the house as gone that she was able to reach out, freak me out, and make me think I myself was dead.

*

I spent the next night warm in my bed. I aced my next interview. Received an offer that was enough money for me to turn the heat on. I cherished that dry feeling I had on my face from the billowy heat which plumed out of the vents around the house.

That snug sleep was rudely interrupted in the middle of the night when I felt something sit down on my feet. I snapped to attention and looked to where the movement came from. I saw a familiar back facing me in the dark. I would alway remember the frail frame my mother possessed on her last days on Earth.

“Mom?” I asked, unsure if this was a dream, or real life, but no longer really scared.

“I’m sorry,” my mom’s painfully familiar upstate New York accent shone through the dark of the night.

Those early rumblings of pain and doubt turned to heartbreak. I thought I would never hear that voice again. My mom’s tenor played on the stereo of my heart like a sad, sad song.

“Sorry for what?”

I heard my mom begin to cry for only about the third time in my entire life. I watched her back sway back and forth, shudder and shake.

“I just never got through the pain. Not until it was all over.”

“My sister? Katelyn?”

My mom held up the sobs for a few moments. I saw her head nod up and down. I climbed forward on the bed, closer to her. She got up and stood at the foot of the bed, her back still to me. Those little morsels of fear fluttered in my stomach.

“Yes.”

I got to the foot of the bed and reached for my mom. She stepped forward and missed my grasp.

“I never figured a way to address it myself. So I sure didn’t have a way to address it with you. I’m sorry we kept it as a secret. I have a feeling my energy in the house kept her spirit…”my mom started to break down. “Her spirit, her energy felt she couldn’t come to find you, until I passed.”

I wanted nothing more in the past few months since my mom had passed then to hug her, and even though I had a little bit of confusion and resentment in my blood for never being told I had a twin sister who died at birth, I could fight it off. Connecting with my mom one last time was much more important.

“I’m glad she was able to tell you what I hadn’t,” my mom whispered, the last few words barely audible even in the still silence of the winter night.

I watched my mom’s dark form start to fade away like the steam of your breath does shortly after you let it out on a cold day.

“NO,” I yelled and reached out for my mom.

I was able to grab a soft shoulder and twist my mom’s form around just long enough to catch the slightest glimpse of her beloved face - her bright green eyes, her short bob hair, and lastly, her cheeky smile. I got to look at it all for a couple of seconds until I watched her energy turn into a hazy mist that drifted off to the open door of my bedroom bathroom.

I myself drifted away to sleep shortly after pinching myself to confirm that all wasn’t a dream.

*

Morning announced itself with a bright sun that I hadn’t seen in days. I rose and walked over to the window, parted the curtains and looked out at a sunny day and a melting world of winter filled with rivers of melting snow. The blizzard was over.

I wanted nothing more than to lie in bed for another hour and recover from the horror of the night before, but I had no choice but to get moving in the morning for the first time in months. The job I secured wanted me to come in and take a look at where I would be sitting in my new position and meet a few people.

I was barely awake when I got into my freezing bathroom and flicked on the light. The first thing I noticed was the open window which let the cold in. The second thing I noticed was the fog which covered the bathroom mirror.

Written in the condensation on the mirror were the words YOU’LL NEVER BE ALONE in nearly identical handwriting (or finger writing in this case) to my own. I almost laughed. Had that scene played out a little early in my own personal story I would have been horrified, but that couldn’t have been further from the case on that morning.

Instead, those words fought through the frigid cold which drifted through the open window and warmed my entire body.

Originally published by Thought Catalog on www.ThoughtCatalog.com.